Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 63 – Soul communion

Yao Jiaping hadn’t been skinned yet. Yin Hanjiang had asked for an intact skin, but Yao Jiaping’s throat had been pierced by him. In order to accomplish the task the new Sect Leader had assigned him, Shi Congxin first carefully treated Yao Jiaping’s injury with elixirs, then soaked him in medicinal water. Only after he soaked for forty-eight hours could the procedure to steal his skin be used, otherwise it might tear.

Shi Congxin had always been a follower in Xuanyuan Sect and never been entrusted with something this important. Today, Protector Shu and Altar Master Zhongli had been reprimanded by Sect Leader Yin while he had been given a task, so he actually felt rather cheerful.

Ever since he succeeded Qiu Congxue and took over the Hellfire Pavilion, Shi Congxin had been panicking. Altar Master Yuan, who had recommended him, had been killed by Sect Leader Yin for colluding with the righteous sects, and Protector Qiu had brought back a ghost cultivator with a flesh body named Su Huai, saying that when Su Huai’s cultivation improved, she’d help him remove Shi Congxin and take over the Hellfire Pavilion.

Plus, the new Altar Master Sect Leader Yin appointed, Zhongli Qian, saw Su Huai as his disciple. Shi Congxin had been shedding tears in his heart, afraid he’d be replaced any day. There was nothing good about being in a high position.

The tables seemed to be turning, though. Sect Leader Yin was starting to value him after taking over the sect. He was determined to impress Sect Leader Yin with his capabilities, cough cough!

Yet it hadn’t been six hours, and he’d just gotten Yao Jiaping soaked properly, when he received a message from Sect Master Wenren.

The Sect Master was back? Then who was he supposed to listen to now?

Shi Congxin was too scared to offend either of them. He had no choice but to pick up the half-dead Yao Jiaping and bring him to Wenren È.

For some reason, immediately after his return, Wenren È was in Altar Master Zhongli’s room. Were the two plotting together in order to take back the sect from Sect Leader Yin? It was time for him to make his stand, Shi Congxin decided. He had to convey this information to Sect Leader Yin, so he would be prepared. Then, when the time came, Qiu Congxue, Shu Yanyan, Zhongli Qian, and Su Huai would all… cough, cough!

While fantasizing, Shi Congxin walked into the room and saw Sect Leader Yin was heavily injured, lying in Wenren È’s lap. He started coughing harder.

“Shut up.” The Lord of Demons wore a blue robe, his imposing presence stronger than ever. He didn’t even glance at Shi Congxin, his eyes locked on Yin Hanjiang’s face, brushing his fingertips over the corner of Yin Hanjiang’s mouth.

The ever-vigilant Zhongli Qian pulled Shi Congxin aside and transmitted to him, “Don’t disturb the Sect Master right now. Yao Jiaping is still alive, right?”

He doesn’t want me to receive favor from the lord! Shi Congxin thought. But he still acted fearful as he transmitted back, “Thank you for your advice. He hasn’t died, cough cough.”

Zhongli Qian turned toward Shi Congxin. His eyes were blindfolded, yet Shi Congxin had a feeling like all his thoughts were exposed in front of him. It must be his imagination—it was just the moonlight shining through a window and illuminating Zhongli Qian’s face, that was giving him such a strange feeling.

Shi Congxin transmitted, “Why is Altar Master Zhongli looking at me like that? Is something wrong? Cough cough.“

“Nothing, I just didn’t expect your mental transmissions would also have coughing,” Zhongli Qian said.

Shi Congxin: …

I—it was just a habit! Since he cultivated the seven human sufferings, he naturally had to experience suffering at every moment. Even if his sickness qi had been sucked away by Baili Qingmiao, he at least had to act sick! Cough cough cough!

Shi Congxin avoided looking at Zhongli Qian, scared his intentions would be seen through. Staring at the Sect Master, he saw Wenren È dip his head, drawing closer and closer to Yin Hanjiang’s face, until Shi Congxin’s face and ears flushed red. He stared unblinking, trying to figure out what the Sect Master was actually doing, but Wenren È’s long hair slid down and blocked the two’s faces from view.

It took a while for Wenren È to raise his head again, and say in a deeply pained voice, “This Venerable was too hasty.”

Shi Congxin backed up into a corner. Terrified, he bit down on his fingers, not letting himself make any noise.

