Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 571: Chapter 571: Want to Turn the Tables? You Can’t

Ever since emerging from the [Pseudo-History], Lü Yang had been constantly pondering how he could possibly break this deadly stalemate and what he would need to successfully manifest the [Fruit of Celestial Fire].

After much thought, he reached a conclusion.

’My abilities are completely within the Bhagavat’s predictions... The Hongtian in the [Pseudo-History] was the absolute limit of every trump card I could possibly prepare.’

Within his existing capabilities, Hongtian had failed.

That meant his own death was also certain!

’Therefore... the only way is to find a trump card that can escape the Bhagavat’s calculations, something even he wouldn’t expect. Only then can I reverse everything.’

The answer wasn’t actually hard to deduce:

’The fundamental Profound Mysterious of the Fruit of Celestial Fire!’

’Only this is something I, with my Fake Golden Position, should be almost incapable of touching. It is also beyond the Bhagavat’s calculations—the key for me to break this deadly stalemate!’

The reasoning was simple: as long as he manifested the [Fruit of Celestial Fire], he would be able to wield its fundamental Profound Mysterious. If the Bhagavat could still suppress or even kill him after that, would there be any need to stop him from manifesting it in the first place? Killing him would be purely a matter of the Bhagavat’s mood.

But since the Bhagavat had tried to stop him, and had gone to such great lengths to do so...

It meant that the fundamental Profound Mysterious of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire] held the hope of reversing everything. As long as he manifested it, the Bhagavat would probably be powerless against him!

The logic was simple.

The next step was the method... After careful consideration, Lü Yang felt that the matter still depended on the degree of favor the [Fruit of Celestial Fire] showed him.

’At the current level, I’ve reached the limit.’

’The [Fruit of Celestial Fire] doesn’t reject my Fake Holding; it even lets me use its Fruit Position Imagery. But it won’t let me use its fundamental Profound Mysterious.’

In the end, he still didn’t have enough of its favor.

And the reason for this was also quite simple: although Lü Yang had achieved Ruling the World, it was ultimately only at the Foundation Establishment level and did not involve the Golden Core.

What if he went a step further?

If even Perfected Lords of the Golden Core chose to submit to him, could their vast karmic links earn him more favor from the [Fruit of Celestial Fire]?

Lü Yang didn’t know.

But he had to try.

’Four people are Seeking Gold. The act of Seeking Gold itself isn’t the key. After all, even with four more Perfected Lords, it wouldn’t change the possibility of my Inevitable Future of Death.’

The key was that the three Perfected Lords who had just succeeded in Seeking Gold were all my people.

And in the world today, there were only these three Perfected Lords. In other words, the phenomenon of him Ruling the World had now spread to the level of Golden Core Perfected Lords!

’All of this, in truth, was just a high-stakes gamble.’

’A gamble that I could use my Fake Holding to access the fundamental Profound Mysterious of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire]. If I succeed, I’ll reverse the situation. If I fail, the worst that can happen is death. I’ll just come back after restarting... ’

’Fortunately, I won the gamble.’

Stepping out from the [Fruit of Celestial Fire], Lü Yang’s expression was calm, filled only with composure. His gaze toward the True Body Tathagata held not a trace of resentment or anger.

”Why?”

At this moment, the True Body Tathagata’s expression had also returned to calm, but a hint of curiosity lingered in his eyes. ”I clearly shattered your physical body and Soul.”

He couldn’t have been mistaken. A moment ago, while tanking that sword strike from the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, the Manji Fist Seal he had unleashed with all his power had indeed pulverized everything of Lü Yang’s—including his Soul, body, Blessed Land, and Gold Attribute... Not a single trace was left. Yet, the result was Lü Yang calmly walking out of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire].

”There’s nothing strange about it.”

Lü Yang said flatly, ”Every Cultivator who has received the favor of a Fruit Position, even if it’s just a Fake Holding, can return from that Fruit Position in their peak state after death.”

”What kind of joke is this!”

The True Body Tathagata retorted subconsciously, ”Do you take me for a fool? I am an Enlightened Body of the Bhagavat. I have never heard of such a rule...”

”As of today, it exists.”

As his voice fell, the space between Lü Yang’s eyebrows lit up, revealing an incredibly intricate Talisman that blazed with fiery light, seeming to contain the infinite principles of the Great Dao.

[Engraving Laws]. This was a very peculiar Profound Mysterious.

This was Lü Yang’s first time encountering it, and he hadn’t delved into it deeply, so he only grasped the general idea: in short, he could engrave rules into the Heavenly Dao.

This was different from the rules set using Fruit Position Imagery.

The rules Lü Yang had set before ultimately only had a punishment mechanism. As long as one could withstand the Celestial Fire Body Burning Punishment, breaking the rule was just breaking the rule.

However, [Engraving Laws] was different. It established ironclad laws.

In other words, they were rules that would absolutely be actualized, like the fundamental principles of Heaven and Earth, such as water extinguishing fire and Yin and Yang counteracting each other. They were unshakeable cornerstones.

