Chapter 41 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 41 – The second book
Zhongli Qian could only awkwardly explain, “It’s Zhongli Wenzun and Zhongli Yinjiang[1] of the Zhongli clan, who were members of a branch family two hundred years ago, later joining the clan as guest cultivators and becoming my advisors. After hearing about the volcano, I sent word to them, hoping they could lend a hand. Could they be permitted to enter?”
He was courteous and as a Mahayana cultivator, his words held weight. The Pavilion’s disciples took him to see the Pavilion Master, to report the news.
“Zhongli Wenzun and Zhongli Yinjiang? Those names are…” The Pavilion Master rested his forehead on his fist as he read the greeting slips Zhongli Qian had written.
Zhongli Qian had offered his apologies that the two guest cultivators had neglected to give greeting slips, and thus he had written some up with their names on them, hoping for the Pavilion Master’s forgiveness.
The Violet Spirit Pavilion Master’s eyes were stuck on those two words
“Wenzun” and “Yinjiang”, so Zhongli Qian stepped in and said with a faint smile, “The Pavilion Master may not know that the Zhongli clan cultivates the path of sages. Each disciple chooses a branch of learning as their foundation. Each of the six arts of gentlemen—rites, music, archery,
charioteering, literature, and arithmetic—are included. Zhongli Wenzun cultivates rites, while Zhongli Yinjiang cultivates music. These two have some scholarly whims and wanted to make sure others knew what they
studied, so took the courtesy names Wenzun[2] and Yinjiang[3]. Their birth names are Zhongli Wen and Zhongli Yin. “As their manner of greeting truly was improper, Qian would like to apologize in their stead.”
He cupped his hands before him, his arms extended straight as he bent at the waist, manner extremely proper and polite.
The Pavilion Master straightened up and, after glancing at Zhongli Qian, said, “For these thirty years, news has been flying that the Zhongli clan
embarrassed themselves and passed up on a great treasure when expelling Zhongli Qian. I thought it was an exaggerated rumor, but after meeting the Crane-Haired Wanderer in person, I have realized what a true gentleman
should be.”
“The Pavilion Master is overstating,” Zhongli Qian said with a faint smile. “The Violet Spirit Pavilion has always secluded itself from the outside
world, and today we have received too many guests. Since the volcano has erupted with no warning, I originally wished to seal the mountain and allow no other outsiders, but at Young Master Zhongli’s request, they can be
allowed to stay a few days.”
“Many thanks to the Pavilion Master.” Seeing the Pavilion Master put down the greeting slips, a weight vanished from Zhongli Qian’s chest.
He went to the Misty Dawn Bell with a few other Pavilion disciples. The group of female disciples had blushed upon seeing Zhongli Qian and bombarded him with questions along the way, asking why his hair was white and what relationship he had with Baili Qingmiao. Zhongli Qian
answered straightforwardly, and when he said that he and Baili Qingmiao had only treated each other as siblings over these past thirty years, the girls’ eyes brightened.
Within the Violet Spirit Pavilion’s array, no one could fly except using the Pavilion Master’s carriage and flying boats, and the boats traveled much
slower than Zhongli Qian could. Sitting with a group of beautiful women, Zhongli Qian was uncomfortable the whole way, and at last managed to make it to the Misty Dawn Bell. As the disciples opened the barrier, Zhongli Qian sensed Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang enter. He made sure to speak first. “It’s been a while, brothers.”
He rushed before the disciples to grab the two’s hands, trying to signal to them. The moment he touched Wenren È’s hand, he hesitated.
He turned toward Wenren È, and though his eyes were blindfolded, confusion was clear on his face.
“Thanks for your greeting, Young Master Zhongli,” Wenren È said coldly. “Why don’t we talk inside?”
Wenren È hadn’t predicted that Zhongli Qian would rush over to grab his hand and wasn’t able to avoid him in time. Zhongli Qian, touching his fake arm, had instantly sensed something was off about it.
Zhongli Qian also knew they couldn’t discuss this right now and quickly introduced Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang to the rest of the disciples. Seeing the two looked plain and unremarkable, incomparable to Zhongli Qian, and they also acted rather uncaring, the girls stuck by Zhongli Qian the entire way back.
Upon returning to their rooms, Zhongli Qian immediately transmitted, “Sect Master Wenren, what happened to your arm?”
“We can discuss that later. Tell me about the Pavilion Master,” Wenren È replied just as quickly.
Zhongli Qian could only let the subject drop. Seeing that Yin Hanjiang had already put up a soundproofing array, he spoke without concern. “I have three doubts about the Pavilion Master. First, each disciple of the Violet Spirit Pavilion is female, except for the Pavilion Master.
“Second, the eruption was completely unpredictable, and the Pavilion Master appeared too quickly. He arrived when the flames had barely
subsided. Considering the speed of his carriage, he must’ve set out before the eruption. According to my calculations, if he had started preparing to set off for the crater from the time of Baili Qingmiao’s arrival, then the timing would be perfect.
“Third, our guest arrangements.”
Zhongli Qian drew a map of the Violet Spirit Pavilion on the table out of spilled tea. He tapped one of the rooms and said, “This is where Baili
Qingmiao is staying.”
“They have a guest house right next to the Pavilion Master’s residence?” Wenren È said. He squinted at the map and felt reminded of someone[4].
“I suspect that his goal is Miss Baili,” said Zhongli Qian. “Has Sir Wenren also noticed that Miss Baili has particularly good luck?”
“This Venerable knows.” Wenren È waved a hand and had the tea traces on the table evaporate without a trace. “Not only me, but one other person.”
He quickly went over his encounter with the Violet Spirit Pavilion Supreme Elder in the Thousand Mile Ice Plains over forty years back. After some thought, Zhongli Qian said, “This makes sense. I suspect the Pavilion
Master is a woman disguised as a man.”
“…If she’s the wandering immortal this Venerable defeated forty years ago, why would she possess a man?” Wenren È said.
“I believe we’ll find out over the next few days,” Zhongli Qian said, his bamboo scroll in hand.
Only two days had passed when the Pavilion Master took out his precious Lockheart Herb, gathering the Shangqing Sect disciples and the three Zhongli clan visitors and announcing, “I’ve already brought out the herb and am willing to give it to Shangqing Sect, under one condition.”
“If it doesn’t violate our principles, the Shangqing Sect will gladly accept,” said Hè Wenzhao, standing.
These lines were exactly the same as the book. In the book, what followed would be the Pavilion Master demanding Hè Wenzhao’s hand in marriage. Now that she was a man, what would happen? Wenren È watched intently.
“It’s very simple. I just want Baili Qingmiao to marry into the Violet Spirit Pavilion.” The Pavilion Master looked at Baili Qingmiao, seated the nearest to him, and smiled warmly with a tender look in his eyes.
“No way!”
“Okay!”
Two voices spoke at once, belonging to Hè Wenzhao and Liu Xinye.
Naturally, Hè Wenzhao had said “no way”. Hearing his wife say “okay”, he glared at her. He couldn’t squabble with her in public though, and after only a glance, suppressed his anger and turned to the Pavilion Master. “Even if this doesn’t violate common principles, it is a major decision in my shimei’s life. I cannot make it for her.”
“I don’t believe the decision is yours.” The Pavilion Master ignored Hè Wenzhao, only looking toward Baili Qingmiao. He extended the Lockheart Herb to her and said, “If you just agree and form a soul bond with me, this can be yours.”
Marry him and also form a soul bond! Cultivation partners rarely made soul bonds. With a soul bond, they would truly be together in life and death, as if one died, so would the other. Even Hè Wenzhao and Liu Xinye hadn’t taken one. At the end of Abusive Romance, Hè Wenzhao hadn’t formed one with Baili Qingmiao either. In God of Annihilation, the Blood Demon Elder had warned Hè Wenzhao to never make a soul bond and let his life depend on
another person. This was nothing more than a burden.
“Shixiong, this is for master’s life,” Liu Xinye said word by word, staring at her husband. “The Pavilion Master is a Mahayana stage cultivator, so Baili Qingmiao will only be benefitted by forming a soul bond with him. And
with a soul bond, they won’t be able to betray each other. Since the Pavilion Master made this request, he’s certainly not planning to steal Baili-shimei’s essence. His intent must be genuine. Shimei hasn’t refused, so why are you so agitated?” “You!” Hè Wenzhao pointed a finger at his wife. He nearly slapped her across the face.
He forcefully pushed down his anger and ran to Baili Qingmiao’s side. “Shimei, think clearly! Don’t dishonor yourself!”
In the original story, Baili Qingmiao was heartbroken upon hearing the Pavilion Master wanted to marry Hè Wenzhao, begging him to reconsider in tears.
Hè Wenzhao had said pretty much the same thing Liu Xinye did. “Shimei, this is master’s life!”
Now that the Pavilion Master had swapped genders, Hè Wenzhao was saying the complete opposite.
Wenren È had already figured out most everything. He didn’t speak, just narrowed his eyes at Baili Qingmiao and waited for her decision.
Su Huai was a junior and it wasn’t his place to speak in this situation. He knew his master was an idiot. When he broke through to the Core Formation stage, because he was a ghost cultivator, he had gotten a Deity Transformation stage tribulation and sustained serious injuries. His master had carried him to Reminiscence Valley in search of a wandering immortal healer. The healer put her through all sorts of trouble, separating her from Zhongli Qian and Immortal Qingxue with an array, then demanding her
Nascent Soul as payment. Su Huai’s idiot master really offered up her Nascent Soul.
Fortunately, Zhongli Qian was sharp and broke the array in time. Master Qingxue gave the wandering immortal a beating, then threatened to turn him into a ghost and eat him. The healer finally agreed to treat Su Huai.
That was when Su Huai truly recognized Baili Qingmiao as his master. It was also for his master’s sake that he let Qingxue mess with his bonded
weapon. Otherwise, what cultivator would want to use a weapon like that? But he was willing to for his master. Su Huai was afraid his master would agree, so he seized Qingxue’s hand. She was the strongest and most senior person here, and the only one with the right to refuse for Baili Qingmiao.
“What are you grabbing me for?” Qingxue gave Su Huai a look. “If you want something, just say it.”
Su Huai: …
Fortunately, Zhongli Qian was long since familiar with his companions’ habits. He quickly rose and said, “Perhaps the Pavilion Master doesn’t know this, but Baili Qingmiao cannot become someone’s cultivation partner.”
“Huh? Why?” The Pavilion Master reclined on his chair, looking attentively at Zhongli Qian. His gaze was warmer than when he had looked at Baili
Qingmiao.
Baili Qingmiao also rose. “Pavilion Master, because of a previous accident,
Brother Zhongli and I have had heart-linking parasites placed in us. They are very powerful parasites, and though Brother Zhongli has reached
Mahayana over these thirty years, he has not figured out how to remove them. To tell the truth, Young Master Zhongli is just a step away from
ascending, yet he has been holding himself back because of me.” Hearing Baili Qingmiao refuse, Su Huai sighed in relief.
“Oh? Let me see your parasites,” said the Pavilion Master.
He reached out and took their wrists in both hands, sending his spiritual essence into their meridians. He found there really were resonating gu insects inside them, which he was unable to eliminate with his power.
“This shouldn’t be,” he muttered. “How did this happen? It wasn’t like this.”
Wenren È heard these words and his expression froze. He watched him closely. The man looked somewhat like the wandering immortal he had taught a lesson to years ago, but not exactly the same. And that wandering immortal had recognized Baili Qingmiao’s divinity over forty years ago, but never
acted and stayed hidden until now. Had something changed?
After considering things over, Wenren È came up with a wild idea.
“Zhongli Wenzun” stretched languidly and, acting as if he was bored by the internal affairs of Shangqing Sect, took a book out of his sleeve.
Seeing him, the people around felt he was a bit rude, but weren’t in any position to criticize him. After all, he did have nothing to contribute to the matter of this wedding, and just watching the drama unfold wasn’t too proper either. The Zhongli clan’s members always had their noses in books, and Zhongli Qian’s bonded weapon was a bamboo scroll. Maybe this book was Zhongli Wenzun’s weapon.
It was quite an odd book. A young man was drawn on the cover, a colored picture as opposed to the ink wash paintings currently popular in the mortal world. The man’s facial proportions were a bit exaggerated, but he looked handsome nonetheless.
In large characters across the cover was God of Annihilation: Volume 1.
Seeing that book, the Pavilion Master immediately let go of Baili Qingmiao and Zhongli Qian and stood up, eyes pinned on the book in Wenren È’s hand.
“How did you get—” He cut himself off. Turning a cold look over the assembled group, he said, “If you won’t agree to this marriage, then we have nothing to discuss. Come to me when you change your mind.”
He turned and walked away, leaving everyone else looking at each other helplessly.
Wenren È transmitted separately to Zhongli Qian and Yin Hanjiang, who had both noticed something was odd, “Don’t come to my room later. Give him time to reveal his plan.” Putting away the book, he returned alone to his room. After lying on the bed reading for a while, he heard a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw a girl on the other side, saying the Pavilion Master needed to meet with him, and requesting Sir Zhongli Wenzun go to the Pavilion Master’s quarters
alone.
Without any hesitation, Wenren È took the book and set off alone.
After he entered the Pavilion Master’s room, the Pavilion Master locked the doors and set up several arrays. He finally said coldly, “Where’d you get the book? You brought it out on purpose, didn’t you? What did you figure out?”
“I seem to not understand what the Pavilion Master is asking,” Wenren È
said. “I just picked up a book for idle reading, and its contents turned out to be rather intriguing. Since I was bored, I took it out to read.”
“Since you got this book, your name can’t be Zhongli Wenzun. Zhongli
Kuang, Cen Zhengqi, Yao Jiaping… You’re Zhongli Kuang!” the Pavilion Master exclaimed. “I heard you were done away with by the Zhongli clan. Did you possess this Zhongli Wenzun’s body to come back to life? Right, since you have this book, you’ve probably learned techniques to revive yourself.”
“Since you think I’m Zhongli Kuang, let’s just say I am,” said Wenren È, flipping through the book. “However, there’s one part of this book that’s particularly intriguing. Right here, it says the Violet Spirit Pavilion Master is a renowned beauty, Hè Wenzhao’s wife, a gentle and dedicated woman. Upon coming to the Pavilion, I was rather surprised to find the Pavilion Master was a man.”
“Give me that book!” the Pavilion Master yelled, reaching for it.
Wenren È flashed away. “At this point, there’s no use in you hiding it. I’ve obtained Volume 1 of God of Annihilation. Have you obtained one of the other volumes? Why don’t we exchange reading material?”
Having been seen through, the Pavilion Master was silent for a moment. “I have the third volume, the end of the story. Do you want to know why this story is called God of Annihilation?[5] The third volume will tell you. If you want to know, then hand over the first volume to me.”
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. He exchanged the written characters in the names for different ones with the same pronunciation ↩
2. to ask + to obey ↩
3. music + general ↩
4. who is he talking about? ↩
5. A more literal translation of the title would be “god of ending the world”
↩
Chapter 42 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 42 – Reencounter on the battlefield
Wenren È absolutely could not accept an exchange, not in this life or the next. All he needed to do was confirm that the Pavilion Master possessed the third volume of God of Annihilation. Where it was, whether or not it was fake, and whether or not the Pavilion Master was willing to hand it over didn’t matter. After all, he would hand it over eventually.
Wenren È spread his hands casually. “In that case, why don’t you let me have a look at the third volume?”
“What? Hahahaha, ridiculous!” The Pavilion Master shook his head.
“Zhongli Kuang, your name suits you![1] Do you know exactly who you’re facing?”
He raised his hands, ringing a pair of golden bells tied to his wrists. Their crisp sound brought forth a wave of spiritual energy and pressure, making
the surrounding array resonate with it. The four spiritual stones that acted as the focuses of the array sat in the corners of the room, carved with patterns unique to the Violet Spirit Pavilion, and the bells caused the engravings to
activate. Countless golden threads formed in the air, surrounding Wenren È.
With a turn of the Pavilion Master’s wrists, the golden threads wrapped tight and bound Wenren È in their midst. This array affected both the body and soul. The Pavilion Master had set it up long before “Zhongli Kuang” entered. Even if Zhongli Kuang had used the first volume to obtain the locations of heavenly treasures and risen to the peak of Mahayana over these past years, he was still within the cultivation world. This array from the third volume was a divine array. Even if the Pavilion Master wasn’t
strong enough to use it at its full power, as long as he made the preparations, he could restrain an immortal of the upper realms. Seeing that Zhongli Kuang was trapped, the Pavilion Master lowered his
arms, letting his sleeves fall over the bells. “Zhongli Kuang, we don’t have any conflict of interests. All I want is to take a look at the first volume, so why are you being so stubborn?”
“This Venerable isn’t being stubborn,” Wenren È said from within the array. “This Venerable is trying to figure something out.”
“This Venerable?” The Pavilion Master frowned. That title brought back unpleasant memories for him, but it was of no matter. Even if he did meet that person today, he had no more need to fear him. “Even you can call yourself Venerable?”
Wenren È put away his book and sighed. “Ever since you acted, this
Venerable has been considering how to take you prisoner without alerting anyone else. As this Venerable’s powers are immense, it is quite a hard task.”
“Such arrogance!” the Pavilion Master said, but he raised his golden bells
again, watching Zhongli Kuang vigilantly. Zhongli Kuang might’ve learned some secret technique from within the pages of volume one.
“This Venerable truly doesn’t wish to expose his identity… ah, but now that I already know why you’re a man, I suppose it doesn’t really matter.”
Wenren È stood up, an unseen wind stirring his robes. They changed from
scholarly clothes to his own black robes embroidered with gold threads, as a halberd of the same colors appeared in his hand.
“You’re not Zhongli Kuang! You’re Wenren È!” the Pavilion Master cried. His pupils shrank, and he seemed to be remembering something painful.
“Forty-two years ago, this Venerable made an agreement with you, hoping that within a hundred years you would be worth fighting,” Wenren È said with a cold smile. “From what I see, it would be useless to give you a thousand years. This Venerable has grown tired of waiting.” Blinding light radiated from the Seven-Killing Halberd as it channeled the power of its star. The entire mountain began to shake.
The Shangqing Sect disciples who were currently discussing amongst themselves in Baili Qingmiao’s room felt a tremor under their feet. “What’s going on?”
“Is the volcano going to erupt?” said Yao Wendan doubtfully.
Qiu Congxue’s body reacted before her mind caught up. She picked up Su Huai in one hand and Baili Qingmiao in the other, yelling, “Run! Get as far away from True Yin Mountain as possible!”
She didn’t say that for the sake of the Shangqing Sect disciples, but for Zhongli Qian.
When the ground started shaking, Zhongli Qian pretty much guessed what had happened. Hearing Qiu Congxue, he didn’t hesitate and followed directly after her.
