Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist

Chapter 981: Plotting the Next Conquest

The heavy, suffocating atmosphere of lust and degradation that had saturated the Ice Heart Pavilion’s master chamber slowly began to recede, replaced by a cold, calculating stillness. The morning had been a chaotic symphony of broken pride and forced submission, a physical manifestation of Wang Jian’s absolute dominance over the twenty-three women who now belonged entirely to him. Having thoroughly secured the Ice Heart Palace contingent, shattering their wills and conditioning their bodies with his dark energy, Wang Jian finally decided that it was time to shift his focus from the pleasures of the flesh back to the grander scheme of his ambitions.

He rose from the massive, ruined circular bed, his perfectly tempered, muscular physique gleaming faintly in the dim light filtering through the frost-covered latticework. With a mere thought, the Stellar Demonic Core within his dantian pulsed, sending a wave of purifying, dark Qi across his skin. The dried sweat, the lingering scents of the forceful dual cultivation, and the residual Yin essence vanished instantly, leaving his body immaculate.

From his spatial storage ring, Wang Jian retrieved his clothing. He moved with deliberate, unhurried grace, stepping into the pristine, flowing white robes of a scholar. He fastened the silver-embroidered sash around his waist, adjusted his wide sleeves, and picked up his elegant folding fan. In the span of a few breaths, the terrifying, naked demonic beast who had relentlessly brutalized the Ice Fairy was gone. Standing in his place was the refined, cultured, and utterly unassuming ’Elder Wang’ of the Fragrance Melody Sect.

Wang Jian walked across the thick woven carpets, completely ignoring the twenty-three naked, voluptuous women scattered around the room. To him, they were no longer esteemed elders or talented disciples; they were merely discarded decorations, pieces of living furniture that had served their immediate purpose and were now awaiting their next use. Some of the disciples were softly weeping, their very fair skin covered in the red marks of his dominance, while others stared blankly at the ceiling, their minds still struggling to comprehend the absolute destruction of their reality.

He approached the heavy spirit-wood table situated near the grand windows of the chamber. He pulled out a carved chair and sat down, snapping his folding fan open with a crisp sound that made several of the naked women flinch instinctively.

”Hua Yimei. Chen Ying,” Wang Jian called out, his voice smooth, authoritative, and entirely devoid of the raw, hungry lust that had colored it just an hour prior. ”Come here.”

From the edge of the room, his two most loyal and devoted servants immediately detached themselves from their guard positions. Unlike the broken Ice Heart women, Hua Yimei and Chen Ying moved with purpose and eagerness. They had adorned themselves in the sheer, revealing outfits Wang Jian preferred for them in private—Hua Yimei in her translucent crimson silk that proudly displayed her heavy, massive breasts and her golden phoenix tattoo, and Chen Ying in her dark, minimalist stealth straps that highlighted her athletic curves and the silver piercings gleaming on her flesh.

They approached the table and knelt respectfully at his sides, their eyes fixed solely on him, awaiting his command.

”Begin organizing the loot,” Wang Jian instructed, gesturing with his fan toward the center of the table. ”Compile the resources we acquired from the Golden-Scale Auction yesterday, and integrate them with the contents of the spatial rings we confiscated from Elder Leng and Elder Han. I want a complete inventory of high-grade spirit stones, medicinal herbs, and any legacy magical treasures.”

Hua Yimei nodded, her voluptuous breasts swaying heavily as she reached for the pile of spatial rings Wang Jian had tossed onto the wood earlier. ”Right away, Master. The Ice Heart Palace elders are known for hoarding rare, cold-attribute materials. There should be a significant amount of profound ice marrow and thousand-year snow ginseng within their personal reserves.”

”The Ice Heart Palace was a good appetizer,” Wang Jian mused, leaning back in his chair and slowly waving the fan in front of his face. His dark, starlit eyes looked past the two women, staring out the frosted window toward the towering silhouette of the central auction house in the distance. ”They provided a necessary influx of pure Primal Yin to balance the aggressive Yang nature of my recent breakthrough. Their bodies have solidified my foundation at the Early-Stage of the Core Formation Realm. But an appetizer is merely meant to stimulate the palate. It is not the main course.”

