Forced to Be a Villain: Starting With My Brain Extraction System Chapter 156: Meeting Elder Yan Yue Again!

"Junior, you are so bold. Aren’t you afraid of Elder? He might directly throw you out of his sword, you know?"

With a playful sparkle in her eyes, Lian Yue edged nearer to Mo Zhiran while questioning him, staring intently at Mei Xuan's blushing face as she clung tightly to his arm beside him.

Mei Xuan lacked the courage to meet anyone's gaze after Zhiran had smacked her butt; shame overwhelmed her completely.

"But you will help me, right, Senior? Look, I even became a foundation realm cultivator."

Zhiran felt no fear whatsoever now, especially after receiving that pill from Lian Yue.

Moreover, he suspected Elder Jianhong wasn't even noticing them, likely preoccupied with pondering the day's chaotic events.

The Black Lotus Sect had crossed the line this time, provoking three sects at once, and their scheme to collect blood essence from foundation realm cultivators reeked of sinister intent.

Far more pressing matters demanded Elder Jianhong's focus than Zhiran's playful antics.

"Yeah... that was surprising. Although we lost a few elites in this journey, you three at least managed to recover some loss for us."

Lian Yue commented casually.

Even amid the grim mood and devastating casualties, her spirits remained surprisingly high.

She had successfully refined the Phoenix essence inside her, enabling her to wield Phoenix Flame for curing her wounded father.

As far as she was concerned, the Divine Cauldron Sect would endure unscathed with her father still breathing.

Such minor losses paled in comparison.

It might come across as heartless, yet that was the harsh reality.

"Come to think of it... didn’t you two hear the commotion inside? Blood Palace could be seen from anywhere. Why didn’t you try to enter?"

Lian Yue had drawn close to Mo Zhiran and initiated this chat for yet another motive.

Among all the disciples present, he alone matched the description of the cloaked person she had encountered earlier in the Blood Palace.

Without spotting Mo Tianyu on his own, she might have suspected him instead.

However, her doubts about Zhiran burned fiercely now, given that no other survivors remained from that ordeal.

Zhiran himself squirmed uncomfortably, as the truth bordered on public knowledge.

"Blood Palace? Ah... so that’s what its name is. Sigh... I hope I was near and could enter."

Zhiran wished to keep his role in aiding Lian Yue under wraps, so despite sensing her suspicions, he pretended to regret missing out.

"At that time, I was forming my foundation somewhere else. How can I go there in the middle?"

This excuse rang true, serving not just Lian Yue but also the silent eavesdroppers nearby.

"Is that so?"

Though Lian Yue remained unconvinced, she met his gaze with pointed intent. Zhiran held her stare steadily, all while stroking Mei Xuan’s slender waist, causing the young woman to tremble faintly.

"Cough... then it seems you guys are lucky. It was good that you didn’t try to go there. Otherwise..."

Despite her lingering doubts, Lian Yue chose not to call him out. Truth be told, she owed Zhiran a great debt.

Once convinced he was indeed that mysterious figure, she ceased her probing.

...

In one secluded spot, Zhiran chatted amiably with Lian Yue, grinning all the while; in another, a figure seethed with overwhelming envy.

Mo Tianyu experienced this sensation for the first time: utter abandonment, toppled by his own clan brother who had the audacity to steal his woman.

Indeed, he viewed it as Zhiran ripping his girl right from his grasp, fueling his rage.

Were it not for Elder Jianhong's presence, he would have charged at the offender already.

’That bastard of low birth. He was just a shadow who was supposed to tail me for life. How dare he?’

A person he had always dismissed now strutted boldly before him day after day.

How could such insolence not churn his insides?

Had he foreseen this, he never would have permitted this fool to join them.

The loss of Mei Xuan struck a massive wound to his pride, elevating his loathing for Zhiran to unprecedented levels.

Previously content to eliminate him opportunistically, now he burned to slay him at any cost.

"Hmm?"

As Mo Tianyu struggled to suppress his surging murderous aura, Zhiran sensed it abruptly.

His gaze instantly clashed with Tianyu's icy stare from across the way.

