Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate

Inside the massive sinkhole, the crowd shot uneasy glances at Mo Hao.

"What's up with this guy?" someone muttered.

"Why'd he scream 'No!' like that? Shouldn't he be happy the senior wiped out all the demons in one move?"

"Wait… you don't think he's a demon spy, do you?" another whispered.

"Now that you mention it… earlier, he kept trying to convince the senior not to kill them right away. Said he had to do it instead. Something about… I don't know, making a grand scene?"

"Who even says stuff like that? That's suspicious as hell."

"Yeah. Back away, people. If he's really a spy, we're all in trouble."

Slowly, the crowd edged away, one cautious step at a time.

Even a dog, sensing the shift in mood, whimpered and scurried off, tail tucked between its legs.

Hearing the hushed whispers around him, Mo Hao's face twisted in frustration.

"No! I'm not a demon spy!" he snapped.

"Stop slandering me!" he added, but his expression carried more despair than anger.

Not only had his big moment been ruined, but now people were actually accusing him of being a traitor. This was beyond miserable.

Before things could get worse, a calm yet commanding voice cut through the tension.

"Everyone, relax. I can assure you—Daoist Mo Hao is not a spy."

Nangong Wan, playing the role of Jiang Chen's Master, descended into the sinkhole with effortless grace. Wrapped in a hazy mist, her figure carried an undeniable presence. She had just finished collecting the remains of the fallen demons and beasts, and despite the chaos, she spoke with complete confidence.

At her words, the crowd let out a collective sigh of relief.

But Mo Hao? He just stood there, staring into the distance, his eyes empty.

Nangong Wan glanced at him but didn't bother commenting on his state. Instead, she changed the subject as if she had just remembered something.

"Oh, right. Mo Hao, Jiang Chen just passed some information to me."

She paused for a moment, then continued, her tone light but sharp.

"The demon army here is huge—at least a million strong. What we saw just now? That fifty, sixty thousand? That was nothing but a scouting force."

She tilted her head slightly, watching his reaction.

"So… what's your plan?"

"What?! That fifty to sixty thousand was just a fraction?" Mo Hao's eyes went wide in shock. But as the information sank in, his mood did a complete 180.

Yes! The demons were brought here using a teleportation artifact! That means they're just a tiny part of the real army!

His heart pounded with excitement. There's still hope! I can still make my big move, show off, and get stronger! All is not lost!

Just as he was pulling himself together, Jiang Chen's Master spoke, her demeanor thoughtful yet serious.

"I don't really get why you always feel the need to act pretentiously…" she admitted. "But the demon army is causing chaos everywhere. Do you want to join me in fighting them?"

"No!" Mo Hao blurted out, shaking his head so fast it was almost comical. A sharp urgency laced his words.

"I don't want to go with you. Or Jiang Chen."

His expression darkened, and after a short pause, he added, "And that old woman from Red Maple City? You'd better take her away."

"I'll handle the demons myself! I don't need anyone's help!" He stood his ground, though a flicker of unease flashed in his eyes.

Deep down, a chill crept into his thoughts.

Why does this keep happening?

No matter where he went, no matter how hard he tried, something always ruined his moment.

At this point, he couldn't help but wonder—were the heavens themselves plotting against him?

Hearing his response, Jiang Chen's Master let out a sigh, the hazy mist around her shifting slightly, as if reflecting her deepening seriousness.

"With your current strength, you wouldn't stand a chance against an army like the one we just fought."

She paused for a moment before adding, "Why not join us? If you, me, Jiang Chen, and that old woman from Red Maple City work together, we could wipe out the demon race much faster."

Her words made perfect sense.

Around them, the people in the vast sinkhole murmured in agreement. The human race was already struggling—if they didn't stand together now, the demons would take them out one by one.

But Mo Hao wasn't having any of it.

"No!" he shouted, his emotions boiling over. "I'm doing this alone!"

His hands clenched into fists. His body trembled slightly.

"Every single one of you—stay away from me!"

