Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 595: Chapter 595: The Loyal and Righteous Lü Yang

True Monarch Gangxing.

What kind of Perfected Lord was he?

He was clearly one of the top Perfected Lords in the world, at the Late Stage of Golden Core. Back when Ang Xiao remained in seclusion and World Purger Fei Xue had yet to make his breakthrough, he was considered the most powerful figure alive.

But in reality?

His personality, divine effects, and True Treasures were almost completely unknown. All anyone knew was that he possessed a Sword Intent called Victory. Even that was overshadowed by Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, who had refined two Sealed Title Sword Intents simultaneously. This only served as further proof that the great Perfected Lord of the Sword Pavilion didn’t live up to his reputation.

Even Lü Yang had thought so.

Ang Xiao looked down on him, and World Purger Fei Xue believed he was beyond saving. Compounded by the fact that his combination of Fruits was genuinely flawed, it only reinforced the impression that he was nothing special.

Yet now, he stood right in front of Lü Yang.

A refined smile graced his face, like a well-read scholar greeting a long-lost friend. He waved at Lü Yang.

”Fellow Daoist, I’ve heard so much about you.”

SWISH—!

Lü Yang opened his mouth to reply, but a line of blood had already appeared on his neck. His head tilted forward, then tumbled to the ground.

Without any warning!

A chill ran through Lü Yang’s heart. ’He has no intention of wasting words with me. He struck to kill from the very start, aiming to take my life in one blow!’

BOOM!

In an instant, flames erupted as Lü Yang’s Dharma Body disintegrated. The Fruit of Celestial Fire flared with brilliant splendor as layers of resplendent, golden, illusionary colors coalesced to reform his figure. He emerged completely unscathed, though the Engraving Laws seal on his brow had dimmed considerably as a result.

He had forcefully engraved a rule: ’Any Perfected Lord, upon death, can be resurrected from their Fruit in peak condition!’

Lü Yang had already used it once during the siege by Lesser Yin Immortal Monarch and his three companions. This was the second time, and it had drained his Mana even more severely.

’A pity my Cultivation is still insufficient...’

Lü Yang sighed internally. According to the rule recorded by the Engraving Laws, his resurrection to a peak state should have also restored his spent Mana.

It should have gone like this:

What? You say I’ll use a lot of Mana after resurrecting with Engraving Laws? I’ve been restored to my peak state, so what Mana consumption is there to speak of?

—That’s how it should be.

Unfortunately, his Cultivation was insufficient to fully enforce this rule. To achieve that, he would need to be at the Middle Stage of Golden Core at the very least.

Besides, some injuries couldn’t be shaken off so easily.

CRACK!

The next second, numerous visible cracks spread across Lü Yang’s newly restored Dharma Body, light from boiling water and fire surging out from within them.

At the same time, the distinct gash reappeared on his neck. It continued to widen, clinging to him like a festering cancer, threatening to sever his head once more. Only when a splendid light, cool as a clear spring, fell upon him did the wound stop spreading.

Shared Drink!

This was the fundamental divine effect of the Fruit of Spring Water. Behind Lü Yang, the newly refined Banner of Righteous Teachings fluttered, and from within it, Suo Huan looked on with a trace of worry.

Without a doubt, Suo Huan was grateful to Lü Yang.

After all, without Lü Yang, his homeland could never have been restored, and his deceased family and friends would never have had the hope of being resurrected.

He had always kept this debt of gratitude in his heart.

Moreover, Lü Yang was the only person who didn’t discriminate against him for being an Outer Heaven Wanderer, and he was the best candidate to protect both him and the newborn Huanxu Heaven.

Thinking of this, Suo Huan immediately spoke, his voice drifting into Lü Yang’s ear:

”We should retreat for now. We can cover you...”

”No!”

Lü Yang rejected the proposal outright. ”This time is different... He’s a Great Perfected Lord at the Late Stage of Golden Core, and a Sword Cultivator on top of that. He can extinguish your True Spirits.”

Because he himself had also refined a Sealed Title Sword Intent and possessed a Fruit of Sword Dao, Lü Yang knew very well that with True Monarch Gangxing’s Cultivation, he was fully capable of slaying the main body by striking a mere extension. He could follow the karmic links and directly slay the True Spirits of Suo Huan and the others within the banner!