Not more than a second had passed from when the ground began shaking to when Qiu Congxue and Zhongli Qian ran out of the room, when the Misty Dawn Bell shattered. The array surrounding the Violet Spirit Pavilion broke with it, and without its restriction, the group could fly. Qiu Congxue and Zhongli Qian flew up without pause, stopping nearly a kilometer above the volcano.
“Elder, what happened?” Su Huai said frantically. He had never met Wenren È.
Qiu Congxue set Baili Qingmiao and Su Huai down and said coldly, “Just look at the sky. I’ve only seen these celestial signs once, thirty-one years ago.”
Su Huai looked up and found the night sky dark, with only two stars shining brighter than the moon. They were Polis and Alkaid. Thirty-one years ago, at the conclusion of Wenren È’s clash with twenty- one experts of the righteous sects, Polis had shown such radiance above.
With a rumble, the entirety of the Violet Spirit Pavilion atop the mountain peak crumbled. Lava spewed from the volcano’s mouth, at a hellish temperature that would destroy any Deity Transformation or below
cultivator who touched it, body and soul. Hè Wenzhao led several Deity Transformation and above cultivators to rescue everyone else, and managed to arrive at Qiu Congxue’s group, covered with ash, before the lava could reach them.
In less than five minutes, the snowy mountain peak was covered with lava, the heat causing the air to ripple above it. The Violet Spirit Pavilion had been transformed into hell on earth.
“What happened?” Hè Wenzhao said, still panicked, holding a crying Liu Xinye in one arm. “Why did the volcano suddenly erupt? Where are Zhongli Wenzun and Zhongli Yinjiang?”
Qiu Congxue gave him a cold look. She lifted a finger slightly and pointed to the center of the field of magma.
Hè Wenzhao only saw a man in a black and gold robe with a halberd in hand, hovering above the flames. Behind him was a streak of frosty sword light.
When the eruption happened, everyone had fled for the sky. Only Yin Hanjiang faced the spurting magma to search for Wenren È, joining the battle against the Pavilion Master.
“It’s— it’s you people! You people again! Of course it’s you!” The Pavilion Master pointed a finger at them, having flashbacks to being beaten black
and blue forty-two years ago.
It was like the scene from forty-two years ago had returned. Once again, frost and snow were replaced by raging flames, as the two stood before him, wielding a halberd and a sword, utterly crushing him. “Your guess was correct,” Wenren È said. “This book did belong to Zhongli Kuang. This Venerable killed him, so obviously, this Venerable has taken possession of his book. The same will happen to you.”
Wenren È grabbed the Pavilion Master’s arm in one hand. Before the Pavilion Master could resist, he felt an unspeakable agony in his arm, not the pain of his body being damaged but of his soul being shredded and dissolved. He quickly severed his own arm with spiritual energy, but was unable to stop the corrosion of his soul. He had to grit his teeth and tear off part of his soul as well. Breathing hard, he watched his arm and soul dissolve into blood, gathering in Wenren È’s palm.
The sweet scent of blood hit Wenren È’s nose. He stared at the orb of blood floating in his palm. All he needed to do was absorb it, and all the spiritual essence he’d used up in this battle, as well as his arm, would be restored.
This was the soul of a wandering immortal, after all.
After quite some time, he smiled slightly and opened his hand. The blood fell and vanished into the lava below.
The lava took in the Pavilion Master’s soul, letting out puffs of smoke as the Pavilion Master watched. His body shouldn’t hurt anymore, but deep inside, he felt the pain of being burned. It was as if someone was roasting his arm over a flame. He could nearly hear the sizzle of his flesh.
“You’re a blood cultivator!” the Pavilion Master cried. “How?”
He wanted to ask more questions, but Yin Hanjiang didn’t give him the
chance. A thrust of the Army Crushing Sword pierced through the Pavilion Master’s throat.
“The Venerable wants your book. Your only choices are to give it or refuse,” Yin Hanjiang said coldly.
Meeting the heartless gazes of the two demonic cultivators, the Pavilion Master realized that he had no qualifications to negotiate with them. If he
handed over the book, he might survive. If he didn’t, he would certainly die. “The two of you are powerful. Probably, no one in the cultivation world is stronger than you, Wenren È. I acknowledge this.” The Pavilion Master
smiled bitterly. He couldn’t speak, so he transmitted his words to Wenren È alone. “But you’ll die someday, Lord of Demons. Everyone will die. Only one person can survive in the end. I’ll say it again—trade your volume for mine!”
“Do you think that if you refuse to give it up, this Venerable will be afraid to act against you for fear of losing it?” Wenren È said. “You don’t know how we in the demonic sects do business. We can take apart your soul, turn you into a puppet, or put parasites in you. We’re not lacking in options. Sect Leader Yin, take him back to the Xuanyuan Sect!”
Yin Hanjiang picked up the limp body of the Pavilion Master and was about to leave when Hè Wenzhao came charging up. “Who are you people? What do you want with the Pavilion Master? I, Hè Wenzhao of Shangqing Sect, will not allow you to take action against the Violet Spirit Pavilion while I’m still standing!”
No matter how much Wenren È and the readers of Abusive Romance
despised Hè Wenzhao, he was the protagonist of two novels and his
appearance was without faults. He didn’t have Wenren È’s domineering
aura that could not be overlooked, and he wasn’t as polite and perceptive as Zhongli Qian, or silently devoted as Yin Hanjiang. He wasn’t even as youthful and lively as Su Huai. But he was handsome, and his appearance overflowed with righteousness.
The author had given him a perfect face that showed at a glance that he was a hero of the righteous sects, the future pillar of the cultivation world. He had sharp brows and bright eyes, which now eloquently expressed his
anguish for the Violet Spirit Pavilion, his determination to stake his life in defense of the Pavilion Master, even if Wenren È was impossible for him to beat.
Wenren È knew that Hè Wenzhao truly was this kind of person. Both novels acknowledged that he was a righteous man, capable of sacrificing his life for his sect members. He would even sacrifice the one he loved to save his fellow disciples and sect elders. Even when he did something wrong in the books, it wasn’t his fault, and he turned out to have been tricked by someone else.
Several reviews in God of Annihilation had said it followed in the footsteps of traditional literature. The male lead was overflowing with righteousness and had close bonds with his friends. Just that he didn’t have proper relations with women, and his worldview was a bit lowly.
At this moment, Hè Wenzhao genuinely wanted to protect the Violet Spirit Pavilion. This was also the first time he’d seen Wenren È’s face and the first time he faced down the unleashed power of the Lord of Demons. His mental master warned him incessantly to run, saying that he had no hope of beating Wenren È at this time, but Hè Wenzhao didn’t back down a single
step. Even if he died today, he was determined to save the Pavilion Master.
Baili Qingmiao and her group had followed behind him. She stared, frozen, at her shixiong facing down a hostile Wenren È, and opened her mouth to beg for mercy.
“Baili Qingmiao,” Wenren È said, “if you say one word, this Venerable will kill one of your Shangqing Sect’s people. This Venerable doesn’t like to hear people prattle on. Let’s see how many people in your sect you’re
willing to beg for.”
Baili Qingmiao covered her mouth, too afraid to say a single word.
A daring disciple of Shangqing Sect shouted, “Shimei, don’t be scared! Let’s attack him together! Who cares if he’s strong? We can’t let him take away the—”
He turned to the strongest person on his side, Immortal Qingxue, for reassurance, but before he could finish speaking, a skeletal hand pierced through his chest. He turned his head with difficulty and saw that his
attacker was that very Immortal Qingxue he had looked up to.
“The Xuanyuan Sect will not betray its own.” Qiu Congxue withdrew her hand, yanking out that disciple’s soul. “Boast according to your own ability. Instead of praying to the heavens or the earth, better to rely on yourself.” Hot winds stirred her black robe, revealing her body which was half flesh and half bone.
Over these last thirty years, Qiu Congxue could’ve regrown her flesh, but she was quite satisfied with how she looked right now. She had been investigating how to use the powers of a wandering immortal with half her body and a ghost cultivator with the other, determined to continue
cultivating the Asura Path. Su Huai had given her the inspiration. He was a unique existence, his soul being a ghost cultivator while the methods of the Shangqing Sect existed in his body. If he hadn’t died in the book, who knew what cultivation path he could’ve created?
Qiu Congxue dropped the body of the disciple into the flames. Hè Wenzhao dove for it and managed to grab it at the last second, burning his arm.
“Why are you doing this, Elder Qingxue?” he cried.
“I am the Left Protector of Xuanyuan Sect, Qiu Congxue.” Half of Qiu
Congxue’s face slowly turned into a skull. She gave Baili Qingmiao a half warm, half horrifying smile. “This Protector has to thank Baili Qingmiao’s assistance thirty-one years ago, or she already would’ve been sent on.”
“Master Qingxue, you…” Tears flowed down Baili Qingmiao’s face. She was unable to believe that her master was a demonic cultivator, and such a heartless person.
“Have this back.” Qiu Congxue tossed the disciple’s soul at Baili Qingmiao. “I owe you for saving my life. In the future, if you need help, just come find me.”
Baili Qingmiao caught her fellow disciple’s soul, with an expression as if she’d been struck by lightning. The person she had risked her life to save back then was actually a demonic cultivator who had killed countless
members of her sect. The master she had looked up to had backstabbed one of her shixiongs without mercy.
Zhongli Qian, feeling her anguish, sighed lightly. He had matured over the years and understood many things, but he still couldn’t figure out what Wenren È was thinking, or what he planned.
He approached the Pavilion Master and said, “Pavilion Master, whatever it is that Sir Wenren wants, I urge you to just give it to him. From what I know of Sir Wenren, if he agrees to not harm you, he will never go back on his word.”
“What do you understand?” The hole through the Pavilion Master’s throat buzzed as he spoke. “I don’t want to live like that. I’d rather die than live like that.”
He grabbed the Army Crushing Sword and yanked it out. Glaring at Wenren È, he reversed the circulation of his qi and prepared to destroy his Nascent Soul.
Wenren È lifted a hand and a wisp of blood qi entered his body, instantly taking control of it. The Pavilion Master couldn’t die if he tried.
“Now this Venerable is curious,” Wenren È transmitted to him. “What exactly is written in the last volume, that you’d rather die than hand it over?”
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. It means out of control ↩
Chapter 43 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 43 – Burning Sky Immortal
Wenren È planned to take the Pavilion Master no matter what. It was no concern of his that the Shangqing disciples wouldn’t be able to save their
Sect Master without the Lockheart Herb. After all, he was the one who had injured their Sect Master. The idea that he would help him recover was laughable.
Seeing Yin Hanjiang was about to leave with the Pavilion Master, Hè Wenzhao tried to charge him, but was held back by his fellow disciples.
“Shixiong, even Immortal Qingxue was a Xuanyuan Sect mole, so what
chance do we have left?” Liu Xinye said, holding his waist. “Just… bear it, okay?”
Hè Wenzhao’s body relaxed, though his fists stayed clenched, as he berated himself for his own powerlessness.
If they didn’t make a fuss, Wenren È naturally wouldn’t exterminate all of them. Also, Hè Wenzhao was still important to the events of the third volume of God of Annihilation. Before reading the third volume, Wenren È decided to leave him alone for the time being.
Before they departed, Wenren È glanced back at the heartbroken Baili
Qingmiao and transmitted to her, “You can follow this Venerable back to Xuanyuan Sect.”
Wenren È didn’t mind that Qiu Congxue had exposed her identity to avoid being pushed forward to fight him. He’d never expected Qiu Congxue’s undercover work to amount to anything. Getting between Baili Qingmiao and Hè Wenzhao was already far beyond his expectations. But her identity put Baili Qingmiao in a bad position. It was uncertain what would happen to Baili Qingmiao if she returned to Shangqing Sect, so Wenren È made his offer, letting Baili Qingmiao choose for herself.
Baili Qingmiao shook her head wordlessly. She had sustained too heavy a
shock, and if it weren’t for Zhongli Qian forcibly suppressing her emotions, she would’ve started sobbing on the spot.
Qiu Congxue extended a hand toward Su Huai. She had been planning to raise Su Huai as the next Master of the Hellfire Pavilion—to hell with Shi Congxin.
Su Huai also silently declined. His master was such an idiot; he had to stay.
Zhongli Qian gave Wenren È a nod. With the influence of the Heart- Linking Parasite, he had to return to Shangqing Sect with Baili Qingmiao. With him there, Baili Qingmiao wouldn’t face any threats to her life.
The Shangqing Sect disciples could only watch helplessly as Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang left. After spending a moment in a daze, Baili Qingmiao brought out the Moonlit Frost Silk and dashed toward the sea of flames.
“Shimei, what are you doing?” Hè Wenzhao cried.
“Rescuing people!” Baili Qingmiao wiped away her tears. Zhongli Qian’s calm let her realize what she must do at this moment.
She couldn’t just remain heartbroken at Master Qingxue’s betrayal or
shocked at Wenren È’s ruthlessness. She had to search the field of lava for survivors. Each life she saved counted.
Sensing Baili Qingmiao’s feelings, Zhongli Qian sighed. He said to Su
Huai, “Do you know why, knowing Baili Qingmiao is this foolish, I keep helping her overcome her infatuation?”
Su Huai shook his head.
“Because Baili Qingmiao is compassionate.” Zhongli Qian took off his blindfold, looking at the sea of flames below him. “Even though she knows that Qiu Congxue was a demonic sect member, that she once saved the wrong person, she holds no regrets for her actions and still tries to save others now.”
In their twenty-two years of travelling together, this was the first time Su Huai had seen Zhongli Qian’s eyes. They were stunningly bright and perceptive eyes, calm and penetrating.
Using the tracking curse, Zhongli Qian could see what no one else could.
He saw how, as Baili Qingmiao charged into the flames, they parted for her and opened up a path. The flames feared her, yet wished to harm her. She
sustained burns one after another, but she didn’t flinch, continuing her search.
None of the Shangqing Sect disciples followed her. Hè Wenzhao had
wanted to dive into the flames with her, but Liu Xinye was clutching his
waist tightly, in a way that said, if you follow her, I’ll go with you to die. Hè Wenzhao was furious, but in the end couldn’t bring himself to push Liu
Xinye away.
After watching for a minute, Zhongli Qian closed his eyes and tied the blindfold back around them. There was nothing more to see.
“Mister Zhongli?” Su Huai said uncertainly.
“Look for yourself,” Zhongli Qian said to the Shangqing Sect members.
A figure covered head to toe with soot charged out of the sea of flames. She held a silver silk sash, the other end tied around several dozen unconscious Violet Spirit Pavilion disciples. One of them carried a mature stalk of the Lockheart Herb.
Baili Qingmiao’s legs had been burned and she could only stand by leaning against Su Huai. She wiped at the ash on her face and said, “None of the Pavilion disciples died. Someone transferred them to the place where the Lockheart Herb grew. When it matured because of the flames, the power it gave off protected them.” She saw that Hè Wenzhao had already replaced the soul of the disciple Qiu Congxue had attacked into his body. Wenren È had overturned heaven and earth when he acted, yet not a single person had died. He’d only taken the Pavilion Master.
Baili Qingmiao glanced over at Zhongli Qian, then fainted. Her spiritual essence had been expended battling the flames.
The Shangqing Sect finally got their Lockheart Herb. They departed, bringing the Violet Spirit Pavilion disciples with them. Along the journey, no one spoke, their thoughts troubled.
Hè Wenzhao clenched his fists and said to his mental master, “Master, the demonic sects have grown too arrogant. Just a few years ago, they seduced me and broke the Spirit Severing Array. Now they’ve endangered the disciples of the Shangqing Sect and Violet Spirit Pavilion. How can I become stronger? How can I get rid of that demonic mastermind Wenren È?”
“Let’s see…” the Blood Demon Elder said in his mind. “There is a way.” “How?” Hè Wenzhao said, his eyes brightening.
“As an ancient cultivator, I can tell that Wenren È is cultivating a path that can easily lead to deviation. He has already encountered a problem in his cultivation, so he won’t be hard to deal with. We just need some help.”
He was the first blood cultivator, so of course he could tell that Wenren È hadn’t consumed any souls, and was already at his limit.
“What kind of help?” Hè Wenzhao asked.
“Let’s see… I’m not too familiar with the cultivators of this age. But a few days ago, didn’t you meet an unnamed cultivator? I felt that something was off about him. He gave you his message talisman, no?”
“Yeah. He had one foot in the righteous and demonic paths, but he valued loyalty, so I thought he was worth getting along with.” The Blood Demon Elder chuckled. “Well, I thought his techniques felt like those of a demonic cultivator.”
While the Shangqing Sect journeyed back, Wenren È had already brought the Pavilion Master to Xuanyuan Sect. He immediately called over Altar Master Miao and tossed the Pavilion Master to him. “This Venerable wants
two things. First, this person needs to willingly hand over a book. Secondly, for the time being, his soul must not be harmed. Use some gentler methods.”
Hearing Wenren È’s orders, an eager smile appeared on Altar Master Miao’s face. “Understood.”
Altar Master Ruan, standing to one side, couldn’t help but shudder.
Everyone knew that in Xuanyuan Sect, Protector Qiu liked dead people the best, and Altar Master Miao hated killing people the most. In the ten years of the Great Sect War, Altar Master Miao kept complaining about how it
was such a shame so many righteous cultivators died. One or two could’ve been left alive for him to raise bugs in.
Wenren È had been controlling the demonic sect members for all these years, forbidding them from harming ordinary people. And even if they harmed cultivators, they had to pay attention to the laws of reincarnation and the cycle of karma. They couldn’t act against whoever they wanted.
Altar Master Miao had been stifled for many years at this point, unable to raise new insects without people as materials. He could only use his own body to feed them, but he was immune to all kinds of poisons and couldn’t see the effects of his insects on his own body. He had made hundreds of bugs, but had no one to test them on. Over the years, he had grown more
and more off-putting.
Now that he had someone to stick bugs in, he was giddy with joy. He promised over and over that he certainly wouldn’t let the Pavilion Master die, and would let him live very healthily. Seeing how happy Altar Master Miao was, Altar Master Ruan brought out his tortoise shell, shrank inside it, and rolled as far away from him as he
could.
After handing off the Pavilion Master, Wenren È stopped caring. Only results mattered to him, not how they came about.
Wenren È shooed away everyone at the Main Hall and slowly walked towards his room. Yin Hanjiang followed as always, without any question as to Wenren È’s actions.
In his room, Wenren È spoke with his hands behind his back, looking away. “You can go now.”
“Understood.” Yin Hanjiang turned around, about to shut the doors behind him, when he was yanked back into the room.
He saw Wenren È’s eyes reddened, his hand around Yin Hanjiang’s neck, thumb pressing his chin down. Wenren È examined his face closely, as if deciding where to bite.
“Venerable?” Yin Hanjiang watched Wenren È without any fear. The sword in his hand clattered in warning.
