Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 494: Chapter 494: Purge the Vermin and Shoot the Sun, Now Is the Time

”Thank you, senior!”

Facing Ang Xiao’s gaze, Lü Yang showed no sign of worry. He simply reached out and claimed the splinter of Divine Sense that Ang Xiao had offered.

Ang Xiao’s eyebrows shot up at his composure.

’He’s not afraid?’

He wasn’t bluffing; the Earth of Ji Dao Practice he’d offered truly contained a trap! And it was impossible to see through the deception without True Monarch Cultivation.

This in itself was a test.

Lü Yang’s placid demeanor meant one of two things: either his request for the Earth of Ji Dao Practice was just a smokescreen, or he had another Perfected Lord backing him.

As these thoughts raced through Ang Xiao’s mind, he glanced at the Jade Scroll Lü Yang had offered. He swept it with his Divine Sense, and the supposed intelligence on the Fruit of Long-Flow Water immediately appeared: within the Saint Sect’s Simulation Realm, there was the soul of a cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection who had mastered the Fruit of Long-Flow Water?

’This is... actually useful to me.’

With his Summon severed, he could no longer draw upon the Fruit of Long-Flow Water.

But with a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator who had mastered the Fruit of Long-Flow Water—even just their soul—he had ways to help them reconstruct a physical body. Then, he could attempt Seeking Gold once more.

The only problem was, it was too convenient.

Instantly, Ang Xiao felt no joy, only a rising sense of alarm. He refused to believe Lü Yang had given him this intelligence out of kindness.

’A trap! This is definitely a trap!’

Ang Xiao’s mind roiled with suspicion. ’A Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator who’s mastered the Fruit of Long-Flow Water... it fits my needs so perfectly. Could someone be baiting me?’

RUMBLE!

With a loud rumble, Lü Yang resealed the Grotto Heaven Fragment. He didn’t bother speaking to Ang Xiao again, content to let him stew in his own paranoia.

As for the intelligence he had given Ang Xiao... it pointed directly to Primal Daoist Mu Changsheng.

It wasn’t exactly a lie. After all, the Saint Sect Ancestral Master had thrown Mu Changsheng into the Simulation Realm, but the Netherworld had not yet cleansed him of his Abilities.

If Ang Xiao truly managed to get his hands on Mu Changsheng, he might actually be able to draw upon the Fruit of Long-Flow Water.

Of course, doing so would likely attract the attention of the Saint Sect Ancestral Master... but Lü Yang couldn’t care less. In fact, he hoped they would come to blows.

At the thought, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a wave of exhaustion.

’You have to be unbelievably cunning to deal with Ang Xiao... He never speaks the truth, every sentence is a probe, and every opportunity is a baited hook.’

If he hadn’t been so experienced, that old bastard would have cheated him out of the shirt on his back.

A moment later, Lü Yang took out the Earth of Ji Dao Practice Ang Xiao had given him. At first glance, the knowledge it contained seemed perfectly logical, but he knew it undoubtedly concealed a deadly trap.

Fortunately, he already had a countermeasure in mind.

...

「Dao Court in the East.」

Lü Yang’s main body retracted its consciousness. He shook the Myriad-Soul Banner, then took out the Sea Commanding Conch that the Dragon Monarch had gifted him. Softly, he called out:

”Grandfather...”

A moment later, the Sea Commanding Conch trembled slightly.

A strand of spiritual perception emerged from within it. It was the Old Dragon Monarch. His majestic voice boomed, ”What is it? Du Huan... why have you called for me?”

”Grandfather!”

Lü Yang immediately presented the Earth of Ji Dao Practice, his voice urgent. ”Grandfather, the mysterious person who told me about the Incense and Candle Divine Dao and the Outer Realm coordinates has appeared again!”

”This time, he gave me this.”

”Although I am on the verge of a breakthrough and truly need this Dao Practice knowledge, I was worried it might contain a trap. That’s why I’ve come to ask for your judgment, Grandfather.”

”...Oh?”

The Old Dragon Monarch raised an eyebrow. He looked at the Dao Practice knowledge Lü Yang had transcribed with his Divine Sense and instantly felt a familiar, mighty power emanating from it.

’This is... the Veil of the Trees!?’

The Old Dragon Monarch froze. The first thing that flashed through his mind was the inexplicable glance Ang Xiao had cast his way when he had first appeared.

At the time, he had been puzzled, wondering why Ang Xiao was looking at him.

But now he understood.

’So Ang Xiao is the mysterious person secretly supporting my True Dragon Race! If that’s the case, then that look he gave me makes sense!’

With this thought, he glanced at Du Huan again.

’No wonder... No wonder this grandson of mine has been advancing so quickly, even surpassing the limits I’d anticipated. He reached the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment in such a short time...’

The cultivation requirements for the Celestial Language Shimmering Dragon Chapter are extremely demanding.

Only someone of half-human, half-dragon blood can cultivate it to the Great Perfection stage. Pure humans or pure dragons can reach Foundation Establishment at most; the higher they try to go, the more difficult it becomes.

