Chapter 202: The Downfall of Fang Yuan

"So, this is your perspective..."

"Do you believe you're the only one with wisdom?"

"We're fully aware that Jiang Chen treats us well, advocating for mutual aid!"

"However, he bears no intent of usurping us, he nurtures the aspiration that the four of us can advance in unison!"

"Why else do you think Jiang Chen rescued you time and time again!? Wouldn't his path be easier if you perished! Fool!"

"..."

Upon digesting Fang Yuan's remarks, Shangguan Ning promptly unleashed a vehement rebuttal!

"No!"

"His every action is but a façade!"

"His display is riddled with falsehoods!"

"Everything he's orchestrated, is solely to curry favor with you!"

"I was the one who brokered our pact, yet you rally behind him merely because of some trivial benefits he bestows! Is it not because his talents outshine mine!"

"Why else won't you stand unwaveringly by my side!"

"Both of you are equally guilty of duplicity!"

Fang Yuan's heart was a tempest of burgeoning negative emotions, his entire being verging on the precipice of a volcanic eruption.

"Fang Yuan!"

"Why do you suppose we exhibit amicability towards Jiang Chen? Is the reason not evident?"

Nangong Wan was clearly aggrieved, peppering him with questions in rapid succession, "Have you forgotten that Jiang Chen was aware of our existence and took it upon himself to seek us out with a warning?"

"Jiang Chen could have hoarded this secret, biding his time to trade it for considerable gains."

"But he refrained from such actions. His choices indeed had an objective, but one can't overlook his benevolence!"

"For us, Jiang Chen is indeed an ideal ally. The four of us banding together, supporting each other, is the optimum course for all involved!"

"It's specifically due to your envy and animosity, your pettiness, that you've continuously resisted Jiang Chen, resulting in the current predicament!"

"And yet, despite the dire state of affairs, you exhibit no signs of remorse!"

Shangguan Ning was much more forthright than Nangong Wan. Having lost all faith in Fang Yuan, she didn't mince her words any longer.

"No!"

"You're entirely misguided, Jiang Chen harbors malevolent schemes, he's a foe, an irreconcilable adversary!"

"You never put your trust in me! You've always harbored an interest in Jiang Chen from the outset!"

"Ah, devoid of honor, I'll exterminate you, annihilate you all!"

"..."

Fang Yuan succumbed completely, spouting disjointed sentences whilst desperately assailing the Soul Embodying Ring!

"Fang Yuan!"

Both Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning were flabbergasted, they hadn't anticipated Fang Yuan to descend into madness!

"Fang Yuan, cease this!!"

Jiang Chen's expression shifted drastically, and he promptly unleashed the 'Spirit Stirring Sting'!

Boom!

An imperceptible spiritual shockwave struck Fang Yuan without warning!

"Ahhh!"

Fang Yuan felt as though his head was on the verge of detonation, and he emitted a shrill shriek. The assault he had launched on the Soul Embodying Ring dissipated instantly.

Yet, he didn't desist.

At this juncture, Fang Yuan had even lost the support of Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning.

Confronted with Jiang Chen, his preordained adversary, he was in the throes of desperation!

He was certain of his impending doom.

But even on death's door, he yearned to exact a toll from Jiang Chen, Nangong Wan, and Shangguan Ning!

Nevertheless, Jiang Chen had no intention of allowing him to achieve this feat!

"Halt!"

Jiang Chen unleashed a furious roar, his body colliding directly with Fang Yuan's flank, followed by a swift knife-hand strike.

Instantly, the Soul Embodying Ring slipped from Fang Yuan's grasp.

Fang Yuan himself was propelled sideways, and with a thud, he landed in the pool of blood beneath the corpse of the demonic python, a beast proficient in the Great Dao of Poison.

Even post-mortem, the demonic python exuded a potent venom, which Fang Yuan, wielding only the Middle-stage Inquiring Journey realm combat prowess, couldn't withstand.

As Fang Yuan plunged into the pool of blood, his body immediately sank, and voluminous plumes of gray-white smoke spiraled into the air!

"Ahhh!"

Fang Yuan emitted a pitiful shriek.

He managed to thrash and crawl out of the crimson pool.

His protective artifact had been entirely obliterated, and a substantial portion of his skin was ulcerated.

What was previously a robust young man was now a gory, mutilated figure, unrecognizable from his former self.

Yet, without missing a beat, Fang Yuan commenced a frenzied dash into the wilderness.

As he fled, his deranged screams echoed, "Jiang Chen harbors the residual souls of two Void Tribulation realm great powerhouses! Whoever seizes them can ascend to the Third Step of the Cultivation Path!"

"Fang Yuan!"

Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning were aghast.

They hadn't foreseen Fang Yuan's desperation reaching such extents, he was seeking to lure them into their demise!

"We have no other options!"

A trace of pain flickered across Jiang Chen's visage, before he strode forward, launching an attack from behind Fang Yuan.

"You won't escape retribution...!"

Fang Yuan bellowed in fury, but his words came to an abrupt halt before he could complete his sentence.

For Jiang Chen's Peerless Sky Piercing Sword had already punctured his heart!

With an influx of raw, overwhelming power, Fang Yuan's life was extinguished in an instant.

[Ding! Congratulations on successfully eliminating the protagonist, Fang Yuan!]

[Ding! You have accrued 50,000 Villain Value points!]

[Ding! You have amassed 18,686 Black Heavenly Fate Value points!]

Three System prompts reverberated in Jiang Chen's mind.

He paid them no heed for the moment.

Instead, with a forceful swing, Fang Yuan's corpse instantly morphed into a streak of light, plunging directly into the gaping maw of the Dao Comprehension realm demonic python.

Within the python's mouth, a pool of venomous blood, now even more potent than before, had accumulated.

Once Fang Yuan's corpse was immersed in it, in the blink of an eye, his flesh and blood disintegrated, reducing him to a blood-soaked skeleton.

Only the Heavenly Origin top-grade spear, now corroded beyond recognition, bore witness to his identity.

At this juncture, a soft glow radiated from Jiang Chen's forehead, cascading onto the Soul Embodying Ring in his grasp.

Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning immediately felt a subtle binding force, and deep within their hearts, they instinctively understood that they were confronted with a binary choice: to refuse or to accept.

They could discern that the power guiding them to this intuitive realization was immensely, terrifyingly potent, far surpassing anything that the Void Tribulation realm could offer!

It was even stronger than the power of the Fourth Step of the Cultivation Path they had envisioned, by an incalculable magnitude!

As for the choices confronting them: if they opted to refuse, their current situation would persist; if they accepted, they would forge a deeper bond with Jiang Chen, one that was unbreakable.

Simultaneously, Jiang Chen was aware that his System had targeted the Soul Embodying Ring, providing Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning an opportunity to make a decision.

Although it may have seemed like the System was offering them a choice, in reality, everything depended on Jiang Chen's expected outcome and the route to achieving it.

'If Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning harbored no favorable feelings for me, the circumstances would be different.'

Jiang Chen mused to himself as a self-assured spark twinkled in his eyes, 'But now...'

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