As a magic weapon, it had a will to protect its master. If it ever sensed danger, it would warn its master.
Yin Hanjiang never stored his weapon inside his body. Now the Army
Crushing Sword shook itself free of its sheath, pointing its blade at Wenren È.
The Seven Killing Halberd within Wenren È’s body sensed the Army
Crushing Sword’s hostility and also trembled, bringing Wenren È back to awareness.
Wenren È licked his cracked lips and shut his eyes. He let go of Yin Hanjiang. “Venerable?” Yin Hanjiang said, trying to quiet his wildly beating heart. He wanted to put his arms around his Venerable, but held them back, grabbing his arms with his hands. “Does the Venerable have any orders?” he said
with forced calm.
“Sect Leader Yin, in a few days, this Venerable must go to the Blood Hell. You must stay at Xuanyuan Sect and take on my duties. Before then, this Venerable hopes you can reach Mahayana, so as to take leadership.”
Wenren È spoke with his back turned, not looking at Yin Hanjiang.
Yin Hanjiang’s eyes dulled for a moment. He knew Wenren È as a blood cultivator must cultivate in the Blood Hell in the future. He also knew his
own power was too weak and he would never survive there. It was better he stay at Xuanyuan Sect to keep everything in order for his Venerable.
But…
He bowed his head and said quietly, “This subordinate understands.”
Upon leaving Wenren È’s room, he immediately felt an array go up behind him, preventing him from feeling Wenren È’s presence.
He looked down at his faintly trembling hands, then took a ghost mask out of his robes and put it on.
With the mask on, Yin Hanjiang miraculously calmed. A voice seemed to say in his mind, “There’s no problem. After the Venerable leaves, just follow him secretly.”
Yin Hanjiang took off the mask. He thought, “But if the Venerable is gone for so long, what will happen to Xuanyuan Sect?”
He put the mask back on and the voice said, “Isn’t it easy to keep the sect under control? Protector Shu and Protector Qiu don’t get along, Protector Qiu wants to kill Altar Master Shi and find someone to replace him, Altar Master Ruan hates Altar Master Miao, Altar Master Shi is the natural
enemy to Altar Master Miao’s bugs, Altar Master Yuan is worried about Protector Shu doing away with him and installing someone else. Just get them to fight and kill each other for a hundred years, and the Venerable should be back by then.”
Yin Hanjiang took off the mask, his eyes expressionless. After a moment, his head turned stiffly, like a puppet’s, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.
Inside his room, Wenren È called out the Seven Killing Halberd, gripping it hard as it tried to escape. It was a part of him, yet when his blood qi raged out of control, it didn’t recognize him as its master and tried to leave his body. As Wenren È stared at it, a technique to dissolve and absorb it
appeared in his mind.
He smacked himself forcefully in the forehead and managed to regain some rationality.
He couldn’t become a demon. At least, not right now.
Wenren È had thought that since Hè Wenzhao ascended to the immortal realm at the end of Volume 1, Volumes 2 and 3 wouldn’t appear in the
cultivation world. He should only be able to find Volume 2 in the immortal realm. Yet Volume 3 had already appeared, and judging from the timing, it was around the same time as the first.
Wasn’t it possible that all three volumes had appeared simultaneously? That he had been lucky enough to get the first volume, while the other two had
already been picked up by others and read cover to cover?
Abusive Romance had chosen the major male character Wenren È, while God of Annihilation: Volume 1 had chosen the protagonist’s good friend, Zhongli Kuang, and the third volume had chosen the main wife, the Violet
Spirit Pavilion Master. They were all supporting characters, so the recipient of the second volume should be one as well.
All the targets of the books were the closest people to the male or female lead, so judging from that, the recipient of the second volume was most likely to be the demonic cultivator Cen Zhengqi, or the wandering healer Yao Jiaping. He had already started searching for Cen Zhengqi. Yao Jiaping was a
wandering immortal whose travels were unpredictable, so he was difficult to find.
Actually, it would be best if Yao Jiaping had the book. He was a wandering immortal, so it would be difficult for him to take action against big sects like Xuanyuan or Shangqing. The worst-case was Cen Zhengqi having it. If the demonic sect traitor had the information of the second volume and managed to deduce from it some contents of the first volume, their enemies would have the advantage over them.
Thus he needed to acquire the third volume. He’d skin the Pavilion Master and pull out his tendons if he had to.
While Altar Master Miao interrogated the Pavilion Master, Wenren È meditated, reciting a Clear Mind Spell. Spending time alone in tranquil surroundings improved his condition by a lot. After seven days, Altar
Master Miao sent word that the Pavilion Master had given in and wanted to speak to Wenren È.
To reduce temptation, Wenren È had sealed his senses of smell, taste, and touch, leaving only his hearing and sight. Yin Hanjiang followed him with a calm expression as he went to find Altar Master Miao.
Altar Master Miao had the Pavilion Master in a brightly-lit room, lying on the floor like a corpse. He was uninjured, but from time to time, a bump would appear under the skin of his face before disappearing. Who knew how many bugs were in his body?
Wenren È made everyone else wait outside and remained alone in the room with the Pavilion Master. Since his smell and taste were sealed, he couldn’t speak. He transmitted to him, “Have you made your decision?”
“Heh…” the Pavilion Master said with difficulty. “They don’t call you… the Lord of Demons for nothing. So many ways to make someone wish for death, ways I couldn’t even imagine. Tell Altar Master Miao to take the bugs out of my body, and I’ll give the book to you.” “This Venerable already gave you a chance,” Wenren È transmitted. “Since you refused then, you don’t have the right to negotiate now. Hand over the third volume. After reading it, this Venerable will decide whether or not to remove your parasites. You can continue to refuse. This Venerable isn’t in a rush.”
The Pavilion Master didn’t want to endure the agony for one more day. After a moment of hesitation, he gave up on resistance, reaching into his lapel and withdrawing a book. Who knew where his storage item was hidden.
Wenren È wasn’t concerned he was plotting something. He was at their mercy and didn’t have the guts.
Wenren È took the third volume. On the cover was a ruined temple with a silhouetted figure standing before it. That figure seemed indescribably lonely and defeated.
He opened it and saw on the title page: “Because of a large plot hole
appearing in the story, the closest character to the protagonist has been chosen to help him form a soul bond with Baili Qingmiao.”
The mission of this volume was to pair up the male and female leads? What for?
Once he flipped to the second page, he found a difference from the first volume. There was a summary, describing not the first volume, but the second.
The summary said: “After many battles, Hè Wenzhao defeated the Burning Sky Immortal. Bringing his wives the Violet Spirit Immortal and Baili
Qingmiao with him, he ascended to the divine realm.”
The Burning Sky Immortal? Probably, like Wenren È, he was the mastermind of the second volume, the enemy Hè Wenzhao had to defeat at the end. The readers would call him the final boss. Burning Sky… seeing these words, Wenren È was reminded of the first- grade immortal artifact sitting in the Xuanyuan Sect forbidden grounds, the Burning Sky Drum.
just when you think wre is not ok yhj is even more not ok. hanjiang it’s not a competition
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
Chapter 44 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 44 – Primordial divinity
He set aside his questions for now and continued to read, hoping the third volume would contain more information about the Burning Sky Immortal.
Unfortunately, aside from the protagonists mentioning his name twice, nothing more was written about him. Wenren È quickly skimmed the third volume. A general overview of the story was that, after entering the divine realm, Hè Wenzhao was recognized by one of the gods as the reincarnation of a previous god. He made friends with the people he knew in his previous life, continuing to power up and beating up ascended gods. Everyone in the divine realm was now ascended gods, with the primordial gods all having long since fallen.
The first two-thirds of the story was fairly peaceful. Hè Wenzhao’s old friends and wives ascended to the divine realm one after another, while Hè Wenzhao continued to make new friends and take new wives. Baili
Qingmiao, who had made plenty of appearances in the first volume, seemed to have all but vanished in this one. It was the Violet Spirit Master who followed Hè Wenzhao the whole way, getting along perfectly with his new wives.
In the last third, things went downhill quick . First, one of Hè Wenzhao’s friends suddenly deviated and became a demon, so everyone was forced to kill their own good friend. At the same time, the news came that the barrier in the Blood Hell had been broken. The 180 thousand demonic gods that had been sealed in ancient times had escaped and lain waste to the human realm.
Their friend who had gone mad had relatives in the human world and had been cursed using his bloodline, becoming corrupted. First the cultivation world fell, then the immortal realm. The ascended gods put up their best fight, but the destructive power and corruptive influence of the demonic gods were too strong. Anyone who faced them were either killed and consumed, or deviated. In order to hold off the demonic gods’ invasion of the divine realm, Hè Wenzhao’s friends went to the immortal realm one after another to do battle. Hè Wenzhao, now the leader of the gods, also wanted to go, but at this moment, the master he had always trusted turned on him.
It turned out his master was a demon, the blood demon. He had taken so much care in guiding Hè Wenzhao in the past in order to steal his body someday. The Blood Demon Elder had waited patiently for all this time, until the worlds were in chaos. With the help of the demonic energy all around, he tried to take Hè Wenzhao’s body in one fell swoop.
When Hè Wenzhao was on the brink of succumbing, Baili Qingmiao, who had been hidden for over 800,000 words at this point, finally appeared. In order to protect Hè Wenzhao, she formed a soul bond with him. They joined forces to destroy the Blood Demon Elder once and for all.
But Baili Qingmiao had been heavily injured by the Blood Demon Elder. When she died, Hè Wenzhao, whose soul was bound to hers, should’ve followed. But Baili Qingmiao had done something at the moment before her death to protect him, so that he survived while she didn’t.
After Baili Qingmiao died, as Hè Wenzhao sat there weeping, the cosmos shifted and the three worlds crumbled. The human, immortal, and divine realms all became one. Most of the lives in the three worlds and the
ascended gods were wiped out in an instant.
It was only now that they realized that Baili Qingmiao, in her past life, had been the last primordial god, born with heaven and earth. She had managed disasters, sending cataclysms to the human world, balancing the overpopulation of life and maintaining the equilibrium of creation and destruction. Such was Baili Qingmiao’s purpose.
She had already obtained her divine nature in the human world and could ascend, but because of her love for Hè Wenzhao, she had given it up. Without Baili Qingmiao controlling it, the divine nature had begun indiscriminately unleashing disasters. Because of the hate and blame of countless mortals, it was tainted by evil, eventually releasing the 180 thousand demonic gods from the Blood Hell.
Even so, Baili Qingmiao was still connected to the divine nature. Her
existence maintained the order of the three realms. The instant she died for Hè Wenzhao and the last primordial god in existence fell, the divine nature broke free of all restraints. Following its original nature, it wanted to return the cosmos to chaos. It merged the three realms, using the demonic gods to absorb all the energy in the realms, aiming to transform the demonic energy into primordial chaos and return all existence to nothingness.
After understanding everything, Hè Wenzhao led all his wives and friends into battle. In the end, they all died, and even all of the demonic gods were consumed.
After the death of his last wife, the Violet Spirit Master, Hè Wenzhao was the only one left in the world. He stood in front of the ruined imperial temple, gazing at his surroundings filled with devastation. Alone, he
charged into the mass of demonic energy which was being transformed into primordial chaos.
At the last moment before his body was dissolved into chaos, Hè
Wenzhao’s soul bond with Baili Qingmiao took effect. He merged with Baili Qingmiao’s divine essence, gaining the ability to control the most primal force of the universe. In an instant, he became the divine emperor.
Nearly all of creation had already been reduced to nothingness. As the divine emperor, Hè Wenzhao had the power of creation and destruction. Following his memories, he split the cosmos back into the three realms, and recreated his friends and wives. The Violet Spirit Master and Baili
Qingmiao were also resurrected. Everyone celebrated together and lived happily forever. The end.
Wenren È: … This ending seemed satisfying. But the more you thought about it, the more terrifying it was.
Each person saw the world differently. Having read both Abusive Romance and God of Annihilation, Wenren È was especially clear on this fact. Hè Wenzhao’s memories of his friends and the three realms couldn’t possibly be the real realms and his real friends.
If at the conclusion, Hè Wenzhao had chosen to accept everything and allow the merged world to recreate itself and give birth to new life, it
would’ve been a new start. But was this world that he had resurrected from his memories a happy ending, or Hè Wenzhao dreaming for uncountable
eons, alone aside from his fantasies? Was his choice the beginning of a world, or the end of one?
Wenren È wasn’t the only one with these doubts. Even the readers of God of Annihilation questioned this ending.
[I don’t care how many girls the MC gets. I’ll follow as long as the plot’s good and the MC is strong and kicks ass. But this conclusion… are you sure it’s a happy ending?]
[Flipping to the cover and reading the words ‘God of Annihilation’, then flipping back to the conclusion, I got a chill.]
[Not gonna beat around the bush here. I like harems, I like watching the
MC get all the girls. But I prefer the wives to be real people, not imaginary! Even if Hè Wenzhao has the power to create life, isn’t he just creating his fantasies?]
[I’ve been thinking about the ending for a long time. Is it incomplete? It doesn’t seem that way, everyone came back to life and all. But… how come it just doesn’t feel right?]
Of course, there were also people praising the author for writing a satisfying ending, and tying in the title perfectly. But mostly, the reviews expressed doubt and confusion. Wenren È also wondered—would the divine emperor’s mind remain intact after spending thousands of years with his false creations? Would he not deviate? The story could end there, but would the people in it really be happy forever?
At the very least, the Violet Spirit Master didn’t think so.
Wenren È was now practiced in reading long novels and didn’t need to
spend seven days and nights studying it, as he had with Abusive Romance. He had learned to read several lines at a time and quickly grasp the main points. With his powerful cognition, he finished skimming through the third volume in a few hours, with the Pavilion Master still lying on the floor in front of him.
Seeing Wenren È lower the book and look at him, he said, “This book mentioned that in the cultivation world, you were killed by Hè Wenzhao,
and I also had a hand in it. I didn’t want you to know, so I didn’t dare hand the book to you.
“This Venerable knows that. If you’re trying to provoke this Venerable with that, you can forget it,” Wenren È said.
Ever since reading Abusive Romance, he had known his fate—that is, the conclusion the authors had written for the Lord of Demons. He hadn’t minded in the least.
Wenren È fought his way down the Path of Slaughter and had already let go of life and death. In life, he would struggle with all his strength. Meeting death, he would calmly accept his fate. If it was possible for him to change destiny, then he would set out to accomplish it. But if his death was predestined, then there was no need to worry over it too much.
“Is that so?” the Pavilion Master said, seeing Wenren È’s expression. He smiled bitterly. “But I’m not like you. I fear death. I especially fear being ‘recreated’ by someone after my death, living out someone else’s notions.
Main wife? I understand myself. If I married Hè Wenzhao, it’d be because I noticed Baili Qingmiao’s obsession with him, and was trying to manipulate her feelings and kill her to steal her divine nature.” Too bad the divine nature was bound to Baili Qingmiao and could not be taken. No matter how the Pavilion Master harmed Baili Qingmiao in the book, she couldn’t kill her. And Hè Wenzhao, who she’d once had in the palm of her hand, grew stronger and stronger until he surpassed her. She
was forced to keep up the act, continuing to be the kind and forgiving main wife. At least, she could follow Hè Wenzhao and benefit from the things he got, and was able to gain power quickly, so she managed to bear it.
“But forget about all that now. If I’d already known there were so many upsides to forming a soul bond with Baili Qingmiao, I never would’ve
clinged to Hè Wenzhao. I might as well possess a man’s body and marry
Baili Qingmiao myself. At least I won’t be like Hè Wenzhao, taking dozens of wives. I’ll dedicate myself to Baili Qingmiao alone, so in what way am I not an improvement over Hè Wenzhao? And then when the time comes, the divine nature will belong to me, I’ll become the divine emperor, and the one who survives in the end will be me!” The Pavilion Master’s handsome face twisted. With his agitation, the gu parasites in his body became more active, making him twitch all over in pain.
“You’re actually pretty rational, coming up with a plan like that,” Wenren È said.
The Pavilion Master was quite a ruthless person, willing to change sexes in an instant. It was too bad that the woman described in God of Annihilation had been a false identity all along. Yet the readers had all thought she was a considerate wife with no complaints, much better than the rebellious Baili Qingmiao.
Of course she held no resentment. She never held any love in the first place. She was just at Hè Wenzhao’s side to benefit from him. She was actually happy for Hè Wenzhao to take more wives, so he would bother her less.
Baili Qingmiao had been the one with pure intentions, yet the readers had called her a naughty child.
Things were rarely as simple as they appeared. The surface of a still pool hid innumerable secrets, and few people were able to see through to its depths. Wenren È put away the book. With a glance at the pitiful Pavilion Master, he said, “This Venerable never goes back on his word. Since you handed over the book, you won’t be killed. But this Venerable has another request.
I’m rather interested in this possession technique of yours that can take anyone’s body, male or female.”
Since the Pavilion Master had already revealed his biggest secret, he gave up on resisting and easily gave over the technique. Wenren È, upon hearing it, knew it wasn’t suitable for him. A wandering immortal’s possession technique involved transforming one’s own body into immortal energy, then driving out the target’s soul and entering their body through the Baihui
acupuncture point[1]. That way, one could obtain a flesh body while keeping all the power of a wandering immortal.
It was a fine technique, but it only worked for wandering immortals and had no use to Wenren È.
He sighed to himself, then called in Altar Master Miao and told him to remove the Pavilion Master’s parasites.
Altar Master Miao looked devastated. He bitterly walked over to the Pavilion Master, grumbling quietly, “Can’t you be a little more stubborn? Can’t you hold out for a few more days?”
The Pavilion Master: …
What was wrong with everyone in Xuanyuan Sect?
“Venerable, should this person be killed or crippled?” Altar Master Miao said, acting like an eager subordinate.
The Pavilion Master gritted his teeth. “Wenren È, you said you’d let me go after I handed over the book!”
“This Venerable is true to his word, but this Venerable agreed to leave you alive, not let you go,” Wenren È said coldly. The Pavilion Master could keep her act up until the divine realm in the book, and could instantly swap genders after knowing the plot. Wenren È himself was impressed by such fortitude, but that meant he couldn’t let her go easily.
After some thought, he said, “Give him to Protector Qiu. In her time undercover at Shangqing Sect, she has… maybe not shown any results, but certainly some effort. Since she’s lost her subordinates in the Hellfire Altar, this Venerable might as well give her a bonus.”
The Pavilion Master: …
After the Pavilion Master was handed over to Protector Qiu, it was none of Wenren È’s business whether she killed him, turned him into a ghost immortal, or made an agreement with him to assassinate the Lord of
Demons.
Altar Master Miao was dejected, but he didn’t dare go against Wenren È’s orders, and took the Pavilion Master to Qiu Congxue.
Wenren È led an even more silent Yin Hanjiang than usual back to his room, considering his next move.
