Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 929: Chapter 924: The Oldest Forbidden Knowledge

Lü Yang had to admit that the Star Palace had always placed great importance on him. Even though they hadn’t contacted him for a long time, they had never relaxed their focus on him.

”So, Senior, what is the Star Palace’s final decision?” At this point, Lü Yang’s tone suddenly grew deep. ”Are they planning to just kill me directly, or reach a deeper level of cooperation with me?”

As he spoke, Lü Yang remained completely unhurried and composed. In the past, he might have already run away by now. However, things were different today. His strength was his confidence, allowing him to stand firmly before the other party.

Hao Yuan Shangzhen was a Great True Monarch of the Dao of Magical Power. Without a doubt, he was incredibly strong. But no matter how strong he was, given Lü Yang’s current overpowering level, it would take at least three moves to kill him. He thought, ”Three moves are enough for me to shift into the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness.”

On the other side, Hao Yuan Shangzhen also narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he smiled and said, ”Cooperation, of course. After all, we still need your Thunder Skill.”

At these words, a smile also appeared on Lü Yang’s face. ”That is naturally for the best. I am deeply sorry for the trouble the Heart Demon caused the Shangzhens. How about this: if the Star Palace wants to obtain Demon-Breaking Thunder Talismans from me, I am willing to supply an unlimited amount for free as a gesture of my sincerity in our cooperation.”

”Mm... Not bad.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen gave a slight nod, then offered a wry smile. ”The Heart Demon was born because of you to begin with. You truly are from the Stain Sect—profiting twice from a single deal.”

”You misunderstand, Senior,” Lü Yang replied, his expression unchanging. ”I must specially clarify right here: I have absolutely no relationship with the Stain Sect in the Immortal Pivot. This is slander by people with ulterior motives!”

”Oh.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen couldn’t be bothered to argue over such matters. The Star Palace kept a whole bunch of Bhagavats on their mother planet; they really didn’t have any taboos about this sort of thing. Besides, the Stain Sect’s style was obvious to everyone. Since Lü Yang chose to cut ties and deny the relationship, Hao Yuan Shangzhen was happy to play along, as long as he could bring enough benefits to the Star Palace in the end.

”The Thunder Skill is only one part.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen shifted the topic. ”Aside from the Thunder Skill, we also have some requirements on our end that need your cooperation, Daoist.”

Lü Yang’s eyes flickered slightly at these words. He understood that this was the start of exchanging benefits. With this in mind, he immediately raised a hand. ”Please speak.”

Hao Yuan Shangzhen held up three fingers. ”First is lifespan. We still need around fifty thousand years’ worth in order to revive everyone.”

”Acceptable.” Lü Yang nodded readily. A mere fifty thousand years of lifespan was not even worth mentioning to him now. After all, strictly speaking, he was still just a child a few decades old in this life.

”Second, I need you to publicly ally with us, Daoist.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen emphasized his tone. ”Publicly. You must let all the Perfected Lords of the Immortal Pivot know that the Profound Spirit Realm is going to become our bridgehead in the Immortal Pivot.”

”As it should be.” Lü Yang nodded again. This request was also within his expectations. It didn’t matter if his relationship with the Star Palace was made public, nor would it affect his interactions with the Immortal Pivot. After all, the Perfected Lords of the Immortal Pivot had never cared about such things.

”Lastly, we have recently been plotting against the Celestial Mansion. When the time comes, Daoist, you will need to assist us in taking down the Celestial Mansion, and also help us locate the Dao of Arcane Body.”

This time, Lü Yang didn’t answer. Instead, he just stared straight at Hao Yuan Shangzhen with a slight smirk. Seeing this, Hao Yuan Shangzhen instantly understood that Lü Yang was asking for benefits.

So he immediately said in a deep voice, ”As for the Strategic Level Dao Soldiers in your possession, is the Sun-Shooting Bow useful? However, that is still not the extreme limit of the Array Treasure Dao Soldiers. There is an even higher-tier Dao Weapon within the Star Palace. If you agree to these three conditions, Daoist, I can take the liberty of having one forged for you.”

An even higher-tier Dao Weapon? Lü Yang immediately recalled Progenitor Tingyou’s previous assessment of the Sun-Shooting Bow: Although powerful, it was obviously incomplete, seemingly just a certain component. Now the clue had arrived.

”An even higher-tier Dao Weapon? How high? What are its effects?” Lü Yang asked bluntly. ”Forgive my frankness, but Dao Weapons are of little use to me nowadays.”

