Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: A First Glimpse of the World

”To be perfectly honest, my name is Chen Xin’an, and I am a disciple of the Celestial Sword Pavilion.”

On the Myriad-Soul Banner, Chen Xin’an appeared with a sincere, righteous expression. ”I was killed by the evil cultivator Liu Xin in my past life,” he said. ”Please forgive this pathetic display, Daoist.”

”Oh?” Lü Yang’s eyes narrowed at his words.

’This kid isn’t being honest with me!’

Compared to the other Banner Spirits, something was clearly off about Chen Xin’an’s state. He seemed to have retained a portion of his autonomy and could think for himself.

’He can even lie!’

Looking at Chen Xin’an, Lü Yang grinned. ”Daoist, be at ease. I’ll destroy this evil artifact right now, so that all of you can enter the cycle of reincarnation...”

”Wai—wait!”

Before Lü Yang could finish, Chen Xin’an hurriedly stopped him. Seeing Lü Yang’s confused look, his eyes darted around before he sighed and said, ”Daoist, you don’t understand. This artifact refines our spirits. If you destroy it, not only will we be unable to reincarnate, we will perish along with it.”

That was a lie.

In his previous life, Lü Yang had spent a century in arduous cultivation, studying the Myriad-Soul Banner so thoroughly that his understanding of it surpassed even Liu Xin’s. He knew its secrets inside and out.

So he could tell at a glance that Chen Xin’an was lying.

’But... why is he lying?’

’Lü Yang’s thoughts raced. Logically, the Banner Spirits on the Myriad-Soul Banner were no different from the dead. The chance to reincarnate was a blessing; who could possibly be an exception?’

’Could it be that this Chen Xin’an has another way to return to the world of the living?’

”Interesting.”

Lü Yang smiled, then didn’t beat around the bush. ”Daoist, you’re deliberately deceiving me. Are you hiding a secret? Care to share?”

At these words, Chen Xin’an was momentarily stunned.

In a flash, he had already thought of a reply, but before he could speak, his vision suddenly went black, and his consciousness grew hazy.

’Trying to use Soul Searching on me?’

At first, Chen Xin’an remained calm. He quickly activated one of his techniques to protect his mind and even prepared to fabricate a memory to fool Lü Yang.

However, in the next second, his expression froze.

He was shocked to see a towering Golden Body, colossal and immense, that barbarically smashed into his Spiritual Space, instantly suppressing all his abilities!

’Position!?’

’How is this possible!’

As a Direct Disciple of the Stain Sect, Chen Xin’an naturally knew what he was seeing. And Lü Yang, by directly using the Position from Theft to Sainthood to suppress him, had no intention of giving him even the slightest chance.

”So, tell me, what are you plotting?”

Lü Yang chuckled softly. He had easily seized control of Chen Xin’an’s Spiritual Space and quickly extracted torrents of the information he wanted from his memories.

The next moment, Chen Xin’an’s lips moved, and he spoke uncontrollably, ”I cultivated a Legendary Technique called the Soul Splitting Technique. It can split one’s Divine Sense to perform body possession. I planned to deceive you first, then find a way to possess you and, in doing so, be reborn.”

”Interesting...”

Looking at the sweat-drenched Chen Xin’an, Lü Yang smiled faintly and continued, ”It’s nearly impossible for a Banner Spirit to devour its master. How exactly did you plan to possess me?”

”It’s simple. I would have passed the Soul Splitting Technique on to you.”

”It’s a Legendary Technique. There’s no way you wouldn’t be tempted.”

”However, this Legendary Technique is extremely special. A Cultivator needs to slash nine Split Selves out from their own spirit, and then use a sub-technique to unify them...”

”But I wouldn’t have given you the sub-technique to unify the Split Selves.”

”As a result, as soon as you cultivated it, you would have inevitably split into nine different consciousnesses, each wanting to be the master. While you fought amongst yourselves, I would have reaped the benefits.”

After hearing Chen Xin’an’s description, Lü Yang was somewhat tempted.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he asked again, ”Are you really Chen Xin’an?”

At these words, Chen Xin’an immediately fell silent. A look of struggle appeared on his face, but in the end, he was no match for the suppression from Lü Yang’s Position.

”...Strictly speaking, no.”

”The real ’Chen Xin’an’ is already dead. I am just one of the Split Selves he carved out in the past... But since he’s dead, I am Chen Xin’an!”

Lü Yang clicked his tongue in amazement. He was very tempted by the Legendary Technique Chen Xin’an spoke of, the Soul Splitting Technique. According to Chen Xin’an’s description, once this Legendary Technique was mastered, it could not only raise one’s Position, but even allow one to condense ’Divine Sense’ ahead of time—something only a Foundation-Stage Cultivator should possess!