The third volume’s events had told him that Baili Qingmiao could not be allowed to die, and also had to successfully merge with the divine nature and be strong enough to control it. Otherwise, all life would be wiped out and the three realms would return to chaos.
Baili Qingmiao had to cultivate the Path of Indifference.
Yet, there was some hidden force that constantly obstructed Baili
Qingmiao’s enlightenment. Each time she underwent a heavenly tribulation, she was totally brainwashed, her obsession toward Hè Wenzhao the only thing remaining in her head. What was doing this? Heavenly law, or Hè
Wenzhao’s previous incarnation? It couldn’t be either. It was impossible for Wenren È, unable to understand love, to answer this question. He couldn’t help asking the one next to him, “Sect Leader Yin, how can someone tell themselves to forget a person over and over, yet fail to do so? How can they resolve to do so every time, yet keep making the same mistakes, keep being trapped again?”
He was just asking a casual question. After all, Yin Hanjiang didn’t understand love either.
He didn’t have any expectations for a response, yet Yin Hanjiang answered. “They themselves don’t want to forget[2].”
Wenren È turned around in surprise, seeing Yin Hanjiang’s gaze focused on him. As their eyes met, Yin Hanjiang pressed his lips together. “This
subordinate…”
“You’re right, Sect Leader Yin!” Wenren È said with a clap of his hands. “You reminded me!”
The only one who could control Baili Qingmiao was she herself. The divine nature had always been part of her, and after separating from the primordial goddess, it retained its own consciousness. It was born of the cosmos and
shared its nature, and could use the power unleashed by heavenly tribulations to affect Baili Qingmiao’s mind, forcibly filling her with love toward Hè Wenzhao.
The nature of the cosmos was emotionless and without love, and the primordial goddess had been the same. If all of Baili Qingmiao’s affection was focused on one man, there was no way she would be able to merge with the divine nature.
At the end of Abusive Romance, Baili Qingmiao had already obtained the divine nature, yet suddenly thoughts like “Shixiong doesn’t want me to kill”, “The sect taught me to consider the common people” appeared in her head. This was actually proof she wasn’t able to subdue the divine nature.
She needed an unwavering will, the pure Path of Indifference, and a true compassion that viewed all life the same, in order to truly merge with the divine nature. Baili Qingmiao had tried to forcefully take it in before she was ready and failed, thus bringing about everything that had happened next.
No one was affecting her. The one holding Baili Qingmiao back had always been herself. Or it could be said that it was the cosmos.
Baili Qingmiao must cultivate the Path of Indifference. If she couldn’t merge with the divine nature, it was better to kill her immediately, not letting her form a soul bond with anyone. Better the cosmos be recreated, than the conclusion of the book come to pass, where a single person dreamt up the world, alone.
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. at the top of the head ↩
2. He used the he pronoun. However in Chinese he and she sound the same, they’re only written differently. ↩
Chapter 45 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 45 – This disciple is unwilling
Having figured out his problem, Wenren È took out Abusive Romance, wanting to see how Baili Qingmiao was doing at Shangqing Sect. The Shangqing Sect would have to do something about the matter of Qiu Congxue’s true identity. Wenren È had read this book in front of Yin
Hanjiang many times by now, with no intention to hide it, and Yin Hanjiang never tried to look at its contents either. He only stared attentively at
Wenren È, watching him read.
The comments were full of heated discussion about the developments at the Violet Spirit Pavilion.
[Wait a minute wait a minute, what just happened? The male lead’s wife, the big female villain, is now a man and wants to marry the MC? Author, what are you thinking?]
[Who knows, but this story’s hits have been shooting straight up, and it’s already in the top rankings.]
[Let’s discuss whether or not the Violet Spirit Master is still the same person. What if he hurt the MC in the original story because he loved her, and wanted her to see what a scumbag Hè Wenzhao is?]
[I don’t think he’s the original Pavilion Master. Maybe something happened, the original Pavilion Master died, and this guy replaced her. He treats her with love and care, leading to all the badass love interests fighting over her. I’m excited just thinking about it.]
[Wake up, previous poster. The true badass Wenren È didn’t approve. He infiltrated the Pavilion, slapped the Pavilion Master down, and wrecked half of True Yin Mountain. My god the Demon Lord is so cool!]
[This book feels like a roller coaster right now. One minute I’m touched by the Pavilion Master wanting to marry the MC, the next page Wenren È is
carrying his body like a dead dog. You can’t get attached to characters here.
If you feel something for them, the next moment they’ll betray your expectations.]
[Exactly! I’ve been betrayed by my Immortal Qingxue! She, she, she’s
actually the Demonic Left Protector Qiu Congxue, instantly turning on Baili Qingmiao’s shixiong, even more vicious than Sister Shu! At least my Sister Shu snatches Nascent Souls. Qiu Congxue took his actual soul! Do both the Xuanyuan Sect Protectors practice the Nine Yin Bone Claw technique[1]?
Are their signature moves backstabbing?]
[My XueMiao ship is gone, it’s melted, it’s evaporated. Seeing how sad MC is at her betrayal, it’s like she was just broken. My sweet innocent flower needs a hug.]
[I have a question. How come in the original story when the MC kept being abused I just wanted to beat up both the scumbag and the dumb bitch, but now when Qiu Congxue betrays Baili Qingmiao, I just want to hug her? I don’t even hate Sister Qingxue, facepalm…]
[Because the situation is different, it’s the fault of society, not the MC or Qingxue. And it seems like Qingxue never actually tried to hide her true identity, we were just all blind and selectively ignored her questionable points. I guess… she was too straightforward?]
[Wenren È dragged the Pavilion Master away, but left Zhongli Qian, so what was his purpose? Daddy doesn’t approve of him marrying his
daughter, he’s only happy with his own choice Zhongli Qian, so he came to beat him off her?]
[The previous poster’s reasoning is kind of strange, but it’s still a valid explanation.] [Little Baili managed to pull herself together, she charged into the flames
and saved a dozen Pavilion disciples, and even retrieved another Lockheart Herb. Sob, I was wrong, I don’t hate saintly white lotuses[2], as long as they truly are good and selfless.]
[I like saints, but I’m scared Baili Qingmiao will get mistreated once she gets back to her sect. I’ll keep reading though!]
[She shouldn’t be. She got the Lockheart Herb for the Shangqing Sect, so they couldn’t possibly do anything too bad to her.]
Just as the readers guessed, the Shangqing Sect was currently hotly disputing how they should handle Baili Qingmiao and her master.
After they returned to the sect with the Lockheart Herb, Hè Wenzhao left to find the renowned healer immortal Yao Jiaping. He was the one who had
written the Sect Master’s prescription. Hè Wenzhao had met him while
searching for a doctor and, after fighting a round, became good friends with him.
Baili Qingmiao was temporarily being held in the administration hall,
waiting for the Sect Master to wake so he could decide how to deal with her.
As for the Violet Spirit Pavilion disciples, Shangqing Sect offered them a residence in an outer courtyard, allowing them some time to accept the destruction of their sect before they decided what to do next. If they were willing to join Shangqing Sect, they would be welcomed, since Shangqing Sect was still recovering from the Great Sect War, though they needed to hand over the secret techniques of the Violet Spirit Pavilion first.
In the original book, after the Violet Spirit Master married Hè Wenzhao, the two sects merged and exchanged techniques, so this wasn’t a big change.
Hè Wenzhao came back with Yao Jiaping after just one day. Yao Jiaping was very thin and wore blue robes. As he was a wandering immortal, he
had a youthful appearance and was quite handsome. Put alongside the male lead and love interests in Abusive Romance, he fell short a bit, but could still be considered within the upper ranks.
He refined an elixir very quickly and, after he gave it to the Sect Master, the Sect Master soon woke. Baili Qingmiao had done the Shangqing Sect a great service, so their hands were now even more tied in punishing her.
After the Sect Master woke up and heard about all that had happened in these past thirty years, he sighed weakly and said, “The Great Sect War was a major event. I can’t make this decision alone. How about the
Administration Hall Elder calls in all sect members at Deity Transformation or above to discuss this matter?”
Thus, everyone assembled in the main meeting room of the administration hall. Baili Qingmiao and her disciple Su Huai sat in the middle, with over twenty Deity Transformation cultivators seated around them. Since Zhongli Qian’s position was special, the Shangqing Sect let him sit in on the proceedings as a guest, and he could also make proposals, though whether or not they would be accepted would be decided by Shangqing Sect.
Baili Qingmiao was pale with everyone’s gaze on her, but she still patted Su Huai’s hand comfortingly. Her gaze was firm, and she had already made mental preparations.
Elder Qingrong cared about her disciple despite everything and spoke first. “Baili Qingmiao had been unaware that Qiu Congxue was a member of a demonic sect. She was part of the relief team at the time, and there’s no
crime in saving a person. Also, it wasn’t Baili Qingmiao’s decision to allow Qiu Congxue to join the Shangqing Sect; it was by the unanimous
agreement of all the elders. Qingmiao also risked her life to pluck the Lockheart Herb from within the sea of flames. I swear upon my soul that Qingmiao has never betrayed Shangqing Sect. She’s a good, obedient disciple.”
Hearing her master’s words, Baili Qingmiao blushed faintly, and a slight smile appeared on her face. “But my soul is in Qiu Congxue’s hands,” Liu Xinye said gloomily. “Baili Qingmiao gave the Seven-Colored Lotus Heart to Qiu Congxue, letting her manipulate me with it.”
There were two main parties in this debate. One was Elder Qingrong, who cared about her disciple and believed she was innocent. The other was Liu Xinye, who thought that Qiu Congxue had been plotting in the shadows.
Baili Qingmiao had traveled with Qiu Congxue for thirty years, so she might’ve already entered the demonic sect, and was returning to Shangqing Sect to continue being an undercover agent. She might’ve saved the Sect
Master for show. Maybe that Lockheart Herb she had gotten wasn’t a newly mature one at all, but the previous one that Wenren È had taken from the Pavilion Master and given to Baili Qingmiao.
This entire time, Zhongli Qian didn’t speak, acting like Baili Qingmiao’s fate didn’t matter to him.
Hè Wenzhao also stayed silent. After all, the one accusing Baili Qingmiao was his wife. He gazed at Baili Qingmiao’s pale face, but his shimei never looked at him once.
Finally, he couldn’t bear it anymore. Ignoring Liu Xinye’s pleading gaze, he came forward and stood by Baili Qingmiao’s side. “Master, martial uncles, fellow cultivators. Wenzhao remembers all you have said, so I hope
everyone will be willing to listen to a few of my words.”
Hè Wenzhao had gained a solid position at Shangqing Sect over these past thirty years. Though he was a junior, his cultivation was higher than many of his elders, so his words held much weight. With everyone’s gaze on him, he said, “There is no doubt that Baili-shimei obtained the Lockheart Herb. This proves her loyalty to the sect. What everyone’s debating is whether during her thirty years of travel, she came under Qiu Congxue’s control.
This is also easy to answer. To repay her life debt to Baili-shimei, Qiu
Congxue gave her a token. All we need to do is have Baili-shimei call over Qiu Congxue, while we set up a trap to kill her. That way, we can break Liu Xinye’s spirit vow, as well as strike a blow against a Demonic Sect Protector!” His idea could save Baili Qingmiao and also free Liu Xinye from danger, so for him and Shangqing Sect, it could be considered killing two birds with one stone. The sect elders discussed amongst each other and found nothing wrong with it, while Liu Xinye also had no reason to object.
“Baili Qingmiao, are you willing?” said the Administration Hall Elder, Qingyue.
Baili Qingmiao, under everyone’s gaze, stood up. She got to her knees, placed both hands against the ground, and bowed her head deeply. “This disciple is unwilling.”
“Why?” Elder Qingrong and Hè Wenzhao cried at the same time.
When she found out that Qiu Congxue was a demonic cultivator, she was clearly heartbroken to be tricked!
Baili Qingmiao had hit her head too hard against the floor, and when she looked up, there was a red spot on her forehead. She shook her head. “After coming to Shangqing Sect, Master Qingxue never did anything to harm the sect. The Shangqing Sect had sustained heavy losses in the Great Sect War and its position as the leader of the righteous sects was shaky. When word
spread that a wandering immortal had joined as a guest elder, the other sects stopped challenging our position, allowing us thirty years of recovery.
“During our thirty years of travel, Master Qingxue exposed the Nanguo clan using evil arts to raise their heirs, the disciples of Biluo Valley
capturing innocent ghosts to refine near-immortal artifacts, a Buddhist sect kidnapping women to cultivate the way of the Buddha of Joy, and various other matters. I have followed Master Qingxue for those thirty years and witnessed each and every thing with my own eyes, remembering them in my heart.”
“She may be a demonic cultivator, but she has never deceived me. She has never said she was of the righteous path. It was I who stubbornly tried to
save everyone. It’s true that the righteous and demonic paths cannot coexist peacefully, and if conflict starts again and we find ourselves on opposite
sides of the battlefield, I will show no hesitance. “But when it comes to using Master Qingxue’s debt of gratitude, using her trust towards me to harm her, Baili Qingmiao is unwilling!”
She looked directly at the elders seated above her, her gaze unwavering. “I have not committed a crime by being friends with a person. Causing my
shixiong to get injured at Master Qingxue’s hands and allowing the demonic sect to have control over Liu-shijie’s spirit vow were crimes, and I am willing to accept any and all punishment for them.”
Her back was straight, and it seemed her tiny shoulders could hold up the weight of the world.
Zhongli Qian clapped softly. Addressing the crowd, he said, “Miss Baili has my deepest admiration. I will not plead for mercy for her, and will not stand in the way of her decision.”
He spoke no more, and it seemed Baili Qingmiao’s life was of no matter to him. But everyone knew Baili Qingmiao was connected to the Crane-
Haired Wanderer with a heart-linking parasite. There was no way he would let Baili Qingmiao die if things really came down to it.
“Shimei!” Hè Wenzhao fell to his knees and grabbed Baili Qingmiao by her shoulders. “Why are you being so foolish?”
“Don’t touch my master!” Su Huai brought out a thin iron rod. The moment Hè Wenzhao saw it, he felt an ache in some part of his body, and quickly let go of Baili Qingmiao.
Liu Xinye was furious to see Hè Wenzhao touch Baili Qingmiao right in front of her. With a dark look on her face, she shrieked, “Baili Qingmiao has been brainwashed by the demonic sect! This disciple hopes the elders will decide in her favor!”
Shangqing Sect was in a difficult position. With Zhongli Qian there, they couldn’t easily punish Baili Qingmiao. After some discussion, Qingyue
said, “Baili Qingmiao, we have decided to confine you and Su Huai to the Cliff of Self-Reflection in the back mountains, and give you some time to think. We hope you will come to the right decision soon. If you insist on being foolish, then we’ll have to take action.”
“I understand,” Baili Qingmiao said. Her expression was calm as she accepted her punishment.
She and Su Huai were confined to the forbidden ground in the back mountains, placed under house arrest like in the original story.
Originally, it was because the Violet Spirit Master, wanting to marry Hè Wenzhao, had said that Baili Qingmiao was surrounded by disasters and had to be locked up, or she would endanger the entire sect. The Shangqing Sect hadn’t believed her, assuming she was just jealous of Baili Qingmiao’s relationship with Hè Wenzhao. But when they brought in a fortune teller, they found that Baili Qingmiao’s fate was an expanse of crimson, and not
even celestial signs of disaster were as ominous as the signs on her. She must’ve been the reincarnation of some demonic god.
The readers all thought that this was a trick by the Violet Spirit Master, but Wenren È knew the fortune teller was right. Baili Qingmiao was disaster incarnate, and her fate indeed looked like that.
Baili Qingmiao hadn’t believed that her fate was such and had rebelled
against her sect’s orders, so her scapula had been locked. She was as pitiful as could be.
But now, she was different. Baili Qingmiao was resolute in her decision,
and had Zhongli Qian protecting her. Despite being under house arrest, her heart was calm and steady.
That very night, Hè Wenzhao came to beg her to reconsider. She had said,
“Shixiong, don’t ask me to betray my principles, and don’t act so close with another woman when you are already married. Don’t destroy the image I have of you in my heart.”
Hè Wenzhao could only return defeated. He didn’t spend that night with Liu Xinye. Gritting his teeth, he said to his master, “Wenren È and Qiu Congxue must’ve used some evil technique to control shimei. What can I do to save her?”
“Let’s see…” said the Blood Demon Elder with a dark chuckle. “I have an idea. But you’ll have to give your body to me temporarily.”
After a moment of hesitation, Hè Wenzhao agreed. Neither book had progressed past this point. Both books were written from their protagonists’ point of view, so God of Annihilation would be deliberately leaving out
what the Blood Demon Elder was doing right now, in order to raise suspense.
After finishing reading the revisions, Wenren È faintly got a bad feeling. He had three books in his possession and could check on the progression of the plot at any time, but now that Hè Wenzhao was taking action against him, the book was leaving it out.
Wenren È was aware that the book couldn’t show everything. What could be included in it was only the tip of an iceberg, but now that it was precisely leaving out action taken against the Xuanyuan Sect, Wenren È was wary.
Could it be…?
He still hadn’t discovered the whereabouts of the second volume. Was the second volume different from the other two books? Or was this recipient much smarter than the others, and had figured out how to conceal his
actions?
Wenren È flipped through all the revised portions. One person’s name hadn’t shown up at all.
That person was Cen Zhengqi.
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. It’s a famous evil technique from the popular wuxia novel Legend of the Condor Heroes. A character in it, Mei Chaofeng, created the technique after she betrayed her master, stole a cultivation manual from him, and ran away to elope with another student. ↩
2. Refers to a female character who’s very sweet and innocent and kind of naive. ↩
Chapter 46 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 46 – Baiting the serpent
After his clan had been wiped out, Wenren È had picked up the habit of always preparing for the worst-case scenario, never hoping for a fluke.
He didn’t think, “Maybe it isn’t Cen Zhengqi, or even if it is him, maybe he doesn’t know the plot has changed.” He only cared about the worst possible outcome.
He knew that the Violet Spirit Master hadn’t known who obtained the first and second volumes. Similarly, the holder of the second volume wouldn’t know about Baili Qingmiao’s connection with the divine nature. With the two volumes he had, he could assume the second volume told of the events after Hè Wenzhao and Baili Qingmiao ascended to the immortal realm. In the first volume, Hè Wenzhao’s friends also ascended one after another. The most likely pieces of information for the second volume’s possessor to know were Wenren È’s death, from the summary of the previous volume,
and the fact that the second volume’s main villain was the Burning Sky Immortal.
After obtaining the book, Cen Zhengqi had two choices. One was to accept Hè Wenzhao as the protagonist and follow him faithfully to ride his
coattails. The second was to reject him and wait for a good time to steal his opportunities and become the strongest.
