Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 13 – Alkaid paves the way

Only now did Wenren È take out the message talismans sent by the four Altar Masters and the Right Protector, and break one at random to listen to.

Shu Yanyan’s exaggeratedly panicked voice came out of it. “My god! Venerable, the righteous sects have set up a Spirit Severing Array, and I and Altar Master Qiu have no spiritual energy to use. Oh, I can’t go on! I’ll just lie here and wait for the Venerable to save us.”

Wenren È: …

Even though he knew it was an act, Yin Hanjiang was still angry. “As one of the Venerable’s Protectors, you still asked to be saved by him? Unworthy!”

Wenren È approved of Yin Hanjiang’s words. Shu Yanyan had been top-notch at acting to hook a man, but her ability to fake a loss in battle was too poor.

Altar Master Yuan was the opposite. When Wenren È snapped his talisman, his frantic voice came from within. “Venerable, I encountered a large group of righteous cultivators while patrolling the northern mountains, each Deity Transformation or above. Fortunately, two other Altar Masters were there with me, and we led the rest of the sect into combat, but the natural spiritual energy was suddenly severed, and we could only use our own to fight! We can’t last for much longer! We must immediately break the Spirit Severing Array. This subordinate begs the Venerable to use the Burning Sky Drum!”

According to these two messages, clearly intended for the righteous cultivators’ ears, Wenren È should be heading toward the Spirit Severing Array with the Burning Sky Drum, in order to break it as soon as possible.

Therefore, there would certainly be an ambush on the way to the Spirit Severing Array, with who knew how many high-level cultivators lying in wait.

Pleased, Wenren È said, “Half a year ago, this Venerable dueled a wandering immortal in the Thousand Mile Ice Plains. Even though she was of a higher realm, she offered no improvement to my cultivation. Ordinary fights are no longer able to make me advance in realm. Hopefully, the gathered forces of the righteous sects will not disappoint this Venerable.”

He turned into a ray of light and flew at blinding speed toward the Spirit Severing Array.

Yin Hanjiang chased after him on his sword, but was completely unable to keep up with Wenren È.

Previous occasions, Wenren È had slowed down to wait for Yin Hanjiang, but now he didn’t hold back. Just by his own light flash, he could surpass the speed of Yin Hanjiang’s sword by several dozen times.

Despite having broken through to Void Boundary, despite having awakened to a higher sword will on the Burning Sky Drum, Yin Hanjiang was still as powerless as always to keep up with his Venerable.

When Yin Hanjiang caught up to Wenren È, he saw him trapped in an array by twenty Mahayana and above cultivators.

Seeing this, Yin Hanjiang’s eyes blazed in rage, and drawing upon his spiritual essence, he was about to charge into the array and fight side by side with his Venerable.

But just at that moment, he heard a cold and harsh yell. “Stay back!”

Yin Hanjiang froze instantly. Standing outside the array, he saw Wenren È turn and smile with satisfaction. “This Venerable never expected that the righteous sects would’ve brought out their highest talents in order to deal with me. This Venerable is very pleased. Protector Yin, don’t ruin this Venerable’s fun.”

Yin Hanjiang understood Wenren È. He had followed him for many years, watching his every action and expression. He could see that the Venerable really was surprised, and really was eager.

Wenren È had high expectations for this war. In his personal analysis with Yin Hanjiang, they had figured the righteous sects would send maybe ten Mahayana cultivators, and perhaps some of Shangqing Sect’s wandering immortals. Wenren È thought ten was a bit low, as he would have a hard time breaking through his realm unless he was on the brink of death. At the least, there would be ordinary disciples in combat, which might make up for it.

He and Yin Hanjiang never could’ve predicted that the righteous sects would mobilize all their forces, and actually send twelve Mahayana cultivators, eight wandering immortals, and a tenth generation Buddhist priest. The twenty-one experts had set a spell formation in advance and trapped Wenren È, swearing to take down the most powerful demonic cultivator here and now.

In the book, only Shangqing Sect had mobilized their full forces, but this time the five top righteous sects were throwing all they could at him.

“Hahahahaha!” Wenren È’s laugh echoed through the sky.

Yin Hanjiang heard Wenren È’s joy in his laughter, and could tell that he truly believed it would be fine if he died in this battle.

This wasn’t what they had planned for! There were too many enemies, and the Venerable truly faced a threat to his life.

Yin Hanjiang closed his eyes, perfectly still, and opened them a moment later. His eyes were filled with resolution. Wielding his sword, he continued his charge toward the formation.

This was the first time he had ever disobeyed Wenren È’s orders. Even if he were to die, he wanted to die before his Venerable. He couldn’t take looking on and being unable to do anything as his Venerable faced danger.

