Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 942: Chapter 937: Supreme Talent

To be honest, in the moment he snapped back to reality, Lü Yang almost thought he was going to be spawn-camped by a Master of Dao again, his grand ambitions crumbling halfway to completion.

However, he quickly realized the truth of the situation.

”Wait... that’s not right!

”It’s no secret that I hold the De-Chong Talisman; World Purger Fei Xue gave it to me personally. Even if others are in the dark, how could Bhagavat not know?

”Furthermore, for some unknown reason, this Jade Scroll actually bears the Causality Dharma Light characteristic of Bhagavat. It’s obvious that Bhagavat is aware of all this. Since he even gave me the Fruit Arcana of Fruit of Rampart Earth, how could he possibly let that old fogey of the Stain Sect spawn-camp me like this?

”Wait... is that why he came to see me first?”

Imagine if he hadn’t met with Bhagavat first, but had instead entered the De-Chong Talisman and obtained the Jade Scroll. What would the outcome be?

”The answer is undeniable,” he thought. ”The moment I step out, I’ll probably be treated exactly like Mu Changsheng—grabbed by the giant hand of the Stain Sect Ancestral Master and instantly refined.”

But things were different now.

Bhagavat having met him a step ahead of time meant that he would definitely tie up the loose ends of this matter for him; otherwise, wouldn’t his previous investments go down the drain?

Lü Yang’s breathing grew rapid in an instant.

”Bhagavat... what audacity!” he thought.

He was playing a game of chess against the Stain Sect Ancestral Master!

”Ultimately, so what if I enter the De-Chong Talisman? When I defeated World Purger Fei Xue back then, I hadn’t even challenged Emperor Ying yet.

”Since the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness can isolate the influence of a Master of Dao, it’s impossible for the Stain Sect Ancestral Master to be certain whether I’ve obtained the Netherworld’s blueprints. Building on this, with Bhagavat’s abilities, he is entirely capable of finding a way to conceal the relevant karmic links for me. He also has the motive to lend a helping hand...”

Because this was also beneficial to the Plan for the Collapse of the Other Shore!

”Although I plan to bring down the Netherworld, I used to know absolutely nothing about it and had no clue where to start. But with the blueprints, everything changes!”

The more Lü Yang thought about it, the calmer he became.

Of course, what mattered most was the Causality Dharma Light on the Jade Scroll containing the Netherworld’s blueprints, which so strongly bore Bhagavat’s signature style. It solidified Lü Yang’s speculation.

Yet, in the end, he suddenly let out a sigh.

”Sigh...”

What was this all about?

The Plan for the Collapse of the Other Shore was supposed to be his own wild ambition, but out of nowhere, both Bhagavat and the Stain Sect Ancestral Master were now sticking their hands into it.

”Perhaps this is the true underlying nature of the Immortal Pivot,” he pondered. ”To those Masters of Dao residing high on the Other Shore, the vast majority of mortal matters are nothing but utter trash. Whether it’s Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core, Cultivators are merely scavenging this dump for the garbage they discard.

”Therefore, they wouldn’t intervene; they wouldn’t even have the interest to look.”

Lü Yang’s face gradually turned ashen. ”However, the moment true interests are involved, these Masters of Dao have a sense of smell sharper than dogs. They investigate karmic links, observe the future, and pull the threat up by the roots.”

How the hell was he supposed to play this game!?

After a long while, Lü Yang finally exhaled a deep breath of Muddy Qi, a bitter smile gracing his lips. ”Forget it, forget it. I have to look on the bright side of things.”

In this Broken Place, if you couldn’t resist, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.

Setting everything else aside, the fact that he could now draw the attention of a Master of Dao, and even have one personally come to discuss cooperation, showed that he was finally qualified to enter their field of vision.

At the very least, he was very close to Bhagavat’s level of interest.

As for the Stain Sect Ancestral Master, while it seemed he was scheming against him, in reality, he was probably just going with the flow. At its core, the situation likely arose simply because World Purger Fei Xue wanted to shift the blame.

”With my current Cultivation, I probably can’t even enter the Dharma Eye of the Stain Sect Ancestral Master. That entity stands far too high. It would be a different story if I were Ang Xiao.”

Lü Yang quickly adjusted his mindset.

Of course, at this point, all of this was mere speculation. He could be completely wrong, and the moment he stepped out of the De-Chong Talisman, he might be instantly refined by the giant hand of the Stain Sect Ancestral Master.

”If that really happens, I’ll just accept it.”

He was choosing to lie flat!

