Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate - Chapter 399

Chapter 399: Breakthrough Again
“Not bad at all,” Jiang Chen muttered, rubbing his chin. “But that’s enough for now. Time to find a place to lay low.”

He swept the area with his divine sense and quickly locked onto a high-end inn called the Jade Rain Golden House. The place practically screamed luxury.

With plenty of spirit stones to throw around, Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate—he walked in and booked the best spot they had: a private, detached residence complete with its own courtyard.

The place was top-notch. Inside the courtyard, a small spirit-gathering formation was constantly pulling in Spiritual Qi—so much that it actually felt richer here than in the rest of Golden Cirrus City.

Even better, the whole place was locked down tight. Not even someone at the Transcendence realm could sneak a peek inside with their divine sense. Privacy was completely guaranteed.

Jiang Chen stepped into the courtyard and sat down cross-legged under a grove of swaying bamboo. Without wasting time, he pulled out a pile of storage rings, bracelets, and pouches—loot from the people he’d killed, including Sun Tianxin. He hadn’t even gone through them yet.

Just as he was about to start sorting, a dragon head suddenly popped out.

“Big brother, what’s all that?” Ying Luo asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. She already knew, but couldn’t help asking, her dragon face full of greedy excitement.

Jiang Chen chuckled. “Just a few little snacks,” he said, shaking his head with a grin.

One by one, he emptied the storage items, transferring everything inside to his Immortal Martial Mustard Seed. Once they were empty, he casually handed the leftover rings to Ying Luo, who snatched them up with obvious delight.

Surprisingly, Ying Luo didn’t immediately start munching on the storage artifacts like she usually did. Instead, she carefully gathered them all up into a neat little pile.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. “What’s up with you? Not eating them?”

Ying Luo looked up with a mix of guilt and longing. “If I eat them, they’re gone,” she said with a sigh. “I already finished all the ones you gave me earlier. Now I can’t even look at them to feel better.”

Jiang Chen blinked. “Wait, what? You already ate all of those? That was hundreds of thousands of storage artifacts! I gave them to you yesterday!”

“I couldn’t help it!” she said with a pout. Then she straightened up, her tiny claws gripping the pile tightly. “But I’ve learned my lesson. I’m going to save these and eat them slowly, one at a time!”

“Uh-huh… if you say so,” Jiang Chen said, clearly not convinced.

“Good! Now hurry up and sort the rest!” Ying Luo chirped, motioning excitedly at the remaining unsorted rings, bracelets and pouches.

“Alright, alright,” Jiang Chen said with a laugh, giving her an amused look.

To him, Ying Luo was starting to feel less like a dragon and more like a squirrel—always snacking, always hoarding.

A short while later, he’d finished going through everything, transferring all the treasures into his Immortal Martial Mustard Seed. Then he passed the now-empty artifacts to Ying Luo.

She stared at the pile, drooling a little. “I want to eat them… no, I can’t eat them… Okay, just one. Just one!”

After a long, dramatic pause, she picked up a shiny storage bracelet like it was a priceless dessert. With trembling claws and a glint in her eye, she slowly brought it to her mouth and nibbled it like it was the finest treat in the world.

Jiang Chen wasn’t paying much attention to what Ying Luo was doing. He was too focused on sorting through the pile of spiritual plants he had collected.

People like Sun Tianxin were goldmines when it came to loot. With their high cultivation and powerful status, they had built up a huge stash of resources over the years.

Even Sun Tianlin’s son, Sun Ji, had five Nirvana Peering-level spiritual plants on him. But that was nothing compared to what Sun Tianxin and Sun Ji’s mother were carrying—those two had way more.

After carefully going through everything, Jiang Chen counted a total of forty-six Nirvana Peering-level spiritual plants and about five to six thousand Transcendence-level ones.

“Perfect,” he said with a grin. “This should be more than enough for my next breakthrough.”

Without wasting any time, he started consuming them one by one.

Crunch!

As soon as he bit down, a surge of powerful medicinal energy rushed through him, flooding into his Dao Palace, where it was quickly absorbed by the Burning World Red Lotus.

