"Hmph! You really thought you and my Junior Brother Ling were being so secretive?"
Ji Chang released his grip with a disdainful flick of his wrist and leaned closer, his voice dripping with arrogance.
"You underestimate the Western Wilderness Ji Clan far too much, and you underestimate my power, Ji Chang, even more!"
"As a True Inheritance disciple of the Divine Dao Sect, your status is utterly incomparable to mine. The only reason I haven't broken the sect's rules is because I choose not to. Yet even so, countless cultivators clamor to serve under me."
"I know exactly when you and Ling Feng met, every word you exchanged—even the ones unspoken!"
Staring at Ji Chang's handsome, mocking face, Luo Nichang felt a surge of fear, terror, and a maelstrom of negative emotions.
She never imagined that her carefully concealed scheme had been discovered long ago.
The vast Inner Sect of the Divine Dao Sect had been completely infiltrated by this man. A mere Qi Refining cultivator like herself had walked straight into his trap.
Ji Chang would undoubtedly kill her now!
Under the crushing weight of mortal peril, her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Through his double pupils, Ji Chang could clearly sense that the beautiful, mature woman before him wasn't feigning fear—she was genuinely terrified.
Of course, the truth was far from what he claimed.
No matter how powerful the Divine Dao Sect was, it was still just one of the top factions. How could they possibly allow a mere disciple to infiltrate every aspect of the Inner Sect? Not even a powerful elder could achieve such a feat, let alone a disciple.
At most, the Divine Dao Sect might show some slight favor to Ji Chang, the Ji Clan's legitimate heir.
His ability to foresee events stemmed from his thorough knowledge of the original novel's plot.
However, mere fear wasn't enough...
Thinking of his schemes, Ji Chang continued:
"Among the entire Ling Clan, only you, Matriarch, possess any semblance of beauty that catches my eye. Yet you turn out to be a brainless, busty fool!
I must have misjudged you!"
"This insignificant Ling Clan—do you, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, truly believe you can withstand the wrath of my Ji Clan?"
"Use your head!"
"You plotted to harm the sole legitimate heir of the Ji Clan's Clan Head. Even aside from other considerations, my father is a Nascent Soul True Monarch, and my mother is a Golden Core True Person.
Do you honestly think the Divine Dao Sect would risk protecting all of you for the sake of Ling Feng, who only recently attained True Inheritance status? How laughable!"
"Let me tell you the consequences of your success!"
As he watched Luo Nichang's face grow paler and her body tremble slightly, the amusement in Ji Chang's eyes deepened.
"If you succeed, Ling Feng will benefit. The Ling Clan, possibly even those connected by blood, might preserve their legacy. But you, the Matriarch who only married into the family a few years ago, will undoubtedly be made the scapegoat—even if it only slightly appeases the Ji Clan's wrath.
Then, your soul will be extracted and refined, leaving you trapped between life and death, begging for either but finding neither..."
"Ah~!"
The chilling final words sent Luo Nichang screaming in terror.
He wasn't making empty threats. According to the original plot, the protagonist's stepmother truly was made the scapegoat. While the poison was difficult to cure, it wasn't insurmountable for an Eternal Longevity Clan. Thus, in the original story, Ji Chang wasn't directly crippled.
Instead, losing this chance at the True Inheritance forced him to break through his limits, advancing his cultivation further.
Correspondingly, the scapegoat Luo Nichang fell into his hands, enduring chapters upon chapters of lurid torment.
"Now, tell me, you foolish woman—do you still want to be your adopted son's scapegoat?"
"No, no! I don't want this!"
An overwhelming pressure crushed Luo Nichang's heart. In a daze, she seemed to see herself captured by Ji Clan cultivators, pierced by countless arrows, her soul extracted and refined, trapped between life and death, begging for either but finding neither.
Her cherished foster son, Ling Feng, had risen to become a revered True Inheritance Heavenly Pride, stepping over her corpse to achieve his glory.
Even the Ling Clan had gradually grown stronger, with no one caring about her, the outsider Matriarch who had only been married into the family for a few years.
Ji Chang's cold words, though cruel, forced her to confront the gravity of her situation.
She had naively believed that everything would resolve itself once Ling Feng became a True Inheritance disciple of a major sect.
But she had never considered that she would always remain an outsider, utterly unable to withstand the Ji Clan's wrath.
As for relying on her foster son Ling Feng's protection, she had entertained such thoughts before.
But if he could push his own foster mother forward as a sacrifice... would he truly shield her from the Ji Clan's overwhelming fury?
More likely, he would simply sacrifice her again.
With the influence of the protagonist's halo shattered, Luo Nichang's intellect returned.
The more she pondered, the more terrifying the implications became!
While she was lost in this mental storm, Ji Chang across from her also froze momentarily.
Ding! Detected Host altering the Fate Trajectory of the Heaven's Mandate Female Lead. Reward: 500 Heaven's Mandate Points! Host Template activated!
Host: Ji Chang
Age: 21
**Cultivation Realm:** Early Foundation Establishment
**Bloodline:** Holy Demonic Physique (Heaven-Grade, Sealed), Innate Double Pupils (Earth-Grade, Awakened), Devouring Origin Demonic Body (Sealed)
**Spirit Root:** Top-Grade Mutated Lightning Spiritual Root
**Cultivation Technique:** Profound Lightning Void-Piercing Manual
**Heaven's Mandate Points:** 500
A System had inexplicably appeared within his sea of consciousness! How could he not be astonished?
Thanks to the powerful spiritual sense of an immortal cultivator, Ji Chang quickly grasped the Heaven's Mandate System's purpose.
The world's fate and karma were woven into a vast web, with the Heaven's Chosen and those around them possessing the thickest strands of Heaven's Mandate.
The Heaven's Mandate System, officially the Heaven-Defying Fate-Altering System, functioned by stealing the ethereal Fate Power to alter one's destiny against the will of Heaven.
To amass Fate Power, the best method was to alter the fate trajectories of the protagonist group, especially the Heaven's Chosen. Even minor changes to their fate could yield a thousand or ten thousand times more Heaven's Mandate Points than ordinary people.
This Fate Power was converted into Heaven's Mandate Points by the System. Currently, these points could be used for lotteries, costing 1,000 points per draw. Unfortunately, he was still 500 points short.
"What a pleasant surprise!"
Even without the System, Ji Chang had been confident he could reach the pinnacle of this world, relying on his foresight and the Ji Clan's formidable power. Now, with this additional advantage, his confidence soared.
The pinnacle of this world?
No, he would ascend to the upper realms, even become an immortal ancestor!
He glanced at the protagonist's adoptive mother, who was sprawled on the ground, trembling violently as she pondered the terrifying implications.
Ji Chang smiled faintly. *Let's start with her.*
*Swish!*
A flash of spiritual light erupted from his right hand, and an ancient box, engraved with intricate sealing patterns, materialized in his palm.
"A Foundation Establishment Pill!"
"And a mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill with a sixth-grade Pill Pattern!"
The alluring fragrance of the pill drew Luo Nichang's attention away from her internal struggle. When she saw the contents of the box, she couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
Her cultivation had long reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, but with only a mid-grade Spirit Root and no Foundation Establishment Pill to assist her, her chances of breaking through on her own were slim. Failure would shatter her meridians, rendering her a cripple.
That was why she had never dared to attempt the breakthrough!
And the Ling Clan's Foundation Establishment Pills, controlled by the Council of Elders, would never be given to an outsider like her.