I Really Am A Villain

He hurriedly raised his longsword to block in front of him.

The black aura radiating from the Claw of Death clashed fiercely with his sword intent, the overwhelming force pushing Xie Changliu backward step by step.

At that moment, Xu Zimo picked up the nearby Demon-Slaying Hammer.

He swung the hammer down hard. Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial tried to dodge, but the iron chain moved faster and faster.

Though he barely avoided the first strike, Xu Zimo suddenly yanked the chain upward, looping it around and catching the Ghost Monarch’s neck.

“You…” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial managed to utter one word before Xu Zimo swung the chain fiercely, spinning him violently through the air and slamming him to the ground several times.

The Ghost Monarch grabbed at the chain around his neck, trying to free himself, but even he couldn’t break free from the toughness of his own weapon.

His imperial aura surged wildly as he tried to plant his feet and wrench the chain back, but in terms of raw strength, he was no match for Xu Zimo.

“Help me!” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial cried out to the other Ghost Monarchs, desperation overtaking him.

The others, who had been watching with amusement, began to sense something was off.

Ghost Monarch Blood-Robe quickly retracted his kasaya, then threw it out again, wrapping it around the flailing Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial and pulling him back to safety.

Xu Zimo looked at the Demon-Slaying Hammer in his hand and smiled. “This thing’s pretty fun.”

Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial steadied himself, his expression ugly. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

“You ask too many questions,” Xu Zimo replied flatly, glancing up at the colossal tree that was Sunflower City. “And besides,” he added, “I didn’t come here to fight your Spectral Ghost Race.”

He exchanged a look with Xie Changliu, and the two of them quickly began climbing up the giant tree.

“Stop them!” The sixteen Ghost Monarchs simultaneously leapt into the air, surging with violent power as they locked onto Xu Zimo’s aura and charged after him.

“Out of my way!” Xu Zimo barked coldly.

Shadow Tyrant drew itself from its sheath of its own accord, releasing an overwhelming blade intent that split the sky.

With a heavy swing of the blade’s spine, a deafening boom shook the air, carrying the force of the Wind Primal Dao.

The sixteen Ghost Monarchs were blasted backward, crashing to the ground.

When they finally steadied themselves and looked up, Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu were already gone.

Meanwhile, the few remaining members of the Primal God Race took advantage of the chaos and fled.

It was, as they say, a total loss.

“Damn it!” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime roared furiously.

“That man’s strength is terrifying,” one of the calmer Ghost Monarchs said, his tone measured.

“For such a being to appear out of nowhere within the Spectral Ghost Race’s domain, we must investigate this carefully.”

“Where could he have come from? No matter,” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime replied coldly. “For now, Sunflower City takes priority. We must secure results before the divine army arrives.”

The other Ghost Monarchs nodded in agreement.

“Let’s move. Perhaps we’ll run into them up there.”

The sixteen Ghost Monarchs, followed by their vast ghost army, began climbing up the colossal tree as well.

Once atop the giant tree, Xu Zimo finally understood just how vast this place was.

From the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than a massive tree.

But once inside, it was like entering another world, a city within a mountain, grand and endless.

Each branch formed its own level of the city, and the countless leaves became steps leading upward toward towering pavilions.

In theory, with an army of hundreds of billions of ghosts entering here, the city should have been bustling with movement.

Yet as the two of them ventured deeper, they saw no sign of life, only ancient ruins and collapsed structures stretching out before them.

Sunflower City, once the seat of the Ancient Wood God, now completely devoid of life. There was irony in that.

Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu decided to explore freely.

Following the main street through the ruins, they walked for nearly ten minutes before finding a large hall that was not yet completely destroyed, though it, too, looked as though it might collapse at any moment.

The signboard above the hall’s entrance had broken in half; only two characters remained.

“Guiding Path.”

Inside the hall, an old man sat cross-legged. Flames burned around him, not consuming him, but heating a kettle before him.

When the water began to boil, the old man waved his hand, and three spotless teacups floated over from nowhere.

“A guest from afar, how delightful,” the old man said with a cheerful smile.

“Since you’ve come, why not share a drink?”

Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu did not bother hiding. They stepped into the hall openly.

“Elder, may we ask who you are?” Xie Changliu asked curiously.

“My name… I’ve nearly forgotten it,” the old man chuckled. “But ten thousand years ago, people used to call me the Wine Saint.”

He sipped the tea, then spat it out, shaking his head.

“The taste is off. Something’s missing.”

“The Wine Saint?” Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu exchanged a look. “Senior, are you also here searching for the Flower of Death?” Xu Zimo asked.

“The Flower of Death? Never heard of it,” the old man replied, shaking his head.

“I came because I heard that Sunflower City held the Mist Sea Tree, said to be the finest material for brewing wine. I sought it out, but somehow, I ended up trapped here for a hundred million years.”

“A hundred million years?” Xie Changliu exclaimed in disbelief.

“You couldn’t leave?”

“I couldn’t,” the old man said with a wry smile. “I once met someone who’d been trapped here for a billion years. You’ll get used to it. We’re all the same now.”

“Elder, have you ever seen this flower?” Xu Zimo asked, taking out the Flower of Death he had obtained earlier.

“You call that thing the Flower of Death?” The old man chuckled.

“So you’ve seen it before?” Xie Changliu pressed.

“Every year, there are two times when these flowers bloom all over this place,” the Wine Saint said.

“They are extremely domineering, whenever they appear, they erase all living things nearby. That’s why you see no life here now, only us old relics left behind.”

“Then do you know where we can find them?” Xie Changliu asked again.

“I don’t,” the old man replied, shaking his head. “That depends on your luck.”

“You’re still chasing after the Flower of Death?” Xu Zimo asked, glancing at Xie Changliu.

“You mean to use it to bargain with the Underworld for your wife’s soul?”

Xie Changliu nodded silently.

“I told you before, unless the Lord of Death himself-” Xu Zimo began, but Xie Changliu cut him off.

“As long as there’s a sliver of hope, I’ll try. Otherwise, like you said, storming Mirage Tides Heaven would be certain death.”

Xu Zimo didn’t argue further. He, too, wanted to go to the Underworld, to meet an old acquaintance.

“Elder, do you know anything of the Ancient Wood God, Jumang?” Xu Zimo asked, turning back to the old man.