Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Zhao Xuhe’s Desperation

Skull Mountain’s White Bone Cave, outside the Market.

A streak of light tore across the sky and dissolved among the mountains, revealing three figures. Two were Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan—those who once attacked the Market only to flee in humiliation. The third was a white-haired elder.

”Elder Ouyang...”

Wu Zhichong spoke cautiously, terrified that a Qi Refining-perfected elder might act rashly; danger waited ahead.

”Rest assured. I understand what we face.”

Ouyang Feng’s face was carved with resolve. Hatred burned beneath his calm, each word edged with cold fury.

”That Demon is a Ninth Grade Array Master. Two Arrays — inner and outer — now entrench the Market. No ordinary cultivator could break them. That is how he has roamed freely for so long, earning the infamous title ’Master of the Blood Robe Tower.’ But do not be fooled: he cannot match a true perfected Qi Refiner.”

”But Elder Ouyang, the Heaven Mirror is in his hands.”

Wu Zhichong hurried to add, voice lowered. ”The Heaven Mirror is unfathomable. Should he truly master it, he may become no weaker than a genuine Qi Refining perfected expert...”

”I have already accounted for this.”

Ouyang Feng let out a cold laugh. ”The Heaven Mirror is a sentient artifact of the Divine Martial Sect. How could a Demon wield it at will? If he dares to use it, all the better. I have invited Master Yang Yizi — its original refiner. He is furious that the Mirror has fallen into demonic hands and is already on his way to reclaim it. If that Demon uses the Heaven Mirror against me, he signs his own death warrant.”

Though enraged, Ouyang Feng remained rational. Having learned from Ouyang Haize’s failure, he knew better than to challenge the Arrays directly. It was far safer to lure Lü Yang out.

”When does he leave the Market?”

”Uh...”

Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan exchanged a helpless look.

Ouyang Feng’s expression darkened. ”You have watched the Market for so long. And you do not know such an important detail?”

”Elder... He has never left the Market.”

”...Never?”

Ouyang Feng frowned. ”Did you not send word of the Wu Ghost Secret Realm? Does he not know Skull Mountain is said to overflow with opportunity?”

”We have already informed him.”

”Then is it because the Stain Sect’s reinforcements have yet to arrive, making the demon feel insecure?”

”Actually... the reinforcements arrived three months ago. They operate actively across Skull Mountain. But that man... from beginning to end... has not stepped outside.”

”Ah?”

For the first time, Ouyang Feng looked genuinely baffled.

”I’m not going out.”

Inside the Blood Robe Tower, Lü Yang calmly poured Spirit Tea for Fairy Feixia as he declined her invitation.

”Junior Brother truly is...”

Fairy Feixia gazed at him, dazed by how unchanged he remained. Once, his timidity had left her disappointed. Yet step by step, he had carved his own legend — the Bloody Master.

Cultivators fight the heavens for their fate; even a single misstep brings death and the end of one’s longevity. Reincarnation offers no guarantee of rebirth as oneself — seeking immortality in a next life is but a fool’s gamble.

And yet Lü Yang remained the same: unhurried, serene, detached from worldly noise. Such rare tranquility stirred both admiration and confusion in her heart.

But without striving, how does one seek the Dao? In the next life?

She sighed softly. ”...I could never attain Junior Brother’s state of mind.”

”Senior Sister overestimates me.”

Lü Yang smiled faintly. ”As I said, no grand matters today. Just the Dao. I will teach you Arrays, and you will teach me Talisman Art.”

”I will teach all I know.”

Fairy Feixia bit lightly at her red lip and removed her veil. Her beauty, framed by the light silks clinging to her form, was dazzling. Her voice softened. ”Speaking of which... I still haven’t thanked you for saving my life...”

By the next day, the sun was already high.

In a humble Cave Mansion within the Market, a haggard young man paced anxiously. Zhao Xuhe — Lü Yang’s old acquaintance — was caught in turmoil.

”How? How could this happen?”

His voice trembled with urgency. ”Everyone knows about the Wu Ghost Secret Realm now. If I don’t seize this chance, I will regret it forever!”

His Qi surged violently — no longer the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining as when he first arrived, but newly ascended to the seventh. The breakthrough fueled a desperate ambition: to gamble for destiny within the Secret Realm.

But ambition did not grant strength.

Without Panlong Island’s fortune, he possessed only the Essence Exchange Cultivation Art of Heaven Mending Peak. His Qi was Fifth Grade, and his techniques and artifacts were pitifully lacking. To contend for opportunity like this was marching to death.

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Xuhe retrieved a long-unused Jade Scroll and infused it with power. After a long silence, a voice emerged — lazy, slightly hoarse, yet achingly familiar.

”Who is it?”

”Feixia... It’s me. Xuhe.”

Once, they had shared a faint warmth. But when he was chosen as the potential son-in-law of Heaven Mending Peak, they severed contact to avoid rumors. He had thought they would never speak again. Yet here he was, turning to her as his last lifeline.

”Feixia... I want to ask a favor.” His voice dropped, thick with desperation. ”I am out of options. I plan to leave the Market for the Secret Realm — one final gamble for the Dao. But I lack Contribution Points. I cannot buy Artifacts or techniques. Without them, I will die for nothing.”

”Considering our past... could you lend me a little...”

Hope flickered weakly in his chest — a foolish ember he could not extinguish.

Then ice doused it.

”Sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her voice turned cold, distant — like a door slammed shut. ”And do not contact me again. I am discussing the Dao with Junior Brother Lü and do not wish for misunderstandings.”

Crack.

The Jade Scroll shattered.

Zhao Xuhe stood frozen, mind blank. Slowly his face twisted, and a raw howl tore from his throat:

”NO——!!!”