I Really Am A Villain

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But speaking of acting as protector for Zi Yan’s ascension, this was no simple matter. Her enemies were absurdly powerful. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been forced into suicide in her past life, only to return again in this one.

“My Live-Forever Flower is still in Young Master Xu’s hands,” Zi Yan said with a faint smile. “Would you be so kind as to return it to me?”

Earlier, on the Azure Dragon Altar, the item Xu Zimo demanded from the Azure Dragon was precisely this Live-Forever Flower. For Zi Yan, as someone reborn from a previous life, this flower was her most precious treasure, the key to reclaiming her former peak.

Xu Zimo slowly drew out the turquoise sphere of light. He knew that Zi Yan had let him take the treasure partly to test him. She hadn’t truly feared losing it, because the flower was already marked by her imprint. Anyone who tried to seize it by force would find it costly and troublesome.

“Tell me,” Xu Zimo said, “who exactly are your enemies? I’ll need to be prepared.”

“The Heavenly Court,” Zi Yan answered, meeting his gaze word by word.

She knew Xu Zimo was of demonic blood. That meant they shared a common enemy. And since each sought something from the other, that was precisely why she dared to approach him.

“I’m curious,” Xu Zimo said with a smirk. “The Heavenly Court is proud beyond belief. They don’t usually bother with ordinary people. What did you do that made them chase you even a thousand years later?”

“It’s a long story,” Zi Yan said with a helpless smile. “When I first rose to prominence, every great power tried to recruit me. The Heavenly Court sent envoys as well. But I was proud back then, I refused them all. I was on the verge of breaking through to Saint Sovereign, but when my comprehension of Primal Daos faltered, I was left with a hidden injury. So I went to the Paradise of Gods.”

She laughed dryly as she said it.

“The Paradise of Gods,” Xu Zimo mused. “That’s the Heavenly Court’s medicinal garden, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. I intended to take a stalk of Tenfold Evolving Silkworm Dragongrass.”

“To take it, or to steal it?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Heavenly treasures belong to the world,” Zi Yan said calmly. “Anyone has the right to obtain them. Taking or stealing makes no difference.”

“I did get the Silkworm Dragongrass,” she continued, “but that also made me the Heavenly Court’s enemy. They hunted me endlessly, until I was forced to take my own life.”

“But they didn’t know you’d prepared another way,” Xu Zimo said, picking up the thread of her story. “You reincarnated, crossing from the future to be reborn again.”

“It wasn’t exactly a plan,” Zi Yan shook her head. “It was a fortuitous part of my cultivation that happened to save me.”

“I don’t fear the Heavenly Court,” Xu Zimo said, “but if their main forces have entered the Godfiend Abyss Heaven, are you sure this is the right time to attempt a Sage Monarch breakthrough?”

Previously, the Heavenly Court’s presence in the Godfiend Abyss Heaven had been minor, their true elites stationed elsewhere. But now, with their campaign to annihilate the Ancient Demon Realm, most of their strength was here. Attempting a breakthrough now seemed unwise.

“I have my own arrangements,” Zi Yan replied evenly. “Even without your help, I still have backup plans. But working together simply makes things safer.”

“I could guard your ascension,” Xu Zimo said, “but before we cooperate, how do I know you really possess knowledge of the Wind God’s legacy?”

Zi Yan waved her right hand. A strand of wind swirled in her palm. It was no ordinary breeze, within it, worlds seemed to form. Beasts galloped through unseen plains; birds sang in unseen forests; the lushness of ancient trees breathed with life.

It wasn’t just an illusion, it was the very fabric of creation. Within that current flowed the laws of the Dao itself, traces of Primordial Edict power that ordinary cultivators could never touch. To grasp even a fragment of such law was a miracle of ages.

“In all the heavens,” Zi Yan said with quiet confidence, “none has ever surpassed my ancestor’s understanding of wind.”

The Nine Ancient Gods were those who sought the Dao in the primordial age, when cultivation was still chaos, with no paths, no realms, no precedent. They were the pioneers who carved out the road itself. That was the greatness of the Ancient Gods.

And the wind in Zi Yan’s hand was proof enough. No one but Tianwu, the Wind God, could wield wind in such a way.

“Very well,” Xu Zimo said, nodding. “I believe you. When will you attempt the breakthrough?”

“Tomorrow night. Come to the Violet Mist Holy Lands,” Zi Yan replied. “Before I begin, I can grant you half the inheritance. Once I succeed safely, you’ll receive the rest.”

“Agreed,” Xu Zimo said.

As he watched Zi Yan and He Changkong’s figures fade into the distance, Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes and leaned back in the pavilion.

“My lord, do you truly intend to cooperate with her?” the Ancestral Warden asked beside him.

“Do you think she really trusts me?” Xu Zimo countered.

“Well…” the Ancestral Warden hesitated. The two had only just met, trust seemed out of the question.

“It’s just a transaction,” Xu Zimo said. “No need to overthink it.”

Ancestral Warden nodded silently.

They left the Azure Dragon Altar and departed Skywind City that same day, heading toward the Violet Mist Holy Lands.

The Violet Mist Holy Lands lay to the north of the city, not far, since after its decline it ruled only the surrounding hundred thousand miles.

It was said that in its prime, the sect had founded an entire empire, with thousands of sects and small nations under its banner.

Traveling through the night, they arrived by dawn. The Holy Land sat deep within a forest; among the lush trees, a faint glow of multicolored light shimmered.

At this hour, as the first pale light of dawn crept over the horizon, the world’s first ray of sunlight shone upon the land, illuminating the Holy Land in a divine radiance.

Zi Yan seemed to have arranged everything in advance. When the two arrived, He Changkong was already there to greet them.

“The Saintess is in seclusion, preparing herself,” He Changkong said. “Do you wish to enter now?”

“You were waiting for us?” Xu Zimo asked.

“No,” He Changkong shook his head. “I’m waiting for the people from the Ancient Samsara God Realm. During her breakthrough, aside from the Heavenly Court, we can’t afford any other distractions.”

He had killed Meng Lunhui earlier on the Azure Dragon Altar. The Ancient Samsara God Realm would not take that lightly.

“Seems your Violet Mist Holy Lands has been holding back for a long time,” Xu Zimo remarked.

“If we’re going to make our move, we might as well make the entire Godfiend Abyss Heaven tremble,” He Changkong said with a cruel grin.

“In that case, there’s no rush. I’ll stay to watch the show,” Xu Zimo chuckled.

He waved his right hand, and the branches of nearby ancient trees wove together into the shape of a seat. He sat down comfortably beside He Changkong, waiting for the arrival of the Ancient Samsara God Realm.

After some thought, the Ancestral Warden asked, “Can your Violet Mist Holy Lands really stand against them?”