Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 262: Chapter 262: You Really Think You Can Seduce Me?

「Another hour passed.」

Master Miaoyin finally exhausted all her Mana. She tried to fight on using her Dharma Body, but was ultimately tackled by a group of burly men, losing all ability to resist.

”I...”

SHLUK! SHLUK! SHLUK!

Without any mercy, long blades pierced through her beautiful body, bleeding her out, draining her strength until she could no longer struggle.

Then, several burly men stepped forward. They took out a rope and trussed her up completely. The rope, folded in the middle, was looped around her neck, threaded through her cleavage, past her collarbones, and used to bind her hands and feet behind her back. It was wrapped around her lower torso, creating a binding as restrictive as a thick turtle shell, ensuring she couldn’t move in the slightest.

”Ngh...” Master Miaoyin let out a pained groan.

After all this was done, the remaining soldiers hoisted Master Miaoyin up and brought her to the cliff where Lü Yang was, then threw her directly onto the ground.

”Immortal Master, the Outer Celestial Demon has been captured!”

These disaster victims, who had consumed Qi-eating Insect Eggs and thus been able to defy heaven and change their fate, all looked at Lü Yang with sincere expressions, their eyes fixed upon him.

Lü Yang walked out of the tea pavilion and looked at Master Miaoyin.

”Yuan Tu... might there be some misunderstanding here?”

Master Miaoyin forced a smile, but with her disheveled hair and body covered in blood and filth, even the most beautiful smile became a grotesque display.

”There’s no misunderstanding.”

Lü Yang’s expression was calm as he walked up to Master Miaoyin. ”My Lady, since you wanted to kill me, isn’t it only natural that I return the favor?”

”When did I ever want to kill you?”

Master Miaoyin, of course, would never admit it. She immediately shook her head. ”There must be a misunderstanding. If you don’t believe me... you can enslave me. I know you know how.”

”Once you control me, you’ll know the truth.”

Master Miaoyin’s voice was soft and weak. She didn’t mind being brainwashed; all she wanted was to live. Besides, she possessed a Secret Technique that would allow her to turn the tables and seize control during the brainwashing process...

Upon hearing this, Lü Yang stood up.

But just as Master Miaoyin thought he was about to control her, Lü Yang drew his sword and, with a single strike, lopped off her beautiful head.

”Did you really think you could beguile me with your feminine wiles?”

From the very beginning, Lü Yang had no intention of Refining Master Miaoyin. Otherwise, with his disposition for not letting things go to waste, he would have had his men lining up outside long ago.

He could have, but there was no need.

After all, Master Miaoyin possessed nothing he coveted, and he had no weakness for women. It was better to kill her quickly and avoid any future complications.

’I suppose I’m a good person at heart, after all.’

Lü Yang sighed to himself, then looked up at the sky, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, because his Villager Life Star showed no change.

’Of course, it’s not that simple. No matter how stupid it is, there’s no way it would just hand me the Supreme Venerable Position of the Sun and Moon Emperor just because I killed Miaoyin... Does this mean I got shafted? Heaven and Earth isn’t holding up its end of the bargain? If that’s the case, then don’t blame me for turning hostile...’

As Lü Yang was deep in thought,

RUMBLE!

In that instant, the Commander-in-Chief beside him, Chen Anmin, suddenly froze. A moment later, a brilliant radiance, like that of the sun’s corona, erupted from his body.

The next second, his Life Star began to change.

High in the heavens, Chen Anmin’s Life Star transformed into a ball of fire, expanding rapidly until it became a blazing, brilliant Sun, too dazzling to look at directly!

[Next Emperor]

His Life Star is the Sun, the Supreme Venerable Position of this age!

At this moment, Lü Yang, standing right beside him, felt it most clearly. In Chen Anmin’s presence, he felt his entire Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment Cultivation dissipate in an instant!