He snapped the fan shut, pointing it toward the window.

”True power in this city lies elsewhere,” Wang Jian declared, his tone shifting into the calculating cadence of a grand strategist. ”Our next target is the Mistress of the Golden-Scale Auction House. Shangguan Wan’er.”

Hua Yimei’s hands paused in their sorting, her golden-brown eyes widening slightly in surprise. Chen Ying remained perfectly stoic, her expression a mask of cold discipline, though her grip on the spatial ring in her hand tightened marginally.

”The Mistress of the Auction House?” Hua Yimei repeated, ensuring she had heard him correctly. ”Master, she is not merely a merchant. She is a titan in the Myriad Reefs Sea Region.”

”I am well aware of her status, Sect Leader Hua,” Wang Jian replied, a dark smile playing on his lips. ”That is precisely why she must fall. Targeting Shangguan Wan’er is not simply about adding another top-tier, renowned beauty to my collection—although, I admit, the rumors of her peerless, mature sexiness and her exquisite figure are a significant motivating factor. I have a profound desire to see if her business acumen translates to skill beneath my body.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the heavy wooden table, his gaze intense and demanding.

”But the primary objective is absolute territorial control,” Wang Jian explained in detail. ”Shangguan Wan’er controls the single most significant economic node in the entire Myriad Reefs Sea Region. The Golden-Scale Auction House is the beating heart of commerce. She controls the flow of immense wealth. She dictates the distribution of rare medicinal herbs that even your Fragrance Melody Sect could never dream of acquiring. She hoards ancient pill recipes excavated from sunken grottos, and she holds a monopoly on the distribution of high-grade defensive and offensive artifacts.”

He tapped his index finger against the table, emphasizing each point.

”By conquering her,” Wang Jian declared, his eyes gleaming with a dark, boundless ambition that seemed to suck the light out of the room, ”we conquer the economic heart of this territory. We bypass the need to fight a bloody, protracted war against the various alliances and righteous factions. Whoever controls the resources, controls the cultivation world. If Shangguan Wan’er belongs to me, then her auction house belongs to me. Her wealth becomes my treasury.”

He looked at Chen Ying, who was listening intently.

”Furthermore,” Wang Jian noted, his voice dropping to a serious, analytical tone, ”the auction house possesses vast, heavily guarded treasuries containing materials I absolutely require for the next stage of my cultivation. I need large quantities of Void-metal to forge a personal spatial domain array. I need millions of high-grade spirit stones to fuel my Stellar Demonic Clones in prolonged combat. And most importantly, I need Heavenly Flame seeds to further evolve the Golden Phoenix Flame within my Core. Shangguan Wan’er has access to all of these. She is the key to my consolidation.”

Hua Yimei nodded in profound agreement, her mind rapidly processing the strategic implications of his words. As a former Sect Leader, she understood the brutal reality of resource management better than anyone.

”You are entirely correct, Master,” Hua Yimei stated, her voice filled with admiration for his grand vision. ”Furthermore, Shangguan Wan’er’s power extends far beyond mere physical resources. She operates the most extensive network of informants, merchants, and spies in the Myriad Reefs Sea Region. Everyone who buys or sells in Azure Cloud City owes her a favor or feeds her information. If you subjugate her mind and body, you inherit that network. You would become practically omniscient within this territory. No sect movement, no secret ruin discovery, no alliance meeting would escape your notice.”

Chen Ying, acting as his secret mistress and loyal blade, analyzed the martial reality of the situation.

”The strategic value is undeniable, Master,” Chen Ying pointed out, her voice cold and analytical. ”However, the difficulty of execution is equally immense. Shangguan Wan’er is constantly surrounded by elite, highly trained guards. The Golden-Scale Auction House itself is a fortress, layered with heavily fortified, defensive and offensive array formations that eclipse even the Four-Quadrant Glacial Barrier of this pavilion. She does not travel without a formidable escort, and she rarely leaves the absolute safety of her inner sanctum.”

