Crossing the Demonic Path to Sainthood

Green-tea, unhinged demonic emperor gong × widowed beauty shou, the proud, unruly, pure-hearted sage master who starts over after deleting his account The Confucian sage Xie Yan, courtesy name Yunji, was also known as “Mr. Tianwen.” As the leader of the immortal sects, wielding supreme power for more than two thousand years, he was the sun and moon that hung high above this world. People of his time said, “The sage governs from his lofty pavilion, ruling with ease and establishing a golden age of order and harmony that has lasted a thousand years.” Sage Xie Yan lived his life with impeccable virtue, but he did one outrageous thing: After the war between immortals and demons ended in victory, he defied all opposition and imprisoned Yin Wuji, the demonic emperor who had started the war, in the Nine Hells. For nearly three hundred years, Yin Wuji was imprisoned there by him, never seeing the light of day. The disciple he had once cherished above all others ultimately became his caged bird, his garden flower, his prisoner. “Even a phoenix flying through the heavens must roost on my branch.” Xie Yan’s dark eyes concealed a calm madness. He bent over in the gloom, gripped the emperor’s jaw, and smiled leisurely. “Good boy, I’ve treated you this way. Why don’t you hate me?” Five hundred years after the sage fell from Heaven, Xie Yan was reborn through self-destruction and returned to the fallen Confucian sect. He put on a secret identity, took the name Xie Jingxing, and claimed to be “a disciple of the sage.” Then he once again stepped into the five continents and thirteen islands, where chaos was looming. Yin Wuji had to be completely unhinged to make a good story. He became the most bone-deep, entangling love, the most scorching lava, chasing Xie Yan to collect a thousand years of emotional debt. He wouldn’t stop until the fire in his heart had burned itself out. “The sage is so cruel. Five hundred years, and I still don’t even have a title. I had to spend all that time beside your empty coffin.” Yin Wuji lifted his lashes and glanced over, his tone half teasing, half reproachful. “I’m lying. You didn’t actually believe me, did you? I’m not that stupid.” Seeing him complain, the sage wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he was delighted. “Isn’t it adorable when a pretty little dog chases after me, nipping at my clothes?” Xie Yan was dead. White mourning banners filled the Confucian sect’s mountains, and all creation grieved. The sage’s temple held a vigil for seven days. Only the clothes and crown of an old friend remained. A figure in plain white came through the heavy snow, the emperor seemingly in mourning for his departed master. He had only just escaped the Nine Hells. Thin and pale, he seemed like a mountain on the verge of collapse, yet he still possessed peerless elegance. Yin Wuji lifted his eyes. The blazing fire of years past seemed like a dead tree now, with only embers remaining. “What are you here for?” “To mourn.” Yin Wuji stood solemnly before the empty coffin and closed his eyes. “To see him off on his final journey.” The temple doors closed, leaving him alone with the ever-burning candles. Yin Wuji leaned against the coffin, clutching the clothes and crown of his old friend as though holding snow and ice. “I have repaid your kindness with betrayal. In life and death, we were master and friend…” He laughed through his tears. “Master, you really are heartless.” Reader’s guide: 1. Yin Wuji (gong) × Xie Yan (shou). Strong pair, 1v1, younger disciple and older master, each other’s first love. No switching or breaking them up. They are each other’s only ones, body and soul. Love and hate intertwined, and they’re utterly devoted to each other. 2. Volumes 1–4 cover their present lives; volumes 5–8 cover their past lives. Both leads have their own career arcs. The shou starts out at max level, then deletes his account and starts over. The gong has a full growth arc. 3. An unconventional take on Confucian cultivation, with a forbidden master-disciple romance in a feudal setting. Three major taboos: master and disciple, immortals and demons, and adoptive father and son. 4. The ancient poems and books mentioned really existed in antiquity, but were lost after a great calamity and later revived by their descendants. 5. For more reader services, see the author’s pinned post. Author’s Weibo: @Chen Ge Xiang Lu Mao. Come say hi! Author page: Collected Extras for Crossing into the Demon Path and Becoming a Sage, with free bonus chapters and IF timelines to enjoy alongside the main story. Commenting requirements: Bookmark this story. The author will also add annotations to the comments while revising, for a better reading experience. Theme: Master and friend in life and death, passing the torch when the flame is spent. The Great Way is for the common good.