Chapter 279: Exposing Ximen Ren-First Half
"Villain? Heh heh heh." Wei Chen chuckled. "Man... that’s rich coming from you."
"If you want to find a villain, all you need to do is look in the mirror," Wei Chen quipped.
"A tasteless attempt at wit can’t change the truth, Young Master Wei," Ximen Ren replied before pointing at Wei Chen with righteous indignation. "You! Despite being the great heir of a Hidden Ancient Force, instead of..."
Wei Chen scratched his head in annoyance before raising a hand.
"Okay... slow down. Stop your blabbering. I can’t stand the smell coming from your mouth."
As he spoke, he waved a hand in front of his nose with a look of disgust, which irritated Ximen Ren even further.
"If you want to talk, then speak plainly. What kind of nonsense are you going to throw at me this time? That I associate with demons? Or that I’m a demonic cultivator?"
As Wei Chen spoke, he revealed his Underworld Bone Claw, shrouded in black and green Underworld and Death Qi.
The aura startled everyone in the hall, including Ximen Hong. Its color and sinister appearance looked undeniably evil. Ximen Hong instinctively turned to look at Ximen Hao, who merely let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead as though he already had a headache.
"You really are a demon, just as I expected!" Ximen Ren seized the opportunity and immediately threw another accusation at Wei Chen.
Wei Chen simply smiled.
It was the kind of smile someone wore after hearing complete nonsense and wanting to see how far the other person would take it.
"Okay... let me teach everyone here a little common sense."
Wei Chen turned toward the elders and councilors who openly supported Ximen Ren.
"First... you all know that I’m from the Hidden Ancient Force known as the Underworld Palace. That means I possess enough power that my subordinates alone could easily crush you and everyone supporting you. You all know that’s true, right?"
After Wei Chen stated that fact, Ximen Ren and the elders seated behind him all fell silent.
Ximen Ren glared at Wei Chen.
What is this bastard trying to do?
Is he threatening me?
Or is this some kind of trap?
"Yes! I know that!" Ximen Ren declared. "But as the saying goes, ’Evil cannot overcome righteousness!’ Even if I die here today, I will never kneel before a demon like you!"
His righteous declaration emboldened many of the people seated behind him, while others quietly distanced themselves from the fearless group.
Wei Chen’s smile never faded, as though he were simply listening to a joke.
"That’s great. This is the second time you’ve publicly accused me of being a demon. Remember those words."
He continued.
"Let’s say I really am... a demon, just as you claim. And you know as well as I do that I have enough power to wipe out you and every one of your supporters. Yet you’re still doing everything you can to get yourself onto my sh*t list."
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you? Or that I’ll kill every subordinate and supporter standing behind you as well?"
"Of course you’re not, right?"
"After all, how could the righteous, virtuous, and benevolent Lord Ximen Ren possibly drag innocent people down with him?"
"You dared to provoke me and deliberately put yourself on my bad side. That means you’re certain I won’t kill you."
"And it’s definitely not because of the mercy in my heart either. After all... I’m a demon."
"So what’s the reason?"
"The first possibility is that you already know, just as well as I do, that I’m not a demon. I’m just a guy who came here because my friend told me some idiot was making a huge fuss over me, and I wanted to see what the hell all this fuss was about."
"But even that wouldn’t guarantee your safety. I could still be pissed enough to slap you to death on the spot."
"Oh... no, no."
"You and I both know you’re not that stupid. You’ve already reached the same conclusion."
Wei Chen raised his index finger as though presenting evidence before a court, continuing his reasoning without giving Ximen Ren any chance to interrupt.
"You’re making such a scene because someone told you to."
"And that someone guaranteed your safety."
"So who the f*ck told you to lure me here?"
"Because the moment I left our camp, a group of retards from the Immortal Realm suddenly attacked it and killed several of our construction workers."
Hearing those words, Ximen Ren’s eyes sharpened.
The Immortal Realm?
So that woman really does have connections to the Immortal Realm.
Good.
That means his chances of surviving this ordeal had just increased.
He had gambled that the mysterious woman possessed enough power to stand against the Underworld Palace.
And it seemed he had been right.
The first rule of opposing someone stronger than you was to have enough power to resist them.
"What are you talking about?" Ximen Ren shouted. "I’m opposing you because even if I perish, I’ll become a martyr who opens everyone’s eyes to the truth about a demon like you!"
He doubled down on his accusation.
Since that woman had connections to the Immortal Realm, he needed to take full advantage of it.
He knew he couldn’t defeat Wei Chen or the Underworld Palace by himself.
However, Wei Chen hadn’t brought the full strength of his forces with him. Most of his subordinates were still stationed near the Emerald River.
He couldn’t win.
But that mysterious woman should possess enough power to drive Wei Chen back.
After that, depending on how the negotiations unfolded, he could align himself with the forces behind that woman from the Immortal Realm. That alone would become a powerful deterrent against the Underworld Palace.
What he needed to do now was destroy Ximen Hao’s reputation and become the heir of the clan. Once he became the legitimate heir, he would gain the authority to negotiate with the woman himself.
It might not be a relationship between equals, but at least he would become the clan’s leader.
From there, he could slowly bide his time, continue cultivating his demonic arts, and grow even stronger.
It was a risky gamble.
But the potential rewards were more than enough to justify the risk.
"Even if you perish? Did you ask the people standing behind you whether they wanted to perish with you? Or is your true nature simply that of a selfish bastard who doesn’t care about anyone but yourself?"
As he spoke, Wei Chen tilted his head toward the elders seated behind Ximen Ren. Those seats were occupied by Ximen Ren’s supporters.
Ximen Ren glanced back.
It was obvious that many of the seats were now empty. As for those who remained, they were either naive fools with nothing to lose, useful only as disposable pawns, or...
They were being controlled by his Control Gu and had no choice but to stay.
"Hmm... or maybe you already know I’m not a demon, and you’re just spouting bullshit to ruin both my reputation and Ximen Hao’s, simply because he’s my friend."
After hearing Wei Chen repeat his reasoning, even those who had not thought much about the situation began to reconsider.
Could Young Master Wei actually be telling the truth?
After all, what kind of demon would openly walk into the clan like this and even display such an evil-looking technique in front of everyone?
Everyone knew that those branded as demons, whether true demons or demonic cultivators, were often driven by their impulses and lacked self-control.
Yet everything Wei Chen had demonstrated, especially the way he calmly reasoned through the situation, suggested the exact opposite.
Ximen Ren secretly gritted his teeth.
Wei Chen’s reasoning had cornered him.
Neither outcome was good for him in the long run.
He could admit, either directly or indirectly, that he knew Wei Chen wasn’t a demon and had only been throwing mud at his reputation. That would brand him as a liar, or at best an ignorant fool if he played his cards carefully.
Or he could continue insisting that Wei Chen was a demon, making himself look like a hypocrite who didn’t care whether the people standing behind him lived or died.
It was like choosing between COVID and malaria.
Neither option was pleasant.
Wei Chen continued.
"But from what Ximen Ren has been saying, he seems absolutely convinced that I’m a demon. He even claims to know which artifact I use. According to him, I detained Miss Song because both of you supposedly know my secret, that I’m a demon."
Wei Chen turned toward Song Wan.
"So let’s clear this up first, shall we?"
Hearing this, Ximen Ren nearly applauded Wei Chen’s stupidity.
This bastard had been giving him a hard time and was on the verge of winning the argument.
He had never expected this idiot to turn toward the one witness who had already been compromised, Song Wan.
Ximen Ren had already confirmed it.
The Control Gu was still inside Song Wan’s body.
With a single thought, he could make Song Wan testify however he wished.