So I’ve started reading a new cultivation novel called ‘Fox Demon Cultivation Manual’ and naturally it has already given me Bingqiu ideas only a handful of chapters in.
Specifically, chapter 13 dropped this interesting bit of lore:
“You can’t keep staying with him. He is a human after all, and you may not even be a demon.”
“What do you mean?” Song Ci was puzzled.
It was rare for Wen Changchu to look serious. “You know of the Tu Shan Clan, right?”
Without waiting for Song Ci’s reply, he continued, “The people of the Tu Shan Clan were born deities of the Nine Heavens. And the Divine Realm ranks first among the Six Realms. You can imagine how distinguished the status of the Tu Shan Clan is.”
“There was someone from Tu Shan who had renounced the Divine Race. Before he departed, he left behind a drop of blood from his heart. This drop of blood was stored in Tu Shan until it was stolen over ten years ago. Its whereabouts remained unknown. Back then, the Tu Shan Clan launched a large-scale search in the Six Realms, but the world is vast, and they never found it.”
“I suspect that the drop of blood was consumed by you.”
“No need to suspect. I was the one who ate it.” Song Ci said calmly. “The moment it entered my stomach, it began to change my body and turn me into what I’m now.”
Now in this translation, the translator is using ‘demon’ for ‘yao’ and ‘devil’ for ‘mo,’ so technically Song Ci was transformed into a fox-yao, not something SVSSS would translate as ‘demon’, but let’s ignore that and imagine the same sort of rules apply to the blood of the very first Heavenly Demon.
Enter Shen Yuan, who after book one seemingly can’t go more than five chapters without ingesting still more Heavenly Demon blood, and from a variety of sources as well!
I have the mental image of Shen Qingqiu’s harem of sect siblings tracking down the mythical cure for Without-a-Cure and convincing Shen Qingqiu to test it… and it actually works!!!
Except, surprise! It worked because it made their shixiong half (?) Heavenly Demon, and demons are immune to Without-a-Cure. Whoops.
Both the crack fic and the drama potential of this scenario is absolutely delightful!
Shen Qingqiu definitely didn’t expect himself to end up being the first part-Heavenly Demon hiding his heritage from the cultivation world.
At least it gives him enough power to safely join Binghe in the abyss, if that’s even still necessary??? Stupid hack author with his scrapped plotlines and hidden worldbuilding!
Binghe meanwhile is determined to protect Shizun from anyone who would dare try to trap him under a mountain!
#hey yo this is sick and im eating it clean plate club. delicious #LOVE a demon sqq. and him not even ORIGIONALLY being a demon? sy original? sj be rolling in his grave
Yes! Exactly! You understand.
I love Shen Yuan doing things that Shen Jiu would hate and suffering what Shen Jiu would consider to be horrifying consequences as a result, only to continue to thrive more then Shen Jiu ever did despite it all.
I’ve seen a handful of meta about how every time Shen Jiu did something good it bit him in the ass, and while they’re not exactly wrong, I feel they ignore all the ways Shen Yuan’s kindness backfires too!
He tries to show Binghe kindness against System orders, and immediately loses points (putting him closer to death).
He saves Binghe from Sky Hammer, and gets (near) fatally poisoned for his efforts.
He saves Zhuzhi-lang from Gongyi Xiao then gives him a mushroom, only to get framed for the sower’s plague and kidnapped several times as a result.
Sure all these things turn around again later, but only because Shen Yuan doesn’t just give up and continues to be radically kind despite the setbacks.
Shen Yuan trusting his martial siblings only for it to ‘backfire’ and make him a demon would follow this same trend perfectly!
@myheadgoesaround
Since you asked for more, I will oblige! I’ve thought up a few more potential worldbuilding details since making the original post (and reading more Fox Demon Cultivation Manual).
Here is the backstory I came up with:
Since there was originally only the one heavenly being who was exiled to the demon realm, it was naturally expected that his bloodline would begin to ‘thin out’ and lose power with each generation. (Unless his children were to engage in some House Targaryen nonsense I suppose.)
To avoid this problem, and ensure the continued strength of his decedents, the first heavenly demon used his heart blood to feed a certain fruit tree, kept in a secret realm accessible only to himself and his chosen heirs (except for every couple thousand years or so, when the stars align and it opens itself to anyone, but that’s not important 😉).
By feeding the fruit of this tree to his official di-spouse, he transformed her into a heavenly demon, and ensured all their offspring would also be full blooded heavenly demons. He offered this same type of fruit, called the ‘Heart Blood Fruit’ to the official spouses of all his di-children, and thus the tradition of feeding a heart blood fruit to one’s official spouse (and any adopted children, or shu children one wished to elevate) continued for many generations.
Now the bloodmites of created heavenly demons could be controlled by that first heavenly demon, as their heavenly blood technically still “belongs” to him, but the power boost from becoming a heavenly demon was generally considered to be worth it… plus there is always the chance another relative would slip you their blood in the regular way even if you refused the fruit. At least with the fruit only one heavenly demon would have any power over you.
Of course, even with the family patriarch having direct control over everyone’s spouses (and perhaps even his own offspring, I’m undecided), a family of demons defined by bloodlust aren’t going to remain cordial with one another for long. Eventually that first heavenly demon was successfully killed… along with his chosen heir and anyone else he might have told the location of the heart blood fruit tree. After even more time passed, most of the records even alluding to such a tree’s existence vanished as well.
By the time Tianlang-jun was born, this particular secret was well and truly forgotten, with the remaining (relatively) pure bloodline having dwindled down to only Tianlang-jun’s immediate family.
For how the heart blood fruit showed up in PIDW:
During some dramatic plotline later on in the novel (that only Shen Yuan remembers) Bingge successfully stumbled into the secret realm with the heart fruit tree.
How did he get there despite not being chosen by the (still dead) first heavenly demon?
Perhaps Xin Mo helped, or perhaps the first heavenly demon somehow included permission for the ‘last of his kind’. Or maybe this was after the merging of the realms, and that destabilized the secret realm somehow making it more accessible. (The realm merge destabilizing any secret realms with openings in the mortal and demon realms is actually a super fun idea! Maybe that could even be what caused the ‘dramatic plotline’ in the first place. It let out some nasty primordial demon that was trapped in such a realm, whose power was comparable to that of the heavens.)
