Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 7 – Battle with a wandering immortal

Baili Qingmiao was not a suspicious person by nature, and believed what people told her. This inclination somewhat had to do with her position in her previous life. Back then no one dared to lie to her face, and her vast power also meant she didn’t need to worry whether other people were telling the truth or not. She didn’t care to hear a word either way. Due to that, in this life she had no ability to distinguish a lie.

She never considered that this senior who had suddenly shown up could have harmful intentions toward her. His powers were vast and he could kill this little junior by lifting a hand, so what need was there to scheme against her?

When the Flame Feather Cloak vanished, she didn’t think much of it, just assumed that the cold of the Ice Plains was too fierce and the cloak had run out of spiritual energy and vanished, or some powerful creature that lived in the Ice Plains had stolen it away without her noticing.

She used her spiritual energy to warm her body and continued forging through a field of endless white.

Baili Qingmiao had no idea where to find the Snow Flame. She just knew that that senior had advised her to wander around and follow her intuition, and she was sure to find it one day.

The Thousand Mile Ice Plains were buried in snow year-round. In daytime, the sky was blanketed in grey clouds, and at night, the light reflected off the snow was almost as bright as day, so it was difficult to tell time. Baili Qingmiao didn’t know how long she’d been walking. She had shed tears multiple times, but she didn’t give up once.

Shangqing Sect taught its disciples to uphold their promises. Baili Qingmiao had already agreed to this for her seniors, so she couldn’t break her word.

Without the Flame Feather Cloak, Baili Qingmiao very soon collapsed into a snowdrift. Fluffy flakes of snow floated down from the sky. Slowly, she reached out her numb fingers to catch the falling flakes.

Shangqing Sect was located south of the Yangtze River, in the area richest in spiritual energy in the Nine Provinces[1]. It had mild seasons and little snow. Baili Qingmiao’s only impression of snow was during her sixteenth birthday, when flurries had filled the sky, but melted into the dirt when they landed. She hadn’t seen snow before and reached out a hand, but only felt the cold water it melted into.

Baili Qingmiao was sitting on the stone steps of the sect and pouting, staring into the air. Hè Wenzhao, who was on patrol duty that day, saw his shimei sitting in the snow hugging her knees, the end of her yellow dress stained with mud, and had to ask, “Baili-shimei, why are you sitting here?”

“I’m watching the snow,” Baili Qingmiao said unhappily. “It’s so pretty, but it melts so quickly. I can’t see the ground covered with snow. It’s not fair.”

Hè Wenzhao smiled at her, and said to his juniors patrolling with him, “How are your freezing spells? Since it’s snowing today, it’s a good chance to practice.”

He had a dozen or so disciples simultaneously use the freezing spell. Frosty air blanketed the ground in front of Shangqing Sect’s gates, preventing the snowflakes from melting. Flake after flake landed on Baili Qingmiao.

“Happy birthday, shimei,” Hè Wenzhao said with a warm smile.

Baili Qingmiao, hearing the sound of falling snow and the loud pounding of her heart, realized at that moment how much she liked her shixiong.

The snow of the Ice Plains wouldn’t melt without a freezing spell. It fell gently, slowly burying Baili Qingmiao until the spot of bright yellow was no longer visible.

Baili Qingmiao closed her eyes in the snowdrift. With tears frozen on her face, she sobbed quietly. “Shixiong…”

A voice sounded by her ear. “What a besotted little girl. Are you thinking of your lover?”

The voice was cold like an icicle falling in the distance, belonging to a woman.

Baili Qingmiao’s face was numb from cold. She worked her mouth and said silently, “Shixiong…”

As her consciousness slowly faded, a ray of brilliant light appeared in her sight, and a gentle warmth enveloped her. From somewhere deep within the ground, a ball of flame rose up. Baili Qingmiao opened her eyes and saw a lick of flame appear in her outstretched palm, warming her limbs and body, yet the nearby snowflakes didn’t melt.

It was the Snow Flame!

It seemed this mystical flame really was hidden in the snow, and she could only find it when she was buried in the snow herself.

Baili Qingmiao’s spiritual energy was restored. Cupping that lick of flame in her palm, she climbed out of the snowdrift, and saw that in front of her, the wind and snow solidified into a woman in white. She had white hair and brows and lustrous skin like snow. Even her eyes were a pure white, with no pupils.

She may have been a person, but she seemed more like a sculpture made of ice and snow.

Translucent fingers brushed Baili Qingmiao’s cheek and the voice came again. “Sweet girl, take the Snow Flame to see your beloved. But you must give your word—if someday your love betrays you and your heart turns to ash, you must come back and stay with me.”

