Lustful Depravity: The Villain system!-Chapter 23: Curiosity leads to obsession and obsession to madness.

Tap! Tap!

Zhao Jie watched Zhao Fan leave with her fingers lightly tapping against the surface of the table.

Her lips curved into a slow almost imperceptible smirk as she traced the rim of her teacup with another hand, while, her thoughts drifted into an abyss of intrigue, creating a sophisticated scene.

"Interesting..." she said to herself.

As long as you live you will see many interesting things.

She had encountered many men, arrogant young masters, cunning politicians, and formidable warriors, but Zhao Fan seemed different.

Even Zhao Ancestor, Wusheng, wouldn't be that sharp at that age.

The bones that aren't properly developed seem to see what most won't see.

He was like an enigma, fully wrapped in layers of effortless charm and maddening ambiguity.

The way he played with words like, never revealing too much, and always staying a step ahead, left an unsettling feeling in her chest.

Silently watching the nature?

Hmph, what a joke.

A man like him was both a challenge and an attraction.

Her gaze shifted to the small, ornate pillbox he had left behind.

It sat there, as if mocking her.

For a long moment, she simply stared at it, her eyes dark and unreadable, her mind racing through the many possibilities.

'What is this supposed to mean? A gift? A test? A power play?'

Ughh!!!!

She couldn't hold on to the curiosity.

Reaching out, she lifted the elegant pill box with slender fingers, running her thumb along the intricate carvings before flipping it open.

Inside, there was a single pill nestled in a silk lining.

It's faint medicinal fragrance wafting up to her.

A subtle but undeniable scent... rich, potent, tinged with a sharp herbal undertone.

Her eyes narrowed.

Recognition flickered across her face.

'A Yin-Supressing Pill of saint quality?'

Her fingers tightened around the box.

Such pills were rare, designed specifically to stabilize Yin energy, but of the best quality.

( Pill grade: normal grade, mid-grade, high grade, supreme grade, saint grade, emperor-grade,)

The reason she could tell it was of saint quality was because it had faint pill intent and pill clouds.

However, the pill at the moment is ineffective.

It has yet to go thunder tribulation.

She needs to drop her blood essence and let it experience the tribulation.

It may fail the tribulation, pass the tribulation, or even become the emperor grade after the tribulation.

It's now all up to her.

Zhao Jie's breath hitched slightly. The realization sent a ripple through her composed exterior, shattering the illusion of absolute control she always maintained.

Just what is he thinking?

'Was this intentional?'

The thought both unnerved and excited her.

A slow, involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

Truth be told, she is even afraid to drop her blood essence and let it go through thunder tribulation.

She traced the pill with her fingertip, her mind spiraling deeper into uncertainty and intrigue.

'If he had intended to use this as leverage, he would have said something. He would have hinted at it, tested my reaction.'

But he hadn't.

He had simply left it there, unspoken, like an invisible thread tying them together.

Zhao Jie clenched her jaw, a slow exhale leaving her lips.

She wanted to know more about his so-called cards.

She was curious.

And curiosity leads to obsession, when you can't figure it out.

And obsession leads to madness.

Dhup! Dup!

Dhup! Dup!

She could feel her heartbeat, beating rapidly.

Gosh! She can't help herself.

She bit her thumb and dropped a single drop of blood essence into the pill.

As the drop of blood essence entered the Yin-Supressing Pill, the pill began to tremble violently, as if awakening from a deep slumber.

The pill clouds inside the pill intensified, gathering and swirling faster and faster.

A low, ominous rumble filled the air, and a sharp crack of thunder echoed in the distance, the sky turning dark.

The tribulation was about to begin.

Bang!!!

Pill energy and thunder energy began to clash, the two energies battling against each other, seeking dominance.

The pill began to crack under the pressure of the energies, its usually smooth and flawless surface now marred with spiderweb-like fissures.

Pill intent and thunder intent clashed, adding fuel to the escalating battle.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

After nine consecutive thunder strikes, the pill shattered.

It couldn't pass the thunder tribulation.

..

Zhao Jie's heart sank as the pill shattered before her eyes.

Her usual stoic composure fractured for a moment, her eyes narrowing and her knuckles white from clutching the delicate box too tightly.

She had taken a risk, dropping her blood essence into the pill in hopes of discovering something, but her gamble had failed.

Frustration and disappointment warred within her as she watched the shattered remains of the pill.

"Utterly useless..." she muttered under her breath, fingers digging into the silk lining of the pillbox.

She knew that a saint-grade pill failing the thunder tribulation was not an unusual occurrence.

The odds were never in her favor.

But she had taken the risk, intrigued by the mysterious pill and its potential.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully closed the pillbox and set it back down on the table.

Her eyes remained fixed on the shattered pieces, her mind racing with unanswered questions.

What would have happened if the tribulation had been successful?

Would the pill have become an emperor-grade pill as a result?

Gambling always creates chaos inside the heart.

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But she quickly maintained her composure.

It's already gone so, there is no point in thinking what would have happened if she had succeeded or pill might have broken through.

"Snap!"

She snapped her finger.

"Yes! Lady Zhao..."

A female shadow appeared instantly breaking the void.

It wasn't a human but a puppet with developed consciousness.

She looks sexy and curvy but she was made from a dead body.

"I want you to keep an eye on Divine son, all day and night... Report everything to me," her tone was cold and commanding.

"Yes!" the shadow puppet vanished.

...

Her thoughts:

Now let me think properly, what is the divine son planning to do?

Is he planning to keep an eye on Zhao Meng?

I don't think that's possible.

If I were in his shoes, I would use the guild to look over someone else, and use the other geniuses of the Zhao family to suppress Zhao Meng.

Perhaps, he already has a way to create a separate concubine Yue from other harems, and he plans to attack both mother and son. That also justifies why he would send his own father to mines.

Plus he doesn't wanna create a civil war within the family, the main support of Zhao Meng will be gone, and his mother will be suppressed, and with the help of pill saint girl, and his own talent, he can make elders support him.

Wait!

Pill saint girl... She just came here yesterday, and that pill, it seems it was created by him.

( she shivers )

What a monstrous talent.

I see. I get it.

The divine son no longer plans to cultivate in seclusion and even wants to mend the worldly affairs.

Wait... Don't tell me...

Eesh! Does Zhao Fan want to tame concubine Yue?

Hm, since, Zhao Huang, is that stupid and can't outsmart his own son, he deserves to have his women taken.

Now, leaving Zhao Meng, who is it that Zhao Fan wants to spy or even kill?

He seems to think many things.

Wait, does he also have some kind of inheritance?

Yeah, that can potentially explain how he became the Golden Core Realm cultivator from the Supreme Foundation realm.

If so, why doesn't he reveal it?

Or maybe, I am simply overthinking it.

However, if he too obtained the inheritance, then, he must be playing a great game.

If so, let's be logical and reasonable.

What will he do?

He has monstrous raw talent, and now even has an inheritance then, it's very likely to visit the black frost wasteland, to build a spirit root.

I would have done the same.

The calamity ice lotus.

It is said to help weaken a saint-grade or higher-grade ice spirit root.

However, even if he didn't receive the inheritance, he would likely go there.

This place has lots of treasures and resources.

The only way to figure it out is by observing the martial arts techniques used by him.

Just how deeply hidden is this Fan?

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( Today: 1/10 )