Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

The South, where the clouds met the sky.

The sun hung high in the sky, its light shimmering across the Cloud Sea. A streak of Illusionary Colors darted through it, and after a short while, a figure cautiously emerged from the clouds.

It was a deeply contradictory figure.

At first glance, he was a Daoist in a profound robe, wreathed in roiling smoke. He looked heroic and dashing, with a handsome, elegant face whose every glance projected masculinity.

But as he looked from side to side, his face seemed to shift, and the surrounding smoke twisted with it. In that blur, another, completely different face seemed to emerge. It was so hazy that its features were indiscernible, its gender unknowable. Only a pair of narrow, incredibly clear eyes could be seen, staring intently at him.

"Why are you looking at me, Senior?"

Lü Yang chuckled. "Didn't we already agree? I'm supposed to be in control most of the time... If you were to take over, Senior, the damage to this Artifact would be too great."

"...Hmph!"

Ang Xiao didn't deny it. After all, the current Earth-Walking Avatar was indeed far from the state of Perfection it had been in at the beginning.

But whose fault was that?

'Isn't it your fault, you bastard? You tricked me into a direct clash between the Earth-Walking Avatar and Gang Form, which caused such severe damage that it's now impossible to perfectly repair!'

Even though he had done his best to repair it, the Earth-Walking Avatar could no longer withstand his Mighty Power. The moment he possessed and controlled it, it would immediately sustain damage. Lü Yang, on the other hand, operated just within the Earth-Walking Avatar's maximum output limit, so there were no issues.

Just then, Lü Yang suddenly spoke.

"By the way, Senior, back in the Sword Pavilion, after hearing that conversation... there's still something I don't understand. I was hoping you could clear it up for me."

"...Speak," Ang Xiao said noncommittally.

"It's simple. Do you think the reason Demon Subduing Zhenren can't obtain the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal is really what True Monarch Gangxing said it was?"

Ang Xiao fell silent for a moment before speaking. "More or less."

"Gang Form... Although I look down on that man, he has some skill. His assessment of the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal's condition wasn't wrong."

"Now that's interesting."

Lü Yang smiled. "It seems True Monarch Gangxing really does want Demon Subduing Zhenren to attain the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal. Do you know why, Senior?"

Ang Xiao didn't answer. Instead, he gave Lü Yang a deep look and said suddenly, "Why be so cryptic with your probing? What secret have you learned? Tell me, and I can help you analyze it. If we can really screw Gangxing over, I don't mind lending you a hand."

He saw through Lü Yang's intentions at a glance.

'He wants to set someone up, but he's worried the gap in their Realms is too great and he might miss something. So he's looking for my advice, wanting us to screw someone over together!'

If it were anyone else, he would have simply ignored it.

The Sword Pavilion, however, was another matter entirely.

They were all Saint Sect True Monarchs, and scheming against each other—you screw me over, I screw you over—was just the way of the Saint Sect. But screwing over the Sword Pavilion was different.

This was a serious matter of principle!

So if someone was trying to screw over the Sword Pavilion, he definitely had to back them up!

Seeing Ang Xiao's stance, Lü Yang got straight to the point. "From what I know, that Great Perfected Lord of the Sword Pavilion seems to be plotting to get his hands on the Fruit of Celestial Fire."

"The Fruit of Celestial Fire? Him?"

"Hahaha!"

Ang Xiao burst out laughing; his first reaction was disbelief. But with his level of Cultivation, he understood in the next instant, and his laughter died abruptly.

"...Interesting."

"He doesn't want to attain the Fruit of Celestial Fire. He wants to Deprive it of its Supreme Position so that the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire under his control can be elevated?"

Lü Yang heard this and asked softly, "Do you think it's possible, Senior?"

"...It's possible!"

After a moment of thought, Ang Xiao gave his answer. "Not only is it possible, but if he succeeds, that guy could really pull himself out of the mud and ascend to the heavens in a single step!"

"But no one has ever managed to attain the Fruit of Celestial Fire, and it has never manifested in the world. To Deprive its Supreme Position, he first needs to find a Foundation-Stage Cultivator who cultivates the Fruit of Celestial Fire, help them in Seeking Gold, and lure the Fruit of Celestial Fire into manifesting. And that's just the first step... This scheme has a very high chance of failure."

"I see! So that's why he needs the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal!"

"With the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal, he can erase all possibilities of failure and anchor a successful future... Interesting. He actually came up with a way!"

