Nine Venoms Sect Founder

Some flamboyant victories tasted worse than defeat. Devoid of any sense of glee or achievement, Harun fixed the Blood Matron with apathetic eyes, and aimed his right hand at the solar explosion unleashed by his corpse guard. Backed by a surge of Spiritual Incense, his golden lightning mark released amorphous energy waves that sealed the Desolate Corpse Guard's surrounding—keeping the explosion confined to Weeping Soul and Dolma's leviathan summon. 

Stupefied by this turn and event, Birandar and Mukri put an end to their conflict—both squinting at the startling result. All traces of Harun and Jiyan's clash—no, about 90% of those traces, from the ever-burning flames to the ice hails and craters, no longer existed. A champion of Truth and Fate, Birandar's third eye perused the scene, but if he could sense the lingering Fate Essence, the abilities of Harun's right eye exceeded what his Wheel of Causality could see through. 

At first, torn between frenzy and hedonism, Dolma no longer reacted to her surroundings. But when fresh blood started dripping down Harun's right eye, his hold over the Blood Matron weakened, enabling her formidable soul to escape an absolute captivity. Gray veins stretched from the corners of Harun's right eye, spreading across half his face. Still, the Plague Overlord maintained enough control that Dolma remained powerless. Seething with rage, the Blood Matron raised a defiant gaze at Jiyan, then Harun, going back and forth between the two as she tried to make sense of the outcome. Just like Birandar, she too realized that much of the brutal battle she witnessed never occurred, making her question her very sanity. 

"How…did you achieve this?" Dolma, who didn't understand the powers of Harun's right eye, inquired. To say nothing of her, even the better informed would have a hard time processing things. Only Birandar could piece the pieces of the puzzle together. "Even with that Eye, Master's cultivation base is too low to alter the fates of all the people gathered here without blowing himself up. Meaning that everything that happened since master first activated his right eye…was just a glimpse into a potential future. We saw what would have happened if master did surrender to the vixen's control. And while we all lost ourselves in that illusion, Master had those undead sneak into the mine—concealed by a minor formation. At the same time, he trained his wife-to-be, and played some tricks with the vixen's soul—hitting too many birds with one stone." Birandar was correct. Thanks to her consumption of the Flame Spirit King's soul, Dolma swallowed Harun's Attachment Venom, leaving herself vulnerable to his corruption. 

However, the Blood Matron's soul was far too potent for Harun to override it with a finger snap. He needed time to let the venom mature, time to sneak in his upgraded forces, time to improve Jiyan's abilities and give her the tools she needed to take over the Blood Matron's seat. 

99% of the Heavenly Dream Land's Divination Masters only had a rudimentary understanding of the Fate Mystery. But that alone enabled them to glimpse into the future and practice Divination Magic. With his right eye which—according to Dilnaz and the System—at least carried the Mandate of Fate, Harun could do far worse. But as he didn't have full control of the Eye's tremendous and unstable powers, Harun didn't dare play with fire—a pity that Dolma gave him no other choice. As for the Void-Treading Leeches, so long as he kept hold of the Right of Tyranny, those creatures and all other soul tricksters could never compromise Harun's soul. 

Not wanting to waste his breath on the Blood Matron, Harun ignored her—splitting his strength between suppressing Dolma, and restraining the side effects of his purple double pupils. 

There was only one person whose understanding he craved: Jiyan. Granted, she ultimately saw through the hoax, in her perspective, every single word or deed was true. The Aversion Venom she condensed was the clearest proof of her silent agony, of experiences she could neither unsee nor unlive—the thought intensified Harun's grief. "Now this is going to be priceless. Comedy, helplessness, pity, cajoleries, what card are you going to play to get out of this one? Better think hard and fast. The clock is ticking, and the more time you spend without addressing the problem, the bigger it becomes," thrilled by Harun's misery, the ever-insensitive System burst into laughter—making Harun picture an old man sitting before a comedy show with some popcorn in hand. 

Ignoring it as well, Harun glanced at Jiyan, whose outwardly calm eyes didn't budge from Dolma—an uncomfortable dynamic settled in. Now, Harun hoped that Jiyan would just lash out at him. Worsened by the weight of her silence, his mood sank further. 

Unwilling to endure Harun's naked disdain and unaccustomed to being the least relevant woman in the room, Dolma let her rage get the better of her, unwittingly allowing Jiyan's Aversion Venom to further poison her soul. Not letting the opportunity escape her, Jiyan pushed her venom to the extreme, multiplying the numbers of flaming tendrils diving into the Blood Matron's soul. In that condition, she could no longer channel the powers of the Abyssal River, whose evil nature rejoiced at being free from its soon-to-be-dead mistress. Still, Dolma couldn't lift her rage-twisted eyes from Harun. "You are a fool, an unredeemable moron! What can she offer you that I cannot? In less than three years, your strength could reach inconceivable proportions. Together, we could overturn this Dream Land and usher a new era! Why would you cast this opportunity aside for this trivial girl?!" Dolma barked at Harun—but again hit a wall of indifference. 

Flashing the Blood Matron a resplendent smile, Jiyan placed one hand on her face. "And yet, the girl owns you now. Let's not even mention that your kind, children-murdering mothers, rank high on the list of things he hates most. This is just the gap between class and crass. Jiyan doesn't need to bare tits, tricks and ass to have Harun's undivided attention," she stated while using her Aversion Venom to erase Dolma's individuality. All the screeches in the world couldn't save the Blood Matron from that inevitable fate, and by the time the smoke clouds raised by the Desolate Corpses' chained nuke dispersed, Dolma's eyes had glazed over—marking her ascension as Jiyan's puppet. With one less annoyance to worry about, Jiyan spun toward Harun. 

"What? Did you expect me to mop around, waiting for you to give half-baked excuses for why keeping me in the dark was necessary and how this hurt you more than it hurt me? Don't worry, I know. I will still make you pay, one treat at a time…but I know," Believing that the tiniest mistake could worsen the right eye's effects on Harun, Jiyan didn't want to make his heart chaotic—and therefore buried her pain. But seeing through the act, Harun held on hand, and gently pulled her into his embrace. 

"A wise woman once said that we should all learn to recognize luck when it's waving at us. So Jiyan, thank you for waving at me...you are my blessing," Harun whispered.

At first, though nestled against his chest, Jiyan didn't react. But when his words reached her mind, the suppressed pain poured out, becoming a stream of tears flowing down her cheeks.