Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate

Chapter 242: Unearthing Gu Ran’s Trail

Sect Master Jing Chengwang, along with the two Supreme Elders, Le Zhengren and Zhu Zhihai, mobilized the entire Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect to gather all the spiritual plants of the Dao Comprehension and Dao Palace ranks in their possession.

At the same time, Ji Yilan ordered everyone who had been sent to search for Gu Ran to return.

To Jiang Chen’s surprise, there were no casualties—no one was harmed or missing. It seemed none of the searchers had encountered Gu Ran.

’Gu Ran didn’t kill anyone?’ Jiang Chen frowned, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

Either the search parties simply hadn’t found Gu Ran, or he had chosen to restrain himself. Regardless, Jiang Chen was not entirely pleased.

"Holy Son Jiang Chen, should I set out now to track Gu Ran’s location?" Ji Yilan asked respectfully.

"No need," Jiang Chen replied, shaking his head.

He continued, issuing fresh orders. "Stop the hunt for Gu Ran entirely. Let it appear as though he’s no longer on your minds."

Then, with added emphasis, he instructed, "Quietly gather any information about suspicious individuals or unusual events in major cities, and monitor all transportation arrays closely."

Ultimately, he knew he would need to take the lead himself. The Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect, despite its size, would have to play a supporting role.

"Understood." With a solemn expression, Ji Yilan affirmed his orders. "We’ll handle it efficiently this time."

Without delay, Ji Yilan and her team spread Jiang Chen’s directives, ensuring that every cultivator involved in the search for Gu Ran followed the new orders strictly.

Anyone who disobeyed would face immediate consequences.

...

Jing Chengwang handed over the spiritual plants to Jiang Chen without hesitation.

In total, he provided two Dao Palace-rank spiritual plants and over seventy Dao Comprehension-rank plants—a collection that stretched the Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect’s resources to their limits.

Jiang Chen accepted the plants without reluctance, planning to keep them as a hidden advantage for now rather than use them immediately.

At this point, Ji Yilan provided detailed information on Gu Ran, covering his life experiences and relationships.

As Jiang Chen reviewed the details, he was struck by the fact that Gu Ran had very few friends. Since joining the sect, Gu Ran had dedicated himself almost entirely to solitary cultivation, rarely stepping outside—an extreme recluse.

The person who knew Gu Ran best had been his childhood sweetheart, Bai Ling, who had ultimately betrayed him for the sake of his bloodline.

’I wonder if tools like the Aura Finder Smoke could be useful here,’ Jiang Chen thought to himself. He then asked Ji Yilan and the others, "Has anyone used any treasure capable of tracking Gu Ran’s aura?"

Ji Yilan replied with a serious expression, "The subordinates who were recalled earlier reported trying similar methods."

Jiang Chen then began to assess the specific Fate Value of these individuals to estimate their lifespans.

Among them, the majority displayed nearly identical Fate Values, indicating that their time of death would likely coincide.

It was highly likely that the Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect had already borne the brunt of Gu Ran’s massacre.

Jiang Chen then focused on a smaller group of supporting characters with even lower Fate Values.

The lowest among them hovered around six hundred points, suggesting they might survive for at least another month.

As expected, Jiang Chen thought. Gu Ran still needs time to grow stronger.

He extended his observation further toward the outskirts.

The Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect was located in a vast ocean, with most of the surrounding area barren. The farther one moved from the sect, the fewer islands there were.

In terms of population density, it was far lower than in the Everflowing Truth Domain.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen’s divine sense could scan a million kilometers in every direction.

With this powerful reach, he spotted some supporting characters on a moderately sized island.

These supporting characters had extremely low Fate Values—a clear sign that their deaths were near.

Finally pinpointing where Gu Ran would soon be causing trouble, Jiang Chen snorted with a smirk. "Gotcha," he muttered.

Still, he couldn’t deny that without his two Heaven-Defying Fate Changers, the Villain Eye and the Void Tribulation Soulring, tracking down this protagonist, Gu Ran, would have been a nearly impossible task. If it had been anyone else, they’d never have found him; they’d have let him grow stronger, only to end up ruthlessly slain by him.

A fleeting look of relief crossed Jiang Chen’s face as these thoughts ran through his mind, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

His next course of action was clear: confronting this new Son of Heavenly Fate—a challenge that would be no less difficult.

’Since Gu Ran was only at the Mysterious Platform realm not long ago, he shouldn’t have reached that island yet at his current speed,’ Jiang Chen mused confidently.

The island in question, after all, was extraordinarily remote, at least nine hundred thousand kilometers away. If Gu Ran could cover such a distance in so little time, it would be nothing short of horrifying.

Putting these considerations aside, Jiang Chen turned his gaze to Liu Xiong.

"What are the Holy Son’s commands?" Liu Xiong promptly asked, bowing with respect.

"Nothing major," Jiang Chen replied, shaking his head slightly. "I’ll be heading out for a bit. No need for you to accompany me."

"Understood!" Liu Xiong bowed again, accepting without question.