So if Suo Huan and the others stayed behind to cover the retreat...

...their deaths would be final. Lü Yang could only reset to a second anchor point before their deaths; he would never see the versions of them from this timeline again.

”Daoist...”

Hearing Lü Yang’s words, the look in Suo Huan’s eyes changed. Progenitor Tingyou and Empress Xiao, on the other side, also wore moved expressions.

He was unwilling to let them cover his retreat because he didn’t want them to die?

He was so loyal and valued their lives so much!

At this, Lü Yang could only laugh bitterly to himself.

’Of course this isn’t about loyalty, it’s a pure cost-benefit analysis. After all, if I die, I can just reset. But if the Banner Spirits die, they’re gone for good. Wouldn’t that be a total loss?’

’I’m just protecting my property.’

’At most, I’m just phrasing things nicely. It’s better this way anyway—it will make Progenitor Tingyou, Fellow Daoist Suo Huan, and Empress Xiao serve me all the more devotedly.’

’That’s right. It’s just that, and nothing to do with loyalty whatsoever.’

In a flash, Lü Yang looked back at True Monarch Gangxing.

The latter still wore that flippant smile, but he sized up Lü Yang with slight surprise before nodding. ”The Emperor Fruit is truly worthy of its reputation.”

The implication was: the person wielding it isn’t.

Lü Yang’s expression was calm, unfazed by honor or disgrace. He had never considered himself some heaven-sent genius anyway. So what if he was belittled a little? As long as he was alive, that was all that mattered.

Seeing his reaction, it was True Monarch Gangxing’s turn to frown.

He was now studying Lü Yang, clearly surprised that a peerless prodigy who had attained the Fruit of Celestial Fire could be so indifferent to honor and disgrace.

’How should I put it... A bit like the Bhagavat...’

At this thought, True Monarch Gangxing’s smile grew even gentler, yet the killing intent hidden beneath that gentleness surged to another level.

’Since I’ve made my move, I absolutely cannot leave him alive...’

With that, True Monarch Gangxing immediately formed a Sword Point with his fingers, lightly tapping the hilt of the sword at his waist. Instantly, another ray of Sword Light shot forth.

This time, however, Lü Yang was prepared.

Beating him to the punch, Lü Yang formed a Finger Technique before his chest and simultaneously threw the newly refined Myriad—no, the Banner of Righteous Teachings—into the air, unfurling a vast expanse of purple qi.

After its promotion to a True Treasure, the Banner of Righteous Teachings not only retained the original divine effects of the Myriad-Soul Banner but also gained three new ones, all related to the Fruit of Celestial Fire. One of them even blended the imagery of Imperial Decree, an Outer Dao Fruit Position from the Ten Thousand Martial Realm, making its quality far superior to other True Treasures.

The vast purple qi was one of these new divine effects.

Its name was Emperor’s Chariot. It functioned like a domain, weakening enemies and reducing their Qi externally, while strengthening the Banner Spirits and elevating their Position internally.

BOOM!

In an instant, the vast purple qi submerged True Monarch Gangxing. This qi was formed from the enemies Lü Yang had slain and absorbed into the banner; he wouldn’t feel any remorse if they were destroyed.

”Explode!”

At Lü Yang’s command, tens of thousands of Banner Spirits detonated at once, instantly shattering the Sea of Light where True Monarch Gangxing stood.

However, True Monarch Gangxing was completely unharmed.

Still in the guise of a scholarly gentleman, his robes fluttered without a single tear. With a slight frown, he looked toward Lü Yang’s previous location.

—It was empty.

True Monarch Gangxing shook his head and chuckled. Even now, Lü Yang hadn’t even bothered to ask why he was trying to kill him.

’He’s not easy to fool...’

And to think he had prepared a perfect explanation—the absolute truth, with no embellishments—specifically to stall for time against Lü Yang.

But Lü Yang hadn’t even asked.

It couldn’t be helped. The Stain Sect’s ethos was just too effective. Such tactics might work on cultivators from other places like the Celestial Mansion, but fooling a local was far too difficult.

”But now that you’ve taken one of my sword strikes, you won’t be able to escape.”

The next second, True Monarch Gangxing formed a Daoist Hand Seal and once again took a step, calmly strolling off in the direction he sensed Lü Yang had fled.