Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 480 - 293 Xuanyin Sect

Chapter 480: Chapter 293 Xuanyin Sect

"Heh, what a fine appearance."

One hand grasped the woman’s head, while the other caressed her face.

Upon seeing that handsome face, his eyes lit up, but a fleeting regret crossed his features. Though he favored young, beautiful women, he harbored no particular fetish.

The woman’s body was lifted up, her once graceful figure now marred with scars. Her long sleeves and dress hung down, but instead of limbs, only sticky blood and shattered flesh dripped.

Evidently, he had torn her limbs and pierced her Divine Soul, ensuring that while she couldn’t move, he wouldn’t allow her to die instantly either.

"What a pity, such a pity."

"Such a pretty little beauty, yet she chose to join the Purple Cloud Demon Palace, and worse, she’s not a virgin. Tsk tsk, she must have been practicing Dual Cultivation with that old dog Gu within the palace all day."

"I was too heavy-handed and accidentally twisted off your limbs, but that’s hardly my fault. How weak you are."

"Never mind, this time I won’t kill you due to my usual benevolent nature. However, there are some things you must leave with me."

He smiled brightly, shaking the barely alive woman in his hand.

Reaching out, he ripped open her dress, revealing her smooth, flat belly, an enticing sight that sparked a little jealousy in him.

Female cultivators as beautiful as this were rare near the Xuanyin Sect. Other forces had them, but no one was willing to gift them to him. Even if they were sent, the political dynamics prevented him from acting freely.

But when dealing with people from the Purple Cloud Palace, there were fewer concerns.

Puchi!

With four fingers together, he pierced her abdomen directly.

"Gurgle, uh..."

Her vocal cords destroyed, she could only emit unclear wails from her throat, but that red orb was crudely pulled from her body, blood flicked off the man’s hand.

"Mid-grade Core Formation, the Dantian and the blood taste quite fine."

"Come here."

The man smiled broadly, placing the still-living extracted Dantian into his Qiankun Bag, then casually tossed the barely-breathing woman aside.

Bang!

She was caught by two disciples clad in Xuanyin Sect attire.

"Don’t let her die, take her back. Since her limbs are broken, might as well make her into a human swine for others to play with. Many in the sect enjoy this sort of thing."

"Mm~ take her around during our outings this time. Heh, when confronting those wretched beasts from the Purple Cloud Demon Palace, I’ll bring her out and see if those self-proclaimed righteous hypocrites consider this young woman’s life."

"Whether she lives or dies, we can thoroughly humiliate them. Hahaha..."

The blood on his hands evaporated completely.

With a flick of his wrist, he grasped a folding fan, tucking one hand behind his back, casually waving the fan twice to create a breeze, looking dashing and elegant, a true young master.

But the flaw in the image was apparent; though he stood at a height over eight feet, over one meter eighty by modern standards, his build was not robust.

With long limbs and a slender frame, his skin wasn’t a healthy wheat color, nor the healthy pale of a scholar, but rather a sickly white.

"The Young Master is indeed formidable."

"To have gained such an achievement upon arriving here, especially against two disciples from the Purple Cloud Demon Palace."

"That waste killed earlier was nearly forty and still at the lower-grade Core Formation level, likely an outer disciple, but this little wretch had decent talent, definitely an inner disciple."

"Now keeping her by your side not only dishonors the Demon Palace but also gives the other brothers a means to vent their anger, truly a superb strategy."

Faces plastered with obsequious smiles.

They had been in Country Liang for several days, during which most Xuanyin Sect disciples were entangled with Purple Cloud Palace members, locked in tightly matched battles, often fighting to the death upon encounters.

The Young Master arrived slightly later, only reaching here successfully by dusk yesterday.

However, Xuan Yinzi, being the current Sect Master’s grandson, held a realm not too different, but his power was leagues above these disciples.

Two overly bold Purple Cloud Palace disciples seemed to notice something unusual, daringly tailing and even sending messages to their sect. Once noticed, the pair couldn’t escape.

One was killed in a few encounters, beheaded, and soul shattered by Xuan Yinzi. The other, a slightly higher-realm female cultivator, barely held on for an hour before her limbs were broken.

And now she’s in this state.

"Mm, certainly superb, but..."

The tone shifted.

The pallor on his face carried the aura of a superior, scanning the pair with a hint of menace in his voice.

"I hear Brother Xuan Tu with over twenty of our sect’s disciples fought remnants of the Demon Palace near this mountain valley for five days, yet achieved nothing, losing three."

"Such performance seems ill-suited to bear the heavy duties of the Phoenix Heavenly Cave expedition two years from now. Even upon returning to the sect, he might have to shift from the top position."

"What do you two think?"

Drenched in sweat.

The balance of power and status between the two groups was unequal; Purple Cloud Palace advanced based on merit and fair competition, while Xuanyin Sect followed a straightforward hereditary system. Those outside the bloodline couldn’t even learn the full Nine Yin Profound Darkness Art.

Regardless of talent, they could only learn half of it. Hence, direct bloodlines retained dominance and advantages, securing an extremely stable position, unshakable by others.

Exchanging a glance, it was clear the Young Master sought accountability. They each knelt on one knee, hands clasped, expressions exceedingly tense.