Chi Muyao wasn't the only one present sweating buckets.

After Xi Huai's entrance, the entirety of the He Huan Sect disciples present became quiet. Xu Ranzhu probably wouldn't react even if someone actively looked for trouble with the He Huan Sect now.

Lou Qiongzhi also scanned for the best escape route near Chi Muyao. She pondered if it was faster to fly out from the roof or leave through the main entrance. 

Would those Nascent Soul stage Heavenly Venerables help catch them? And if they did, how many could they catch?

Chi Muyao began to try and bring his hair forward to hide his Adam's apple. Then he puffed up his admirable 'chest' to demonstrate he was a 'woman'.

He also comforted himself mentally. Xi Huai had already given up on him. His nervousness now was overthinking things.

Zong Sichen and Song Weiyue were only juniors at the Qing Ze Sect, so they followed behind the group.

After he entered and saw the patch of pink sect uniforms, Zong Sichen subconsciously wanted to walk over. However, he was dragged back to where the Qing Ze Sect were supposed to sit with a whoosh by his father's Control Object Technique.

The He Huan Sect disciples collectively breathed a sigh of relief after he was dragged away.

At this time, someone asked aloud, "Is everyone here now?"

Yet someone else had to say strangely, "Can the He Huan Sect be considered one of the Thousand Sects? Most of their disciples have wormed their way into the righteous faction."

"That's right. Just where did they get the nerve to come?"

Xu Ranzhu pretended she didn't hear a thing. She might as well have busted out prayer beads with how zen she was.

Seated in the main seat, Xi Huai glanced in the direction of the He Huan Sect before resting his chin on one hand and saying, "The Qing Fu Sect ingests the blood of others to cultivate, even using human blood to refine pills. I heard that many present today have taken such pills. At least the He Huan Sect's cultivation involves two willing parties having a bit of fun together, and they only target the men of the righteous faction. The Qing Fu Sect, on the other hand, only brings harm to people. If the Qing Fu Sect and the Luo Sha Sect have the face to attend, why shouldn't the He Huan Sect?"

As soon as Xi Huai's voice fell, everyone became silent.

The Demonic Faction was more accurately described as a collection of sects that practised cultivation in all sorts of strange ways.

The Qing Fu Sect ingested the blood of humans and committed many terrible crimes against the heavens.

There was also the Luo Sha Sect, which refined human bodies and used puppets to fight. Starting out as grave robbers, they simply hurt people later on and went against the law of heaven.

Where was the sense in leaving these sects alone and going after a group of women?

Although Xi Huai didn't talk much, his ability to choke people up was no joke. He could always make the other party speechless with a single sentence.

Of course, Chi Muyao had been the person he choked up the most, many times leaving Chi Muyao stewing in anger alone.

He even wanted to broadcast a warning to all female cultivators that they shouldn't find a cultivation partner like Xi Huai, who was really good at getting in the last word. There were so many cultivators out there in the world, why settle for one so good at making people angry?

But this one time, Chi Muyao was gratified by Xi Huai's sharp tongue.

Lou Qiongzhi was overjoyed after hearing that. She secretly gave him a thumbs up in her sleeve and mouthed, ‘You're the best furnace!’

She didn't say it aloud because the Nascent Soul stage Heavenly Venerables would hear.

Xi Huai felt bored at the silence of the masses. He urged, "Let's begin."

"Cough, cough." A man who seemed to be in his thirties stood up. "Lately, the Nuan Yan Pavilion seems to be in turmoil..."

Seeing that Xi Huai didn't seem to care about their side, Chi Muyao secretly let his heart settle. It seemed like his disguise worked.

Or perhaps Xi Huai had truly given up. Actually, there weren't many hard to part with feelings between the two of them.

Chi Muyao began to shell sunflower seeds with his hands, quietly putting them into his mouth again. He thought, ‘What, do you want to go attack the Nuan Yan Pavilion since it's in turmoil?’

Luckily, the Yu Chong School's cave has already been dug. You guys go fight, ba. It's none of my business.

The man continued, "The Demonic and Righteous Factions' peace agreement was reached with the current Sect Master of the Nuan Yan Pavilion. I heard that the others do not believe in it. If the current Sect Master were to pass away, then the new Sect Master of the Nuan Yan Pavilion is likely to annul the prior agreement and attack us once more."

The other Demonic Faction cultivators all voiced their agreement.

Lou Qiongzhi handed a tea cup over and whispered, "Want some tea?"

