Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 19 – A thoughtful subordinate

Baili Qingmiao’s master, Elder Qingrong, may have only been at Deity Transformation stage, but she was the same generation as Elder Qingxue. After hearing the wandering immortal wanted to take her as disciple, she hesitated for a moment, and after some thought, said, “At this moment, the most senior members of the Shangqing Sect are the Sect Master and me. If I were to become the nominal disciple of Elder Qingxue, you would become the Sect Master’s martial sister. I don’t have the authority to do something like that.”

In actuality, Qingxue being a wandering immortal meant she was entirely qualified to be considered senior to Elder Qingrong and the Sect Master. But she was a guest and Shangqing Sect could not allow an outsider to stand in a more senior position than the Sect Master.

Qingxue’s expression twisted and she started using her few remaining brain cells to weigh the possibility of getting rid of Elder Qingrong.

Fortunately, Elder Qingrong patted Baili Qingmiao on the head and said, “And I know Elder Qingxue does not actually wish to take me as disciple, but was only impressed by Qingmiao’s talent and unable to pass her up. Qingmiao, it is your great fortune that Elder Qingxue wishes to transmit her teachings to you, so there is no need to reject it. It would be awkward if she wanted you to become her sworn disciple, but as a nominal disciple, there’s no problem.”

“Mm, that’s fine,” said Qingxue.

Thus Baili Qingmiao entered seclusion with Elder Qingxue and rapidly reached Nascent Soul stage, becoming the rising star of Shangqing Sect’s next generation.

She wanted to visit her shixiong too, but Elder Qingxue was much more powerful than her and had set a barrier around their cultivation grounds, telling Baili Qingmiao that she wasn’t leaving until she could break it with her own power.

For the sake of seeing her shixiong, Baili Qingmiao dedicated herself to cultivating and made progress at breakneck speed, absorbing techniques and teachings like a sponge.

Wenren È: …

He flipped a few more pages, but the rest of the story was identical to the original, the two halves not matching up.

The last page had gained several more reviews, however.

[Extra, extra, the legendary trash novel writer has returned from the dead, and started a revision!]

[Me before reading the revision: Can this braindead story actually be revised? Probably just fixing typos. Me after reading the revision: Good shit!]

[Elder Qingxue is so badass! ‘Between a wandering immortal and a disciple who’s lost his Nascent Soul, everyone knows who deserves to be saved, where do you get the nerve to compare yourself to me?’ That line killed me, hahaha!]

[Don’t you guys think this Elder Qingxue’s appearance is too sudden? The MC originally should’ve saved the Demon Lord, but instead Wenren È got an earlier debut, and without a debt to the MC he didn’t care if she lived or died. Instead Elder Qingxue took his place and started putting down the male lead for her. I suspect that Elder Qingxue is a man in disguise. Look at her description, she’s half a head taller than Baili Qingmiao. Seems suspicious to me!]

[After seeing the above post, I suddenly want to see Elder Qingxue take off her clothes to be revealed to be bigger than the male lead, haha!]

[Don’t be so hopeful, you guys! Back when the MC saved Qingxue, she saw her body and she was definitely a woman. And besides, worst case the author could be setting up a storyline where the ML takes Qingxue into his harem, Qingxue and the MC become rivals, master and disciple turn on each other, and the author can torture the female lead even worse.]

[Well, from what we have so far, the revised story is pretty decent. I’ll wait and see.]

It seemed the changes made in this world would be reflected in the novel in the form of revisions. And the viewpoint was very limited, only focusing on Baili Qingmiao. Baili Qingmiao knew nothing about Wenren È’s blood cultivation or Yin Hanjiang reaching Void Boundary stage, so the book said nothing about it.

It indeed seemed reality was not set in stone. The world he lived in might appear to be a novel, but it did truly have its own existence. Each and every character, through their own thoughts and actions, could change the thoughts and actions of those in a higher plane. After Wenren È obtained Abusive Romance and started changing the plot, the author in a higher plane had probably decided to start revising the story out of the blue one day, inspiration flooding through their mind, and rewrote the first half to match the developments up to now.

The author would think it was their own ideas, but in actuality it was different worlds influencing each other.

