The Immortal Lord and the Demon Venerable Are Both My Vests - Chapter 22.1

The situation at this point could no longer be easily summarized with just the word ‘chaotic.’

Everyone stared at each other in bewilderment, especially Hua Tinglan and Hu Yunu.

The two demon kings had been disguising their identities and infiltrating the two great immortal sects, and this was their first meeting in several hundred years—yet unexpectedly, both encounters were because of human juniors.

‘What’s your situation?’ Hu Yunu frantically made eye signals.

‘I… I don’t know what the situation is either. I just happened to be accompanying the Buddha’s Child of Tiantai Buddhist Sect on an outdoor training exercise!’ Hua Tinglan was even more speechless.

Although he had known early on that going out with the Buddha’s Child would probably be quite stimulating, if he could have predicted it would be this stimulating, he would rather have his tree leaves plucked bald than leave home!

Yan Guihe was actually the most clear-headed person in the crowd. He sneered coldly and said to Yin Lang, “How difficult it must have been for you to gather so many allies just to compete for the Primordial Jade fragment. However, the intelligence system of the Eighteenth Hell probably needs updating—that fragment from a thousand years ago has long since left this Venerable’s possession.”

Yin Lang frowned.

Hu Yunu had the same expression, instinctively saying, “How is that possible? Back then you clearly and Yin…”

If Yin Lang hadn’t signed a Heavenly Dao contract with her, using this to prove that Yan Guihe’s recent movements were because he had found the whereabouts of a second Primordial Jade fragment, and that his own objective was only to absorb Yan Guihe’s forces with no interest in the fragment itself, she wouldn’t have easily agreed to cooperate with him and jointly attack Yan Guihe.

He shut his mouth quickly, but Yan Guihe reacted even faster, “How do you know about events from a thousand years ago?”

He narrowed his eyes, his deep green pupils contracting into slits, making him appear even more sinister and eerie. “You, a mere mid-stage Tribulation cultivator… never mind.” He suddenly sneered coldly and said bluntly, “In any case, if you formed an alliance with the Seventh Venerable to deal with this Venerable because of that thing, it’s completely unnecessary. Because this Venerable doesn’t have even a single Primordial Jade fragment on him.”

This rare moment of candor made Hu Yunu’s fox demon nature flare up instead, suspicion growing, “Heh, whether you have it or not is just your word. If you have the ability, swear a heart demon oath. As long as you dare swear a heart demon oath, this lady will immediately break ties with that surnamed Yin!”

Hu Yunu had lived for several thousand years as a great demon, so being able to so easily agree to ally with Yin Lang—aside from him proving his strength was indeed sufficient to speak as equals with a Tribulation stage Great Perfection cultivator—was of course most importantly due to profit.

When the great chaotic battle that caused the Primordial Jade to shatter occurred a thousand years ago, Yan Guihe was already at Tribulation stage Great Perfection, so naturally he had participated.

Hu Yunu could easily count all the people and demons who had obtained Primordial Jade fragments back then. She knew better than Yin Lang who held what.

So when Yin Lang precisely stated that Yan Guihe was about to obtain a ‘second’ jade fragment, Hu Yunu was easily persuaded by him.

Yan Guihe’s expression darkened.

He felt that condescending to explain even one sentence to these people was already rare enough, yet this flamboyantly indecent man without a proper form actually dared to make him swear a heart demon oath?

(TL: Hu Yunu is a MAN, but he likes to address himself as THIS LADY, sorry for the confusion)

Combined with the terrible memory of having his belongings stolen, Yan Guihe’s mood plummeted even further. He sneered coldly without saying more, green mist rising around his body, looking as if he was ready to fight if they wanted to.

“Mm… although interrupting everyone’s conversation is rather impolite, but… have you all perhaps forgotten about someone?” As the atmosphere tensed like an arrow on a bowstring, a gentle voice suddenly interjected from the side, mixed with a touch of helplessness, directly puncturing the bow string that had been stretched to its limit.

In the span of a single sentence, the Snow-Robed daojun had already flashed from several hundred meters away to near everyone, the blade of the Tianji Sword reflecting an eerie orange-red glow in the setting sun.

He casually flicked the sword tassel and smiled. “Someone is not interested in whatever fragment you’re discussing. Before resolving everyone’s internal matters, why not let someone complete their task first?”

Yan Guihe could maintain a bit of courtesy toward Hu Yunu, a ‘mid-stage Tribulation cultivator,’ but had no pleasant expression for Shen Muxuan, this ‘obscure’ junior from an opposing faction.

