Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: First Fight with the Sword Pavilion

Over the Star Sea, Sword Qi surged, clearing the heavens for a thousand miles. Not a cloud remained. The sea and sky blended into one another, creating a magnificent and perfectly natural vista.

”Unfortunately, someone is spoiling the view...”

Lü Yang sighed, then turned to the sharp-browed young man glaring at him from the front. ”Daoist, you’ve been chasing me for quite some time. Might I ask your name?”

”Tianxing, of the Celestial Sword Pavilion!”

Ye Xingfeng made no attempt to conceal his identity. In fact, Sword Cultivators from the Celestial Sword Pavilion never deigned to hide their origins, taking great pride in who they were.

After all, the Sword Pavilion could rival even the Stain Sect.

In every Great War of Righteous and Evil, the Dao Court and the Pure Land always held back and coasted, while only the Sword Pavilion charged forward without hesitation, fighting the Stain Sect to the bitter end.

The blood feud between the two sects spoke for itself.

Seeing this, Lü Yang could only sigh. ”I’ve only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a century, and I’ve never killed anyone from the Sword Pavilion. We have no grudges between us, do we, Daoist?”

Ye Xingfeng shook his head. ”We have no personal grudges, but there are karmic links between us. You received the inheritance of the Wu Ghost Sect and then joined the Jiangbei Demon Sect to commit evil. That is the wicked cause, and my coming to kill you today is the bitter fruit. You have brought this upon yourself by failing to accumulate merit. It is only right that you face this tribulation.”

’...Just as expected of the Sword Pavilion.’

Lü Yang recalled the Yun Miaozhen he had once met and wasn’t surprised. ’If she was that unhinged at the Qi Refining stage, it’s only natural for a Perfected Person to be even more ridiculous.’

’Utterly shameless...!’

Behind Lü Yang, Progenitor Tingyou was trembling with rage. He recalled the words spoken a thousand years ago by the Golden Core Perfected Lord who had annihilated the Wu Ghost Sect with his sword.

”You hail from the Demon Dao, yet you forced your hand to obtain the Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth. That is a wicked cause. Today, I kill you in the service of Exorcism and Protection of the Dao—that is the righteous result. In consideration of your arduous cultivation, achieving this righteous result has forged a karmic link with my Sword Pavilion. When you are reincarnated and reborn, I will personally guide you into the Sword Pavilion to cultivate.”

The meaning was simple:

I may have wiped out your entire sect, but I did it for your own good. And though your sect is gone, you’ve received a great opportunity: you can join my Sword Pavilion after you reincarnate.

What kind of person says something like that?

The very thought of being reincarnated, unable to awaken the memories of his past life, and then ignorantly joining the Sword Pavilion—treating the enemies who annihilated his sect as his own kith and kin...

...made Progenitor Tingyou burn with a maddening hatred!

If not for this, why else would he have confined his reincarnation to the Secret Realm, clinging to a wretched existence? He would rather his soul be scattered to the winds than be reduced to a disciple of the Sword Pavilion!

Killing intent chilled Progenitor Tingyou’s heart, but he ultimately calmed himself and turned to Lü Yang. ”This man cultivates the *Taiyi Celestial Spirit Sword Fiend* and has established a Taiyi True Gold Dao Foundation. He must have refined an Innate Divine Technique by now. His cultivation is a level higher than yours.”

”Besides, Sword Cultivators are naturally skilled in combat... We should avoid a direct confrontation for now.”

Progenitor Tingyou’s tone was calm. Lü Yang was now the sole hope of the Wu Ghost Sect; compared to that, his personal vendetta was insignificant.

But in the next instant—

”A joke? You want me to avoid *him*?” Lü Yang gripped his Abi Sword and sneered. ”As things stand now, *he’s* the one who should be running!”

SWOOSH—!

Before the words even left his mouth, Lü Yang activated the Abi Sword. A crimson Sword Light shot directly toward Ye Xingfeng—an attack he had been charging for some time, a single slash powerful enough to part the seas!

”A fine attack!”

Instead of being alarmed, Ye Xingfeng was delighted. He summoned a Sword Pill that pulsed with spiritual energy. With a nimble spin, it split into a hundred sharp streams of Sword Qi.

The streams of Sword Qi fanned out like a peacock’s tail, flowing like quicksilver to completely envelop the crimson light of the Abi Sword. The trajectory of each stream was subtle and untraceable, yet executed with such sublime perfection that it struck the weakest points of the crimson Sword Light.

CRACK!