Chi Muyao nodded, for he didn't dare to speak. He accepted the cup.

The sunflower seeds of ancient times were a bit sweet and unpleasant tasting.

The man continued, "The Nuan Yan Pavilion is the dominant sect amongst the Righteous Faction, the one all other sects obey. They can summon many cultivators just with a wave of their hand, but our Demonic Faction is like a pile of loose sand in comparison. We wouldn't be able to gather many cultivators even if we were attacked. By then, we could only wait for the Nuan Yan Pavilion to tear us apart."

Others asked, "What do you mean by all this?"

"Get to the point already!"

In the Demonic Faction, many sect masters were illiterate brutes. You either spoke to them bluntly or they wouldn't understand what you were saying.

Case in point, Song Weiyue and his father were picking their ears right now.

The man finally got to his point, "This is why we should elect a Demon Venerable among us, so that they can manage the Thousand Sects. Everyone will also have someone to rally around if something goes wrong."

Chi Muyao was taken aback. Were they already electing a Demon Venerable so early?

Come to think of it, with the Nuan Yan Pavilion having become such a mess, the Demonic Faction would have to be idiots to sit on their hands right now. They needed to come up with a response to the situation.

He took another sip of tea, weighing the matter in his heart. Even he didn't know whether Xi Lin or Xi Huai would be chosen as Demon Venerable this time.

In the original novel, Xi Huai had gathered the Thousand Sects of the Demonic Faction after Xi Lin died and he completely blackened. He had used tough means to become the Demon Venerable and the biggest villain in one fell swoop.

Xi Huai has always been known for being ruthless and taking lives like nothing. The entire Demonic Faction quivered in fear of him.

However, something suddenly occurred to Chi Muyao. Sigh—Since Xi Huai was so obsessed with doing good deeds now, the Thousand Sects had no reason to be afraid of him...

How was he supposed to become the Demon Venerable now?! 

Did this mean that Xi Lin would become the Demon Venerable and later pass the position onto Xi Huai?

After the man's proposal, the masses all looked towards the Qing Ze Sect, as if they wanted to hear what the most powerful sect of the Demonic Faction had to say.

Xi Huai didn't even raise his eyes. He answered in an impatient tone, "I'm not interested."

The Zun Yue Palace Master added, "Hmph. Let the Nuan Yan Pavilion come if they want. Would our Qing Ze Sect be afraid of them?"

Chi Muyao couldn't help sighing after hearing this.

This overbearing sense of arrogance was what would lead to the downfall of your Sect.   If Xi Huai didn't have a spirit contract with the Hui, which gave him amazing regenerative capabilities near the end, the Qing Ze Sect wouldn't even be able to hold on until the finale.

However, looking at it another way, it was natural for Xi Huai to not want to be the Demon Venerable. He didn't fall in love with Ming Shaoluo, he didn't have a grudge against Xi Zihe, and he didn't commit all sorts of terrible offences against heaven.

We'll have to see in a few years time. 

Since Xi Huai had already given up on him, he would gradually discover that he was still interested in girls. When he became interested in Ming Shaoluo again, the plot would probably get back on track.

Who would've thought that others would be contrary when Xi Huai wasn't interested? 

"I've heard of how the Young Sect Master is always running over to the Righteous Faction. What, is the Qing Ze Sect planning to defect from the Demonic Faction? Is your unwillingness to become the Demon Venerable now a sign of your unwillingness to be on the same team as us?" 

Xi Huai was very annoyed. "Fine, I'll do it then.”

The one who asked: "..."

The other people of the Thousand Sects: "..." 

So casual??

The Zun Yue Palace Master also changed his tune, "Then congratulations, Demon Venerable-daren."

The other members of the Qing Ze Sect also expressed their congratulations.

They all worked together in perfect harmony.

The man who proposed this was a little flustered. "Is-is that it? Everything's settled?"

The Zun Yue Palace Master was immediately displeased. He asked in a deep voice, "What, you have something to say about our Young Sect Master's interest in being Demon Venerable? Why don't you come before this Seat and say it then?"

The implication: You're a dead man if you dare to stand up.

A thorough demonstration of the Qing Ze Sect's brainless protection of shortcomings.

Everyone in the audience looked at each other in dismay. Was the matter of Demon Venerable going to be settled just like this?

But how could anyone dare to dissent, seeing how the Qing Ze Sect had brought several Heavenly Venerables? A slight display of anger from a Heavenly Venerable was already enough to pressure them. In the end, they could only hurry to their feet and salute. "Greetings to the Demon Venerable."

