I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 1718. Taking Advantage of Chaos Is Not Too Much to Say: The Birth of the Zhengyi Alliance

Time passed, and on the third day, Zhu Xuan noticed that his grandfather’s condition had improved significantly. Although his vitality was not yet fully restored to its healthy state, he could already walk on his own, and his cultivation was gradually recovering.

Zhu Xuan was naturally overjoyed and felt even more grateful toward the Patian Alliance’s leader, Gu Changge.

At the same time, after discussing with Shangguan Qing and the others, they decided to set out immediately to search for the whereabouts of the Pool of Fortune.

Just then, a tall woman in a purple dress appeared outside their courtyard, wearing a half-face mask that only revealed her smooth, flawless chin. She was accompanied by a group of people clad in the standard armor of the Patian Alliance.

Zhu Xuan, Shangguan Qing, and the others were shocked and could not understand the purpose of their visit.

Soon, a middle-aged man stepped forward from behind the purple-dressed woman and introduced their identities.

They were members of the Patian Alliance’s Patian Guard. The woman in purple was their supreme commander, a person of formidable strength and inscrutable methods, highly esteemed by the Alliance leader.

They had come under Gu Changge’s orders to accompany Zhu Xuan and his group, tasked with protecting their safety.

The purple-dressed woman was cold and aloof, exuding an aura that warned others to keep their distance. She did not greet Zhu Xuan or the others, seeming to treat their protection as nothing more than a simple duty.

After hearing the explanation, Zhu Xuan and the others felt reassured and gained greater confidence in this journey. As for the commander’s cold demeanor, they did not care in the slightest.

During the conversation with the middle-aged man and the others, Zhu Xuan learned more about the Patian Guard.

The middle-aged man was named Song Xiao, a Dao Realm existence. The rest of the Patian Guard members were not weak either; even the lowest among them were at the Xian King level, carefully selected through multiple trials.

As for the woman in purple, her strength was unfathomable.

Zhu Xuan also learned from Song Xiao that the supreme commander, Chen Jinhan, had a naturally cold, unsmiling disposition, which matched her name. She was not a native cultivator of the Xiyuan Civilization but had arrived there by traversing a spatial tunnel.

Song Xiao and the rest of the Patian Guard all held her in deep respect, for she had been summoned personally by the Alliance leader, making her one of the very few who had seen the leader’s true appearance.

Naturally, Zhu Xuan and the others did not dare to be negligent. If Gu Changge had assigned these guards to protect them, it meant that they were highly valued. They could not possibly look down on them or treat them merely as subordinates.

Later, a cross-domain flying vessel carried Zhu Xuan and the others, transforming into a streak of light as it quickly departed from the Patian Alliance headquarters.

Ah Li, who had been missing for several days, finally appeared on the vessel, but remained silent and indifferent, ignoring everyone else.

This, however, gave Zhu Xuan some relief. He had feared that Ah Li would leave the Patian Alliance early and seek the Pool of Fortune alone. With the Dark Beings rampant across the lands, no civilization was truly safe. If Ah Li had left with them that day, she might have already been marked and pursued by the Dark Beings. Even her strength could not guarantee survival against endless waves of these creatures.

Of course, Zhu Xuan was not naïve. With reminders from his grandfather and Shangguan Qing, he remained cautious, never fully trusting Ah Li.

Time flew, years passed. Flowers wilted and bloomed again. Since the emergence of the Dark Beings, the era of Black Calamity had returned to the world, and several hundred years had elapsed.

During these centuries, the chaotic situation of the cosmos underwent unimaginable upheavals—a massive reshuffling that could easily be called a great reset.

For powerful cultivators, a hundred years was but a blink. Yet for the realms of the world, each day passed like an entire epoch of suffering.

Countless clans and forces perished over these hundred years, consumed by the spreading black mist. Wherever it spread, the star systems dimmed, the universe decayed, and the True Realms withered.

