Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist

The final major chamber was the Menagerie and Herbal Garden. It was a vast, artificially lit cavern where dozens of different rare and ancient spirit herbs grew in magically enriched soil.

This was clearly where Wang Jian had reaped his earlier harvest. But in the center, there were several stasis arrays, each containing a single, dormant beast egg.

One pulsed with shadowy energy, another with a deep earthy power, a third with a vibrant, windy aura.

And on shelves lining the walls were hundreds of neatly organized wooden boxes filled with the exact herbs he had harvested—Celestial Jade Stalks, Nine Petal Sun Orchids, Frozen Moon Root.

It seemed this legacy site was more of a storage site filled with loot meant to nourish the new body after a successful possession.

”This,” Wang Jian announced, ”will be my share.”

He began to collect the beast eggs and the numerous scrolls detailing beast cultivation. As the women were engrossed in their own chosen treasures, he made his way back to the Armory and Scripture Hall where Chen Ying was greedily absorbing the knowledge from the jade slips.

He approached her silently from behind. She jumped, startled, as he came to stand beside her.

”A fine collection, isn’t it, Senior Sister Chen?” he murmured, his voice low, close to her ear.

”Y-yes, Senior Brother Wang,” she stammered, trying to edge away, but he subtly blocked her path.

”I was just thinking,” he continued, his tone conversational, ”I should ensure you haven’t overlooked anything valuable. Allow me to… inspect.”

Before she could protest, his hand came to rest on her waist. It was a light touch, yet it felt like a brand of solid iron, pinning her in place. Chen Ying froze, her entire body going rigid. The heat from his palm seemed to seep through her robes, a terrifying, unwanted intimacy.

”You have a fine figure, Senior Sister Chen,” he commented idly, his thumb making a slow, deliberate circle on the soft curve of her hip. ”Very… resilient. Important for a cultivator.”

His hand then slid downwards, brazenly, possessively, cupping the full, magnificent swell of her buttock. He gave it a firm, appraising squeeze.

Chen Ying let out a tiny, choked gasp, her face flaming with a mixture of shame, fury, and sheer, paralyzing terror. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but his whispered threat echoed in her mind. ’…you will not leave the Blood Forbidden Ground alive.’ She stood perfectly still, trembling, a beautiful statue being defiled.

”Don’t be so tense,” he whispered, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, sending a shiver of dread down her spine. ”We are allies, after all.” His other hand came up, his fingers gently tracing the line of her trembling thigh. ”Remember our arrangement, Senior Sister. Silence is golden.”

He let his hands roam for a few more agonizing moments, establishing his dominance, ensuring her complete submission through fear. He saw the tears of humiliation welling in her eyes, saw the way her voluptuous body trembled under his touch.

And he found the sight of her, this proud, arrogant, exquisitely beautiful phoenix of the inner sect, trembling with a mixture of terror and unwilling arousal under his touch, to be utterly, intoxicatingly, sexy. He could almost taste her fear, and it was a more potent elixir than any pill. But he betrayed none of this on his face. Yue Lingshan’s jealous, possessive streak was a fire he had no desire to stoke unnecessarily right now. Discretion was paramount.

”I was just thinking,” he continued, his voice a low, intimate whisper that was for her ears alone, ”this ’Glacial Soul Forging’ art… it seems to resonate with my Glacial Bite sword. I believe it will be of more use in my hands than yours. You wouldn’t mind, would you, Senior Sister?”

It was not a question. It was a command wrapped in the thinnest veneer of politeness.

Chen Ying, trapped between his hard body and the cold stone shelves, her mind screaming in protest while her body was paralyzed by fear, could only manage a choked, pathetic sound. ”N-no… of course not, Senior… Brother Wang. Please… take it.”

”Excellent,” he murmured. He took the specific jade slip from the shelf beside her, his movements slow and deliberate. Then, with one last, firm squeeze of her magnificent, rounded buttock that made her gasp and flinch, he stepped back. He turned away from her as if the entire violating encounter had never happened, his expression returning to one of calm, professional assessment.

”The division seems fair,” he announced to the empty hall, his voice now at a normal volume. ”I trust everyone is satisfied.”

Chen Ying stumbled away from the shelves, clutching her robes, her face a pale mask of shame and terror. She quickly grabbed the ’Seven Absolutes Sword Art’ and a few other powerful-looking techniques, not even truly processing what they were, her only desire to put distance between herself and the handsome demon who now haunted her waking nightmares.

Wang Jian calmly regrouped with Yue Lingshan and Liu Ruyan. The four of them then methodically began to divide the vast treasures of the legacy dwelling, their alliance, however fraught with secrets and coercion, proving brutally efficient.

The division of the spoils was a testament to their differing priorities and Wang Jian’s subtle, masterful manipulation.

Chen Ying, as the one who possessed the initial map, was granted the lion’s share of the cultivation scriptures and battle techniques from the armory. It was a king’s ransom of knowledge, including several arts that reached the peak of the Core Formation Realm and the coveted ’Seven Absolutes Sword Art’. She also claimed a beautiful, ice-aspected low-grade spirit artifact sword, a blade even finer than her own ’Winter’s Kiss’. It was a prize that would have made her ecstatic just hours before. Now, as she placed them into her storage pouch, they felt like chains, binding her to the terrifying secret of the man who had granted them to her.

