ILDV Chapter 66

After a brief silence, regardless of their attitudes, the Demon Venerables responded one by one. Even Yan Guihe lifted his eyelids and raised his hand in a perfunctory gesture of respect.

Though the gesture was truly perfunctory enough, Yan Yan acted as if he hadn’t noticed, smiling as he descended step by step from the void. As he passed by Wu Mantuo, he casually coiled her whip a couple of times and tossed the whip tail back into her arms, saying gently, “Soft whips harm others but injure oneself even more easily. Venerable Wu, before you strike, you’d better first weigh the severity of this whip.”

Wu Mantuo staggered back two steps before being steadied by someone. Only when a familiar palm pressed against her did she realize her back was already soaked with sweat.

Chao Liang shook his head slightly, indicating she should not cause trouble for now.

Yan Yan’s ability to firmly occupy the position of First Demon Venerable and dominate the Supreme City for a thousand years after the Demon Lord’s fall was naturally due to his capabilities. Though the group of Demon Venerables privately cursed him as a master-devouring mad dog, faced with his formidable strength far exceeding the late Tribulation stage and at half-step Dao Integration, no one dared to act rashly.

Yan Yan walked through the crowd, slowly approaching the central First Throne. The Demon Venerables rose one after another to make way. Yin Lang also followed the others’ movements, lowering his eyes and calmly stepping back.

The sound of footsteps gradually approached, stopping without warning right in front of him.

Yan Yan, wearing a smile, raised his hand toward his shoulder with an intimate tone, “Haven’t seen you in quite a while. Ah Lang seems to have lost weight. If Jiuxuan were still alive, he would surely be distressed.”

Yin Lang sidestepped to avoid him, saying coolly, “Thank you for Venerable’s kind concern.”

Yan Yan’s right hand, suspended in mid-air, paused slightly before he collected it without any change in expression, the smile on his face fading. He lightly turned the thumb ring on his hand, looking deeply at Yin Lang, “Being young and hot-blooded is not exactly a compliment. Don’t you agree, Ah Lang?”

Yin Lang said calmly, “Yin is now five hundred and eighty-nine years old.”

“A Tribulation stage cultivator under six hundred years old—you, like your father, are worthy of being called a prodigy.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but sigh, seeming both moved and regretful, “Back when Jiuxuan perished, he was also under a thousand years old. If he were standing here today, you father and son would be another fine tale, but alas, what a pity…”

Wu Mantuo listened to these bitter words that stabbed straight at Yin Lang’s sore spots, enduring and enduring until she couldn’t help but grind her teeth. One hand was already on her waist, but she was held back by Chao Liang’s puzzled look.

——It’s not you being troubled by Yan Yan. Someone is helping to divert the fire, so what are you getting worked up about?

Yin Lang’s expression remained calm, as if he couldn’t hear the heavy malice in Yan Yan’s words.

Jiao Yuyu’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, the phantom of a giant axe flickering in and out of existence. Just as he hesitated, an arm suddenly reached out from the side, unceremoniously going for Yan Yan’s shoulder.

Yan Yan’s pupils contracted slightly, his entire upper body leaning back to avoid the strike. He straightened his body again, his eyes coldly turning to the other side, “Venerable Yan, what is the meaning of this?”

“No particular meaning. You being old and inconvenienced in your movements is understandable, but this Venerable doesn’t have the patience to watch a monkey show.”

Yan Guihe crossed his arms, retorting rudely to his face. After retorting, he returned to his seat on his own, closed his eyes to continue resting, completely disregarding Yan Yan.

Yan Yan’s face suddenly darkened. The momentum he’d built up from Wu Mantuo had been repeatedly thwarted—a single drum beat brings vigor, the second brings decline, the third exhaustion. If he lost face again, tomorrow his reputation would be ruined throughout the entire Northern Demon Territory!

His sinister gaze slowly swept over the eight people present. Yan Yan hadn’t expected that in just a hundred years, these seemingly compliant and honest fellows had all stopped taking him seriously. If it weren’t for that treasure… Hmph!

