Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Cultivating for 30 Years

Stain Sect, Sea of Clouds.

When Lü Yang returned to Heaven Mending Peak, there was hardly an inch of unscathed flesh on his body. His injuries were even more severe than after the great battle at the Skull Mountains.

As he was returning to the sect on his Flying Boat, he was ambushed by the Righteous Sects. A cultivator at the Final-phase of Qi Refining used a technique to slice his left hand down to the bone. His face was also covered in festering sores, the result of a surprise attack by a Scorpion Demon Beast’s stinger while passing through a forest.

And those were just the visible injuries.

Beneath the surface, his meridians, acupoints, Dantian, and even spirit had all suffered varying degrees of damage—and all at the hands of people weaker than him.

’This is Fortune... When luck runs out, even a hero is not free.’

Lü Yang looked helpless. Perfected Yin Shan had used him as bait, draining his Fortune for the next thirty years. Now, plagued by misfortune, nothing he did went right.

At first, Lü Yang had tried to fight back.

But whenever he engaged someone, all sorts of accidents would occur. Old injuries would flare up, he’d use too much force, or his techniques would backfire...

In the end, all he could do was run.

Still, he was a cultivator at the Final-phase of Qi Refining. Though his Fortune was gone, he was tough enough to survive the journey back to the sect.

As for the war of annihilation the Stain Sect launched against the Divine Martial Sect after the incident at the Skull Mountains, Lü Yang didn’t dare participate. In his current state, so unlucky he could probably fall into a latrine just by trying to use it, he worried that if he went to the Divine Martial Sect, a Foundation-Stage Cultivator might kill him with a slap from hundreds of miles away.

Upon returning to the Stain Sect, Lü Yang immediately hid himself in his Cave Mansion.

He then set up the Blood River Sword Formation outside, plastered Talismans all over the inside and outside of his Cave Mansion, and sealed it completely, cutting himself off from all external disturbances.

’I’m not setting foot outside for the next thirty years!’

But with his terrible luck, even cultivation was a pipe dream. Far from advancing his cultivation, the only result would be Qi deviation.

Fortunately, he had already reached the Final-phase of Qi Refining, so there was no need to continue cultivating anyway.

Lü Yang sat on a prayer mat and took a Jade Scroll from his Storage Bag. This one, however, was different from ordinary Jade Scrolls; it was a brilliant gold.

This item was called the ”Chat Jade Scroll.”

As a substitute for the Foundation Establishment Helpers, Perfected Yin Shan had given him this item. Just as he had wished, it was a Secret Treasure that could help one cultivate.

Whenever he encountered a difficult problem in his cultivation, he just needed to inject his question into the Jade Scroll, and it would provide an answer. For anything within the Qi Refining Stage, its answers were one hundred percent accurate. The effect was almost like having a Foundation-Stage Cultivator teaching him. For Lü Yang, it was a timely solution to a pressing problem.

’In my current state, there’s no hope of comprehending any new techniques.’

’With my luck this bad, I’d never figure out the right path. I might even go down the wrong one. But this Chat Jade Scroll is different!’

’That Perfected Yin Shan said this Rare Treasure is on the cusp of the Foundation Establishment level, so the answers it gives won’t be affected by my bad luck.’

Despite this, Lü Yang wasn’t in a hurry to use it to comprehend the Heaven Divination Talisman. Although it was the last of the three Legendary Techniques of the Lunar Shedding Technique he needed to learn, he was more interested in another prize from the Skull Mountains: The Secret of the Golden Flower!

Of course, he hadn’t obtained the complete version of it.

After all, he wasn’t a Direct Disciple of Heaven Mending Peak, so his ability of stealing techniques through dual-cultivation was limited.

He had only received a third of it, a technique called ”Taiyi Jade Light.”

It could condense a jade-colored ”Essence Light.” When applied to the physical body, it could make it indestructible.

It also had the ability to repair physical injuries.

This was especially important for Lü Yang right now. Thanks to his bad luck, he was practically falling apart, his body severely damaged.

’Once my injuries and Fortune have recovered, I should probably find a Body Enhancing Technique to practice.’

With this thought, Lü Yang immediately took out his Disciple Token and contacted his second senior brother in the Sanhe Association, Luo Wuya, intending to ask about suitable techniques.

At the Final-phase of Qi Refining, he now could speak to Luo Wuya as an equal.

Soon, a reply came from Luo Wuya:

”There is indeed a technique that would suit you well, Junior Brother. However, you can’t cultivate it just yet. Why don’t you wait a few years? I’ll notify you when the time is right.”

Lü Yang naturally agreed and then entered secluded Meditation.

***

A few years later, an ambitious young man arrived outside Lü Yang’s Cave Mansion.

The youth’s name was Wang Song. He had just joined the Stain Sect a few days ago and, through the recommendation of his grandfather Wang Baifeng, had also joined the Sanhe Association and accepted a task from Luo Wuya.

