Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate - Chapter 224

Chapter 224: Signs of a Sinister Endgame Chapter 224: Signs of a Sinister Endgame Surprised glances flicked toward Jiang Chen, many in the room widening their eyes in disbelief.

No one had anticipated that Jiang Chen, already possessing the knowledge of the Demonic Qi Extraction Art, would also be familiar with a formation capable of isolating the Demonic Spiritual Qi.

In the eyes of many, his stature grew even more formidable, cloaked in an aura of mystery.

Prompted by Ji Mingxiu, the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace soon relented.

They agreed to allow the Purple Heaven Holy Land to inspect their offering.

For the evaluation, they would provide a segment of the formation’s structural method, along with the associated mnemonics and visual representations of the formation designed to isolate the Demonic Spiritual Qi.

Moments later, a pale cultivator appeared at the entrance of the Purple Heaven Grand Hall, his trembling figure marking him as an inner sect disciple.

“Greetings, Esteemed Holy Lord!” He knelt immediately, trembling from head to toe as he raised a peculiar mirror with both hands.

Every eye turned toward him, and the realization settled over the hall-this disciple was an embedded spy from the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace within the ranks of the Purple Heaven Holy Land.

Yet, the revelation brought little surprise.

After all, they too had placed their own agents deep within the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace.

With a swift “whoosh,” a gust of wind swept through the hall, and in an instant, the mirror was snatched from the disciple’s grip by Ji Mingxiu.

Just as abruptly, the inner sect disciple disintegrated, his body dissolving into a shower of particles that dispersed into heaven and earth.

“Ji Mingxiu, time is of the essence.

Pay close attention.” The voice of Dong Yuanzheng resonated from within the mirror.

His figure materialized-statuesque and lean, with raven-black hair that emphasized his cold, detached presence.

As soon as Dong Yuanzheng finished speaking, the image in the mirror shifted, revealing intricate text displaying snippets of formation-setting techniques and mnemonic incantations.

But the scene changed again, this time with a far more disturbing sight.

Within a small formation glowing with a soft white light, a disciple of the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace was shown.

However, he was no longer recognizable-his form had been completely transformed into a demonic entity, twisted by prolonged exposure to the Demonic Spiritual Qi.

The once-human figure screamed in maddened fury as a massive surge of Demonic Spiritual Qi burst from him.

Yet every dark wisp of energy was contained, unable to escape the confines of the formation.

The display lasted only for a brief moment.

Seconds later, the mirror shattered, its gleaming fragments drifting away with the wind.

“Jiang Chen, what’s your verdict?” Ji Mingxiu asked, his gaze fixed intently on him.

Every eye in the room followed suit, eagerly awaiting Jiang Chen’s analysis.

“It’s unmistakably a formation tailored to contain the Demonic Spiritual Qi,” Jiang Chen confirmed, nodding thoughtfully.

“And it’s clear that it was developed by human cultivators.” “A human-crafted formation?” Ji Mingxiu exchanged uncertain glances with his peers.

“Could we have misunderstood the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace’s intentions?” Jiang Chen’s expression remained calm, betraying none of the deeper thoughts running through his mind.

“We may have jumped to conclusions,” he replied evenly.

Yet, he withheld a crucial piece of information.

The formation Dong Yuanzheng had presented wasn’t as ancient as it appeared.

The techniques and incantations used pointed to a relatively recent creation-within the last hundred thousand years.

More importantly, Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning recognized several key components, confirming that the formation’s origins were not of the Immortal Martial Continent.

The Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace’s claim that the formation was an ancestral legacy?

Clearly unfounded.

Without needing further reflection, the truth was obvious: the origins of this formation were suspect, and the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace’s motives were far from transparent.

‘It’s highly likely the Demon Race provided this formation,’ Jiang Chen mused, his gaze growing cold and calculating.

‘To deflect suspicion, they introduced a human-designed formation, but in doing so, they inadvertently exposed themselves.’ Could the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace possess such a formation due to ties with a superior human civilization?

Absolutely not.

They didn’t have the Demonic Qi Extraction Art.

Contrary to popular belief, this wasn’t a hidden or treasured secret art.

If a superior cultivator force were backing the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace, wouldn’t they already possess the Demonic Qi Extraction Art?

This line of reasoning only solidified Jiang Chen’s suspicions of their collaboration with the Demon Race.

Yet, he kept these realizations to himself, already strategizing his next move.

In the current situation, the Purple Heaven Holy Land had the Demonic Qi Extraction Art, while the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace offered a formation designed to isolate the Demonic Spiritual Qi.

However, the issue of changing the meeting venue still hung in the air, unresolved.

Given the involvement of the Jade Lake Heavenly Temple, the Verdant Leaf Giant Peak seemed like the most likely option.

After all, it was a location that offered the greatest advantage to the Jade Lake Heavenly Temple.

Jiang Chen had now abandoned the idea of changing the meeting place.

Instead, his mind churned, searching for strategies to break the deadlock or shift the momentum in their favor.

He was already convinced of the secret alliance between the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace and the Demon Race.

Their plots, likely aimed at setting traps and diverting attention to execute multiple plans simultaneously, seemed to be falling into place.

Now, the real challenge for Jiang Chen was discerning the main goal of the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace.

Were they planning to eliminate the top leaders of the Purple Heaven Holy Land and the Jade Lake Heavenly Temple during the gathering?

Or was their aim broader-a full-scale invasion and subversion of the territories held by these two major forces?

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Jiang Chen’s eyes shifted toward Ji Mingxiu and the other powerful figures of the Dao Palace realm: Li Shang, Han Xu, and Liu Mei.

He observed that they had now assumed the role of mere passersby, their Fate Value drastically diminished.

Ji Mingxiu’s drop in Fate Value was subtle, almost unnoticeable.

However, the Fate Value of Li Shang, Han Xu, and Liu Mei had plummeted drastically, now lingering just above three hundred points.

This indicated that, without some kind of external intervention, their days might be numbered.

Jiang Chen then turned his gaze to Mo Yu and noticed that his Fate Value had also taken a sharp decline-settling just above four hundred points.

While slightly better than the others, it was still dangerously low.

‘Mo Yu is likely to remain at the Holy Land’s headquarters,’ Jiang Chen silently noted.

‘But Ji Mingxiu and the other three are bound for the meeting.’ Of the five, four had seen their Fate Value drop to perilous levels.

This observation made one thing clear to Jiang Chen: the Imperial Extreme Heavenly Palace and the Demon Race had a plan.

They were aiming to eliminate the top members of the Purple Heaven Holy Land and seize control of its headquarters in one swift move.

Previously, their Fate Value hadn’t been this low.

Could Fang Yuan’s death have triggered these changes?

If the now-deceased Fang Yuan were still at Purple Heaven Holy Land, the place would have remained unassailable.

Under the protection of his protagonist halo, Ji Mingxiu and the others would have been safe.

But now, with Fang Yuan gone, the situation had taken a grim turn.

Lost in thought, Jiang Chen’s eyes gleamed with a newfound understanding.

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