Yan Yan swept his wide sleeves and strode to the First Venerable’s seat, turning to sit down. The other seven Demon Venerables also took their seats.

The instant all nine Demon Venerables were seated, every sound in the entire Supreme City disappeared. The demonic cultivators who had come from afar were densely distributed throughout the Supreme City, their gazes burning as they looked up at the high platform in the sky and the vacant throne that had lost its master.

Only the ten strongest Tribulation stage demonic cultivators could become Demon Venerables, and there had never been only ten Tribulation stage cultivators in the Northern Demon Territory.

“What are the arrangements this time? Please instruct us, Venerable Yan.” The Demon Venerable in the second seat on the left spoke first. He ranked sixth among the ten.

Yan Yan’s gaze paused for a moment on the empty first seat on the left side. “The old rules—first fill the vacancy. Anyone interested in challenging for the position of the Ten Demon Venerables may come to the Life-and-Death Platform to battle it out.”

The Sixth Demon Venerable responded and rose to announce the rules on Yan Yan’s behalf.

Wu Mantuo laughed coldly in a low voice, “Look at him acting like the master, really thinking he’s the Demon Lord.”

Yin Lang retorted, “Is this your first day knowing this?”

“Tch.” She curled her lip disdainfully.

She extended the handle end of her whip and poked at Yin Lang’s seat, “By the way, are you alright? This bastard has been speaking unpleasantly for more than just a day or two, don’t take it to heart.”

Yin Lang brushed away her whip, casually placing his hand on the armrest, his expression unchanged as he watched the two demonic cultivators battling fiercely on the Life-and-Death Platform ahead, “Do I look like there’s something wrong?”

Wu Mantuo looked him up and down, noticed nothing unusual, made a reassuring gesture, and leaned back in her seat to watch the battle.

Diwu Hong, separated from her by Yin Lang, lowered her voice to comment, “Idiot.”

She tilted her head slightly, just enough to bring half of Yin Lang’s body into her field of vision. Most of his right hand was covered by his wide sleeve, and from this angle, she could just see that his rounded nails were deeply embedded in his palm.

“Venerable Yin,” Diwu Hong suddenly called out.

Yin Lang turned his head, his eyes questioning.

Diwu Hong looked at his calm, unruffled eyes and lightly raised an eyebrow, “My apologies, I suddenly forgot what I wanted to say. Venerable Yin, please continue watching the battle, no need to mind me.”

Yin Lang frowned almost imperceptibly, his attention shifting back to the platform.

Yan Guihe said in a hoarse voice, “Too much curiosity is not a good thing.”

Diwu Hong played with her slender nails, smiling as she answered, “Curiosity is a woman’s nature. However, I don’t recall when I became familiar enough with Venerable Yan to warrant Venerable Yan specially coming to warn me. Or perhaps…”

Her gaze flashed past Yin Lang before returning to meet Yan Guihe’s eyes directly.

Sh suddenly said, “Venerable Yan’s serpent pupils look more pleasing to the eye than usual today.”

“……”

Yan Guihe instinctively turned his head to avoid the eye contact. Soon realizing what he’d done, he glared at Diwu Hong in annoyance, “You…”

“Don’t be angry.” Diwu Hong smiled and waved her hand, “I’m indeed curious, but only curious. Making a living in this territory, who doesn’t have some sense? I know what to investigate thoroughly and what to play deaf and dumb about. Venerable Yan can rest assured, I won’t delve into your secrets. After all… we’ve always been colleagues.”

She deliberately emphasized the word ‘always,’ then winked at Yan Guihe before returning to watch the battle in quite a good mood, leaving Yan Guihe alone grinding his teeth.

This woman… truly as difficult to deal with as always!

Demon Venerable Yin Lang.

The moment this phrase appeared in his mind, Yan Guihe’s brain uncontrollably conjured up a pair of calm, waveless black eyes, like the purest dragon crystal, stripped of the world’s superficial distractions. With just one look, they could penetrate layers of thick disguise and see through to the truest desires in your heart.

He looked again at this ‘young and hot-blooded’ Venerable Yin, his green serpent pupils once again showing a conflicted look.

Hiss, this really was too troublesome…