Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

A Deviation from the Plan

In order to completely control their husbands, Miao women had created the heart-linking parasite, so that the moment he felt desire for another woman, she would know.

Zhongli Qian recognized that this parasite would also not affect his consciousness. They were not subject to the queen parasite, and though they were influenced by each other, it was two-way. If one's will was strong, one could avoid being influenced by the other party, and could even suppress the other's emotions.

"Sir Wenren should be aware that these two things cannot control me, so what is his purpose? Could he possibly want me to track someone for him?" Zhongli Qian asked. "I have no particular skills in tracking. He could've found an expert instead of me."

Zhongli Qian was sharp and had been considering Wenren È's plans and intentions for these past months. During his time at the Hellfire Pavilion, he had played out multiple chess games against himself, thinking of countless possibilities, but they were all proven wrong at this point.

"The Venerable's decisions are profound and we couldn't possibly guess at them," said Altar Master Shi. "Young Master Zhongli should just obey his orders, cough cough cough."

Altar Master Miao, having more seniority than Altar Master Shi, knew a bit more. He was aware that Baili Qingmiao was Wenren È's favored disciple, who had been stolen by Qiu Congxue. He also knew what the heart-linking parasite did, and he had just heard Wenren È call Altar Master Shi "undependable". Putting the pieces together, he figured the Venerable was intending to use Zhongli Qian to dispose of Qiu Congxue, so he could take back his disciple.

Obviously, he wouldn't tell his conjecture to Zhongli Qian, and left right after completing his task. He had already told Wenren È how to remove the heart-linking parasites, so now he could leave everything else to Wenren È.

After the two Altar Masters left, Baili Qingmiao struggled out of her ropes. She snuck out of the room, looking carefully around and seeing nobody in the area. Instead of escaping, she went deeper into the compound in search of Master Qingxue.

Baili Qingmiao wasn't an idiot. The two people who had come to her cell were much higher level than her, so there was no way a mere Nascent Soul stage could've escaped on her own. They had to have some scheme and were planning for her to escape. Instead of running face-first into a trap, better she go find her master. Master Qingxue was a wandering immortal, and with her, Baili Qingmiao would have a much better chance of escape.

Wenren È had expected Baili Qingmiao to make a break for the exit. There was an illusion array set outside, and if she went that way, she would run into a phantom wall that would lead her to Zhongli Qian's room no matter which way she walked. Somehow, she had outsmarted him.

"Odd. Was Baili Qingmiao this perceptive?" Wenren È frowned, feeling that something somewhere had deviated from his plan.

If Baili Qingmiao went toward the exit, she would be led smoothly to Zhongli Qian. But she was heading deeper into the Hellfire Pavilion, which was crawling with ghost cultivators.

She'd only taken a few steps when she heard the sound of sobbing. She hurried over and found someone in a red robe and loose hair, crouching in the corner of a room and weeping pitifully.

Baili Qingmiao walked over and placed a hand gently on that person's shoulder, asking, "Miss, were you captured too?"

The red-robed person continued to sob, their whole body trembling, as if they'd had their heart broken.

Baili Qingmiao felt sympathy, wondering what awful thing could have happened to this maiden, and became even more anxious about Master Qingxue.

"They— they chose me for him. Why me...?" the red-robed person sobbed. "There were so many others who wanted to get closer to Altar Master Ruan. They could've gone! I didn't want to!"