”A direct assault on the Golden-Scale Auction House would be foolish,” Wang Jian agreed immediately, showing no signs of arrogance when it came to tactical planning. ”Even with my Stellar Demonic Clones and the element of surprise, fighting through multiple high-tier defensive arrays while facing her elite guard would draw the attention of the City Lord and every major sect representative currently residing in Azure Cloud City. We would be bogged down in a battle of attrition, which is exactly what we must avoid.”

He smiled, a slow, predatory curving of his lips.

”We will not attack her fortress,” Wang Jian stated softly. ”We must draw her out. We must make her step willingly out of her absolute safety and walk directly into our jaws. We need bait.”

He turned his head slowly, his dark gaze leaving his loyal servants and sweeping across the room. His eyes landed on the massive circular bed.

Curled up on the furs, attempting to make herself as small as possible, was Bing Yun. The esteemed Ice Fairy was completely naked, her very fair skin marred by the fading red marks of his dominance. She was shivering slightly, her arms crossed tightly over her chest in a futile attempt to hide her large, voluptuous breasts from his view. Her silver hair was tangled, and her pale blue eyes were hollow, reflecting the total, absolute devastation of her spirit.

”And we happen to have the perfect bait right here,” Wang Jian grinned, the pieces of a deceptive and flawless trap falling perfectly into place within his brilliant, calculating mind.

He knew that Shangguan Wan’er, despite her power, was fundamentally a merchant. She was driven by profit, exclusivity, and the thrill of acquiring the unattainable. An invitation from a highly esteemed elder of the Ice Heart Palace regarding a highly lucrative, entirely secret trade would be a tantalizing prospect.

”Fairy Bing,” Wang Jian called out, his voice a commanding rumble that left no room for hesitation. ”Crawl to me.”

On the bed, Bing Yun flinched as if struck by a physical blow. A profound, shuddering breath escaped her lips. The proud woman who had once stood at the pinnacle of the region’s righteous path was gone, replaced entirely by a broken vessel conditioned to obey. She did not resist. She did not try to fight or hurl curses as she had done the previous night. The absolute crushing of her physical body, combined with the psychological horror of being degraded in front of her weeping disciples, had completely shattered her will to rebel.

She uncrossed her arms, leaving her large, massive breasts exposed to the cool air of the chamber. Slowly, agonizingly, she pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Every movement was a stark reminder of the soreness between her thighs and the utter loss of her dignity. She crawled off the edge of the snow-fox furs, her bare knees sinking into the thick woven carpets.

She made her way across the floor, passing the huddled, terrified forms of her disciples, who squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear the sight of their revered master crawling like a subservient beast. Bing Yun kept her head bowed, her silver hair creating a curtain that hid her tears of profound resignation. She reached the heavy wooden table and stopped at Wang Jian’s feet, her curvaceous, naked body trembling slightly.

”Master,” Bing Yun whispered, her voice so soft it was barely audible, entirely devoid of any emotion save for a deep, hollow emptiness.

Wang Jian reached down, his large hands grasping her by the waist. He lifted her effortlessly from the floor and pulled her up, settling her naked, voluptuous body directly onto his lap.

Bing Yun gasped softly at the sudden contact, her bare, very fair skin pressing against the pristine white fabric of his scholarly robes. She kept her head bowed, her hands resting limply in her lap, completely surrendered to whatever physical or psychological torment he wished to inflict upon her next.

Wang Jian did not hurt her. He knew that physical pain was no longer necessary to secure her compliance. Instead, he wrapped his left arm securely around her narrow waist, pulling her back flush against his chest. With his right hand, he reached up and casually cupped one of her large, massive breasts.

He began to fondle the heavy, soft flesh with slow, deliberate squeezes, his thumb brushing rhythmically over her tight pink nipple. Bing Yun squeezed her eyes shut, a soft, involuntary whimper escaping her lips as the demonic Qi lingering in her meridians responded to his touch, forcing a rush of unwanted, shameful heat into her lower abdomen.