Regardless of specifics, the original goods ended up in the realm and ate the last of the fruits there, granting himself a significant boost in power and helping him defeat whatever was currently threatening his empire (Then he probably married either the threat itself or it’s daughter, knowing Bingge.)
Airplane meant to bring back the heart fruit tree later and have Bingge discover the secret history of the heavenly demon race… but as with many Airplane plot ideas that never really manifested, and the reason for Bingge’s power boost was never actually explained. Most readers just assumed the fruit was yet another rare cultivation enhancing plant.
For how the heart blood fruit was found in SVSSS:
While searching for any possible cures to Without-a-Cure, Mu Qingfang found an ancient text on blood disorders that offhandedly mentioned ‘the Emperor’s Heart Blood Fruit’ possibly curing such ailments.
Shen Qingqiu’s martial siblings decided this was just as good a lead as any, and tracked down Madam Meiyin (or some other less love focused fortune teller), on the off chance they could provide more details.
The fortune teller didn’t offer much beyond the suggestion of a possible time and place (that surely looked like a trap, considering the location deep in the demon realm) but a determined Liu Qingge went for it anyway (Possibly with a stubborn 16-year-old Binghe following along. 😤 He was seemingly old enough to have gone on many solo night hunts by age 17, so tagging along might have been within his capabilities).
The miniature ‘raid’ on the demon realm proved successful, and Liu Qingge returned with a single vaguely heart shaped fruit. (I’m picturing plasma fruit from the sims honestly.)
Shen Qingqiu of course recognized the fruit, and refused to eat it at first. (He can’t just steal Binghe’s future power up!!!) But there had been an incident recently (maybe he insisted on flying somewhere and fell from the sky… or he lost control of Xue Ya while doing hand seals, and nearly got skewered by its forward momentum) so his martial siblings were quite insistent!
He eventually gave up and finally ate the fruit, and was utterly astonished by the fact his Without-a-Cure really did start to clear up!!! Only then a faded red mark appeared on his forehead… and he started releasing an amount of demonic qi that could’t just be explained away by Without-a-Cure being a demonic poison.
As his progression into demonhood continued, his martial siblings came to the horrible realization of exactly what they’d done to their reluctant martial sibling.
Thankfully the transformation didn’t actually replace his spiritual cultivation, it only added the demonic system alongside it, but it still means Shen Qingqiu is at least half demon now (if not somehow fully both), and a heavenly demon at that!
Yue Qingyuan knows better than anyone what happened to the previous heavenly demon discovered traipsing about the mortal realm, so the sect leadership was immediately thrown into crisis mode!
“We turned our martial brother into a demon!!! What do we do now?!”
Shen Qingqiu was sent off to the Ling Xi caves to figure out the whole Zuiyin situation, and get his new cultivation under control. Binghe was permitted to join him for both moral support, and to fetch things and pass along any messages. (Yue Qingyuan was determined to ensure that Shen Qingqiu’s forced Ling Xi stay would be nothing like his own was, and offered him every comfort!)
While there, Shen Qingqiu wheedled Luo Binghe into teaching him the basics of demonic cultivation, to Luo Binghe’s great embarrassment.
His Shizun was totally onto him receiving Meng Mo’s training! And he (flirtatiously???) called Binghe ‘Shizun’ while asking for his help! Ahhhhh!!! Someone help this boy! His heart can’t take it!
That’s all the detailed ideas I have for now. Beyond that:
Either the System lets them skip the Abyss, or Shen Qingqiu joins Binghe for that particular adventure (with them supposedly jumping into the abyss to avoid being outed publicly at the conference).
The whole ‘blackening Shen Qingqiu’s name’ arc becomes a lot more tense with him legitimately being a heavenly demon now. (It’s very hard to deny demonic cultivation allegations when you actually are a demon currently practicing demonic cultivation.)
While working to cover up Shen Qingqiu’s new demonhood (and/or bury the other accusations towards him) Cang Qiong sect unintentionally figures out just how thoroughly the previous generation had been fooled by Huan Hua’s lies regarding Tianlang-jun.
After dealing with his own slander campaign, Shen Qingqiu successfully manages to convince them to find a way to free the guy. (A heartfelt, “That could have been me.” is more than enough to convince Yue Qingyuan. Don’t worry, Shidi, he’ll make it right!)
#okay i have SO many thoughts but first. thank you for the meal holy shit. #sy gets fucked over for trying to be kind all the TIME he just keeps trying. love him for that. love THIS for how it follows the patternnnn
He really does! I’m not sure how so many people miss it.
Maybe it’s the narration? The way Shen Yuan responds to his misfortunes is typically rather exasperated and irreverent, and he’s always quick to move on. For example, he does briefly berate himself about contracting Without-a-Cure needlessly, but shortly after he’s grousing about its stupid name instead.
We also have the advantage of meta knowledge, so we know that despite the immediate misfortune his actions have endeared him to Binghe and will help him avoid being horrifically murdered later.
#also if binghe got the fruit for sqq and sqq ate it binghe is GONNA argue that means their married. by tradition obviously
Ahh, you’re so right!
I’ve now decided that while Meng Mo didn’t know the full powers of the heart blood fruit (that being a heavenly demon family secret and all), he has been around long enough that he knew about the marriage tradition aspect.
When Luo Binghe interrogated him about the safety and abilities of the fruit, of course Meng Mo spills, “The Heavenly Demon Emperor would hardly offer the fruit as a sign a marriage has his blessing if it was harmful.”
With this information, Binghe definitely crashes Liu Qingge’s solo mission and helps to acquire the heart blood fruit. Heck, maybe the two of them only succeed thanks to Luo Binghe’s protagonist halo!
When they return with the fruit, Luo Binghe is also instrumental in wheedling Shen Qingqiu into actually eating it, and he makes damn sure he’s the one physically handing it over. Shizun is only allowed to perform secret demon wedding traditions with him!!!
#god shen qingqiu could throw binghe into the abyss per system orders and INSTANTLY jump in after. system didnt say he couldnt #they gotta hide for a bit binghe its okay its time for a training arc
Joint training arc!!!
Forget getting through the abyss in a little over two years, with Shen Yuan’s extensive abyss knowledge, and there being two of them to fight all the abyss monsters, they make it back out in a year tops!
They probably could have escaped even quicker, if Shen Qingqiu didn’t insist on studying the local fauna and collecting loads of plants, animal parts, and artifacts he mysteriously knew about.
