Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 52 – Tidying up the sect again

A fierce four-sided battle was currently going on at the Xuanyuan Sect Main Hall.

Altar Master Miao was trying to convince Altar Master Shi to fight Altar Master Ruan, Altar Master Shi was giving up and not helping either side, Altar Master Ruan wanted to team up with Qiu Congxue, but Qiu Congxue was determined to take all three on at once. Finally, it developed into a scene where Altar Masters Miao, Shi, and Ruan teamed up against Qiu Congxue, while Miao and Ruan took potshots at each other from time to time, and Shi hid whenever he could.

Suddenly, a streak of cold light shot into the room. An earthshaking force caused the four to instantly stop and back off, trying to flee as quickly as possible. However, three streaks of fierce sword light slashed through the place where they were fighting. The tortoise shell that Altar Master Ruan hadn’t had time to pick up was split into pieces in an instant.

Altar Master Shi clutched his chest in terror. Good thing he was quick at hiding, because the sword light was vicious, able to split your flesh open at a touch. The attacker hadn’t held back in the least, as if they didn’t care which of them were cut apart by the slash.

Wondering who was so merciless, Shi Congxin peeked out and saw Deputy Sect Leader Yin, wearing a crimson robe, with a silver belt that outlined the slim shape of his waist.

“Yin Hanjiang, do you want to die?” Altar Master Ruan yelled, looking heartbrokenly at his tortoise shell. “Do you also want to become the Lord of Demons? Come on! Whoever’s stronger will—”

Yin Hanjiang waved a hand. Translucent qi in the shape of a drumstick smacked into Altar Master Ruan’s chestplate.

Altar Master Ruan’s armor was said to have been made from the Xuanwu’s shell, and was a top-grade defensive item, stronger than many smaller sects’ wards. However, under Yin Hanjiang’s strike, his chestplate shattered in an instant. It felt like his chest had been hit by the weight of an entire mountain. He flew out of the room, and might’ve gone much further if the sect’s array didn’t block him.

When he crawled back up the mountain, covered with dust, he heard Yin Hanjiang’s cold voice echoing across the Main Hall. “After Wenren È, no one can be titled Venerable.”

“What do you mean?” Qiu Congxue said furiously. “Now that Wenren È’s dead, it’s no issue if you want to become the Lord of Demons, you just gotta fight for it. But if you don’t want it, what gives you the right to stop other people?”

Shu Yanyan, who had rushed over when the array was broken: …

“I thought I’d be in time to save her,” she said to Zhongli Qian. “Oh well. Might be better for her to get a beating.”

She grabbed for Zhongli Qian’s hand, deciding to back off, but reached for empty air. Turning, she saw that Zhongli Qian, who had been alongside her the whole way, had already backed a hundred meters away with Su Huai.

Shu Yanyan: …

This man with both looks and brains certainly never missed anything.

She retreated plenty fast, but was still hit by a flying Qiu Congxue. Her soft body caught Qiu Congxue’s rack of bones.

Shu Yanyan had brought out her spider lily, preventing her from being sent flying all the way to the mountain’s array like Altar Master Ruan. She managed to stand back up, tossing Qiu Congxue aside. After looking more closely, she saw Qiu Congxue really was on her last legs, and the remaining flesh on her face was also gone.

She said to Qiu Congxue, “Ah, you find trouble everywhere you can, and never learn your lesson until you get hurt.”

She placed a slim foot on Qiu Congxue’s face, her eyes curving into a smile. Spider lilies bloomed around Altar Masters Shi and Miao, displaying a clear threat.

After she had held back the other two Altar Masters, Shu Yanyan got to one knee respectfully before Yin Hanjiang. “This subordinate greets Sect Leader Yin.”

Seeing the states Altar Master Ruan and Protector Qiu were in, and how Shu Yanyan threw in the towel immediately and had no intention of joining forces with them, Altar Masters Shi and Miao had no choice but to recognize Yin Hanjiang, even if they were unwilling.

Without any resistance, they knelt obediently alongside Shu Yanyan.

Yin Hanjiang landed on the ground. He glanced at Shu Yanyan and immediately closed his eyes. He hadn’t had contact with anyone over this past year, yet he saw phantoms of Wenren È whether his eyes were open or closed. Now everyone he saw looked like Wenren È, and even Shu Yanyan bore his face. It was truly improper.

“Ah,” Zhongli Qian sighed quietly. He told Su Huai, “Take your martial ancestor back for healing. She can go next to your master.”

Su Huai went over to pick up Qiu Congxue. At this point, she only had a skeleton left, and it was unknown how long it would take her to recover.

Shu Yanyan also had her subordinate Helian Chu take Altar Master Ruan away, and ordered people to clean up the Main Hall. Qiu Congxue and the rest had been fighting here for months, so it was a mess, and Shu Yanyan had been too lazy to fix it. After all, it’d be broken in a few days anyway.

After Yin Hanjiang had crushed them under his heel, the Main Hall could finally be at peace. Shu Yanyan finally sent her subordinates to sort it out.

Yin Hanjiang saw that the Main Hall doors had been smashed, the hall, as well as Wenren È’s room had been covered with dust, and a beam had fallen on Wenren È’s bed. He waved a hand and sent Altar Master Miao flying, to join Altar Master Ruan and Qiu Congxue.

Altar Master Shi, who rarely acted, shrank into himself and followed Yin Hanjiang, trembling.

Yin Hanjiang raised his voice so that it reached every corner of the hall. “You all can continue to fight in the Main Hall as usual, but from now on, however many stones you smash and however many beams you break, I’ll break that many bones and meridians!”

He waved a hand, having the Army Crushing Spike return to his grasp. Its vicious edges chilled everyone who saw it to their core. This was the weapon who had stripped all the flesh off Qiu Congxue in an instant, with the proficiency of a master butcher.

