The Immortal Lord and the Demon Venerable Are Both My Vests - Chapter 10

“Daojun…” Hua Qilan called out pitifully.

Ji Chang’an heard Yin Lang let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Then he turned and walked away.

She swore by her Out-of-Body stage subtle-level eyesight that his steps showed absolutely no hesitation, not even for a second.

Ji Chang’an actually didn’t have much fondness for Hua Qilan either—not because this girl was also one of the original male lead’s harem members, but based on decades of past positions and interactions.

Hua Qilan was Li Baisu’s grand-disciple. The Enforcement Elder and the Sword-Wielding Elder had long been at odds, and their respective camps, aside from the oddball Shen Muxuan who got along with everyone, normally exchanged veiled barbs when they met, and it wasn’t strange for them to directly clash either.

However… the villain and Hua Qilan actually had such a relationship? The original novel never wrote about this.

She only dared mutter about it in her heart. To prevent herself from losing control of her expression and letting the villain see through her, she simply lowered her head and quietly followed Yin Lang, saying nothing, pretending she hadn’t seen anything.

Seeing this, Hua Qilan grew anxious. She dropped her weak and pitiful image, quickened her pace, and reached out to grab his sleeve. “Muxuan!”

Yin Lang imperceptibly brushed away her hand.

He was still smiling, but his eyes were gloomy and dark, his gaze as cold as ancient profound ice. Ji Chang’an, who inadvertently caught sight of it, felt a chill in her heart.

What had Hua Qilan done to make the villain detest her so much…

“What does Martial Nephew Hua seek from me?” His tone was as usual, revealing not the slightest abnormality.

Hearing this obviously distant form of address, Hua Qilan’s hand reaching for his sleeve trembled, tears threatening to fall. “Muxuan… must you speak to me this way?”

Ji Chang’an shuddered violently, goosebumps rising all over her body from this endlessly winding tone.

She turned to look at the people nearby, only to suddenly discover that half the crowd around her had already dispersed. She looked completely bewildered.

Ah, this… even so, were none of them interested in gossip?

Then she was dragged away by the senior brother from the Mission Hall who had just been proclaiming Tianji Daojun’s ‘glorious achievements’ to her.

“…What’s going on?”

Senior Brother gave a cold laugh: “Is your life more important or is gossip more important? Martial Uncle Tianji has a good temper, but that Martial Sister Hua of ours doesn’t have the gentle disposition she appears to have.”

Ji Chang’an thought to herself that she didn’t need him to tell her that.

Not to mention the original novel’s scenes, these past decades I’ve clashed with her plenty, haven’t I?

Thinking of the explanations in the Mission Hall, she probed and moved closer, crouching with Senior Brother by the flower bushes, chewing on a foxtail grass and swaying. “Senior Brother, you entered the sect early, so Martial Uncle Tianji and Martial Sister Hua, they…?”

Senior Brother glanced at her sideways. “Want to know?”

Ji Chang’an nodded frantically. She didn’t dare provoke the villain anymore, but her desire for gossip was truly too strong, so she could only seek other avenues.

Senior Brother grinned.

“I’m not telling you.”

With that, he strode away.

Ji Chang’an: ……

Damn!

You think I have no way if you don’t tell me? This lady has a master and senior brothers!

Yin Lang expended considerable effort to finally deal with Hua Qilan.

Unlike what Ji Chang’an and the people of Taihua Immortal Sect knew, there was no complex love-hate relationship between him and her—it was merely a performance coordinated between deceiver and deceived.

Yin Lang detested Hua Qilan, not because she had done anything wrong, but simply out of displaced anger.

Yes, displaced anger.

Very unreasonable, but so what?

Hua Qilan was neither stronger than him nor had any use value—why should he tolerate her?

Qin Xun silently appeared behind him.

“Master.”

During his time away, Qin Xun had already used his identity as the returned Feng Lan to investigate what had generally happened in his absence, paying particular attention to understanding the mission Yin Lang had assigned earlier.

“…The numerous small secret realms will open in approximately one month, ranging from Foundation Establishment stage to Out-of-Body stage.”

He then generally described the situation of one secret realm open to the Out-of-Body stage and ten secret realms open to the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages.

