This Is What a Villain Is Like

’After refining that drop of Immortal Phoenix True Blood, I did manage to grasp another sliver of the Phoenix Race’s bloodline essence. However, it didn’t significantly increase my overall strength.’

’The amount must have been too small. If I had a complete Immortal Phoenix before me and could absorb its entire bloodline origin, perhaps I could advance even further in my current realm...’

’But are there any true Immortal Phoenixes left in this world? The Phoenix Race does appear later in the original story, but they are a far cry from a true Immortal Phoenix.’

’An Immortal Phoenix is a creature that borders on true immortality...’

By the time he returned to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, it was already past noon. Jiang Lan refined the drop of Immortal Phoenix True Blood into his body, and his aura grew a fraction stronger than before.

The reason he had been able to bluff Fa Miaoyin was, of course, because he had played a little trick.

In the Divine Power Realm, when it came to the manipulation and control of Magical Power, not even Jiang Ruxian, with all her talent as a Banished Immortal, could compare to him.

Although Fa Miaoyin had earned the Shaking Light Origin’s acknowledgment, it was impossible for her to see through Jiang Lan’s methods.

That was precisely why Jiang Lan had been able to brazenly bluff her into revealing her secrets.

However, he also knew that Fa Miaoyin was still hiding many other secrets.

Even if she were to think back on it later and suspect something was amiss, it no longer mattered. Jiang Lan had already forced her to sign a cooperation contract.

The world was undergoing a great transformation, and fortune was gushing forth. Many things had deviated from his original expectations, including Chu Yun’s earlier appearance in Anyang City.

And now, even the Shaking Light Origin had appeared ahead of schedule.

He had to get these unpredictable elements under his control as soon as possible, which was why he planned to use Fa Miaoyin to find the other six Star Origins.

The Seven Stars could sense each other. If their Origins chose their own masters, then those masters were bound to cross paths in the near future.

The National Master, Ge Qixing, possessed profound methods and would surely pave the way for Xiao Teng in advance. After all, Xiao Teng possessed the yet-to-be-awakened Life Chart of the Master of Stars.

The Ninth Realm, the Feather Transformation Realm, had always been a threshold like the Mortal Heaven Chasm separating mortals from immortals. From ancient times to the present, every single person who managed to cross it was a world-shaking figure.

The key for Ge Qixing to break through to the Feather Transformation Realm lay with the Master of Stars.

Just like his father, Jiang Lintian, whose key to establishing his Feather Transformation foundation lay in the Destiny Dynasty Technique and the National Fortune of Great Xia.

’When the Master of Stars awakens, I can’t imagine how rich and dense the gushing fortune will be. This is a big, juicy leek, growing nice and strong.’

’If I can plunder the complete destiny and fortune of the Master of Stars, not only will my third Destiny Dao Fruit mature, but the Destiny Dao Fruit and the Age Dao Fruit will also ripen to the next stage...’

Jiang Lan had had his eye on this big, juicy leek, Xiao Teng, for more than a day or two, but it wasn’t time to harvest him just yet.

Beyond that, he was also keeping Ye Ming around as a fall guy. With fortune gushing forth across the Nine Provinces Land, opportunities and fortuitous encounters were far more common than in previous eras. Ye Ming was the perfect bait to lure out any hidden schemes left behind by that Imperial Tutor Old Ghost connected to him.

You have to use a long line to catch a big fish.

After leaving the Imperial Capital, Ye Ming traveled south, leaving the territory of Great Xia and heading for Nanmo Province.

Nanmo Province bordered the Southern Wilderness Province. It was an incredibly chaotic and vast land, encompassing nearly every type of terrain: mountain ranges, frozen plains, ancient primeval forests, and more. Many reclusive Noble Immortal Sects were hidden within it.

It was rumored that even a Seventh Realm cultivator, traveling day and night, could not cross the entirety of Nanmo Province in a single year, a testament to its boundless expanse.

Back when the previous emperor of Great Xia swept through the lands and established his new order, many kingdoms and Noble Families that had escaped destruction fled to Nanmo Province and went into hiding.

Jiang Lan already knew exactly who Ye Ming intended to seek refuge with on this trip to Nanmo Province.

Besides Xiao Teng and Ye Ming, Jiang Lan actually had other pawns and backup plans in place.

Although Lin Fan, the protagonist of the original story, was dead, the traces he left behind from his past life still remained.

As the Eternal Damnation Sword Master, he had been one of the figures standing at the very pinnacle of the world in his previous life. If not for the betrayal of his disciple and the subsequent siege, he wouldn’t have fallen, forced to undergo reincarnation via arcane release.

Although Jiang Lan couldn’t remember many of the later plot points clearly, some parts still left a deep impression on him.

Specifically, the disciple who had betrayed Lin Fan in his past life would later be redeemed.

Of course, Jiang Lan already had countermeasures and plans for this situation. His insistence on sending Su Qinghan to the Dao Cang Sword Sect was not just to let her develop on her own; he had also placed some crucial measures on her.

"Go and fetch me a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone."

Arriving in the courtyard, Jiang Lan gave a casual order while organizing the relevant memories in his mind, planning to sort through all the opportunities and clues he was aware of.

With the world changing and fortune gushing forth, if he didn’t seize certain opportunities in advance, they might be snatched up by other individuals blessed with great fortune.

Besides, he could also dispatch his subordinates to retrieve them for him, rather than having to do everything himself.

’Besides that...’

Jiang Lan mused to himself. Now, no one in the entire Imperial Capital would look at him as a debaucherous, second-generation wastrel anymore. That identity was no longer of any use.

Conveniently, his parents both hoped he would return to the Sui Ji Li Family to prove his strength and claim the position of Young Master.

’The Young Master of a Saint’s Noble Family... that status is indeed far more prestigious than being the Young Master of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, even if the Prime Minister’s Mansion currently wields monstrous power and is one of the most prominent forces in the entire Celestial Central Province.’