”Fairy Bing,” Wang Jian murmured, leaning forward so his lips brushed against the delicate shell of her ear. He opened his mouth and gently bit down on the soft flesh of her upper chest, his teeth grazing her collarbone before his tongue licked the faint mark he left behind. ”You are going to help me capture the Mistress of the Auction House.”

Bing Yun’s breath hitched. A fresh wave of tears welled up beneath her closed eyelids. She knew exactly what he was asking of her. He was not merely satisfied with destroying her and her disciples; he was forcing her to become the instrument of downfall for another powerful woman.

”Please...” Bing Yun whispered, her voice cracking with the sheer weight of her internal tragedy. She didn’t fight him, her body remaining limp and compliant on his lap, but she couldn’t stop the verbal plea from escaping. ”Shangguan Wan’er... she has done nothing to you. Why must you drag everyone into your darkness?”

Wang Jian chuckled, a low, vibrating sound that rumbled against her bare back. He squeezed her massive breast harder, kneading the flesh as he continued to speak.

”Because she holds what I need, my sweet, obedient slut,” Wang Jian explained smoothly, his teeth nibbling at the side of her neck. ”And because I know that you and Shangguan Wan’er share a history. A friendship, of sorts. Cultivators of your status rarely have peers they can trust, but rumors suggest the Ice Fairy and the Golden Merchant share a mutual respect.”

Hua Yimei, kneeling at the side of the table, nodded in confirmation. ”It is well known in the upper echelons, Master. Fairy Bing and Mistress Shangguan have collaborated on securing resources for their respective factions for decades. They consider each other trusted associates, if not close confidantes. An invitation from Fairy Bing would bypass all of the Auction House’s standard security screening protocols. Shangguan Wan’er would not suspect a trap laid by the Ice Heart Palace.”

”Exactly,” Wang Jian praised, rewarding Hua Yimei with an approving glance before returning his attention to the woman in his lap. He moved his hand from her breast, trailing his fingers down her flat stomach, sending shivers across her pale skin.

”You see, Bing Yun,” Wang Jian said softly, his voice a hypnotic, manipulative purr. ”You are going to write a communication talisman to your dear friend. You are going to invite her to this pavilion for a private, highly secretive meeting.”

Bing Yun bit her lower lip, tasting the metallic tang of her own blood. Her mind raced desperately, trying to find a way out, a way to spare Shangguan Wan’er without incurring Wang Jian’s wrath upon her already broken disciples. But she was trapped in an impossible corner. Her dantian was sealed. Her physical strength was gone. If she refused, he would not hesitate to brutally torture the twenty young women weeping on the floor behind them. She had already sacrificed her own purity and honor; she could not bear the weight of their continued suffering as well.

”I... I will do as you command, Master,” Bing Yun surrendered completely, her voice thick with unshed tears and profound self-loathing. She opened her pale blue eyes, staring blankly at the heavy wooden table. ”I will be a good, obedient tool for you. Just... please, do not hurt my disciples any further. They have suffered enough.”

Wang Jian smiled, genuinely pleased with her absolute submission. The psychological conditioning was holding flawlessly.

”I am a man of my word, Fairy Bing,” Wang Jian assured her, his hand returning to her massive breast, fondling the soft flesh with possessive arrogance. ”So long as you play your part perfectly, your disciples will remain untouched in their corner. Now, let us discuss the nature of the bait. We need something so incredibly lucrative, so absolutely vital, that a merchant of her caliber will throw caution to the wind and come to you immediately, in person.”

He tapped his folding fan against the table, his brilliant mind sifting through the countless rare resources documented in the cultivation world.

”A Heaven-Earth Spiritual Root?” Hua Yimei suggested respectfully. ”It is a priceless treasure that can alter a cultivator’s fundamental aptitude.”

Wang Jian shook his head. ”No. Shangguan Wan’er is a Half-Step Nascent Soul expert. Her foundation is already set. A spiritual root is valuable for an entire sect, but it lacks the immediate, personal urgency required to draw her out without her full retinue. We need something that appeals directly to her immediate needs as the Mistress of an auction house that deals in artifacts and spatial formations.”

