Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 38 – Crane-Haired Wanderer

Wenren È had sealed his sense of smell, and did his best to not look at Yin Hanjiang.

In the last thirty years, he had not only failed to find a method to restore his body, but his desire for blood had grown over time. 

While he was cultivating, he had awakened to how to use the blood art on his own. One just needed to use the blood mist that composed their body to envelop the target and dissolve them, then direct the blood to flow into the patterns engraved on one’s soul. After circulating it through the body thirty-six times, the victim would be completely absorbed without a trace, and the entirety of their spiritual essence preserved.

A Mahayana cultivator, even if they had unparalleled aptitudes and boundless opportunities, would’ve taken at least a century to cultivate to that stage. Yet a blood cultivator could gain that power in just three days.

If someone practiced the blood art from Foundation Establishment and managed to consume enough cultivators, then before the year was out, they could become a Great Golden Immortal. In a decade, they could surpass the immortal realm and ascend to godhood.

Wenren È had said before that the “demon” in “demonic path” was distinct from true demons. What was truly a demon? If there was a single demon in a world, then all life within it would go extinct and the land would become barren. That was a demon.

In the myriad ways of cultivation, countless worlds had developed countless demons. During primordial times, the gods worked together to seal 180 thousand demonic gods. After sustaining losses that more than halved their numbers, they sealed them within the demonic realm, only connected to other worlds via the Blood Hell. No one could enter the Blood Hell and return.

Following Wenren È’s command, Yin Hanjiang left to verify Xuanyuan Sect’s roster with Altar Master Yuan. Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang usually didn’t pay attention to these unimportant masters and left managing personnel to the rather more shrewd Altar Master Yuan. Yin Hanjiang would need his help to find Cen Zhengqi.

After he left, Wenren È slowly turned around.

In these thirty years, he had hoped Yin Hanjiang would reach Mahayana and let go of attachments to the self and others, so he wouldn’t lose his mind if Wenren È died. That way, Wenren È could enter the Blood Hell without concern.

In the first volume of God of Annihilation, Hè Wenzhao plotted with the Blood Demon Elder and Cen Zhengqi. Together, they lured Wenren È to the Blood Hell with the news that Baili Qingmiao was in danger, and after a round of fighting, managed to knock him into the sea of blood.

It seemed some things were predestined. Wenren È was meant to enter the Blood Hell, and the Blood Hell was meant to be his grave.

He had avoided his destiny to be saved by Baili Qingmiao in the Great Sect War, and Baili Qingmiao had let go of Hè Wenzhao with the help of Zhongli Qian. Wenren È thought that after he had accomplished so much, fate would’ve been diverted a little. But he had made no progress in thirty years. It seemed he had no choice but to enter the Blood Hell.

Then was Yin Hanjiang’s madness predetermined too?

No, it couldn’t be. Wenren È looked down at his remaining hand and clenched his fist.

Polis would not fall, and Alkaid would not go mad. He would only allow Alkaid to fall with him. He had already told Yin Hanjiang he could accompany him after he died.

He had already prepared for the worst. Now he just needed to resolve some other problems before he left for the Blood Hell.

When he obtained God of Annihilation thirty years ago, he hadn’t paid much mind to the demonic sect traitor, Cen Zhengqi. He couldn’t remember this name no matter how much he thought. Xuanyuan Sect was big, with each of the Altar Masters and Protectors managing their own territory. Wenren È didn’t even know Shu Yanyan had a subordinate named Helian, so how would he remember a Cen Zhengqi?

He had sent Yin Hanjiang to search so he would be relatively nearby while not being by Wenren È’s side. That way, he could resist the blood arts’ temptation while making sure Yin Hanjiang didn’t feel abandoned.

Wenren È didn’t mind his subordinates being disloyal. Members of Xuanyuan Sect who didn’t want to become the Lord of Demons themselves weren’t worth much. But Cen Zhengqi had committed three unforgivable acts in the original story. First, he had helped Hè Wenzhao kill Shu Yanyan. Hè Wenzhao hated Shu Yanyan, and joining forces with the perfectly average-looking Cen Zhengqi, set a trap to do away with her. Second, he helped Hè Wenzhao eliminate opposition within the righteous sects, and put all the blame on Wenren È. Third, he killed Wenren È with Hè Wenzhao.

