The Immortal Lord and the Demon Venerable Are Both My Vests - Chapter 17

“Hey, hey, have you all heard? Something major has happened on the Demonic Path side recently!”

“Are you talking about that rumor that’s been spreading like wildfire lately?”

In a tavern that only served cultivators, a group of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

“Once this matter comes out, the ranking of the ten Demon Venerables is definitely going to undergo a major reshuffling, right?”

“Not necessarily. It’s also possible it’ll become nine Demon Venerables instead. Think about it—such vast territory! Even the other nine Demon Venerables are eyeing it covetously. Which one of those below the ten Demon Venerables could swallow it all in one go? Most likely it’ll be divided up among the other nine.”

“That makes sense.”

“…What exactly are you all talking about?” Some fool who was out of the loop asked, immediately earning a round of disdainful looks.

“You don’t even know about this?”

The person shook his head blankly.

A busybody then lowered his voice: “That Venerable Yin who’s entrenched in the Eighteenth Hell—a few days ago, he died from severe injuries, dropped dead!”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough—“

Someone nearby suddenly broke into violent coughing. The busybody looked over displeased, only to see a refined young master in snow-white robes supporting himself against the table edge, as if trying to cough up his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs.

His aura was completely concealed, though the guards beside him radiated imposing spiritual energy—he looked like some young master from a major cultivation family.

“My apologies, my apologies.” The young master in snow robes straightened up, his brows curving slightly. “I’ve been secluded within my sect’s gates for too long and hadn’t expected such a tremendous upheaval to have occurred in the outside world. I must ask this fellow daoist—when and where did the news of Venerable Yin’s death originate?”

He was handsome and spoke politely, instantly recovering quite a bit of goodwill.

However, the several people beside him all wore increasingly strange expressions, especially that black-robed youth whose face looked as twisted as if he’d swallowed a cockroach.

“Everyone’s been saying so…” The person scratched his head embarrassedly. He had originally wanted to take out the words he’d used to intimidate those ignorant folks and proclaim them again, but for some reason, the moment he met this snow-robed young master’s eyes, he subconsciously told the truth.

“I also just heard it through the road, passed along by others. What exactly happened, I’m afraid only the two Venerables who’ve been fighting heaven and earth apart would know.”

“Two Venerables?”

“That’s right!” The person’s interest was immediately piqued. Just as he had done with the others earlier, he moved closer, but at three meters away he was already pressed back staggering by the suddenly surging spiritual pressure radiating from the guard.

The snow-robed young master sighed. “After traveling all this way, aren’t you tired of all this fuss…”

He waved his hand to dismiss them. Only then did the storyteller dare approach closer, though he no longer dared be as presumptuous as before, sitting properly across the table and spilling everything like beans from a bamboo tube.

Three days ago, the Tenth Venerable had appeared without warning in the Seventh Venerable’s territory, aggressively demolishing buildings all along the way, heading straight for the main base located in the Eighteenth Hell.

The Eighteenth Hell suffered heavy losses, yet the Seventh Venerable never appeared to take charge of the overall situation. Instead, the Ninth Venerable suddenly appeared a day ago and without a word began fighting fiercely with the Tenth Venerable. They’d been at it for a full day and night, and still hadn’t stopped.

“This… fellow daoist, if you don’t believe me, you can go walk around the borders of the Eighteenth Hell. The mountains on the outskirts have all been leveled, and the demonic qi is so thick that it’s hard to walk even a few more steps inside!”

This person spoke with absolute certainty, becoming more and more convinced of his own theory as he spoke, “If that Venerable Yin hadn’t met with trouble, how could he tolerate two rivals running wild on his own territory while turning a blind eye? He must have been severely injured and unable to move! Or perhaps he’s already perished!”

——No, there’s also the possibility that he simply wasn’t home.

Yin Lang experienced this strange feeling for the first time——

Having someone assert to your face with absolute certainty:

You’re dead.

You’re definitely dead.

You’re completely and thoroughly dead.

He asked with a smile. “How many people know about this news?”

“Not… not that many, right? The two Demon Venerables only started fighting about a day ago, so it couldn’t have spread too far.”

Very good, there was still time to contain it.

As for this fellow… Hmm, although it wasn’t his fault, being told such things to one’s face still made him a bit angry.

“Why does Benefactor Shen harbor such intense killing intent?”