Thanks to his last round of cultivation, the lotus had already recovered to the Early-stage Nirvana Peering realm, and all its petals had been fully restored.

Now, as Jiang Chen kept feeding it more spiritual energy, the lotus soaked it all up like a sponge. The more he consumed, the more it grew.

Soon, something new started to happen—a fresh petal slowly began to sprout, unfolding above the first layer on the stem of the Burning World Red Lotus.

The new petal was soft and smooth, glowing with a deep, fiery red. It pulsed with powerful spiritual energy, full of life.

At the same time, Jiang Chen noticed something else—the spiritual presence inside the Burning World Red Lotus had grown stronger. Much stronger.

Originally, the lotus came from the shattered soul of a powerful demon who had reached the Void Tribulation realm. But after failing its tribulation, only a tiny piece—just one-billionth—of its soul survived. Because of that, the lotus barely had any spiritual awareness left.

Now, though, that tiny spark of spirituality had clearly grown. It still wasn’t as strong as what lived inside the Silver Immortal Sword, but it was definitely getting there. And the most exciting part, its potential seemed limitless.

If this continued, the Burning World Red Lotus might eventually develop a mind of its own—a true, living spirit. Of course, it wouldn’t be the same demon it came from. It would be something entirely new. A new life.

Well, the more spiritual growth, the better, Jiang Chen thought with a satisfied grin, then went right back to consuming spiritual plants.

As he kept feeding it, the lotus just kept growing. One after another, new petals began to bloom.

By the time Jiang Chen finished the last of the spiritual plants, six new petals had fully opened on the second layer of the lotus.

The first layer already had twelve petals, and once the second layer reached the same number, the Burning World Red Lotus would likely evolve again—stepping into the powerful Nirvana Cleansing realm.

Jiang Chen could already feel it coming.

Back to the moment at hand—while the Burning World Red Lotus continued to heal and grow, it started sending waves of pure cultivation energy back to Jiang Chen in return!

He had already gained a huge amount of energy earlier by defeating Sun Tianlin and the others, thanks to his bloodline ability. Now, with the lotus feeding him even more power, Jiang Chen finally broke through—he stepped up from Middle-stage Nirvana Peering realm to the Late-stage Nirvana Peering realm!

Everything was coming together perfectly.

Another breakthrough… This is amazing! Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement. A satisfied smile spread across his face. When he looked inward, he could tell that the power of the Great Dao had spread through almost every part of his body.

His Immortal Origin reserves had grown like crazy, and the power of the Great Dao inside him now felt even deeper and more stronger than before.

My Immortal Origin Power has grown tenfold! Nice! he thought, stretching his body with a relaxed sigh, fully enjoying the overwhelming power flowing through him.

Now that his cultivation had advanced, it was time to focus on something just as important—choosing the right cultivation technique.

“Wan’er, Ning’er,” Jiang Chen asked, turning serious. “Did you two find a suitable method for me?”

“We did!” came Nangong Wan’s soft, reassuring voice in his mind. “After going over a few options, we picked the Astral Pivot Heavenly Attraction Secret Canon for you.”

“This method is just a step below the Nirvana Cleansing level, and it’s perfect for boosting your control over the Great Dao.”

She continued, “It covers five major Great Dao laws—starting with the Dao of Gravity as the main focus. It also includes Yin and Yang, and the Dao of Earth, along with its branch, the Rock Dao.”

“All of these are key elements you’ll need to master to reach the Nirvana Cleansing realm. At that stage, your goal is to understand forty-nine Great Dao laws, complete your Nirvana transformation, and push forward to the Void Tribulation realm.”

“Even though the Astral Pivot Heavenly Attraction Secret Canon is classified under the Nirvana Peering tier,” she added, “it’s just as effective as many Nirvana Cleansing-level techniques. It’ll help you build your Great Dao Immortal Body faster—so it’s the best choice for where you are right now.”

Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up as she finished her explanation. “The Astral Pivot Heavenly Attraction Secret Canon, huh?” he repeated with interest. “If it’s really that good, then what am I waiting for? Let’s get started.”