Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate

"The Holy Lord and the others have moved the battlefield elsewhere to protect us!" a disciple from the Purple Heaven Holy Land exclaimed.

"With demons and demonic cultivators now present in this Cave Heaven, we need to set aside our personal disputes and address this threat first."

"Absolutely. In front of the demon race, our internal conflicts need to take a backseat."

A collective sense of agreement spread among them. The cultivators from both the Purple Heaven Holy Land and the Golden Proud Cult halted their actions, standing in place and awaiting good news.

'Damn it!' Gu Ran thought bitterly, observing the unified gathering of the two major forces in front of him.

'How did those three Dao Palace realm beings from the demon race suddenly get drawn here?'

With growing frustration, Gu Ran internally lamented, 'Now that the Golden Proud Cult and Purple Heaven Holy Land have paused their feuding, I'm shackled!' He felt an immense pressure on his chest, so much so that he felt like spitting blood.

He had already locked onto his target.

He was primed and ready.

Given the chaos, he was certain he could ascend to the Dao Palace realm.

But all of a sudden, his golden opportunity vanished.

'What a coincidence...' Gu Ran mused, his thoughts drifting. 'Could it be the mysterious Transcendence realm powerhouse from the Heavenly Gu Society pulling the strings once more?' As he pondered, a fleeting darkness clouded his vision, accompanied by a trace of dizziness.

His determination faltered yet again.

At first, Gu Ran had been steadfast in his belief. With his potent bloodline, he was convinced that even in the face of suppression, he'd slowly rise, eventually turning the tide in his favor.

And upon witnessing the inheritance of the Transcendence realm, this conviction deepened further, filling his heart with an even greater sense of hope and anticipation.

Yet, time and time again, he was met with defeat!

Within the hallowed grounds of the Inheritance Peak, he failed to lay claim to the crucial inheritance. His attempts to kill and thereby strengthen himself were also thwarted.

Just when fortune seemed to be on his side, with the Golden Proud Cult and the Purple Heaven Holy Land at each other's throats, that promising chance was dashed too!

Looking back since his 'resurrection', he realized that his successful ventures were alarmingly rare.

Furthermore, he began to suspect that even his arrival in this secluded part of the Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sea might have been a ploy masterminded by the head of the Heavenly Gu Society.

It felt as though every aspect of his life was under the puppetry of the Heavenly Gu Society.

He felt as if he'd been perennially poised on their sacrificial altar, always a step away from the final blow.

And the most infuriating part? He had never even seen the face of the mastermind behind the Heavenly Gu Society!

The sensation was like an all-encompassing shadow, an unseen force, constricting his breath, leaving him gasping for air.

'No! This ends now!' A vehement cry resounded within Gu Ran's core. 'I refuse to be their puppet, their plaything, their sheep led to slaughter!' His gaze swept across the nearby cultivators, an intense, chilling aura radiating from him.

The crushing weight of hopelessness and frustration bore down on him, fragmenting the last of his optimism and self-assuredness.

For Gu Ran, sticking to his principle of sparing the innocent felt increasingly like a chain that bound him.

'It's time to overstep that boundary.' Gu Ran's gaze settled on the weapon he clutched, his emotions a turbulent mix. He recognized that the moment he acted, he'd irrevocably sever ties with the man he once was.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chen, sensing something amiss, thought, 'Hm? What's happening now?'

He had been readying to pursue Ji Mingxiu and company, with the intent to settle scores with Ji Junhao and his gang.

However, unexpectedly, the Fate Value of the supporting characters, those who hovered at a low altitude, took a precipitous plunge.

At that very moment, a system notification reverberated through Jiang Chen's Sea of Consciousness.

[Ding! You've successfully caused a blow to the mental state of protagonist Gu Ran. Gu Ran's Heavenly Fate Value has decreased by 500 points!]

[Ding! You've earned 1000 Villain Value points!]

