Chapter 1: The worst demonic way leader.
The founder of cultivation once said, the way to cultivation was merely eight parts of painstaking practice, one part luck, and one part talent.
Talent and luck were hard to come by, but practicing hard was something anyone could do.
When the cultivators across the world received these gems of wisdom, they were all considerably encouraged. One after another, they each set up their cave dwellings to seek the road to ascension.
From henceforth, withdrawing from worldly affairs to quietly cultivate became each immortal sect’s unchanging goal.
Toward this, the current leader of the demonic way, You Jiang, only wanted to say two words—what nonsense!
You Jiang once also believed that the heavens rewarded the diligent. Regardless of whether you were righteous or demonic, if you wanted to defeat your opponents to win territory, you definitely couldn’t go wrong by cultivating hard.
Thus, the moment You Jiang entered the demonic way, he regarded cultivating as his most important matter. To the extent that he remained single like the old elders from the righteous Profound Sect, despite living among thousands of bewitching and flirtatious demonic girls.
It was rumored that after You Jiang became the leader of the demonic way, he even threw out the demonic way’s most beautiful female demoness (who had come to recommend herself as a bed partner) into the side room.
After, You Jiang even sarcastically said, “Go out, don’t obstruct this lord from his goal of eradicating the Profound Sect!”
From henceforth, the demonic cultivators finally understood the truth—their leader’s one love for his entire life was probably the righteous Profound Sect.
In a nutshell, if you compared You Jiang with his predecessors, a hardworking demonic leader like this would practically make all the demonic cultivators weep.
However, the awkward part was, despite being this serious, You Jiang still couldn’t figure out how to ascend.
Speaking of You Jiang, people can’t help but mention the demonic leaders before him.
Five hundred years ago, the Demon Lord Bi Fang massacred the entire world under the skies, ushering in a period of prosperity for the demonic faction.
Then, for his wife and child, Demon Lord Bi Fang voluntarily got slaughtered by the founder of cultivation.
Approximately two hundred years ago, the senior-apprentice brother of the Profound Sect defected. He entered the demonic way and became the Palace of Bliss’ Master, He Huan.
He Huan made the entire righteous faction hate to the point their teeth itched, but nobody could do anything about him. Thus, the demonic cultivators promptly crowned him their lord.
Then, this guy molded his own Nascent Soul into his Daoist companion. While happily holding hands with his new husband, He Huan jumped back into the righteous way.
What was even more angering, was that this lord managed to ascend in a whoosh. This left the demonic cultivators without a leader and caused them to be beaten by the righteous faction until they were crying piteously.
Similarly, a hundred years ago, the son of the Demon Lord, Bi Qianren, allied himself with the ghost realm. Just when the demonic cultivators thought their boss’ son was gonna return to help them take revenge, this person took his Daoist companion on a trip around the jianghu1 right after their wedding. He even quitted his job as the demonic way’s major Protector!
Before leaving, this guy left a remark that made all demonic cultivators gasp with admiration— “It’s the norm for demonic cultivators to do things depending on their mood. Something like kicking my Daoist companion to the side in order to take care of you guys, did you think I’m the Profound Sect’s senior-apprentice brother?”
What he said was very reasonable, the demonic cultivators were actually left speechless. Thus, with all of this, only You Jiang, this last, dedicated seedling, remained in the demonic way.
The unruliness of the older generation made the demonic way elders think that the titles like “Master” or “Lord” were extremely unlucky. Thus, they only called You Jiang their leader, meaning he was the top demonic cultivator.
However, although the older generation of demonic way leaders weren’t reliable, their cultivation levels were genuinely very high.
The Demon Lord was an immortal beast that had been demonified. He Huan was a genius indulged by the heavens; entering the Post-Calamity stage at only a hundred years old, he took his entire family, both his Master and his Daoist companion, to ascend only sixty years later.
