This Is What a Villain Is Like

Chapter 196: Chapter 98: He Can Bully, but Others Cannot; Destined to Reach the Pinnacle and Look Down Upon All

"Even the Heaven-Swallowing Gourd can’t devour the purple mist here. It seems the only way is to have the Qian Lei Ship forcibly blast the array open."

"The terrain here forms a natural basin before Purple Mist Mountain, a place where the earth’s veins converge. The high peaks open up, with their ridges snaking down to perfectly receive the rising essence qi. With a ’facing mountain’ in front and a ’table mountain’ behind, it’s a perfect geomantic location for entombing and locking away great power. However, someone has deliberately altered the flow of the surrounding earth veins..."

"A feat of this scale would be impossible without at least a decade of planning. I wonder, was this a long-term plot by the Blood Immortal Sect, or has someone else’s hard work been co-opted?"

Ying, Mr. Chu, and others from the Prime Minister’s Mansion stood aboard an ancient warship.

They too were watching the Observatory’s actions. But compared to the grim expressions of the various Immortal Sect Elders, they appeared far more relaxed and not overly concerned.

This was because the Life Tokens of Jiang Lan and the others showed no change, indicating they had not encountered any danger.

Behind Mr. Chu stood an old man with a long beard and eyebrows so white they matched his hair. He was dressed in a loose, gray-white robe, its sleeves embroidered with the yin-yang symbol. Holding a compass, he had been the one to analyze the landscape with a tone of admiration.

"There used to be a Zixia Temple here. It appeared just over ten years ago, which fits the timeline."

"So, Elder Liu, are you saying the Temple Master of Zixia Temple is the one who set up this array?"

Mr. Chu asked, looking at the old man with great respect.

Despite being a Seventh Realm cultivator, he dared not put on any airs before this elder.

For this old man was a deputy director of the Great Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Craftsmanship Creation Institute, and very few people had the clout to request his services.

His mastery of arrays had reached the pinnacle of perfection. No one could surpass him, and those who could even be considered his peers were exceedingly rare.

He had overseen the construction of most of the major arrays within the Great Xia Empire.

Even the Sect Leaders of the great Immortal Sects had to treat this elder with the utmost courtesy, not daring to show the slightest neglect.

Within Great Xia today, only a figure of the Prime Minister’s stature could command his presence.

Upon hearing of the shocking developments within Purple Mist Mountain—that a bizarre array had trapped all the youths and numerous Loose Cultivators inside, causing the major Immortal Sects to suffer heavy losses—the Prime Minister had personally dispatched someone to summon Elder Liu to break the array, fearing that something might happen to Jiang Lan.

"Breaking this array isn’t difficult," Elder Liu said, stroking his beard as he put away his compass. "We simply need to shatter it with brute force. To do so from within, one would first have to locate the array’s core. However, I suspect none of you have the patience for that. It would take ten minutes, at the very least."

"The Young Master’s safety is at stake; we can’t afford to wait."

"If anything happens to the Young Master, none of us can bear the responsibility," Mr. Chu replied.

Elder Liu nodded. His gaze shifted to the members of the Observatory nearby, landing on the figure clad in soft armor.

"With Linglong Commander here, I imagine there won’t be any delays. Since the Prime Minister authorized her to use the Qian Lei Ship, she certainly won’t hold back..."

The Qian Lei Ship was a weapon of war developed by the Celestial Craftsmanship Creation Institute. Its interior was inscribed with over a thousand Array Pattern Restrictions.

Furthermore, Celestial Artisans had forged a Thunder Storage Pool within it, capable of absorbing and storing the True Thunder Qi of Heaven and Earth during thunderstorms.

Once unleashed, even a Sixth Realm cultivator would be instantly turned to ash.

A single, fully charged blast could easily destroy a city of ten million people.

Aboard the Qian Lei Ship were several even more terrifying weapons, capable of killing a Seventh Realm cultivator with a single strike.

The Great Xia Dynasty’s ability to stand at the apex of the Celestial Central Province, command all in its domain, and force the Immortal Sects to bow in submission without daring to challenge its rule was, naturally, backed by considerable power.

’Although the blueprints for the Qian Lei Ship are kept at the Celestial Craftsmanship Creation Institute, they have always been under the Old Master’s control. But using such a weapon of war is too conspicuous. Because of its Array Patterns, it can’t be stored in a Sumeru Space, otherwise...’ Mr. Chu’s eyes flickered as numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.

’If not for these special circumstances—the reappearance of the Blood Immortal Sect’s remnants—the Royal Family would surely be losing sleep, rife with suspicion over the Prime Minister’s Mansion deploying such a vessel.’

While Mr. Chu and the others were conversing...

Not far away, amidst the fleet of ancient warships radiating a murderous aura, an exceptionally massive vessel emerged. A banner embroidered with a thunderbolt emblem whipped in the wind, emitting ripples of runic power.

The graceful figure standing at the warship’s prow gave a wave of her elegant hand, commanding the Knights behind her to begin.

VMMMM!!!

In the next instant, the very color of the sky began to shift as a vast, surging power started to converge.

The ancient warship hovered in the sky not far away, its entire hull shimmering with a brilliant radiance. Intertwining runes flared as if a million lightning bolts were condensing, preparing to unleash a world-ending strike.

Across the entire mountain range, Fierce Beasts of every level prostrated themselves in terror, trembling uncontrollably.

Before such immense power, cultivators were like ants, utterly incapable of withstanding it.

BOOM!!!

A blinding, brilliant pillar of light erupted, spanning the gap between heaven and earth. It was as if a star, wreathed in lightning, had come crashing down.

Its destructive aura felt apocalyptic, threatening to pulverize everything into ash.

Every cultivator and living creature felt a soul-deep tremor of dread, their legs quaking with fear.

"The Qian Lei Ship..."

A deep chill gripped the hearts of the Elders from the various Immortal Sects. Those who were closer felt their skin crawl, not daring to imagine what, if anything, would be left of them if that blow landed on their own bodies.