Shen Qingqiu has a little bit of a crisis over his ‘third wheeling’ stunting Binghe’s relationship development with any of the abyss beauties… but maybe trimming down the harem a bit is for the best.
(He totally either wifebeams or parentbeams all said abyss beauties btw. They form a demonic sect in the abyss, and are determined to develop their talents and make their new Shizun proud!)
#ALSO YOUR TAGS. DESERT TO ME #* SQQ might also be more powerful then LBH now- though he’ll never admit it even to himself #<<<<binghe would be SO about it though. bragging and also in love about it
Haha, but of course!
Technically Binghe is still the only one with the protagonist halo, and he has way more demonic cultivation training under his belt, but Shen Qingqiu has both the powers of an immortal master and those of a second generation full blooded heavenly demon! In terms of raw power, Shen Qingqiu is very likely the winner.
I’m now imaging Shen Qingqiu having to work very hard to not accidentally blow shit up with his new truly overwhelming amount of demonic qi. He’s used to his cultivation being stunted by Without-a-Cure! The jump in strength is a little overwhelming at times.
During his grief stricken wandering while Luo Binghe is in the abyss, Shen Qingqiu manages to stumble across enough artifacts and cultivation aids to ascend to the heavens quite suddenly!
Shen Qingqiu isn’t sure how to feel about this unexpected development (and certainly doesn’t feel up to recruiting followers) but is intrigued enough to talk to the handful of former Cang Qiong Mountain sect members among the Heavenly Officials, and brave the records hall to get some lore on the Heavenly Demon bloodline.
What he learns from said records hall —and the journals of former gods hidden within— changes everything.
Turns out the current Heavenly Emperor is actually the very same guy who cast out the first Heavenly Demon and gave both him and his descendants the mark of sin.
Interesting lore, but not a huge deal all things considered… except it turns out that said Emperor is also a grade A asshole who not only orchestrated the exile of the first heavenly demon in the first place, but has also been personally screwing around with the fates of every single heavenly demon descendant to make their lives as miserable as possible.
Why are there so few heavenly demons despite their nigh invulnerability?
Why did fate orchestrate such a tragic end for Tianlang Jun and Su Xiyan?
Why did Binghe suffer misery after misery as a child?!
It's all because this bitch ass motherfucker couldn’t get over the fact a freshly ascended common born rogue cultivator dared match him in talent tens of thousands of years ago!
As Binghe’s number one fan —currently suffering from the guilt and heartbreak of his forced betrayal— Shen Qingqiu is pissed.
At least “Great Master” Airplane had the excuse of not knowing the characters he wrote were real! This asshole on the other hand knew he was torturing real people and went ahead and did it anyway! Fuck him and his useless fucking heavenly court! Shen Qingqiu quits!
Before Shen Qingqiu manages to exit the heavens however, the Heavenly Emperor intercepts him and slaps him with a curse.
If Shen Qingqiu leaves the heavens, the curse mark will instantly develop into a mark of sin and begin the process of transforming Shen Qingqiu from a heavenly official into a heavenly demon. (It will be gradual because the emperor doesn't have a carefully fostered heart demon to attach it to).
If he dares help the demon mongrel he rightly cast into the abyss, the demonification will only accelerate, until he is corrupted past the point of return!
Shen Qingqiu being Shen Qingqiu, he doesn't even think twice about becoming a demon, and exits the heavens with both middle fingers raised. Better a demon than a hateful piece of shit!
First Order of Business: Save Binghe from the Endless Abyss!
So what if it accelerates Shen Qingqiu becoming a full fledged heavenly demon? If it's going to happen eventually anyway, he might as well embrace it!
He already got used to spiritual energy issues due to Without-a-Cure back when he was mortal. If he managed that, he can manage this as well. (At least this time his energy is being replaced with a different energy type, instead of just cutting out).
He possibly ends up destroying Xin Mo a little bit while trying to get it to behave for himself and Binghe, but it's probably fine... As long as it can make an exit portal, who needs it beyond that point anyway!
Binghe is just so happy his Shizun doesn't hate him after all, he's willing to do absolutely anything he asks. ♥
Second Order of Business: Let Binghe Take a Break, and Warn Shang Qinghua!
Shen Qingqiu knows that with how much he infuriated the Heavenly Emperor, going back to his sect would definitely paint a target on their back. Based on what he read, the heavenly officials also have a harder time influencing the demon realm directly, so the demon realm is clearly the best place to bring Binghe to recuperate from the whole abyss ordeal.
The best place to go in the demon realm is of course Mobei Jun's palace. He can personally rough up the demon that hurt his poor white lotus —and caused the deaths of numerous other disciples— plus warn Shang Qinghua of the shitstorm that might be hitting Cang Qiong Mountain sect soon.
Upon learning the details of what happened to his beloved Shizun, and that the Heavenly Emperor was most likely responsible for his adoptive mother's death alongside all the other suffering he experienced in his childhood, Binghe is 110% ready to fight the very heavens themselves!
It's no wonder Shizun said that heavenly demons cause 'calamity upon calamity' wherever they go! He was absolutely right! He just didn't know the heavens were the ones truly responsible for this trend. The moment he found out the truth, he rescued his Binghe, even though it meant furthering his own corruption. 🥰
Third Order of Business: Shang Qinghua Warns the Sect, and they Build Cang Qiong Mountain's Defenses
Shang Qinghua immediately takes the news of their recently ascended sect sibling's fall from grace back to Cang Qiong Mountain sect —along with locations and detailed plans for picking up various protective artifacts in the human realm.
One of the Peak Lords wonders if Shen Qingqiu's ascension might have helped him recover his lost memories, and his previous bad attitude... It would certainly explain how quickly he got on the Heavenly Emperor's bad side. Shang Qinghua clarifies that no such thing happened, and mutters that his current personality was precisely the problem.
What Shang Qinghua means is that Shen Qingqiu's love for Luo Binghe and soft heart meant he would never accept the guy being tormented... but the Peak Lords come to entirely the wrong conclusion. Clearly Shen Qingqiu accidentally seduced the Heavenly Emperor, and was punished for rejecting the emperor's advances!!! How dare the Heavenly Emperor try to get away with this!?!
The Cang Qiong Mountain sect is entirely on their absentee Peak Lord's side, and are down the fight the Heavenly Emperor if they must.