As the first immortal sect of the Lantian Realm, Taihua Immortal Sect might not have the kind of large-scale secret realms passed down from ancient times, but it certainly wasn’t lacking in small secret realms. Within its ten-thousand-li mountain gates, who knew how many small secret realm entrances were hidden, all provided for the sect’s disciples to train in, opening portions of them every so often.

Yin Lang was very satisfied with his disciple’s work efficiency and instructed, “After entering, you should meet up with Ji Chang’an as soon as possible. Find a way to draw information out of her. She knows many things.”

“Master?” Qin Xun was puzzled.

Hadn’t they already read “Defying Heaven”? Why would they still need to…

Unexpectedly, Yin Lang made a shocking statement. “Ji Chang’an has also read ‘Defying Heaven.'”

After a pause, he added, “Perhaps it’s not the same book we read, but what she knows is certainly no less than what we master and disciple know.”

Not a question, but certainty.

Qin Xun’s head snapped up, startled and uncertain. “Master…”

Yin Lang smiled slightly, saying word by word: “Ah Xun, I need to know—besides Ji Chang’an, exactly how many other people know this story. Understand?”

“…This disciple understands!”

Qin Xun responded solemnly with a serious expression, immediately realizing the gravity of the situation.

No one knew how this story book had appeared. Since he could obtain “Defying Heaven” from a concubine’s hands, others might very well accidentally acquire it through various channels.

Qin Xun didn’t care how miserable the so-called ‘protagonist’ would become; he only cared about the safety of himself and his master. If the ‘plot’ were made public, all the secrets of them as ‘villains’ would be exposed to the world!

His serious appearance amused Yin Lang, who tapped his disciple’s overly tense shoulder with his folding fan and laughed. “No need to look like you’re going to war. Xiao Chang’an isn’t a very clever girl. Even if she’s on guard against you, extracting information from her won’t be too difficult a task for you.”

As for the speculation that Ji Chang’an might not be from this world, after brief consideration, Yin Lang decided not to mention it.

His disciple was already nervous enough—better not to add more pressure.

“How did Master know…” Qin Xun organized his words with a complex expression. “…that Junior Sister Chang’an and we aren’t reading the same copy of the story book?”

Honestly, Yin Lang’s direct conclusion that Ji Chang’an had read “Defying Heaven” had already shocked Qin Xun enough; this point was beyond his comprehension no matter what.

“Simple.” Yin Lang idly played with his folding fan, the landscape painting on the fan surface blurring together as it turned, making Qin Xun dizzy.

He suddenly stopped his finger tricks, pressed his thumb to close the folding fan, and abruptly asked, “Suppose you were still that frail child being led in flight by your mother back then, and encountered a vicious and cruel bandit who committed all manner of evil—what would your reaction be?”

Qin Xun instinctively answered: “Run away.”

“There you have it.”

Qin Xun was slightly stunned, then reacted and suddenly understood.

Such a simple principle, yet he had never been able to think around this corner.

“However, to be absolutely certain, your master tested her a few more times before daring to confirm.”

“Xiao Chang’an is truly a very interesting girl.”

Afterward, Qin Xun also generally mentioned the current state of their subordinate demonic path forces during the days Yin Lang was away.

“…The Ninth Venerable has remained within our sphere of influence since her last defeat and shows no intention of leaving.”

“No need to bother with her.” The Ninth Venerable was the one who had arranged a battle with Yin Lang before, leading Yin Lang to immediately suspect her as one of the masterminds behind the theft when he discovered the Heaven-Concealing Stone was missing.

However, he had thought it over later and, with her brain, she probably couldn’t think of such a method.

After all, that woman had no hobbies besides fighting, only enjoyed straightforward battles, and was quite disdainful of underhanded tricks.

“Yes, I understand.” Qin Xun acknowledged.

His thoughts turning to the last matter requiring report, Qin Xun’s heartbeat uncontrollably accelerated for an instant. He quickly adjusted, maintaining a calm and unperturbed tone:

“Jiuyou Court has shown much unusual activity recently, with continuous small movements. It’s unknown whether this comes from the Third Venerable’s instructions. Currently, it doesn’t appear they intend to move against us. This disciple has already arranged personnel to monitor them for now.”