As he spoke, the poisonous mist around him suddenly surged upward, flying out at a speed that even Mahayana stage cultivators would find difficult to react to!

Since you dare to speak at this moment, you’re just in time to be this Venerable’s punching bag!

Shen Muxuan still wore a smiling expression, only lightly exclaiming “ah.” Instead, it was Yin Lang whose expression changed drastically, “…Get out of the way!”

The silver spear moved like a dragon, narrowly detonating Yan Guihe’s attack before it could strike Shen Muxuan.

The explosion of qi waves that erupted had an unexpectedly large range, involving everyone present. Hua Tinglan cursed internally but had no choice but to immediately raise a defensive barrier to protect Chan Xin behind him.

Hu Yunu quickly calculated in his mind—since they had already offended Yan Guihe, and this poisonous snake was insidious and vengeful, they might as well offend him thoroughly! Besides, someone who didn’t even dare to swear a heart demon oath—who knew if he was telling the truth or lying?

He shouted lowly, gave Hua Tinglan a look, and was the first to charge forward!

As old friends of many years, Hua Tinglan naturally understood what that look meant and quickly pondered in his mind.

He was originally only escorting Chan Xin on an outdoor training exercise. With so many cultivation world powerhouses appearing in Ming City all at once, his mind was still in a daze. He only roughly understood that Hu Yunu was here because he had discovered the whereabouts of a jade fragment, and that the fragment couldn’t be separated from Yan Guihe’s involvement.

His Majesty the Demon Lord had sent them out dispersed with the goal of finding jade fragments. If the intelligence was absolutely certain, it was no wonder that even the cautious fox demon Hu Yunu was willing to personally cooperate with Yin Lang’s plan to deal with another Tribulation stage Great Perfection Demon Venerable.

Help out!

After making this decision, the only concern was Chan Xin, who lacked self-preservation capabilities.

Just as he was thinking, Chan Xin suddenly pressed his palms together, and a golden bell shield covered in Sanskrit text appeared around him. He bowed in salute, considerately saying: “Elder, please go assist your friend. Chan Xin can protect himself.”

Hua Tinglan frowned.

This golden bell shield as thin as paper? He could poke through seventeen or eighteen of them with one hand!

A figure suddenly rushed out from the battle group, landing beside the man and demon. A thick bloody scent assaulted their faces as Jiao Yuyu said in a rough voice, “Foster Father told this Venerable to come down and protect this little monk.”

Hua Tinglan’s eyes went wide.

Jiao Yuyu said discontentedly, “What kind of look is that? This Venerable is at early-stage Tribulation—can’t I protect one bald monk?”

Chan Xin also said, “This poor monk trusts Benefactor Jiao. Eliminating demons is the important matter. Elder, please do not hesitate any longer.”

Hua Tinglan looked at this combination and became even more speechless.

No… don’t you two feel that something’s not quite right here…

The sky above had already become a chaotic mess.

In any case, the chaos was so great that Hua Tinglan couldn’t tell whether Shen Muxuan had gotten his wish to fight Yin Lang one-on-one.

Both battlefields were tremendously imposing—on one side green mist mixed with pink smoke, on the other sword light and black flames crisscrossed, each obscuring half the sky.

He didn’t know if it was Hua Tinglan’s imagination, but he seemed to feel that the spiritual and demonic qi on Yin Lang’s side were entangled too closely together, almost as if they were emanating from a single person. Immediately after, he shook his head, only feeling that his brain had been addled by all these troublesome matters.

How could that be possible? In all the years Lantian Realm had existed, there had never been a cultivator who possessed both spiritual roots and demonic spiritual roots. Two completely mutually exclusive forces merging together—wouldn’t that cause instant bodily explosion and death?

He was still hesitating when a roar suddenly came from the sky, “Hua Tinglan, you damned bastard! Come help quickly—this guy is trying to run!”

It turned out that after the two had fought for a long time in a stalemate, although Hu Yunu appeared to others to be only mid-stage Tribulation under his disguise, his true strength was solidly at Tribulation stage Great Perfection. After prolonged battle without showing signs of defeat, the cautious Yan Guihe naturally had to consider the possibility of temporarily retreating.

Hua Tinglan became alert and didn’t dare delay any longer. He transformed into a streak of light and charged directly into this battlefield, blocking the escape route Yan Guihe had selected.

Their identities absolutely couldn’t be exposed, so this Demon Venerable should just obediently stay here!

One person was sufficient to match Yan Guihe, but two could force him into a disadvantage and make escape difficult.