That's all the specifics I've got for now (besides some additional potential details of the Heavenly Emperor's beef below).
I'd love to hear any additional ideas folks have for the saga of Shen Yuan pissing off the Heavenly Emperor and becoming a demon over it.
The Heavenly Emperor’s Hatred
This Heavenly Emperor is no Jun Wu with a tragic past that at least explains his actions— despite not exonerating him. He’s just a racist, classist, asshole who had everything handed to him life, and threw a fit the moment someone better came along.
From the various journal entries and official records he read, Shen Qingqiu learned that the then not-yet Heavenly Emperor was known for his noble bloodline (related to the mortal emperor), extraordinary cultivation talents and record breaking age of ascension. He was the heir apparent of the Jade Emperor from the moment he became a god! That is until a new god jointed the heavenly court.
The first heavenly demon ancestor was a common born rogue cultivator, with some ancestry foreign to the central planes. Despite his low status as a mortal, he dared match the prospective emperor in talent and even exceeded him in both looks and charm! Unable to accept this competition, the prospective emperor made it his goal to utterly ruin the man who dared challenge his superiority, warnings from the goddess of fate be damned.
He orchestrated an encounter between the first heavenly demon and Xin Mo, and intentionally fostered the worrying bloodlust that heavenly demons are known for. The first heavenly demon was constantly sabotaged by the not-yet-emperor and his allies, especially whenever he sought help, tried to self regulate, or expressed any concerns about the cursed blade. Truly his eventual dissent into madness and expulsion from the heavens was inevitable!
Unfortunate the future Heavenly Emperor was unsatisfied with his victory. The first heavenly demon became the first demon emperor, cast away the cursed sword poisoning his mind, and then began materially improving the lives of his demon subjects. Even in his banishment he was the first to claim a throne!
The goddess of fate warned the Heavenly Emperor to-be that if their suffering became too great, a descendant of the heavenly demon bloodline was destined to regain the cursed blade, destroy the realms, and rule all that remained. He didn’t care. The moment he finally gained his crown, he used his authority to access and manipulate the strings of fate, that he might torture and kill his enemy and all his decedents.
Now while the heavenly demon bloodline suffered the brunt of his machinations, his fellow gods certainly weren’t immune. As far as Shen Qingqiu can tell, those with humble backgrounds or little interest in bowing and scraping before the heavenly emperor, also had agents and believers who suffered from unusual levels of misfortune.
What if a secret semi “cure” for the mark of sin slowly turning Shen Qingqiu into a demon was dual cultivating with an existing heavenly demon capable of using pure spiritual energy!
It doesn’t undo the transformation completely or anything, but “trains” Shen Qingqiu’s spiritual system to split itself and isolate the demonic energy to only one half, same as it is for Binghe. Shen Qingqiu effectively becomes a half heavenly demon half god-like immortal cultivator, just like his beloved!
Binghe would be so thrilled with this result! Unlike Without-a-Cure— which any heavenly demon can cure— including his new found father and cousin— this fix really was a Luo Binghe exclusive! 🥰
Shen Qingqiu still gave up godhood for Binghe, but Binghe was at least able to prevent him from losing his spiritual abilities entirely!
Shen Qingqiu is of course somewhat miffed that even this turned into a weird sort of wifeplot. Seriously, Airplane?! Luo Binghe can partially cure demonification now?!
Ah, he’s not mad at you, Binghe! It’s fine that he’s “stuck” as a half demon. Don’t worry.
Imagine Shen Yuan transmigrating as the mountain god of the Cang Qiong Mountain region.
He is technically an outsider who isn’t part of the sect… but he is also a manifestation of the literal mountain they live and cultivate on, so the sect members need to be respectful.
I’m picturing him waking up deep in the heart of the Ling Xi caves as a seemingly Binghe aged beautified Xianxia version of his modern world self. (He’s young looking as he’s “waking up” before Cang Qiong Mountain would have manifested a spirit on its own without System interference).
He then proceeds to end up the unofficial spoiled little brother of all the nicer Peak Lords, as well as personally defending and spoiling the heck out Luo Binghe himself (to Shen Qingqiu’s ire).
The best part is the sheer comic potential of Binghe returning from the endless abyss, not to seek vengeance on the sect— he would never tarnish his beloved by engaging in bloodshed upon his peaks— but to marry the mountain out from under them!
The world’s most awkward neighbor situation, with the top sect living next to the demon emperor, because he married the literal mountain they live on and are named after… (Also said mountain is incredibly qi rich, befriended half their peak lords and disciples, and houses all their stuff, so they can’t exactly leave).
My current ideas for what Cang Qiong Mountain!Shen Yuan gets up to below:
———
He feels the disturbance in the Ling Xi caves when Liu Qingge starts qi deviating, and ends up dragging both him and Shen Qingqiu out by the scruff of their necks. (It probably looks like those videos of a mama cat dragging an almost adult kitten, since he’s relatively short compared to them).
“No fighting in the heart of my mountain! It’s disrespectful!”
———
When the demon invasion occurs, his System won’t allow him to just yeet the demons off the mountain, so he intimidates Sha Hualing into giving him the whole “We wanted to ascend the mountain for a look, as well as to spar and learn,” excuse instead.
Shen Yuan makes all the demons wait politely for someone ‘official’ to show up, like a grumpy secretary, and smacks around anyone who dares menace the younger disciples.
Shen Qingqiu still shows up as expected. (He either went back to Ling Xi caves to finish his secluded cultivation post scuffing incident, or Shen Yuan hadn’t brought out the swords with the Peak Lords, so he had to fetch Xiu Ya). He is, of course, incredibly irritated that the demons are deferring to the bratty mountain spirit instead of him.
When Shen Qingqiu throws Binghe to the wolves, Shen Yuan allows it… but only after having the earth swallow Elder Sky Hammer, and crack him out of his poison armor like a walnut. (The fight is still happening, System, so get off his case!!!)
“I may not understand all the ways of sects and demons, but clearly poison is going too far!”
———
On Qing Jing, Shen Yuan finds and expands a lovely little set of caves for Binghe, with a cozy little sleeping nook, spring water to drink, glowing crystals for night time study, and even a nice little hot spring cave for bathing!
He happily shares all the offerings he’s given with Binghe as well, along with all sorts of cultivation books and other materials various disciples manage to misplace.