Judging from when the first and third volumes had shown up, the second volume would’ve also appeared thirty years ago. In these thirty years, Cen Zhengqi’s name hadn’t shown up once in the revised first volume. If a person decided to curry favor with someone, they would’ve appeared much earlier, doing everything they could to help that person. Wenren È, even though he didn’t want to win over Baili Qingmiao, had shown up several decades in advance because he needed to help her and had no malicious intent toward her. Even the readers had expressed surprise at his early debut.
Since Cen Zhengqi hadn’t done that, the chances that he wanted to support Hè Wenzhao were low. He had probably chosen the second option.
He must be a person with ambition and brains, so what would he be doing now? Wenren È wasn’t a particularly ambitious person and didn’t really understand the thoughts of his subordinates in Xuanyuan Sect. But he could ask.
Cen Zhengqi was a man, so none of the Altar Masters could be trusted. Out of the Sect Protectors, Qiu Congxue didn’t need to be considered, and Shu Yanyan had been killed by Hè Wenzhao and Cen Zhengqi in the book, so there was no way she could be him.
“Call over the Right Protector,” Wenren È said.
Yin Hanjiang sent a message talisman and soon Shu Yanyan rushed into the Main Hall. She was actually dressed properly, though a flush tinged her face. She must’ve just been cultivating.
“Protector Shu, this Venerable can’t figure something out and needs your help,” Wenren È said.
“Ask away,” Shu Yanyan said humbly. “This subordinate will say all that she knows.”
“Let’s say, one day, you obtained a divine book which foretold the future,” Wenren È said. “In it, it said, without a doubt, that Wenren È would die and you would become the new master of Xuanyuan Sect. Afterwards, you
would ascend to the immortal realm and become someone’s subordinate, helping him kill the ruler of the immortal realm. With this book, you can predict the future. How would you act?”
Shu Yanyan: … Her heart beat wildly. Was her lord asking this because he knew that she wanted to assassinate him at the right opportunity, become the Lord of Demons, then ascend with her subordinates and lay low in the immortal realm until she had the chance to kill the leader of the immortals?
After further thought, she didn’t think that was likely. Who didn’t know that she wanted to replace Wenren È? Who bothered hiding that fact? No, the Venerable wasn’t so paranoid; he encouraged the ambitions of the members of Xuanyuan Sect. What he said had to have some deeper meaning.
Shu Yanyan smiled. “The Venerable is telling a joke. If this subordinate really obtained such a book, she wouldn’t let the Venerable die. The
Venerable’s powers are great, so this subordinate couldn’t bear to kill him, if she could…”
She lifted her head to look at Wenren È, but before she could, she was pinned by Yin Hanjiang’s murderous gaze.
Shu Yanyan looked at Yin Hanjiang and saw that, at some point, he had put on a ghost mask. Underneath it, his eyes burned, making him seem like a
completely different person.
“Venerable…” She pointed at Yin Hanjiang.
“What?” Wenren È turned his head and saw Yin Hanjiang standing behind him, sword in hand, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Though his fingertips on the sword were white, and he seemed to be in pain.
Wenren È took his hand, saying gently, “There’s no need for Sect Leader Yin to be worried. This Venerable won’t die easily. And this Venerable has already allowed you to follow him to the afterlife.”
Yin Hanjiang revealed a smile like a puppet’s, like he had forced each muscle of his face to move with his spiritual energy. There was no emotion in his voice. “This subordinate understands.”
With that order, Yin Hanjiang would probably be fine. Wenren È nodded and turned back to Shu Yanyan. Shu Yanyan: …
No way, Venerable, Yin Hanjiang doesn’t look like he has any intention of obeying your orders. He has his mask back on; he looks like he’s going to commit murder.
Shu Yanyan had been part of a demonic sect for years, previously having followed the old Sect Master. She had seen all sorts of demonic cultivators, but she had never witnessed anyone like Yin Hanjiang, who looked like he had crawled out of the pits of hell.
She was near the peak of Mahayana, yet was being intimidated into backing away by a mere Void Boundary cultivator. Yin Hanjiang’s power wasn’t reasonable!
“Protector Shu?” Wenren È said, impatience in his voice. He was still waiting for her answer.
Shu Yanyan calmed her heart. She felt like there was no right answer here. If she lied and flattered Wenren È, he would be annoyed. If she told the truth, she got the feeling that right now, she couldn’t take Yin Hanjiang in a fight.
Trapped between them, Shu Yanyan finally answered, “If it were the other Protector or one of the Altar Masters, they would probably use their foreknowledge and stay hidden for the proper time to kill the Venerable and eliminate opposition. In the immortal realm… they would probably kill the immortal lord as well as the person they were following, stealing both their opportunities and ascending to godhood. But that’s what other people would do. If it were this subordinate, I would give the book to you, and never let you meet with any danger.”
Looking at Yin Hanjiang’s mask, she said, “This subordinate is forever loyal to the Venerable.”
Finally, Yin Hanjiang slowly took off the mask. He cocked his head at her, and his face gradually pulled into a smile. Shu Yanyan: …
She suddenly thought that the Venerable had to live a nice long life. If he
were to really die, probably no one would be able to control this rabid beast Yin Hanjiang.
With Shu Yanyan’s answer, Wenren È now sufficiently understood Cen Zhengqi’s plan. First, join forces with the Blood Demon Elder and kill
Wenren È, taking control of Xuanyuan Sect. Second, gather information on the Burning Sky Immortal and kill him. All the while, act loyal to Hè
Wenzhao, while waiting for a chance to strike. Third, kill Hè Wenzhao.
Since he was acting in the shadows, they might as well use his own tricks against him and put on an act to lure him out of hiding.
Having made his decision, Wenren È said to Shu Yanyan, “Call the Left Protector and the Altar Masters to the Main Hall. This Venerable needs to discuss something with them. Also, about that question…”
“What question?” Shu Yanyan said blankly. “The one you just asked me?” “You answered well,” Wenren È said with a slight smile.
The Right Protector was efficient and got everyone assembled at the Main Hall in less than two hours. The last time everyone had been gathered like this, it was for the sect entering seclusion, and the time before that, it was for the Great Sect War. Everyone wondered what important matter it was now.
Wenren È swept his gaze over the crowd. Aside from Shi Congxin looking timid, everyone was full of schemes, coveting the position of Sect Master. Qiu Congxue was the one who hid it the least.
“I believe everyone already knows that a disciple has caught this
Venerable’s eye, Baili Qingmiao of Shangqing Sect,” Wenren È said. “She has particularly high aptitudes, so this Venerable wants to raise her to be his opponent. She’s very valuable to me. But now, because of Protector Qiu,
she has been condemned by Shangqing Sect. This Venerable fears the disciple he’s chosen will have her spiritual root destroyed by Shangqing Sect, so wants to hear everyone’s ideas.”
Qiu Congxue wanted to speak, but Shu Yanyan pulled her back. She transmitted, “I know you have no brains, but just listen to me this once, and don’t say anything.”
Qiu Congxue stared blankly at her, and with her hesitation, Altar Master Ruan got to speak first.
“Shangqing Sect is weakened, so we can just pressure them to hand over Baili Qingmiao,” said Altar Master Ruan.
“This Venerable fears they will refuse. They can’t be allowed to harm Qingm— my disciple.”
Shu Yanyan: ?
She wasn’t hearing things, right? Had the Venerable just shown some
concern toward Baili Qingmiao in those words? No, he was purposefully giving people the impression that he had developed feelings for Baili
Qingmiao and was trying to hide it. He was using Baili Qingmiao as bait! She clamped her mouth shut, not daring to say a word.
“You can make her a ghost cultivator,” Qiu Congxue offered helpfully.
“This Venerable doesn’t want her the least bit harmed,” Wenren È said with a glare at her. “Protector Qiu, as Baili Qingmiao’s master, have you no
concern towards her at all? Huh?”
That last word held a rage they had never before heard from him.
Qiu Congxue was stunned. Didn’t offering to make Baili Qingmiao a ghost cultivator demonstrate her concern and favor towards her disciple? She had prepared everything for her! She had already refined the Violet Spirit
Master’s soul, and once Baili Qingmiao became a ghost cultivator, she
could devour him and rise to Mahayana on the spot. She was thinking of her disciple! “Venerable, I—”
Before she could finish, Wenren È waved a sleeve and sent her flying, spitting up a mouthful of blood.
“That’s enough. You’re all a pack of useless fools! This Venerable will figure it out himself!” “Fuming”, Wenren È stood up. Before leaving, he gave Shu Yanyan a meaningful look.
The smartest woman in Xuanyuan Sect: …
“Cough, cough, what’s with the Venerable? Why is he so mad?” Shi Congxin said, trembling. Relying on his looks, he leaned against Shu
Yanyan’s side. “Protector Shu, I haven’t been an Altar Master for long and have only met the Venerable a few times, so I don’t know him very well.
Can you give me some advice? Cough, cough!“
Shu Yanyan understood the task Wenren È had given her. She had been worried she wouldn’t have a chance to say anything, before Shi Congxin had asked her. Pleased, she stroked his chin and said, “You’ve asked the right person. As I see it, the Venerable’s love tribulation has arrived.”
“You mean…” Everyone’s eyes lit up except Qiu Congxue’s.
“Who could’ve guessed that such a hard-hearted man as our lord would’ve fallen in love with such a pure, innocent girl? Ah, if I’d known that was his type, I would’ve played the role,” Shu Yanyan said, acting regretful. “I’ve known many men over the years. When it comes to someone like Wenren È, whose heart has never moved in centuries and who’s oblivious to romance, once he does encounter love, he’ll fall head over heels in a heartbeat. If it were me he liked, he would really be willing to die for me.”
“Who does he like?” Qiu Congxue finally got back to her feet.
Shu Yanyan’s smile vanished the instant she saw her. “Not you,” she said coldly. “So anyways, Baili Qingmiao is precious to Wenren È. No one better mess with her.” With a sly smile and those words, Shu Yanyan left.
That night, a person sat alone in a room, flipping through a book and rereading several lines. He said to himself, “When this book said that Wenren È had fallen for Baili Qingmiao, fighting Hè Wenzhao for her, I
thought it was a lie. How could a cold-hearted man like him fall for a girl? But it turns out it was a love tribulation?”
His appearance was indistinguishable in the dark. He kept flipping through the book, muttering, “But Wenren È ought to have books too. How could he not know how he died? Is this an opportunity, or a trap?”
He took out a message talisman, which the Blood Demon Elder had borrowed Hè Wenzhao’s body to send him. As he predicted it, what the Blood Demon did after taking over Hè Wenzhao’s body shouldn’t be recorded in the book. Therefore, he hadn’t given out his name when meeting Hè Wenzhao, and only revealed his true identity when the Blood Demon was in charge of Hè Wenzhao’s body.
“Wenren È, Blood Demon, Hè Wenzhao, Baili Qingmiao—none of you know what my goal is. Even if this is a trap, all I have to do is be careful and never reveal my identity,” the person pondered.
“Fine, if you want to lure me into action, then I’ll be the fisherman, and while the sandpiper and clam fight amongst each other[1], I’ll be the ultimate victor.” In the wavering lamplight, that person made his decision and sent his message to the Blood Demon.
When Wenren È returned to his room after yelling at everyone, Yin
Hanjiang said, “If the Venerable wishes to save Baili Qingmiao, then this subordinate is willing to charge into Shangqing Sect and risk his life for her.”
Hearing his words, Wenren È paused, looking at Yin Hanjiang’s dedicated expression that said he was willing to die for his Venerable, just like the fourth male lead who had quietly stood guard at Baili Qingmiao’s side. Wenren È worked his mouth, unsure how he should explain to Yin Hanjiang.
He didn’t let Yin Hanjiang read Abusive Romance because the story was only halfway revised. The latter half was still the same as the original book, recording Wenren È risking his life for Baili Qingmiao over and over, treating her tenderly, and at last sacrificing himself for her. Wenren È didn’t like reading it himself. He absolutely could not let Yin Hanjiang see it.
In both Abusive Romance and God of Annihilation, Wenren È’s death at the end hadn’t yet been revised. Wenren È was not certain he could defy heaven and change destiny. He couldn’t promise Yin Hanjiang he wouldn’t die.
After some thought, he only said, “Baili Qingmiao is important, but not just to this Venerable. She’s important to the entirety of the three realms, so this Venerable is helping her.”
Yin Hanjiang half-kneeled in front of Wenren È, quietly listening.
“This Venerable doesn’t wish to hide anything from you. It’s possible that there’s someone out there who knows more than I. He’s acting in the
shadows, so this Venerable intends to lure him out. Those words out there were half-truths, but mostly they were a show for his benefit. As for
whether or not it’ll work, this Venerable can’t say.”
Yin Hanjiang worked up the courage to grab Wenren È’s hand. He said in a tone of forced calm, “Is the Venerable in any danger?”
“I’m uncertain.” Wenren È shook his head. “The enemy is not necessarily weaker than I. And I also need to use this opportunity to get rid of a threat.”
“The Venerable will not die,” Yin Hanjiang said stubbornly. “This subordinate will not allow him to.”
“Who knows? Humans make plans, but heaven decides whether or not they succeed.” Wenren È sighed. After all, the Blood Arts weren’t without
weaknesses. Yin Hanjiang looked at his expression, and felt the Army Crushing Sword jerk in his grasp. He clenched it tight, hiding the vicious look in his eyes.
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. It’s a fable. While the sandpiper and clam fight each other, the fisherman catches them both. ↩
Chapter 47 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 47 – Deception
“What is this?” Hè Wenzhao said furiously, holding a message talisman.
It had shown up in his room at some point. The Shangqing Sect had already strengthened its defenses, hearing that Wenren È had long since been interested in Baili Qingmiao and afraid he would show up to take her.
Despite having been married to Liu Xinye for many years, Hè Wenzhao’s heart was still on his little shimei. Also, as he continued to gain strength, he came to believe that there was nothing wrong with a man taking three or four wives. The leader of the Nanguo clan was a Mahayana cultivator with a horde of wives, who he all treated lovingly, and who helped him manage his estate. Hè Wenzhao was currently the youngest Void Boundary
cultivator in the cultivation world and was sure to rise to Mahayana in the future, so he very well could take multiple wives.
In Hè Wenzhao’s heart, the position of his true wife was reserved for Baili Qingmiao. He had always seen her as his wife, so when he heard that
Wenren È liked her, he saw red.
Thinking back to the events on True Yin Mountain, Wenren È had asked Baili Qingmiao to leave with him. Fortunately, shimei had refused.
Hè Wenzhao found it unbearable that someone so powerful wanted his shimei. “Master,” he asked, “how can I get rid of this scum of the
cultivation world?”
“Let’s see…” The Blood Demon Elder chuckled in his mind. “Hasn’t your Sect Master just woken up? Let me use your body to tell him something.” “Why should I give you my body?” Hè Wenzhao felt reluctant. Every time he let his master use his body, he would have a blank patch in his memories, and had no way of knowing what his master did. This made him uncomfortable, and he started having misgivings toward his master.
“Because I suspect Wenren È placed a gu parasite in you at True Yin
Mountain, and might now be able to hear your thoughts,” said the Blood Demon Elder. “Best that I use your body, and you distance yourself from
this matter for a time. If this plan fails, we’ll be unable to overcome Wenren È. When he kidnaps your little shimei, he’ll have all the evil sorcery in the world to cast on her. A single spell could make her forget you forever.”
Hè Wenzhao hesitated for a few more moments, then gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, I’ll let you have my body for the next few days!”
The revisions of God of Annihilation stopped there, though Abusive Romance continued on a little further, recording how Hè Wenzhao had paid a visit to Baili Qingmiao. Baili Qingmiao had felt that something was off
about him, but when she was about to ask, he knocked her unconscious. Su Huai seemed to have also been knocked unconscious.
The readers of Abusive Romance were all asking what had just happened. Had Liu Xinye taken Hè Wenzhao’s appearance to harm Baili Qingmiao? The comments were full of discussions and questions. Wenren È knew, though, that Hè Wenzhao was likely possessed by the Blood Demon. He had no knowledge of his actions.
Odd. Cen Zhengqi would know that Hè Wenzhao was the protagonist, so it made sense that he wanted him possessed, but why did he want to knock out Baili Qingmiao? Wenren È had thought that turning Cen Zhengqi’s
attention toward Baili Qingmiao would focus more of the plot into Abusive Romance, so he could use it to monitor the situation. How did Cen Zhengqi think of Baili Qingmiao?
Something was off about this situation.
A chessboard[1] appeared before Wenren È. He set down two white pieces, and the board suddenly changed unpredictably. Black had now, without its knowledge, been surrounded by White.
God of Annihilation had three volumes. It wasn’t difficult for Cen Zhengqi to figure out that he had the first volume. But Abusive Romance had only one volume and he had been the first to get it. The only other who knew of it was Yin Hanjiang, who would never let information leak.
Wenren È held two black pieces and closed his eyes, considering how best to place them down in order to turn the tables.
Cen Zhengqi, Wenren È, Blood Demon, Hè Wenzhao, Burning Sky Immortal…
His eyes flew open, and he placed the pieces down decisively. The
circumstances changed in an instant. He smiled slightly. No matter who he was facing, he could counter a thousand plans with one of his.
Two months later, Altar Master Yuan received a message from a disciple walking outside and rushed to meet with Wenren È.
“Venerable, this is bad!” he said frantically. “Our Message Carriers have heard a rumor in the cultivation world, that in the past two months,
seventeen Body Unity and above cultivators of the righteous sects and
cultivation clans have been killed. One of them was at Mahayana. They all died of, of…”
The Message Carriers was a special organization in Xuanyuan Sect, managed by the Main Hall Master. They posed as wandering cultivators,
sometimes becoming guests of the cultivation clans, tasked with uncovering information about the cultivation world.
“How did they die?” Wenren È said calmly.
“They were all dissolved into blood and absorbed…” Altar Master Yuan took a fearful glance at Wenren È and backed away a few steps. “The Shangqing Sect has shared comprehensive records of the battle against the Blood Demon ten thousand years ago, spreading word that blood cultivators have to absorb other cultivators’ souls to gain power, and were sure to become demons. If people are dying this way, then it means… the coming of a demon.”
“Shut your mouth!” Yin Hanjiang, standing behind Wenren È, kicked Altar Master Yuan over and pointed his sword at his throat.
Most people in Xuanyuan Sect knew by now that Wenren È had become a blood cultivator. Things had remained peaceful because no one knew a blood cultivator’s cultivation methods. Now that he had heard the information from Shangqing Sect, Altar Master Yuan was rightfully scared. However, Yin Hanjiang wouldn’t permit him to suggest that Wenren È had committed those murders.
The Venerable may cultivate a demonic path, but he would never become a demon. Even if he wanted to kill people, he would do so in open battle like he had in the Great Sect War or the destruction of True Yin Mountain. He wouldn’t commit such underhanded murders.
