Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 623: Chapter 623: Acquiring the Sun, the Great Calamity’s Opportunity?

At this moment, Lü Yang’s palm was raised high above his head.

This simple gesture seemed to carry the weight of a mountain, as if his hand wasn’t empty, but grasped a boundless expanse of Heaven and Earth.

BOOM!

The next second, the [Taiyin] that had just liquidated Immortal Monarch Gu Ming reappeared. Layers of Illusionary Colors condensed, but this time, they enveloped Lü Yang.

But unlike the cold, deadly aura it had when dealing with Immortal Monarch Gu Ming, the imagery that appeared this time was incredibly intimate with Lü Yang. It resonated with him alongside the [Fruit of Money] imagery. Then, a graceful silhouette materialized in the moonlight. Her face was cold and detached, and her calm voice drifted over:

”Are you sure you wish to purchase a Fruit?”

”That’s right.”

Lü Yang nodded, though he felt a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart. ’After all, in a way, this is the Celestial Mansion’s unique Seeking Gold Ascension Position.’

’It’s just that for a Celestial Mansion Cultivator to reach this step, they would have to spend their entire life, exhausting the wealth of three, ten, or even a hundred generations to finally amass the colossal sum needed to purchase a Fruit. I, on the other hand, did it in just three short years by speculating on the Wuyou Talisman—even faster than I could have in the Immortal Pivot.’

”I want to attain the [Sun in the Spring].”

”But I’m not attaining it for myself. It’s for my disciple.” At this point, Lü Yang’s tone shifted, and he looked down below. ”Daoxuan, come on up.”

Wu Daoxuan: ”???”

At that moment, it wasn’t just Wu Daoxuan who was stunned. The other Perfected Lords of the Outer Dao Alliance were dumbfounded as well, and envy instantly flooded their eyes.

’How could it be him!?’

’We were all sucking up to Lord Ming He together, so why did he take a special interest in him? Does he have some backdoor connection?’

’This is unreasonable!’

But compared to the others’ jealousy, Wu Daoxuan snapped out of his brief confusion, his face erupting in an irrepressible, wild joy.

The next second, he summoned his Flying Light and shot upwards.

”Master! This... you’re giving this Fruit to me?”

Wu Daoxuan’s body trembled slightly. Although it was impossible for him to have misheard with his Cultivation as a Perfected Lord, he still couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

Not until Lü Yang smiled and nodded.

”Don’t doubt it. This Sun Fruit Position is for you... And not only that, in the future, I will lead everyone to earn more Money and buy more Fruits!”

After careful consideration, Lü Yang decided not to attain the Sun Fruit Position himself.

The reason was simple. The Sun held a very high Position in the Celestial Mansion and would likely conflict with his [Fruit of Celestial Fire], which would expose his identity.

”Of course, I’m lending you the Money for the Fruit. Don’t worry, I’ll consider it an interest-free loan. You can slowly earn the Money to pay me back after you become a True Monarch... Naturally, I can’t have no guarantee. How about this? I’ll take a small loss—you can mortgage your [Mingtian] to me.”

”Thank you, Master!”

Wu Daoxuan bowed deeply, his words filled with sincerity. As for [Mingtian]... ’What a piece of trash Outer Dao. Don’t fucking associate it with me.’

’From now on, I am a noble Orthodox True Monarch!’

Without any hesitation, Wu Daoxuan directly severed his own Great Dao, stripping out [Mingtian], and then threw himself recklessly into the Sun.

”The transaction is complete.”

Seeing this, the peerless woman who had walked out of the moonlight also nodded. However, just as Lü Yang thought she was about to leave—

”...Hehe.”

The woman suddenly turned her beautiful face, and a smile appeared on her perfectly flawless features: ”For this, I must thank you, Junior Brother.”

”!!!”

Before Lü Yang could respond, the woman’s figure vanished into the moonlight. All the Taiyin imagery dissipated, leaving him standing there, stunned.

’Junior Brother... she called me Junior Brother!?’

’Is she the Taiyin Immortal Venerable? The Taiyin Immortal Venerable is my senior brother... senior sister? Damn it, she’s from the Stain Sect? No, but this is the fucking Celestial Mansion, isn’t it?’

For a moment, Lü Yang was completely lost. In his prior understanding, the Stain Sect Ancestral Master had sent him to the Celestial Mansion to carry out sabotage behind enemy lines. But Rinima, the most powerful figure in the Celestial Mansion, the Taiyin Immortal Venerable, was a Stain Sect Disciple? What was the point of sabotage then? They could just merge with the Immortal Pivot...

’No, no, that’s not right.’

