Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

After much deliberation, True Monarch Gangxing finally took a step forward.

He had no choice. Outside the sea of insects, any probing technique he used would be completely devoured by the Qi-eating Insects, making it impossible to gather any intelligence.

He had to experience it for himself.

And if possible, he still hoped to overwhelm Lü Yang head-on with sheer power. That would be the most effective way to disparage the Fruit of Celestial Fire.

BOOM!

The next second, True Monarch Gangxing merged with his Sword Light, plunging into the sea of insects like a raging inferno. Wherever he passed, the Qi-eating Insects were reduced to ash.

”Hmm? This is...”

Witnessing this, Lü Yang frowned. Within that Sword Light, he could clearly see a massive, blazing furnace.

Heaven and Earth were the furnace; Yin and Yang were the charcoal.

Its brilliance illuminated the cosmos, forging creation from the universe itself.

This was the so-called—Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire!

At this moment, True Monarch Gangxing had unleashed the profound mystery of the Fruit affiliated with his Grotto Heaven, causing his Sword Light to exude a heaven-scorching aura of fire!

And that wasn’t all.

Lü Yang looked out and saw that after the Qi-eating Insects were burned to ash, they didn’t scatter in the wind. Instead, they swirled back on themselves, transforming into gray Sword Artifacts.

These Sword Artifacts were the same size as the Qi-eating Insects. They now massed together in swarms and began fighting back against the surrounding insects. Although the quality of each Sword Artifact was quite low, they compensated with sheer numbers. And since they were rooted in the Qi-eating Insects themselves, they too were endless!

”The fundamental profound mystery of the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire?”

Lü Yang’s brows furrowed tightly. He immediately placed a hand in his sleeve and began making rapid calculations. ”This profound mystery is called the Celestial Craft Platform, hence its wondrous ability of creation!”

In short, it was creation through visualization.

No matter the material, as long as one had a rough idea in mind, they could use the profound mystery of the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire to forge it out of thin air.

The better the material, the closer the result would be to the original design.

Right now, True Monarch Gangxing was using the corpses of the Qi-eating Insects as material to forge Sword Artifacts with the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire. He was clearly planning to fuel his war with war.

’So crudely made!’

Lü Yang shook his head. True Monarch Gangxing was clearly not skilled in Artifact Refining, and perhaps not even the Perfected Lord who controlled the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire was skilled in it either.

At best, they were skilled in Refining Swords.

How could true creation be such a simple technique? With the profound mysteries of the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire, it should be as fantastical and unpredictable as the Progenitor’s Fruit of Sorrowless Heaven!

’But he wasn’t wrong about one thing. With such a profound mystery as its foundation, the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire does indeed have the potential to become an Emperor Fruit... unlike the Fruit of Sky-River Water, which would be better off not existing at all. Though these crudely made Sword Artifacts are nothing special, they have truly managed to tie me down.’

The number of Qi-eating Insects was not infinite.

Or rather, while the Qi-eating Insects themselves could multiply indefinitely, that required an infusion of Mana. Ultimately, the source was still Lü Yang himself.

Just like now.

To deal with True Monarch Gangxing, he was constantly pouring Mana into the Jade Maiden, urging her to speed up production and replenish the sea of insects.

’This can’t go on.’

’A simple contest of Mana would be one thing, but the key is that True Monarch Gangxing has incinerated all the surrounding Qi-eating Insects, preventing their attacks from getting close to him.’

If the attacks didn’t get close and didn’t hit, he couldn’t trigger All Evil Must Be Cut.

’Did Ang Xiao and the Old Dragon Monarch warn him?’

’It’s not impossible. For a veteran Demon and an old Demon, it would be normal to analyze their defeat and figure out the trigger conditions for All Evil Beheaded....’

Thinking this, Lü Yang immediately made his move.

He had already activated Engraving Laws and slipped into a fissure in logic, silently appearing right in front of True Monarch Gangxing.

Then, he formed a Daoist Hand Seal and slowly pointed forward:

Great Mighty Spirit Qi!

In an instant, a vast Profound Light surged forth, shattering the protective flames around True Monarch Gangxing. The Qi-eating Insects immediately swarmed into the opening.

