Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate Chapter 157: The Crimson Beam’s Curse

The sight of Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing taking positions at his sides filled Jiang Chen with a surge of delight. What could better strengthen bonds than enduring trials together, fighting side by side, and celebrating shared victories?

Originally, Jiang Chen was destined to be manipulated by the unseen forces of Heavenly Fate, reduced to rely a stepping stone in Fang Yuan’s quest for supremacy. In that scenario, he would have managed to scrape through the challenges of their journey in the Red Maple Heavenly Valley only by relying on Ji Ruxue’s desperate final efforts to rescue them from disaster.

How could he, a character dood to be the villain, ever hope to forge a aningful relationship with the heroine under such dire circumstances? Yet now, with the aid of his mysterious System, the story had shifted, tipping the scales in his favor.

"Excellent! Let’s face this together!" Jiang Chen said, a determined smile playing across his features. Gripping the fragnted Shadowblade Sword tightly, he led the charge, with Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing at his sides.

The battle that followed seed fraught with danger, yet it unfolded with deceptive ease, subtly manipulated by Jiang Chen from the shadows. Working as a unit, the trio quickly dispatched the three Heavenly Origin realm demonic beasts.

"We’ve done it! We’ve finally vanquished these three cursed demonic beasts! Haha!" Xie Xiaojing’s laughter pealed out, pure and joyous, matched by Ji Ruxue’s echoing delight. Their faces glowed with the radiance of their hard-earned victory.

[Ding! You have successfully boosted Ji Ruxue’s impression of you, reducing Fang Yuan’s Heavenly Fate Value by 200 points!]

[Ding! You have gained 400 points of Villain Value!]

As these system notifications echoed in his mind, Jiang Chen felt a wave of satisfaction. However, this pleasure was fleeting. Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing staggered, grimacing in pain as sharp, piercing sensations wracked their bodies. Overco with dizziness, they trembled, barely able to stand. Just as they began to recover, a dark wave of violent emotions overwheld them.

It was as if a sinister force was driving them to the edge, compelling them to succumb to a nearly irresistible urge to unleash chaos in a murderous rampage.

Jiang Chen’s eyes widened in alarm as he rushed to their sides, exclaiming, "What’s wrong with you two?"

Ji Ruxue was visibly struggling, her hands clutched to her temples as if trying to physically restrain her own thoughts. "Sothing... sothing is taking over... I can’t fight it back," she gasped through clenched teeth.

Beside her, Xie Xiaojing shivered uncontrollably, her voice barely audible over her trembling. "It’s like an evil force... trying to consu us..."

Observing them closely, Jiang Chen noticed a disturbing change. Both Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing’s complexions had turned ghostly pale, except for an unnatural flush of red creeping across their cheeks. Their eyes, normally clear, now burned with an unsettling glint of murderous intent that seed to pulse with their quickening heartbeats.

"This... it can’t be!" Jiang Chen hissed under his breath, a spark of realization igniting within him. "These symptoms... they’re just like those inflicted on the demonic beasts!" Quickly connecting the dots, he deduced how the ordeal set by Heavenly Fate for Ji Ruxue was linked to Fang Yuan. Recognizing the urgency, he knew he couldn’t dwell on these thoughts.

He needed to evacuate the two won imdiately.

In haste, he transferred all the corpses of the demonic beasts into the Heavenly Demon Hidden Heart Ring. No sooner had he done so than Xie Xiaojing emitted a guttural growl. "Aagh!" she cried out, clutching her head as she grappled with a fierce bloodlust, now seemingly directed at Jiang Chen.

anwhile, Ji Ruxue, though slightly less affected, displayed intensely bloodshot eyes, her own sanity visibly hanging by a thread.

Seeing their condition deteriorate with each passing mont, Jiang Chen’s brow furrowed deeply with worry. He quietly decided, ’I need to render them unconscious first.’ With a deliberate wave of his hand, he channeled his potent soul power, gently sweeping it over Xie Xiaojing and Ji Ruxue to induce a state of forced slumber, carefully stripping them of their volition.

As their bodies began to slacken, Jiang Chen skillfully caught each woman, securing one under each arm. He then boarded the jade flute flying artifact and promptly set its course towards the headquarters of the Purple Heaven Holy Land with all the speed he could muster.