That was why, from the very beginning, the Old Dragon Monarch had never placed much hope in the Dragon Race contingent sent to the East. In his eyes, their only purpose was to breed until a perfect half-dragon, half-human bloodline emerged. He then planned to have the Gold Attribute of his son, White Chilong, reincarnate into that body to begin cultivating again.

But Lü Yang had completely shattered his expectations.

He was supposedly a pure-blooded True Dragon, yet his progress with the Celestial Language Shimmering Dragon Chapter was astonishingly fast and free of any bottlenecks, which had made the Old Dragon Monarch suspicious.

Now, however, everything made sense.

’With Ang Xiao involved, it’s not strange at all.’

’After all, that is a Great Perfected Lord at the Late Stage of Golden Core who also holds an Emperor Fruit. A trivial restriction like needing half-dragon blood would be nothing to him.’

The Old Dragon Monarch’s mood instantly brightened.

He didn’t care about Lü Yang’s secrets. As far as he was concerned, Lü Yang was a True Dragon. Any secrets he held could only be beneficial to the True Dragon Race.

’In fact, from this perspective, Du Huan has far more potential than Celestial Python... After all, the conceptual foundation for the Fruit of Sky-River Water is severely damaged. Even though it is an Emperor Fruit, it is extremely difficult to manifest. Plus, with so many powerful factions eyeing it hungrily, if it ever came time for Seeking Gold, I’m afraid Celestial Python would suffer the same fate as White Chilong.’

’In comparison, Du Huan’s future is undoubtedly much grander.’

’After all, he’s stationed in the East and has earned the deep trust of Emperor Jia You. Given time, he might actually be able to carve out a foothold for the True Dragon Race in the East.’

The more the Old Dragon Monarch thought about it, the more pleased he was with Lü Yang.

With that, he simply removed the Veil of the Trees from the Earth of Ji Dao Practice and sent it back to Lü Yang. ”Du Huan, my boy, are you in need of any Spiritual Materials and Sentient Artifacts?”

’Hm?’

The moment he said this, Lü Yang immediately understood the Old Dragon Monarch’s thinking. ’So, he sees my potential and is planning to double down on his investment in me?’

Instantly, Lü Yang let out a theatrical sigh.

”Grandfather, yes I am!”

”I don’t just need Spiritual Materials and Sentient Artifacts, I’m also short on Daoist Skills... Grandfather, you have no idea how deep the waters run in this Dao Court. It costs a fortune to grease the wheels and build connections!”

Hearing this, the Old Dragon Monarch waved his hand dismissively. ”Rest assured, money is not an issue!”

The Dragon Palace has mountains of gold and silver—more than we could ever spend!

A short while later, Lü Yang delightedly accepted a massive cache of Spiritual Materials from the Old Dragon Monarch—enough to cover the salaries for the Imperial City Department for several years.

He then ended the communication with the Old Dragon Monarch.

Back in his Quiet Chamber, Lü Yang decisively activated the empowerment authority granted to him by Emperor Jia You through the Immortal Dao Law and began to absorb the Dao Practice knowledge related to the Earth of Ji.

「Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.」

During this period, Lü Yang continued to expand the Imperial City Department. With Emperor Jia You’s tacit approval, he had come to hold a near-monopoly on the defense of Celestial Wu City and its surroundings.

The One Heart Association also grew in scale.

Eventually, it wasn’t just Demon Cultivators; a significant number of Human Cultivators had also joined the One Heart Association, most of them lower-ranking officials.

「Finally, one morning...」

Inside the Imperial City Department’s Government Office, Lü Yang sat in his Quiet Chamber. His lips parted, and he slowly exhaled a breath of Muddy Qi as a brilliant point of light ignited between his eyebrows.

It was the moment of sunrise.

Suddenly, Lü Yang looked up, his Heart Spirit merging with the sun as it slowly rose from the horizon. He then retrieved two items from his Storage Bag:

Earth of Ji and Earth of Wei.

Over the past six months, he had rooted out corruption several more times, all while secretly skimming the empowerment authority of the Immortal Dao Law for himself. Today, he had finally achieved Dao Practice Perfection!

The next moment, two streams of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches energy landed in his palm.

He seized them and instantly refined them!

Without a moment’s hesitation, beams of light representing his Abilities flared up behind Lü Yang’s head. They interlinked, bursting forth in a radiant, golden halo like the sun.

Emperor’s Fate, Guiyuan Palace.

Heaven and Earth, Coiling Dragon Root!

The Abilities formed from the four Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches—Earth of Wu, Wu Fire, Earth of Ji, and Earth of Wei—melted away one by one, unfurling behind Lü Yang to form a magnificent, sprawling scroll:

Mountain and Sea Map of the Imperial Decree!

With all his Abilities assembled, he had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection!

The next moment, the infinite Divine Power Radiance vanished as if it had never existed. Lü Yang slowly rose to his feet, the ambition in his eyes now impossible to conceal.

’Emperor Jia You is of no use to me anymore.’

’In half a year, No Heaven has expanded sufficiently... This is the perfect opportunity for the Ancestral Master to manifest No Heaven and drag every Perfected Lord in the world into this mess!’

’The time has come.’

It is time to purge the vermin and shoot down the sun!