The slaughter marks stacked to their limit in a flash, then detonated!

[Judgment: You have surpassed the target in both the domain of Magic and the domain of his Fruit. The opponent has sustained minor injuries.]

Almost simultaneously, True Monarch Gangxing grunted. His aura, which had been at its peak, suddenly plummeted, and several silver strands appeared in his jet-black hair.

But his eyes were incredibly bright, not wavering in the slightest despite his injury. Instead, he stared intently at Lü Yang, locking onto his position.

The next second, he struck with his sword!

Without any hesitation, True Monarch Gangxing’s Position instantly soared, breaking through some unseen limit. The brilliant Sword Light set the entire sea of insects ablaze!

At that moment, wherever the Sword Light passed, the Qi-eating Insects were powerless to devour it and were simply crushed. The buzzing of the insects was drowned out by an even louder sword cry. A pure white light filled the sky, piercing through the dark clouds formed by the sea of insects, like sunlight breaking through the night to shine into Lü Yang’s eyes.

Victory Sword Intent!

Instantly, a scarlet line of blood appeared on Lü Yang’s neck. His entire head wobbled, looking as if it was about to roll to the ground.

Then, a scene that stunned True Monarch Gangxing occurred.

Lü Yang’s expression didn’t change as a shimmering watery light suddenly appeared around him. Under the washing of this light, the bloody line on his neck vanished before his very eyes!

”Impossible!”

True Monarch Gangxing’s eyes flew wide. That strike was a sword strike at the Great True Monarch Position—it could instantly kill even a cultivator at the Middle Stage of Golden Core!

The resulting injury was something that couldn’t be worn away without a dozen or so reincarnations.

Therefore, in his view, since Lü Yang did not possess an Immortal attribute, taking that sword strike should have left him severely wounded, if not dead. It was impossible for him to be completely unscathed.

However, the facts spoke for themselves.

No matter how much he disbelieved it, the truth was right before his eyes: Lü Yang had taken a sword strike at the Great True Monarch Position head-on and was completely unharmed!

Was this even reasonable?

—Of course, Lü Yang wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared on the surface. At this very moment, inside the Righteous Banner, a figure could be seen exploding violently.

It was Suo Huan.

RUMBLE!

Suo Huan’s figure repeatedly exploded and then reformed, then exploded again. This cycle repeated more than twenty times before he finally managed to stabilize his form.

”What terrifying Sword Qi!”

Suo Huan’s face was pale with terror. Just now, he had used the profound mystery of his Fruit to forcibly take True Monarch Gangxing’s Great True Monarch-level sword strike for Lü Yang.

Ordinarily, his own life would not have been enough to receive that blow. But now, with Progenitor Tingyou’s help, he had falsely assumed the Middle Stage of Golden Core. Relying on his Immortal characteristic, he had reincarnated more than twenty times in a row to barely withstand it, but he still suffered significant trauma as a result.

”My Grotto Heaven is destabilized...”

Suo Huan said in a low voice, ”It’s only a falsely assumed state, after all. My foundation is unstable. If I take another strike like that, I’m afraid Huanxu Heaven will collapse again.”

”No matter.”

Inside the Righteous Banner, the Divine Thought Incarnation Lü Yang had left behind chuckled. ”Thank you, Fellow Daoist Suo Huan. One sword strike was enough... Now, it’s my turn to counterattack!”

「Meanwhile, in the current world.」

PTHOO!

True Monarch Gangxing took a step back and spat out a mouthful of blood. This was the price for forcibly elevating his Position, as well as the minor injury inflicted by All Evil Beheaded just now.

However, he couldn’t be bothered with that now.

His sure-kill sword strike had accomplished nothing and had even gotten him injured. How could Lü Yang possibly let such a tactical opportunity slip by? He was already right in front of him!

”This is the first time I’m using this move, too,” Lü Yang said with a sinister laugh.

As his voice fell, the fiery light transformed from Engraving Laws collapsed frantically at his fingertip, finally becoming an extremely bright and minuscule point of light.

”Good luck.”

BOOM!