A gentle, mellow voice rippled outward. Those with slightly lower cultivation felt as if thousands of Buddhist temples appeared before their eyes, Buddha’s light shining everywhere, momentarily bringing peace to their hearts. Even the table that had been about to break into fighting sat back down peacefully and continued their discussion.

‘Master, it’s someone from Tiantai Buddhist Sect.’

‘This Venerable isn’t blind.’

Qin Xun wisely shut his mouth, not provoking his master whose anger was beginning to rise.

“Sacred Buddha’s True Voice. After decades of not meeting, Xiao Chanxin has actually mastered this divine ability?”

A bald young monk slowly walked in through the tavern’s main entrance, draped in gray robes, eyes downcast. The first thing people noticed upon seeing him wasn’t his appearance, but the thoroughly clear and gentle aura emanating from his entire being.

Chanxin walked toward Yin Lang’s direction and stopped three steps away, pressing his palms together in salute. “Senior Shen.”

This greeting used no special techniques.

Chanxin raised his head, looking directly into Yin Lang’s smiling eyes, and said softly, “Senior Shen has yet to answer me—why is the killing intent in your heart so intense?”

“When one thinks of unpleasant matters, killing intent naturally arises.” Yin Lang said with a smile, not the slightest bit inclined to restrain his killing intent.

Chanxin was extraordinarily talented, being the direct disciple and eldest student of Tiantai Buddhist Sect, one of the three great immortal sects, and held the title of Buddha’s Child. Although he was currently only at the Spirit Transformation stage, he possessed an innate Buddha-heart, and his perception sensitivity was comparable to those Mahayana and Tribulation stage old monks.

Releasing and restraining killing intent would only invite more suspicion.

Chanxin didn’t know what he was imagining in his mind, but he bowed to him again. “I have long heard of the tragedy at Jihe Alliance. That Senior Shen is willing to eliminate evil for the sake of all living beings in the world is truly a great act of kindness. Chanxin is willing to accompany Senior on this journey.”

“Shut your mouth!”

A sharp rebuke rang out as a green shadow flashed through the tavern entrance, frantically transmitting, “If you can’t speak properly, can you just shut up! Do you know how many messes I’ve had to clean up after you all this way!”

Yin Lang instantly activated a soundproof barrier.

Hua Tinglan was nearly driven to fury by Chanxin — the moment he wasn’t there to keep an eye on him, the monk had already stirred up such a huge mess.

He didn’t even want to casually confront those madmen from the Northern Demon Territory—where did Chanxin get the audacity to provoke a Tribulation stage Demon Venerable?!

However, experience along the way had taught Hua Tinglan not to try explaining things to Chanxin. You couldn’t out-debate a Buddha’s Child with a pure heart and profound Buddhist teachings—you’d only end up rendered speechless.

So he had already given up trying to argue with this fellow about whether something should or shouldn’t be done, whether it was right or wrong, whether it was worthy of one’s conscience.

He also had no hope of explaining clearly to him the real reason Shen Muxuan was going to “eliminate demons.”

And was even lazier about telling him exactly how many treasures Shen Muxuan was carrying that gave him the courage to cross realms and go pick fights in the Eighteenth Hell.

He roared. “Don’t give me any of that ‘if I don’t enter hell, who will’ or ‘Buddha also cut his own flesh to feed the eagle’ nonsense. I’m telling you, if you dare follow Shen Muxuan today, I’ll immediately turn around and slaughter all those mortals you saved along the way!”

Chanxin waited quietly for him to finish roaring, then smiled. “You won’t.”

Hua Tinglan choked.

The two stared at each other for a long while. Hua Tinglan was the first to back down. He wiped his face and said to Yin Lang, “For the sake of you taking a pile of good things from Luli, take us along for the ride?”

Yin Lang met his gaze and revealed a smile identical to Chanxin’s. “I don’t think I can handle the Eighteen Arhats of the Buddhist Sect.”

Hua Tinglan: “……”

In the end, Hua Tinglan still failed to persuade Yin Lang and left resentfully with Chanxin.

However, Yin Lang took this opportunity to suggest to the Taihua Immortal Sect party that, since the Eighteenth Hell might be rather dangerous, they split into two groups—he would go investigate the situation at the Eighteenth Hell alone, while Qin Xun would proceed ahead toward Jiuyou Court with the others.