While in transit, Jiang Chen didn’t waste a mont. He urgently used his transmission jade token to contact his master, Ji Mingxiu. He detailed the unsettling events in the Red Maple Heavenly Valley, including the alarming conditions of Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing. His ssage conveyed the unexpected ergence of nurous demonic beasts, including a rare one at the Inquiring Journey realm.

This developnt was particularly shocking given the valley’s proximity to the Holy Land—a region that was supposed to be under tight surveillance and controlled safety paraters.

...

Back at the Purple Heaven Holy Land, Ji Mingxiu, typically a paragon of composure and experienced leadership, felt a jolt of unease upon receiving the report.

The sudden outbreak of demonic beasts so close to ho was alarming enough, but the news of his daughter exhibiting a violent, uncontrollable state filled him with dread, especially since conventional redies had failed to alleviate her symptoms. Although incensed by these developnts, Ji Mingxiu maintained his clear judgnt, unable to bla his disciple. He knew it was not Jiang Chen’s fault.

The young man had faced unimaginable dangers, having confronted and slain a demonic beast of the Inquiring Journey realm alone, ensuring Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing remained physically unscathed until the bizarre symptoms manifested.

Quickly marshaling his thoughts to focus on the imdiate needs, Ji Mingxiu wasted no ti responding, "Jiang Chen, expedite Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing’s return to the Holy Land.

I will et you there imdiately." With these urgent instructions issued, he vanished from his chamber in an instant, his form dissolving into the ether as he hastened towards the Red Maple Heavenly Valley to et them, his heart heavy with concern.

...

anwhile, as he navigated the jade flute flying artifact through the sky, Jiang Chen’s mind churned with thoughts, replaying the recent events. The trip to the Red Maple Heavenly Valley had been surprisingly incident-free for twenty days, with neither Ji Ruxue nor Xie Xiaojing suffering any injuries throughout.

The sudden change in the two won’s condition only occurred after a mysterious crimson beam of light erupted from the earth, closely followed by an onslaught of demonic beasts.

’It’s likely that in the heat of combat, they depleted their Origin Power and subconsciously drew on the surrounding spiritual Qi to replenish it, only to suffer adverse effects,’ Jiang Chen speculated quietly to himself.

This hypothesis began to take a more definite shape as he considered further, ’Now that I think about it, the whole situation bears a striking resemblance to the side effects observed when absorbing the spiritual Qi of the Bottomless Abyss.’

Though he had no solid evidence yet, Jiang Chen felt a strong intuition about a potential correlation. The Red Maple Heavenly Valley, shaped like a small basin deeply set into the landscape, might share a subterranean connection with the Bottomless Abyss—this notorious and perilous forbidden zone whose depths were still unexplored.

Following this, Jiang Chen turned his thoughts inward, assessing his own condition. Despite having been exposed to the sinister red energy longer than Ji Ruxue and Xie Xiaojing, and having assimilated a substantial amount of spiritual Qi, he remained symptom-free. His physical state was not just stable; it was optimal, entirely free of the afflictions that tornted his companions.

’This likely stems from the unique enhancents I received from the Burning World Red Lotus, coupled with the potent bloodline of the Death Calamity True Dragon,’ Jiang Chen considered, a slow, triumphant grin spreading across his lips.

In the original scenario as dictated by Heavenly Fate, Jiang Chen was set to face devastating consequences. Not only was he destined to suffer severe injuries from the attack by the demonic beast of the Inquiring Journey realm, but he was also ant to endure harsh criticism for his failure to adequately protect Ji Ruxue.

Moreover, he was to struggle against the destructive influence of the corrupt spiritual Qi. Such a path would have turned him into a tragic figure, reduced to a re tool in Fang Yuan’s victorious narrative, his dignity completely crushed by the protagonist.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen was chosen by the Immortal Great Villain System as its host, granting him the ans to escape this grim fate.

By acquiring the Burning World Red Lotus and inheriting the bloodline of the Death Calamity True Dragon, he not only fortified his physique but also significantly enhanced his aptitude and combat prowess, enabling him to avoid the dire outcos once thought inevitable.