Still holding his tea cup, Chi Muyao was flabbergasted at the sight.

He knew that Xi Huai must've employed some method back then to become the Demon Venerable. The Thousand Sects balked, but they could only compromise for survival's sake.

But the scene right now was not quite right. At least, Chi Muyao, who had read the original novel, felt like it was a bit of a let down.

However, he was still dragged to his feet by his fellow sect members to salute.

Xi Huai responded coldly, "En."

When everyone had retaken their seats, Xi Huai swept his gaze around again before asking, "Is there anything else?"

One person immediately shot to his feet and declared, "It's time to denounce the Luo Sha Sect. Previously, they had..."

Xi Huai raised a finger and said, "Let's just exterminate the entire sect.”

Xi Huai's straightforwardness caused the person who petitioned him to be taken aback for a moment. "T-there's no need for that. I just want compensation from the cultivator who refined my Dad's body."

Xi Huai was puzzled. "So you want to avenge your father? Why are you against exterminating the Luo Sha Sect then?"

The man swallowed dryly. "My dad has been dead for more than ten years. If they give me an artefact as compensation, I—"

 Xi Huai just rolled his eyes. "An unfilial son like you should just die already. Go ahead and kill yourself."

"But—"

"Anymore nonsense and I'll kill you myself."

The person was left in an awkward position. He didn't know if he should continue standing or sit down.

Xi Huai asked again, "Is there anything else?"

This new Demon Venerable's way of handling matter was really hard to compliment. Even if people had something to say, they wouldn't say anything.

Finally completing his task, Xi Huai stood up and tidied his clothes. "Then I can catch someone now, right?"

Others were puzzled, but the disciples of the He Huan Sect understood. Xu Ranzhu immediately said in a low voice, "Sprint!"

As soon as her voice fell, the He Huan Sect disciples disappeared together. The cup that Chi Muyao had been holding before also fell to the ground and shattered. It looked quite lonely.

Xi Huai had already been prepared. He signalled the Nascent Soul stage seniors beside him.

They immediately headed out in pursuit after receiving the order.

Xi Huai followed them at a leisurely pace, leaving behind everyone else, who had flabbergasted expressions. He raised an eyebrow at the signal flare that soon went up in the sky after he walked out.

They had run quite far in such a short time. The position where the signal flare was launched was quite far from here.

He flew over on a flying artefact, his sleeves fluttering like they were on fire in the night. He arrived like this and walked towards the dozen or so He Huan Sect disciples who had been captured in a transparent boundary.

Xu Ranzhu quickly shielded Chi Muyao from sight. "Young...Demon Venerable-daren, let's not resort to violence."

"I didn't even get a chance to talk to you before. How could you know that I would resort to violence?"

"Er..." Xu Ranzhu was actually at a loss for words.

Xi Huai tilted his head. Thanks to his height, he could see Chi Muyao, whose head was lowered, in the crowd. He finally lost his impatient expression from before. His eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled very faintly. He didn't look too vicious right now.

Chi Muyao had always been a bit taller than these girls. He couldn't hide perfectly among them even with his head down.

So he could only come out resignedly and ask, "Can you let them go?"

Xi Huai was taken aback for a moment to hear A-Jiu's voice instead of Chi Muyao's.

So it could be changed back.

His eyes wandered over Chi Muyao's body, scanning him from head to toe.

He had fantasised many times about what Chi Muyao would look like in the He Huan Sect uniform, wearing the peach blossom face. 

He finally didn't have to fantasise anymore.

Before, he always felt that a man wearing a pink sect uniform would be unsightly.

But looking at Chi Muyao as he was now, Xi Huai's heart skipped a beat. The organ itched, as if a thousand feathers were gently scratching it.

So a man so suited to wearing pink did exist under the heavens. Instead of making him appear feminine, pink only highlighted his gentle beauty. His clothes paired greatly with his fair skin. The bead curtain on the lower half of the peach blossom face half covered his beautiful chin, and those lips which were just the right shade of red. 

Xi Huai took one look after another. 

Instead of answering, Xi Huai walked over and poked a steamed bun before bursting into laughter. 

Chi Muyao felt that his head was about to explode with shame. 

Xi Huai pointed to his belt. "Aren't your lapels open until there? Open them so I can see.” 

Chi Muyao: "..."

Just let him die already.