His eyes lit up with dark inspiration.

”An Abyssal Star-Iron Vein,” Wang Jian declared, his voice filled with absolute certainty.

Chen Ying’s cold eyes widened slightly. ”An entire vein? Master, Abyssal Star-Iron is the primary catalyst for forging high-grade spatial storage rings, teleportation arrays, and peak-tier Earth-Grade flying swords. It is exponentially rarer than standard Void-metal. The discovery of an unmapped vein would shift the balance of power among the merchant guilds entirely.”

”Precisely,” Wang Jian confirmed, his fingers pinching Bing Yun’s pink nipple lightly, causing her to gasp and arch her back against him. ”It is a resource of strategic, monopolistic value. If Shangguan Wan’er acquires the exclusive rights to an Abyssal Star-Iron Vein, the Golden-Scale Auction House will permanently crush all rival merchant guilds in the surrounding three sea domains. She cannot afford to let such an opportunity slip away.”

He leaned in close to Bing Yun’s ear, his breath hot against her skin.

”Here is the script you will write, my beautiful, broken fairy,” Wang Jian instructed, his tone meticulous and commanding. ”You will contact Shangguan Wan’er using your personal, highest-grade communication talisman. You will tell her that during a recent, highly classified mission to the treacherous depths of the Sunken Trench, you and your elders stumbled upon a massive, completely untouched Abyssal Star-Iron Vein.”

Bing Yun listened, her heart sinking like a stone in an icy lake. The lie was terrifyingly plausible. The Ice Heart Palace frequently explored deep-sea trenches for cold-attribute resources.

”You will tell her,” Wang Jian continued, his hand slowly massaging the heavy underside of her breast, ”that the Ice Heart Palace does not have the immediate mining infrastructure or the discreet merchant network to excavate and sell the iron without drawing the greedy eyes of the regional Alliance. If the Alliance finds out, they will levy exorbitant taxes and seize half the vein for ’regional security’.”

He chuckled darkly. ”Shangguan Wan’er understands the greed of the Alliance better than anyone. It is the language she speaks.”

”You will offer her the exclusive coordinates and the mining rights,” Wang Jian finalized the trap, ”in exchange for a massive, upfront payment of high-grade spirit stones and a permanent, untaxed supply of pills from her auction house. You will stress that this trade must be conducted entirely in secret, away from the prying eyes of her own guild masters and the city guards. You will invite her to the Ice Heart Pavilion tonight, under the absolute protection of the Four-Quadrant Glacial Barrier, to finalize the contract.”

”She is a merchant at heart,” Wang Jian stated confidently, gazing out the window toward the distant auction house. ”She will weigh the risk against the astronomical reward. The prospect of an Abyssal Star-Iron Vein, combined with her trust in your established friendship and the supposed security of your pavilion’s defensive array, will blind her to the danger. She will come.”

Bing Yun wept softly, a single tear falling onto Wang Jian’s pristine white robes. She realized that she was not only completely ruined herself, but she was now being forced to drag another powerful, independent woman down into Wang Jian’s dark, inescapable abyss. She was the architect of her friend’s demise.

Wang Jian reached across the table and produced a blank, high-grade jade communication talisman and a specialized spiritual carving stylus. He placed them on the table directly in front of Bing Yun.

He didn’t make her move from his lap. He forced her to sit there, completely naked, her large, voluptuous breasts resting against the cold, polished wood of the table, her bare thighs spread across his lap.

”Write it,” Wang Jian commanded, his voice cold and absolute. ”Infuse it with your unique Ice Qi signature so she knows it is authentically from you. Make your tone sound urgent, highly secretive, and incredibly lucrative. Do not try to weave any hidden warnings into the runic structure. If I sense even a microscopic fluctuation of distress in your Qi, I will snap the neck of that young disciple kneeling closest to the door.”

