This Is What a Villain Is Like

Chapter 142: Chapter 88: The Seeds of Disappointment Have Been Sown, But Where is the Great Jiang Lan?

Han Yiming, the True Inheritor of the Ancient Inquiring Sect, spoke, his eyes cold. The courtesy he had shown when he met Jiang Lan and the others earlier was gone.

"The Jasper Pool Sect styles itself as righteous and disdains to join our grand cause. Otherwise, if Ling Zhuyun were to act, this matter would be a guaranteed success. I’m just afraid she’ll interfere when the time comes. Her strength is still not to be underestimated," said Caiyun.

"Rest assured. From what I know of Ling Zhuyun, she feels nothing but disgust for that Jiang Lan. There’s no way she’ll help him."

Just then, Qi Heng, who had been silent until now, spoke up, his tone brimming with confidence.

"But everyone, I have one request. When we make our move, take care of that strange man with Ling Zhuyun as well. That bastard is infuriating. To think he managed to win her favor... it drives me mad. When we were breaking the array, he even showed off in front of Ling Zhuyun on purpose, just to embarrass me," he added in a cold voice.

"If Jiang Lan dies here, the Prime Minister’s Mansion will surely not let the matter rest. Aren’t you all afraid of their retribution?"

She Mou of the Celestial Demon Hall suddenly asked.

His face was deathly pale and his pupils were an eerie jade-green. He was not a pure-blooded member of the Human Race; the blood of a Great Demon flowed through his veins.

Although he had not acted many times, his combat record was so outstanding that no one dared to underestimate him.

Zhu Huang, the disciple from the Celestial Derivation Sect who had yet to express an opinion, heard this and offered a faint smile. "The Great Xia is on the verge of collapse. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. The Prime Minister’s Mansion will cease to exist. What’s one young master from the mansion worth? The great tide of our era is rolling onward. Anyone who dares to obstruct it will be crushed to pieces, their body and soul utterly destroyed."

The Celestial Derivation Sect had few disciples, but each was a prodigy of exceptional innate talent. They were masters of divination and deduction, possessing deep insights into Cause and Effect, and destiny.

Amidst the great shifts of the world, they sought their own opportunities and fortunes. They were a sect that would stand tall even after eons passed and the world itself decayed.

The expressions of all the young Celestial Prides changed slightly at Zhu Huang’s words.

If the Great Xia were to fall, the Celestial Central Province would be plunged into chaos. The other major provinces would hardly remain as quiet and restrained as they were now.

Zhu Huang continued leisurely, "The Great Xia’s fate is nearly sealed. A while ago, an Elder from my sect performed a divination and saw its golden dragon of fortune. Its Dragon Scales were dull, its claws were shattered, and its body was damaged and incomplete. From the distant outer realms, the baleful star Yinghuo is approaching, and the celestial phenomena have been thrown into chaos. Within the borders of Great Xia, disaster stars are appearing. Calamity is about to erupt."

"In less than ten years, the golden dragon of fortune will dissipate, and the Great Xia will be unable to escape its fate of destruction."

"However, it likely won’t even take ten years. When the other Daoist Lineage Influences notice the decline in Great Xia’s fortune, they will surely be unable to restrain themselves and will make a play for the Zhulu Central Province."

"Those Great Sects and Holy Lands in Dongyuan Province were driven out of the Celestial Central Province by a former emperor of Great Xia. Now, after all this time, they will certainly stage a comeback to carve up Great Xia’s fortune and resources."

"If we don’t seize the first-mover’s advantage, I’m afraid we won’t even get the scraps..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ears of the young Celestial Prides present rang, and they found it hard to believe what they were hearing.

An empire as mighty as the Great Xia, whose power shook the world and suppressed all the races of the Nine Provinces. Dynasties and kingdoms from every corner of the land came to pay tribute, and not one Immortal Sect or Dao Lineage dared to defy it.

Was it really destined to meet such a final, destructive end?

A heavy mood suddenly fell over everyone.

In a room in another courtyard, Jiang Lan withdrew his concentration. His Spirit Soul Minion transformed into a streak of faint light and returned to the Daoist Temple within his Sea of Consciousness.

His expression was perfectly calm, his eyes deep and inscrutable.

Although the conversation between Han Yiming, Zhu Huang, and the others was masked by a Secret Treasure to prevent eavesdropping...

...he hadn’t been probing with his Divine Sense. Instead, he had sent his Divine Soul out of his body, concealing it within the Void.

Unless their Divine Souls were vastly more powerful than his, they would have found it impossible to detect his presence.

And so, aside from Ling Zhuyun who had sensed a slight anomaly at the time, none of the other young Celestial Prides knew that he was, in fact, right there beside them, silently listening to their conversation.

He had originally intended to tamper with the array in this place, but he never expected to overhear the conspiracy between Han Yiming and the others.

’Come to think of it, in the original story, there was indeed a future event where various Immortal Sects and Dao Lineages joined forces to besiege the Taiyi Sect.’

’That maternal grandfather of mine plotted to seize the world, supporting the current Sect Leader of the Taiyi Sect in an attempt to establish the Immortal Dao Alliance and rule over all the Dao Lineages in the Nine Provinces.’

’As for the Great Xia’s Dragon Fortune fading and weakening... that wasn’t in the original plot at all.’

’I guess that after Lin Fan died, the entire trajectory of future events was thrown off course. However, Chu Yun’s appearance made me realize this world might possess some kind of self-correcting force.’

’So, this current decline of the Great Xia might just be temporary. Perhaps some unforeseen changes will happen down the line.’

’I wasn’t planning on letting any of you go in the first place. This just gives me a convenient excuse...’

’...to soothe my hypocritical conscience.’

Jiang Lan reined in his thoughts. A silent, fragmented, blood-red halo flickered deep within his eyes.

In that instant, the world before his eyes transformed. It was as if color, sound, time, and space had all been stripped away.

Soon, all that remained before him were blurry lines, stretching out one after another. They seemed to be alive, extending outward as if connecting to individual living beings.

These lines were sometimes clear, sometimes indistinct. Some were incredibly thick, while others were incomparably slender.

Of course, he couldn’t touch them even if he reached out; it was as if they didn’t exist at all. However, because of his Destiny Dao Fruit, Jiang Lan was able to perceive these lines of life.

Ignoring the gossamer-thin lines that formed a vast web, he focused on the thicker ones. Behind each of those slightly more substantial lines of life was a complete and powerful living individual.