Even Bi Qianren had entered the later stage of Post-Calamity, and was only waiting for one last tribulation to send him into the heavenly demon realm.
As someone who had once worked with them, today You Jiang was already a hundred sixty five years. However, his cultivation level was still stagnating at the early stage of Post-Calamity, and he hadn’t even touched the gateway to ascending. This disparity in power also made him feel extremely depressed.
Even more dispiriting was how the elders of the demonic way were originally nominating Bi Qianren as the next demonic leader. They always felt that You Jiang, a leader who didn’t have the consciousness to abdicate, was unpleasant to the eye.
Every few days, these elders would come and mock, “Leader, out of all the demonic way leaders, you’re the one with the least grandeur. Today, the new righteous disciples don’t even know your name. Don’t you feel ashamed to have become a demon lord like this?”
It was precisely these taunts that made You Jiang establish his lifelong goals—cause trouble, cause a lot of trouble!
In the history of demonic cultivators, his full name must be remembered!
If one wants to cause trouble, you’ll need the cultivation skills to back it up. The five cultivation levels could be classified as Forged Body, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Post-Calamity.
For cultivating immortality, one’s Dao was the most important. Golden Core establishes one’s Dao, while Nascent Soul is when one seeks it. Post-Calamity proves one’s Dao, and ascending is achieving the Dao.
Countless cultivators were stuck at the stage of proving their Dao, and You Jiang wasn’t an exception.
Luckily, there weren’t many lunatics that were set on proving their Dao. After the old generation all ascended, the righteous path was actually lacking in strength. The new generation of righteous cultivators had no one who could match You Jiang, allowing the demonic faction to gain the upper hand. This resulted in them gaining territory from Mobei to Jiangnan.
Unfortunately, You Jiang’s journey as an overlord had only just started, when the righteous faction produced his nemesis—Fu Hongye.
Fu Hongye was the disciple of the Profound Sect’s Sword Saint. After the Sword Saint He Ku followed the Demon Lord He Huan and ascended, Fu Hongye became this generation’s Sect Leader of the Profound Sect.
Being capable of forming your Nascent Soul in just a hundred years was already considered to be a rarely seen genius, but Fu Hongye only used eighty years to enter the later stage of Post-Calamity.
How could one describe the later stage of Post-Calamity?
The later stage of Post-Calamity meant that one has already succeeded in proving their Dao. After surviving eighty-one tribulation lightning strikes and with one foot already on the path to ascension, the only thing left was to pass a single heart tribulation before they could reach immortality.
Even if one didn’t pass this heart tribulation, they would still achieve the Dispersed Immortal stage, which ordinary cultivators could never hope to reach.
You Jiang formed his Nascent Soul when he was twenty-five years old. When he was sixty-five, he entered closed-door seclusion to charge straight into the Post-Calamity stage.
Even He Huan had been shocked by his talent, declaring he would become the Demon Lord for the next generation.
In the past, how impressive had You Jiang been! In comparison, his situation now appeared even more desolate.
A hundred years had passed and his familiar acquaintances had ascended one after another, but only he had stagnated at the same place, unable to move forward.
You Jiang would never have thought—waiting for merely a single opportunity had unexpectedly exhausted a hundred years of time, yet it still hasn’t appeared!
While You Jiang had been trapped in the same place, Fu Hongye had already grabbed his sword and entered the battle between the evil and righteous. In his very first battle, he had won against the demonic way’s leader. The youth dressed in white drove away the invading demonic cultivators back into Mobei, and amidst everyone’s cheers, became this generation’s new righteous leader.
In that one battle, Fu Hongye gained the title of the best swordsman under the heavens.
Meanwhile, You Jiang only obtained a sword scar between his eyebrows, red enough to dazzle one’s eyes, as a symbol for his loss.
From henceforth, whenever Fu Hongye wasn’t present, You Jiang was still the unmatched fierce tiger of the demonic way. The moment people see him, they would flee.