Bing Yun choked back a sob. She picked up the spiritual carving stylus with a trembling, pale hand. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, visualizing the face of her friend, Shangguan Wan’er, and silently begging for forgiveness.

With her dantian sealed, she had to rely on the tiny, residual traces of Ice Qi lingering in her superficial meridians to activate the talisman. She focused her mind, channeling the cold energy into the stylus. She began to carve the intricate runic message into the jade, her hand shaking slightly, but the script remaining flawlessly elegant.

She poured her betrayal into the jade, weaving the lie about the Abyssal Star-Iron Vein exactly as Wang Jian had dictated. She emphasized the need for absolute secrecy and the immense, unprecedented profit that awaited the Golden-Scale Auction House.

While Bing Yun wrote the message through her tears, serving as his unwilling scribe, Wang Jian did not remain idle. He continued to fondle her massive breasts, his hands kneading the soft flesh with possessive arrogance, casually enjoying the physical spoils of his victory while his mind rapidly shifted to outline the tactical parameters of the impending ambush with Hua Yimei and Chen Ying.

”Shangguan Wan’er is not a simple Core Formation cultivator,” Wang Jian noted, his dark eyes analyzing the tactical board in his mind. ”My intelligence reports confirm she is a Half-Step Nascent Soul Realm expert. She is a powerhouse who has touched the very edge of the next major cultivation realm. Her spiritual sea has begun to condense, and her Qi possesses a qualitative density that far surpasses anything we faced last night.”

Hua Yimei nodded seriously, fully understanding the gravity of the threat. ”A Half-Step Nascent Soul expert can casually crush a dozen Middle-Stage Core Formation cultivators. Their understanding of spatial laws has begun to awaken.”

”Furthermore,” Wang Jian continued, his fingers lazily tracing the pink aureole of Bing Yun’s breast, causing her to shiver uncontrollably, ”as the Mistress of the city’s largest economic faction, she will not travel alone, despite the request for secrecy. She is cautious. She will undoubtedly bring her most trusted, elite personal guards to secure the perimeter of the meeting.”

”Her personal guards, the ’Golden Scales’,” Chen Ying recited from memory, her tone purely factual. ”They are individuals who have reached the absolute peak of the Core Formation Realm, and it is highly probable that her two captains are also Half-Step Nascent Soul Realm experts. They are veterans of countless bloody sea battles against pirate armadas and deep-sea demonic beasts.”

”Precisely,” Wang Jian agreed. ”We cannot fight a Half-Step Nascent Soul Mistress and her Peak Core Formation guards in an open street, or even in a conventional ambush scenario. The resulting shockwaves of such a battle would shatter Azure Cloud City’s floating infrastructure, instantly draw the wrath of the City Lord, and expose us to the collective might of every righteous sect in the region.”

He smiled, snapping his fan open once more, the sound crisp and decisive.

”That is why we will not fight them in the street,” Wang Jian declared, his eyes gleaming with brilliant, dark tactical insight. ”We will invite them here. Into my web.”

He planned to use the Ice Heart Pavilion as the ultimate, inescapable trap, perfectly leveraging the established Seven-Star Obscurity Array that was already hiding their presence from the outside world.

”When Shangguan Wan’er enters the pavilion courtyard,” Wang Jian explained, gesturing expansively with his fan, ”she will sense the ambient cold and assume that the Ice Heart Palace’s Four-Quadrant Glacial Barrier is active, protecting the secrecy of the trade negotiation just as Bing Yun promised.”

”But in reality,” Wang Jian concluded, a dark, sinister chuckle escaping his lips, ”she will be stepping directly into the pocket dimension created by my Seven-Star Obscurity Array. She will be completely, irreversibly cut off from her auction house, her communication networks, and any possibility of outside reinforcements.”

However, isolating them was only the first step. To deal with the overwhelming cultivation gap—facing multiple Half-Step Nascent Soul experts with a team consisting of one Middle-Stage, one Early-Stage, and Wang Jian’s own anomalous Early-Stage Core Formation base—required flawless execution and overwhelming, unfair advantages.