’Senior Brother Luo and Senior Brother Lü had an agreement regarding a Body Enhancing Technique. However, Senior Brother Luo fought for years in the bloody war against the Divine Martial Sect and earned great merit. He was rewarded with one of the Foundation Establishment Helpers by a Perfected Person and is now preparing to establish his Foundation. He couldn’t come personally, so he specifically asked me to deliver the technique...’

’But now Senior Brother Lü is in seclusion too. What should I do?’

Wang Song wore a troubled expression. In the end, he had no choice but to find a Cave Mansion near Lü Yang’s and settle down. He was young, so he had time to wait for Lü Yang to emerge.

Thinking of this, Wang Song glanced at Lü Yang’s Cave Mansion again, his eyes filled with hope.

As far as he knew, this Senior Brother Lü had also been an ordinary disciple before, yet he had distinguished himself and reached the Final-phase of Qi Refining, with Foundation Establishment now within reach.

’If Senior Brother Lü could do it, I might be able to as well!’

’I’m already at the First Layer of Qi Refining. As long as I study diligently, train hard, and never give up, I’m sure I can become a great figure like Senior Brother Luo and Senior Brother Lü in the future!’

’Thirty years the river flows east, thirty years it flows west. Never look down on a poor young man!’

Cultivation blurs the passage of time. In the blink of an eye, thirty years had passed.

「Heaven Mending Peak, Library Pavilion.」

Now over fifty, Wang Song had been stuck at the bottleneck of the Third Layer of Qi Refining for more than a decade. Unable to advance his cultivation, his face was already showing signs of age.

The Elder of the Library Pavilion who had recommended him to the Stain Sect, his grandfather Wang Baifeng, had long since passed away. All he had left him was the secure job of Steward in the Library Pavilion and a Cave Mansion with a mortgage that would take another thirty years to pay off. Fortunately, his luck was decent; after thirty years of diligent work, he was finally about to pay off the loan.

The sharp edges of his youth had long been worn smooth.

Now, Wang Song’s face only showed the numbness of someone who had been beaten down by the Stain Sect. His mindset had shifted from the initial ”Never look down on a poor young man!” to ”The elders are owed the greatest respect.”

He just had to get by.

’On the bright side, at least I’ve almost paid off the loan on the Cave Mansion. That way, when my son joins the Stain Sect, he’ll have some kind of foundation...’

Just then, a loud BANG came from the distance.

”Huh?”

Wang Song looked up in a daze, only to see that the Cave Mansion—the one he both loved and hated, the one he had cursed at countless times but which had never opened—had suddenly stirred.

’He’s out... Senior Brother Lü is out of seclusion!?’

The next second, the Cave Mansion opened, and Wang Song saw a handsome young man, as youthful and vibrant as he himself had been thirty years ago, strolling out.

Thirty years had passed, yet they had not left a single mark on him.

Then, as if sensing his gaze, the handsome young man suddenly turned his head. His calm eyes seemed to pierce right through to one’s soul.

”You are...?”

Lü Yang’s face showed curiosity. With a thought, a halo of light appeared behind his head like a full moon, within which flowed an incredibly complex Script.

The Script resembled dragons and phoenixes, giving off a deeply contradictory feeling. At first glance, it seemed as fine as a mustard seed, but if one focused on it, they would become lost within, as if seeing a Sumeru world. As time passed, the Script constantly changed, displaying scenes of all creation, like flowers, birds, fish, and insects.

The Heaven Divination Technique!

It was the final Ability of the Lunar Shedding Technique. Unlike the Heavenfiend Radiance and the Yin Curse, this one was not for Combat.

It was for Divination.

Therefore, the moment Lü Yang’s gaze fell upon Wang Song, the Enchanted Talisman activated, and the whole story was no longer a secret to him.

Wang Song’s identity, his ancestors for eighteen generations, the technique he practiced, his cultivation level, the Abilities he excelled at, and even the reason he was waiting outside the Cave Mansion—Lü Yang knew every detail. This feeling of seeing everything as clearly as the lines on his own palm made Lü Yang sigh with emotion.

’Perhaps this is what it feels like to be a Foundation-Stage Cultivator?’

Of course, this was also due to the vast difference in cultivation between him and Wang Song. If he tried to divine someone at the Final-phase of Qi Refining, it certainly wouldn’t be so effortless.

This showed he was still a long way from being a true Foundation-Stage Cultivator.

Meanwhile, Wang Song had finally met the Senior Brother Lü he had been thinking about for decades. He was stumbling forward to pay his respects when he heard a sigh.

”There’s no need to bow. Just give me the item.”

Wang Song didn’t dare delay. He quickly took out a Jade Scroll he had been clutching for thirty years. Lü Yang swept his Spiritual perception over it, and the Restriction on the Jade Scroll dissolved, revealing its contents.

Luo Wuya hadn’t lied to him. He had indeed sent a Body Enhancing Technique, and it was indeed very suitable for him.

Its name was: Theft to Sainthood.