Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 318: Chapter 318: Do You Recognize Who I Am?

The moment Lü Yang’s voice faded, everything went utterly silent.

Inside the shop, Master Qi He, who had been fiddling with an Array Plate, abruptly froze. He slowly raised his head and stared intently at Lü Yang.

”You do our Saint Sect Zhenren proud.”

Lü Yang accepted it calmly.

’The best way to judge a person isn’t by their thoughts or words, but by their actions. Do that, and the truth of many things becomes clear.’

’Master Qi He might have talked a good game, pretending to have my best interests at heart, but what were his actions? Sealing the entire shop with an Array. Sure, he had a fine excuse—trapping the Independent Practitioners on Secret Gallery Street—but wasn’t it also trapping me?’

’If Master Qi He were truly sincere...’

’...he wouldn’t have set up the Array by himself. He would have invited me to help. Since he didn’t, it was clear to me he was harboring ill intentions!’

”What a pity...”

At that moment, a voice sounded from outside the shop. A burly man then walked in, his body wreathed in a dense glow of Blood Qi.

”Since you saw through it, why bother pointing it out?”

The burly man’s laughter boomed. ”If you had just turned and fled without a word, we might not have been able to stop you, caught off guard as we were.”

”[Kui Gang], don’t be careless.”

A soft, alluring voice drifted in on a waft of Fragrant Wind. It was a beautiful woman in a palace gown, strolling into the shop. ”This man is a Perfected Person from the Stain Sect, after all,” she said.

”I don’t need you to tell me that, [Gou Yue].”

The burly man gave a cold smile and, together with the woman in the palace gown, blocked off Lü Yang’s escape route. At the same time, the radiance of the surrounding Array grew even brighter.

’Two at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment...’

Lü Yang’s gaze shifted to Master Qi He. He grinned. ”To dare ambush me like this... I take it you’ve broken through to the Mid-phase, Daoist?”

”Alas, Daoist. Your Dharma Eye sees true.”

Master Qi He sighed at his words. His hunched form slowly straightened, and a brilliant, dazzling Divine Power Radiance erupted from his body.

Just as Lü Yang had expected—Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment!

Lü Yang shook his head. ”Daoist, you must have this Secret Gallery Street to thank for your breakthrough to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. A pity to waste such a fine place.”

He didn’t even bother asking Master Qi He for the reason behind his betrayal.

After all, this was the Stain Sect. Betrayal was perfectly normal, nothing strange about it. He didn’t care about the reason and even felt this was a pleasant surprise.

’I was actually going to pay.’

’But now, it looks like I won’t have to pay for all those Spiritual Objects I just bought. In fact, I might even turn a profit. You could say it’s a generous donation from some kind souls...’

At this thought, Lü Yang grew even calmer.

Meanwhile, Master Qi He didn’t get carried away just because Lü Yang had fallen into his trap. On the contrary, he grew more vigilant. ’He’s in a hopeless situation, yet he’s perfectly calm. Does he have an ace up his sleeve? That’s right, he’s from the Chongguang Sect. It’s only natural for him to have a few tricks...’

In truth, he had been reluctant to make a move on Lü Yang.

As a Perfected Person of the Stain Sect himself, no one knew better than him just how tenacious a true-born member of the sect could be, or how fiercely they sought revenge.

Unfortunately, many things were beyond his control.

’A pity. If I had more time, I could have roped in the other Foundation Establishment cultivators on Secret Gallery Street. As it is, only these two were usable...’

Even so, the arrow was already on the string and had to be loosed.

With that thought, Master Qi He no longer hesitated. He roared, ”Now!”

Before Master Qi He’s voice faded, both the burly man, [Kui Gang], and the palace-gowned woman, [Gou Yue], began performing Finger Techniques and chanting Incantations. Surprisingly, they had both managed to refine their own Innate Ability.

”Take this!”

Kui Gang clenched his fist. The Divine Power Radiance settled over his arm, flowing with his movements as he threw a punch at Lü Yang from across the room.

[Dragon’s Hibernation and Worm’s Bending]!

Kui Gang’s Innate Ability was rather unique. He would normally accumulate Mana and bide his time, then release it all in one explosive burst, its power far exceeding his usual level.

