Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist Chapter 954: Fifth Order Beasts Appear

Above the flaming structures of the Fragrance Melody Sect, the heavens transformed into a lethal territory meant solely for the cultivation realm's divine beings. The atmospheric weight in this place could flatten a regular person into mush, twisted by the colliding presences of Core Formation powerhouses. The clouds bore a savage, purplish tint, echoing the turbulent powers loosed by the demon assailants.

Amid the stormy chaos, Sect Leader Hua Yimei hovered, her graceful pink garments lashing wildly about her curvaceous body. Her features, typically a vision of tranquil, refined elegance, now displayed a veil of frosty rage, even as sweat drops blemished her impeccable brow. She held the sect's greatest relic, the Nine-String Phoenix Zither, tightly in her grasp. This device, newly enhanced with the Nirvana Phoenix Fire Wood that Wang Jian's team had "retrieved," throbbed with a lively, golden-crimson warmth that felt like it carried its own rhythm.

Confronting her stood three horrors shrouded in scarlet mist.

At the forefront floated the Iron-Blood Hall Master, a Late Stage Core Formation cultivator whose flesh resembled stripped sinew and whose gaze blazed with ravenous desire. On either side of him were his two Vice-Hall Masters, each in the Middle Stage of the Core Formation Realm. Together, they created an oppressive formation of blood-qi, determined to overwhelm the stunning sect leader.

"Hua Yimei!" the Iron-Blood Hall Master bellowed, his tone like damp stones scraping harshly. With a talon-like gesture, he called forth a stream of thickened blood that coiled around him like a snake. "Your fight is pointless! The formation is shattered! Your elders are perishing! Yield now! Serve as my cauldron, surrender the Phoenix Wood, and perhaps I'll spare your disciples as servants to heat our beds!"

His stare fixed greedily on the zither she held. His craving went beyond the woman; he coveted the treasure too. He understood she had incorporated the Phoenix Fire Wood into her bonded artifact. Capturing both her and the zither would let him employ his sinister techniques to draw out the wood's pure Yang essence—and her Yin life force—to purify his bones and advance to the Core Formation Realm's pinnacle.

Revulsion sparked in Hua Yimei's eyes. "You dare to taint my sect's inheritance? Keep dreaming, fiend! Even if it costs my blood essence, I'll pull you into the abyss with me!"

Her fingers danced over the zither's strings. No tune emerged; instead, she released a battle-ready harmony.

TWANG!

The vibration bypassed the ears, striking the spirit directly. The Phoenix Fire Wood's echo ignited. A huge, arc-like surge of audio, shaped like a fiery phoenix wing, burst from the zither. Its flames glowed golden and sacred, the natural foe of all blood techniques.

The pair of Vice-Hall Masters hissed in pain, pulling back as their blood barriers hissed and dissolved beneath the sound-based blaze.

"Impressive!" The Iron-Blood Hall Master scoffed. "But your power level is insufficient!"

He clapped his palms sharply. "Blood-Sea Barrier!"

A barrier of dense, sticky blood surged up before him. The phoenix blaze collided with it, heating the blood to a boil, yet the immense depth of the Hall Master's cultivation overpowered the assault. The flames flickered and faded.

"Now, come to me!" The Hall Master reached out. A enormous blood-energy talon appeared, lunging toward Hua Yimei.

She attempted to evade, but the two Vice-Hall Masters had circled her, firing coordinated barrages of blood needles that pinned her in place. She found herself cornered.

Right as the massive talon neared her protective shield to shatter it, a chilly, derisive voice sliced through the din of combat.

"You bark loudly for a dog."

The surrounding air heated up sharply. A dazzling azure glow stabbed through the red-tinged clouds.

Mu Lianhua rose from the turmoil underneath. Her ascent lacked the desperate rush of the fight; she ascended with poise and dignity, enveloped in the intensely refined Azure Sky-Heart Flame.

Though she restrained her cultivation presence to the Early Stage of the Core Formation Realm to align with Hua Yimei, her command of spiritual power was flawless, hinting at the mastery of a Peak authority.

"Who?!" The Iron-Blood Hall Master growled, detecting danger.

"The one who will bury you," Mu Lianhua answered with composure.