Vast amounts of vitality were devoured. Once-majestic palaces, temples, and divine cities were submerged by the currents of history, leaving only traces of decay and the ravages of time.

The Dark Beings used the black mist as a bridge, traversing time and space to descend upon the True Realms. Within a mere few centuries, they occupied vast territories, constructing one blood-red altar after another that reached the heavens.

Bloodlight reflected across the dark cosmos; each star shimmered with crimson, cloaked in unstoppable black mist. The scene was terrifying beyond measure.

During this time, many newborn True Realms and ancient ones, without the protection of the strongest existences, had no chance to escape. They did not even know why this calamity had come.

One day, a massive black mist tore through the sky, descending like a storm, and nearly endless Dark Beings surged forth from ancient infernal lands, engulfing everything in their path.

Indigenous beings fell into despair, devoured by the black mist. Order collapsed daily. Entire worlds and universes were sacrificed as offerings to the Dark Beings.

Piece by piece, worlds were obliterated, buried in the depths of the mist. Such disasters repeated almost daily across the realms. The newborn and ancient True Realms were powerless. Those wandering worlds without support were like drifting leaves on an ocean, shattered by even the slightest wave.

To cope with this, many civilizations began to set aside old grudges, banding together to seek solutions.

Though the Dark Beings were formidable, they were not invincible. Absolute power could still destroy them. Yet the remnants of the Black Calamity acted cunningly, avoiding the strongest civilizations and targeting weaker, wandering True Realms.

They had plotted for countless ages, learning the coordinates of ancient True Realms, and descended in ways that defied prediction. Even Dao Realm existences had to tread carefully to avoid getting lost in chaotic space.

However, the attacks of the Dark Beings never followed reason. Even within chaotic realms, they could create vast and magnificent pathways.

This made defense exhausting, as vigilance could never waver.

“Kill! Fight these Dark Beings and outer demons to the death!”

On one blood-soaked land, shattered and broken, black mist rolled from the sky. The Dark Beings surged forth like a catastrophic hurricane. Continents, islands, and mountains collapsed.

Streaks of light shot forth from ruined cities and mountains, fierce and resolute, bearing a determination that defied death.

The sky and land were stained red with blood, filled with despairing and heroic cries. Every clan, sect, and civilization fought madly against the Dark Beings, having long abandoned fear of death.

The disaster struck suddenly; a rift appeared in the heavens, and the boundless black mist spread, corrupting all life.

Death and decay permeated the land; blackness covered the skies. Wherever the Dark Beings passed, life force drained instantly. Cities, governments, mortal realms, cultivation sects, hidden clans—none survived. Mountains shattered, heavens darkened, the world quickly collapsed.

Only a blood-red altar hung in the depths of the heavens, collecting all the drained life essence, like smoke rising to the sky or an inverted waterfall, magnificent and terrifying.

Once the black mist receded, the land remained cold, dead, and desolate. Such scenes became the main theme across the realms.

True Realms without the protection of the strongest were constantly at risk, living in fear, never knowing when the next calamity would strike. Moving their worlds was unrealistic, except for ancient True Realms able to survive multiple celestial tribulations.

Even the strongest among newborn True Realms could not hope to traverse the cosmos, let alone relocate all inhabitants. It was hopeless and despairing.

Those True Realms that had submitted to the Patian Alliance, however, were extremely fortunate. Their decision to join was entirely correct.

Hundreds of years later, only territories under the Patian Alliance’s protection remained untouched by the Dark Beings—a rare peace in the chaotic realms.

By contrast, even the strongest True Realms were precarious, unable to guarantee safety for others.

Shuheng True Realm, with many Dao Realm existences, had existed for ages and could be called a supreme True Realm. Yet it had nearly been breached; the ancient True Realms attached to it had fallen one by one, consumed by black mist.

Once-prosperous cosmic territories were now desolate. In just a few centuries, even a True Realm with tens of millions of years of history had crumbled, rapidly decaying.