Ang Xiao's words made Lü Yang narrow his eyes.

'He needs a Foundation-Stage cultivator who practices the Fruit of Celestial Fire?'

This sentence reminded him of the time he was Seeking Gold. The future he saw back then in the Pseudo-History showed that the Sword Pavilion would also make a move at the critical moment.

But in reality, that didn't happen.

'At the time, I thought it was because I helped Master Demon-Vanquishing Perfected attain the Sword Dao, giving the Sword Pavilion no reason to act against me. Now, it seems I was wrong.'

'When I attained the Fruit of Celestial Fire, the Sword Pavilion didn't make a move. It was probably just because True Monarch Gangxing had been sealed in the Sea of Suffering by the Patriarch and was unable to act... Now this is interesting. True Monarch Gangxing needs the Fruit of Celestial Fire, and the current lineage of the Fruit of Celestial Fire is…'

Overseas, with the True Dragon Race!

'As far as I know, the Old Dragon Monarch left behind the lineage of the Fruit of Celestial Fire to curry favor with the Dao Court... But could he have had other plans?'

Currying favor with the Dao Court was just one part of it.

On the other hand, he probably also wanted to use it to get in with True Monarch Gangxing. Even if things with the Dao Court didn't work out, he'd still have the Sword Pavilion as a backup plan.

Killing two birds with one stone!

'It's very likely. For the Old Dragon Monarch to have survived with the True Dragon Race until today, he must be a master of playing all sides. In fact, that's the only way it makes sense!'

The next second, Lü Yang came to a halt.

"Hm?" Ang Xiao frowned at the sight. "Why have you stopped moving?"

"I know where Mu Changsheng is."

Lü Yang grinned, a look of certainty in his eyes. "He should be Overseas... more precisely, at the Four Seas Sect, under the Old Dragon Monarch's protection!"

The reason was simple:

'The Old Dragon Monarch is used to playing all sides. Right now, the Four Great Daoist Lords are enemies with the Heavenly God. He has submitted to the Four Great Daoist Lords, but does that mean he'll just ignore the Heavenly God?'

'After all, it's just one Mu Changsheng. It doesn't cross any of his fundamental lines.'

'If one of the Saint Sect's old fossils demands him, the Dragon Monarch can just tie up Mu Changsheng and hand him over, claiming he was just keeping an eye on him for them all along. What's the problem with that?'

'If the Saint Sect's old fossils don't bother, then he gets to curry a favor.'

'He can't lose, either way.'

With this thought, Lü Yang immediately formed a Daoist Hand Seal.

A guess was just a guess, after all, and verifying it was simple. He would perform a divination using karmic links and see what the result was.

"If I search the entire Immortal Pivot, finding Mu Changsheng would be like finding a needle in a haystack. But if I limit the search to the Old Dragon Monarch, it becomes much simpler."

The next second, a flicker of fire appeared at Lü Yang's fingertip.

Behind him, the Past Dust Appearance materialized. It raised a lamp, the candlelight within it swaying. In an instant, the light illuminated the Great Net of Karma Links.

Holding Candle!

In that instant, a potent and "revealing" Profound Mysterious power spread through the Great Net of Karma Links, brightly illuminating certain hidden and buried karmic links.

"Found it!"

Lü Yang clapped his hands. "He really is at the Four Seas Sect!"

Seeing this, Ang Xiao's brow furrowed slightly. "Such a huge fluctuation in the karmic links... don't alert the enemy."

"Don't worry, Senior."

Lü Yang's expression was calm. The Daoist Hand Seal in his hand changed, and the Past Dust Appearance behind him moved in response. The original Holding Candle instantly reversed into Night Exorcism.

Following that, an infinite darkness expanded from Lü Yang's body. It carried a potent "concealing" Profound Mysterious power that enveloped all the fluctuations he had just caused in the Great Net of Karma Links. Everything returned to tranquility. Only the Cloud Sea rippled slightly as a bit of light-qi dispersed; otherwise, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"This way, neither the Old Dragon Monarch nor Mu Changsheng should have noticed anything."

Lü Yang chuckled, but Ang Xiao was silent.

At this moment, he was feeling rather conflicted:

'How could he elevate the Profound Mysteries of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire to this degree? Did he use the Five Elements Star Marrow? Why does it feel like he's deliberately imitating my Veil of the Trees...'

'It feels like he's taken advantage of me!'