After thinking this through, Wenren È could affirm his belief that, as long as the people in this world acted in rational and befitting ways, the story, which was to say, fate, could be changed.

He found the exact location of Baili Qingmiao’s seclusion in the book and after putting it away, hurried to Qingxue’s cultivation grounds.

Though they couldn’t fly within the bounds of the sect, they could ride flying boats to get from place to place, so Wenren È drove one to Frost Peak. Shangqing Sect greatly respected Elder Qingxue and gave her this entire mountain as a cultivation ground.

She was being treated pretty good. Wenren È’s expression darkened.

After arriving at Frost Peak, Wenren È disembarked and was immediately stopped by a barrier. Qingxue’s array prevented people from entering or even seeing inside.

A mere array was no obstacle to Wenren È. Even if he couldn’t unleash the blood arts within Shangqing Sect’s territory, he was highly skilled in arrays. He quickly found a weak spot and used Liu Xinye’s power to open an entrance barely big enough for one person, then strode in.

A moment after, the opening automatically sealed behind him.

“Who dares?” A tall woman in the robes of Shangqing Sect appeared in the air, glaring down at Wenren È.

“Indeed it’s you,” Wenren È said lightly, seeing her familiar face.

While reading the book, it was not hard at all for him to guess that Elder Qingxue was actually Qiu Congxue.

“Who are you?” Qiu Congxue drifted down, continuing to look down at “Liu Xinye” from her full height.

“Liu Xinye” stood with an aura of unruffled calm, hands behind her back, and said with a dignified air, “Altar Master Qiu of Xuanyuan Sect, if you wish to infiltrate the righteous sects, shouldn’t you at least remember the faces and names of each disciple in your sect first?”

Qiu Congxue was at the very least an expert of the demonic sects. Even if she didn’t have much intellect, she was very experienced. After scrutinizing Liu Xinye for a moment, she said, “You must be a demonic cultivator, using the Soul Puppeting technique or some other secret art to take over this disciple.”

Wenren È didn’t really have anything to discuss with this subordinate of his and after exposing her identity, continued with, “Whatever you plan to do at Shangqing Sect is of no matter to this Venerable. This Venerable only cares that you not do anything to Baili Qingmiao, as I have plans for her.”

“This Venerable? Wenren È!” Qiu Congxue exclaimed in shock. She initially backed up several steps out of caution, then stood her ground and said, “This is the Shangqing Sect’s territory, protected by an immortal artifact. Even you would be suppressed by its power! Since you borrowed this disciple’s body to infiltrate, you’ll be unable to exert your full strength. If I kill off this disciple and activate the sect’s array against you, you’re sure to sustain a heavy blow!”

After speaking, she struck without hesitation at Liu Xinye’s chest, showing no regard for the disciple’s life.

Wenren È smiled lightly. The Xuanyuan Sect was still as he knew it, a group of cold-hearted snakes who would betray anyone for their own ambitions.

After a glance at the array surrounding the mountain peak, he gathered blood mist around his body, and in a flash of crimson light, severed one of Qiu Congxue’s arms. It slowly dissipated into blood vapor, while the remainder of her arm began to dissolve as well. 

Qiu Congxue acted decisively and, taking out a large blade, severed her right arm from the shoulder, managing to stop the progress of the blood mist.

“The blood arts… you’ve actually used the Blood Severing Technique!” Qiu Congxue said in alarm. “So you’re not controlling this disciple from afar, you’re here in person!”

Her eyes darted back and forth as she formulated an idea. On impulse, she was about to open the barrier around the mountain peak.

“You’re thinking of opening the barrier and turning the main array of Shangqing Sect against this Venerable,” Wenren È said. “A blood cultivator would be the enemy of the entire cultivation world. If one was discovered in Shangqing Sect, all of the righteous sects would mobilize to kill him.”

Qiu Congxue wasn’t deterred by Wenren È seeing through her plan and was about to open the barrier anyway when “Liu Xinye” made a move toward her, and a hand made from blood vapor pierced through her chest. Qiu Congxue had just become a wandering immortal and was not yet familiar with using her immortal essence. She instantly sustained heavy injuries from that one attack.