Naturally Binghe ends up as Shen Yuan’s official shrine keeper, a position he guards zealously. He will sprint between every peak daily if he has to! Nobody else keeps the shrines nearly as clean and sparking as they deserve!
———
Post endless abyss, Binghe baffles all his demon generals and attendants by insisting on building his palace seemingly in the middle of nowhere. (They later discover it’s actually the place in the demon realm that most directly corresponds to Cang Qiong mountain sect in the moral realm).
He’s also weirdly focused on creating a gigantic menagerie of beasts, along with studying portal abilities and pocket realms. Why the guy with the ultimate reality slicing sword would need to study portals nobody knows… until after he brings home his new empress.
Binghe straight up sacrifices Xin Mo to make his beloved a nice little magical path between his mountain home and the palace! It’s designed specifically so Shen Yuan benefits as much as possible from the proximity, and can attend demonic court and enjoy observing all the exotic creatures collected for him. (The path only permits those whom either Binghe or Shen Yuan allow to traverse it of course).
Shen Yuan is shocked that Binghe would build a whole new palace and sacrifice his golden finger just for him. All that effort because he was a little miffed he couldn’t travel too far from his mountain and see cool creatures?!
Binghe probably paves his personal chambers, a dedicated temple, and a few other key locations, with carefully sourced Cang Qiong Mountain stone as well. It’s only right his empress feels as at home as possible in his palace!
———
Shen Yuan being Shen Yuan, I’m thinking he eventually ends up collecting some students of his own.
Cang Qiong Mountain sect ends up with an unofficial thirteenth peak (or perhaps more of a subsidiary sect) for yao, spirit beasts, and various demon human mixes. Anyone with non human ancestry, a human form, and the ability to use spiritual energy, is free to join!
Shen Yuan just isn’t himself without some ducklings to dote on, so naturally Binghe has to make it a reality. It’s not like Binghe is the only Cang Qiong disciple to ever discover an unexpected lineage, so it’s for the best really.
#if hes transmigrated than he makes sure to send binghe to the IAC with SO much stuff in a qiankun pouch or ring. told binghe it only had #emergecy medical supplies and rations. it had a full tent with protective arrays and extra clothes and several basic spiritual swords #system its FINE im not STOPPING him from going so its fine! shut up!
But of course! He must supply Binghe with as much as possible. Since he's not a canon character, the System can't really complain about him changing things up either. It's not like he can leave the mountain to actually prevent Binghe from falling into the abyss.
Shen Yuan being himself, he's also really anxious about the future fate of his mountain based on PIDW canon. If he doesn't farm enough reputation points, he's going to end up the god of a mountainous wasteland! That's just too depressing to contemplate!
(Binghe would never do that to his beloved mountain god, but it wouldn't be Shen Yuan if he realized that).
#god wait if hes the mountain than he for SURE knew wxactly where binghes mothers pendant fell. hell yeah
Oh! Good point!
It might still take him a bit to find it, as his senses are already constantly busy reporting all the living beings and large structures across his peaks, but once he's got the right general area he'd be able to find it for sure!
#god the mountain god mourning his shrine keeper when everyone(else) thinks hes dead 🥺 #also imagining lqg trying to cheer him up by brining him beasts he cant leave the mountain to see...
The whole vibe of the mountain shifts once Luo Binghe is gone. The weather is more often cloudy, rainy, and cold, and while the quality of the mountain's qi hasn't decreased exactly, it seems to carry a sense of melancholy while working with it.
Everybody does what they can to cheer up the mountain god, as his mood has everybody feeling down!
———
I’ve also had more thoughts about Cang Qiong Mountain Shen Yuan, specifically related to his interactions with the sect:
———
First, suppose the System occasionally lets Shen Yuan unlock memory fragments from before he actually became the mountain god. When he visits specific locations, he gets the option to view a fragment of the past related to that spot. (The effect is similar to Meng Mo retrieving Shen Jiu’s damaged memories in SVSSS canon, so there are skips and missing details).
Most of these “memories” are interesting, but they don’t seem useful for much beyond getting bits of lore. That is until one day, while observing Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan having their typical “five exchange” conversation, Shen Yuan suddenly makes an unexpected connection. He saw Xuan Su in one of the memories!
“Ah!!! It’s you!”
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to help you then. I remember some of it, but… I wasn’t quite myself yet.”
Yue Qingyuan realizes the connection Shen Yuan made, and has lots of feelings about it. He insists Shen Yuan isn’t at fault for not helping. What could a not-fully-formed mountain spirit do anyway?
Shen Qingqiu demands to know what the hell they are talking about.
The whole Xuan Su origin reveal happens, and while it certainly doesn’t cure Shen Qingqiu’s bitterness, it does soften his outlook on Yue Qingyuan at least a tiny bit.
In soothing Shen Yuan’s guilt, Yue Qingyuan is also made to process a bit more of his own. He wasn’t able to help Shen Jiu… but that’s not exactly his fault either. Like the mountain spirit, he needed to be stronger in order to help, but by the time he was strong enough, the situation had already resolved itself.
———
Shen Yuan and Shen Qingqiu do not get along, as Shen Yuan doesn’t let Shen Qingqiu or his disciples get away with anything. Shen Yuan leaves the bamboo house and any private spaces alone (he knows that cornered people tend to get more vicious, so intruding seems unwise), but if Shen Qingqiu acts too viciously towards anyone, any masters mistreat their disciples, or any older disciples mistreat the younger ones, Shen Yuan will show up and make them regret it.
Qing Jing peak doesn’t exactly become a friendly place, but the residents learn to limit themselves to scoffing and snide remarks, rather than outright lies or physical abuse. Fibbing to get others in trouble gets you nowhere when “the mountain sees all,” and can make any outdoor activities a living hell for everyone involved.
Shen Qingqiu does gradually become a bit less hostile towards the mountain over time. Shen Yuan generally respects his privacy, actively steers visitors away when he’s in a particularly bad mood, and even tends to any qi deviations he witnesses without comment. (Shen Yuan mostly does all this to avoid bringing more ire down upon Binghe, but that’s neither here nor there). After the Xuan Su incident, you could even say they have a formal truce!