This point was especially crucial.

Breaking through to Foundation Establishment is a process of transforming Spiritual perception into Divine Sense. If you could achieve this transformation ahead of time, it would be of immense help in building an Immortal Foundation.

’Senior Brother Chen, your death was a true blessing.’

’I was right to come looking for you in this life!’

It had to be said, Position was an extremely useful tool for crushing the weak. Otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible for Lü Yang to dig so much information out of Chen Xin’an.

But now, with the power of his Position, Chen Xin’an was an open book, holding nothing back. Lü Yang even dug out the complete original text of the Soul Splitting Technique. Only after doing all this did Lü Yang withdraw his technique and look at Chen Xin’an, whose expression was miserable now that he had regained his autonomy.

”...You’re a Stain Sect Disciple, aren’t you.”

After a long silence, Chen Xin’an finally spoke, his tone firm. ”Only a Holy Sect Disciple would be capable of such methods.”

Thinking of this, Chen Xin’an glanced at Lü Yang again, his tone complex. ”You killed Liu Xin, but you’re not at the Sea of Clouds... Don’t tell me you’re also planning to betray the sect?”

At these words, Lü Yang’s eyebrows raised slightly. ”...Also?”

Chen Xin’an, on the other hand, tilted his head, looking puzzled. ”What’s so strange about it? Given the Stain Sect’s reputation, it’s perfectly normal for disciples to betray it.”

”But you must be the strongest one to do so, by far.”

”It’s simply unbelievable.”

At this, Chen Xin’an seemed to find it hard to understand. ”Disciples who are taught a Legendary Technique are usually placed under a Restriction to prevent them from betraying the sect in the future.”

”I didn’t have a Restriction placed on me because my father is the Master of Heaven Mending Peak. But what about you? What’s your reason?”

Lü Yang didn’t answer.

’Chen Xin’an wasn’t wrong. In my last life, I had to sell myself to the Sanhe Association to receive the inheritance of a Legendary Technique, but that was all in my past life.’

’What does that have to do with me in this life?’

’Still, I can’t let anyone know I’m basically using a cheat.’ So, Lü Yang proactively changed the subject. ”Daoist, do you know much about the world?”

Chen Xin’an was taken aback. ”The world?”

Lü Yang nodded. ”To be honest, this is my first time traveling. I’m not sure where to go, so I thought I’d ask you, Daoist.”

”...Don’t go south.”

After a moment of silence, Chen Xin’an answered honestly,

”The Dragon River divides the world into four parts. The Northbank is the territory of our Stain Sect, within which all sects, large and small, fall under our leadership. Southbank, on the other hand, is where the Celestial Sword Pavilion leads the Righteous Dao. Other than that, the Northern and Southern Borders are remote and desolate, without any powerful factions.”

”If I had to name other places, I’d say Eastbank, Westbank, and the Overseas regions are still somewhat respectable.”

”Oh?” Lü Yang asked with a curious expression. ”Why do you say that?”

”Because their Daos are different,” Chen Xin’an explained. ”Whether it’s the Stain Sect or the Sword Pavilion, in the South or the North, what they actually cultivate is the ’Ascension Dao’.”

”However, the East, the West and the Overseas regions are different.”

”the East cultivates the ’Heaven’s Mandate Dao,’ while the West cultivates the ’Joyful Nirvana Dao’. The Overseas regions are even more diverse. Although none can compare to our orthodox path, they have their own ingenuities.”

As a direct disciple and the son of the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, Chen Xin’an’s knowledge was far greater than Lü Yang’s. As he spoke eloquently, he unveiled a corner of the world for Lü Yang. His descriptions of the East, the West, and even the Overseas regions, in particular, were captivating.

But soon, Lü Yang reined in his thoughts and calmed down.

’...I know where I need to go now.’

’The priority is still to find a way to increase my chances at Foundation Establishment. The Soul Splitting Technique was a pleasant surprise, but I can’t let it derail my plans.’

’the East, the West, the Overseas... There’s no rush to visit those places.’

’I’ll make another trip to the Skull Mountains.’

’The Wu Ghost Secret Realm... A place where the Ancient Wu Ghost Sect left its inheritance. For a Major Sect like that, their legacy can’t possibly end at the Qi Refining Stage, can it?’

’In my past life, the Secret Realm was destroyed before I could even enter it.’

’In this life, I will enter it ahead of time to see if there are any opportunities related to Foundation Establishment.’

’Moreover, the Wu Ghost Secret Realm is extremely hidden and a perfect place to lie low. If the matter with Yu Suzhen ever comes to light, hiding in the Secret Realm would offer me much greater security.’