After Wenren È’s death, Cen Zhengqi took control of Xuanyuan Sect, while Baili Qingmiao and Hè Wenzhao ascended together. Who knew if the second volume would touch on the Xuanyuan Sect again, or how many of the Protectors and Altar Masters had ended up surviving?

Even if Wenren È wanted to go to the Blood Hell, he would enter it on his own terms, and not be pushed in by a backstabber.

The one in Xuanyuan Sect most suited to finding Cen Zhengqi, who wouldn’t let information leak, was Yin Hanjiang.

Yin Hanjiang visited Altar Master Yuan and obtained several ledgers of names. They were very thorough, even listing people who had already died when the old sect master was in power. Altar Master Yuan had also painstakingly recorded when they entered Xuanyuan Sect, who recruited them, and any changes in position in the intervening time.

“This old man entered Xuanyuan Sect three hundred years ago and became the Main Hall Master two hundred years ago. The records since then are all complete. From two hundred to three hundred years ago, everything’s recorded from memory and they can’t exactly be considered complete. Further back than three hundred years, there’s nothing.” Altar Master Yuan might’ve referred to himself as an old man, but in actuality he wasn’t old, just plump. He looked like a typical middle-aged man.

Yin Hanjiang carefully looked over the names and found no Cen Zhengqi. He returned the records from two hundred years ago to Altar Master Yuan and kept the incomplete register from three hundred years ago. He planned to check every name who had entered Xuanyuan Sect three hundred years ago and was still alive now.

“What does the Venerable need the register for? Can this old man lend a hand?” Altar Master Yuan said with a fawning smile.

“No need,” said Yin Hanjiang, rolling up the list. He had not, at any point, mentioned Cen Zhengqi.

If he was a traitor and had changed his name, then he would increase his vigilance if he heard it.

Yin Hanjiang first eliminated all the Nascent Soul and below names from the list. If your level was too low, you wouldn’t even have the chance to backstab in Xuanyuan Sect. Those who were still alive after more than two hundred years only consisted of the Altar Masters, the Sect Protectors, and some of their most trusted subordinates.

Qiu Congxue had been a ghost cultivator of the Hellfire Pavilion three hundred years ago. She didn’t have brains and couldn’t be much of a traitor, so could be crossed off the list. Shu Yanyan had joined a hundred and fifty years ago. Having been close to the old sect master, she was immediately made Right Protector, so she could be crossed off. Though, she had a subordinate called Helian Yi who had remained at Body Unity stage for many years. He had joined Xuanyuan Sect three hundred years ago and his record wasn’t very detailed. It was a bit odd that he had been content to be Shu Yanyan’s boytoy all this time.

The final candidates were Helian Yi and Altar Masters Miao, Ruan, and Yuan. None of them were convenient to investigate.

Yin Hanjiang returned to Wenren È and reported his findings. Wenren È was seated, reading Abusive Romance in one hand, and nodded slightly in approval.

Cen Zhengqi had made his debut a hundred years into the story, so it was possible he was yet to join. But these four suspects Yin Hanjiang had found couldn’t be overlooked either. They needed to be quietly monitored.

Aside from the traitor business, Wenren È also paid attention to Baili Qingmiao’s side of things.

Baili Qingmiao, Immortal Qingxue, and Zhongli Qian had wandered together for thirty years. From the book’s description, Qiu Congxue had dropped her cover multiple times, only remaining unnoticed because of Zhongli Qian covering for her and Baili Qingmiao being gullible. The plot had had no changes in thirty years, with the author only writing several chapters of slice of life. Even just reading, Wenren È broke into a sweat for Qiu Congxue’s sake. Zhongli Qian, on the other hand, was right there with her.

It seemed that his hair had turned white overnight twenty-two years ago. With white hair and a young appearance, he appeared even more like an immortal now.