———
Since the swords on Wan Jian Peak’s sword trials terrace are all embedded into the mountain, Shen Yuan actually has a connection to their sword spirits! He greatly enjoys communing with them, and interrogating Wei Qingwei about their known history and origins while playing with the pangolins.
While he cannot override the connection between sword spirit and master, when a Cang Qiong sword isn’t actively in use he can actually command it himself to a limited extent! (Only Yue Qingyuan’s Xuan Su is an exception due to its thorough binding to his life force).
He likely ends up drawing a particularly ancient sword of his own! It was actually made entirely using metal from the mountain itself, rather than imported materials, and was embedded in the mountain unclaimed for so long it’s practically become a part of it.
———
Shen Yuan ends up practicing all the sword arts of the various peaks thanks to observing and attending their lessons. He also listens in on their non combat related lessons as well. All the information he gains is disseminated to Binghe of course, to make up for Qing Jing’s reluctance to teach him properly.
When other disciples pray and provide offerings to him as the land god, hoping to receive luck for upcoming exams or tournaments, they typically find themselves ‘harassed’ by incredibly persistent mountain god tutor instead. The best way to ‘get good’ is to study and practice after all! Luck that only persists for one exam would be pointless!
Binghe would rather his Yuan-ge not spend so much time tutoring other disciples, but it can’t be helped. Shen Yuan takes his mountain god duties very seriously! Binghe of course attends these lessons whenever possible, supposedly to learn the material himself, but really to chaperone and make sure nobody tries anything.
For the disciples that already do know their stuff, but are just anxious, Binghe helps his god out by brewing them calming teas, helping them fall asleep, etc. That way his Yuan-ge doesn’t have to spend so much time calming them down personally, and can focus more on Binghe instead!
———
Mu Qingfang really appreciates it when Shen Yuan shadows him on Qian Cao to learn. The mountain god has a surprising amount of insight regarding rare plants, beasts and artifacts that might cure certain unusual ailments!
As for how the mountain knows so many things about creatures and plants far from his own territory, the peak lords just assume Shen Yuan somehow absorbed this knowledge from past masters while not yet fully awakened. He clearly has other memory fragments from before he awakened after all.
———
Shen Yuan tries his hardest to get the “beast peak” to expand its reach beyond just spirit beast companions, with little success. The disciples do share sketches, notes and stories about the various rare beasts they’ve encountered though!
After his shrine keeper supposedly passes during the immortal alliance conference, however, a whole lot more non-demonic but considerably less tame beasts somehow find their way onto the mountain, alongside all the dead animals Liu-ge brings for him to study. (Please cheer up, Shen Yuan, your melancholy is affecting the whole mountain!)
———
Shen Yuan’s sense of the mountain's residents, and his ability to wander the mountain freely, naturally makes him notice Shang Qinghua’s transmigration status much earlier. He doesn’t get too much time alone with the guy (Binghe is far too sticky), but does manage to bully him into providing the supplies he packs for Binghe to take to the Immortal Alliance Conference.
As I said before, Shen Yuan can’t go far enough from the mountain to protect Binghe himself —both his System and the youth of his manifested self restrict him severely— but he can at least provide him with as many supplies and as much knowledge as possible!
Once Binghe is in the abyss, Shen Yuan is able to spend far more of his time hassling the author, and increasing his personal power and cultivation. He's hoping he'll be able to travel longer distances by the time Binghe returns, so he can at least see him a few times before Cang Qiong Mountain's inevitable destruction.
Poor Shang Qinghua ends up with both a demon lord boss and a mountain god boss to keep happy. Getting all the artifacts Shen Yuan needs to safely extend his range and power without needing centuries to do it, while also keeping up with both the sect and demon realm management, isn’t easy!
(Shen Yuan actually does help out with paperwork when Shang Qinghua is off on missions —as it helps him keep busy and keep his mind off things— but the man is usually too overwhelmed to notice, or just doesn’t realize it wasn’t his own disciples taking care of things).
AU where Shen Yuan transmigrates as a member of Cang Qiong mountain’s “Beast Peak” equivalent, only they exclusively raise spirit beasts, not anything “fun.”
Shen Yuan quickly proceeds to give his Shizun and all his shixiongjie gray hairs because he won’t stop bringing back monsters!
It’s always, “Shidi, we don’t raise demonic beasts,” this and “Shidi, we raise dogs, eagles and horses… not giant turtles!” that.
So what if his spirit dog is clearly part demon wolf and can breathe fire? She is still a dog, isn’t she?! He can totally train her!
(Binghe has feelings about his shidi constantly cuddling his part demonic spirit dog. According to Meng Mo, he’s probably part demon too! Cuddle him instead! 🥺)
———
My ideas for some of the specific creatures Shen Yuan somehow gets to keep:
———
He rescued the mixed spirit dog/demon wolf from a group of demonic cultivators that managed to kidnap several spirit dogs.
They were working on crossbreeding the dogs with various demon hounds, hoping to get mutts with the loyalty, intelligence and trainability of spirit dogs, but also the power and viciousness of demonic beasts.
Who wouldn’t want a flaming abyss hound or venomous serpent wolf that was loyal enough not to try murdering its master?
Most of the pups were too much like their wild brethren and had to be released into the boarderlands or put down, but Shen Yuan did manage to smuggle one sweet little runt of a puppy back to the sect without the other shixiongjie on the night hunt noticing.
Her spirit dog mother had been actually been hiding the puppy, not cowering from it, so clearly she’d somehow sensed that particular little one was pure of heart! Don’t worry, mother dog, Shen Yuan will raise her well!
———
Rather than a typical spirit eagle, Shen Yuan somehow manages to get ahold of literal Zhenniao, or poison bird, instead.
Not to worry though! The bird won’t be killing everyone in the sect with a brush of her feathers!
Shen Yuan happens to remember how in PIDW, Bing-ge discovered the birds actually only replicate and concentrate the poisons and venoms they eat, rather than producing a unique poison of their own.
As long as he keeps feeding the Zhenniao poisonous plants and creatures that are only dangerous to the demon race (and keeps her away from his precious pup, until he can find and attach that anti venom medallion from chapter 573 to her collar) she’ll be both perfectly healthy and perfectly harmless!
She’s also not a demon beast, so Shizun’s “No more demonic beasts on my peak!” rule obviously doesn’t count!
Despite his Shizun and shixiongjie’s worries, the Zhenniao actually proves super useful during the whole demon invasion incident.