He had glimpsed a little through the Venerable’s hair. What was the Venerable doing? Sucking away Yin Hanjiang’s power? Altar Master Zhongli stood at one side and acted like he was blind—well, he was blind.

Wenren È didn’t give Shi Congxin a glance. He extended a hand at Yao Jiaping, who flew across the room to him. He planted his hand on Yao Jiaping’s skull and, with a casual yank, removed his soul from his body.

“This is…” Zhongli Qian couldn’t hold back his doubts.

“This Venerable learned this technique in the Blood Hell,” Wenren È said, distracted. “It can extract all of a person’s memories and abilities, and make them one’s own. It’s just an unorthodox technique, not worth mentioning.”

There were 180 thousand demonic gods sealed in the Blood Hell, so Wenren È hadn’t had an easy time of it for the past year and a half. The Blood Demon had destroyed the marks on his soul, which was equivalent to destroying a blood cultivator’s foundation, and he had also been impaled by the weapons of nine experts before falling into the Blood Hell. He had lost a lot of strength.

He’d been betting on that stone that had protected Baili Qingmiao in the book and helped her awaken her divine nature. As long as he obtained the divine blood, Wenren È could cultivate within the Blood Hell and absorb the chaos energy.

Indeed, after he obtained the divine blood, it shielded his soul, but simultaneously, the divine nature hidden at the bottom of the Blood Hell called to it, constantly dragging Wenren È toward the depths of the sea.

In that year and a half, Wenren È awakened to a path of divinity from the divine blood, absorbing chaos energy while resisting the divine nature.

Thousands of demonic gods drifted at the bottom of the Blood Hell, all desiring to kill Wenren È and return to the cultivation world in his place. Wenren È continued to advance in combat, killing many demonic gods and obtaining their techniques.

He’d wanted to return way earlier, but the divine nature tugged at the divine blood, preventing his escape.

It was only a few days ago that the power of the divine nature had suddenly weakened, and Wenren È had found his chance. Gathering all his power, he broke out of the Blood Hell.

Later, he learned from the book how Baili Qingmiao’s heart had been crushed at the Blood Hell. Having come into proximity of the divine nature, she fell under its control, becoming obsessed with ending her life. It was only when Yin Hanjiang’s killing intent woke Baili Qingmiao and her will strengthened, had the power of the divine nature and blood weakened.

Yin Hanjiang truly had done well. He didn’t turn Baili Qingmiao into lamp oil because of his resentment, and had even inadvertently awakened her will and given Wenren È a chance to escape the Blood Hell.

Yao Jiaping thought of himself highly, believing his medical skills were without competition. He never could’ve imagined that Wenren È would pay no mind to whether or not he was willing to treat Yin Hanjiang, only requiring his capability to do so.

It was also because Wenren È knew there was a cure for Yin Hanjiang’s inner demons that he suggested he could receive treatment first, then steal Yao Jiaping’s skin. But when he heard Yin Hanjiang’s reason, he hadn’t been able to control himself.

He had been too self-centered.

Wenren È calmly took in Yao Jiaping’s memories, skipping over his time with his lover, and how every time he saw a woman who resembled his lover, he would feel unbearable pain, and could only use a warm body to relive the time he spent with her. If you asked Wenren È, this was nothing but a defilement of their love.

No one could replace Yin Hanjiang. The very idea was an insult to him.

Quickly, he found a method to heal Yin Hanjiang.

Yin Hanjiang’s problem wasn’t with his body, but his heart. There was nothing wrong with his cultivation, his mental state just couldn’t control his level of power.

Immense power required immense mental fortitude. Once one’s mental control couldn’t keep up with their realm, they would suffer qi deviation. It usually came in two forms—going berserk, indiscriminately attacking anyone around them in order to relieve their rampaging spiritual essence; or suppressing their spiritual essence inside their bodies, so that it didn’t harm anyone else even as they suffered.

Yin Hanjiang was obviously the latter. Repression had just become a habit for him.

Such an injury needed to be attacked from two sides. He needed to sort out his spiritual essence, while at the same time use a soul communion technique to seek out the source of his suffering, and resolve his inner demons.

Fixing his spiritual essence would be easy. Wenren È’s chaos energy could transform into all other forms of energy, being their primordial form. However chaotic Yin Hanjiang’s spiritual essence was, it would behave in the face of Wenren È’s power.

Wenren È stuffed Yao Jiaping’s soul back into his body and tossed him to Shi Congxin again, so he could hurry up and use the skin stealing technique while the man was still breathing.