This was due, in part, to immortal-level Daoist forces who, seeing surrounding ancient True Realms fall, used great Dao techniques to open escape pathways, evacuating their sects overnight and abandoning Shuheng True Realm rather than resisting to the end.

Now, Shuheng True Realm served as a defensive line in the chaotic cosmos.

The original cosmic territories were shattered, filled with corpses, broken weapons, and lingering murderous intent. This became a natural barrier. On the other side, other True Realms sent vast numbers of strong cultivators to guard the line, deploying trillions of array formations and countless interwoven runes, building grand platforms and impregnable walls to resist the Dark Beings.

Meanwhile, other unfallen True Realms had already been abandoned by the strongest, left as a second line of defense.

Countless cultivators, carrying their last hopes, attempted to cross the shattered cosmos, unaware of the cruel fate awaiting them. These defenses offered limited protection; the Dark Beings could bypass Shuheng True Realm entirely and strike elsewhere. Yet for the True Realms, every day of delay mattered.

The cosmos had been tranquil for too long; even supreme True Realms lacked experience in handling the Dark Beings. They were helpless and unsure how to respond.

Over these centuries, as the Patian Alliance expanded, a peaceful zone emerged, centered on the Xiyuan Civilization, radiating outward. Many True Realms submitted, accepting Patian protection, creating a safe haven.

Strong clans and sects, upon hearing of this, tried to relocate, seeking refuge in the safe zone.

As the Patian Alliance grew, the safe zone expanded, becoming a sacred sanctuary amid the chaos, admired by countless cultivators and beings.

Over hundreds of years, the Patian Alliance reached unprecedented prominence.

During this time, after decades of chaotic war, the neighboring Xudan Civilization, once a supreme True Realm, fractured, declining to the level of an ordinary ancient True Realm.

A century ago, the Grandmaster of the Yuxian Palace, Ling Yuling, and elders of the Xiyuan Holy Hall visited Xudan Civilization, attempting to mediate and unite factions to resist the Black Calamity.

However, Xudan’s factions refused to submit to the Patian Alliance or accept its governance. Despite Ling Yuling’s repeated negotiations, discussions ended in failure.

Xudan would unite only on equal terms, not as a subordinate.

“No subordinate clauses! We accept an alliance, but only as equals.”

Undoubtedly, this led to the Patian Alliance launching a fierce campaign against Xudan.

Their vast armies crossed the cosmos, commanding ancient warships and vehicles, striking Xudan Civilization.

Immortal-level Daoist forces thought their Dao Realm existences ensured safety from the Black Calamity, but for weaker factions, the Patian Alliance brought a beacon of hope, a chance for survival.

After all, the immortal-level forces might flee to other realms, abandoning Xudan entirely. Survival of the foundation meant they could rebuild later.

The precedent of Shuheng True Realm was right before their eyes. Who would risk trusting others to fight to the death?

Over the following decades, Xudan descended into internal war. The Patian Alliance’s intervention accelerated its collapse, hastening its decline.

This chaotic war shocked all realms; no one expected the Patian Alliance to seize the moment and annex Xudan. Taking advantage of chaos was not an exaggeration.

Xudan’s decline, eventually absorbed entirely by the Patian Alliance, instilled fear even in the strongest True Realms.

With the Black Calamity ongoing, the Patian Alliance did not first unite with others against the Dark Beings; instead, it expanded openly, annexing nearby civilizations under the guise of protecting all life, ignoring moral boundaries.

Even the strongest True Realms could not escape its reach.

Such actions were infuriating, shameful, and utterly beyond righteousness, appearing almost complicit with the Dark Beings.

In the following decades, civilizations led by Shangyin True Realm and Yanyang True Realm, responding to this, decided to unite, emulating the Patian Alliance, forming a coalition to resist the Black Calamity.

Thus, the Zhengyi Alliance was born.