[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-a-villain":3,"chapter-i-really-am-a-villain-i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-542":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Really Am A Villain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1433417,1885,"Chapter 542 - Ruins of The Legendary Era","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-542",542,"\u003Cp>As Xu Zimo stepped toward the stone stele, a group of guards immediately moved to block his path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This road is closed. Take another route.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since we’re here, why not take a look?” the God Emperor said, ignoring them and turning to Xu Zimo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo gazed into the distance. The collapsed mountain was shrouded in a dense mist. He could faintly sense a powerful energy radiating from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s check it out,” Xu Zimo nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, didn’t you hear us?” the leader of the guards said coldly. “One more step, and you die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Leave, or die. Your choice,” the God Emperor replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards sneered. The leader drew his sword and slashed at the God Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the God Emperor simply glanced at them. With a thunderous boom, an explosion erupted in front of them, flattening everything in its path. All was reduced to dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two of them stepped forward, continuing on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they walked deeper, Xu Zimo felt the unique energy pulsing stronger, emanating from the center of the mountain ruins and spreading outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the plants and trees that absorbed this power grew unusually lush and vigorous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This energy is strange,” Xu Zimo commented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah. I’ve never encountered it before,” the God Emperor nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two walked for several minutes before reaching the mountain’s base, where several groups had already gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder from the Heavenly Dao Academy, along with his five students, sat cross-legged on a large boulder, eyes closed in meditation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the left was another group of elders and young disciples, based on their robes and attire, Xu Zimo guessed they were from Grand River God Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the far right sat a lone elder whose aura was extremely powerful. Judging by the pressure, Xu Zimo estimated he was at least 5th-stage God Meridian Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Excluding the younger generation and reclusive Immortal Ancestors, these individuals were likely the peak combat strength of their sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the mortal world, God Meridian Realm was the highest tier of cultivation most people could ever witness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The path from the mundane to the immortal was something the average person couldn't even fathom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just achieving God Meridian Realm was a lifelong dream for most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the sect robes, Xu Zimo could recognize those from the major imperial lineages. But the rest, about a dozen rogue cultivators, were unfamiliar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike disciples from powerful sects, rogue cultivators had to rely on themselves. They hunted for treasures wherever there were ruins or secret realms. Without a faction to support them, they had to earn all their resources through their own efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo and the God Emperor’s arrival didn’t go unnoticed. The others turned to look at them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo could feel a subtle pressure in those gazes, an unspoken show of strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What, never seen someone this handsome before? If you want to fight, step up. If not, then piss off,” Xu Zimo said flatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his words, an old rogue cultivator let out a dry chuckle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man had yellowed teeth and carried a gourd on his back. He grinned with a wheezy laugh: “Feisty, aren’t you, little brat?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kill him,” Xu Zimo said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The God Emperor lifted his right hand and slowly pressed downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, his palm transformed into an immovable mountain, massive, majestic, and unstoppable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rogue cultivator’s God Meridian aura surged around him, but the crushing force of that hand made him feel as though his soul was about to shatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others may not have felt the full pressure, but the old man was drowning in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His spiritforce stagnated. His blood nearly froze. It was like having a mountain dropped on his chest, he could barely breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bit down hard on his tongue to remain conscious. Blood poured from his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after that pain did he manage to scream: “Gourd!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gourd hanging from his waist suddenly flew into the air, erupting with brilliant five-colored light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That light shot toward the God Emperor’s descending hand while wrapping around the old man to pull him to safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with a loud boom, the light shattered instantly when it touched the divine hand, barely lasting even a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the gourd managed to rip open space, letting the old man escape into a spatial rift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The God Emperor frowned slightly, then flicked his finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding space locked in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man was forcibly ejected from the rift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spare me, senior! I didn’t know you were such a powerful being. Please forgive me! Spare me!” the old man cried as he dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Interesting gourd,” the God Emperor remarked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s from the Immortal-Chasing Vine,” the old man explained frantically. “It blooms once every 2,000 years and bears fruit after 3,000. It takes 5,000 years to grow a single gourd. I’ve spent a millennium refining it into my personal weapon. If you like it, senior, it’s yours!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, the old man placed the gourd before the God Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he looked closer, his face turned pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands trembled as he saw countless cracks across the gourd’s surface, as if it were on the verge of shattering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This gourd was supposed to be nearly indestructible, even by immortal experts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet just from the God Emperor destroying the light it emitted, it had been nearly ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man swallowed hard, staring in horror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of monster is this!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked like he might cry, kneeling and pleading nonstop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young master, do we kill him or let him go?” the God Emperor asked, turning to Xu Zimo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me what you know about this place,” Xu Zimo replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man lifted his head and was surprised to see that the one in charge was the seemingly ordinary youth before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, young master!” he quickly answered and began explaining everything in detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo finally understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the old man, this ruin wasn’t ordinary. It might date back before the Legendary Era itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumor had it that someone from Grand Origin Sect once uncovered a crystal stone here, a kind that was lost even during the Desolate Era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It dated back even earlier, to when the Primordial Heartlands was still a single landmass, before it split into five great continents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some believed the tale, others didn’t. But many were intrigued enough to come and investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruins had not yet opened. Everyone was waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Grand Origin Sect, the ruins would officially open in three days, during the full moon night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the surrounding onlookers, who had witnessed the brief clash, were completely stunned into silence, their eyes wide with disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>",1113,"2026-06-06T01:06:54.179Z",1,"novelbin.me","a1a1ba4dac0cc0cd65ee062915bdf64f6324a4ead784ce92c7afaa7c7bf7bb08","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-543","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-541",1822,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-a-villain-cover.jpg"]