No one objected. They decided to rest for the night and split up the next day.

That night, in Yin Lang’s room.

Qin Xun silently dropped into the room like a shadow and knelt on the spot. “Master.”

Yin Lang stood in the shadows, his expression unclear. Half a beam of moonlight penetrated through the window lattice, as if dividing master and disciple into two completely disconnected spaces.

Qin Xun said, “It is this disciple’s fault. I’ve been lax in my management and reception of information these past days.”

He admitted his mistake quickly and decisively, offering no excuses, calmly stating, “The Tenth Venerable invaded the Eighteenth Hell three days ago, shouting all along the way that the ‘Seventh Venerable’ had caused him to lose a valued subordinate, and he wanted revenge for his subordinate. As for what exactly happened, the time was too short and I haven’t received any intelligence reports yet.”

“The Ninth Venerable had never left the Eighteenth Hell, constantly wandering around the Seventeenth Level after you threw her out. She had no intention of fighting with the Tenth Venerable—the two just happened to run into each other, but the Tenth Venerable’s temper… you know what it’s like, so they just started fighting.”

As for how the news got out and evolved into this state? That was the reason for Qin Xun’s initial plea for punishment.

Master had confidently entrusted the entire intelligence network into his hands, yet he had made such an enormous blunder.

If Master hadn’t coincidentally found an excuse to come to the Northern Demon Territory, by the time they learned about it, things would likely have already escalated to an irreversible extent.

Qin Xun hung his head, kneeling on the ground, quietly waiting for the punishment to come.

Yin Lang glanced at him indifferently.

If Qin Xun weren’t a disciple he had personally picked up and raised with painstaking effort, this one mistake alone would have been enough for Yin Lang to send him for a tour through the real Eighteen Hells.

After a long while, Qin Xun finally heard his master speak, but what he said was completely unrelated.

“Yan Guihe is very powerful. When you go with the people from Taihua Immortal Sect, act with caution as your priority. Although you won’t have your master’s spiritual energy supply, being in the Northern Demon Territory, if something goes wrong it will be relatively easy to escape. Remember, safety is paramount. If there’s truly no other option, even if it raises others’ suspicions, preserving your life comes first.”

A hand fell on his head, gently stroking his hair. “You are the only disciple Master has acknowledged in this lifetime. Nothing is more important than your safety.”

“If you made a mistake, you made a mistake. Learn from the lesson and don’t repeat it in the future.”

Qin Xun’s nose tingled. He nodded heavily, choking out, “Disciple understands!”

****

The Ninth Venerable and Jiao Yuyu fought all the way from the Seventeenth Level to the border regions of the entire Eighteenth Hell.

Vast stretches of mountain ranges and hills shattered under the violent bombardment of Tribulation stage power—mountains collapsed, earth split, birds scattered, beasts fled.

The Ninth Venerable fought with increasing excitement, laughing “Haha” as her long whip created afterimages. It wasn’t unusual for her to execute several hundred moves in an instant. Jiao Yuyu was the complete opposite—his giant axe wielded with earth-splitting momentum, his entire being so agitated he wanted to cleave everything before his eyes to powder.

He roared. “Wu Mantuo, you crazy woman, what’s your problem?! This Venerable came to find trouble with Yin Lang—what does it have to do with you? What are you trying to accomplish by latching onto this Venerable and fighting endlessly!”

Wu Mantu paid him no mind. She had been wandering the Eighteenth Hell precisely to find an opportunity to force Yin Lang to fight her. How could she easily let go of an opponent like Jiao Yuyu who had delivered himself to her doorstep?

She licked her lips, her long whip continuously lashing out, her red eyes appearing even more alluring in the heat of intense battle.

As the two fought fiercely, a silver spear suddenly descended from above, its tip cutting through the air with a sharp, piercing shriek, carrying immense demonic qi as it thrust down through the center between them!

Under the impact of the massive demonic qi, Wu Mantu and Jiao Yuyu were each forced to retreat three steps. When they looked up again, a figure stood atop a slightly elevated hill.

Red robes, silver spear, black hair bound high.

Black flames darker and deeper than ink manifested in his palm, burning at his spear tip.

He turned around in a leisurely manner, pulling his lips into a cold, dangerous smile. “Who gave you the audacity to run wild on this Venerable’s territory?”