I Really Am A Villain

After the black-robed men finished their discussion, the others all departed. They were well-organized, each with their own tasks to handle.

The last of them, the one who appeared to be the leader, dragged the crystal coffin containing Xu Zimo and stepped directly into the teleportation formation within Ancient Phoenix City.

Darkness. Endless darkness. The entire world around him was nothing but black void.

This was the end of the teleportation path, the location of the Inferno Abyss.

Inside the teleportation formation, the travel time wasn’t long. The formation built by the Heavenly Court truly was impressive, its transmission speed ranked among the very best.

When the black-robed man arrived at this dark land, he formed a series of hand seals. A strange symbol appeared in the air, shining faintly against the darkness.

The symbol acted like a key, and soon after, a dull cracking sound echoed through the silence, harsh and grating, like teeth grinding in the void.

Finally, a pitch-black door appeared in midair.

The black-robed man took out a key and slowly turned it in the keyhole. The door creaked open bit by bit.

When it fully opened, he stepped through with Xu Zimo’s crystal coffin in tow.

Darkness swallowed everything once again, covering the entire Inferno Abyss. Soon, the place returned to its usual eerie calm.

Inside the door lay another world, a massive, newly created pocket dimension.

Volcanoes filled the land, and every one of them was active. Each day, countless eruptions occurred at random intervals.

At the foot of these volcanoes sat numerous blue-skinned beings. They gathered around the molten craters, seemingly enjoying the scorching heat.

When the black-robed man arrived, these blue beings suddenly changed. Their blue outer layers peeled away, as though they were shedding clothing, revealing bodies that glowed red underneath.

They were not truly blue at all, they were red beings.

At a glance, there were at least a thousand of them. Most were in a state of slumber; fewer than a hundred were awake.

“You’re here again?” one of the red beings asked, his voice stiff and rough.

“What, not happy to see me? Don’t forget our agreement,” the black-robed man said casually, smiling.

“An agreement is one thing,” the red being replied coldly, “but you promised your attack on Ocean Sage City would be foolproof. We sent you so many Water Beasts, why did they all perish?”

The black-robed man thought of the beasts that Xu Zimo had slaughtered and chuckled. “Ran into a bit of trouble. But it’s all been taken care of.”

He pointed to the crystal coffin beside him and grinned. “See? I even brought the culprit.”

Only then did the red beings notice the coffin.

“This fellow caused the destruction, but we’ve captured the one responsible,” the black-robed man said.

“The aura on him is strange,” one red being said, frowning as several others gathered around.

“It’s… disturbing.”

“Could it be him?” one of them suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening.

The others froze. Faces that had been indifferent now turned grave as they surrounded Xu Zimo’s coffin.

“What’s wrong with you all?” the black-robed man asked, puzzled. “You know him or something?”

“Do you still remember that great war?” one of the red beings said.

The black-robed man nodded slightly.

“We suspect he came into contact with the escaped one,” another red being said grimly.

“That’s impossible,” the black-robed man said in surprise.

“Impossible? Do you doubt our senses?” the red being snapped.

“Wake him up. We must interrogate him.”

“He can’t be awakened,” the black-robed man said. “He’s been struck by the Absolute Annihilation Curse. Right now, he’s half dead.”

“You should understand how important this is,” a red being said sternly. “We must try everything. That escaped one remains a great threat, perhaps even the reason our perfect plan failed.”

“You still haven’t erased that one’s consciousness after all this time?” the black-robed man asked, annoyed.

“We can’t,” the red being retorted. “You Heavenly Court people can try if you think you can. The will of that one cannot be erased, not even by Heaven itself. How could we destroy it?”

The black-robed man fell silent. He knew the gravity of the matter.

After the escaped one vanished, they had searched the entire Inferno Crucible Heaven but found nothing.

Now, with this rare lead in hand, could they afford to let it slip away?

After a moment of thought, he said, “Then put him into the Myriad Streams.”

“I refuse,” a red being said immediately.

“To heal the damage caused by the Absolute Annihilation Curse, only the Myriad Streams offers a chance,” the black-robed man explained. “It’s not guaranteed, but it’s the only way. Decide for yourselves, if you want to find the escaped one’s trail, this is your only option.”

The protesting red being wanted to argue further, but another raised a hand to stop him.

“That’s enough,” the latter said with a smile. “This matter is important. We’ll discuss it internally first, then give you our answer.”

“Suit yourselves,” the black-robed man said, nodding. “And while you’re at it, I’ll need more Water Beasts.”

“What for this time?” one red being asked angrily.

“To destroy Ocean Sage City,” the black-robed man replied coolly.

“You’d better not fail again. If you do, handle it yourselves.”

“If the Heavenly Court could act openly, do you think we’d bother working with you?” the black-robed man said with a smirk.

When the red beings left, the black-robed man’s smile faded. He spat on the ground.

“If you worthless things weren’t still useful, I’d have wiped you out already.”

The red beings took a long time to deliberate, nearly half a day passed before they returned, moving slowly.

“If you don’t agree, I’ll be taking him away,” the black-robed man said indifferently.

“No need to rush,” one of the red beings said with a faint grin. “We’ve agreed, he can enter the Myriad Streams.”

“Fine. The sooner, the better,” the black-robed man replied. “Remember, he’s under my custody.”

“Don’t worry,” the red being said. “When we get results, we’ll share the information. After all, this is a partnership of mutual benefit.”

The crystal coffin containing Xu Zimo was slowly carried away.

They passed several active volcanoes before the entire landscape came into view.

At the center of the volcanic ring lay not a crater, but a massive lake, though calling it a “lake” hardly did it justice.

The waters shimmered strangely, reflecting an entire world of fire within their depths.

Water and fire, two forces that should never coexist, were perfectly fused here.

Water within fire, fire within water.

A defiance of nature itself.

The crystal coffin came to rest upon its surface.