On the other side, at the center of the battlefield crisscrossed with sword light.

‘Shen Muxuan’s’ Tianji Sword was firmly fastened at his waist, his arms crossed over his chest, posture relaxed as he observed the opposite battlefield. Dense demonic qi and spiritual qi simultaneously emanated from his body, mixing with black flame sword qi, ‘battling’ in a mass around him.

Behind him, ‘Yin Lang’ wore a hesitant expression and asked in a low voice, “Master, if we continue to delay, the Fox Demon King may become dissatisfied.”

“Wait a bit more.” Yin Lang, who had transformed back into ‘Shen Muxuan,’ waved his hand and observed with great interest Hu Yunu and Hua Tinglan cooperating in battle with considerable coordination.

Hu Yunu was one of the three great demon kings of the Demon Territory, while Hua Tinglan was a venerable of Tiantai Buddhist Sect. Why would these person and demon who theoretically shouldn’t have much contact with each other be so skilled at coordinated combat?

Interesting, truly interesting.

However, even more interesting was that Venerable Tinglan seemed quite…familiar with Elder Luli?

Yin Lang pinpointed the limit before Hu Yunu’s imminent eruption and raised his hand to loosen the purple ribbon wrapped around his wrist.

Operating his cultivation at full power, spiritual qi and demonic qi flowed smoothly and freely at the same time, instantly erupting with pressure comparable to Tribulation stage Great Perfection.

Yin Lang frowned slightly. “Still not quite smooth.”

The spiritual qi and demonic qi were suppressed by the ribbon, and their circulation had a strong sense of discontinuity. When not fighting seriously, this wasn’t a major hindrance, but in battles between equals where life and death differed by a hair’s breadth, this small difference could cost him his life.

Qin Xun said, “Are you still not planning to retrieve the Heaven-Concealing Stone?”

“Master would like to, but must wait a bit longer.” Yin Lang sighed. “After dealing with Yan Guihe’s matter, we can return. At that time, Master will probably also be able to decide whether or not to accept your future junior martial brother as a disciple.”

He stepped forward. “Let’s go. The most important thing is still the matter at hand. ‘Yin Lang’ should go provide assistance.”

Chan Xin looked up at the sky and suddenly softly recited a passage of Sanskrit.

Jiao Yuyu only had time to mutter “What kind of nonsense is he chanting” when Buddhist light, warm and bright, suddenly emanated from Chan Xin’s body. Immediately after, the Buddhist light expanded greatly, and a Buddhist light barrier inscribed with ‘卍’ symbols suddenly enlarged, enveloping the entire Ming City.

Strangely, the demonic cultivator Jiao Yuyu, who most detested Buddhist light, didn’t experience the slightest discomfort from this. He even felt warm all over his body and immediately looked at Chan Xin in surprise.

Chan Xin pressed his palms together and smiled. “This is merely an auxiliary technique. Whether demonic cultivator, spiritual cultivator, or demon race, the purer one’s thoughts, the less harm they receive. It can be seen that Benefactor Jiao’s mind is free of distracting thoughts. Excellent.”

Although Elder Tinglan always scolded him, he always firmly protected him and allowed him to do good deeds.

Hua Tinglan: ??? You think this lord is willing!

The unknown senior dressed revealingly with a seductive posture, but his gaze was clear and upright—clearly not someone with a wicked heart.

Hu Yunu: What nonsense are you spouting!

Sword Master Shen, to eliminate evil demons, dared to enter the demonic cultivators’ heartland alone—his righteous spirit need not be mentioned.

Shen Muxuan: …… (Speechless)

As for those two Demon Venerables…

Chan Xin guiltily pressed his palms together in prayer.

Well, if he accidentally injured friendly forces, after the battle ended, he would prostrate himself and apologize to Venerable Yin.

The most miserable was none other than Yan Guihe. Wherever the Buddhist light covered, he felt pain in every part of his body. Although with Chan Xin’s cultivation level he couldn’t cause irreparable harm, this dense, minute pain made the violence in his heart grow even stronger, wishing he could have everyone bitten to death by poisonous snakes!

The other several people weren’t having an easy time either.

Living in this world, who didn’t have some distracting thoughts? Once Chan Xin activated his ultimate move, he directly screwed over everyone present.

Yan Guihe, tormented by countless small wounds, became extremely irritable and wanted to escape, so his attacks grew heavier.

Finally, that seductive man on the side showed a lapse in defense. Yan Guihe was overjoyed and immediately struck out, using force to escape in that direction.