If Elder Sky Hammer can run around with Without-a-Cure coated on his armor, why can’t Binghe wear the poison feather Shen Yuan spontaneously gifted him as well? Get poisoned asshole! (As a sealed half heavenly demon specifically, Binghe is of course immune to the poison).
———
For his mount, I think it would be amusing if Shen Yuan somehow managed to befriend some ancient forest spirit, and unknowingly brought home one of its offspring.
He comes back to the sect with a glowing white stag the size of a moose, whose antlers are sprouting leaves, while other plants spring up and bloom in its wake, and is rather puzzled by the fact everyone seems positively petrified of the thing.
Sure he doesn’t recognize this specific creature from PIDW (the realm merger did a number on many types of local fauna) but it’s clearly entirely spiritual and not even a little bit poisonous! It’s surely just a pre- realm merge version of the iron bark autumn stag, which really wasn’t that big of a threat.
The general reverence and the shrines he notices popping up later are a bit odd, but it is obviously intelligent, and presence does seem to significantly perk up all the flora around the sect, so maybe the little shidimei have confused it for a land god or something.
Extra points if there is some association with empresses or future nobility related to the stag, or perhaps a demon prophecy about it, so Shen Yuan has accidentally solidified his future position as demon empress. 😂
PIDW! Ning YingYing tearfully giving a recount of how Shen Qingqiu treated her and knowing how its going to be twisted. She had grown up sheltered and naive, and before the trial, she had almost believed what the people around her were whispering in her ear, maybe Shen Qingqiu really was secretly the monster that everyone else believed him to be. Shizun looked, composed, for someone who had been locked in the Water Prision for months, dignified even. When she stepped up on the stand, for a singular moment, she gathered the courage to look her Shizun in the eyes. Inperceptable to no one else, he gave a small nod, acceptance on his face. Ning YingYing grew up in that singular moment. She had tried to ignore the writing on the wall for weeks now, but Cang Qiong Mountain Sect wouldn't survive Luo Binghe's wrath. That nod was permission, to do exactly what Shen Jiu would want her to do: save herself from the slaughter. And then Ning Ying Ying grows up some more, bitter and resentful of the constant harem politics, and her cute little shidi, who she can no longer see any resemblance to. She takes to wearing only Qing Jing green, and swipe fans that Luo Binghe had taken as trophies. Her sweetness is a weapon, but these fools forget who raised her. One day, after a particularly venomous court meeting, she snaps her fan open, and Luo Binghe flinches
More thoughts on reverse AU. (Links here and here)
Shen Yuan ends up thriving in the abyss, he ends using knowledge to solve a lot of problems and tame beasts, the demons in the abyss end up trying to put Shen Yuan in charge, he is constantly running away form it like 'NO, NO I DON’T WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PLOT, I JUST WANT TO BE A SHUT IN HERE IN BASICALLY HELL AND NOT GET MURDERED’
Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan meeting up on one of the times Shen Yuan has been wondering peaks and finding creatures. The 2 basically spider man meme each other and alliance of we are gonna figure out how to survive this shit, after Shen Yuan tries to kill Shang Qinghua as soon he realizes Airplane 'YOU HACK AUTHOR’.
Mobei Jun then starts hovering over Shen Yuan because he can sense Shang Qinghua he’s been around him (No ones sure how) cue Luo Binghe scooping up Shen Yuan and getting in Mobei Jun’s ace like 'Stay away from my disciple I’M THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO BE SUSPICIOUS OF HIM’
Luo Binghe keeps trying to interrogate Shen Yuan only it doesn’t work because Shen Yuan is terrified but also Luo Binghe’s speeches are so cool he’s so awesome and is just looking at him with stars in his eyes and Luo Binghe is feeling things and very confused.
Shen Yuan is also so genuine and always worrying about Binghe’s health because 'The poor protagonist has had to go through all airplanes shitty writing and his tragic backstory, Binghe should take care of himself and rest while he can once he gets into his revenge on all demons arc he’ll be so busy and won’t be able to rest especially when he becomes king and gets his harem’.
Luo Binghe is just like 'Genuine affection and care I what???- this is a trap I know this is a trap, he’s planning something’ but anytime Shen Yuan is smiling at others Luo Binghe is just angrily glaring and so jealous like 'No only plot against me i’m the one you want to destroy right? so only smile at me’.
All the other peak lords are like we should be doing something but we’re not touching this shit with a 5 foot pole. But please sect leader stop yeeting our disciples who are finds with Shen Jiu off the mountain when they try to visit him, also please do something about your second in command trying to get bride-napped by a demon lord.
SVSSS abyss prevented AU/fic prompt where SQQ stresses himself into a qi deviation at the conference worrying about the abyss and having to go through with it.
LBH freaks out and basically begs to look after SQQ.MQF is busy having to deal with injuries for conference and knows LBH will make sure SQQ rests so LBH is watching SQQ and doesn't take part instead sating with his shizun.
Only in fever qi deviation state SQQ starts talking and he's dreaming about the abyss so he's saying how he doesn't want to hurt Binghe, that no him being a demon doesn't matter, that Binghe is his favorite the best ect ect... it goes on for a long time.
LBH is just hearing this and the protagonist satisfaction points are rising so fast... that they absorb any punishment system doles out.
SQQ wakes up with conference over his disciple here, not in the abyss looking so very happy and him alive...and the system seeming very very annoyed.
SQQ has no idea what the fuck is happening.
He's not complaining just so confused... more so when he starts getting kidnapped and stuck in plots that are very similar to wife plots on the regular (Because System realizes only way to motivate LBH to do anything other than be a househusband is to use SQQ... also it's a little bitter and can't punish SQQ because the protagonist satisfaction points are to high and get higher after every kidnapping plot where LBH can rescue to SQQ and play hero)
In the North SQH is just as confused what happened to his plot? Why is getting more responsibility and higher station? Is MBJ planning on taking over demon realm is that what's happening now? Meanwhile MBJ happily going through motions and planning their wedding.