“Alkaid has appeared,” said the Jiuxing Sect Master. “If Polis falls, Alkaid will go mad. The two must be eliminated together, lest Alkaid bring disaster to the human realm.”

A wandering immortal of Shangqing Sect tossed out a gold ring, carved in the form of a dragon biting its own tail. It was the second immortal artifact of Shangqing Sect, the Dragon Locking Ring.

The Dragon Locking Ring could even trap an immortal. As it was about to hit Yin Hanjiang, a black and gold halberd smacked it with a loud clang. The ring transformed into a golden dragon and wrapped tightly around the halberd.

Wenren È was right behind it, appearing in front of Yin Hanjiang and shielding him. “Go!” he yelled in a low tone.

“Venerable!” Yin Hanjiang gripped his sword, his eyes burning, refusing to take a step away from Wenren È.

Wenren È understood him. The Jiuxing Sect Master was correct; if Polis fell, Alkaid would go mad. There was no way Yin Hanjiang could see his Venerable surrounded by so many enemies and turn away.

“This Venerable promises you not to die.” Wenren È reached out a hand and placed it against Yin Hanjiang’s chest.

His face was very close to Yin Hanjiang’s, close enough that it seemed their lips would touch at any moment. Yin Hanjiang gazed into the Venerable’s eyes, and heard him say, “In ten years, the Spirit Severing Array will be broken. Watch how this Venerable will do it!”

He shoved Yin Hanjiang with his palm, using immense spiritual energy to force him out through a crack that had formed in the barrier when the Dragon Locking Ring and the Seven Killing Halberd clashed.

Yin Hanjiang saw the barrier seal instantly behind him, leaving his Venerable trapped within with twenty high-level opponents. He was unable to resist Wenren È’s force, being pushed into the distance, only managing to stop in the air above the sect’s main hall.

“Venerable!” Yin Hanjiang let out a pained shout, then merged with the demon sword and transformed into many red blades, flying toward the north.

In the mountains north of Xuanyuan Sect, over a hundred Deity Transformation or above cultivators were fighting the Altar Masters and their forces. After the Spirit Severing Array had been set, the righteous as well as demonic cultivators were unable to access natural spirit energy.

However, the righteous cultivators had come prepared, and in the rear lines, nine Void Boundary cultivators manipulated nine Spatial Transfer Flags, forming a spatial link to continuously transfer spiritual energy from a distant vein. 

Each of the righteous cultivators carried a magic item linked to the Spatial Transfer Flags, supplying them with spiritual energy.

The demonic cultivators couldn’t access spiritual energy, while the righteous sects had a steady supply. They were waging a war of attrition, and when the demonic cultivators exhausted their inner supply of energy, the righteous sects would be victorious.

A flurry of blood swords tore through the sky like swift arrows. While passing the crowd of demonic cultivators, several whisked around Altar Master Ruan Weiyi, forcing him to charge the righteous sects’ formation together with them, and causing him to take all the righteous cultivators’ attacks.

“I’ll fuck your grandma, Yin Hanjiang!” Altar Master Ruan frantically raised his shield, forced to block the attacks coming at him and Yin Hanjiang.

Yin Hanjiang ignored Altar Master Ruan’s fury. Altar Master Ruan had an earth spiritual root, and the power of the vast earth provided great defensive ability. Yin Hanjiang couldn’t make a reckless charge to the Spatial Transfer Flags in the back lines alone and needed a strong defense, so he had picked Altar Master Ruan.

Altar Master Ruan was a Mahayana cultivator, but he knew he had to obey Yin Hanjiang at this time. The brat disregarded his own life in a fight, and was capable of killing him first if he tried to rebel.

While cursing out Yin Hanjiang, Altar Master Ruan yelled, “What are you fools doing? Hurry up and support me and Protector Yin! I’m gonna get killed if you keep standing around like a bunch of morons!”

At Altar Master Ruan’s yell, the demonic cultivators finally gathered their strength and, disregarding defense, charged forward to open a path for Yin Hanjiang.

For the last few years, the demonic cultivators had been forced into obedience by Wenren È, and they all knew that if they didn’t fight today, then if either Wenren È or Yin Hanjiang survived the war, those who hadn’t given their full strength on the battlefield would wish they had died. If they died but their soul was intact, they could seek Altar Master Qiu’s help in becoming a ghost cultivator, but if they angered Wenren È, they wouldn’t be able to die if they wanted to.

The demonic cultivators charged forward without fear of death, and the righteous sects were forced on the defensive. After a bout of fighting, Yin Hanjiang arrived at the back lines in a hail of blood swords. He saw the formation overflowing with spiritual energy created by the Spatial Transfer Flags, and used a portion of his swords to haul Altar Master Ruan to block the array’s focal point.