“Forget it!” a voice rang out. At the same time, the Snow Flame in Baili Qingmiao’s palm was transferred to that person’s hand.

Wenren È took possession of the Snow Flame, having figured out the situation. It turned out Baili Qingmiao only needed to be buried in the snow and visualize her true love Hè Wenzhao for it to appear. With a body in cold frost but a heart seeking warmth, that single ember in the midst of the endless fields of ice would be able to call forth the Snow Flame.

But what about this woman before him? She hadn’t appeared in the book.

When the woman in white saw Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang come forward, one of her arms suddenly turned into a blizzard of howling snow, gathering into a vortex and aiming straight at Yin Hanjiang’s chest.

The whirlwind was impossibly quick, and before Wenren È could raise a sleeve to block it, it had engulfed Yin Hanjiang and carried him into the sky. The snowflakes transformed into innumerable blades of ice, drawing lines of blood across his face.

“Senior!” Baili Qingmiao cried in shock, and hurriedly beseeched the woman in white. “This senior, please, those two are my companions. I was retrieving this Snow Flame for them, they didn’t take it from me!”

Though Yin Hanjiang was being attacked, Wenren È had not moved an inch, and only Baili Qingmiao was frantically running around.

In the air, Yin Hanjiang unsheathed his sword and let it merge into his body. In an instant, Yin Hanjiang’s body split into countless streaks of blood-red light. Looking closely, one could see that they were actually innumerable red swords. At the tip of each blade, a gap was opened in the wall of wind and snow.

Under the assault of the crimson light, the blizzard formed from the natural energy of the Ice Plains was slashed apart. After breaking through the snow, the flurry of blood swords circled once around Wenren È, and then gathered together behind his back, solidifying again into Yin Hanjiang with the Flame Feather Cloak draped over his shoulders.

“Huh?” Baili Qingmiao stared blankly at the cloak he was wearing.

The woman in white slapped her on the head. She pointed at Yin Hanjiang. “Are you silly? These two’s powers are higher than yours. Why would they need you if they wanted to come to the Thousand Mile Ice Plains? They clearly knew of my preferences and put your life on the line to lure me out! Do you really think they care whether you live or die?”

“No! Senior, you’re mistaken!” Baili Qingmiao believed both sides’ words and trusted they were all good people, and this was just a misunderstanding. She spread out her arms and stood in front of Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang, forbidding the woman from harming them.

The woman in white had possibly never met such a silly girl. She waved a sleeve of snow and tossed Baili Qingmiao to one side. “Get lost!”

Baili Qingmiao had been thrown into an ice wall and turned into a wall relief, still maintaining her protective pose with both arms out and concern in her eyes.

Wenren È scrutinized Baili Qingmiao’s expression and posture and felt he’d finally answered one of the questions that had been plaguing him.

There were many scenes in the book of Baili Qingmiao throwing her arms out to block an attack for Hè Wenzhao, Wenren È, Zhongli Qian, and various other people. Wenren È really couldn’t understand the thought process of the female lead while he was reading, and thought this depiction was completely illogical. All of the people Baili Qingmiao wanted to protect had stronger cultivations than her. No one would use a Foundation Establishment body to protect a Mahayana-stage cultivator. This was sillier than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Now that Baili Qingmiao had jumped in front of him for just that purpose, Wenren È understood that this was really something the female lead was capable of.

But it was still inexplicable.

Black robes billowing around him, the Lord of Demons transformed into a ray of light and appeared in front of Baili Qingmiao. With a tap of his finger, the ice wall shattered and Baili Qingmiao tumbled out from within, falling into the snow. She clutched her heart in shock and said to Wenren È, “Many thanks, senior.”

Wenren È didn’t need her thanks. Looking down at her, he said, “Do you know my realm?”

“I’m not sure, perhaps Nascent Soul?” Baili Qingmiao said hesitantly. Her master was at Deity Transformation stage, and in Baili Qingmiao’s mind, no one could be stronger than her master, so this expert must be at Nascent Soul stage.

“Mahayana,” Wenren È said slowly.

Baili Qingmiao’s eyes went blank, completely unable to comprehend the realm Wenren È was talking about.

“Why is a merely Foundation Establishment-stage ant thinking of protecting me, at Mahayana stage?” Wenren È said.

Baili Qingmiao shook her head. “I—I didn’t think it over at the time. I just rushed forward.”

Wenren È didn’t think this was much of an answer, but Baili Qingmiao really did seem like she was lacking in brains, so he could only reluctantly accept it. “Next time you try to take a hit for someone, even if there isn’t time to think, at least count down from three in your head before you rush in. You probably can’t manage to think before you act, but you can start by learning to count.”