“Jiuyou Court… Yan Guihe…”

After contemplating for a long while, Yin Lang slowly shook his head. “You did right; don’t act rashly yet. The first three Demon Venerables haven’t concerned themselves with worldly affairs for a long time, and even I don’t know their full details. In a while, your master will personally return to the Northern Demon Territory to handle these matters.”

Qin Xun acknowledged.

He had originally wanted to ask what Hua Qilan had come to find Yin Lang for. In this world, apart from Yin Lang himself, only Qin Xun knew the most details about what had happened between those two back then.

He was even the greatest beneficiary of that incident.

But Yin Lang had already fallen into his own thoughts, so Qin Xun could only remain silent.

“Master, your precious treasure…?”

Having replenished his spiritual power from Yin Lang, before leaving, Qin Xun showed a conflicted expression, pointing at his forehead, seemingly wanting to speak but not knowing how to say it.

Although Qin Xun had also gone along during the surprise attack on the Jihe Alliance, he had basically fought on the outer perimeter. On that chaotic rainy night, even those Integration and Spirit Transformation stage cultivators hadn’t noticed anything wrong with him—what could Qin Xun have discovered?

If not for the fact that Qin Xun’s disguise as Feng Lan frequently required Yin Lang’s help to replenish his spiritual power, he probably wouldn’t have discovered the item was missing even after Yin Lang retrieved it.

“It’s merely temporarily stored elsewhere.” Yin Lang mentioned it lightly.

Yin Lang’s intention not to let him ask more was obvious. Qin Xun pressed his lips together, secretly clenched his fists, and left without saying much more.

He was currently only at the Spirit Transformation stage. Once he became Soul Separation stage, Integration stage, Mahayana stage, or even Tribulation stage, Master surely couldn’t continue using insufficient cultivation as a reason to prevent him from getting involved in these matters.

Qin Xun’s mention of the Heaven-Concealing Stone did remind Yin Lang.

These days he had focused most of his energy on Xu Rong and the Primordial Jade matter, somewhat neglecting that young girl from the Jihe Alliance.

Looking back at this matter now, the originally incomprehensible cause and effect had become clear.

It was simply that the Heavenly Dao had defaulted to Lin Xinqiao being Xu Rong’s future woman, having her transfer the Heaven-Concealing Stone to Xu Rong, who would then return the item to ‘himself,’ who knew nothing of the world’s truth.

Following the brain of that idiot in the ‘original novel,’ if he couldn’t detect the trick beneath this and believed it to be true, with Xu Rong’s sincere attitude, the possibility of accepting this disciple was as high as ninety percent.

——After understanding the Heavenly Dao’s operational thinking, taking the Heaven-Concealing Stone based on this absurd logic no longer surprised him at all.

Since the bounty at the Mission Hall had already been posted, presumably the days of young Miss Lin, who had lost her backing and her parents, wouldn’t be too pleasant either.

Xu Rong and Lin Xinqiao, the male lead and his ‘harem,’ Ji Chang’an who knew the ‘truth,’ and the Primordial Jade fragment that had ‘inexplicably’ gone missing.

Since matters had come together, he might as well deal with them all at once.

After handling this mess, he still needed to make time to visit the demonic path’s territory.

Put on a show, and handle the accumulated affairs while at it.

Xu Rong, who had finally shaken off Hua Qilan, was completely confused about this so-called assessment.

Based on his experience from his previous life, he figured it was nothing more than competitions of combat power and contributions among disciples—activities that could showcase one’s excellence.

As for the most recent… small secret realm opening?

Xu Rong frowned.

In his previous life, Li Baisu, to placate him, had stuffed him with treasures by the handful, and citing insufficient cultivation as the reason, hadn’t let him participate in this sect-wide disciple activity that lasted several months.

In this life, although he had still arranged for Hua Qilan to ‘care for’ him, he also said nothing about the small secret realms. Xu Rong’s understanding of this was completely superficial.

He needed to find someone who understood the situation to go with them.

As soon as Xu Rong formed this plan, a suitable candidate immediately presented herself.

If Yin Lang knew, he would probably sigh again that the ‘male lead’s’ luck was truly enviable.

The yellow-robed young woman’s face was haggard, as if she had lost all her vitality overnight, leaving only her eyes frighteningly bright, staring fixedly at Xu Rong as he pushed open the door and walked out in his robes.

She said, “Let’s cooperate.”