Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 572: Chapter 572: The Snow Stops and Heaven Clears, I Inscribe the Great Dao!

As Lü Yang spoke, the light of Seeking Gold from Overseas finally took on its true appearance, revealing the figure within.

It was not a dazzling figure.

Not as imposing as Minor Metal, nor as stalwart as the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, and certainly without the grace of Empress Xiao. The figure was ordinary, even slightly hunched and meek.

And yet, he still stood there.

Of the four Seeking Gold, his path was the most difficult. His Dao, his cultivation base, his Gold Attribute... each presented an immense hurdle. Yet in the end, he still stood firm, unyielding.

Meek, but never surrendering.

Hunched, but not insignificant.

Above his head, a Blessed Land had already broken through the Foundation Establishment Realm. It now bordered the Sea of Suffering, resonating with a distant Fruit as it drew closer step by step.

At the same time, the True Body Tathagata finally saw clearly which Fruit the other party was seeking. It was not the Fruit of Sky-River Water... Or rather, the Fruit of Sky-River Water had just been a deliberate illusion. Only when it drew near and he observed it carefully did he pierce through the Illusion Barrier and see the true Fruit:

”The Fruit of Spring Water!?”

Summon!

From the very beginning, the one Seeking Gold Overseas wasn’t the Celestial Python. It was Summon, who had deliberately faked the attainment of the Fruit of Sky-River Water, when in reality he was pursuing the Fruit of Spring Water!

As for how he managed the disguise?

That was all thanks to the exchange Lü Yang had with the remnant spiritual perception of World Purger Fei Xue before he began Seeking Gold. The entire disguise was orchestrated under her guidance!

Lü Yang was extremely confident about this.

After all, in his life before last, World Purger Fei Xue had dealt a heavy blow to Ang Xiao by disguising her Fruit of Gully-Rill Water as the Fruit of Long-Flow Water. This was merely a repeat of an old trick. While the disguise was far less refined than one World Purger Fei Xue would have crafted herself, the True Body Tathagata was no Ang Xiao.

”It’s a trap...!”

The True Body Tathagata whipped his head around, glaring at Lü Yang through gritted teeth. ”How could you have possibly anticipated my arrangements Overseas and set a trap specifically for me?”

’This doesn’t make sense!’

The True Body Tathagata couldn’t understand. As a Tathagata created through the Enlightenment of the Bhagavat, his Position was equivalent to that of a True Monarch. His ability to infer karmic links was essentially the same as theirs.

Compared to him, Lü Yang was merely at Foundation Establishment.

Even with a Fake Golden Core, it should have been impossible for him to surpass the Tathagata in Inference Techniques, let alone lay out a plan so far in advance to lure him into a trap.

—And the truth was just that.

The reason Lü Yang had made so many arrangements Overseas was very simple: Summon’s attempt at Seeking Gold was too difficult, and he needed this method to increase his chances of success.

The deception—making everyone believe it was the Celestial Python Seeking Gold Overseas and faking the manifestation of the Fruit of Sky-River Water—was all World Purger Fei Xue’s idea. She had said it would increase the chances of success. This was because the Fruit of Sky-River Water, as the Water Element Supreme Venerable, flows through all other waters and naturally possesses a supportive quality.

As for everything else, that was just a bonus.

But now, it seemed to have lured the True Body Tathagata right into his net, an unexpected bonus... ’It’s true that good deeds are rewarded. The ancients never lied!’

Of course, he couldn’t say any of this out loud.

Therefore, facing the True Body Tathagata’s gaze, which held both anger and hidden fear, Lü Yang simply grinned. ”That’s right. Everything is under my control!”

RUMBLE!

Almost at the same time, the light of Seeking Gold around Summon gradually subsided. The hunched figure slowly straightened his back, a crisp crack echoing out.

A moment later, a vast and powerful image manifested!

The Fruit of Spring Water: born from Gold, it emerges from Wood. It is a cold, clear spring, an inexhaustible source of life. Eight households may dig a well to drink from it; the masses may depend on it to live.

”Thank you, my lord.”

The next moment, Summon rose, flicking his sleeves. With a solemn expression and without a shred of hesitation, he bowed to Lü Yang with cupped hands, placing the final piece of the puzzle.

The four who Sought Gold had become four True Monarchs!

Every one of them, sincerely convinced and won over!

At that moment, an understanding dawned in Lü Yang’s heart: he no longer needed them. Not the Blessed Land, not the Gold Attribute—none of it was necessary. The Fruit of Celestial Fire was his!

The Fruit’s favor was bestowed, its gaze now fixed upon him!

”You...”

The True Body Tathagata wanted to say more, but before the words could leave his mouth, he saw Lü Yang turn and glance at him nonchalantly.

He invoked the Engraving Laws: ”Those without a Fruit possess no True Monarch Position.”

RUMBLE!

In that instant, the True Body Tathagata’s mouth fell open as he watched his own Position plummet. In the blink of an eye, it fell from the Golden Core Level to the Foundation Establishment Realm!

That was right, he had no Fruit!