Jiang Chen's eyes momentarily flickered with surprise, a thought racing through his mind, 'Gu Ran's mental state has been compromised!'

'And the Fate Value of all the supporting characters has plummeted too.'

His brow furrowed as another realization struck him, 'Could Gu Ran be at his breaking point, on the verge of forsaking his morals and boundaries?'

The moment Gu Ran took that fateful step, he would shatter the moral compass that defined him.

Such an action would strip him of his Protagonist Status, and with it, the protective shield of the Heavenly Fate.

Consequently, no matter the reservoir of Heavenly Fate Value he retained, it would transmute directly into Fate Value, leaving him exposed to myriad threats.

Jiang Chen, lost in contemplation, stroked his chin. 'Has Gu Ran truly reached his breaking point?'

'After all, I've remained a shadow, constantly piling the pressure on him, orchestrating his series of unexplainable failures and robbing him of countless opportunities."

Taking a deep breath, he acknowledged, 'Given all he's been through, it's no wonder he's on the brink.'

A subtle smile graced Jiang Chen's face.

His strategy had always been to linger in the shadows, seldom intervening directly. While it might appear conservative to some, this method not only granted him the upper hand in gathering information, fortifying his schemes against Gu Ran, but it also cast a shadow of psychological torment over Gu Ran.

Now, the fruits of his approach were becoming evident.

Yet, just as Jiang Chen sat in anticipation, waiting for Gu Ran to take that decisive step, a voice pierced the silence. "Members of Purple Heaven Holy Land! Are you truly saying you haven't received the inheritance?" It was a cultivator from the Golden Proud Cult, voicing an unexpected question.

"Indeed! The inheritance inside was snatched by a cultivator adept in stealth!" a representative from the Purple Heaven Holy Land declared.

"Tragically, before our 'designated inheritor' could even step foot inside to claim it, it was already taken by that individual."

"It was an inheritance of the Transcendence realm!"

The members of the Purple Heaven Holy Land wore expressions of deep sorrow, mourning their loss.

Unbeknownst to them, it was Jiang Chen who was the true beneficiary of the inheritance. They had mistakenly presumed it was Gu Ran.

Thus, the genuineness of their expressions and sentiments was undeniable.

"Is it really so?" a member from the Golden Proud Cult inquired.

"That thief is truly despicable!" another member vented. "To think he stole the inheritance and made our two great forces clash, resulting in significant losses."

"Damn it! To be merely at the Inquiring Journey realm and yet dare to steal such an inheritance and attack our own? He's courting death!"

"Everyone, stay alert," someone advised. "He might not have gone far. He could even be among us right now."

"I had my eye on him earlier," another shared. "He's in the Early-stage Inquiring Journey realm, but his strength rivals those in the Middle-stage."

And finally, one piped up, "I've gathered some of his aura using a secret art. If we move swiftly, we might be able to trace him."

Following a concise discussion between the cultivators of the Golden Proud Cult and Purple Heaven Holy Land, any misunderstanding between them was swiftly resolved. United now, both groups zeroed in on Gu Ran.

Jiang Chen's eyebrow quirked in surprise. 'What's going on?' he wondered internally. 'Gu Ran hasn't acted, and he still possesses his Protagonist Status. Why does it seem like he's in greater peril now?'

Simultaneously, Gu Ran's countenance grew stormy.

However, just then, the cultivator from the Golden Proud Cult who had previously mentioned the secret art piped up, "My secret art has never failed!" With brimming confidence, he activated his technique.

Moments after channeling his secret art, his eyes darted excitedly in one direction. "He's that way!"

However, his excitement was short-lived as confusion set in. "Hold on, why am I getting a signal from over there too?" To his bewilderment, the secret art indicated another direction. "This can't be! The aura's pointing in multiple directions. Which one do we follow!?"

And the perplexity deepened.

Within mere moments, three additional signals emerged.

To the astonishment of all, the secret art now indicated a staggering five different directions!