However, the moment Fu Hongye managed to rush over, the demonic way’s leader that everyone dreaded would immediately become a small stray cat trying to act tough. The only thing You Jiang could do then would be to withdraw from the battlefield with hatred.
Because demonic cultivators had to retreat in defeat for every battle in the past hundred years, a joke appeared in the righteous faction—in Alliance Leader’s eyes, this demonic way’s leader is the same as the demonic way’s best prostitute. He had no choice but to lie down and let others take liberties.
Fu Hongye easily obtained the opportunity You Jiang waited a hundred years for. In addition, the foundation he painstakingly laid down for the demonic realm became the dowry for Fu Hongye’s fame and good reputation.
You Jiang believed his hate for Fu Hongye was completely justifiable.
Thus, during these one hundred years after Fu Hongye appeared, the goal the demonic way’s leader was striving toward, changed from conquering the righteous path……to one declaration made with extreme rage—kill Fu Hongye!
Demonic cultivators didn’t know what peace was. They were innately aggressive and wouldn’t feel comfortable if they didn’t get to fight. A single day without picking a quarrel or causing trouble made their bones itch.
As the strongest demonic cultivator, You Jiang was even more like this. What if he couldn’t defeat Fu Hongye?
If you’re not scared, you have to fight. As long as one doesn’t die, there is still a chance of winning.
Just like this, the entire world began joking that among all the strong cultivators from the previous generation, You Jiang was the weakest one. Despite this, he still thickened his face and shamelessly continued to be the demonic way’s leader, while pondering everyday on how he could cause trouble for Fu Hongye. Even though this junior was a few decades younger than him, he still felt boundless joy as they fought back and forth.
As for his ascension, You Jiang never mentioned it again.
What was happening today was also nothing new. When You Jiang heard Fu Hongye was in Mingchuan City to handle a dispute between the common folk, he brought a bunch of people to lay an ambush for him early in the morning. The moment Fu Hongye left the city gates, he would be greeted with ten thousand arrows, all so this righteous leader could be turned into a porcupine.
However, who knew how difficult the mess in the city had been. They waited a full ten days, yet didn’t see a single Profound Sect disciple leave the city.
You Jiang, who was resting in a hotel, felt a bit bored. To remedy this, he grabbed a pot of wine and began appreciating the full moon.
After a hundred years, the once highly-spirited youth had long turned into an old, demonic traitor who still wouldn’t die. However, while his artistic, demonic features would forever stay the same as they were during his picturesque youth, the dusty frost in his gaze was impossible to conceal. Merely casting a single ray of moonlight onto him was enough to make it obvious.
The light from the moon also dyed the plants with a frosty hue. The slightly chilled night breeze, infused with an early warning of the coming winter, caused the decayed leaves to swirl in the air. The entire place was peaceful, yet also quiet and desolate.
A hotel even demonic cultivators could stay temporarily wasn’t a good place, so there was only plain tea and simple food on a single wooden table. Luckily, the wine was You Jiang’s own, treasured pear flower white wine, so it was still worthy of the beautiful full moon in the sky.
You Jiang loved the autumn full moon the most, because after the night, the moon would inevitably fracture.
In contrast, he hated the autumn red leaves, because despite being the season where all living things withered, those leaves showed no understanding of the times and were still bright enough to dazzle one’s eyes. It was as if they would never understand what it meant to deteriorate.
Thus, the person You Jiang hated the most, was still Fu Hongye2.
Fu Hongye, who had appeared during his own gloomiest days, appearing in the jianghu in the most dazzling way.
The moment he thought of Fu Hongye, You Jiang’s drinking speed unconsciously quickened before he became eighty-percent drunk.
You could count on one hand how many Post-Calamity cultivators existed in the world, so other than Fu Hongye, You Jiang didn’t fear anyone else.
Since he felt this depressed, he might as well drink a few more cups, drink to his heart’s content!
