I Am the Fated Villain Chapter 1311: The Destiny of the Cicada Clan, Doomed to Perish and Turn to Ashes

“Master…”

From afar, the silver-haired young lady dashed happily toward the green-robed woman, her footsteps nimble and brimming with delight.

“Jiu Mei, you've emerged from your closed-door cultivation?”

The stunning woman clad in black cast a mildly astonished look at the green-robed figure, though her face soon settled back into its typical composure.

“Greetings, Ninth Princess.”

The other white-robed individuals also offered respectful salutes as the green-robed woman drew near.

“I've emerged from seclusion.”

The green-robed woman gave a slight nod, her eyes shifting to the dark plumes drifting down through the fiery heavens. She continued, “This catastrophe's origin stems from my actions. I've dodged it across numerous ages, yet now I must confront and settle it all.”

“Are you certain? Your flight during the ceremony shamed the High Priestess before every clan. Without her regard for our clan's ancestral site's power, she might not have overlooked it so lightly, simply dismissing the issue.”

“If you approach the High Priestess at this moment, you could encounter her scorn,” the black-robed woman warned, her brows knitting together.

“Third Sister, don't worry. My decision is firm. Whatever fallout arises, I'll shoulder it myself.”

“Big Sister had to sacrifice herself because of me and has endured isolation for endless years, bearing her pain in silence without any to share it. If I can't withstand this minor disgrace, how could I ever look Big Sister in the eye again?”

“How could I face Mother and the rest?” The green-robed woman gave a gentle shake of her head, her voice steady and soft.

At these words, the black-robed woman and the others revealed faces tinged with complex feelings.

“The Ninth Miss has truly matured,” an aged voice remarked, laced with satisfaction.

Over these years, the High Priestess of the Ancient Civilization had dispatched powerful experts to hunt for the green-robed woman's location. Her escape amid the sacrifice ritual had humiliated the High Priestess in the sight of all clans. Moreover, it had provoked the True Realm's fury, unleashing endless dreadful repercussions.

Though afterward, the Cicada Clan's eldest princess had stepped in as the Ninth Princess's substitute for the offering and been dispatched to the beyond, easing the True Realm's rage for the time being, the High Priestess hadn't erased the embarrassment from that public display. Renowned for her vindictive and small-hearted ways, she kept sending formidable pursuers after the Ninth Princess, aiming to seize and return her.

Without the Cicada Clan's persistent shielding of the Ninth Princess's trail and masking of her presence, she would have been discovered ages ago.

At last, it appeared the Ninth Princess had come of age, validating their long vigil and safeguards.

“Third Sister, I can't predict the outcome of my visit to the High Priestess this time. Should I fail to return unharmed, I'd ask you to safeguard the True Realm I forged using the Immortal Dao Civilization's fire seed.”

“As its true spirit, I couldn't shield its people from invading foes or looming disasters. I wonder what fate has befallen them now.”

A soft sigh escaped the green-robed woman, her mind drifting as a subtle yearning flickered in her gaze. Yet this sentiment passed swiftly, restoring serenity to her features.

The black-robed woman nodded in response and assured, “I get it. Rest easy on that front. Though I never entered that True Realm, I sensed its prosperity blooming. It should evade severe crises for some time yet.”

“For a fresh True Realm to evolve into an ancient one demands not just vast stretches of time and buildup but also surmounting numerous ordeals and hardships. Try not to fret excessively. Across the boundless cosmos, myriad new True Realms emerge and fade daily.”

“The Immortal Dao Civilization's fire seed you granted that True Realm stands as its supreme fortune.”

The green-robed woman nodded faintly, holding her peace. With that, she pivoted and headed off into the horizon, ready to depart.

Noticing this, the silver-haired girl hastened after her, calling out, “Master, hold on! I want to accompany you!”

A touch of helplessness crossed the green-robed woman's face, prompting a quiet sigh. “I ought to have left you in his care from the start. Being near me has done you no favors.”

But the silver-haired girl's ears missed the faint whisper. She rushed up swiftly, hooking her arm through the green-robed woman's and gazing up at her with warm fondness. From a distance, the black-robed woman could only shake her head with a resigned air. Moments later, something crossed her mind, curving her lips into a subtle smile.

The first glimpse she caught of the little Wangyue beyond the Daochang True Realm suggested it carried a hint of Immortal Blood, destined with diligent training to revive the splendor of its ancient forebears someday.

Yet once she brought the little Wangyue to the Cicada Clan, its true colors emerged: a slothful glutton who shunned cultivation, preferring endless feasting, lounging, and deep slumber.

Despite the green-robed Ninth Sister's firm denials of being the little Wangyue's rightful master—insisting another held that role—the black-robed woman saw through it as mere reluctance on Ninth Sister's part to own up to her charge, embarrassed by the little one's ways.

Still, the Cicada Clan's once-stagnant existence had sparked with fresh energy since Ninth Sister and the little Wangyue arrived. Even their mother, in her waning days, now often displayed a soothing, tender grin.

“It's regrettable that Big Sister won't witness this…” The black-robed woman's thoughts turned somber, dimming the smile from her lips.

She shifted her attention to the aged silhouette and inquired, “Elder Qing Cang, any progress on the inquiries I tasked you with?”

As she spoke, a wave of her hand dismissed the surrounding figures.

“Elder Qing Cang, the investigation you assigned is yielding clues. But pardon my bewilderment—why this sudden focus on that doomed force?”

The figure addressed as Elder Qing Cang commanded deep esteem in the Cicada Clan. Her query drew a puzzled expression from him; it utterly escaped his grasp.

After all, even uttering that power's name filled him with dread, let alone dwelling on it, lest it draw perilous notice and spark dire fallout.