Lü Yang thought of [Ang Xiao]. A Stain Sect Disciple doesn’t necessarily have the Stain Sect’s interests at heart. [Ang Xiao] was like that, and it was possible this Taiyin Immortal Venerable was the same!

’[Ang Xiao] chose the Netherworld, and this Taiyin Immortal Venerable chose the Celestial Mansion?’

Come to think of it, the two had a striking similarity. The brilliance of the Lord of the Netherworld went without saying, and the Celestial Mansion was also formed from the Corpse of a Master of Dao who died in ages past.

Both were foundations of the Daoist Lord Level.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang heavily exhaled a breath of Muddy Qi. ’The thousand-year Tribulation... perhaps it’s not simply about Combat, or fighting over some object.’

It’s a struggle for the Dao!

’According to the records in that [Pseudo-History] from the Stain Sect, the Bhagavat achieved Attainment to Nascent Soul five thousand years ago. And five thousand years ago was precisely the end of the last thousand-year Tribulation... Although the Bhagavat’s specific methods are unknown, he must have reached his Attainment during that last thousand-year Tribulation!’

Of course, there were still many suspicious points.

For example, Lü Yang could never be certain which era the Bhagavat truly belonged to.

After all, theoretically, he should have only reached his Attainment five thousand years ago, but in reality, he had appeared with the identity of a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord tens of thousands of years prior.

Unfortunately, under the fundamental Profound Mysterious influence of the [Fruit of Rampart Earth], which reversed cause and effect, the Bhagavat’s history had been completely buried, making it impossible for others to learn the truth.

But no matter what, one thing was certain:

’The thousand-year Tribulation... within this Tribulation, there is also a chance for life. The winner becomes king, the loser a bandit. In the end, it’s very likely... that one can use it to give birth to a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord!’

This was the true essence of the thousand-year Tribulation!

Perfected Lords Pursuing the Dao for a thousand years, yet only one can achieve ultimate sublimation and ascend to the supreme peak.

If not, how could it be worthy of the name ”Great Tribulation”? Besides, what else besides the Nascent Soul Path could make Perfected Lords pale at its mention, yet strive for it with all their might?

At this moment, countless thoughts surfaced in Lü Yang’s mind.

But in the end, he let out a long breath and regained his composure. ’It’s no good to be overly ambitious... The most urgent task right now is to take stock of my gains.’

With this thought, Lü Yang submerged his Heart Spirit.

Colorful Talent—[Student as a Model]!

This Talent Skill, which hadn’t truly shown its use since he synthesized it, was now finally putting all its strength into pushing Lü Yang’s Spiritual Essence.

Endless Cultivation surged forth.

If he weren’t desperately suppressing it, the brilliance of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire] would have been revealed. Even so, he could still feel the surging power.

At the True Monarch Level, Cultivation is often synonymous with power.

The deeper one’s understanding of the Fruit Position Imagery and the Profound Mysterious, the higher their Cultivation, and the stronger they become.

By the same token, if one’s Cultivation is insufficient but they find an alternative path to gain power exceeding their Cultivation, it’s like a castle in the air, liable to collapse at any moment.

’...It’s time!’

The next second, with a Heart Thought, Lü Yang collected the [Mingtian] Fruit that Wu Daoxuan had left behind into his Righteous Banner, then drove his Grotto Heaven to Swallow it in one gulp.

BOOM!

Just as when he was Refining the Righteous Banner, Lü Yang once again intercepted a sliver of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire]’s imagery. This time, the True Treasure he wanted to refine was the Tribulation Wave!

’Although the Righteous Banner was refined into a True Treasure, it was really just an enhancement of its original foundation, at most adding the [Enlightenment] Divine Effect that can Deprive others of their will. It’s inadequate for Combat. What I need now is a True Treasure that can give me a decisive advantage in Combat!’

Without a doubt, the Tribulation Wave was the best choice.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang looked again at the [Mingtian] Fruit he had just obtained and manipulated his [Celestial Pillar Profound Grotto Heaven] to dismantle and devour it piece by piece.

The next second, numerous images flickered in his eyes.

They were the residual images within the [Mingtian] Fruit, left by its previous holders. The Qi traces they had left behind were also being swallowed by Lü Yang.

Soon, he had completely digested the Fruit.

Immediately after, Lü Yang saw the first owner of [Mingtian]—the Outer Dao True Monarch who had personally witnessed the death of the Master of Dao and the creation of the Celestial Mansion from his Corpse.

Then, he froze.

Because after [Mingtian] was completely digested, a scattered golden light drifted down where it had been, and from within it, a melodious, chanting voice could be heard:

”...A Monk?”

The original owner of [Mingtian] was a Bodhisattva?