She lifted her right hand. A delicate, ornate item rotated in her grasp—her bonded treasure, the Crimson Lotus Cauldron.

"Grow."

The cauldron swelled rapidly, reaching the scale of a modest dwelling. It shimmered with intricate symbols, ablaze in blue flames.

"Smash."

With a quick twist of her wrist, she launched the enormous cauldron. It hurtled forward at unbelievable velocity, carving a void path through the atmosphere.

One Middle Stage Vice-Hall Master attempted to halt it using a protective relic—a bone-crafted shield.

CRACK-BOOM!

The cauldron collided with him. The bone shield exploded into powder. The Vice-Hall Master wailed as his chest caved in, and he was flung from the sky, spiraling toward the sect's terrain far below like a damaged puppet.

The abrupt entry of another Core Formation powerhouse altered the situation at once.

Down below, the four Fifth Order Spirit Beasts released by Wang Jian's team bellowed together. They refused to remain grounded.

The Sky-Ripper Eagle cried out, its wings slicing the wind as it clashed with an Early Stage Demonic Elder attempting to circle them.

The Black-Scaled Flood Serpent twisted through the sky, gliding through the air like liquid, targeting yet another Elder.

The Obsidian-Back Earth Bear bounded from a ridge, smashing a Demonic Elder against the rock wall, as the Azure-Fin Tidal Python unleashed intense water streams at a fourth.

The aerial conflict steadied. What was once a massacre evolved into a deadlock.

At the heart, it turned into a two-against-three confrontation. Hua Yimei and Mu Lianhua positioned themselves with backs together versus the Late Stage Hall Master and his surviving Vice-Hall Masters (one hurt but rejoining).

"Sister Mu!" Hua Yimei exclaimed, her gaze alight with gratitude and wonder. "Your flame... it counters their blood arts flawlessly!"

"Stay focused, Sect Leader," Mu Lianhua instructed, her tone even. "I'll manage the protection. You perform the tune of their end."

Mu Lianhua extended her arms. The Azure Sky-Heart Flame grew, crafting a shielding lotus of azure fire encircling them. The acidic blood fog from the demons met the blue blaze and disappeared with a sizzle, cleansed in an instant.

"Slaughter them both!" the Iron-Blood Hall Master thundered, enraged that his swift assault had bogged into a drawn-out conflict. "I'll rip the soul from that pill-maker and torment it for a century!"

Deep below, among the blazing edifices and cries of strife, Wang Jian slipped through the shadows of the central square. He severed a inattentive Demonic Deacon's head with a effortless sword swing, grabbing the storage ring from the tumbling body before it landed.

He gazed upward at the sky, observing the azure and golden fires battling the scarlet surge.

"Good," he murmured to himself, cleaning blood from his cheek. "Elder Mu is safeguarding the key figure. Hua Yimei remains secure, and Mu Lianhua conceals her actual might just enough to stay 'reliable' yet vital enough to prove essential."

He scanned the square. The ground skirmish raged intensely.

The Fragrance Melody Sect's disciples proved far from the vulnerable blooms described in scout reports. Inspired by the spirit beasts' arrival and the valiant efforts of Wang Jian's allies, they regrouped.

"Formation of the Weeping Willow!" a leading female disciple called out.

Fifty women in green attire synchronized flawlessly. They lifted bamboo flutes to their mouths. A eerie, shrill tune cut through the air.

The audio waves took form as countless see-through green willow limbs. They lashed across the sky, bypassing solid defenses, striking the essences of the demon foes.

"My head! Make it stop!" a squad of Iron-Blood disciples yelled, releasing their arms and gripping their heads as crimson dripped from their nostrils. The sound assault threw their Qi into disorder, triggering backlash in their blood skills.

"Illusion of the Thousand Dancers!" another team performed on pipas.

Rosy vapor swirled. The demon cultivators abruptly envisioned alluring, bare women twirling in the haze. Desire clouded their vision. They dropped their vigilance, stretching to seize the phantoms.

Slash.

The "dancers" morphed into gusts of slicing wind, beheading the desire-struck foes.

"They have bite," Wang Jian observed approvingly. "Good. That renders them worthy of rescue."

Still, the momentum hadn't completely reversed. The demon cultivators were battle-hardened, and their forces outnumbered the defenders.