“Yin Hanjiang! I ain’t fucking your grandma! If we survive this, I’ll fucking fuck you, you just wait!” Altar Master Ruan cursed as he was tossed in the center of the array.

The only one in Yin Hanjiang’s eyes was Wenren È. For Wenren È, he could give his own life, the lives of other people, and even all lives on Earth.

Ruan Weiyi, tossed into the array, was forced to bring out his bonded weapon, the Xuanwu Shell[1]. A yellow-brown suit of armor surrounded his body like a tortoise’s shell, covering him on all sides, and his body grew until he could block the array.

At the same time, the blood swords condensed into nine, demonic energy surging around them, and they flew toward the nine cultivators’ dantians.

No one doubted the power of these swords. If they really pierced one’s body, even if the Violet Palace of the dantian was not destroyed, their bodies would be invaded by demonic energy.

The nine experts hurriedly used spiritual energy to protect themselves, but the nine swords split into two the instant before striking, the second charging toward the nine Spatial Transfer Flags.

No one had expected Yin Hanjiang would use the swords formed from his own flesh and blood to attack immortal artifacts.

The Spatial Transfer Flags were not quite immortal artifacts, but they surpassed the magic artifacts of the cultivation world and had room to grow. These kinds of magic items were known as near-immortal artifacts.

It was akin to striking a stone with an egg or meeting a blade with one’s flesh. After a deafening crash, Yin Hanjiang stood above Altar Master Ruan’s tortoise shell, dripping blood from wounds all over his body, nine tattered Spatial Transfer Flags in one hand.

“If you want to fight, then fight fairly!” Blood dripped from Yin Hanjiang’s mouth, but his voice rang over the battlefield. “The Xuanyuan Sect doesn’t fear attack. Our Venerable Lord welcomes any who dare to bring a challenge, but remember this: I, Yin Hanjiang, will not forgive any who try underhanded schemes on the battlefield to harm my lord!”

With a casual toss, the nine tattered flags fluttered to the ground. The nine cultivators watched Yin Hanjiang swaying on his feet, on his last legs, yet were unable to approach.

When faced with such resolution, whether from friend or enemy, one could only feel admiration.

With the Spatial Transfer Array broken, a weight fell from Yin Hanjiang’s chest. With spiritual energy unavailable to both sides, the Venerable surely wouldn’t lose.

The moment he relaxed, he fell heavily to the ground.

Altar Master Ruan’s shell dispersed and he slung Yin Hanjiang up with one hand, carrying him toward their own forces and cursing while he ran. “Motherfucker, I’ve lost centuries worth of spiritual essence in this fight. Yin Hanjiang, if you don’t fucking repay me when we get back, I’ll go find Shu Yanyan and learn the art of plucking and replenishing so I can personally suck you dry!”

Yin Hanjiang didn’t even hear Ruan Weiyi’s words. A weak smile came to his lips and he muttered, “Venerable… I won’t… let you die before me…”

“Fuck you!” Ruan Weiyi spat, hearing that.

With the Spatial Transfer Array broken, both sides were in the same position, and the victor of this battle was now indeterminable.

In the northern mountains, the demonic and righteous cultivators both retreated several meters, reassembling the battle formations that Yin Hanjiang had broken, deploying magic artifacts and preparing for the next clash.

Altar Master Ruan, with great effort, brought Yin Hanjiang back behind his own lines and tossed him at the Medicinal Hall’s master, saying, “Fix him up for me, and when he wakes up, I’ll kill him personally!”

He spat blood while he talked. The Medicinal Hall Master said while trembling, “Altar Master Ruan, you should come for treatment too. Your injuries are also severe…”

“Pah! I ain’t a weakling like Yin… Han…”

Before he could finish speaking, a purple robe flashed before him and he collapsed.

The feminine and androgynous-looking Altar Master Miao said to the Medicinal Hall Master, “I’ve put a heart-eating parasite in him, so he’ll be unconscious for now. Take the people who can be saved away for treatment, and when they’re half-healed, I’ll toss them back into the fight. No one who’s still breathing gets to slack off.”

The Medicinal Hall Master wiped sweat from his forehead. This wasn’t reasonable, all he needed to do was make Altar Master Ruan unconscious. There was no need for such a terrible gu insect[2] as a heart-eating parasite. If Altar Master Miao didn’t plan on removing it after the battle, Altar Master Ruan would be under his control forever…

“Hm?” Altar Master Miao raised an eyebrow at the Medicinal Hall Master.

His eyes seemed to say, this Master has been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time, so why are you questioning me?

The Medicinal Hall Master was scared of angering any of the Altar Masters, and led his apprentices to carry away the injured for treatment.