Why did his hair turn white? The reason had to do with the “young”, “innocent”, “playful”, and “good-natured” new disciple of eighteen years old that Baili Qingmiao had taken in. Baili Qingmiao also had a fate with this disciple. Eighteen years ago, she’d passed by a village haunted by ghosts on her first outing from Shangqing Sect. She had helped exorcise the ghosts and thus delayed her arrival to the Thousand Mile Ice Plains for a few days, making Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang wait for her.

Eighteen years later, Baili Qingmiao coincidentally returned to the village and found a youth with a passion for practicing martial arts, who had managed to make it to Qi Refining stage without being taught, just a step away from Foundation Establishment. Baili Qingmiao, who had reached Deity Transformation by then, decided to take him as disciple upon seeing such incredible aptitude. While Zhongli Qian was busy helping Immortal Qingxue escape the righteous cultivators that had been chasing them down all this time, she helped the boy establish his foundation, and by the time Zhongli Qian returned, the boy had already kowtowed to her as master. Baili Qingmiao dragged him over to introduce him to Zhongli Qian and Immortal Qingxue.

With his spiritual cognition, Zhongli Qian could see that the boy was cheerful to Baili Qingmiao’s face, but behind her back, his expression turned dark and his eyes vicious. When Immortal Qingxue loudly praised the boy for being nice and obedient, immediately getting along with him, Zhongli Qian started getting a headache.

Baili Qingmiao had said, smiling, “Brother Zhongli, Su Huai was born the day I exorcised ghosts here. Maybe destiny is connecting us?”

Zhongli Qian instantly had misgivings and wanted to prevent her from accepting the boy, but he couldn’t go against Immortal Qingxue. He only sat meditating for a night, and the next day, the sun shone on his white hair.

Baili Qingmiao: …

“Brother Zhongli, was it that last night I was anxious about not being able to teach a disciple properly and stayed up the whole night? Did I make your hair turn white?”

Zhongli Qian slowly shook his head. After Baili Qingmiao had taken her disciple, she was only happily looking forward to their time together. She had stayed up worrying a whole night because Zhongli Qian had stayed up, looking up at the stars and thinking that he’d never be able to correct Baili Qingmiao’s ways. Baili Qingmiao was only anxious because he was anxious.

“Cultivators can change their own bodies after reaching Nascent Soul,” Zhongli Qian said. “Even if I was worried, my hair wouldn’t turn white from it.” He tied up his hair, fixing up his appearance.

The meaning of his words being that he’d made his hair white himself, and wasn’t planning to restore it for now.

Baili Qingmiao didn’t get it, and neither did the readers of Abusive Romance.

[This journey has been wild. Three people only have three eyes between them, so that’s at least one for each. But how come they collectively only have one brain? Isn’t Zhongli Qian overworked carrying the whole team?]

[Man, I was mistaken. I thought Qingxue was a good counterpart for the idiot protagonist with how domineering she was, but I didn’t know she’d take it this far. If they didn’t have Zhongli Qian with them, nothing would be standing in these two’s wake. The only thing keeping Qingxue from murdering everyone they meet or the two from being murdered is Zhongli Qian.]

[The more I read, the more I feel like something’s wrong with Qingxue? When the Nanguo clan sent out invitations to their newborn’s celebration, she toppled the Ghost Suppressing Stele in their back courtyard, exposing how the Nanguo clan extracted the spiritual roots of their bastard and branch children in order to give birth to an heir with a pure spiritual root, and letting loose a bunch of resentful child ghosts.]

[Isn’t that a good thing? Immortal Qingxue is such a charitable wandering immortal!]

[The problem is that she didn’t denounce the Nanguo clan alongside the righteous cultivators, but instead grabbed the clan head full of enthusiasm and asked how they raised such splendid resentful ghosts, and also whether or not he could give them to her. If Zhongli Qian hadn’t explained that she was joking, the righteous cultivators would’ve exorcised her along with the ghosts.]