Unexpectedly, at this very moment, You Jiang heard a small noise from the roof. That was the sound of an expert stepping on the roof tiles, awfully soft and gentle.
If it was a normal cultivator, it would have been impossible for them to sense it. But it couldn’t be concealed from You Jiang’s ears.
Nowadays, there really were little thieves who thought too highly of themselves, daring to step onto a god’s head!
Although You Jiang was a demonic way leader that gets beaten rather pathetically by Fu Hongye, he was still the strongest person in the demonic faction.
To try and commit a crime right in front of him, how reckless!
This offending newcomer made the black-clothed man frown. Despite having refined, scholarly features, like trimmed bamboo found between the gaps of a forest, the words You Jiang spoke were completely haughty. “Which little thief actually dares to be imprudent in front of this lord, f*ck out and come die!”
The demonic way elders once said, when the leader didn’t speak, he truly looked like an incomparably elegant youth. However, the moment he spoke, he would become a little devil in need of spanking.
Thus, the reason the elders opposed You Jiang was also very simple—the leader spoke too much, like a demonic cultivator who wouldn’t live long!
Let’s not mention for now how miserably the three elders would be scolded should You Jiang know this reason. At this moment, his haughty words actually called upon one powerful lord.
When the person on the roof heard him speak, they really broke the window and entered. With an immortal air surrounding him, the newcomer had gentle facial features but thin lips, and fine black hair contrasting against his white robes. Twelve thin blades shaped like maple leaves coiled around his left wrist like a bracelet.
This was precisely the Fu Hongye the demonic cultivators had been lying in ambush for so many days!
Fu Hongye was already born with a gentle appearance. After he had reached the Post-Calamity stage, he looked even more like an immortal. His bright eyes were more beautiful than rain in a deep valley, as if he wasn’t the least contaminated by the dirt in the mortal realm.
Even You Jiang couldn’t help but admit, someone like this truly should wear white clothes, and was destined to enter the righteous faction.
What was strange, however, was that this youth who had always used a harmless smile (one that made You Jiang’s scalp numb), currently had bloodshot eyes. The True Energy surrounding him was also practically boiling, looking as if he was experiencing a qi deviation.
No, Fu Hongye truly qi deviated!
If You Jiang received this information in a normal situation, he would have arranged a three-day feast in the demonic realm to celebrate.
However, when the righteous leader experiencing a qi deviation was standing right in front of him, bloodshot eyes fixed on his body, You Jiang, who had sensed some of the youth’s immoral thoughts, could only vigilantly ask, “Fu Hongye? What do you want to do?”
Damn it! Those from the Profound Sect have always pursued martyrdom. This rotten brat couldn’t be thinking that he had to take down You Jiang, the demonic way’s leader, with him before he lost his reason, right?
Facts prove that the person who understands one the most is precisely their arch-enemy. You Jiang was just thinking how things were looking bad, when the youth dressed in white robes with bloodshot eyes answered him in a mutter, “I need to……subdue demons.”
As if his obsession was evoked by this sentence, the youth, who had originally been blankly hovering on his spot, began rapidly using his True Energy. His hand turned into a claw, and in a blink of an eye, he grabbed onto You Jiang’s sleeve. Following that, he leaned in close enough to see You Jiang’s appearance, confirming that this was indeed the person he cared deeply about.
Only then did Fu Hongye smile with satisfaction, his tone sounding like a predator who had finally caught his prey. “Yes, I found you, demon.”
The youth’s appearance looked too gentle. Even if he had qi deviated, when Fu Hongye smiled, it felt like a soft drizzle in a small town, without the least wickedness.
However, his power hadn’t weakened at all despite this. In fact, he had broken through his previous realm and reached the Dispersed Immortal stage.
You Jiang couldn’t have imagined that in the few days he hadn’t seen Fu Hongye, the youth had already experienced his calamity. Right now, Fu Hongye’s condition was probably because he had failed his tribulation, which made his mind enter a state of confusion.