In an instant, Lü Yang felt an immense, overwhelming force rushing toward him. If it hadn’t been contained within that single punch—if it were unleashed freely—it could probably shatter an entire Overseas island.

At the same time, Gou Yue’s Innate Ability landed on Kui Gang.

[Enhancing Profound Talisman]!

As its name implied, this Innate Ability was not suited for Combat, but it could greatly amplify the Abilities and Magic of others, increasing the power of Kui Gang’s punch by several degrees.

Honestly, the combined power of their Abilities was impressive. However, Lü Yang wasn’t the least bit concerned. Their Innate Abilities reminded him of Wu Cang... Loose Cultivators ignore karmic links and focus only on raw power. They might be strong, but they lack flexibility.

Of course, that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that approach.

The problem is that Loose Cultivators have limited legacies. The result is that even though you pursue raw numbers, the final numbers you achieve aren’t even that high. So what’s the point?

”To hire these people to kill me... Daoist, you underestimate me far too much.”

Lü Yang uttered True Words. Raging Profound Fire immediately blazed to life behind him, and a towering, ethereal form rose up. It was none other than the [Heavenly Qian All-Encompassing Dharma Body]!

The next second, Lü Yang neither dodged nor evaded.

With [Wan Jin Gong] protecting him and his Dharma Body empowering him further, he too threw a punch. His seemingly much smaller fist collided head-on with Kui Gang’s.

BOOM!

Lü Yang was completely unscathed by the impact, his golden aura still shining brilliantly. Kui Gang, however, had his bones shattered and tendons torn, instantly exploding into a bloody mist.

Seeing this, the expression of the palace-gowned woman, Gou Yue, changed drastically. ”Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment?”

The next second, she gritted her teeth. ’That bastard...!’

’The power gap between the Early Stage and Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment is immense. If Lü Yang had just shown his Cultivation, there’s no way I and Kui Gang would have been so ignorant of our own limits. We would have turned and fled immediately.’

’But no, he just had to hide it!’

’Not only did he hide it, but instead of engaging in Combat with Master Qi He, who’s also at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment, he ambushed us Early Stage cultivators. He’s completely shameless!’

Master Qi He’s expression changed as well.

He too had failed to see Lü Yang’s true cultivation level. He’d assumed Lü Yang was merely at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment and, confident in his own superior Cultivation, had set the trap to kill him.

He had even been exceedingly cautious.

He had not only laid an Array, but had also brought in two cultivators at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment as backup.

The whole reason he’d had Kui Gang and Gou Yue attack first was because he suspected Lü Yang had a hidden trump card and wanted them to test him... He never imagined this would be the outcome!

What was even more troublesome was this: he was confident he could handle a cultivator at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

But someone at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment?

Even with the Array to help him, Master Qi He had zero confidence he could kill his opponent. The best he could hope for was to inflict a serious injury, which made his expression darken further.

”Daoist... can we come to an agreement?”

Master Qi He said with a look of resignation, ”Kui Gang is dead. His wealth can be considered your compensation. As for the Spiritual Objects you wanted earlier, Daoist, I will offer them to you as well.”

”If you insist on a fight to the bitter end, Daoist...”

As he said this, a sharp glint flashed in Master Qi He’s eyes.

”I’m no pushover, either. How confident are you that you can stop me from leaving, Daoist? I don’t have much time left. If you can’t kill me, I swear I will hound you to the very end!”

”Hound me to the very end?”

Lü Yang laughed aloud at his words. ”Then may I ask, Daoist, do you even know who I am?”

”...Uh.”

Master Qi He’s expression froze. It only just occurred to him that Lü Yang had never stated his identity, and this was the first time he had ever seen his face.

All he knew was that the man came from the Stain Sect and held a Minor Metal Token.

’His identity? His name?’

”I don’t know either of them...”

For a moment, a chill went through Master Qi He’s heart.

’I can’t divine his origins, and I don’t know his identity. That means even if he fails to kill me, he can just walk away, adopt a new identity, and vanish. Why would he possibly fear my threat of hounding him?’

Master Qi He, on the other hand...

...did not want to die!

At this thought, Master Qi He hesitated no longer. Activating a Talisman in his hand, his figure flashed, and he shot out of the shop in a streak of Splendid Light.

He was making a run for it!