I Really Am A Villain

“You’ve asked the right person,” the old man said with a smile. “In these hundred million years, I’ve explored nearly all of Sunflower City. I’ve seen most of its ruins and the few surviving records, so when it comes to the Wood God, I probably know more than anyone else alive.”

The old man did not hold back, perhaps because, after so many years without anyone to talk to, he finally had someone willing to listen and couldn’t help but speak freely.

“Please enlighten us, Senior,” Xie Changliu said quickly.

“The Wood God was one of the Nine Ancient Gods. They lived in the oldest era of the Nine Heavens. The Ancient Gods each pursued their own Ancient Dao, but Jumang was different from the others. What he sought was peace and life. The Dao he walked was the Dao of Life itself.”

The old man’s tone grew somber. “And it was precisely because of his gentle, non-contentious nature that, when the Great Terror came, he was the first to be targeted. It is said that after the Catastrophe, of the nine gods, eight survived, but Jumang alone perished, his Dao extinguished.”

“You must be here for Jumang’s inheritance,” he added.

“We came for the Flower of Death,” Xu Zimo replied calmly.

He certainly wasn’t about to admit to any interest in inheritance. This old man clearly knew a great deal about Jumang, who knew if he wasn’t after the same thing?

“Since you know so much about the Wood God,” Xie Changliu asked, voicing Xu Zimo’s own thoughts, “are you also searching for his inheritance?”

The Wine Saint chuckled bitterly. “You’ll laugh, but in all these hundred million years, I haven’t even managed to find a way out of this place, much less any inheritance. I’ve already accepted my fate. I’ll likely grow old and die here.”

Xu Zimo gave the old man a long, thoughtful look before smiling slightly. “Then we won’t trouble you further, Senior. We’ve just arrived and would like to look around.”

“Go on, go on,” the old man said, waving his hand. He made no attempt to stop them.

After leaving the great hall, the two continued deeper into the ruins.

“Do you believe what he said?” Xie Changliu asked.

“Why not?” Xu Zimo smiled. “Anyone who enters Sunflower City truly can’t leave, unless they possess the Traceless Compass.”

This place was a labyrinth constructed according to the twenty-four heavenly directions.

Throughout all ages, only the White Emperor had ever managed to escape it.

Xu Zimo had yet to use the Traceless Compass, preferring to first understand the lay of the land. There was no need to rush.

After walking for a few days, the two suddenly heard sounds of battle ahead.

They quickened their pace and soon saw a small skirmish between the Spectral Ghost Race and the Primal God Race.

By now, the divine army must have entered Sunflower City as well.

“What should we do?” Xie Changliu asked.

“Let them kill each other,” Xu Zimo chuckled, shaking his head.

They passed through the battlefield and continued forward, only for Xu Zimo to suddenly stop.

“We’ve gone in a circle,” he said.

Though they had walked straight ahead, somehow they had returned to their starting point.

“So without the Traceless Compass, it really is impossible to leave,” Xie Changliu said grimly.

Xu Zimo wanted to rise into the air to get a better view, but the massive tree exerted a powerful suppressive force, preventing any creature from flying. One could only move forward step by step on the leaf-formed stairs.

Xu Zimo retrieved both the Traceless Compass and the Heaven-Derivation Astrolabe. They floated side by side in the air.

An invisible energy began to spread from the compasses.

The workings of heaven and fate were unseen, yet undeniably present.

All the laws of the world moved according to their destined patterns; to glimpse upon the heavenly secrets was to touch those laws.

This time, the search took far longer than usual.

The Traceless Compass spun faster and faster until its rotation became a blur, leaving only afterimages fading into the void.

Gradually, Xu Zimo realized the world around him was changing.

The ruins began to fade away, and it felt as if he were standing at the threshold between two realities, as though a great mist was being dispersed.

When his vision cleared, he found himself standing before an ancient city.

The ruins were gone. Before him stood a vast and perfectly preserved city.

It radiated an overwhelming aura of life; even the air seemed to pulse with vitality.

Looking closely, he realized the entire city was built atop a massive tree.

The tree’s roots reached deep underground, its trunk hidden from sight, while the city above rested upon its branches.

On a massive jade-green brick above the gate, two shining characters caught the eye.

Sunflower City.

This, this was the real Sunflower City.

Xu Zimo suddenly understood why no one had ever found it and why all who entered were lost.

It was because this was truly a city within a city, or more precisely, a world hidden within another world, like a ring within a ring.

Those outside could only see the outer shell.

To enter the true city, one either needed a divine artifact like the Traceless Compass, or the ability to comprehend the very laws of this world.

Both paths were nearly impossible.

Xu Zimo approached the great gates and pressed both hands against them. With a heavy boom, the gates swung open.

And when he saw what lay inside, even Xu Zimo was stunned.

Countless Flowers of Death blanketed the landscape, tens of millions of them at least, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Their dense black-purple blossoms filled the air with deathly energy so potent it seemed to stain even the atmosphere itself.

Everything around had been corroded by that aura.

As Xu Zimo stepped into the city, all the Flowers of Death seemed to sense him, like predators smelling blood.

A storm of deathly aura erupted, surging toward him like a raging tempest.

Above his head, the Tree of Life appeared in the void, its rich vitality forming a shield that enveloped his entire body.

The tree spun slowly, holding back the corrosive power of the flowers, but Xu Zimo could feel the strain. It was the first time his Tree of Life had ever been pressured this heavily by death energy.

He pressed forward, the Traceless Compass still spinning in his hand, guiding him toward the place where Jumang’s aura was strongest.

Xu Zimo quickened his pace, racing down the main street of the city.

The ancient buildings around him, ornate temples, grand pavilions, still carried traces of their former glory despite their decay.

The Flowers of Death bloomed everywhere, their black-purple petals drifting through the air like a rain of blossoms.

At last, as Xu Zimo sprinted ahead, the road came to an end.

Standing at the far edge was a colossal ancient tree, withered, broken, and long dead.

Xu Zimo frowned slightly, for at that very spot, the Traceless Compass’ readings stopped completely.