At this thought, Lü Yang grew excited instead. ”Regardless, I should memorize the Netherworld’s blueprints first. I might not get the chance in my next life.”

After all, once he restarted, the De-Chong Talisman would immediately return to World Purger Fei Xue’s hands. Lü Yang really didn’t plan on touching something that could so easily draw the attention of the Stain Sect Ancestral Master again. He might as well grab all the benefits in this life and sever ties with it upon restarting, thereby quietly amassing a fortune.

Lü Yang’s Heart Spirit sank into the Jade Scroll once more.

Soon, a massive influx of Knowledge surfaced, almost making him lose track of time. It took a great deal of effort to extract a brief summary from it all.

Then, he made a discovery. ”The Netherworld is so vast...”

To be honest, it wasn’t as if he had never seen the Netherworld before. Back when he used the Puppet to manipulate Souls, he had traversed the Netherworld’s reincarnation tunnel.

To his Foundation Establishment self at the time, the Netherworld had actually seemed very small. It was nothing more than a portal that received Souls. A Soul would enter from one side of the gate and exit from the other to be reincarnated. The entire process was extremely simple and straightforward. As a side note, Ang Xiao lived right next to that portal.

However, only now did he understand.

”My perspective back then was too much like a Lower Cultivator... No, even after becoming a Perfected Lord, my view of the Netherworld has always remained at the level of a Lower Cultivator.”

This was perfectly normal.

After all, even for a Perfected Lord, reincarnation wasn’t any different from that of a mortal Soul. Like a frog looking at the sky from the bottom of a well, how could they possibly glimpse the vastness of Heaven and Earth?

”If anyone could have previously viewed the Netherworld from a higher perspective, it would probably only have been Ang Xiao... but now, you can add me to that list.”

Thinking of this, Lü Yang felt quite pleased with himself.

”The Netherworld is composed of seven components in total. The reception and reincarnation of all Souls are, in fact, merely functions of the Netherworld’s outermost component.”

Its name was—the Ghost Gate!

”The Ghost Gate receives Souls and sends them into reincarnation. The process depends on karmic links and Fortune, possessing a rigorous and effective operational logic.”

Those with good Fortune would be born into better circumstances.

Those heavily burdened by karmic links would find their reincarnations affected.

In the eyes of Cultivators in the Current World, all functions related to receiving Souls and the cycle of reincarnation were actually just the functions of the Ghost Gate.

That raised a question.

If just the Ghost Gate alone handled all the work of reincarnation, then what did the other components of the Netherworld do? What use did they have?

The answer was simple:

”Of the seven components, aside from the Ghost Gate and the core Netherworld Lord’s Hall, the other five are all designed to deal with those whose Souls have completely shattered and dispersed!”

The Netherworld’s reception of Souls was not absolute.

At the very least, when there was a gap of an entire Realm and the stronger party was determined to pull out a threat by its roots, instances of Souls shattering and dispersing, thus becoming unable to be received, were a common occurrence.

Lü Yang himself had done this many times.

Once upon a time, he had wondered: since the Netherworld primarily focused on receiving Souls, wouldn’t shattered and dispersed Souls harm its operations?

”...I was too superficial.”

Lü Yang sighed, a look of admiration surfacing in his eyes. ”The First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master had long considered this point and solved it perfectly.”

As the saying goes, when a ghost dies, it becomes a phantom; when a phantom dies, it becomes an echo; when an echo dies, it fades into formlessness. After a person’s death, a shattered and dispersed Soul did not mean complete erasure. Even if the Soul fragmented, indelible True Spirits—minuscule to the Extreme—would still wander Heaven and Earth, re-entering its natural cycle.

But the Netherworld changed all that.

”Within the Netherworld, the Ghost Gate is used to receive Souls. And beyond the Ghost Gate, the Road to the Underworld is used to receive these True Spirits!”

And that wasn’t all.

”The Road to the Underworld receives True Spirits, the Naihe Bridge plants an imprint, the Wangxiang Platform remolds the Soul, and the Three Lives Stone awakens its memories—bringing the Soul back to life!

”From then on, there is the Four Directions Ghost Realm to contain these Dead Spirits.

”These Dead Spirits will sever all ties to their past lives within the Four Directions Ghost Realm. Instead, they cultivate the Dao of the Netherworld, using themselves to continuously expand its scale.

”This is the true secret behind the continuous expansion of the Netherworld!

”Given time, as these Ghost Cultivators grow stronger and stronger, the Netherworld itself will also grow stronger, until it becomes a second Other Shore capable of bearing a Master of Dao!”

This entire design... the First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master was simply an absolute genius!