Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 708: Chapter 703: Refining Fortune, Ancient Golden Core

The Void Land.

Fortune, who should have been triumphant after returning to his True Monarch Position, was now utterly bewildered. He even began patting himself down nonsensically.

But no matter what he did, the truth was undeniable.

The Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire was gone.

He could clearly still use its Fruit Position Imagery and Profound Mysterious abilities, yet the Fruit itself was nowhere to be seen. A seed of panic began to sprout in Fortune’s heart.

What in the world was going on?

Fortune immediately thought of Lü Yang.

’That mysterious Perfected Lord... was there something wrong with the Cultivation Technique he gave me? That bastard! If he hadn’t bewitched me with his Abilities, how could I have possibly started cultivating it without a shred of doubt...’

That strange, dreamlike stupor—where he clearly remembered what he had done, yet couldn’t comprehend why his past self had done it—was almost identical to the effect of Ang Xiao! He even suspected Ang Xiao might have disguised himself just to mess with him!

”No, calm down...”

Fortune took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. But after he calmed down, his expression grew even uglier, and his body began to tremble slightly.

The reason was simple.

’...There’s no escape.’

His first instinct was to flee to the ends of the earth and never return to the Immortal Pivot. Going to the Seven Luminaries Heaven, for instance, would be a decent option; at least he could be a local tyrant there.

The problem was that Ang Xiao now had his eyes on him. Outside the Netherworld, an unrestricted Ang Xiao possessed Abilities far beyond what he could counter. For all he knew, Ang Xiao was lying in wait for him in the Void Sea of Light right now, ready to slap him to death the moment he emerged!

’My only choice is to go to the coordinates that fellow gave me.’

Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

Fortune let out a long breath. Having accepted his reality, he surprisingly calmed down. At this point, all he could do was face whatever came his way.

He would risk it all!

The next moment, he focused his mind and descended from the Void Land. Before long, a massive, footprint-shaped shadow came into view.

.......

The Celestial Human Residual Consciousness.

Outside the Taihuang Realm, Lü Yang, who had arrived early, was also roused by the tremors in the Sea of Light. He rose calmly, watching a figure materialize out of thin air.

Anywhere else in the Void Sea of Light, he would likely have been unable to escape Ang Xiao’s watch. But here, the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness severed all karmic links and lines of sight. Unless someone infiltrated with a sliver of consciousness like the World Honored One’s Avatar, not even a Master of Dao could perceive this place.

The perfect hiding place and hunting ground.

Lü Yang’s wide sleeves fluttered as he pointed a finger. Fortune, who had just landed, was instantly enveloped by countless Array Patterns and fell directly into a sealing Grand Ward.

”Is it not a delight to have friends come from afar?”

Lü Yang channeled his Mana, his Qi trace and Position rapidly ascending. He looked at Fortune within the ward as if staring at a delicious piece of meat that had been pan-fried, stir-fried, deep-fried, and braised.

The Life Form Body had reached Perfection.

Of course, a mere Life Form Body would not obey his commands on its own. He still needed to display his own prowess and subjugate it before he could truly make it his.

At this thought, a smile spread across his face.

”Daoist, it has been a while.”

”Heh...”

Fortune glanced around, not particularly surprised to find himself trapped the moment he arrived. But even though he had expected it, the scale of this setup still made his heart sink.

Soon enough, however, he had no mind for such things. He spoke directly, ”Daoist, I can no longer sense the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. However, I can still use its imagery and Profound Mysterious abilities. My Position hasn’t dropped in the slightest—in fact, it has risen quite a bit. Is there something wrong with the Cultivation Technique you gave me?”

”Oh? Is that so?”

Lü Yang’s eyes lit up at his words, and he thought to himself, ’I see. It seems the Life Form Body doesn’t swallow the Fruit instantly, but rather in a gradual process.’

This was actually a good thing!

If it were instantaneous, it would be too easy to notice and far too conspicuous. A gradual process, on the other hand, was like boiling a frog in lukewarm water—outsiders wouldn’t easily detect it.

Especially since it was hidden within the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness, it wouldn’t matter even if he was discovered.

’No, wait. The Pure Land is the only risk.’

Lü Yang’s brow furrowed. The Pure Land was bound by Unity. If a Monk entered the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness, the Bhagavat would sense it and immediately pinpoint this location.

That would be troublesome.

’In that case, harvesting Yuan Tu’s Life Form Body will likely be somewhat difficult... unless I can first sever the Pure Land’s Unity.’