And lingering at the fringe of the frenzied clash, filled with fear and hesitation, was Elder Pang.

Elder Pang, the Early Stage Core Formation Guest Elder, perspired heavily. He clutched his blade with shaky fingers. He had anticipated an easy capitulation or bargaining. He never bargained for a full-scale war with the Iron-Blood Hall. He sought an escape route, a means to bolt without slaughter from any faction.

Abruptly, an Early Stage Demonic Elder—presently hounded by the Sky-Ripper Eagle—noticed Elder Pang idling pointlessly.

Adhering to the narrative Su Ning had seeded in the Blood Shark Hall (and thus the whispers passed to the Iron-Blood Hall), the Demon Elder presumed Elder Pang served as their infiltrator.

"Elder Pang!" the Demon Elder yelled, his words enchanted to echo over the whole field of battle.

The fighters halted briefly. Hua Yimei, far overhead, glanced downward.

"Why are you just hovering there?!" the Demon Elder bellowed, fending off a wind edge from the eagle. "The formation fell as planned! You weakened the southern point just right! Now aid us in containing these cursed beasts! The Hall Master vowed you the females! Choose any disciples you want, just eliminate that eagle!"

The declaration hit the battlefield like lightning.

Up high, Sect Leader Hua Yimei stiffened. Her gaze whipped toward the quivering Elder Pang. Her look changed from weariness to icy, utter contempt.

"Elder Pang?!" she cried, her tone quaking with treachery. "You?! You betrayed us?!”

Elder Pang paled. "No! No! Sect Leader, it's false! I struck no bargain! I have no idea what he's saying!"

"Don't act innocent, you lustful weakling!" the Demon Elder chuckled, relishing the turmoil he stirred. "We got your diagram! We breached via your designated spot! Need more spirit stones? Battle, you fool!"

The proof was indirect yet condemning. Elder Pang was the sole Core Formation elder posted south. The violation occurred there. And Elder Pang had stayed clear of the vanguard.

"Traitor!" a Fragrance Melody disciple shrieked from below. "Elder Pang handed us to the demons!"

"Execute the traitor!"

Terror gripped Elder Pang. He eyed the incensed Hua Yimei, then the lethal Demon Elder, and at last the condemning stares of the disciples. His timid instincts prevailed.

"I... I'm getting out!" Elder Pang wailed. "This is insanity! I refuse to perish here!"

He spun away, burning his blood essence for a speed surge, and bolted toward the vast ocean, forsaking the sect he pledged to defend.

His escape sealed his doom. To all observers, a blameless soul would have remained to battle and clear his name. None but a culprit flees.

"Cowardice confirmed," Wang Jian breathed from the darkness, a wicked grin curling his mouth. "And off he goes. The ideal fall guy."

The Demon Elder, irritated by Elder Pang's ineffectiveness, huffed. "Worthless turncoat! You wish to escape? Perish!"

He hurled a lance of solidified blood at the escaping Elder Pang.

Thunk.

The lance pierced Elder Pang's back. Elder Pang howled, spewing blood, his presence waning, yet he pressed on. He harnessed the strike's force to hasten further, fading into the darkness, gravely injured and eternally marked a betrayer to the righteous way.

Hua Yimei observed his departure, her resolve toughening. "Traitor!" she shrieked, her voice breaking with sorrow and fury.

She poured all her leftover spiritual power into the Phoenix Zither. The Phoenix Fire Wood vibrated with her wrath.

"Phoenix Song: Nirvana Judgment!"

A gigantic, ghostly fire-phoenix burst from the zither. It loomed larger and fiercer than any prior summons. It shrieked, plunging not toward the Hall Master, but at the Demon Elder who addressed Elder Pang.

The Demon Elder strove to defend, but the phoenix blaze devoured his blood guard and struck him. He plummeted from the sky, a flaming meteor, smashing into the hillside.

"Concentrate on the foe, Sect Leader!" Mu Lianhua yelled, intercepting a counter blow from the Iron-Blood Hall Master. "We'll handle the betrayer afterward! Endure first!"

As the aerial spectacle unfolded, the terrestrial fight altered.

The Iron-Blood Hall Master, aware that seizing Hua Yimei and the Zither was turning into a lengthy, risky endeavor thanks to Mu Lianhua's meddling, adjusted his strategy. His avarice eclipsed his desire.