“No need to be angry, Sect Leader Yin,” Wenren È said. “Altar Master Yuan is just reporting things as they are.”
Yin Hanjiang stiffly withdrew his sword. Wenren È clapped his hands. “What a masterful move. Instantly, they’ve put this Venerable in an impossible situation.”
The Blood Demon had used Hè Wenzhao’s body to assassinate experts of the righteous sects. In doing so, he could increase his own power, and at the same time lead Shangqing Sect to spread knowledge of blood cultivation, making people think that Wenren È had caused these seventeen deaths.
After the news was out, the righteous sects and cultivation clans would start making plans to kill him.
The people of Xuanyuan Sect would be thrown into a panic. Few people would be willing to take on the entire cultivation world for Wenren È, and many would backstab him. At the same time, after absorbing the seventeen cultivators, the Blood Demon’s power had probably returned to the peak of Mahayana.
He had isolated Wenren È, while uniting the righteous sects and cultivation clans against him. He even managed to use Wenren È as a shield while increasing his own power. All the while, he had avoided showing up in the revisions, making his moves in the shadows. It was truly a masterful plan.
Altar Master Yuan got to his feet and backed away a few more steps. Only after putting some distance between him and Wenren È did he say, “V— Venerable, I hear they’re planning to act against you. W—what should we do?”
“‘We’?” Wenren È raised an eyebrow. “At this moment, the Xuanyuan Sect is still willing to fight alongside this Venerable?”
“Naturally, we’re completely loyal to the Venerable. Even if he were to consume us to increase his power, w—we have no complaints!” Altar Master Yuan said, backing away.
“Listen to that,” Wenren È said with a smile to Yin Hanjiang. “If this
Venerable really led this bunch into battle, I’d probably find a knife in my back.”
“The Venerable doesn’t need them,” Yin Hanjiang said. He put down his sword, standing unarmed before Wenren È, using his actions to signal his loyalty and trust in him.
“At least you trust this Venerable,” Wenren È said, placing a hand on Yin Hanjiang’s neck. He felt a shudder run through Yin Hanjiang under his palm.
His smile faded. He said coldly, “If you trust me, then why are you shaking?”
“This subordinate is not. This subordinate…” Yin Hanjiang lifted his head helplessly, not knowing how to explain. “Fine,” Wenren È said, seeing that he had no answer. “If none of you trust this Venerable, this Venerable cannot trust in you. Sect Leader Yin, you have greatly disappointed me.”
He transformed into crimson light, departing Xuanyuan Sect.
“This— With the Venerable gone, what are we supposed to do?” Altar Master Yuan said, looking helplessly at Yin Hanjiang.
“If the Venerable is not here, the deputy will represent him. If the deputy is not here, the Right Protector will. What must be done will be done!” Yin Hanjiang picked up his sword and hopped on it, pursuing Wenren È in the direction he had vanished.
Altar Master Yuan had no choice but to inform the Right Protector.
When Shu Yanyan received his message, she was lying in Helian Chu’s[2] lap, eating spiritual fruit. Helian Chu heard the message together with her.
“Protector, would the Venerable really consume people’s souls?” Helian Chu said, looking fearful as he held Shu Yanyan tighter.
Shu Yanyan shoved him off. “If you’re not scared, quit acting. If he wanted to consume you, you think you could escape?”
Flushing, Helian Chu said, “Isn’t this subordinate taking the chance to get closer to the Protector? Protector, do you think he’s someone who would secretly consume people? In this subordinate’s eyes, he doesn’t seem like it.”
“Why?” Shu Yanyan said.
“Thirty years ago, when the Venerable returned after the Great Sect War, he possessed this subordinate’s body. Do you still remember that?”
“Hm? Didn’t you not like bringing this up?” Shu Yanyan said with interest. Wenren È had possessed Helian Chu, causing Shu Yanyan to not immediately realize that he had returned, exposing her ambitions in front of him. Helian Chu had lost his position and been ignored by Shu Yanyan for years. After studying literature for thirty years and memorizing a few poems, he had finally regained her favor.
“The situation’s different now,” Helian Chu said. “Anyway, when this
subordinate was possessed, the Venerable could’ve destroyed my soul at
any time, yet he hadn’t. I feel that he’s not the type to kill someone secretly. If he wanted to consume someone’s soul, he would probably send them a message declaring his intentions, then defeat them in open combat. He
wouldn’t act in the shadows.”
“You’ve gotten smarter after reading books.” Shu Yanyan stroked his cheek. Her smile gradually faded, and she said seriously, “If even you think so, then probably no one with a brain will be fooled.”
After putting her clothes on properly, she headed to the Main Hall to take over management of the sect. Everyone else had received Altar Master Yuan’s message and soon assembled there.
The first to arrive was Protector Qiu. Upon seeing Shu Yanyan, she said, “I don’t believe it. Even if I used my pinky toe to think, I’d know it wasn’t Wenren È who did it.”
Shu Yanyan smiled brilliantly. She pointed at Qiu Congxue, saying to Helian Chu, “See? Even people without brains don’t buy it.”
Qiu Congxue: … Helian Chu: …
After everyone arrived, Shu Yanyan said, “I know many people have doubts right now. Likely, some want to use this as an opportunity to cause trouble. But I urge everyone to be patient. Even if you want to take Wenren È’s position, we should wait until we confirm our information. Everyone still remembers the punishment they got last time, right? Personally, this Protector doesn’t wish to get punished again so soon.”
Remembering his punishment, Altar Master Ruan shuddered. He spoke out first. “Whoever wants to backstab can go ahead, but I don’t dare to.” The other Altar Masters also successively declined.
At that moment, a message talisman flew into the hall, sent from a Message Carrier. Altar Master Yuan opened it and played it for everyone to hear.
“According to intel, Baili Qingmiao has been captured by the Blood Demon and taken to the Blood Hell, currently in mortal danger.”
An image was attached to the message, which Altar Master Yuan displayed.
A scene appeared in the air. Baili Qingmiao and Su Huai were dangled
above the sea of the Blood Hell, both unconscious. From time to time, the spray from the sea would land on them.
The Blood Hell was the seal that the primordial gods had worked together to create, and it contained the primordial chaos energy of the cosmos. It looked to be a sea of crimson water, but it was actually the reflection of primordial chaos energy. Every drop of water contained terrifying power.
The 180 thousand demonic gods ceaselessly attacked the seal, and over the centuries, the demonic energy had fused with the primordial chaos, becoming a corrosive power that could consume everything. A drop of
water fell on Baili Qingmiao’s leg, and instantly, half of the flesh on her leg rotted. The pain shocked her awake. Looking around, she found she was no longer in the mountains of Shangqing Sect.
The sea kicked up a spray again, and Baili Qingmiao hugged Su Huai to her chest, sending out her silk to block the droplets. However, her power was no match for the Blood Hell’s water, and the Moonlit Frost Silk instantly disintegrated. With her bonded weapon destroyed, Baili Qingmiao’s dantian was injured and she spat up a mouthful of blood. Holding Su Huai in her
arms, she fainted again.
“Despicable!” Seeing the scene, Qiu Congxue didn’t think about who had set the trap. She transformed into a spring breeze and flew off, evidently to the Blood Hell.
“Oh my, how heartless,” Shu Yanyan said, rubbing her temples. “Since that idiot wants to go throw away her life, I better go stop her.” Dragging Helian Chu, she set off in pursuit, leaving the Altar Masters staring at each other.
They had no plans to go help, and without understanding the situation, they didn’t dare to act. After a bit of discussion, Altar Master Yuan said, “Why don’t we all manage our own territories for now and observe the situation. After the dust settles, we can figure out who’s the new Sect Master.”
Thinking it over, they all found it reasonable. Even if they wanted to cause chaos, this wasn’t the time for it. Plus, this had occurred too suddenly, so it was probably a ploy. None of them wanted to be used, so they might as well copy Altar Master Ruan and turtle up.
After everyone departed, a lone figure came to the Xuanyuan Sect forbidden grounds, the location of the sect’s only immortal artifact, the Burning Sky Drum.
“Wenren È has been lured away, Yin Hanjiang has followed him, and Protectors Qiu and Shu are also gone. The timing is perfect for me to take control of the Burning Sky Drum.”
The person took out a book. It was God of Annihilation: Volume 2.
He flipped to a certain page in the back. It read, “The Burning Sky Immortal was actually the Xuanyuan Sect Left Protector Yin Hanjiang.
After sustaining mortal injuries in the cultivation world, a remaining fragment of his soul hid within the Burning Sky Drum, slowly regaining its strength. The Burning Sky Drum was an abandoned weapon of the immortal lord. He eventually found it in the cultivation world and wanted to take it back to refine it anew, but he was devoured by Yin Hanjiang, who had now become one with it. Taking over his body, Yin Hanjiang became the Burning Sky Immortal. He was still loyal to Wenren È, and was filled
with hatred toward Hè Wenzhao and his people. In the cultivation world, he had secretly harmed Baili Qingmiao and Hè Wenzhao countless times. At first, he had not yet absorbed the immortal lord’s soul, and could only send his underlings against them. After a thousand years, he absorbed his soul
and finally took action personally, setting out to kill Hè Wenzhao. “The Burning Sky Drum might’ve been the immortal lord’s bonded
weapon, but it’s been left in the cultivation world for many years and has lost its connection to him. I just need to place my blood and a wisp of my soul within it to begin consuming its power. I’ll be able to refine the immortal and demonic energy inside it and become an invincible immortal lord,” that person muttered as he read.
“Since getting this book, I’ve waited a long time for this chance. After battling the Blood Demon, even if Wenren È survives, he’ll become a monster who only wants to consume souls. Yin Hanjiang will probably be the first to get devoured, hahaha…”
“Who will be the first?” said a voice from the bottom of the ravine where the Burning Sky Drum lay.
A figure leapt out of the ravine. It was Yin Hanjiang.
“D—didn’t you follow Wenren È?” the person said in shock.
“The Venerable ordered me to guard the Burning Sky Drum,” Yin Hanjiang said. He raised his sword. “Why are you here, Altar Master Yuan?”
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. It’s probably Go ↩
2. The author inexplicably changed Helian Yi’s name.↩
Chapter 48 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 48 – Blossoming of the spider lilies
Wenren È wasn’t someone like Zhongli Qian who wouldn’t miss a single detail. When it came to strategy, he knew he couldn’t compare to Zhongli Qian. He couldn’t even match Shu Yanyan’s sense for detail.
But few rulers of the past and present were known for their cleverness. As the Xuanyuan Sect Master, Wenren È didn’t need to consider every detail himself. He just needed to assign the right people to the right places, and be able to trust them.
If all the doubts pointed to Yin Hanjiang, then the situation actually became simple. He only needed to trust Yin Hanjiang to not betray him.
Thus he had called over Yin Hanjiang and asked who he thought, aside from him, might know Wenren È was in possession of two books, as well as who in Xuanyuan Sect could cover up their own identity without any traces.
Yin Hanjiang figured out the first question. He had a good memory, and remembered that though Wenren È was alone with him on the day he obtained the book, there was one person who had kept asking what book the Venerable had obtained, and whether a celebration should be prepared. Yin Hanjiang didn’t easily forget anything involving Wenren È, and even remembered that when Wenren È had been reading, Altar Master Yuan had paced back and forth outside his door several times.
And Altar Master Yuan had only brought up planning a celebration this once. When Wenren È returned after the Great Sect War, having increased his power greatly, Altar Master Yuan didn’t mention celebrating. Neither had he brought it up after their thirty-year seclusion. After Yin Hanjiang relayed this, Wenren È considered the personalities of everyone in Xuanyuan Sect. Protector Shu was sharp, Protector Qiu was straightforward, Altar Master Miao was secretive, Altar Master Ruan was reckless, Altar Master Shi was cowardly, and Altar Master Yuan was
cunning. None of them were lacking in ambition, but the ones who could stay undercover for thirty years without acting after obtaining the book were probably only Protector Shu, Altar Master Miao, Altar Master Shi, and Altar Master Yuan.
Shu Yanyan had died by Cen Zhengqi’s hand in the book. She and Hè
Wenzhao were enemies, and the books had all chosen people who appeared to favor the protagonists, so there was no possibility of her having it.
If Altar Master Miao had gotten it, he would’ve wondered why the Violet Spirit Master was a man, and used his gu insects to interrogate him on the location of the third volume. Since he hadn’t, he wasn’t very suspicious.
The remaining suspects were Altar Master Shi and Altar Master Yuan. In order to confirm his conjecture, Wenren È had sent a message to Zhongli Qian, asking him what kind of person would be able to change their name and hide in the Xuanyuan Sect for centuries.
Upon receiving the message, Zhongli Qian was a bit dumbfounded. Why was he, an outsider, being asked to weigh in on Xuanyuan Sect’s internal affairs?
Even so, Zhongli Qian gave the question his proper attention. After listing out multiple possibilities, he arrived at his conclusion—it was most likely to be the person in charge of the register.
Thus, Altar Master Yuan was the biggest suspect. Of course, Wenren È had no evidence, but did you need evidence to act in Xuanyuan Sect? Did
Wenren È need to justify his actions before killing one or two subordinates?
However, in order to deal with every threat in one move and obtain the second book smoothly, Wenren È had to wait for a time. There were only two reasons for the person with the book to lay low for so long. The first was killing Wenren È, and the second was to increase his own power.
Since the second volume took place in the immortal realm, it would probably mention very few opportunities that could be obtained in the
cultivation world. The only clue he had was that the Burning Sky Immortal and the Burning Sky Drum shared a name. Since the drum was an immortal artifact, there’s no way it could share a name with the lord of the immortal realm without being connected to him. They would’ve at least shown some respect.
So there were only two places for Cen Zhengqi to go. One was to the Blood Hell, to help Hè Wenzhao kill Wenren È. The other was to the Xuanyuan Sect forbidden ground, to take control of the Burning Sky Drum while no one was around.
At this point, whether or not Cen Zhengqi was Altar Master Yuan was no longer important. They just needed to be stationed at these two places in order to catch him. That was Wenren È’s plan. It was a bit rough and he might’ve overlooked things, but for the most part, it was workable.
It just so happened that he needed to take this chance to enter the Blood
Hell. Since Yin Hanjiang might follow him, he had sent him off to guard the Burning Sky Drum. By the time Yin Hanjiang went to find him, whether Wenren È succeeded or failed, it would all be over.
Altar Master Yuan, unaware of their analyses, chuckled and said, “What are you saying, Sect Leader Yin? I was worried about the Venerable, and
wanted to use the Burning Sky Drum to help him! Thirty years ago, didn’t Sect Leader Yin sound it in order to help him defeat twenty-one righteous sect experts? Do you think I can’t manage what you did?”
Yin Hanjiang didn’t react, eyes on the book in Altar Master Yuan’s hand. “After all these years, it seems still no one knows Altar Master Yuan’s name.” Shu Yanyan, Qiu Congxue, Ruan Weiyi, Shi Congxin, Miao Qiuqing, all these names had been on the registers, but where was Altar Master Yuan’s?
Registers in the cultivation world were different from those in the mortal world. They were magic items, upon which one needed to leave a drop of blood while recording their name. That way, if they were to die or meet
with a problem in their cultivation, the register would reflect it. Names also couldn’t easily be changed, being bestowed by one’s parents. Even in
ancient times, there were traditions of summoning souls by calling their names, showing that a name was connected to a soul. It would be easy to see that a name on a register didn’t match their blood.
“Why are we discussing such things at this time? We have to hurry to the Blood Hell to find the Venerable!” Altar Master Yuan’s face dripped with sweat, but inside, he was calm.
He knew there was no way to maintain his cover anymore. The fact that Yin Hanjiang was hidden here meant that Wenren È suspected him.
Altar Master Yuan didn’t really understand why he had been suspected. Even him guessing that Wenren È had a book with Baili Qingmiao as the protagonist had been a fluke.
Back then, when Wenren È secluded himself with a book, Altar Master Yuan had been suspicious. Wenren È cultivated the Path of Slaughter, and each time he raised his realm, it was on the battlefield. When his
subordinates offered him secret manuals, he only gave them a glance, and very rarely studied one in seclusion. At the time, Altar Master Yuan really thought Wenren È had obtained some incredible technique, and had asked Yin Hanjiang several times, to no answer. He had marked it down in his memory, thinking to steal it to read when he had a chance.
Yet thirty years ago, while Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang were out to kidnap Zhongli Qian, a book had hit Altar Master Yuan on the head. It was God of Annihilation: Volume 2. On the first page, Altar Master Yuan was filled
with glee upon seeing the previous volume’s summary, saying that Wenren È had been killed by Hè Wenzhao at the Blood Hell. However, the task he had been assigned at the start of the book was: “Significant deviations have shown up in the events of Volume 1, the
probability of Wenren È’s death has fallen, and Baili Qingmiao has grown further and further away from Hè Wenzhao. Thus, the one with the most malice toward Wenren È has been selected in order to change the plot, and help Hè Wenzhao kill Wenren È and win Baili Qingmiao’s heart.”
Reading the second volume, Altar Master Yuan found his real name, Cen Zhengqi, appearing in it. Finding out he was one of Hè Wenzhao’s
supporters, he felt dissatisfied. Altar Master Yuan was even willing to kill Wenren È, so how could be willing to be one of Hè Wenzhao’s
subordinates? He decided to let Hè Wenzhao and Wenren È fight each other, while he stole the Burning Sky Drum from Yin Hanjiang.
Yet, just after he obtained the book, Wenren È had ordered the sect seclude itself for thirty years. Thirty years later, when Altar Master Yuan had
wanted to act, he’d heard that the Violet Spirit Master was a man.
From the Violet Spirit Master, he figured out that the third volume had appeared at roughly the same time as the second. Then the first volume should’ve also shown up at the same time. But that didn’t make sense—
Wenren È had clearly gotten a book many years ago, and had already begun changing fate.
After thinking it over carefully, Altar Master Yuan realized that at the start, Wenren È hadn’t harmed Hè Wenzhao at all, instead favoring Baili
Qingmiao. He came up with a daring idea. Maybe Wenren È possessed two books, and the second one wasn’t God of Annihilation, but a different one, one where Baili Qingmiao was the protagonist.
Whether or not his guess was correct, he immediately edited his real name in the registers, as well as having the Blood Demon knock out Baili
Qingmiao, to prevent his plan being exposed.
He had met the Blood Demon while secretly observing Hè Wenzhao. They had come to an understanding at the time, and made a temporary alliance. Altar Master Yuan didn’t get it. He had covered all his bases, so how come Wenren È still found him out?
Of course, he had said those words just now not in hopes that Yin Hanjiang would believe him and let him off, but to have Yin Hanjiang think he was
still trying to bluff, and therefore let down his guard.
But after a few words, Altar Master Yuan realized it was pointless. Yin Hanjiang was like an emotionless puppet, unmoved by any of his words.