At this thought, the furrow in Lü Yang’s brow smoothed out.

’Master Demon-Vanquishing Perfected... he can sever the Unity in a short amount of time!’

Not the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected from the Righteous Banner, of course. The risk would be too great, and he could easily attract the attention of the petty Bhagavat. He couldn’t bear to lose that one.

It was better to let this era’s Demon-Vanquishing Perfected do it.

While Lü Yang was lost in thought and hadn’t made a move, Fortune didn’t dare to hesitate for even a moment. Before the sound of his own voice had faded, he had already begun trying to break the ward and carve a bloody path to freedom.

But as this thought emerged, countless Profound Mysterious insights suddenly flowed out of his Spiritual Space. They arranged themselves into a complete text—an avatar technique. This Dharma Gate felt like an innate instinct; he didn’t need to put any effort into learning it and grasped it instantly.

The next instant, Fortune immediately formed a Daoist Hand Seal and uttered a single word:

”Now!”

In a flash, Fortune’s body vanished. In its place was a dazzling Splendid Light that burst forth brilliantly, exploding into clusters of Illusionary Colors.

Before long, the Illusionary Colors coalesced and refined into a Dharma Body.

It took the form of a Daoist, with faint golden skin and a height of sixteen feet. It wore a Profound Robe, its Mud Ball Palace was open, and from it, billowing dark smoke formed a propitious cloud that hovered high above its head.

Within the chaotic cloud, a bright lamp was faintly visible. The lamp reflected a thousand Splendid Lights, and upon each light bloomed a golden flower. Jeweled pendants hung down from it, shrouding the Daoist’s body. Though it all seemed fragile enough to be broken with a wave of the hand, upon approaching, it gave off an impression as majestic as a mountain.

Even Fortune, who had manifested this Dharma Body, was stunned.

’This is... me?’

He stared blankly at his current self, feeling like a complete stranger. But the surging power within him, far surpassing that of his peak, could not be faked.

More importantly, this power felt ”real.”

He’d had no concept of this before, but now that he was truly experiencing it, he suddenly felt that the power he had once relied on from his Fruit was somewhat ”illusory.”

For a moment, Fortune was completely entranced.

Until a soft chuckle reached him:

”Fun, isn’t it?”

Fortune nodded subconsciously.

”You getting the hang of it?”

”Never played with anything like it before, have you?”

As the voice faded, Fortune was jolted back to his senses. His face was as dark as still water as he looked at Lü Yang. ”You think you’ve got me cornered? With your meager Cultivation?”

After returning to his True Monarch Position, Fortune could now see through Lü Yang’s facade. At best, he was at the Fake Holding level, perhaps a bit higher, but that was all. He was no match for an Orthodox True Monarch, let alone Fortune himself, who now surpassed even his own peak. What could a mere Lü Yang possibly do to him?

Then he saw Lü Yang take out the Righteous Banner.

Immediately after, purple qi drifted from the banner, and figures emerged one by one: Summon, Progenitor Tingyou, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, and even Empress Xiao.

”Th-this... You animal! Fight me one-on-one if you have any guts!”

Lü Yang chuckled softly at his words. ”Daoist, are you not fighting all of us one-on-one right now?”

Fortune: ”...”

The outcome was never in doubt.

One Hour later, with a final, wretched scream, Fortune was subdued by the group. Then, Lü Yang slashed with two fingers, instantly annihilating his Golden Soul.

Having lost its Soul as its Master, the Life Form Body he had worked so hard to refine turned into an empty shell, sinking into the Sea of Light. If such a Dharma Body were left unattended to be battered by the Duality of Life and Death Profound Light for several hundred thousand years, it might even evolve into an Outer Realm!

”It’s finally done!”

At that moment, Lü Yang let out a long breath, his face filled with emotion.

Using the world as a chessboard and all living beings as pieces, he had played a long-distance game against the world’s number one Perfected Lord, ultimately winning by half a move. Now, at long last, it was time to reap the rewards!

The next moment, he took a single step forward.

His Dao Body transformed into a phantom and merged into the Life Form Body. With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he became one with the powerful Dharma Body.

Immediately after, a new Soul emerged within the Dharma Body, merging with his consciousness.

Only at this moment had he truly regained a physical body, a Soul, and even a Spiritual Space. Everything was his own, and his True Monarch Position was no longer dependent on a Fruit.

He was just like the Golden Core Perfected Lords from the Ancient Era, before the Grotto Heaven Technique had appeared.

Ancient Golden Core, achieved!