Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: Which Fellow Daoist From the Stain Sect?

「North, Skull Mountains Marketplace.」

Lü Yang was still out and about in his Dharma Body, yet he remained as cautious as ever, keeping all traces of his qi completely suppressed. At a glance, one would only mistake him for a down-on-his-luck Loose Cultivator.

’You can’t be too careful.’

’If I remember correctly, at this point in time, the Skull Mountains are being watched by many Saint Sect Perfected Persons, not just Perfected Yin Shan!’

After all, the Divine Martial Sect had a cultivator at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

If it weren’t for a Great Trueman presiding over the sect, the Divine Martial Sect could never have become the sole overlord of the Northern Border, let alone covet the Wu Ghost Secret Realm within the Skull Mountains.

However, during the battle at the Skull Mountains, Perfected Yin Shan used the Wu Ghost Secret Realm as bait, drawing out a host of Perfected Persons from the Divine Martial Sect. The result was that the Divine Martial Sect’s Sect Leader—their only Great Trueman—was besieged and killed by the Perfected Persons of the Saint Sect. Only a few cultivators at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment managed to flee in disgrace, beginning the countdown to their sect’s utter destruction.

’In other words, there’s definitely a Great Trueman watching this place!’

Strictly speaking, Lü Yang’s true body wasn’t even as strong as his avatar. Even with Empowerment, he was only at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection—no match for a Great Trueman.

So he didn’t let it get to his head in the slightest.

”Senior Brother Zhao...”

Upon entering the Market, Lü Yang swept the area with his Divine Sense and, just as he expected, spotted a familiar figure. It was none other than Zhao Xuhe, the man who owed him a massive debt of Contribution Points from his previous lives.

’So he really did end up cultivating the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis...’

Lü Yang’s eyes flickered. Zhao Xuhe’s cultivation had already reached the Final-phase of Qi Refining. Barring any surprises, he should be attempting his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment within the next few years.

’Does that mean... Arhat Fulong is about to show up?’

Lü Yang grinned.

A moment later, he seemed to recall something. He projected his Divine Sense into the Myriad-Soul Banner and found the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, whom he had previously refined into a Banner Spirit.

”Let me ask you something. You should be preparing to break through to the Late Stage by now, right?”

”Yes, Master.”

Hearing this, Lü Yang’s eyes lit up. ”In that case,” he said in a low voice, ”you must have secretly obtained a sliver of Xin Metal long ago, right?”

Lü Yang had previously overlooked this. After all, in the last timeline, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak had waited a full century before attempting his breakthrough to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Seeing Zhao Xuhe, however, made him realize something: the Master of Heaven Mending Peak had probably possessed the resources to attempt that breakthrough long ago!

He probably hadn’t made the attempt for one simple reason: he was terrified of the Celestial Thunder Tribulation!

Otherwise, why would he have had the spare energy to cultivate Zhao Xuhe? The logical priority would have been to seek out the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches; after all, without them, everything else was just empty talk.

Of course, this was only Lü Yang’s speculation.

He still needed the Master of Heaven Mending Peak to confirm it.

”...”

A moment later, Lü Yang withdrew his Divine Sense from the Myriad-Soul Banner, his expression shifting uncertainly.

The good news was that the Master of Heaven Mending Peak did indeed have a lead on a sliver of Xin Metal. The bad news was that this sliver of Xin Metal was not in his possession.

”...Su Heng Palace?”

Lü Yang’s brow gradually furrowed.

It was a Marvel located in the North, just like the Qing Country. However, it hadn’t been established in the North by the Dao Court, but rather by the Pure Land.

And according to the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, the Xin Metal was located within this Marvel.

Because of its connection to the Pure Land, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak had gotten on good terms with Arhat Fulong. And judging from the outcome in the Previous Life, he had indeed succeeded in his goal.

This made it clear that Arhat Fulong was the key to obtaining the Xin Metal within Su Heng Palace.

’But... the Pure Land.’

Lü Yang felt a headache coming on. Ever since the time he was nearly scared to death by the Bhagavat while Overseas, his attitude toward Pure Land Buddhist Cultivators could be summed up in a single phrase.

’Kill them, curse them, but whatever you do, don’t try to get clever with them!’

That was why, even though he had the Puppet Talent Skill in this life, Lü Yang had never once considered using an avatar to infiltrate the Pure Land and uncover its secrets.

After all, who knew what would happen after an avatar joined the Pure Land and became a Monk? His Puppet skill might be able to fool a Golden Core cultivator, but could it really fool a Master of Dao? What if the Bhagavat possessed the avatar, discovered there was someone else pulling the strings, and then followed the trail right back to him?

