This Is What a Villain Is Like

Chapter 165: Chapter 91: Even the Saintess Is Pinned Down, the Crowd Is Enraged

So they concealed their auras and followed cautiously, wanting to investigate the conspiracy.

They hadn’t expected to hear such a conversation. Combining that with the cause and effect of the situation, they pieced together the truth.

’The Blood Immortal Sect is outrageously audacious. They deliberately set a trap here, first luring us in, then using a Grand Array to slaughter us and wipe us all out. And that Ye Ming is one of them.’

’Ling Zhuyun brought him along, letting him mingle among us, yet no one saw through his disguise.’

’As the Saintess of the Jasper Pool Sect, Ling Zhuyun is still so protective of that guy. She might have even pledged allegiance to the Blood Immortal Sect long ago, deliberately leading us to our deaths. How despicable...’

Even though Qi Heng admired Ling Zhuyun and had been pursuing her, his face turned ugly at this moment, his heart filled with cold fury.

"Since the Blood Immortal Sect has laid the bait and set up such a Grand Array, they will never let us go so easily. Even if we obtain the opportunities and fortunes here, we won’t get out alive."

"Our top priority right now is to expose the Blood Immortal Sect’s conspiracy to the public and gather everyone’s strength to face it together. Only then will we have a slim chance of escaping."

The group quickly conferred and decided on a countermeasure. Even though the fragrance of Spirit Grass and medicinal herbs wafted from the Ancient Medicine Garden ahead, they resolutely chose to give it up.

They then changed direction and hurried toward the main hall of the ritual grounds.

The Blood Immortal Sect’s interference had forced them to change all their previous plans.

Inside the Secret Realm, even sending a message to their Sects was useless.

The Array enveloping Purple Mist Mountain was no mere decoration; breaking it would take a considerable amount of time.

By then, it would be too late. They might not even be able to find their bones.

「 」

When Ling Zhuyun brought Jiang Lan into the Secret Realm, Jiang Lan used a Communication Jade Talisman to inform Li Daoyi and the others of his location.

Unlike outside Purple Mist Mountain, where the Array prevented communication, messages could be sent within the Secret Realm. So, it didn’t take long for Li Daoyi, Ao Xu, Luo Ying, and the others to arrive in a large group and rendezvous with him.

Jiang Lan casually explained the whole story, mentioning that he had been unexpectedly rescued by Ling Zhuyun.

Ling Zhuyun had already reached an agreement with him, and their stories matched perfectly, without any flaws.

Li Daoyi, Ao Xu, and the others were naturally very grateful. At the same time, they were frightened by what could have happened. If not for Ling Zhuyun’s timely appearance, Jiang Lan might have truly died here.

As for the person who took Jiang Lan away amidst the chaos, they were naturally filled with hatred. They speculated about the culprit’s identity and soon had a specific target in mind.

But with Ling Zhuyun present, it was awkward to say anything directly.

Li Mengning was the last to arrive. Seeing that Jiang Lan was unharmed, she was finally able to relax.

Ling Zhuyun also took this opportunity to size up Li Mengning, her heart full of curiosity about this Quasi-Saintess of the Taiyi Sect.

However, Li Mengning couldn’t be bothered with her. Seeing that Jiang Lan looked as if he had just recovered from an illness, she was deeply worried.

"I’ll kill him in a bit." Her words were simple and direct, with no further explanation. Her clear, quiet eyes were heavy with killing intent.

She didn’t say who "he" was, but everyone could guess.

"No need. If it’s really him, you won’t have to do a thing."

Jiang Lan reached out and took her small, soft, and slightly cold hand.

Li Mengning wanted to say more, but seeing the look on his face, she fell silent. She obediently let him hold her hand and followed by his side.

’Ling Zhuyun was astonished.’

’According to the information she had, Li Mengning, the Quasi-Saintess of the Taiyi Sect, was a figure as cold as an ice sculpture—unfeeling, stern, and taciturn.’

’Against her enemies, she would only ever draw her sword and sheathe it, never wasting a single word.’

’And almost everyone who had seen her strike was dead.’

’But in front of Jiang Lan, Li Mengning was as docile as a young wife.’

’When she had rushed over just now, worried he was injured, her clear eyes had been overflowing with emotion.’

’That a woman as proud, talented, and powerful as Li Mengning would act this way only further confirmed her earlier suspicions.’

The Secret Realm was in utter chaos.

When Jiang Lan and his group arrived at the ritual grounds, scenes of fierce battles and struggles were everywhere. Some palaces and pavilions had already been destroyed, collapsing into ruins.

Flashes of light streaked across the sky as numerous figures fought in mid-air, coming to blows over one or two Magical Artifacts. The ground was littered with corpses, blood splattered in all directions. The tragic sight was horrifying.

Ling Zhuyun tried to contact the disciples of the Jasper Pool Sect with her Communication Jade Talisman, but there was no response, which made her feel a growing sense of worry and unease.

In fact, right after entering the Secret Realm, she had tried to contact the Jasper Pool Sect disciples Zhao Dieyi, Chu Chan, Chen Ning, and others, but none of them had answered her.

This made her heart sink. Either something had happened to them, or they were still outside the Secret Realm, trapped in some Array and unable to receive messages.

She could only pin her hopes on the second possibility.

And just as Jiang Lan’s group entered the ritual grounds, passed through numerous pavilions and halls, and prepared to venture deeper...

An indignant roar echoed from a magnificent, towering grand hall up ahead:

"Ling Zhuyun, the Saintess of the Jasper Pool Sect, colluded with the Blood Immortal Sect! She deliberately spread news of the Purple Mist True Monarch’s Cave Mansion emerging to lure the various sects and powers here, intending to wipe us all out in one fell swoop!"

"The people from the Blood Immortal Sect have already laid a blood sacrifice Grand Array here! We will all become fodder for it!"

"If you don’t want to die, stop wasting your energy fighting over opportunities and fortunes! You should be thinking about how to escape!"

"Brother Han Yiming of the Ancient Inquiring Sect, Brother She Mou of the Celestial Demon Hall, and Fairy Caiyun of Biyou Grotto Heaven—they have all been brutally killed by the hands of the Blood Immortal Sect! As for the disciples they led, not even their bones remain!"

"I’m sure many of you also encountered danger on your way to this Secret Realm and were ambushed by members of the Blood Immortal Sect!"

"I am Qi Heng, a True Disciple of the Human King Hall! On my way to this Secret Realm, I was also ambushed by the Blood Immortal Sect! All of my junior and senior brothers stayed behind to cover my retreat, giving me a slim chance to escape with my life..."

Inside the grand hall, shadowy figures flickered, and a dense crowd had gathered.

The one who spoke had handsome features and brilliant golden hair. His vitality surged like a furnace, but his tone was furious and his gaze was ice-cold, clearly in extreme grief.

The moment he spoke, the entire hall erupted into an uproar, as if a pot had boiled over.

Expressions of anger and shock appeared on all the cultivators’ faces.

The cultivators who had been attacked by the Blood Immortal Sect on their way here, who had seen their fellow disciples’ lives taken by the Human-Faced Banner, were especially enraged and grief-stricken. The words had clearly struck a raw nerve.

Many others, however, wore looks of disbelief, unable to accept that Ling Zhuyun, the Saintess of the Jasper Pool Sect, would collude with the Blood Immortal Sect.

’How could that be possible?’