When the Immortal Venerable Picked-Up the Demon Cub - Chapter 2

Zhu Ning felt like she had been struck by lightning both charred on the outside and tender on the inside. This name was practically legendary. The greatest villain of the entire book wasn’t the demonic woman Lin Xiayan?

How had she managed to do a good deed today and end up saving the main antagonist?

Memories slowly surfaced as Zhu Ning searched her mind for Lin Xiayan’s “heroic deeds.” She realized that Lin Xiayan’s ascent up the mountain wasn’t about revenge at all, but rather…

Murder and Bone Theft.

What bones? The female lead’s golden finger, of course!

Zhu Ning stared at her in shock. This villain was a master of lies! To set up such a grandiose excuse for murder and bone theft… no wonder the saintly original owner had kept her alive.

After a moment’s thought, Zhu Ning decided not to expose the villain’s facade.

Just as she was about to introduce herself, a clamor erupted outside the old temple, shattering the night’s silence. The commotion suggested a large group had arrived.

“This girl must still be carrying yin energy! Bringing ghosts and monsters to Yun Cang Town would be disastrous! We must burn her immediately to ensure Yun Cang Town remains safe for a century!” A middle-aged man’s voice boomed outside the temple, filled with self-righteous indignation that practically begged to be punched.

Before Zhu Ning could react, a crowd of commoners stormed into the dilapidated temple, some wielding torches, others brandishing clubs, their faces twisted with ferocity. For a moment, she couldn’t decide what was more terrifying: the ghosts or these enraged villagers.

All of them were clearly targeting Lin Xiayan.

“Anyone who dares lay a finger on her today becomes the eternal enemy of Yun Cang Mountain!” Zhu Ning’s voice turned icy as the situation deteriorated, the temperature in the temple dropping to freezing levels.

The villagers of Yun Cang Town all knew Zhu Ning well. Her declaration, invoking the full might of Yun Cang Mountain, gave them pause. For a moment, none dared advance further.

Zhu Ning subtly shielded Lin Xiayan behind her, using her height advantage to look down at the torch-wielding crowd.

The dilapidated temple had never been so lively. A beggar folded his arms and squatted to watch the spectacle, while another figure emerged from the crowd. Dressed in a loose blue Daoist robe and wielding a bristling horsetail whisk, he cut a figure straight out of a ghost story.

“Others may fear you, Zhu Ning, but this old daoist doesn’t. Everyone knows Yun Cang Mountain is all looks and no substance. Otherwise, why would they choose a mere girl like you as their Sect Leader?” The man’s words dripped with arrogance.

Zhu Ning narrowed her eyes, studying the old daoist for a long moment. Only vaguely did she recall something from the corners of her memory.

Yun Cang Mountain disciples all wore white robes. This blue-robed man must be from Zhen Sui Mountain, the sect that was always vying with Yun Cang Mountain for supremacy.

Unlike Yun Cang Mountain, Zhen Sui Mountain adhered to the doctrine that all demons must be slain. If one escaped, the responsible member was expected to commit suicide as atonement.

Zhu Ning frowned deeply. This was likely also why he insisted on burning Lin Xiayan alive. But the target of his wrath was the greatest villain in the entire book. Even if he had the power to defeat him, forcing the ultimate antagonist to reveal his true form and fight would doom not only Zhu Ning but all the onlookers.

“Heh, this venerable one despises arrogant fools. What if I were to declare that I will protect her today? The eternal enmity between Yun Cang Mountain and your Zhen Sui Mountain would be a burden too great for you alone to bear, wouldn’t it?”

“Preposterous!” the Daoist Priest retorted. “What do you take Yun Cang Mountain to be? For centuries, countless disciples have trained here, and our sect’s history spans millennia. Many of our ancestors have ascended to the Heavenly Realm, leaving behind countless spells to subdue demons and suppress evil.”

This was a unique advantage that no other sect possessed. Precisely because of this, the royal families of every nation harbored a measure of wariness toward Yun Cang Mountain. Even during times of war, no army dared to set foot at its base.

The Daoist Priest weighed the implications of Zhu Ning’s words, smoothing his whisk. Though he relented from his aggressive stance, his attitude remained unyielding. “Immortal Venerable Zhu, are you threatening this Daoist? As fellow cultivators, if I inspect the girl for demonic or yin energy and find nothing amiss, I will release her immediately!”

Hearing this, Zhu Ning shifted her gaze to Lin Xiayan’s crimson robes, her furrowed brow showing no sign of relaxing. Had she adequately concealed the girl’s demonic aura? If the Daoist Priest uncovered anything suspicious now, wouldn’t it imply that Immortal Venerable Zhu Ning of Yun Cang Mountain was shielding a demonic entity?

Lin Xiayan remained calm, meeting Zhu Ning’s gaze with clear, dewy eyes that held a childlike innocence, leaving Zhu Ning momentarily stunned.

“Immortal Venerable Zhu wouldn’t refuse, would she? Are you feeling guilty?”

Zhu Ning’s brief silence was immediately interpreted by the Daoist Priest as guilt. Though… she was indeed feeling quite guilty.

A cold wind swept through the dilapidated temple, causing the villagers’ torches to flicker and cast eerie shadows. Lin Xiayan, dressed in a red jacket and skirt, stepped out from behind Zhu Ning. Her small, dusty hands released the hem of Zhu Ning’s robe, and she walked to the Daoist Priest, holding her skirt. After staring at him for a long moment, she declared, “I’m not a demon, nor any kind of ghost! If you don’t believe me, investigate!”

The Daoist Priest wasted no time. He brandished his horsetail whisk and struck Lin Xiayan’s head and shoulders several times with forceful blows. Lin Xiayan’s already pale face grew even more ashen from enduring the pain.

A faint orange-red flame flickered into life above her shoulders, unshaken by the biting wind. The Daoist Priest delivered his most forceful strike yet to the top of her head, and a similar flame ignited at the point of impact.

Zhu Ning recalled the description from the book and realized this must be the legendary Yang Fire—the most direct method used by great Daoist priests to determine whether someone was human or not.

But this wasn’t the end. Even though the three Yang Fires, symbols of a person’s vitality, had already been forced out, the Daoist priest refused to give up, his horsetail whisk still poised to strike.

Zhu Ning’s eyes turned icy. She lunged forward in three quick steps, seizing the old man’s wrist. Whether due to her own formidable cultivation or her sheer strength, the slightest exertion made the bones in his wrist feel like they were about to shatter. His agonized cries filled the dilapidated temple.

“This Venerable One advises you to stop.” The threat in her voice was unmistakable. Zhu Ning had never imagined she could sound so fierce. Even though the target was a villain, anger surged in her heart.

The Daoist priest’s earlier arrogance had stemmed from his conviction that Lin Xiayan was a demonic entity. But now that the three Yang Fires had been forced out, he realized his mistake. His arrogance vanished completely.

“My apologies, my apologies! This humble one was mistaken. I beg the Immortal Venerable not to hold this against me…” The old man forced out the words through gritted teeth, bowing deeply and groveling before Zhu Ning.

Only then did Zhu Ning release him, positioning herself protectively in front of Lin Xiayan.

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