With Qiu Congxue’s bloody body as an example, no one dared to revolt. Altar Master Yuan’s former subordinates also stopped their infighting, obediently casting spells to clean and fix up the place. In less than two hours, the Main Hall was repaired.

“Ven—Sect Leader Yin, should the head seat be changed?” One of Altar Master Yuan’s subordinates asked warily.

“No need,” Yin Hanjiang said.

“Then should Sect Master Wenren’s furniture be changed? Will Sect Leader Yin be moving into his room?”

“Of course n—” Yin Hanjiang was going to refuse, but hesitated. He pressed his lips together and said, “You can leave it the way it was. Where I stay isn’t any of your business.”

After cleaning up the Main Hall in accordance with Yin Hanjiang’s orders, they all retreated, leaving only Zhongli Qian and Shu Yanyan. Having been there during Yin Hanjiang’s battle with Altar Master Yuan, Shu Yanyan felt rather wary. She took a step back and didn’t speak, leaving everything to Zhongli Qian.

Yin Hanjiang paid no attention to the two. He stared at the chair Wenren È usually sat on, unwilling to take it.

He had always stood to the left of that chair.

Zhongli Qian noticed he was standing still and spoke to remind Yin Hanjiang. “Sect Leader Yin, I’ve been staying at Xuanyuan Sect for these past months because Sir Wenren asked me a favor. There are some words I need to pass on to you.”

Hearing Wenren È’s name, Yin Hanjiang froze. Standing before the seat, he said coldly, “What words?”

“Sir Wenren said, ‘This Venerable must go to the Blood Hell, and I have some certainty of my survival. For the moment, Yin Hanjiang need not accompany me. If this Venerable does not return for one year, you can erect a cenotaph, and decide on your own whether to follow this Venerable or do something else.’ Those were his exact words, not one is missed.”

Zhongli Qian couldn’t see Yin Hanjiang’s expression, but he could sense his emotions. These past few months, he had also thought it was silly for him to remain at Xuanyuan Sect. A year had passed, and these words were already meaningless.

Even so, Zhongli Qian still had to fulfill his promise, and wait for Yin Hanjiang’s return to pass these words on to him.

“I can erect a cenotaph after one year….” Yin Hanjiang clutched his chest, feeling like it was rotting inside, the pain unbearable.

He rested a hand on the armrest of the chair for a long while. Finally, he slowly sat down on the chair that symbolized the supreme authority in Xuanyuan Sect.

“I won’t erect one right now,” Yin Hanjiang said through gritted teeth. “I’ll kill Hè Wenzhao and the other people who ambushed him that day, and offer their souls to my Venerable!”

Hearing his bloodthirsty words, Zhongli Qian had to advise him, “Sect Leader Yin, Sir Wenren could’ve entered the Blood Hell at any time, but he wanted the righteous sects to think he was the Blood Demon, in order to unmask the true Blood Demon inside Hè Wenzhao before the righteous and demonic paths. Sir Wenren has said that once a blood cultivator begins consuming souls, they won’t be able to stop. The Blood Demon will need five years to completely absorb the seventeen cultivators’ powers. After five years, he’ll start killing again, so we’ll be able to act then. I beg Sect Leader Yin to endure for now, and not fail Sir Wenren’s plan.”

Shu Yanyan watched as Yin Hanjiang’s expression became darker and darker. Only when Zhongli Qian mentioned not failing Wenren È did Yin Hanjiang manage to restrain himself. Shu Yanyan was worried. Yin Hanjiang could control his darker nature now because of Wenren È’s words, but after he completed his revenge, there might be nothing in the world to restrain Yin Hanjiang.

“I understand.” Yin Hanjiang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “The Venerable is compassionate and thinks only of mortal lives. He doesn’t care who harms him, but I’m not like that.”

Compassionate? Shu Yanyan stared blankly. Who was Yin Hanjiang talking about again? Wenren È? Did he misunderstand Wenren È?

While she wondered, she saw Yin Hanjiang gripping the armrests tightly. “I can wait five years, but I won’t do nothing in that time.

“I remember all nine experts there that day. They were from Shangqing, Tianjian, Jiuxing, Biluo, and Wuxiang, the five great sects, as well as the Gongxi, Liangqiu, and Nanguo clans. I’ve killed the Nanguo clan elder, so eight remain. I’ll gift them all to the Blood Demon Elder!”

Shu Yanyan had guessed what Yin Hanjiang would do. With a gulp, she said, “Sect Leader, at our current strength, Xuanyuan Sect can’t take on so many sects and cultivation clans at once. Also… also, Shangqing Sect is holed up behind its wards, which you failed to break last time.”

The Great Sect War was one thing, but to destroy a rooted sect was another. Almost every sect and clan was warded by immortal artifacts. If they really hid shamelessly, it would be very difficult to snatch an elder or disciple from within a sect.

Yin Hanjiang said expressionlessly, “The larger sects have many branches, so there are always bound to be some disciples traveling outside. We’ll lie low for a few years, using soul puppeting, gu parasites, or curses to control them, then use them to lure in the experts of their sect and crush them one by one.”

Hearing his words, Zhongli Qian immediately said, “Sect Leader Yin, I’ve passed on the message, and the rest of this is Xuanyuan Sect affairs, so I don’t wish to get involved. I have already troubled Xuanyuan Sect for many months, so I think—”

Yin Hanjiang interrupted him. “Sir Zhongli is clever and the Xuanyuan Sect currently lacks an Altar Master. Since you’ve already troubled us for a year, why don’t you just stay? Protector Shu, prepare a residence for Altar Master Zhongli.”

Shu Yanyan’s eyes brightened and she eagerly said, “This subordinate understands!”

Zhongli Qian: …