At this time, the twenty-one experts who surrounded Wenren È had also paused. The Jiuxing Sect Master said with concern, “When Polis acts, Alkaid will pave the way. The Spirit Transfer Array has now been broken. We indeed should’ve kept Alkaid here.”

Wenren È smiled in satisfaction and said, “Worthy of this Venerable’s vanguard.”

Yin Hanjiang used his every action to declare his loyalty to Wenren È.

“I never approved of such methods in the first place,” said the Tianjian Sect Master. “We’ve already mobilized twenty-one experts to surround Wenren È, so why do we need such arrays? We need only set up a barrier and directly attack.”

“You’re gravely wrong, Tianjian Sect Master,” said Wenren È. “Without that array, none of you are any match for this Venerable.”

“Amitabha.” The abbot of Wuxiang Temple took off his monk’s robe, revealing the dragon tattoo around half his arm. Divine light shone from his staff, and he said, his voice filled with compassion, “I wonder if adding this old monk will be enough?”

“You’re about there.” Wenren È smiled, as Polis under the support of Alkaid shone with unprecedented radiance in the sky.

Wind billowed Wenren È’s robes as fighting intent surged around him.

Even if a Mahayana cultivator didn’t have natural spiritual energy, their inner energy was near limitless. The war raged on for ten years.

For ten years, Baili Qingmiao and the other disciples with Yao Wendan collected countless corpses from their side. The dead outnumbered the injured, and the injuries sustained were more heavy than not. Those lightly wounded received some minor treatment, then had to return to the battlefield.

Both righteous and demonic sects sustained heavy blows in the war.

And as these cultivators lost their lives, the sun and stars were radiant, and the human world experienced ten years of prosperity, wars stopping and the dynasty entering a golden age.

After ten years, both sides had exhausted all their spiritual energy.

Qiu Congxue’s bony fingers dragged Shu Yanyan out of her halls of pleasure as she said coldly, “The time is near.”

Shu Yanyan put on her clothes and her veil, saying to Qiu Congxue, “I know, I’m a key link in this plan. Tell me, since there’s no spiritual energy on the battlefield, is everyone just spitting on each other?”

“Shut up.” Qiu Congxue had no desire to chat with Shu Yanyan and tossed her toward the Spirit Severing Array.

Shu Yanyan turned gracefully in midair and descended like a fairy before the array.

At the same time, Qiu Congxue lifted the blood mist. In the Spirit Severing Array, Hè Wenzhao saw the veiled woman smile at him and extend a hand, actually reaching through the barrier.

“How…” Hè Wenzhao never imagined that this barrier he’d steadily maintained for ten years was only by the allowance of the demonic sect, and they could’ve easily broken it at any time.

“Do you still remember me, dear Hè?” Shu Yanyan said in a soft voice, taking off the veil and showing him a warm and loving smile.

“M—Miss Shu…” Hè Wenzhao was stunned. He felt a pain in his dantian and looked down to see Shu Yanyan had already stuck her hand into it.

“Are you confused about how I can enter the barrier?” Shu Yanyan said with a laugh. “This Protector can naturally take back the essence she gives out whenever she wants. Don’t forget, we’ve dual cultivated for half a year and our essences are already completely intermingled. Our essences resonate with each other, and if I want to enter, you’re effectively a wide-open door for me.”

“Then, why did you drag it out for ten years…” Hè Wenzhao was unable to believe her words.

“That would be our lord,” Shu Yanyan sighed. “He said the Spirit Severing Array was a benefit, otherwise if we all used natural spirit energy to fight for ten years, the human world would be drained of spiritual energy, fields would be barren, and nothing would grow. Now everyone’s exhausted and unable to command too much spiritual energy, so it’s the perfect time to destroy the array!”

She tugged lightly with her hand and yanked Hè Wenzhao’s Nascent Soul[3] entirely out of his dantian. “What this Protector gives out must be paid back with interest. I’ll take your Nascent Soul in exchange.”

“Shu… have you… ever loved me?” Hè Wenzhao actually asked such a question as his Nascent Soul was pulled out of his body.

Shu Yanyan curled a lip and said coldly, “The art of plucking and replenishing is the same to me as you righteous cultivators taking in natural spiritual energy. Do you love the natural spiritual energy you cultivate with?”

Hè Wenzhao widened his eyes, as if completely unable to believe such heartless words.

“Ah, right,” Shu Yanyan said. “Even spiritual energy can be rich or sparse, pure or mixed. To this Protector, you’re like a particularly boring and self-important mass of spiritual energy, who can’t even match up to my darlings.”

With a harsh yank, she ripped Hè Wenzhao’s Nascent Soul from his body. Hè Wenzhao fell from the sky, and the Spirit Severing Array shattered.

Qiu Congxue’s hungry ghosts instantly entangled every disciple in the array.