As a Tathagata brought into being by the Bhagavat’s Enlightenment, all of his Abilities were merely responses to the Bhagavat. If one insisted on naming a Fruit, then the Bhagavat himself was his Fruit.

However, this was clearly not how things were supposed to work.

Because it already defied the world’s order, Lü Yang had an exceptionally easy time engraving this iron law, meeting almost no resistance. The moment he inscribed the law, the True Body Tathagata’s Position ceased to exist. Only if the Bhagavat sensed this and personally intervened could he hope to recover his lost Position.

But why would the Bhagavat act for a mere Enlightened Body?

At this thought, a deep bitterness appeared on the True Body Tathagata’s serene, buddha-like face. He could only give Lü Yang one last, deep look before clasping his hands before his chest.

”Bitterness...”

Before his voice had even faded, a scorching wind swept over his Golden Body. Without the support of his Position, he was now helpless against an Ability he once could have easily blocked.

RUMBLE!

After a deafening crash, the True Body Tathagata’s divine power dissipated. His Golden Body turned to earth and stone, crumbling into a mountain that then collapsed, forming a new island Overseas.

Only Lü Yang remained, looking up at the sky.

At that moment, the gloom vanished, revealing a clear sky. The Fruit of Celestial Fire hung high in the center, with the other five Dao Fruits gathered around it.

Seeking Gold, there were no more obstacles.

’Thinking back, my initial idea was a bit reckless.’

Lü Yang chuckled. At the time, he had wondered if he could take control of the Fruit at top speed while no one was paying attention, and had even felt it was a pity he hadn’t succeeded.

But looking at it now, even if the Immortal Dao Law hadn’t stopped him back then, he still would not have succeeded.

The Fruit of Celestial Fire is about domination, about Ruling the World. If one tried to forcefully attain it while in peril and surrounded by enemies, it would be like a violent gale that cannot last the morning. Such dominance could not be sustained.

It cannot be attained that way.

To attain it, one had to do it like this.

If surrounded by enemies, then one must defeat them all. One must execute the treacherous ministers. Ascending to the throne in this manner is the only legitimate way, the only way that truly fits the nature of the Fruit of Celestial Fire!

The next moment, Lü Yang closed his eyes.

Yama Hall shattered, and the Position he had borrowed through Fake Holding dissipated. Yet, at almost the same instant, the Fruit of Celestial Fire descended upon him of its own accord.

In a flash, the transition was seamless.

At that moment, Lü Yang’s mind seemed to sink into a bottomless abyss. All he could see was darkness, until a single point of bright light exploded from within it.

The Profound City Blessed Land.

In an instant, the Blessed Land merged perfectly with the Fruit of Celestial Fire. Then, the Blessed Land disintegrated and melted away, until a clap of thunder boomed from within:

RUMBLE!

Amidst the rolling thunder, from beneath the crumbling shell of the Profound City Blessed Land, a vast and magnificent realm slowly rose. It shone as if lit by a glorious sun, reflecting the brilliance of a distant sea. These two lights complemented each other, yet both served to frame a single point of Profound Light at the very center, around which were arrayed mountains, rivers, and stars.

The Celestial Pillar Profound Grotto Heaven!

If someone were to compare them in detail right now, they would discover that the internal arrangement of this new Grotto Heaven was almost identical to the Five Domains of the World.

The next moment, Lü Yang’s Dharma Body descended.

He stood within the Grotto Heaven, and without needing to do anything, he naturally became its central axis. The sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers all bowed in submission.

’Did I really succeed?’

Even now, Lü Yang’s heart was filled with a trace of disbelief. He looked around and a realization dawned: at this very moment, from above the Sea of Suffering to the depths of the Netherworld, every reigning Perfected Lord had sensed his existence and was, without exception, turning their gaze toward him.

And it wasn’t just the Perfected Lords.

RUUUUMBLE!

In all directions, dark clouds gathered and golden serpents of lightning danced wildly, yet they never truly drew near. They only exerted an inexplicable and immense pressure upon Lü Yang.

Anyone else might not have known where the pressure was coming from.

But Lü Yang knew all too well:

’Although it’s nowhere near as heavy as the gaze the Bhagavat cast upon me in my previous life when the Fruit of Rampart Earth escaped, the essence is the same... This is the gaze of the Masters of Dao!’

And not just one, but four gazes!

Four Masters of Dao were, to some extent, casting a sliver of their attention upon him!

Even if it only caused the Masters of Dao to be momentarily distracted, there was no denying it: at this moment, having attained the Fruit of Celestial Fire, he had truly caught the eye of the four Masters of Dao!

After a moment of silence, a thousand emotions welled up in Lü Yang’s heart, but in the end, they all melted into a single smile. He looked up at the heavens, met the gazes from all directions without flinching, and declared in a clear, resonant voice:

”For ages I’ve revered the path, an ocean in my sleeve, thunder in the Cloud Sea.”

”I tailor light into a cloak, wear sunset as a banner; sun and moon shine bright anew.”

”Through a thousand trials my heart held true, though I sighed to see the worldly ships capsize.”

”The stars form ranks, the mountains and rivers pay their rites.”

”The snows have cleared, the sky is pure—I engrave my will upon the Great Dao!”