I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 233 - Demon Seal

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“This is my only condition,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. “Why don’t we set a time limit? Once I inherit the Heaven's Will and ascend to the Upper Realm, I’ll release you, you’ll be free. Until then, it’s just a few hundred years under my command here in the Primordial Heartlands. If you refuse, your chances of finding the Red Myriad Dao Lotus are less than one in ten, and reforging your Heaven's Will becomes almost impossible.”

“I could compete for the current Heaven's Will,” the God Emperor suddenly looked up, his deep eyes locked on Xu Zimo. “I haven’t given up.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say. I’ll see you at the peak of the sky,” Xu Zimo smiled and turned to leave the palace.

Halfway out, he suddenly paused, then turned back with a grin.

“Oh, I almost forgot to remind you of something. Shouldn’t you kill me to silence the witness? Otherwise, once I leave the Elden Lands, news of the God Emperor’s return will spread across the entire Primordial Heartlands. And those three Grand Emperors who once ambushed you? The imperial lineages they founded won’t let you off. After all, you’re no longer the mighty Grand Emperor of old.”

Hearing this, the God Emperor snorted coldly.

“A bunch of petty fools. If they dare come to the Elden Lands, I’ll finally get my revenge and bury them all here.”

The Elden Lands, one of the Ten Forbidden Grounds, was incredibly dangerous.

The God Emperor had his confidence, if the imperial lineages dared come here, they might be destroyed before even reaching the Divine Gate.

“You may not fear those imperial lineages,” Xu Zimo said, still smiling, “but what if the entire continent sees the Divine Gate as a public enemy?”

“What do you mean?” The God Emperor frowned.

“Dao Meridian Crystal Mines,” Xu Zimo enunciated clearly.

As the words fell, the God Emperor’s aura surged, boundless imperial force flooded the palace, god power swirling violently around him.

At the same time, Paimon let out a cold snort, his demonic aura engulfing the hall, locking onto the God Emperor.

“I really underestimated you,” the God Emperor said, expression flickering, staring at Xu Zimo in disbelief.

“You chose to build your Divine Gate here in the Elden Lands, one of the Ten Forbidden Grounds. That wasn’t random,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “It’s because of the Dao Meridian Crystal Mines buried deep underground.”

Dao Meridian Crystals were rare and extraordinary. They didn’t directly boost cultivation, but they aided in unlocking the body's meridian gates.

Everyone knew the human body had twelve meridian gates, the fundamental pillars of cultivation.

And the further one progressed, the harder those gates became to open.

Especially for Empyrean Meridian or God Meridian cultivators, unlocking new gates didn’t rely on effort alone. The resources required were beyond comprehension.

This was why rogue cultivators struggled so much.

Xu Zimo himself had once used a Ten Meridian Fruit, and these Dao Meridian Crystals had a similar effect.

But the fruit was a Universe-tier spiritual medicine, blooming only once every few thousand years, rare beyond measure.

No one knew exactly how vast the vein of crystals buried beneath the Elden Lands was.

Without them, the Divine Gate would be just another ordinary imperial lineage.

In its history, it had produced only one Grand Emperor, the God Emperor.

So how could they now have five Immortal Path cultivators?

Once word of the crystal mine got out, it would send shockwaves across the entire continent.

In his past life, the mines were exposed centuries later.

At that time, countless imperial lineages united, along with legions of rogue cultivators, and scoured the Elden Lands.

The so-called Forbidden Ground would be ultimately destroyed.

Of course, they only dared to attack then because a particularly dangerous entity inside the Elden Lands had already disappeared.

…

“You’ve really got me backed into a corner,” the God Emperor said with narrowed eyes. “Even if I didn’t come to you… eventually, you would’ve come to me.”

“Think about my offer,” Xu Zimo said. “It benefits us both. If things go south, I’ll be fine either way, but for your Divine Gate, it’ll be utter destruction.”

The God Emperor fell into deep thought, glancing toward Paimon.

Truthfully, he wanted to kill Xu Zimo then and there.

But with Paimon present, he knew it was impossible.

Even with all five of the Divine Gate’s Immortal elders, they still wouldn’t be Paimon’s match.

This was the difference between entering the Path and becoming Immortal.

A Grand Emperor was peerless in their age…

But someone who had entered the Path of Dao, like Paimon, was of a different class entirely.

Unless another Sword Immortal emerged, there was no contest.

…

After a long silence, the God Emperor finally smiled bitterly.

“Fine,” he said. “I agree.”

He turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, his expression deep.

He, too, had once been full of pride, standing atop the heavens as the world bowed before him.

He wasn’t afraid to start over.

But if the Divine Gate was destroyed and he became a rogue cultivator again, fighting through a world of geniuses for the Heaven's Will… honestly, he wasn’t confident.

The road to becoming a Grand Emperor was filled with endless hardship and peril.

He knew it well, he had walked it once before.

And this time, he had a choice.

Just a few hundred years under someone’s command, and he’d have a clear shot at rebuilding his Heaven's Will.

It was a small price, really.

But the God Emperor knew this was more than a deal.

It was him surrendering his pride and dignity.

…

“When you’re ready, let Paimon plant a Demon Seal on your True Fate,” Xu Zimo said. “When I ascend to the Upper Realm, I’ll remove it.”

“Go ahead,” the God Emperor chuckled bitterly, shaking his head.

As Paimon walked over to plant the Demon Seal, Chaos appeared beside Xu Zimo, tilting his head in confusion.

“Master, is this how you tricked me too?”

“Can you call it tricking when it’s mutual?” Xu Zimo replied. “Besides, with your intelligence, could you even be tricked that easily?”

“That’s true,” Chaos nodded in agreement.

Once the mark was placed, Paimon said, “Just do your job and serve the master well. This Demon Seal can only be removed by me. Unless your cultivation surpasses mine, you have no other way out.”