His outburst left the crowd stunned.

Brows furrowed.

Whispers spread.

"What's wrong with this guy?" someone muttered, both annoyed and confused.

"He's completely unreasonable."

"I mean, seriously—how did someone with that attitude even make it to the Transcendence realm?"

The more they thought about it, the stranger he seemed.

Mo Hao was a mystery—one that, frankly, they found more frustrating than impressive.

"Sigh… Let's not drag this out any longer," Nangong Wan, still playing the role of Jiang Chen's Master, said with a small shake of her head. "Everyone sees things their own way."

She glanced around at the people in the sinkhole.

"Even those of you who've chosen to hide away here, ignoring everything happening in the outside world—you must seem just as strange to others as Mo Hao does now."

Then, she turned back to him.

"If you're dead set on fighting the demons alone, that's your choice. I won't stop you. I'll have Jiang Chen open a spatial channel and send you somewhere far away."

"Fine!" Mo Hao grit his teeth, his jaw tightening as he nodded.

Taking Jiang Chen's help again stung his pride, but what other choice did he have? Travel to another domain all on his own?

Even with Transcendence-level speed, that would take forever.

But what Mo Hao didn't know was that he was blessed by Heavenly Fate. He didn't need to go looking for the demon army.

They would find him.

"Then it's settled," Jiang Chen's Master said, her tone firm. "I hope you can survive against the demon race."

She pulled out a transmission jade token, pretending to activate it. After a moment, she added, "Jiang Chen hasn't responded yet. He must be busy dealing with the new wave of demons. We'll wait a little."

The explanation sounded perfectly reasonable.

Mo Hao didn't question it. He simply nodded.

Then, without another word, he sat down and started cultivating.

Watching this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but smirk.

After failing to show off so many times, has he finally realized that actual cultivation matters more?

The thought was amusing, to say the least.

Mo Hao's secret weapon had always been acting powerful to become powerful. His aptitude was decent—good, even—but only when compared to regular cultivators.

To him, real, hard-earned cultivation was just… unnecessary.

Meanwhile, the disguised Jiang Chen also sat down, but his mind was racing. He was carefully fine-tuning his boiling frog strategy—slowly tightening the trap without Mo Hao even realizing it.

Right now, with Mo Hao caught up in his emotions, pushing him just a little further into despair might trigger something dramatic. With Heavenly Fate on his side, who knew what kind of wild shift could happen?

I've already used Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning, Jiang Chen mused. If I keep switching their identities to create new personas, the unique traces of their divine sense won't change. Someone could catch on.

His divine sense quietly swept over his spatial ring.

Looks like it's time to use that.

Deep inside the ring, a massive egg pulsed with faint energy, drawing his attention.

This wasn't just any egg.

Jiang Chen had found it in Immortal Tian Cui's Cave Heaven Secret Realm—a rare hybrid between a Void White Dragon and a Death Calamity True Dragon.

A full-grown Void White Dragon was already a powerhouse, naturally reaching the Nirvana Cleansing realm, with a strong chance of stepping into Void Tribulation realm.

But a Death Calamity True Dragon? Even scarier. Once it reached maturity, it naturally stepped into the Void Tribulation realm—and had a high chance of ascending even further, to the Fourth Step of the Cultivation Path.

This egg wasn't quite as monstrous as a pure Death Calamity True Dragon, but even so, when it hatched and matured, it would be at the Void Tribulation realm.

And the craziest part?

The moment it was born—it would already be in Transcendence realm.

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a faint smirk.

Yeah… this should put an end to Mo Hao's little act once and for all.

Lately, he had gathered a ridiculous amount of unused qi and blood energy—more than enough to hatch the egg.

His mind was set.

Nangong Wan, still playing the role of Jiang Chen's Master, immediately acted as if she had received a message.

"Jiang Chen is free now," she announced.

"He'll open a spatial gate for us shortly."

As she spoke, she discreetly activated the Immortal Martial Cave Heaven's secret key, opening a secondary spatial gate without anyone noticing.