In an instant, the sky-spanning Sword Qi shredded Lü Yang’s charged, crimson Sword Light to pieces. The Sword Qi then converged, reforming into the Sword Pill.

This was Ye Xingfeng’s Lifebound Flying Sword.

Throughout the Celestial Sword Pavilion, most cultivators from the direct lineage of a Perfected Lord’s clan, like him, would begin refining a Lifebound Flying Sword with countless precious materials from the moment they started at the Qi Refining stage.

To this end, the Sword Pavilion had even created a special Secret Technique: integrating the Lifebound Flying Sword into one’s Dao Foundation during Foundation Establishment. This not only increased the chance of a successful breakthrough by ten percent but also allowed the sword to be wielded as an Ability afterward. The higher the quality of the Lifebound Flying Sword, the greater its power.

Take Ye Xingfeng’s Star River Sword Pill, for example.

This Sword Pill had been forged from Celestial River Star Sand and smelted with the five metals. A Perfected Lord had even personally intervened to retrieve a strand of Major Metal Geng Metal Qi and fuse it into the pill.

Even among Upper Grade Spiritual Treasures, this was a supreme-quality item!

It contained three Divine Effects: Breaking Barrier, Exorcism, and God-slaying. Without exception, all three were purely for offensive power.

Breaking Barrier could shatter defenses and obstacles. Exorcism could sever Divine Sense and souls. God-slaying could extinguish Abilities and magic powered by Spiritual Qi. When these three Divine Effects were stacked and channeled through Sword Intent to their absolute limit, they produced the legendary effect coveted by countless Sword Cultivators: one sword to break the Ten Thousand Laws!

RUMBLE!

In that moment, Ye Xingfeng merged with his Sword Pill and unleashed a slash. The Sword Qi whined like thunder as it passed, reaching Lü Yang in the blink of an eye!

The unparalleled sharp aura forced Lü Yang to narrow his eyes.

A faint Spirit Light flickered on the blade’s edge. It appeared as nothing more than an insignificant white dot, but to truly lay eyes on it was to find oneself helplessly drawn in.

Locked by his Sword Intent, there was no escape!

A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit, so why would Ye Xingfeng, a direct descendant of a Golden Core Lineage, be any different? As he slashed, he simultaneously unleashed all of his Abilities!

His Innate Ability: Ten Directions Taiyi Divine Blade!

His Innate Divine Technique: Master of Weapons!

At that moment, the Prophetic Orrery at the center of Lü Yang’s brow spun rapidly. His Dharma Eye opened, and in a flash, he took in every Ability Ye Xingfeng had unleashed.

The immense Sword Intent sent a stinging pain through his brow.

His opponent’s Abilities were completely different from his own.

Ten Directions Taiyi Divine Blade also had four profound effects, and each one was brutally simple: an all-around amplification to strengthen his Sword Pill!

His Innate Divine Technique, Master of Weapons, also served to amplify the power of his artifact. The two combined, stacking his stats to an absurd degree!

This just went to show that stacking stats really did work.

The only reason Wu Cang had failed was because he was trash and his stats weren’t high enough. Ye Xingfeng’s sword, on the other hand, could sever any Ability or karmic link with a single slash!

No mechanics, just raw stats.

With stats like these, he didn’t need any fancy maneuvers. He just had to draw his sword and slash to be completely unstoppable!

’So strong... He’s too strong...’

Lü Yang remarked, then tossed out the Embracing Mountain.

The next second, a sky-blotting dark light swept down upon Ye Xingfeng’s peerless Sword Qi, sealing the God-slaying Divine Effect on his Sword Pill—the very effect designed to extinguish Abilities.

Even though Ye Xingfeng’s enhancements had made this Divine Effect as potent as an Ability, capable of extinguishing even an Innate Ability or Innate Divine Technique with a single slash, the Embracing Mountain possessed a dual illusory-solid nature. It descended in its void form, completely untouchable by the Sword Qi, which could only allow the mountain to press down upon it.

BOOM!

Instantly, Ye Xingfeng’s Qi trace rapidly diminished, and his Sword Light dimmed considerably. While still peerlessly sharp, it no longer possessed the power to break the Ten Thousand Laws with a single strike.

Almost simultaneously, a brilliant light bloomed once more from Lü Yang’s fingertips.

Separation!

”Goodbye.”

Before Ye Xingfeng could react, his vision spun wildly. By the time he managed to steady himself, Lü Yang was nowhere to be seen.

He was already thousands of miles away.