Wang Jian turned to Hua Yimei, his gaze sharp and commanding.

”Sect Leader Hua,” Wang Jian instructed. ”You will not engage in direct, physical combat initially. Your Golden Phoenix Flame is powerful, but against Half-Step Nascent Soul Qi, it will be suppressed by sheer volume. Instead, you will prepare the Nine-String Phoenix Zither.”

He detailed her crucial role. ”You will position yourself in the rafters of the main hall, completely hidden by the array’s internal shadows. The very microsecond the grand doors close behind Shangguan Wan’er and her guards, you will play the Melody of the Shattered Mind. It is a specific, highly disorienting illusion melody derived from the Demonic Scripture. It will not harm them, but it will severely disrupt their spatial perception and delay their reaction time by a crucial two seconds.”

”Understood, Master,” Hua Yimei bowed her head respectfully, her mind already memorizing the complex fingerings required for the illusion technique.

Wang Jian then turned his cold, calculating gaze to his secret mistress, the lethal blade standing near the door.

”Chen Ying,” Wang Jian ordered. ”Your role is absolute precision. You will coat the blade of the Phoenix Plume Shadow Sword in the most potent, concentrated batch of paralyzing venom Liu Ruyan provided us. It is a neurotoxin designed to briefly halt the circulation of even Core Formation Qi.”

He outlined her targets. ”You will not target Shangguan Wan’er. You will utilize your Shadow-Step technique to bypass the Mistress entirely and strike her elite guards. Your goal is not to kill them instantly, but to disable them, severing their tendons and injecting the venom before they can form a defensive array around their Mistress. You must be a ghost.”

”I am your blade, Master,” Chen Ying replied stoically, her cold eyes devoid of fear. ”They will not see me until their meridians are severed.”

Finally, Wang Jian detailed his own, terrifying contribution to the ambush.

”As for myself,” Wang Jian stated, casually releasing Bing Yun’s breast to adjust the sleeves of his pristine white robes. ”I will personally modify the internal nodes of the Seven-Star Obscurity Array. I will shift the polarity of the Big Dipper formation. Instead of merely twisting light and sound for concealment, I will invert the spatial matrix, turning the pocket dimension into a zone of heavy, crushing gravity and absolute spiritual-suppression.”

He tapped the table, his mind visualizing the complex runic geometry required for such a drastic, on-the-fly modification.

”I have already calculated the exact layout of the courtyard and the main hall,” Wang Jian explained, his tactical brilliance shining through. ”I will establish specific, localized kill-zones. When the gravity array activates, it will forcefully separate the heavy, armored guards from Shangguan Wan’er, isolating her completely.”

He leaned back in his chair, a look of profound, arrogant certainty settling over his handsome features.

”By the time the Mistress of the Golden-Scale Auction House realizes that this is not a lucrative trade negotiation,” Wang Jian declared, finalizing the flawless, deadly trap, ”her elite guards will be paralyzed and bleeding on the floor, the heavy gravity will pin her to the ground, and her proud, Half-Step Nascent Soul cultivation will be utterly, completely crushed under the absolute density of my Stellar Demonic Core.”

On his lap, Bing Yun finished carving the last rune into the jade talisman. The communication device flared with a brief, pale blue light, indicating the message had been successfully encoded and transmitted through the spatial waves, heading directly for the Golden-Scale Auction House.

She dropped the spiritual carving stylus onto the heavy wooden table. Her hands fell limply to her sides. She had cast the die. She had lured her friend into the jaws of the beast.

”It is done, Master,” Bing Yun whispered, her voice a hollow, broken shell of sound, her tears falling silently onto the dark wood.

Wang Jian smiled, a wide, genuinely thrilled expression. He wrapped his arms around her naked, voluptuous body, pulling her tight against his chest in a mock embrace of affection.

”Perfect,” Wang Jian murmured, his dark, starlit eyes gleaming with the anticipation of the coming hunt. He looked out the frosted window, waiting for the sun to set over Azure Cloud City. ”Now, we simply wait for the merchant to walk into the snare.”