I Truly Am The Villian Chapter 2654 - 2653: Toad Spirit, the Protection and Killing of Rules

Xu Zimei was in no hurry to make any choice.

Instead, he looked at the old man before him.

In truth, this bustling marketplace, as a Deceit Domain, contained many anomalies.

But these anomalies, at a glance, didn't seem to possess much intelligence.

They all seemed to be acting purely on instinct.

They obeyed the rules, like products born under rules without any mind of their own.

Yet this old man in front of him was one of the few truly intelligent existences.

So Xu Zimei was quite interested in talking more with him.

Hoping to glean more information from it.

Thus he asked, "There are actually a few things I'm really curious about."

"Can you dispel my confusion?"

Hearing Xu Zimei's words, the old man smiled.

It had been a long time since he'd seen someone this interesting.

Normally, when people see anomalies like them—

They either rage like thunder, or cower like mice.

Very few can remain this composed, calmly chatting with him.

He smiled and said,

"Go on then. If it's something I can answer, I'll naturally answer you."

"If it's something I can't, you can't force it out of me either."

Xu Zimei pondered for a moment.

Then said, "Why is it that all of you insist on obeying these so‑called rules?"

"Where do these rules come from?"

If a world has a Creator,

Then the existence of rules would still be somewhat reasonable.

Such rules would make the entire world flourish all the more.

Because rules follow the will and direction set by the Creator.

But a place like the Heavenly Burial Grounds—could there really still be a Creator distinct from it?

Xu Zimei didn't understand.

Hearing his question, the old man shook his head slightly.

And said, "What we obey is not the rules of this shattered land, what you people call the Heavenly Burial Grounds."

"What we obey are the rules of the New Universe."

As those words fell, Xu Zimei's brows suddenly knit tight.

This situation was clearly beyond what he'd anticipated.

In many cases, he'd thought of the Heavenly Burial Grounds as something special, an independent entity.

But upon hearing this, all of a sudden, he realized he had missed some very important information.

For example: the New Universe had already been established, and was at the peak of its own era.

And in this period, the Old Universe still existed.

Naturally, the New Universe would see it as a thorn in its eye.

It would definitely wish for the Old Universe to vanish as soon as possible.

So to some extent, the power of the New Universe would inevitably exert influence upon the Heavenly Burial Grounds.

It was just that Xu Zimei hadn't expected

That the rules constraining the anomalies would not belong to the Heavenly Burial Grounds itself.

But instead be rules laid down by the New Universe.

Yet what was the meaning behind establishing such rules?

"To protect the beings who come here to explore?" Xu Zimei asked.

"Wrong. To kill the beings who come here," the old man replied with a smile.

Those words left Xu Zimei even more puzzled.

If the goal was to kill the beings that came here, then why have rules at all?

Isn't the point of rules to protect explorers, to prevent them from being attacked by anomalies?

Seeing that Xu Zimei clearly didn't understand, the old man didn't explain further.

He only spoke calmly.

"Not to be spoken, not to be voiced. You'll have to grasp it on your own."

"Once you can comprehend all of this, you'll realize this is a grand game of chess."

"A grand game between the New and Old Universes."

"You and I are both pieces, merely differing in black or white."

"In the end, victory belongs to the one who plays the pieces, not to the pieces themselves."

The old man seemed quite fond of speaking in riddles.

After finishing, he no longer intended to answer any of Xu Zimei's other questions.

Instead he said, "So, are you planning to defy the rules, or abide by them?"

"What good does killing me do you?" Xu Zimei asked.

Generally speaking, those anomalies that delight in slaughter are the ordinary ones without intelligence.

Whereas beings like this old man, with clear intelligence and even terrifying strength—

Would he really go through all that trouble, even throw out an Epochal Heavy Weapon, just for pure killing?

That clearly made no sense.

So Xu Zimei doubted and speculated.

"If I kill you, I live."

The old man said this calmly.

By now, he was clearly growing impatient.

Pressing forward, his momentum vast and oppressive as it bore down on Xu Zimei.

Forcing him to make a choice.

"What, are you still hesitating?"

"Since that's the case, I'll take you into my Infinite Mysterious Realm."

The old man waved his hand, and the entire marketplace began to spin.

At once, black winds howled.

As for Zhou Yanjun, Qiu Baiyin, and the Two-headed Bear along with You Jin, those four—

Because they hadn't taken anything from within the marketplace,

The power of the Deceit Domain repelled them directly out.

As long as they didn't violate the rules here, the anomalies naturally wouldn't make a move on them.

Only Xu Zimei was trapped in boundless black mist.

Those anomalies still didn't attack Xu Zimei.

Because as long as Xu Zimei didn't walk out of the black mist, or proactively strike at them,

It meant he was obeying the rule of staying.

The anomalies naturally couldn't be the first to break the rules.

But upon seeing this scene, Xu Zimei already felt there was no need to stay any longer.

He stretched out his hand, and at once a vast power erupted from his body.

His right foot stamped down onto the earth.

With a resounding "bang."

With the accompanying boom, under that shocking power, the entire ground shattered and split apart.

The force surging around Xu Zimei directly suppressed the entire Deceit Domain; even the black mist rippled.

Xu Zimei waved his hand again.

The overwhelming power almost lifted every single anomaly in the Deceit Domain into the air.

Suspended mid-air, unable to move.

Those anomalies struggled, and even the old man was hoisted up with them.

Yet he was not flustered.

Instead he watched Xu Zimei, laughing loudly.

And replied, "In the end, you still couldn't hold back."

"I've seen too many like you. You possess commendable strength and are rarely bound by rules."

"Look—this is the weakness of human nature."

"Even with rules binding you, you're still the ones who trample them underfoot."

"With your strength, killing you will let this old vessel of mine step onto the ship of a new age, and be fully reborn."

The old man laughed loudly, the aura around his body growing ever more domineering.

"Boom rumble, boom rumble."

The next instant, he opened his mouth wide and inhaled.

In a single moment, all the anomalies present turned into streams of air and surged into his mouth.

His form grew larger and larger, even his features twisting grotesquely.

At this point, he no longer looked like a human.

But like a huge, pot-bellied toad.

Its whole body was green, covered in countless poisonous warts, constantly bubbling.

Disgusting yet vicious.

His body was massive, like a small mountain.

Looking again now, one realized that within this Deceit Domain there had never been that many anomalies.

So-called Deceit Domain—just him alone, Toad Spirit, was enough.

"This mountain man was originally a Miao Wa at the foot of Qingtanshan. Now, with you as meat in my belly, I most enjoy feasting on ants."

As the toad spoke, its tongue curled.