The Ancient Civilization differed from realms like Xiyuan or Xudan; it served as the True Realm's frontline outpost, heeding its directives and calls.

Indeed, countless such outposts dotted the True Realm's immensity, much like the Ancient Civilization. They often sparked celestial judgments and purges, following True Realm commands ahead of wider awareness.

Legends whispered in the Ancient Civilization hinted at an immortal from the True Realm lurking in its core—a paramount entity tied by blood to the True Realm's most enigmatic powers. It would rouse before tribulations, guiding reapers to cull essences across the endless void.

Thus, the Ancient Civilization held a profounder awe and insight into the True Realm than fellow grand civilizations.

“No matter. Share all you've uncovered,” the black-robed woman cut in, pulling Elder Qing Cang from his reverie. Her striking, icy visage betrayed no shift in feeling.

Elder Qing Cang paused briefly before replying. “Lately, the Xiyuan Civilization faces a pivotal upheaval tied to that power. Daoist sects are allying with past sages who opposed the Tiantian Organization, aiming to craft a Xiyuan Covenant to hinder its growth.” “Yet I suspect the Xiyuan Civilization's roots won't suffice to halt that power's ascent. Disaster might strike them instead. Its founders are horrifying, their motives inscrutable…”

“Every civilization and realm observes the Xiyuan Civilization's stirrings, even certain Ancient Civilization groups. Should the Xiyuan Civilization forge the Xiyuan Covenant, it would serve as a vital warning to all realms.”

The black-robed woman absorbed it all in quiet, without interjection. Finally, her stare deepened, as if pondering deeply.

“I see. My thanks for your diligence, Elder Qing Cang.” Myriad notions swirled in her thoughts, and unwittingly, her hidden hand clenched into a jade-like fist.

“Third Princess, no need for such courtesy. If that's all, this old one will withdraw.”

With those words, Elder Qing Cang, noting no further summons from the black-robed woman, leaned on his staff and departed unsteadily.

The black-robed woman lingered motionless for a beat, then lifted her eyes to the cosmic expanse before striding toward the splendid palace array nestled high in the canopy.

“The Heavenly Extermination Alliance, right?”

“If it comes to pass, might this not offer the Cicada Clan a chance to shatter its fated chains?”

She whispered to the empty air, her eyes flashing with icy resolve.

For the Ancient Civilization's myriad groups, mere mention of the ‘Heavenly Extermination Alliance’ stirred terror and awe.

Should anyone glimpse her inner designs then, they'd deem her deranged, courting apocalypse upon the whole Cicada Clan.

“Second Sister, I'll be away from the clan briefly. Handle internal affairs in my stead.”

Within the canopy's palatial depths, a vibrant-robed woman sat in meditation, lids shut. Seven-hued vapors cloaked her, while chaotic mists danced with her breaths. Visions of innumerable tiny realms shimmered about her, dazzling and sublime.

The black-robed woman stepped inside and waited soundlessly in the vast chamber, her allure still frosty and captivating.

“Leaving? To where?”

At this, the vibrant-robed woman gradually parted her eyes. Her ethereal, crystalline stare mirrored the celestial realms. Her tone rang like divine melody, enchanting any listener into rapturous trance, loath to return to reality.

“To the Xiyuan Civilization,” the black-robed woman stated evenly.

The vibrant-robed woman peered intently, as if piercing her sibling's every intent.

She refrained from blocking her, merely querying, “Are you resolved to proceed?”

“I'll face all repercussions myself. The Cicada Clan remains uninvolved,” the black-robed woman affirmed.

A faint sigh came from the vibrant-robed woman. “Fine, if you're set on it, I won't hinder you. But what of Little Nine's commission to you?”

“Isn't Second Sister present?” A rare, soft grin touched the black-robed woman's stern countenance.

The vibrant-robed woman gave a light head-shake, opting for silence. She resealed her eyes, resuming her trance.

The black-robed woman offered a deferential bow, then exited the chamber, streaking away as dark lightning into the boundless void.

“The Cicada Clan's destiny defies simple reversal. It's a thread countless ancestors failed to sever. How does shrewd Third Sister fail to grasp this?”

“I pray you avoid rash acts. The ancestral site's shield wanes for us soon.”

The vibrant-robed woman reopened her eyes, watching the black-robed form fade afar. A quiet sigh escaped her. She had long fathomed her third sister's schemes—covertly amassing details on the Heavenly Extermination Alliance, now bound for the Xiyuan Civilization.

Across the infinite void, the True Realm reigns as the ultimate heaven. To plot its extermination disrespects the True Realm profoundly and invites inconceivable defiance.

The horrors and reprisals that would ensue, she scarcely dared envision.

The Cicada Clan stood as a singular lineage in the vastness, echoing the era-spanning cicadas.

Each wingbeat marked an age's close, a wave of extinctions.

Through antiquity to now, the Cicada Clan's path reshaped time, cycled epochs, and reborn the cosmos in endless cycles of demise and renewal.

Their bond with the World Tree mirrored the phoenix's tie to its cherished paulownia.

The Cicada Clan pursued the World Tree, dwelling in symbiosis, fates intertwined in life and demise.

The World Tree—called World Tree, Ancestral Tree, Origin Tree—fostered all existence and spawned universes. Such was the Cicada Clan's ordained path.

From immemorial days, they embraced their lot, yielding to celestial will, revering and dreading the heavens.

Yet ultimately, the World Tree, their eternal guardian, fell to the True Realm's paramount force. Their race's destiny and prosperity crumbled, casting them as the Ancient Civilization's sacrificial pawns.

For the Cicada Clan to harbor no grudge or yearning to evade fate would be inconceivable.