Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Famous Artifact

Blood Demon Zhenren’s confidence wasn’t baseless.

In fact, even outside the Stain Sect, if any other sect—large or small—could produce a Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, it would be a world-shaking event.

This was because a Great Trueman had a chance at Seeking Gold.

Even if that hope was pitifully slim, almost nonexistent, it was still hope. And a single sliver was enough to command respect.

Thus, any Great Trueman generally faced one of three fates. The first was that the Fruit indicated by their Dao Foundation was unclaimed and not controlled by any of the Four Great Forces. These cultivators were the most free, but they also had no backing. Lacking a powerful supporter, they were ironically the most likely to fail at Seeking Gold.

The second type came from a renowned sect.

Take Perfected Chong Guang, for example. The Fruit he sought to attain belonged to the Stain Sect, and he had the backing of a Perfected Lord from the sect. His chances at Seeking Gold were the highest of all.

The third was that the Fruit was already occupied.

Both Lü Yang and Progenitor Tingyou fell into this category. For one, the Fruit had already been attained by someone else. For the other, the Fruit was controlled by the Pure Land, which forbade anyone else from trying to claim it.

In such a situation, you were basically doomed.

A Great Trueman in this predicament would either be killed by the Perfected Lord who held the Fruit or be forced to abandon their pursuit and submit to that same Perfected Lord.

Progenitor Tingyou was an example of the former.

Blood Demon Zhenren, the latter.

That’s right. Blood Demon Zhenren had also sought to attain the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. But unlike Perfected Chong Guang, he chose to be subjugated by the Perfected Fortune, who was a Perfected Lord at the time.

In fact, the very *Deceit Heaven Technique* that had allowed him to cling to life was a technique the Perfected Fortune had personally devised for him. So, the instant Blood Demon Zhenren stopped concealing his karmic links, the Perfected Fortune, far across the horizon, felt it. He frowned slightly, his gaze turning toward the heavens.

’...Blood Demon? He’s alive again?’

The Perfected Fortune was not in the Current World, but in the Foundation Establishment Realm. And what was truly shocking was that there was no Weakening Wind around him!

The Weakening Wind was the great tribulation of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Whether in the Early Stage, Mid-phase, Late Stage, or at Perfection, as long as one was a Foundation-Stage Cultivator, they had to endure the Weakening Wind’s constant erosion of their soul.

Yet, the area where the Perfected Fortune stood, though not large, was completely devoid of the Weakening Wind. Even gales from the outside would shatter like waves against a reef upon reaching this zone, unable to penetrate it in the slightest.

And this was how it was *after* being damaged.

He remembered the old days, when he sat enthroned upon his Fruit. How resoundingly famous was his *Long Brilliance Treasure Light Grotto Heaven*? Countless Perfected Persons came to his court, seeking refuge under his banner.

Now, it was reduced to this.

The *Long Brilliance Treasure Light Grotto Heaven* of old had been shattered. Despite his desperate efforts to salvage it, all that remained was this single fragment, which could barely be called a Blessed Land.

Even so, he had nearly failed to gain control of it.

The reason was simple: he was too weak.

A hundred years ago, his cultivation had only recovered to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. He was so weak that even the Master of Heaven Mending Peak was well aware of his state and dared to challenge him in public.

To remedy this, he was forced to ”fish” within the Stain Sect multiple times, usurping their Fortune.

It wasn’t until he orchestrated the matter with Xiao Shiye and obtained the Qi of the Colorful Merit Fish that he finally had enough of a foundation to act. He immediately concealed his karmic links and went into seclusion for a hundred years.

A hundred years passed. Only now had he finally finished refining the old Grotto Heaven Fragment into his current *Treasure Brilliance Blessed Land*. With this, he had managed to restore his cultivation to Foundation Establishment Perfection. However, he feared discovery and remained hidden within his Blessed Land, not daring to reveal himself.

After all, the Perfected Fortune knew about Perfected Chong Guang’s backer, World Purger Fei Xue.