After Airplane makes a comment on a forum that he's Mobei-Jun's husband, the System makes it true, but in a roundabout way
When Mobei-Jun is born he is told that he is destined to marry the god of their world by demon elders. This makes him a target, but the system grants him a lesser protag halo to survive childhood due to his status as god's spouse
Shang Qinghua finds out about this prophecy years into his servitude with Mobei-Jun, however he is unable to tell him he's god because, according to the System, 'parameters have not been met'
Mobei-Jun, despite being destined for his god, still falls for Shang Qinghua, and it isn't until years later when they both confess their love does the System allow Shang Qinghua to tell him the truth
Ok so au where in order to course correct in case anyone finds out that Shang Qinghua knows to much the system makes Zhao Hua monastery actually worship Airplane Shooting Towards the sky instead of being Buddhist and makes this prophesy about their reluctant and remorseful god reincarnating into a mortal form to change the fate that he wrote
Shang Qinghua decides to befriend Shen Qingqiu to save the plot and as they get closer Shen Qingqiu gets suspicious about how much he seems to know about things like near mythical plants and demonic politics only speculated about by cultivators. This leads to a confrontation where Shen Qingqiu asks Shang Qinghua the location of a plant he had read about that no one had found and Shang Qinghua answers confidently. When pushed on how he knows that Shang Qinghua panics and says that he can’t tell anyone or there will be grave consequences (which is true) so Shen Qingqiu backs off but keeps looking into it, suspecting someone is threatening his shidi
It’s then when the system kicks in and sends Shang Qinghua, and Shen Qingqiu along with some other peak lords to do a political meeting with Zhao Hua. Conveniently it just so happens that the meeting coincides with a celebration they have yearly to show their support for Airplanes reincarnation.
So Shang Qinghua, who of course wasn’t told about any of this by the system, panics and acts suspicious as hell while he tries to convince his martial siblings to leave as soon as possible. Shen Qingqiu latches onto this immediately and starts asking all sorts of questions about the religion and the prophecy, mostly just to watch Shang Qinghua squirm at first but the more he learns the more he realizes that Shang Qinghua being a reincarnated god come to fix fate would actually make a lot of sense.
He’d never actually believe his shidi was this mighty “author of fate” but maybe there was a bit more truth to this myth than he gave it credit for.
Things come to a head when the celebration reaches its climax and the high priest gives a speech about how even if Airplane made a world and wrote a fate less than kind to his creation, it was enough that he cared enough to fix it. No one is beyond redemption as long as if they are willing to put in the work and repent for their mistakes. if this god wants their help they will welcome them with open arms.
Shang Qinghua starts crying in the audience, just full on sobbing as all the guilt and repressed emotion he’s felt for years catches up to him. He tries but he can’t stop and Shen Qingqiu has no idea what to do so he just sits there with him. People start asking if Shang Qinghua is okay but Shen Qingqiu gets them all to leave them alone until they are ready to leave
Once they get back to where the peak lords have been staying Shang Qinghua asks if Shen Qingqiu wants him to explain
“You can when you’re ready, but we can wait as long as you need,”
“You don’t understand I-“ Shang Qinghua chokes on his words. “Everything you’ve been through, it’s all my fault! I’m the reason for all of your suffering,”
Shen Qingqiu is silent a moment, considering before responding
“And yet you are still here. You know me and you are still willing to help and defend me. That’s certainly more than anyone else has done for me,”
SVSSS AU where Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua aren't transmigrated into characters but become agents of system, not to one person like previous AU but just in general there job is to influence and effect world to make the best story.
Using system power to push events and create the 'best story. No one can really see them, at least they're not meant to.
Luo Binghe feeling odd presence around him even before joining sect, Shen Yuan always trying to help Binghe using his minor powers to make things easier for him. And flipping Shang Qinghua off when he's like 'But Bro he needs the tragic backstory'.
When Binghe joins sect Shen Yuan staying even closer using all his powers to try and heal and make things easier on Binghe. Luo Binghe waking up multiple times to see some glowing heavenly figure soothing him. And even seeing returning his pendant. (He does not see Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua fighting outside as Shang Qinghua is trying to explain that the loss is an important plot point Bro he has to lose it while Shen Yuan is yelling at how much a hack airplane is)
Luo Binghe totally head over heels for this god that favors him and is the mist beautiful being he's ever seen, him making small alter for this god whenever he can. As he gets stronger he can see him more often (Protginist halo at work) and falls more and more in love with him. Plan is become emperor and all realms and marry this deity.
He is not alone in this since when he visits Mobei Jun he sees a giant shrine in the northern palace and finds out there is another god one who has saved Mobei Jun's life multiple times and helped him become king and Mobei jun has been trying to figure out how to marry them for years.
Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua watching the two demons scheme and how to kidnap gods and just obliviously looking at each other like 'This wasn't in the story what are they doing? why are there no wife plots happening?' While system is just looking at it's two agents with the least amused emoji expression it can.
SVSSS AU where airplane and Shen Yuan aren't transmigrators but are actually gods.
Airplane who is a god of creation and has soft spot for Mobei Jun and Gods aren't meant to meddle so he comes down as human and keeps helping out his King, it was only meant to be once but... well he can't just leave him in danger.... he's also totally in love with him and knows that Mobei Jun will never love him back but he's going to spend as long as he can by his King's side.
(The other gods in pantheon are face palming because you helped create this world surely you remember the demonic courting! Idiot)
Shen Yuan being a God of beasts and also the abyss.
Him seeing Binghe when he falls into the abyss and instantly caring for him and making sure he's ok.
Luo Binghe who is expecting to fall into hell...basically falling into heaven as the God of the abyss is protecting him and caring for him and he's not suffering at all he's literally immune to everything... the abyss being full of beasts and creature but all of the equivalent of puppies when in the presence of their god and by extension Luo Binghe and all the others in the abyss adore Shen Yuan...
Abyss isn't so much endless but no wants to leave it's dangerous but also the chillest God ever who cares for all of them.
Luo Binghe not trying to escape revenge out of his mind as he is smitten with God and planning to marry him. (Besides revenge can be him asking his future in-laws to smite people as a wedding gift)
I think that what's blowing my mind the most out of all the extras excerpts is the fact the OG LBH (bingzu) created the system, because it makes so much sense??? He destroyed himself after MILLIONS of years in the hope that he would find somebody who could love him???? Someone who could save him from his fate even if it was not for the original him but a fragment of?????And the fact that only Shen Yuan was able to give him a happy ending even though the system tried multiple times with other people (including SQH but he got distracted by MBJ) to no avail?????? THE FACT THAT BINGQIU ARE ACTUAL LITERAL SOULMATES ???????
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