He gave Zhongli Qian a look, and Zhongli Qian quickly left the room, putting up an array behind him and leaving the space to the two of them.

Wenren È carefully laid Yin Hanjiang on the bed, and bent over him, until his forehead was pressed against Yin Hanjiang’s.

As he had no physical body right now, his body and soul were one and the same. In a flash of light, Wenren È vanished, leaving only his blue robe draped over Yin Hanjiang.

Yao Jiaping’s experience told Wenren È that he couldn’t heal Yin Hanjiang’s heart on his first try. He would have to use the soul communion technique multiple times, so this time, what he had to do was find what was making Yin Hanjiang lose control within his memories, and help him return to normal for now. Afterwards, he could continue on, filling Yin Hanjiang’s memories with “Wenren È isn’t dead”, “Wenren È loves you”, until when Yin Hanjiang finally accepted it, Wenren È could appear before him, and say those words in person.

He followed Yin Hanjiang’s memories to a few hours earlier, seeing his confrontation with himself.

This time, through Yin Hanjiang’s memory, Wenren È finally saw how many illusions were plaguing Yin Hanjiang at that time.

They each had different expressions, some loving, some cold, some calm, some overbearing. They all resembled the real person, but were missing something.

Seeing such a scene, Wenren È had to laugh, at Yin Hanjiang’s foolishness and his own arrogance.

Yin Hanjiang was seeing at least a dozen of him. In such a condition, how was he meant to distinguish which was real and which were fake? It was too difficult.

He saw how after the him in the memory confessed to Yin Hanjiang, Yin Hanjiang broke down. He could easily change the words he had said, but he didn’t.

He didn’t want to casually change Yin Hanjiang’s memories, and didn’t want to wipe away his own words. He wouldn’t touch anything that had already happened.

In the memory, Yin Hanjiang flipped through Abusive Romance, his mouth filling with blood, unable to see or hear. Only now, inside Yin Hanjiang’s soul, did Wenren È understand just how much agony he had been in at that point.

He hadn’t not wanted to believe, but it was impossible for him to. When he couldn’t trust his sight, hearing, and touch, how could he believe anything that happened to him?

Watching as he kneeled on the ground, reading, Wenren È walked up and put his arms around this Yin Hanjiang who finally neglected to hide his own weakness in front of him. He said quietly, “You can take me as an inner demon. I won’t force you to believe anymore. Right now, just allow me to say a few words, and just listen to me for a bit. Don’t push me away.”

The soul communion only affected the soul’s memories. Since everything had already happened, Yin Hanjiang wouldn’t fall apart further because of it. Yin Hanjiang paused, feeling the warmth of the person behind him.

Without anyone pushing him to believe anything, Yin Hanjiang leaned back against him and closed his eyes.

Wenren È tenderly kissed Yin Hanjiang’s forehead, holding his ice-cold fingers. “You don’t need to believe. But at least have some hope. Hope that I’m still alive, okay? Think about it, almost nothing in the world can harm this Venerable.”

Even hearing the words, “his Venerable was alive”, brought Yin Hanjiang unparalleled joy. With his eyes closed, he nodded obediently. “Mm.”

Seeing he was willing to believe this fact, Wenren È relaxed. Right now, Yin Hanjiang’s soul was wounded, so staying within it for too long would cause further damage. Realizing his time was almost up, but there were many things he hadn’t yet explained, he had an idea. “Yin Hanjiang,” he said quietly, “you opened the wrong page. When you wake up, open Abusive Romance and read the parts that this Venerable has changed.”

After saying those words, Wenren È left Yin Hanjiang’s body, returning to reality. After bringing Yin Hanjiang back to his room and gently laying him down on his bed, he left behind his three books and departed.

Baili Qingmiao had lost count of how many times she’d been scared awake. During the day, she’d been so terrified by Yin Hanjiang that her fever had worsened and she’d been having nightmares all this time. Right now, she finally felt a bit better and blearily got up, wanting to get a drink of water, but saw a shadowed figure standing at the head of her bed.

“S—Senior Wenren!” The sweat that had broken out across Baili Qingmiao’s body eased her fever a lot.

“This Venerable came in order to tell you something. You don’t need to understand, just hear it,” Wenren È said.

“I’m listening,” said Baili Qingmiao. “Senior Wenren, are you actually alive?”

“This Venerable is alive,” Wenren È said. “What this Venerable needs you to hear is, Wenren È loves Yin Hanjiang.”