"Second Division!" he commanded into his transmission talisman. "Ignore the women! Storm the Treasury! Grab the artifact inheritances and the supply reserves! If we can't claim the sect, we'll plunder it clean!"

"Yes, Hall Master!"

On the ground, a squad of top Demonic Deacons—five warriors at the Peak of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment Realm—split from the primary fray. They advanced with order and swiftness, aiming directly at the sturdy stone entrance of the sect's primary Treasury chamber, situated at the mountain's foot.

Wang Jian, who had been steadily eliminating lesser adversaries, noticed the shift. His gaze sharpened.

'Oh no you don’t,’ he mused. ’That’s my upcoming prize. No one pilfers from me.’

He dashed forward. Activating his Void-Merging Breath, he blurred over the field. He cut off the group right as they approached the Treasury steps.

He appeared from the haze, positioned solitary on the stairs, obstructing their route. His dark robes bore marks of foe blood (and his fabricated injury), his sword aimed downward.

"Stop," Wang Jian stated evenly.

The foremost Demonic Deacon sneered. "One lone whelp? Move aside, or we'll flay you!"

Wang Jian lifted his chin. He amplified his voice, making sure the close Fragrance Melody disciples—who were withdrawing to the vault for cover—could overhear.

"You shall not pass!" Wang Jian thundered, his words brimming with valiant determination. "This is the legacy of the Fragrance Melody Sect! I will defend it with my life!"

The female disciples observed, their spirits lifting. This was the savior of their Young Mistress, now facing five superiors alone to shield their sect's destiny.

"Kill him!" the Deacon ordered.

The five demons rushed in, unleashing a volley of blood-blades and rotting skulls.

Wang Jian avoided nothing. He advanced.

He released his Stellar Qi.

This wasn't the limited presence he had shown. It was a glimpse of his real might—a dense, oppressive force that warped the air nearby.

"Stellar Severing Slash: Five Star Alignment!"

He slashed his sword five times in a blink. Five trails of dark starlight, keen enough to slice void, shot forth.

The blood-blades fragmented. The deacons' protective relics buckled like flimsy metal.

The head deacon lacked time to cry out. The Stellar Qi collapsed his torso right away. Two more lost their heads. The last pair were hurled back, their meridians ruptured by the force.

Wang Jian darted amid their falls. His movements blurred.

Swipe. Swipe.

With deft fingers that would baffle a skilled pilferer, he yanked the storage rings from the slain deacons before their forms struck the stone. To witnesses, it seemed he searched for vital signs or granted final blows.

"Filth," Wang Jian spat, shoving a body down the stairs.

"Master!"

Chen Ying dropped beside him, her Gale-Severing Frostblade slick with blood. "I spotted them splitting away."

"Good timing," Wang Jian acknowledged. "Cover the left side. Prevent them from reaching the doors."

"Yes."

United, they positioned before the locked treasury. They made no effort to breach it. They served as its sentinels.

To the sect, Wang Jian appeared as a honorable watchman safeguarding their past. To his mind, he was a serpent coiling over his treasure, biding time to tally the riches.

At that moment, a transmission talisman buzzed in his sleeve. It came from Liu Ruyan.

"Master. The injured are secure. The disciples are gathering under us. We have driven the foot soldiers back to the lower square."

Wang Jian peered toward the distance. A vivid azure burst illuminated the dark.

Yue Lingshan had triumphed.

The ragged rift in the sky over the southern bluffs started to mend. The crimson glow of the blood-formation weakened, subdued by the return of the pink, unified radiance from the Thousand-Petal Guardian Formation. The shield was rebuilding.

"The door is closing," Wang Jian whispered, a vicious smile gracing his lips. "Now... they are trapped with us."

Far overhead, the Iron-Blood Hall Master sensed the change in surrounding mana. The sect's formation pressure began to bear down, hindering his cultivation.

"The formation?!" he gasped, blocking a blow from Mu Lianhua. "How did they restore it so quickly?!"

He peered below. His forces on the ground fell to the spirit beasts. His top raiders lay dead at the treasury entrance. And the way out was closing.

Dread, icy and keen, stabbed his blood-thirst.

"Retreat!" the Hall Master screamed, his voice