Wouldn’t he be totally screwed then?

While this was just Lü Yang’s fear—it was possible his Talent Skill was flawless and even the Bhagavat wouldn’t notice a thing—it was ultimately a gamble.

And if there was one thing Lü Yang hated, it was gambling!

’If I don’t gamble, I can’t lose!’

’At the end of the day, Puppet is just a Talent Skill I received from completing the Summon of the Gold Attribute. It’s far too optimistic to bet that it can handle the Bhagavat, who is two entire realms higher...’

By the same token, Arhat Fulong would also be extremely difficult to handle.

How could he possibly extract information about the Xin Metal from him?

’Kill him and refine him into the Myriad-Soul Banner? No, that won’t work. This is an Arhat. If the Bhagavat senses something is wrong and possesses a body to investigate, I’ll be screwed either way!’

After all, if the Bhagavat possessed a body, he would certainly be able to see the Fruit Position Prototype within the Myriad-Soul Banner. At that point, wouldn’t he just be laughing his head off?

’Oh, look what we have here! A Fruit for the taking?’

Although Lü Yang had refined some Monks into the Myriad-Soul Banner before, they were all at the Qi Refining Stage—so insignificant they hardly counted. It was no surprise the Bhagavat hadn’t been alerted.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator, however, was already considered a Perfected Person.

Especially in the current era, with Perfected Lords living in seclusion, it was highly likely that the Bhagavat focused his attention on those at the Foundation Establishment Stage!

As for having the Master of Heaven Mending Peak and Chen Xin’an team up like father and son to perform Soul Searching, that method was even more unreliable. What if the Bhagavat showed up halfway through the process?

”Sigh...”

At this thought, Lü Yang couldn’t help but smack his forehead and curse inwardly, ’That Bhagavat is so damn shameless! A Nascent Soul Daoist Lord, and he’s still here bullying the small fry!’

But after thinking it through, he made a decision.

’Whatever happens, I’ll capture him first!’

’Worst case, I’ll just suppress him for now and break him down slowly. As long as I don’t use any methods that might alert the Bhagavat, it should be fine. I refuse to believe that bald donkey is really such a tough nut to crack!’

With his mind made up, Lü Yang immediately took action.

First, he found Zhao Xuhe and gave him the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object that the Master of Heaven Mending Peak had prepared for his own children. Then, he used the Puppet skill to control him and force a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

RUMBLE!

In an instant, nearly half of the Skull Mountains Marketplace began to tremble.

Lü Yang had pulled this exact stunt in his two previous lives, so he knew the process like the back of his hand. What’s more, with his higher cultivation, he could execute it without leaving a single trace.

Soon, a melodious Buddhist chant echoed from within the Skull Mountains:

”Amitabha!”

A beam of Buddha Light parted, and Arhat Fulong’s familiar figure strode out from within. A compassionate smile graced his features. ”Benefactor, you and this humble monk share a karmic bond...”

Almost simultaneously, several powerful gazes descended upon the scene out of thin air.

Just as Lü Yang had expected, many Perfected Persons from the Saint Sect had indeed gathered at the Skull Mountains. They were all waiting for a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Divine Martial Sect to take the bait so they could wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

”A bald donkey from the Pure Land?”

”Why is he here?”

One of the Saint Sect Perfected Persons immediately began performing a divination and soon showed a look of understanding. ”It’s the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis... It was only placed in the Cloud Sea back then with the consent of Heaven Mending.”

”Should we stop him?”

”Forget it. Let him be. If we make a move now, we might startle the Divine Martial Sect and let our real targets escape. That would be a greater loss than it’s worth. Besides, it’s just a Qi Refining Disciple...”

However, at that very moment...

SWOOSH!

A splendid light suddenly flared into existence and swept over Arhat Fulong. The Arhat had no power to resist; with a single cry of alarm, he was captured and whisked away.

For an instant, a dead silence fell over everything.

The Perfected Persons of the Saint Sect present were all battle-hardened veterans and reacted in an instant. ’Someone set a trap and deliberately captured that Arhat Fulong!’

And by the looks of it, the attacker’s cultivation was at least at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection!

A cultivator at Mid-stage Perfection targeting someone at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment, using a Qi Refining Disciple as bait, and launching a sneak attack on top of it all. This was clearly a premeditated plot, and it likely wasn’t the first time they had done something like this.

Thinking of this, a shared understanding dawned on the group, and they all smiled knowingly.

’Which of our fellow Saint Sect Daoists is this?’