I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 359 - Advancing To Empyrean Meridian Realm

"Are you alright?" Xu Zimo asked.

"This Heavenly Dao is really ruthless. But the rules of the world aren’t that easy to break anyway," Paimon replied with a smile. "If it happens again, the Lord may not see me again."

"You’ll probably be leaving soon too, right?" Xu Zimo said.

Paimon paused slightly, then smiled, "Everyone has their own path to return to. Isn’t it the same for you, my Lord?"

"I don’t know what my path is. I just keep moving forward," Xu Zimo said calmly. "Strong enough to win against everything. Then fate and death won’t matter."

Paimon nodded heavily and said, "I believe in you, my Lord."

...

After chatting with Paimon for a while, Xu Zimo also met up with Luminous Master and Death God Qin.

The three of them had previously held off the three ancient ancestors outside.

"Why did the Blood-Devouring Evil Race suddenly retreat?" Luminous Master asked, puzzled.

"No idea. Maybe something came up," Xu Zimo replied, shaking his head slightly.

Death God Qin said nothing. He understood that Xu Zimo had likely already succeeded.

The situation in the Ancient Realm had come to a close.

There weren’t many gains for those involved, but for them, just surviving was already a huge fortune.

They didn’t dare ask for more.

Leaving the Ancient Realm, on the way through the Forbidden Grounds, Xu Zimo saw many native people trying to escape.

Exiting the Ancient Realm, they still returned to the temple inside Martial Magnificence Temple.

"What about those people from Martial Magnificence Temple?" someone asked curiously.

Wu Qianjun and the others were brought out in restraints. Xu Zimo didn’t interfere.

He knew Luminous Master wouldn’t kill them.

Compared to the panic and fear of others, Wu Qianjun looked much calmer and more composed.

"So, what should I do with you?" Luminous Master asked Wu Qianjun and the others.

"I’ve thought it over these past few days. Letting the Blood-Devouring Evil Race open the entrance here, I may not be the culprit, but I was still an accomplice," Wu Qianjun said calmly. "I accept whatever punishment you decide. Even death would not be undeserved."

"Just seal the temple," Luminous Master said after a moment of silence, then left.

The rest of the crowd quickly followed behind.

Watching everyone leave, Wu Qianjun stood silently for a long time.

His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something.

In the end, he said nothing.

At that moment, his back looked much older than before.

...

Xu Zimo and Death God Qin arrived at the city of Buddha Reverence and found a meditation room.

"You should give me that item now," Death God Qin said eagerly.

"Afraid I’d go back on my word?" Xu Zimo laughed.

As he spoke, he tossed the Heavenly Dao Crystal to Death God Qin.

"I'm a man of my word."

"Thank you," Death God Qin said seriously, receiving the crystal.

He truly understood now the power of the Burial Buddha Temple, and knew that without Xu Zimo,

their Dark Primordial Race would’ve had no chance of getting the crystal.

"If you ever need help, bring the Death God Token and come find me."

"If I run into something I can’t solve, your Dark Primordial Race wouldn’t be able to help either," Xu Zimo said with a smile, shaking his head.

After a short conversation, Death God Qin rushed back to his clan with the Heavenly Dao Crystal.

Xu Zimo was also preparing to advance to the Empyrean Meridian Realm, and push it all the way to its peak.

Causing too much noise in Buddha Reverence City wouldn’t be good.

So Xu Zimo left the city, heading somewhere more secluded to break through.

After all, he was about to fuse with his second battle physique, this couldn’t be taken lightly.

Leaving Buddha Reverence City, he flew west for several dozen kilometers.

Finally, Xu Zimo found a relatively quiet mountain.

He carved out a deep cave halfway up the mountain.

And so began a long period of cultivation.

...

Breaking through the seventh meridian gate, from the Imperial Meridian Realm to the Empyrean Meridian Realm.

The most distinct symbol of this advancement was the God-Soul.

Only those with a complete God-Soul could be considered true Empyrean Meridian Realm cultivators.

Humans have three souls and seven spirits, none can be missing.

The God-Soul is the true soul formed at a certain level of cultivation.

It enhances the practitioner’s abilities in all aspects.

Of course, the God-Soul is also extremely fragile, if destroyed, it could be fatal.

Xu Zimo sat cross-legged, with Chaos guarding the cave entrance just in case.

At this moment, his consciousness had entered the world of his true fate.

The Primordial Chaos Bead floated in mid-air, and the power within it slowly poured into his body.

Xu Zimo was refining his own path.

The road he would walk from here on.

The further he went, the harder the road for a cultivator became.

"Rumble..." low booming sounds echoed from inside his body and all around.

From his muscles, bones, flesh, and meridians, through minor and major circulations.

Xu Zimo carefully aligned and refined everything.

He had to make sure his energy could flow smoothly when charging the seventh meridian gate.

This process alone took nearly seven days.

After seven days, the spiritforce inside Xu Zimo was like a rushing river, roaring like the sun breaking the sky.

The tidal waves of spiritforce surged violently.

Unstoppable, crushing everything in its path.

The river of spiritforce, along with the power of the Ten Meridian Fruit previously buried in his body, surged together.

With a thunderous boom, the first strike alone caused the seventh meridian gate, Voidverge, to crack.

Xu Zimo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Another loud boom followed.

With a sharp crack, as if something shattered, his aura surged dozens of times stronger.

The pressure of the Empyrean Meridian Realm surrounded him.

The seventh meridian gate was now fully open, and the roaring river of spiritforce inside him was audible.

At that moment, with the Primordial Chaos Bead still injecting energy into his body,

his Empyrean Meridian Realm cultivation steadily climbed.

Empyrean Meridian, Stage One,

Empyrean Meridian, Stage Two,...Empyrean Meridian, Stage Nine!

By the time he reached the peak of the Empyrean Meridian Realm, his momentum finally slowed.

But even then, Xu Zimo didn’t let his guard down.

Near his heart, a small humanoid God-Soul had started to form.

The small figure looked exactly like Xu Zimo, a miniature version of himself.

The formation and transformation of the God-Soul would take time.

Xu Zimo was patient, letting the process unfold.

This transformation took a full half-month.

After that, a sharp cry echoed across the mountainside.

Xu Zimo opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of white air.

His eyes were bright and piercing, more radiant than ever.

His God-Soul was now fully formed.

He was now officially a peak Empyrean Meridian Realm cultivator.