This Is What a Villain Is Like

Endless, blood-red mist surged forth like an overwhelming tide, its countless wisps flowing like rivers and streams to quickly submerge the entire Earth Palace.

Jiang Lan sat cross-legged, his robes stirring without a breeze. A torrential Blood River, seeming to cut through the void of ages, stretched out before him.

As the waves rolled past, the Immortal Corpse tumbled within them, as if even the All Worlds and Universes were being submerged and devoured.

Infinite River of Destiny couldn’t truly be called a Cultivation Technique, as it had no concept of levels or divisions.

From the moment one began cultivating it, all the energy in the world was converted into one’s own Spring of Life, evolving into a great river of life.

Endless life, a boundless Blood River. There was no upper limit. As long as one had enough Life Force, the power they could wield could be called infinite.

In essence, this was a conceptual Heart Technique. Almost no one could truly achieve endless life; the so-called "infinite" was merely a hypothetical state.

However, because of his Destiny Dao Fruit, Jiang Lan already possessed a terrifying amount of Life Force, far beyond what any ordinary person could imagine.

As long as his injuries weren’t fatal, he could recover completely in an extremely short amount of time.

This made Infinite River of Destiny the most suitable Cultivation Technique for him.

Within the Earth Palace, the vibrations grew more intense. The endless, blood-red mist completely enveloped Jiang Lan, forming what looked like a giant, blood-red cocoon.

At this moment, every cell in his body seemed as if it had starved for countless years, frantically devouring the surging blood-red mist.

Every wisp of the blood-red mist contained an astonishing and surging Life Force. To other Cultivators, it was a dangerous substance they wouldn’t dare touch. But for Jiang Lan, it was the purest form of energy.

He could clearly feel every inch of his skin, every bone, every organ, and every strand of his soul undergoing a world-shaking transformation. It was as if he were being tempered by a True Flame, experiencing a rebirth from the ashes, from the inside out.

Abundant and surging power flooded his entire body, roaring like a torrential river, like a swelling ocean, before finally settling into a silent, boundless, dark abyss.

His skin began to glow with a pearlescent white luster, like jade or fine glass. It was immaculate and pure, emitting a faint, fresh fragrance, like a true Immortal Embryo Treasure Body.

Meanwhile, every living being and Cultivator on the Blood Red Plateau could clearly sense a change in the world around them.

The blood-red mist that had been drifting through the Void now seemed to be drawn by some unseen force, surging madly toward the depths of the Blood Red Plateau. As a result, some of the outlying areas even began to clear up.

"What is that?"

A Cultivator who had come to the plateau for training and to seek his fortune felt his heart tremble. He hastily transformed into a Divine Rainbow and fled toward the outer regions.

For a fleeting moment, he’d felt as if his very life was about to drift away from his physical body.

He had never encountered such a strange and terrifying sensation before. His face turned pale with fear, and he scrambled to escape.

More Cultivators and other living beings felt waves of horror and began to retreat.

Great commotions erupted in many areas of the Blood Red Plateau. Demon Beasts fled frantically toward the outskirts, as if trying to escape from something.

A thousand miles away, columns of blood-red mist billowed, threatening to surge into the heavens. Each one was massive and boundless, shaped like a small mountain, a vivid, crimson spectacle.

The blood-red mist that filled the sky surged continuously into these columns, and the violent fluctuations that emanated from them sent shivers of fear through every Cultivator and living being on the Blood Red Plateau.

"Old Ghost, what is happening?"

"Did some cataclysmic event just happen over there?"

On a low mountain peak stood a man with a swarthy face and sharp, glinting eyes. He stared back at the scene behind him, his expression a mixture of astonishment and shock.

It was none other than Ye Ming, who had just escaped from the collapsed Earth Palace.

A blood-red pattern on his palm glowed faintly, emitting the aura of a soul. In response to his words, a hazy, smoke-like, blood-red figure slowly emerged from it.

"Based on these fluctuations, either an Exotic Treasure is emerging, or someone is gathering the blood-red mist from this area..."

the blood-red figure said, equally astonished. "But the blood-red mist here is full of poisonous miasma. What’s the use in collecting it?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Ye Ming’s expression darkened. "Could it be related to that mysterious man from earlier?" he couldn’t help but ask.

The blood-red figure mused for a moment before speculating, "It’s possible. But I can’t imagine why he would collect this blood-red mist. Is he planning to refine some kind of Magical Artifact?"

"I just want to know who that guy is. I’ve never seen you be so cautious before..." Ye Ming let out a soft breath, his heart heavy. "If he’s still deep within the Blood Red Plateau, and I turn back now, won’t I run right into him?"

"I don’t know who that guy is either, but he’s strange and mysterious, that much is certain."

"I could understand not being able to detect any fluctuations in his aura if he had a powerful Secret Treasure for concealment."

"But why were there no fluctuations even when he attacked? How did he just appear out of thin air? It makes me suspect he has some method that uses the Power of Law..."

The blood-red figure’s tone was equally grave. In all his long years, he had never encountered such a bizarre situation.

"A method using Law?"

Ye Ming was stunned, his face a mask of disbelief. "But I could tell he isn’t old—about my age at most. Methods using Law... aren’t those abilities only experts at the Tribulation Bridge Realm, or even the Feather Transformation Realm, can use?"

The blood-red figure shook its head. "You don’t understand. This world is vast, and Celestial Prides are as numerous as the stars. It’s entirely possible for an anomaly or two who defy all logic to appear."

"But thinking about it now, perhaps that fellow has a problem of his own. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he have attacked directly? Why use a power similar to a Law and risk exposing his secret?"

Ye Ming’s eyes filled with awe and envy. He clenched his fists, a hint of resentment in his voice. "To be able to use the Power of Law innately... doesn’t that make him an Innate Saint? The Great Xia empire truly is a land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, to have produced such a terrifying young prodigy."

"To his peers, wouldn’t he be an insurmountable mountain? Are they destined to live in his shadow for their entire lives?"

The blood-red figure shot him a pitying glance and sighed. "For the Celestial Prides of your generation, encountering a monster like that is truly a cause for despair and sorrow."

"So, you need to be careful. That guy is dealing with some kind of problem right now, but once he recovers, he’ll surely come to silence you. He can’t let his secret get out."

"I don’t know if the Blood Immortal Sect’s inheritance is here, but you could try your luck at their ancestral shrine. Back when I roamed the various lands, I didn’t learn much about the Blood Immortal Sect. I’m not certain where the Blood Immortal Ancestor left his legacy after he died."

Ye Ming nodded. He understood this was no place to linger and prepared to leave.