This was a good thing for the demonic way. However, for the current You Jiang, this was terrifying bad news.
He had already been incapable of defeating the Fu Hongye in the Post-Calamity stage. How could he defend against a Dispersed Immortal?
But even if his heart sank, You Jiang still squeezed his own spiritual weapon, the Naihe Fan. He was prepared to use his full strength to meet Fu Hongye—who had come to eliminate demons—head-on.
You Jiang would rather die in battle than beg for mercy. This was his dignity, belonging to the demonic way’s leader.
Unexpectedly, after the youth avoided his attack, what he did next was even more shocking. Fu Hongye used the Profound Sect’s unique spell Moist Clothes Stick, which could avoid attacks while concealing one’s own strikes, converting cleverness into strength.
Then—he raised his hands and tore You Jiang’s clothes!
The moment he did this, You Jiang became extremely alarmed. As he watched the crazy Fu Hongye approach him step by step, the demonic way leader who even dared to curse the heavens actually felt cold sweat budding on his back.
What exactly was this brat’s last heart tribulation? Why would he tear a guy’s clothes after he failed it?
If he let things continue, what happened next wouldn’t be good!
However, You Jiang didn’t have the time to be bewildered. Because the crazy youth had already neared, and stole his weapon in one grab.
Currently, their eyes were level with each other. The youth only needed to bow his head slightly, and he would be able to touch the demon cultivator’s nose.
It had been a long time since You Jiang got this close to anyone, and there were very few people under the heavens who dared to look at him in the eyes. The youth overstepping like this immediately made anger grow in his heart. You Jiang immediately opened his mouth to curse him out.
However, as if he had long known what his reaction would be, Fu Hongye actually kissed him! This stuffed all of You Jiang’s curses back into his mouth, as if he was purifying their ears in advance.
For a hundred years, as arch-enemies, You Jiang had always glowered and hurled curses, while Fu Hongye would always reply with a slight smile. You Jiang had once boldly predicted that this rotten brat (who was bad at words) must have had a lot of hidden grievances after suffering a hundred years of curses, and that he would lose his mind sooner or later.
But You Jiang would never have thought that Fu Hongye would actually choose this kind of method to block his mouth.
What he would have never believed even more, was that at this very moment, the frantic gaze in this youth’s eyes (looking as if he wanted to gobble someone up), even made a demon like him feel frightened.
Nikk says:
Aaaah you’re back! Super happy and with new novels??? ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡
I’m already in love!!!
Sakhyu says:
Thank you waaah! It’s good to be back! Missed y’all 💖💖💖
thisbro says:
Hello Sakhyu! So glad to see you back!
Imagine my surprise to see you translating Former Sweet Heart and Ghost Bridegroom XD since I’m the translator for Fake Demon Lord (also by the same author and in the same universe).
Was wondering if you’d like to get in touch? Totally fine if you don’t want to, either way, welcome back!
Sakhyu says:
Waaah thank you so much, I would love to! Do you have twitter or discord by any chance?
Sakhyu says:
Sent a friend request!
Milk says:
The start is already so chaotic! I love it
chrysanthemumburst says:
very excited for this novel
Zoe Khan says:
Hey! I want to tell you that the links aren’t working. When I clicked on the links, I was brought to I’ve Lead the Villain Astray, how do I fix it?
Sakhyu says:
Hey, sorry about this! Been fiddling with the site so some things are a bit wonky.
Edit: just kidding should be fixed now!
Murrray says:
LMAO seeing He Huan names really caught me on guard, didn’t realize this novel shared the same universe with Fake Demon Lord XD, thanks for the translation ! ! !
Sakhyu says:
Yes! One of the other novels I’m translating, Ghost Bridegroom, is also sharing the same universe! He Huan actually appears in there too, instead of just being mentioned.
Thank you for the support!