“Oh.” Baili Qingmiao was so berated by Wenren È’s toneless words that she couldn’t look up. Hanging her head, she recorded his words into her memory.

Some distance away, Yin Hanjiang was fully occupied with fighting the snow woman. The reason Wenren È could approach Baili Qingmiao without any interference was all because Yin Hanjiang was keeping her away.

The woman turned into countless snow flurries, surrounding Yin Hanjiang, who once more turned into swords and began skirmishing with her. The Ice Plains instantly became a subzero hell, and Baili Qingmiao saw a piece of her robe that landed on the ground immediately shatter into pieces. The current temperature was probably dozens of times colder than when she was buried in the snowdrift.

In the midst of the howling blizzard, only the area in which Wenren È was standing remained calm, like a paradise in a different realm.

Mixed in with the wind was a voice, howling alongside the storm into everyone’s ears. “A mere Body Unity stage who picked up a demon sword from who-knows-where thinks he can fight me? Even your Mahayana stage master is nothing to me!”

At her words, the attacks of the blood swords became more vicious. Of the swords guarding Wenren È, half of them buried deep into the snow. When the woman tried to call up the power of the Ice Plains, torrents of snow exploded from her body and burst from the ground, along with her blood-curdling cry.

Crimson blood dotted the white expanse.

Wenren È reached out and caught a drop of blood. He clenched his fist, veins popping out on the back of his hand and moving under his skin like green snakes.

Fury filling his chest, he raised his voice. “Come back!”

At his command, the blood swords flew to Wenren È, dropping to the ground and transforming into a half-kneeling Yin Hanjiang.

Wenren È grabbed his shoulder with one hand. One of Yin Hanjiang’s hands and feet were missing. When Yin Hanjiang was fused with the demonic sword, each sword was made from part of his body. The swords that had just blown apart the snow were his hand and foot.

“Ah! You’re hurt!” Baili Qingmiao frantically took out a handkerchief and tried to bind Yin Hanjiang’s wounds, but Wenren È shoved her aside with a burst of energy.

“Absorb the Snow Flame. I will protect you.” Wenren È opened his palm, and the flame materialized before Yin Hanjiang.

“But…” Yin Hanjiang glanced at the snow flurries that were currently trying to solidify again, and his eyes dimmed. He hadn’t been able to kill the woman with that one attack.

Wenren È didn’t give Yin Hanjiang any more chances to argue. He slapped his palm on Yin Hanjiang’s head and sent the Snow Flame into his body through his Baihui acupuncture point. After the Snow Flame entered his body, Yin Hanjiang must circulate his spiritual essence to absorb it, or waste the Venerable’s efforts.

He couldn’t go against the Venerable’s orders, so sat cross-legged on the spot to meditate.

By now, the snow swirling in the sky formed into a woman smaller than before, and her voice now carried a tone of rage. “A mere Body Unity stage, yet you managed to harm me?”

Wenren È’s robes billowed in the wind. A frosty light shone in his hand and formed into a black halberd. With a sky-rending thrust, it drove into the woman’s body.

The woman’s body dispersed in midair and the entire Ice Plains trembled. The near kilometer-thick layer of ice under it shattered, and thousands of tons of snow were blasted into the sky, to fall down again and stir white flurries into the air. Baili Qingmiao huddled close to Yin Hanjiang, feeling like she was a tiny bird beneath the vast heavens, her feathers nearly blown off by the snow, whimpering and shivering in the Thousand Mile Ice Plains.

She couldn’t see her surroundings clearly; the only thing visible in the snow and mist was Yin Hanjiang by her side. Trying to look into the mist, she found that, after a while, all that filled her eyes was a haze of white.

It was snow blindness—she’d hurt her eyes by looking at the snow too long.

Baili Qingmiao quickly closed her eyes, curling up in the snow and listening to the wind howl around her.

After some time, she heard Wenren È’s unwaveringly steady voice. “Wandering immortal? Do you think being a wandering immortal puts you above others? Without the Ice Plains, you’re absolutely nothing!”

Again the sounds of combat followed. Baili Qingmiao used her spiritual energy to heal her eyes and after a moment, felt she could see again. She opened her eyes and got a shock from the landscape around her.

There was no more Thousand Mile Ice Plains and woman made of snow. Only Wenren È facing off against a blue-robed woman above a field of bubbling magma.

Where… where was the snow?

The blue-robed woman bore the same features as the snow woman, but she had the complexion of a living person and black hair and eyes. She was clutching her chest, blood dripping from a corner of her mouth, looking heavily injured.