Yue Lingshan, her eyes shining with scholarly glee, claimed the entire Array and Talisman Study. The ancient diagrams etched into the walls, the cabinets filled with high-grade, blank formation plates, spirit-grade talisman paper, and rare runic inks were a dream come true for her. Under Wang Jian’s guidance, she knew she could use these materials to elevate her skills to a level that would astound her so-called tutors back at the sect. The thought of creating powerful, intricate arrays made her heart pound with excitement.

Liu Ruyan, the ethereal alchemist, found her paradise in the Artifact Forging Workshop. The rare spiritual metals—Starfall Copper that hummed with starlight, Frost Iron that wept tears of frozen Qi, Resonant Jade that could amplify spiritual energy—were materials her sect would pay a fortune for. The forging techniques, detailed on heavy metal plates, were archaic but profound, offering insights into artifact creation that were entirely different from the Crimson Pill Sect’s alchemy-focused methods. This knowledge, she knew, would be an immense contribution to her sect, elevating her own status significantly. She gathered every last ingot, every blueprint, her mind already buzzing with possibilities.

And Wang Jian… Wang Jian claimed the heart of the legacy: the Menagerie and the Herbal Garden.

He had already harvested the legendary herbs from the hidden grotto, but this secondary garden contained hundreds of other valuable, if slightly less mythical, spirit plants, all perfectly preserved. He took them all, every last stalk, root, and leaf, his storage pouches bulging with a botanical treasure that could fuel an entire sect’s alchemy division for years.

More importantly, he claimed the stasis arrays containing the dormant beast eggs. His newly acquired beast-taming scriptures and the Verdant Eternal Spring Essence coursing through his veins gave him a unique advantage. He could hatch these eggs, form soul contracts, and raise powerful spirit beast companions. The potential was limitless. He envisioned a future where he commanded not just powerful cultivators, but legions of ancient, fearsome beasts.

After everyone had secured their chosen treasures, leaving the once-opulent legacy dwelling echoing and bare, Wang Jian addressed the group. His gaze was steady, his voice carrying the weight of unspoken authority.

”We have all gained immensely today. This opportunity was brought to us by Senior Sister Chen’s knowledge, and secured by the strength and cooperation of all of us.” He gave a pointed look towards Chen Ying, a subtle reminder of the narrative they would all adhere to. ”We must remember our agreement. What happened within this inner dwelling, the legacy of Lan Fengzi, the treasures we have divided… this remains a secret among the four of us. The outside world, our sects, need only know of the Spirit Cleansing Pool. The glory of that discovery will be enough to satisfy them. Is that understood?”

Yue Lingshan and Liu Ruyan nodded in fervent agreement, their loyalty to him absolute.

Chen Ying gave a jerky, terrified nod, her eyes wide. ”Understood, Senior Brother Wang. Not a word.”

”Good,” Wang Jian said, a faint smile touching his lips. ”Then it is time to leave. Before my… ’repair’ of the barrier weakens further.”

He led the way back to the cavern entrance. The great wall of ice, which he had so dramatically reformed, still stood, solid and imposing. He walked up to it, placing a single palm flat against its frozen surface. He didn’t use brute force. Instead, he channeled a precise, controlled stream of his Steller Qi into the barrier’s core matrix, subtly reversing the flow he had used to seal it.

With a low groan, a section of the massive ice wall seemed to melt away, turning into shimmering water vapor, creating a perfect, arch-shaped doorway. It was an act of profound control, far more impressive to the discerning eyes of the cultivators than simply shattering it.

They stepped back out into the biting wind of the Glacial Heart Wastes. The three enraged Frost-Maw Devourers were gone, having likely wandered off in search of other prey. The desolate landscape was silent, empty.

As the three women behind him took in their first breath of the frigid outside air, a sense of profound, shared secrecy binding them together, Wang Jian’s mind was already leaping ahead.

He cast a quick, appraising glance over his shoulder. Three of the most beautiful, talented young women in the State of Yue now stood with him, tied to him by fate, ambition, and fear.

Yue Lingshan, his passionate princess, his first and most devoted conquest, her heart and body irrevocably his. Her magnificent figure, her fierce loyalty—she was a perfect foundation.

Liu Ruyan, the ethereal alchemist fairy, her heart now stirred, her loyalty bought with opportunity and a carefully planted seed of desire. Her otherworldly beauty and her invaluable skills made her a prize he would slowly, patiently, reel in.

And Chen Ying, the proud, cold phoenix, her arrogance shattered, her spirit now bound to him by terror and humiliation. Her voluptuous beauty and high status made her a tool of immense potential, a puppet whose strings he now held firmly in his hand.

’One princess, one fairy, one phoenix…’ Wang Jian thought, a cold, deeply satisfied smile touching his lips, a smile that was hidden from the women behind him. ’A fine collection to start with. The Blood Forbidden Ground has been most… productive.’ The hunt was far from over. In fact, it had just begun.