She was a complete Mad Woman.

She had single-handedly raised up Perfected Chong Guang. His successful attainment of the Dao would be of great benefit to her own cultivation, so she would never tolerate anyone disrupting her plans.

She hadn’t acted before because he had been too weak to be a threat.

But if she learned he had recovered to Foundation Establishment Perfection and could now contend with Perfected Chong Guang, she wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him preemptively!

Now, however, the Perfected Fortune found himself in a difficult position.

’Blood Demon... He’s a good prospect. If I could support him and have him contend with Chong Guang in my place, he might be able to draw some attention away from me.’

The Perfected Fortune performed a quick divination, and understanding dawned on him.

’So that’s it. The karmic links of the ”Abi Sword” have brought him trouble. He’s being hunted by a Sword Cultivator from the South and wants my help...’

At first glance, it didn’t seem too dangerous.

Though he had fallen from his Fruit, his cultivation remained. When he divined the Karma Links, few could hide anything from him unless they were connected to a Perfected Lord.

For instance, someone carrying an incarnation of a Perfected Lord.

Or a Daoist Remnant who had failed their attempt at Seeking Gold.

”Hahaha...”

As he thought about it, the Perfected Fortune couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Blood Demon Zhenren’s capabilities. How could he possibly have provoked an enemy of that caliber?

’Impossible! Absolutely impossible!’

According to his divination, the most powerful foe was merely a Sword Cultivator from the Sword Pavilion at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. He was certainly formidable for his level, but to the Perfected Fortune, who had recovered his Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivation, dealing with him would take no more than a flick of a finger. He was nothing to worry about.

’....I’ll make the trip, then!’

With that thought, the Perfected Fortune hesitated no more. He rose, flicked his sleeve, and set off in Blood Demon Zhenren’s direction, sending him a message as he went.

........

”I have to hold on a little longer?”

Blood Demon Zhenren was stunned as he received the message through the Great Net of Karma Links. ’This isn’t right,’ he thought. ’Why would a Perfected Lord need me to hold on longer?’

’Shouldn’t he just tear open the void and snatch me away with a giant hand?’

A bad feeling welled up in Blood Demon Zhenren’s heart. Still, a response from the Perfected Fortune was a glimmer of hope, so he pushed his doubts aside.

”Hm...?”

Just as Ye Xingfeng’s Sword Light was about to strike, Blood Demon Zhenren suddenly sensed something. He looked in a particular direction, and a joyful expression bloomed on his face.

’The third Divine Effect of the ”Abi Sword” has been activated?’

”Excellent!”

The next second, Blood Demon Zhenren swiftly formed a Daoist Hand Seal and sneered, ”You ignorant whelp! Did you really think you could use my Artifact without me leaving a backdoor?”

「Almost simultaneously, in another region.」

Lü Yang had just hunted down the other Harmonization cultivators of the Immortal Alliance. Aside from Elder Lin, who held the Emperor’s Golden Seal of Tushita, he had slain all the rest.

The result was just as he had expected.

After devouring the True Qi, blood, and flesh of eleven Harmonization cultivators, the Abi Sword was fully restored to its perfect state, and its third Divine Effect emerged.

Its name was: *Famous Artifact*.

’Under all of heaven, only status and artifacts cannot be entrusted to another. The Sword Master recognized by *Famous Artifact* will forever possess the primary right of control over the Abi Sword...’

In an instant, Lü Yang’s expression turned grim.

It was a master-binding Divine Effect!

The next second, the Abi Sword, just restored to its peak, began to tremble violently. In an instant, its connection to Lü Yang was severed, and it tried to tear through the sky and fly away!

It was obvious: Blood Demon Zhenren was the Sword Master recognized by *Famous Artifact*. From the very beginning, he had been the true owner of the Abi Sword. The reason he had sent it away was not only to have someone else bear the divine punishment for him, but likely also to use an outsider to restore the sword to its perfect state!

And now that it was repaired, he was naturally coming to take it back!