”This is different.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen shook his head. ”An Overlord-level Dao Weapon. Even within our Star Palace, there is only one. It is a Secret Treasure whose actual value surpasses even the Star Map. As for the effect... you should be clear on the Ascension Ceremony, Daoist, since you used it to create the existence of the Heart Demon that day. In short, the effect of an Overlord-level Dao Weapon is almost identical to the Ascension Ceremony—it can cause a qualitative change in your Fruit Position Profound Mysterious.”

At these words, Lü Yang narrowed his eyes.

”Of course, there are far more restrictions.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen smiled slightly. ”If you really compare them, it is definitely inferior. But as long as the conditions are met, there is basically no difference in their effects.”

That was already absurdly exaggerated! The Ascension Ceremony! Even in the Immortal Pivot, only World Purger Fei Xue and Ang Xiao had completed it so far, showing just how high the difficulty was. Yet the Star Palace had successfully quantified it. Although, according to Hao Yuan Shangzhen, the so-called Overlord-level Dao Weapon had many restrictions and there was only one in existence—making mass production obviously impossible—the very fact that they could forge such a thing was already a miracle in itself.

More importantly—he thought, ”This item is crucial to me!” Although the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder had already completed the Ascension Ceremony, he couldn’t forget that he could transform it into other Fruits by rewriting its imagery! But once transformed into other Fruits, the Ascension Ceremony would lose its effect. For example, Lü Yang could actually use the Fruit of Gully-Rill Water. But even if he used it, he could never achieve the exaggerated level of power that World Purger Fei Xue possessed. However, if Hao Yuan Shangzhen was telling the truth and he had the enhancement of an Overlord-level Dao Weapon, things would be different. Even if he shifted to other Fruits, he could still unleash the Profound Mysterious after the Fruit’s Ascension! And if he changed into the Emperor Fruit... the latent value would be truly immeasurable!

”Deal!” Lü Yang swiftly made his decision, nodding decisively. ”I agree to all three conditions. What about the Overlord-level Dao Weapon? When will it be delivered?”

”Right now, of course,” Hao Yuan Shangzhen replied in a deep voice. ”I have already brought the designer of the Overlord-level Dao Weapon with me. He will custom-design it based on your Fruit. Speaking of which, you also know this person, Daoist.”

”Oh?”

Before his words faded, Hao Yuan Shangzhen waved his large hand. Amidst flickering light and shadow, an old man with graying hair, wearing a white lab coat, walked out. Lü Yang’s eyebrows shot up. He actually did know this person. It was the old professor from the Star Palace’s instructional video who had previously claimed he had no Talent Skill and was only fit for Cultivating the Dharma Body Dao.

”Star Soul, I leave it to you.” Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s tone was somewhat gloomy. ”Don’t forget the conditions under which we released you back then. Speak and act cautiously, and complete the design of the Dao Weapon as quickly as possible.”

”Don’t try to make it sound so nice.” The old professor let out a disdainful snort from his nose. ”In the end, isn’t the reason you let me out simply because you can’t do without me?” After saying that, he turned to look at Lü Yang.

”Do you know why?

”The answer is simple. Do you know how an Overlord-level Dao Weapon is forged? Can man-made array artifacts really achieve the effects of the Ascension Ceremony?

”Of course not!

”An Overlord-level Dao Weapon is essentially nothing more than piecing together different Strategic Level Dao Soldiers to forge an unparalleled grand medium.

”Then, using this medium, a piece of forbidden knowledge is inscribed.

”What truly makes the Overlord-level Dao Weapon work and unleashes the effects of the Ascension Ceremony isn’t that pile of components, but the inscribed forbidden knowledge!”

The old professor named Star Soul clearly had a strong desire to teach. Reaching the point of his pride, he began to speak with great fervor. On the other side, although Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s expression shifted slightly, he didn’t voice any objections to stop him. Lü Yang cared even less, immediately asking, ”What forbidden knowledge?”

”...You want to know?” The old professor glanced at Lü Yang and cracked a wide grin. ”I don’t mind telling you, but are you sure you want to know? It can kill you, you know.”

It could kill you?

Hao Yuan Shangzhen spoke up at the right moment. ”It is the most ancient forbidden knowledge, tracing back to an unknowable era. Only Star Soul survived after memorizing it.

”Other than him, all the Cultivators who learned of this forbidden knowledge, regardless of whether their Cultivation was high or low, completely self-destructed.

”The strongest among them...” At this point, a flash of fear suddenly surfaced in the depths of Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s eyes. ”...was a sleeper like me, a Great True Monarch of the Dao of Magical Power.”