His eyes were pinned unerringly on Altar Master Yuan, searching for any weaknesses, waiting for a chance to strike.
Altar Master Yuan sighed. “If Sect Leader Yin doesn’t believe me, then I have no choice but to defend myself.”
He brought out his bonded weapon, the Poison Dragon Whip. In all these years, no one in Xuanyuan Sect had seen it.
To everyone else, Altar Master Yuan had always shown himself to be Void Boundary stage, the weakest among the Protectors and Altar Masters. He had harmed his foundation early in his cultivation and was unable to reach Mahayana. In the book, after meeting Hè Wenzhao and becoming one of his companions, Hè Wenzhao had helped him find an opportunity and ascend to Mahayana.
He had found many clues in the second volume and stolen many opportunities thirty years ago, healing his old injury and rising to
Mahayana. Without sufficient power, he wouldn’t have dared to use the Burning Sky Drum anyway.
With a lash of the Poison Dragon Whip, poisonous qi suffused the spiritual energy surrounding them. Ordinary poisons had no effect on cultivators, but Altar Master Yuan’s poison was extremely potent. The longer you were
affected, the more you would be weakened. Cultivators had to take in natural spiritual energy in battle, so as they fought, Yin Hanjiang’s strength would be diminished. Altar Master Yuan’s goal was to drag out the battle. He tossed out talismans, spiritual stones, single-use magical items, and quick arrays one
after another, trying to delay Yin Hanjiang and force him to absorb spiritual energy.
Yin Hanjiang was only at Void Boundary, not much stronger than Altar Master Yuan, but he was a sword cultivator. Their attacks were especially
fearsome, and they had the strongest combat power in their realms. But his weakness was someone who fought a battle of attrition like Altar Master Yuan. Each of a sword cultivator’s attacks expended a large amount of
spiritual energy, so they instinctively absorbed natural spiritual energy in battle. Yin Hanjiang was a reckless fighter to begin with. Even if he knew the spiritual energy was poisoned, it was impossible for him to not absorb it.
He failed to defeat Altar Master Yuan within his first ten moves. Growing anxious, he took even more spiritual energy into his dantian. His movements slowed down slightly.
In a battle between experts, even a moment’s carelessness could be an opening. Altar Master Yuan took his chance and swung the Poison Dragon Whip, its spiked tip lashing across Yin Hanjiang’s body. Yin Hanjiang had made no attempt to avoid it. When he was attacking, Altar Master Yuan
wouldn’t be able to properly defend himself. Yin Hanjiang had also been waiting for his chance!
At the moment the Poison Dragon Whip hit him, Yin Hanjiang thrust his sword with all his spiritual essence behind it. The single strike held
earthshattering power, and even a newly ascended immortal would be seriously injured by it.
Yet Altar Master Yuan was prepared. He patted his chest and a streak of golden light flashed forth. A golden armor appeared in midair, blocking Yin Hanjiang’s sword.
“When Wenren È sent you here alone, did he really think you could defeat me?” Altar Master Yuan chuckled sadly. His body morphed, changing from a short and plump man to a tall, thin, and plain-looking youth. A cultivator’s appearance wouldn’t change after Nascent Soul, but demonic cultivators naturally had countless ways to reshape their bodies. Altar
Master Yuan had grown accustomed to using two identities, one tall and thin and one short and plump—not for any particular reason, just as a precaution.
In volume two, Hè Wenzhao and Baili Qingmiao had ascended first. Later, their friends had followed them, and gave Hè Wenzhao the rundown on
what had happened in the cultivation world. Using their accounts, Altar Master Yuan had beaten the Violet Spirit Master to the Golden Immortal Armor that was meant for her. Wearing it, he had managed to block Yin Hanjiang’s strike.
Even if Yin Hanjiang was at Mahayana, how would he be able to pierce the armor the author had created for the protagonist’s main wife?
Altar Master Yuan struck without hesitation. Protected by the armor, he lashed his whip again and again across Yin Hanjiang’s body. With the poison entering his body, Yin Hanjiang felt cold emanating from his dantian, and was unable to summon a hint of spiritual energy.
“Heheheh.” Seeing Yin Hanjiang collapsed on the ground, unmoving, Altar Master Yuan began laughing. “Sect Leader Yin, it’s too bad that, for all your loyalty to Wenren È, you’ll be dying before him. After I deal with you, I’ll be heading to the Blood Hell to enjoy Wenren È’s last moments.”
While he spoke, his hand never stopped. Altar Master Yuan was an
extremely cautious man, and obviously wouldn’t give Yin Hanjiang any
chance to stand up. The Poison Dragon Whip was nearly thirty meters long, so Altar Master Yuan stood as far away as possible.
The Army Crushing Sword clattered to the ground. Yin Hanjiang was no longer capable of flying on it. He heard Altar Master Yuan say that his Venerable would soon die as well, and suddenly stopped struggling, or moving at all.
“What’s this? Have you dropped dead? Or are you pretending?” Altar
Master Yuan wasn’t about to fall for any tricks. He wouldn’t stop attacking until he had Yin Hanjiang’s soul in his hands.
At Altar Master Yuan’s command, the Poison Dragon Whip transformed into a shadowy serpent. It dove at Yin Hanjiang, about to rip his soul out of his body.
At the moment the serpent was about to sink its fangs into Yin Hanjiang’s neck, a far-off drumbeat sounded.
The whip stilled, blocked by some force.
“What happened?” Altar Master Yuan said, feeling anxious for no discernable reason. He lashed his whip at Yin Hanjiang again, but the Army Crushing Sword, which had been sitting silently on the ground, lunged up
and pierced through the whip. It had changed its shape, no longer a longsword, but a vicious-looking triangular spike[1].
It was no longer the Army Crushing Sword, but the Army Crushing Spike.
Bong bong! Two drumbeats sounded. Yin Hanjiang, who had been lying on the ground and unable to move, stood up. At some point, he had put on a ghost mask.
Altar Master Yuan backed up several steps, powering the golden armor with his spiritual energy as he frantically called the Poison Dragon Whip back.
Seeing the situation had reversed, he was already planning his escape.
A Mahayana cultivator wasn’t easy to kill. Even if he couldn’t win, if he put his efforts toward escaping, he could manage that.
Bong bong bong! The drumbeats grew louder. A huge drum rose out of the ravine, hovering behind Yin Hanjiang.
Beneath the mask, Yin Hanjiang’s expression couldn’t be seen. He seemed to no longer be affected by the poison. In a flash, he appeared next to the Army Crushing Spike, grabbing the whip with one hand. With a yank, he managed to pull Altar Master Yuan’s bonded weapon out of his grasp. Yin Hanjiang’s eyes showed a heartless smile underneath the mask. With a wave of his hand, he beat the whip against the Burning Sky Drum.
Bong! This was hardly a blow against the drum. Yin Hanjiang was using Altar Master Yuan’s bonded weapon in order to attack his soul.
Seeing the situation was bad, Altar Master Yuan instantly severed his
connection to his bonded weapon. Even if it injured him, it was better to escape.
Yet as he dropped the Poison Dragon Whip and tried to run away, countless spider lilies blossomed, blanketing his retreat path.
“Oh my.” Shu Yanyan’s face, more beautiful than a hundred blooms,
appeared from within the lilies. She said with a laugh, “That terrified me. I thought Sect Leader Yin wouldn’t be able to beat you. If that had happened, then I would’ve had to betray the Venerable.”
She had been hiding all this time, already planning to support Altar Master Yuan if he won, and Yin Hanjiang if he did.
“Since you’re a Mahayana cultivator, I don’t dare to touch you. But now that you’re weakened from having to sever your connection to your bonded weapon, how can I miss this chance?” Hidden beneath Shu Yanyan’s beautiful appearance was her usual ruthless manner of action.
The spider lily stamens trapped Altar Master Yuan within them. The
stamens drank blood, while the petals sucked away spiritual energy. Shu Yanyan stood amidst the field of flowers, smiling as she watched Altar
Master Yuan struggle, like an alluring and carnivorous bloom. “Good thing Sect Leader Yin won, or I would’ve had to embarrass myself.”
She took a glance at Altar Master Yuan’s completely unremarkable face and shook her head. “If I kiss up to someone, they at least have to be good- looking.”
As she spoke, Altar Master Yuan’s body completely vanished. The soul of a Mahayana cultivator flew out, trying to make one last stand. Before it had the chance, a spike blade stabbed into it. Three streaks of light split Altar Master Yuan’s soul apart. Just like that, a Mahayana cultivator perished, body and soul.
The ghost mask still on his face, Yin Hanjiang picked up the book of God of Annihilation: Volume 2, which Altar Master Yuan had never had the chance to put away. He flipped it open and immediately saw the beginning
summary—Hè Wenzhao killed Wenren È at the Blood Hell, finally
avenging the deaths of his family and reclaiming his shimei. The couple ascended together to the immortal realm, becoming legends in the
cultivation world.
The eyes underneath the mask burned red.
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. For visuals, search chinese spike bayonet, I think ↩
Chapter 49 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 49 – This Venerable forbids you
After leaving Xuanyuan Sect, Wenren È began strolling openly in public.
He wanted the righteous cultivators to know where he was, to make it easier for them to set up a trap for him.
He didn’t have to wait long. While he sat in a restaurant at the foot of Xuanyuan Sect’s mountain, drinking wine, he heard someone near him
speak in a volume like they were afraid he wouldn’t hear. “I heard that the murderer of those seventeen experts was actually the Xuanyuan Sect’s Wenren È. He’s now kidnapped Baili Qingmiao of Shangqing Sect and is headed for the Blood Hell.”
“Baili Qingmiao? Is she powerful? Why would he kidnap her?” another person asked in the same tone.
“Don’t you know? She reached Body Unity in less than a century. Wenren È kills cultivators who are Body Unity or above. Since her aptitudes are so good, why would he pass her up?” the first person said emphatically.
“Who did you say kidnapped Baili Qingmiao?” Wenren È said.
“Of course, the Blood Demon Wenren—” The person “accidentally” turned his head and cried out in shock. “Wenren È!”
His companion quickly shrank into a corner. “D—don’t kill me! I’m only at Core Formation, I wouldn’t even be a snack for you. There’s no use
consuming me!”
Wenren È, with a wave of his sleeve, beat them both black and blue out of formality, then set off for the Blood Hell. At the same time, Baili Qingmiao opened her eyes. She had been trapped at the back mountains of Shangqing Sect for the past two months, and upon opening her eyes, found herself tied up in a strange and terrifying place. In the face of danger, she had protected her disciple first and foremost, and now endured the pain in her dantian as she shook Su Huai awake. Through gritted teeth, she said, “Disciple, wake up, we have to get out of here!”
Su Huai blearily opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw the dusky sky above and the dark crimson sea below him and exclaimed, “What is this place?”
“I’m not sure,” Baili Qingmiao said. “But we have to climb up.”
They were strung up by a rope around their waists, dangling off the edge of a cliff with the sea below them. The environment was very strange. Several times, she tried to fly up the cliff, but to no avail. Her spiritual energy
wasn’t being suppressed, she simply couldn’t fly. An inexhaustible
attractive force came from below, sucking in the surrounding spiritual energy. To get to the top of the cliff, they would have to climb.
Baili Qingmiao should’ve been scared, but her heart was still. Zhongli Qian was probably steadying her emotions.
It was going to be okay, Baili Qingmiao told herself. She set her sights on a jutting rock at her top left, preparing to grab it and start climbing. As the master, she had to go first and find a safe path for her disciple.
The moment her palm touched the stone, she felt a burning pain eating
away at her flesh. She jerked her hand back, seeing that the fair skin of her palm had been blackened, blisters of blood continually forming and bursting within it.
“Master!” Seeing Baili Qingmiao injured, Su Huai frantically took out a medicinal pill for her to swallow. Whoever had hung them here was rather strange. Their spiritual energy hadn’t been sealed and their storage items hadn’t been taken away. They had only been strung up. After taking the pill, Baili Qingmiao felt a lot better. She looked up, but couldn’t see anyone around.
“Where on earth are we? We were just at Shangqing Sect, so how come we’re suddenly here?” Baili Qingmiao said, holding her head. “Has
something happened to Shangqing Sect?”
Su Huai really wanted to whack his master on the head and knock her tendency to see the best in everyone out of her brain. He said furiously, “Mister Zhongli was staying at Shangqing Sect as a guest. If something happened at the sect, do you think he would just sit back and let you be
taken away? It’s obvious that he’s fine right now, so he either doesn’t know what happened to you or can’t do anything about it. With him there and the Shangqing Sect’s wards, do you think the sect could’ve been attacked?”
“Then… what happened?” Truthfully, Baili Qingmiao had already arrived at the answer. She just didn’t want to believe it.
“What could it have been? Before you got knocked out, who was the last person you saw?!” Su Huai nearly yelled.
It was her shixiong. Baili Qingmiao had long since remembered. Shixiong had come to see her, then she had lost consciousness and woken up in this place.
“It’s obvious that Shangqing Sect has strung us up here for some purpose,” Su Huai said. “Don’t we look like bait on a fishhook right now?”
As a ghost cultivator, he had often used bait to lure in ordinary people. This scene that he had opened his eyes to was totally familiar.
“What does the sect want from me?” Baili Qingmiao said, still disbelieving.
“What else?!” Su Huai yelled. “Remember what they wanted you to do before now, that you refused? That’s obviously what they’re after!” How come his master was such an idiot? “I…” Baili Qingmiao shook her head. It wasn’t that she hadn’t realized this either, she just hadn’t wanted to believe.
The Shangqing Sect wanted her to lure out Master Qingxue, and she had refused, thus being locked up in the mountains. Shixiong had begged her to reconsider once and she hadn’t listened. The next time he came, he had knocked her unconscious.
“Using their own disciples to lure out demonic cultivators!” Su Huai said furiously. “How can Shangqing Sect still call themselves the righteous path? They’re just a bunch of underhanded crooks!”
He had raised his voice, as well as used spiritual energy to make it travel further. He wanted to make sure the people lying in wait at the top of the cliff heard him.
At the clifftop, several cultivators had already set up a Heavenly Net in order to eradicate the Blood Demon. Hearing a junior like Su Huai yell at them, some people’s faces turned red, but no one dared make a sound.
It was an elder of the Nanguo clan, who had a grudge against Baili
Qingmiao and her companions, who stood up and walked over to the cliff’s edge. “What’s the problem with sacrificing a few disciples in order to slay a demon?” he said.
“It’s you, old fart!” Su Huai said. “You Nanguos are still resentful because my martial ancestor exposed your evil deeds, so now you want to dispose of all of us who attended that banquet, huh? The Shangqing Sect has sunk so low they’re rubbing elbows with the Nanguo clan? Disgusting! I’m
ashamed to be a disciple of Shangqing Sect!”
He was a ghost cultivator, one who had often hung out in marketplaces to eat wandering spirits. If he wanted to, he could cuss like a hoodlum, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t say.
He was about to die anyway, so Su Huai didn’t hold anything back, cursing out the Shangqing Sect and Nanguo clan with all he had. Baili Qingmiao
was stupefied at the coarseness of his language and the sheer variety of his insults. Her disciple had always been so obedient, and even if he was occasionally a bit rebellious, he never meant any harm by it. Plus, he had
studied literature under Zhongli Qian for all that time. She had never heard him cuss before, so she got quite a shock today.
She said quietly, “If Mister Zhongli heard you talk like this…”
Su Huai stiffened. His language immediately became formal, though he
continued his insults, simply without the swearing. His language was still as varied as before, words like “cowards”, “scoundrels”, and “petty crooks”
coming out of his mouth. Baili Qingmiao didn’t get how he couldn’t memorize poetry, but could memorize so many ways of cursing people.
“Old farts, your actions are lower than those of the demonic sects!” Su Huai yelled.
The righteous cultivators pretended they couldn’t hear him. The Nanguo
elder couldn’t beat him in insulting, and after pointing a trembling finger at Su Huai and calling him a “vulgar brat”, backed off. Su Huai yelled until he was hoarse, but no one responded. He said to Baili Qingmiao, “Your sect’s no good and your shixiong’s even worse. Stop liking him.”
Baili Qingmiao said faintly, “Shixiong is unable to disobey the sect’s orders.”
Su Huai was on the verge of disrespecting his master. “When the Shangqing Sect wanted you to deceive Qiu Congxue, you were willing to be confined rather than agree. How come when Shangqing Sect wants to use you as bait, Hè Wenzhao is powerless to refuse?”
Baili Qingmiao was speechless. [Good one, disciple!][1]
[Nothing will get through to the MC’s idiot brain unless someone cusses her out first.] [Love interest number 5 is doing good! In the original version he was killed by Hè Wenzhao before his identity could be revealed and he was basically invisible. Now after the revision, we find out he actually has quite a mouth?]
[One moment Baili Qingmiao was in reflection in the mountains, the next she woke up here. I thought I missed a few thousand words. Now that it’s
all explained, turns out it’s Hè Wenzhao being shameless, forcing MC to do something she doesn’t want while acting like it’s for her own good.]
In order to stay on top of developments at all times, Wenren È was reading his book while rushing to the Blood Hell. After Baili Qingmiao woke, Abusive Romance had changed, though God of Annihilation remained the same. Hè Wenzhao was probably still under the control of the Blood
Demon.
He put away the book and arrived at the Blood Hell. Acting like he was unaware of the ambush, he charged forward and appeared before Baili Qingmiao.
Baili Qingmiao was currently dejectedly accepting her disciple’s insults
when someone appeared before her. After a moment, she saw it was Wenren È and exclaimed, “Senior Wenren, why are you here?”
“This Venerable has told you that he owes you a debt,” Wenren È said.
He was also unable to fly above the Blood Hell. Feeling the sea’s relentless gravity, he stuck a spear into the cliff face, standing on its shaft and holding Baili Qingmiao. “Hold on tight, you two,” he said. “I’ll take you to the top.”
“Lord, there’s an ambush at the top!” Su Huai had no time to say more. A golden net appeared above them.
Nine experts appeared in the sky. Among them was the Shangqing Sect Master, who had not been awake for long at this point.
Wenren È chuckled. “Even the righteous sects will resort to such underhanded methods? But if you plan to kill this Venerable, shouldn’t you send out a few more people? What good will nine do? Ah, this Venerable remembers now. During the Great Sect War, I killed most of your experts, so now you can’t even muster up ten people! Hahahaha!”
He threw back his head in laughter. “Rest assured,” he told Baili Qingmiao. “This handful of people can’t threaten this Venerable.”
“Senior Wenren, all I did was help you find the Snow Flame and the Shattered Mountain Meteorite,” Baili Qingmiao said, tears staining her
cheeks as she looked at Wenren È. “You don’t have to face danger for me.”
“This Venerable isn’t here to save you,” Wenren È said coldly. “I simply want you to realize something.”