Wenren È held his halberd in one hand. It was the same gold-threaded black as his robe, though now Baili Qingmiao could see that the dark gold patterns on his robes and halberd linked together to form a diagram of the star Polis[2]. As gold light shimmered on the black cloth, Polis in the sky above gave off a brilliant radiance.

Manipulating the power of the stars, shattering the Thousand Mile Ice Plains—this was the power of a Mahayana stage cultivator. With the wave of a hand, the landscape was changed.

The Thousand Mile Ice Plains which Baili Qingmiao had trouble even breathing in could not stand up to a single strike of Wenren È’s true strength.

Yin Hanjiang, who had awoken after completely absorbing the Snow Flame, muttered, “Venerable…”

Baili Qingmiao looked over and saw that his foot had already been restored, though his left hand was still slowly healing itself.

She quietly moved behind Yin Hanjiang’s back, poking out a head to watch Wenren È.

Baili Qingmiao thought back to when her senior had asked her why she was always jumping in front of people. She had only given half an answer, because she really couldn’t bring herself to say that she had actually thought she could block a blow.

Only now, as she watched the battle between these two shake the heavens and earth, did Baili Qingmiao realize that she was really insignificant as a speck of dust, and her whole body could not block a single breath from these opponents.

Previously, Baili Qingmiao had wanted to reach Nascent Soul because her shixiong had said they would be able to dual cultivate together after that. She didn’t really care about the Dao, having only love in her head. Seeing Wenren È’s strength, she finally understood what being a cultivator meant, what power meant.

Not reaching Nascent Soul so you could become cultivation partners, but using a mortal body to surmount the heavens and shatter the void!

Baili Qingmiao had a moment of sudden enlightenment, entering a deeper realm. Even without a Core Formation manual, the essence inside her dantian had begun to condense. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, building up heavenly lightning.

Cultivators would have to undergo a heavenly tribulation at each stage starting from Core Formation. The Core Formation stage had a minor lightning tribulation, the Nascent Soul stage had one face their inner demons. These were all set in stone and could not be avoided.

Wenren È took the time to glance over at Baili Qingmiao and silently approved. She was worth teaching. If she enlightened to the Path of Indifference this easily, there was no need to kill her and make her cultivate the ghost path.

The blue-clothed woman’s arms trembled slightly. “Who are you?” she demanded. “Why have you destroyed my cultivation grounds and damaged my foundation? I’ve never heard of anyone like you prior to my seclusion!”

“I don’t think you were in seclusion,” Wenren È said. “You discarded your body and used secret techniques to cultivate into an immortal, no?”

A cultivator who reached the peak of Mahayana would have to face a heavenly tribulation, and after passing it, would be able to ascend to the realm of immortals. Many cultivators died in this final tribulation, body and soul extinguished. Some Mahayana cultivators knew they couldn’t avoid it, so during the tribulation, they would use secret arts to disperse their own body and trick the heavens, as well as using the immortal qi exposed during the tribulation to cultivate into wandering immortals. Then, after they cultivated to the next stage, they could ascend to the immortal realm without undergoing a heavenly tribulation. This counted as stealing power from heaven, and their strength also surpassed that of a Mahayana cultivator’s.

Many large righteous cultivation sects had wandering immortals supporting them, and they didn’t easily show themselves, only acting when the sect met with great trouble.

In the book, Wenren È had been injured by the wandering immortal of Shangqing Sect before being rescued by Baili Qingmiao, and that immortal had been killed by him. After losing their strongest asset, Shangqing Sect slowly declined.

“This Venerable entered the Dao three hundred years ago,” Wenren È said. “How long have you been hiding from heaven?”

The blue-robed woman was speechless. Mahayana in only three hundred years? She had been in seclusion for eight hundred years! Were all the young cultivators of this age so impressive?

“As for destroying your cultivation grounds,” Wenren È said, gaze sweeping over the Ice Plains, “we only wanted to retrieve a Snow Flame. Was it not this elder who attacked my subordinate without reason?”

“That was because of how you were mistreating that little girl. I saw it as unjust,” said the woman in blue.

“The fact that she has now awakened to the Core Formation stage is partly because of the life-threatening experiences she has undergone,” Wenren È said. “It’s not your place to meddle in our business. I wonder if the truth was that this elder had made advances in cultivation and when seeing us here, wanted to test your strength against us?”

The woman in blue was rendered speechless.

Wenren È swung his halberd and said coldly, “Attacking groundlessly because you felt you’ve gotten stronger, and even picking a lower-realm target; now that you’ve realized you might not win, you’re trying to reason. But what you’re mistaken on is that this Venerable is the one who decides whether or not we have anything to discuss.”