He was now just like Master Miaoyin had been earlier; all of his Position was suppressed to the point of near-annihilation, leaving him with only his Mana, which now felt like water without a source. This was the suppressive power of the [Next Emperor]. Only a Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment could likely retain some of their strength in his presence!

”Immortal... Immortal Master?”

Chen Anmin stared at Lü Yang in bewilderment. He found that the Immortal Master who he had always felt was unfathomably powerful now looked no different from an ordinary mortal.

’He doesn’t seem so powerful after all, does he?’

While Chen Anmin was still in a daze, Lü Yang narrowed his eyes. ’What a clever move, pulling the rug out from under me,’ he thought. ’Instead of giving it to me, you give it to the person right beside me?’

’Is this its way of breaking with me?’

At this thought, the corner of Lü Yang’s mouth curled into a cold smirk.

At that moment, however, Chen Anmin abruptly snapped back to his senses. He whipped his head toward the sky and roared, ”Who’s there?! Show yourself!”

What should have been a mortal’s shout was transformed by the power of the [Next Emperor] into a resounding roar like that of a tiger and a dragon. The sound wave forced all the soldiers in its path to their knees. At the same time, it peeled away an invisible layer of Mana, as if pulling back a curtain to reveal a figure hidden behind it.

”Incredible... Fellow Daoist, your reputation is truly well-deserved.”

Lü Yang looked over and narrowed his eyes. The newcomer was a refined-looking young man with a perpetually amiable, yet somewhat fake, smile on his face.

But more importantly, there was his Cultivation.

For a moment, Lü Yang’s heart pounded with alarm.

’Late Stage of Foundation Establishment!?’

To be able to levitate and fly despite the suppression of the [Next Emperor], according to Lü Yang’s earlier deduction, he had to be at least at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

’Good thing I’m cautious and prepared to use a lion’s full strength even to hunt a rabbit. I brought all my combat-ready troops in one go. Otherwise, against a Late-stage Great Trueman, without a military formation of over a hundred thousand soldiers linking their Life Stars for suppression, victory would have been uncertain. It’s even possible he could have turned the tables and killed me on the spot!’

”Greetings, Fellow Daoist Yuan Tu.”

Summon looked perfectly calm as he cupped his hands in salute to Lü Yang. ”Fellow Daoist, this avatar of yours is a work of art, possessing its own Fate. No wonder you dare to act so boldly.”

Bribing the Ten Thousand Martial Realm with Earth Vein Qi.

Siding with the Ten Thousand Martial Realm and mobilizing an army to encircle and destroy Master Miaoyin.

Would no one else have thought of similar tactics? Of course not. The Stain Sect has known about the Ten Thousand Martial Realm for so long; how could no one have considered it?

So why has no one ever done it?

Because the gains aren’t worth the losses. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Lü Yang is fine now; that’s only because he’s in the Ten Thousand Martial Realm. Once he returns, he will inevitably face Heaven’s punishment.

After all, when two people go out carrying Earth Evil Qi and only one comes back, in the judgment of Heaven and Earth, that is a [Loss]. If it doesn’t punish you, who would it punish? To avoid this punishment, one must bring back a greater amount of World Heaven Qi, allowing Heaven and Earth to judge it as a [Profit] or [Not a Loss]. Only then can one escape retribution.

Heaven and Earth does not look at the process, only the result.

Because no one wants to suffer Heaven’s punishment for no reason, most Cultivators who travel to an Outer Realm together choose to help one another, even those from the Stain Sect.

But Lü Yang was different.

Setting aside the fact that his Immortal Embryo Avatar possessed its own Fate, making it difficult for Heaven’s punishment to affect his true body, he was also confident he could resolve the issue even if it did.

’As long as I earn back even more World Heaven Qi, none of this will be a problem.’

Thinking this, Lü Yang couldn’t help but glance at Chen Anmin beside him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the dazzling power of the [Next Emperor] radiating from the man.