Wenren È felt no fear in facing nine experts. He had lots more magic
weapons on him beside the Seven Killing Halberd, so he took out a pair of swords, using them to first cut Baili Qingmiao and Su Huai’s rope, then
sticking them in the cliff face, leaping up with them as footholds.
The cliffs surrounding the Blood Hell were constantly subject to its chaos and demonic energy and were highly corrosive. Even Wenren È didn’t dare to directly touch them. He could only create footholds like this in order to get to the top.
Even first-rate magic items would dissolve into blood with a few minutes of contact with the cliff face. Baili Qingmiao saw that the spear and twin
swords had already dissolved. Thinking back to her own hand, she gulped, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Had her shixiong known how dangerous this place was when he brought her here? Baili Qingmiao wondered in bewilderment.
Fortunately, Wenren È had plenty of weapons on him. Sticking knives,
spears, and swords into the cliff face, they made it to the top, near the net, in just a few hops.
“Merely a Heavenly Net Array,” Wenren È said, glancing at the net. He raised the Seven Killing Halberd, and with a swing, the power of the stars slashed through the golden net.
With Baili Qingmiao in hand, he leapt up, nearly free of the net. The nine experts’ attacks were powerless to touch him, unable to even slow his progress.
At that moment, Hè Wenzhao appeared. His eyes were cold. Seeing the way Wenren È protected Baili Qingmiao, his eyes gleamed, and he raised a
sword, stabbing it toward Baili Qingmiao’s heart.
Wenren È knew this wasn’t Hè Wenzhao, but the Blood Demon Elder.
But it was fine. Seeing this, Baili Qingmiao’s feelings toward him should truly die.
Wenren È turned to shield Baili Qingmiao, taking the blade in his back. Seeing her shixiong heartlessly attack her, Baili Qingmiao was stunned.
The Blood Demon Elder’s consciousness retreated, leaving Hè Wenzhao in charge. Hè Wenzhao looked down at his hands and seemed to realize what he had just done. “Shimei, it wasn’t me!” he cried. “I didn’t do it!”
The blade had been imbued with the Blood Demon’s power, and was able to damage the blood array Wenren È had carved on his soul. A blood
cultivator understood blood cultivation the best, so only the Blood Demon could know how to destroy Wenren È’s power.
The exit was right before his eyes, but Wenren È had been badly injured.
Holding Baili Qingmiao and Su Huai in one hand as he wielded his halberd to block the nine experts’ attacks with the other, he flung the two into the
sky, shouting, “Catch them!”
A figure in the sky snatched the two out of the air. Qiu Congxue had arrived just in time.
“Master Qingxue…” Baili Qingmiao had sustained too many shocks today, and sobbed as she clutched Qiu Congxue’s robes. “Please, go save Senior Wenren. Please…” “Too late.” Qiu Congxue stood in the sky, quietly watching the scene below.
Inside the golden net, nine different magical weapons had pierced through Wenren È’s body.
All the while, the sword stuck in his back continually destroyed his blood marks. Even if Wenren È wanted to dissolve everyone around him into blood and absorb their powers to heal himself, he couldn’t do it.
Feeling his blood qi being drained, Wenren È burst out in laughter. He knew the Blood Demon would have a way to kill a blood cultivator. Since his blood marks had been broken, the plan he had made with Zhongli Qian had not been in vain.
The plan had three goals. The first was to have Baili Qingmiao see Hè Wenzhao attacking her with her own eyes, and thus completely let go of him.
The second was to take advantage of the Blood Demon and Cen Zhengqi’s cooperation in order to expose the traitor and obtain the second volume. At the same time, he could destroy the blood marks on his body, freeing himself from his bloodlust.
The third was to force the Blood Demon into action. Until now, he had been suppressed by Hè Wenzhao and hadn’t dared to consume cultivators to restore his power, so the righteous sects had no way of discovering him.
Now that he had acted directly, the sects might be confused for a time, but they would figure it out eventually. And previously, he could blame the deaths of those seventeen experts on Wenren È, but after Wenren È “died”, could the Blood Demon restrain himself from consuming more people? He couldn’t. After a blood cultivator started killing, they wouldn’t be able to
stop. In the book, the Blood Demon had waited until the divine realm to take Hè Wenzhao’s body, and hadn’t done anything before then. This time around, things were different. He wouldn’t be able to hold out until the divine realm.
Everything was going according to plan. The remaining question was whether he could use the chaos energy within the Blood Hell to restore himself.
With his body impaled by weapons and the nine experts endlessly throwing talismans, Wenren È fell toward the sea of blood.
When it came to absorbing primordial chaos energy, Wenren È had some confidence, due to something he’d realized from the third volume. Given some time, he would be able to regain his strength.
Everything was going perfectly, Wenren È thought. Then, he suddenly heard a desperate cry. “Venerable!”
Wenren È’s eyes flew open. In the instant before he fell into the sea, he saw a masked man charging through the Heavenly Net Array, plunging toward the Blood Hell after him.
Beneath the mask was Yin Hanjiang’s burning red eyes.
Wenren È suddenly remembered something he had once said—”If this Venerable is gone, you can follow me.”
Yin Hanjiang was a single-minded person. If Wenren È allowed something, he would carry it out.
“No!” Wenren È shouted, as Yin Hanjiang drew closer to him. “This Venerable forbids you!”
With a thought from Wenren È, his defensive robe flew over and wrapped around Yin Hanjiang.
At the moment he fell into the waters, Wenren È lifted his hand and thrust his palm at the robe with all of his strength, shoving Yin Hanjiang back up the cliff.
Yin Hanjiang had been pushed back from the sea of blood. He could only watch as his Venerable, his body covered with wounds, fell into the most hellish place in this realm. “AHHHHHHH!” A pained cry echoed across the Blood Hell. If Polis fell, Alkaid would go mad.
sorry to interrupt the screaming and whatnot, but WRE was described as using both hands to fight this chapter while he should only have one arm
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
Please support the original author over on jjwxc.
1. The reader comments were always formatted like this, but I didn’t think it’d bite me in the ass someday. I’ve gone back and reformatted them though so people reading this footnote in the future should just be confused
↩
Chapter 50 – Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know
Chapter 50 – Nowhere to be found
Wenren È hadn’t wanted to hide his plan from Yin Hanjiang. He just wasn’t sure whether or not it would succeed.
Not everyone was capable of reinventing themselves. Wenren È may have had some idea of what awaited him in the Blood Hell, but he was only half certain.
Both books said that Wenren È died in the Blood Hell. This time, he came to face death of his own accord. He was defying heaven, taking his own life back from fate.
If he was destined to die, then he wouldn’t keep it from Yin Hanjiang.
Whether Yin Hanjiang chose to die with him or live on after knowing
would depend on him. Wenren È wouldn’t force his choice. On the other hand, if he survived, that would be the best outcome.
But it would take some time for his survival to be determined, and Wenren È couldn’t be certain what Yin Hanjiang would do in this time. He feared that, not knowing Wenren È’s status, Yin Hanjiang would enter the Blood Hell. Wenren È had a chance of survival in the Blood Hell, but Yin
Hanjiang would certainly die.
So he figured out a plan to cover all his bases—send Yin Hanjiang to battle Altar Master Yuan.
Yin Hanjiang’s strength was about equal to Altar Master Yuan’s. Even if Altar Master Yuan had gotten some advantages from the second volume, gaining an edge over Yin Hanjiang, Yin Hanjiang wouldn’t lose with Shu Yanyan backing him up. Wenren È understood Shu Yanyan. She would certainly choose the side of the more attractive person.
Yin Hanjiang should be injured after his battle with Altar Master Yuan, and be unable to recover in such a short time. Wenren È had already made a deal with Zhongli Qian in exchange for Baili Qingmiao’s safety. Zhongli
Qian would be heading to Xuanyuan Sect to hold Yin Hanjiang back while he was injured, telling him Wenren È’s plan and convincing him to wait.
Yin Hanjiang’s injuries should’ve taken a few years to heal. After a few years, whether Wenren È survived or failed would’ve been decided.
By that time, if Wenren È still hadn’t returned, Zhongli Qian wouldn’t prevent Yin Hanjiang from entering the Blood Hell.
Wenren È hadn’t considered the possibility that Yin Hanjiang would far
surpass Altar Master Yuan’s strength and score a crushing victory, and then reach the Blood Hell in practically the blink of an eye. Yin Hanjiang’s light flash wasn’t proficient, and typically it would take him a full day to reach the Blood Hell on his sword. Who would’ve imagined that he could cross the entire continent in less than ten minutes?
The last sound that Wenren È heard was Yin Hanjiang’s despairing cry. As he fell into the sea, he thought, this really was the worst possible outcome.
It seemed that Wenren È’s death and Yin Hanjiang’s madness were predestined, impossible to change.
Yin Hanjiang saw Wenren È fall into the waters. Not even a splash was lifted, as if his entire body had been swallowed and dissolved in an instant. He was no longer able to control his own darker nature. He wished to follow, but his Venerable had forbidden him.
He clutched tight to the black-and-gold robe wrapped around him. His burning red eyes swept across the nine experts surrounding him, and Hè Wenzhao, who was currently fighting over Baili Qingmiao with Qiu
Congxue. He slowly opened his mouth, the taste of blood filling it. “Righteous cultivators, die!” As he spoke, a streak of silver cut through the air. The Army Crushing Spike pierced into the Nanguo elder’s body. He had not even had a chance to react.
These flesh injuries were easy to heal, though. The elder swallowed a pill, circulating his spiritual essence, about to force out the blade.
Suddenly, the points of the triangular blade emitted three streaks of harsh light. The Nanguo elder’s body was split into three parts, killed instantly.
His soul fled, but a huge drum appeared in the sky. Somehow, Yin Hanjiang was now kneeling on its surface. He smacked a palm down on the drum.
Bong! The drumbeat roused the demonic and immortal energy within it.
The Nanguo elder’s soul was shredded apart under the pressure of the sound, its remnants being absorbed into the drum.
“That’s an immortal artifact! A cultivator of the mortal realm can use an immortal artifact! Retreat!” The Shangqing Sect Master was experienced
and made his decision quickly. “A heavenly tribulation is imminent! With it obstructing him, we’ll have a chance!”
He’d barely finished talking when a peal of heavenly thunder struck toward Yin Hanjiang. Using an immortal artifact in the mortal world violated the laws of the three realms, so heaven would now enact judgment on Yin
Hanjiang.
“But shimei is still in the hands of the demonic sect!” Hè Wenzhao cried.
“There’s no time! Let’s go!” The Sect Master grabbed Hè Wenzhao, flying back to the sect. Shangqing Sect’s wards were supported by an immortal
artifact, so they couldn’t be broken easily.
The remaining eight experts fled in eight other directions. Yin Hanjiang had already memorized their faces. His first target was Hè Wenzhao at Shangqing Sect. The heavenly tribulation gathered overhead, yet Yin Hanjiang made no attempt to avoid it. Using the Burning Sky Drum, he blocked the first
lightning strike head-on. With a wave of his hand, the Army Crushing Spike returned to his grasp. Yin Hanjiang was hot on Hè Wenzhao and the Sect
Master’s heels as he pursued them back to Shangqing Sect.
“How is he so fast? Doesn’t he care about the heavenly lightning?” the Sect Master exclaimed.
When Yin Hanjiang was just on the verge of catching up to Hè Wenzhao,
who had fallen a step behind, a second bolt of lightning, dozens of meters in width, struck and caused him to hesitate.
Yin Hanjiang stood within the lightning, seeming to not feel pain. He raised his head to look at the ever-thickening clouds gathering above. If he didn’t deal with the tribulation, he would never catch up to them.
He raised both hands. An endless supply of natural spiritual energy gathered in his palms, slowly forming into two circulating collections of qi, in the
shapes of two drumsticks. He let go of them, using hand signs to manipulate them as they beat the drum.
Bong bong bong bong bong! Amidst the fierce drumming, red and gold flames rose from the drum’s surface.
The fire gave off pure golden rays of light. It wasn’t mortal fire, but the celestial flame of the immortal realm which had been hidden within the drum for hundreds of thousands of years. The flames transformed into a
golden dragon, charging towards the heavens to meet the lightning, giving off blinding radiance. Waves of gold light rippled across the sky. The clouds dispersed upon a single strike from the dragon, and rain gradually began to fall.
The dragon returned to within the drum. Yin Hanjiang felt like his internal organs were being shredded. He was using Mahayana stage power to forcibly activate the Burning Sky Drum, and each move he made overtaxed his strength. It wasn’t enough. He wiped blood from his chin and continued his pursuit in the direction of Shangqing Sect. The Burning Sky Drum’s light flash was
exceptionally fast and soon caught up with the two. Seeing Yin Hanjiang approach, the Sect Master grabbed Hè Wenzhao and dove behind the Shangqing Sect array.
The array closed before Yin Hanjiang could reach it, stopping him from continuing.
Yin Hanjiang, eyes red, glared at Hè Wenzhao and the Sect Master from the other side of the array. He knew the true mastermind who had plotted
against his Venerable was the Blood Demon, right inside Hè Wenzhao’s body.
He pointed at Hè Wenzhao. “Come out.”
Hè Wenzhao gripped his sword. “Yin Hanjiang, Wenren È was a blood demon. The presence of a demon threatens the entire world. This isn’t a matter pertaining to only the righteous sects. His death helps you too, don’t
—”
“Shut up!” With a hand sign, Yin Hanjiang beat the drum with a force that shook everyone’s souls. Pressure waves assaulted the Shangqing Sect’s
wards. The array trembled, on the brink of collapse.
Dong! The deep sound of a bell resonated out. It was the Shangqing Sect’s immortal artifact, the Moon Pool Bell.
Elder Qingyue, seeing the desperate situation, had activated the bell to counter the Burning Sky Drum. They were both top-grade immortal
artifacts, and though the Burning Sky Drum actually outmatched the Moon Pool Bell, Yin Hanjiang no longer had the strength to use it.
The tenth drumbeat was canceled out by the bell’s ring. Yin Hanjiang, at his limits, could not continue.
He glared at Hè Wenzhao through the ghost mask, clutching Wenren È’s robe to his chest. He had plenty of enemies, and plenty of time.
Holding the Army Crushing Spike, he pointed at the Sect Master and Hè Wenzhao. “I want the lives of these two. I’m unable to stop you from hiding behind your wards today, but I don’t believe you can hide in there for your whole life. I, Yin Hanjiang, swear to refine your bodies into lamp oil, to light an everburning lamp for my Venerable!”
He thrust his blade viciously at the barrier, though the Moon Pool Bell blocked it.
Retrieving the Burning Sky Drum, Yin Hanjiang departed in a streak of light. Seeing him disappear, the Shangqing Sect Master finally let out a breath. With a bitter look on his face, he said, “We’ve just eliminated
Wenren È when now this Yin Hanjiang appears. His mind is in disarray, and he is already showing signs of deviation.”
After relaxing a moment, he suddenly remembered something. “We must go check on Qingyue-shidi!”
He took Hè Wenzhao and some disciples who could still move and ran towards the Moon Pool Bell. Qingyue was half-kneeling before the bell, his hair white, all his spiritual essence expended.
He lifted his head, his formerly youthful face now filled with wrinkles. “It seems heaven was on our side,” he murmured. “If he had struck one more time, I would’ve had no power to activate the Moon Pool Bell again.”
“Shidi!” The Sect Master supported Elder Qingyue. Seeing his haggard face, he knew Qingyue’s foundation had been damaged and he would never be able to regain his former strength.
Just who was this Yin Hanjiang? How was he so strong? They had seen no such displays of power from him in the Great Sect War!
Yin Hanjiang had planned to fly to the Blood Hell, but halfway in the journey, his strength failed him and he fell from the air. He landed heavily in a snowdrift, not knowing where he was. He picked himself up from the snowdrift, taking off his mask. After such fierce fighting, the ordinary mask was already covered with cracks.
He glanced at it, then smiled bitterly. His Venerable was gone. There was no need for him to wear a mask anymore.
He had used the mask to hide his expression when he could not suppress his feelings. The person he wanted to hide them from was no longer here, so there was no more use.
After replacing the mask in his storage belt, Yin Hanjiang sat in the snow, staring at his surroundings in a daze.
Finally, he recognized it. “So it’s the Thousand Mile Ice Plains.”
Thirty years later, after Wenren È had messed it up twice, it no longer
extended for a thousand li around. Only the area in a hundred li would be covered with snow in winter, which melted in the spring as flowers bloomed.
Every direction was a boundless expanse of white. Yin Hanjiang seemed to see a figure in the distance, beckoning him. He approached and found it was his Venerable.
His Venerable exposed a wrist, slashing it open and extending it to Yin Hanjiang. His cold voice held an undercurrent of warmth. “Your body is chilled and can’t withstand the Ice Plains. If you drink my blood, it can sustain you for a few days.”
Yin Hanjiang blinked at him, then bowed his head obediently, dipping his mouth towards the cut, but he only tasted the bitter wind.
Wenren È, who had been looking at him warmly, had vanished. It was an illusion.
Yin Hanjiang covered his face. He heard another voice near him. “This is the Snow Flame. If you absorb it, it will dispel the yin energy within your body.” He dropped his hand, looking around. It seemed each snowflake had transformed into Wenren È, surrounding him on all sides. He reached out a hand, but they dissipated back into snowflakes, being blown away by the wind.
All false. They were all illusions caused by his inner demons.
Only this one was real. Yin Hanjiang hugged Wenren È’s robe to his chest, curling up in the snow, closing his eyes and covering his ears, not wanting to see or hear.
He didn’t dare open his eyes, lest he see his Venerable everywhere. He only shrank into the snow, shivering in the cold, gradually taking in spiritual
energy in order to heal his wounds.
He didn’t know how long he slept in the snow. Eventually, the snow melted, spring came, and flowers bloomed.
Yin Hanjiang awoke from the ice that had been covering him. After a bit of walking, he came upon a blossoming apricot tree.
Wenren È seemed to be sitting in the tree, extending a hand to him. Yin
Hanjiang also reached out, trying to snatch his hand, but didn’t touch him. He only grabbed an apricot flower.
“Fake.” Yin Hanjiang clenched his fist. The fragile flower was crushed in his palm.
He opened his hand and let the fragments of that flower blow away in the wind. In the scattering petals, he seemed to see Wenren È’s figure, leaving him.
“Also fake,” Yin Hanjiang told himself to not look or listen. It all was the delusions of his inner demons and couldn’t be believed.
He had unfinished business and couldn’t be overcome by his inner demons.
Step by step, Yin Hanjiang walked out of the Ice Plains being warmed by spring winds. It no longer resembled the place where he and his Venerable had come before, and his Venerable was no longer here. In heaven or the underworld, he was nowhere to be found.
Thank you for reading. If there are any mistakes, I hope my fellow cultivators will offer guidance.
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