“Altar Master Qiu, before you open the barrier, this Venerable can take your body, dissolve your soul, and make all of your immortal essence his own,” “Liu Xinye” said darkly. “It’s up to you how you should refer to this Venerable, and it’s up to you whether you open the barrier.”

Qui Congxue wiped the blood that had dripped down her chin and said with difficulty, “Venerable, this subordinate belongs to Xuanyuan Sect as a wandering immortal in life, and a ghost cultivator in death! I swear absolute loyalty to the Venerable!”

“That’s better.” Wenren È withdrew his hand and the blood mist vanished back into Liu Xinye’s body. “Deal with your own wounds,” he said coldly. “As a wandering immortal, these flesh injuries should be nothing to you.”

“This subordinate thanks the Venerable for his mercy,” Qiu Congxue said. “This subordinate is fine.” Even as she spoke, the gaping hole in her chest grew in size, but she stubbornly acted as if it didn’t bother her.

“This Venerable’s subordinates certainly are talented,” “Liu Xinye” said with a cold sneer.

Qiu Congxue disregarded the scorn and quickly took a healing elixir. She was an experienced demonic cultivator, and no one among her station would say empty words without the strength to back them up. You could only make it in the world by understanding which way the wind blew.

After much difficulty, she managed to fix her arm and the hole in her chest and got down on one knee, bowing her head and no longer daring to look down on “Liu Xinye”. Even if the Venerable was in a shorter body than hers, a subordinate could not make their master look up at them.

“You don’t need to be concerned,” said Wenren È. “Just stay at Shangqing Sect as a sect elder. I see you’re doing very well for yourself. However, I have need of Baili Qingmiao today for a minor errand. Make an excuse that you’re taking her to gain experience and bring her down the mountain.”

“Your subordinate understands.” After some hesitation, Qiu Congxue said, “Venerable, as Baili Qingmiao is your favored disciple, it’s improper for this subordinate to take her in. How about this subordinate slaughters the Shangqing Sect and leaves her without a home, and if you then save her, she’ll naturally accept you as her master.”

Wenren È: …

He was the Lord of Demons, but the way his subordinates thought always managed to surprise him.

“That isn’t necessary. This Venerable is indeed impressed by her aptitudes, but I have no need to take her as disciple. I just wish for her to become sufficiently powerful.” He didn’t bother explaining why. In any case his subordinates always came up with reasons for him.

Indeed, Qiu Congxue said, “I see, the Venerable wishes to train a worthy opponent in order to raise his own realm. This subordinate understands, and will make sure to raise Baili Qingmiao well.”

“…Mm, as long as you understand,” Wenren È said.

As they were conversing, a figure emerged from the cultivation chamber and descended before Qiu Congxue, saying, “Master, this disciple has already learned the Principles of Array Formation and has come to test the barrier.”

It was indeed Baili Qingmiao, and only after reporting to Qiu Congxue did she turn around to see the person with her master. Upon seeing it was Liu Xinye, her expression stiffened.

Liu Xinye wasn’t a fan of Baili Qingmiao, and Baili Qingmiao wasn’t an ass-kisser. Since Liu Xinye also liked her shixiong, she had always resented her.

After shrinking behind Qiu Congxue’s back, she poked out her head and said, “Master, are you also going to take Liu Xinye as a nominal disciple? Eh? Master, why are you squatting?”

Qiu Congxue couldn’t let Baili Qingmiao see her kneeling, but she also didn’t dare stand taller than Wenren È, so she could only half squat on the ground, completely disregarding how improper it looked.

“This is the horse stance,” Qiu Congxue explained. “Even if we cultivators have great spiritual powers, we can’t neglect our physical prowess. That way, we can be prepared for any situation.”

“I see!” said Baili Qingmiao, nodding. “Thank you for the instruction.”

Qiu Congxue, noticing Wenren È’s gaze upon her, immediately said, “Baili Qingmiao, you can exit seclusion. You’re going on a trip to the Golden Coast Cliffs.”

“Really?” Baili Qingmiao said cheerfully. After fiddling with her fingers, she asked, “Then, can I go visit shixiong before I go?”