Zhiran responded with a faint smile, dismissing the hostility outwardly, though he heightened his vigilance within.

This fellow had fled the Blood Palace right after Zhiran's assault, employing unknown tricks. Whatever the first inheritance he snatched from there appeared extraordinarily potent.

An inheritance nestled amid Dragon and Phoenix blood essence—its value was plain for anyone to imagine.

Tianyu's fortune defied all reason.

Zhiran mused slyly to himself, recalling the alluring nude form of Tianyu’s mother, a twisted thrill coursing through him.

Soon, he would seek her out; her absence already gnawed at him.

With that thought, he tuned out the surroundings and peered outward—they neared the Divine Cauldron Sect now.

***

"Zhiran, Elder Yan Yue has summoned you. She asked you to go to Ember Lotus Peak quickly."

Upon reaching the Celestial Cauldron main peak, Xiao Lan approached Zhiran promptly.

She had clearly lingered there awaiting his arrival for quite some time.

Before departing, Elder Jianhong had relayed the news to the sect, making the circumstances known to all.

Zhiran noticed several figures from various peaks, including her.

"Okay..."

Elder Yan Yue's urgency was no mystery to Zhiran. After a brief bow to Jianhong, he departed the peak alongside Xiao Lan without delay.

"Zhiran... you... built your foundation?"

En route to Ember Lotus Peak at swift speed, Xiao Lan inquired abruptly, her face tinged with bitterness.

Not from matching realms with him, but from fearing she could no longer keep pace at his side.

After all, mere moments after joining the inner sect, he had reached her level.

"Yeah... I was lucky."

Flashing a grin, Zhiran surged ahead suddenly, drawing near before alighting smoothly behind Xiao Lan on her sword.

Unlike her reliance on the sword, he soared purely on his own power.

His feet had barely settled when Zhiran acted decisively, wrapping his arm around Xiao Lan and drawing her snugly against him, as though she belonged there.

His fluid motion left Xiao Lan stunned; luckily, she maintained control, averting a humiliating plummet.

"Z-Zhiran... we are still in the sect."

Shyness flooded Xiao Lan, leaving her frozen as Zhiran nuzzled her neck via her hair, his lips brushing her ears teasingly.

This rascal grew bolder by the day.

"So what? Senior, now that I am also in the foundation realm, you do not need to care about others."

Growing bolder still, Zhiran declared while boldly seizing her breasts over her robes.

"~~Mmm"

A flush exploded across Xiao Lan's face as his palm enveloped her modestly, and she wriggled to escape, only to be drawn tighter against him.

"Z-Zhiran... we are already in Ember Lotus Peak."

They touched down atop the peak just in time, sparing her further as Zhiran released her.

Teasing her before an elder would be unwise, after all.

"T-then... I will meet you next time."

Still flustered from his advances, Xiao Lan stammered her farewell and fled like a startled spirit.

"Tsk..tsk.. that was so soft. It seems I need to make some time for my senior."

Murmuring to himself as he savored the memory of that softness, Zhiran jolted when a chilling voice pierced his mind, chilling him to the core.

It was Elder Yan Yue's; she must have been in dire straits, watching the outside all along.

"Cough... okay, elder."

Caught in the act, Zhiran cleared his throat awkwardly and hurried into the array, making for the heart beneath the Fiery Lotus.

As Zhiran pondered his next moves silently, his world suddenly inverted.

Rather, unseen arrays hurled him ahead forcefully, planting him on the jagged stone rim of the pool.

Overhead, massive fiery lotus blooms blazed, bathing everything in crimson-golden glow... yet now scalding waters lapped at his toes, their heat climbing his legs.

There, ahead, submerged deeply within the pool, Elder Yan Yue lurked, her form concealed by the undulating waves.

Billowing white mist rose like a veil of life, obscuring nearly all... yet Zhiran's pulse thundered, certain of her utter, magnificent nudity below.

Her robust, potent thighs glided lazily in the heated depths... swaying tantalizingly... an irresistible, perilous allure beckoning him...

One mere sweep of Divine Sense, a fleeting probe, and every concealed contour, every tender bare expanse would reveal itself amid the haze.

"Gulp!"