He said a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a Fake Golden Position could be resurrected from their Fruit Position after death, and so it was true.

Of course, such rules required him to consume his own Mana to maintain them. And the more important the engraved rule, the greater the drain on his Profound Mysterious.

Therefore, besides directly engraving the principles of Heaven and Earth, this Fruit Position Profound Mysterious also had a simpler, less consuming, and quicker application.

The next second, Lü Yang’s gaze shifted, and the Talisman between his brows flashed again.

And the True Body Tathagata, who had been preparing to kill himself and then return through resurrection via the [Immortal Dao Law], froze. A drop of cold sweat trickled down his Buddha-like face.

”Go on.”

Lü Yang smiled. ”Didn’t you transform yourself into something akin to an Official Position, allowing you to resurrect after death? Why have you stopped? Don’t you want to anymore?”

True Body Tathagata: ”...”

Of course, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to.

It was because just a moment ago, he had suddenly sensed that the [Immortal Dao Law] he relied on had been rewritten out of thin air, with a new operational rule added:

[The stronger the Official Position, the longer the time required for revival.]

It was a simple rule, but it struck the True Body Tathagata’s fatal weakness.

Because if he were considered an Official Position within the [Immortal Dao Law], he was undoubtedly the highest-ranking one. But if this new rule were to be enforced, and he wanted to kill himself to resurrect via the [Immortal Dao Law], by a full count, it would take a whopping sixteen thousand years!

What’s the point of resurrecting then?

The opportunity would be long gone!

Thinking of this, the True Body Tathagata formed a seal to divine the karmic links and opened his wisdom eye to look at Lü Yang. His face then turned even more ashen: the Inevitable Future of Death had vanished!

Why?

Soon, he calculated the answer:

The Inevitable Future of Death was obtained from Hongtian; the ones destined to die were Hongtian and the Human Race. What did that have to do with him, True Dragon Du Huan? The two were never related to begin with.

It was [Engraving Laws] again!

In short, the [activation conditions] for that future possibility had been rewritten by Lü Yang. Since Lü Yang no longer met the conditions, he was naturally out of danger.

”This... this...”

The True Body Tathagata’s mouth fell open. He looked again at the [Yama Hall] inside Lü Yang’s body. Logically, the Hongyun Gold Attribute should have already collapsed!

Why was this happening?

He performed another divination with his fingers:

[Engraving Laws]: [The Yama Hall can actually operate normally with a shattered Gold Attribute.]

True Body Tathagata: ”...”

The next second, the Buddha Light disintegrated. The True Body Tathagata’s figure dissolved along with it, merging into the myriad scattering rays of Buddha Light and fleeing in all directions.

And since some unknown moment, the [Immortal Dao Law] had vanished.

’There’s still hope!’

’I haven’t lost yet!’

Hidden within one of the myriad rays of Buddha Light, the True Body Tathagata remained calm. He wasn’t fleeing out of fear, but to buy himself some time.

Because he still had one more trump card.

He had saved this trump card for the very end, not even using it in the [Pseudo-History]. He had thought it would be unnecessary, but now it seemed he could wait no longer.

At this thought, the True Body Tathagata immediately looked toward the Overseas.

Over there, a beam of light from someone Seeking Gold was also flickering. But compared to Minor Metal, Empress Xiao, and the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, that light seemed to be struggling.

It was clear their foundation was not as strong as the first three.

But it didn’t matter.

The True Body Tathagata knew the person... The Fruit Position that the splendid light was pointing to was the [Fruit of Sky-River Water]. Without a doubt, the one Seeking Gold had to be that Celestial Python from the Dragon Race!

’That Celestial Python... had a Buddhist Destiny planted in it by the Buddha’s Son!’

The so-called Buddhist Destiny was actually a karmic link. The Buddha’s Son could use it, and as a higher-level Tathagata, so could he. At a critical moment, it could be used for the Enlightenment of an outsider!

’As long as I activate the Buddhist Destiny, use Enlightenment to turn him into a Protector of my faith, and then have him wreck the Overseas, there might be a chance to cripple this Demon Dragon’s phenomenon! As long as his phenomenon collapses and he can no longer borrow the fundamental Profound Mysterious of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire], I can still make a comeback and avoid a total, crushing defeat...’

The True Body Tathagata’s calculations were precise.

In a flash, he had already arrived Overseas. Without hesitation, he formed a Daoist Hand Seal, preparing to awaken the Buddhist Destiny’s karmic link hidden deep within the Celestial Python’s body.

The next second, however, the True Body Tathagata was stunned.

Because there was no reaction from the other party.

He clearly sensed that the Buddhist Destiny had been awakened, but the location of the awakening wasn’t the light of Seeking Gold before him, but some remote sea region Overseas...

This person... wasn’t the Celestial Python!?

Then who was he?

”No need to think about it.”

The True Body Tathagata stood silently in the air. Behind him, Lü Yang strode through the void, a rolling Thunder Sound roaring toward him. ”Thinking of a comeback? You can’t do it!”