[After hearing about the evil technique, she also looked at Baili Qingmiao with her eyes shining. That gave me chills at the moment. I was scared Baili Qingmiao would wake up one day with her spiritual root stolen.]

[I don’t believe it. Immortal Qingxue takes care of Baili Qingmiao the best. She had to have been trying to save those suffering children.]

[Are you as braindead as Baili Qingmiao? Even Zhongli Qian can see the problems with Qingxue and he’s blind. Can Baili Qingmiao donate her eye to him? Let my Qian see the light again!]

[I don’t care about Zhongli Qian and Qingxue fighting over Baili Qingmiao. There’s just one thing that’s been bothering me. Author, look up at your own title. ‘Abusive Romance: You Are the Unchanging One in My Heart’. How does this story fit this title anymore?]

[It’s a good thing that it doesn’t fit the title.]

[Yeah, it’s a good thing.]

Baili Qingmiao might’ve been mystified as to why Zhongli Qian’s hair was white, but Wenren È knew. He had used a technique for suppressing ghosts—Wordless Child.

This could only be learned by the four great clans, who studied Confucianism deeply. Those who used it would experience the vicissitudes of human society in a single night, their hair turning white as a result. After completing the technique, ghost cultivators would be scared to approach, suppressed by great virtues.

And indeed, after Zhongli Qian’s hair went white, Qingxue and Su Huai settled down a lot. Qiu Congxue, at least, was a flexible person who had learned from Zhongli Qian to think before she acted, and now first discussed with Zhongli Qian when anything came up. They wouldn’t end up pursued by dozens of righteous cultivators anymore.

After completing Wordless Child, Zhongli Qian decided to spread philosophy in his wanderings, teaching countryside children how to read and write. The three separate generations of Qingxue, Baili Qingmiao, and Su Huai also quietly obeyed him and helped him run his schools. After twenty years, Zhongli Qian awakened to his own Dao—to learn by teaching the people. He had managed to completely break free of the Zhongli clan’s fetters, ascending to Mahayana under his own power.

At Mahayana, he could easily will his hair to become black. But Zhongli Qian felt he looked more like a teacher this way, so kept his hair the way it was. He took the name Crane-Haired Wanderer[1], leaving his legacy in the cultivation world.

Over thirty years, the three had each made progress in their own way. Even Baili Qingmiao managed to become calmer after years of teaching. At last, the author seemed to remember that her novel was called Abusive Romance, and Baili Qingmiao received a message from her sect.

Elder Qingrong told her that the Sect Master, who had lain unconscious for many years, now only needed an elixir made of the Lockheart Herb to be cured. Shangqing Sect had learned that the Violet Spirit Pavilion, which had secluded itself from the world for many years, was in possession of this herb. Hè Wenzhao had gone to ask for it and had been given a lot of trouble by the Pavilion Master. It was feared that Hè Wenzhao would be rejected, so if Baili Qingmiao was willing, Elder Qingrong hoped she could go to help him.

Seeing the words “Hè Wenzhao”, Baili Qingmiao felt a pang through her heart which had been at peace for so many years.

Zhongli Qian sensed Baili Qingmiao’s pain and said calmly, “We can go together. You have to repay your masters and overcome your own trials. One can’t avoid their problems forever. After all this traveling, you might as well see if your mental state has matured.”

Since Zhongli Qian was already seen as the leader of the group, they all set off for the Violet Spirit Pavilion.

The Pavilion lay in the far north on True Yin Mountain, a neutral sect which hid itself from the world. They were a sect shrouded in mystery, who didn’t even join the Great Sect War.

The revision abruptly stopped here. Wenren È still remembered that wandering immortal of the Violet Spirit Pavilion whom he had beaten up once, and her possession technique.

Wandering immortals actually arrived at the same state as blood cultivators through different means. They discarded their flesh body for a purely spiritual existence and were not limited by the mortal world. Perhaps the possession technique of a wandering immortal could help him deal with a blood cultivator’s desire for blood.

Wenren È closed the book, deciding he should also set off for the Violet Spirit Pavilion.