Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Celestial Mansion, 9th Layer.

Beneath the Laurel Tree, Taiyin Immortal Venerable sat cross-legged. Behind her, the [Sea of Suffering] gaped open, and a Great Dao leading to Heaven was slowly rising from beneath the fathomless seawater.

However, the process was clearly extremely difficult. Despite Taiyin Immortal Venerable’s level of Cultivation, she was utterly exhausted. She could barely maintain her Spiritual Essence. A moment later, her delicate body trembled violently, dripping with fragrant sweat, her fine brows knitted tightly. She only let out a breath of relief after barely managing to stabilize the Great Dao.

"All these years of hard work... at least they weren’t for nothing."

Taiyin Immortal Venerable exhaled a breath as fragrant as orchids and thought, ’As long as I can merge this sundered Great Dao into my [Fruit of Money], it should be enough to help me soar to the heavens in a single leap.’

Then, she looked toward the distant [Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata].

’It’s a shame that Si Chou’s eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body all exploded, and their corresponding Fruit Positions all disintegrated. I have no idea how long it will take to gather them again.’

If not for this, with her nearly five thousand years of control over the Celestial Mansion, she had almost fully integrated the influence of the [Fruit of Money] into the achievements of the Celestial Mansion Six Qi and Twenty-four Fruit Positions. She would only have needed to merge the sundered Great Dao into the [Fruit of Money] to immediately begin her breakthrough and assail the position of Master of Dao she had always dreamed of.

Doing so would have given her at least a ten percent chance of success.

However, after Si Chou self-destructed his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, all the Fruit Positions except for Taiyin were destroyed. If she were to attempt a breakthrough now, she wouldn’t even have a five percent chance.

At this thought, Taiyin Immortal Venerable couldn’t help but press her lips together.

’Little Junior Brother...’

If Lü Yang hadn’t acted so recklessly and ruined her arrangements, things would never have reached this state. The thought filled her with both admiration and anger.

’So be it... For now, all I can do is wait.’

Taiyin Immortal Venerable took a deep breath and quickly calmed her emotions. She had already waited for so many years; she certainly didn’t mind waiting a little longer.

Then, she raised her eyes to look at the [Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata].

She saw him sitting peacefully on the Lotus Platform, his hands pressed together in a prayer gesture. He was silently chanting, and behind his head, the Buddha Light formed a Sacred Light Wheel that spun slowly.

He seemed to be divining something.

After a long while, the great Buddha opened his eyes, a look of confusion on his face.

"Lü Yang, Du Huan, the Saint Sect True Monarch... Excellent, excellent. To think this person holds such a great secret. No matter how I try to divine it, I can’t find any of his karmic links."

"Where in the world did he go?"

This was hard for the [Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata] to imagine, as he was already among the highest tier of the Bhagavat’s Enlightened Bodies.

Generally speaking, the stronger the Cultivation of a Bhagavat’s Enlightened Body and the higher its sequence, the more memories and Knowledge it inherits from the Bhagavat. With a Position comparable to a Great Perfected Lord, almost nothing in the entire Void Sea of Light could escape his sight and calculations.

’Unless... a Master of Dao is involved?’

At this thought, the [Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata]’s heart skipped a beat. ’Could it be that the great one from the Stain Sect showed mercy and saved him?’

’No, that can’t be right.’

For a moment, the [Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata] was uncertain what to do. Finally, he sighed in resignation and gave up on pursuing Lü Yang any further.

No matter how small the matter, if it involved a Master of Dao, it was a major affair.

’I’d better not investigate.’

’What if I actually find something?’

Next, he glanced at Taiyin Immortal Venerable not far away. His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sneered, ’A moth flying into a flame, in the end.’

’Scheming for thousands of years, and for what? A mere ten percent chance of success.’

’And with that, she still thinks she can become a Master of Dao?’

’She’s just asking for death!’

’Besides... the last legacy of a Master of Dao in this era was destroyed by the Bhagavat one hundred and twenty-nine thousand, six hundred years ago. Why would he leave it for some Lower Cultivator to use?’

........

「Taihuang Realm.」

Lü Yang sat cross-legged in the void, the Righteous Banner fluttering in the wind. On the banner’s surface, a youth with a straight back slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of Muddy Qi.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Suo Huan."

Seeing this, Lü Yang broke into a sincere smile and cupped his hands. "You were the last to awaken from this session of Enlightenment. I imagine you must have gained a great deal."

"You flatter me."

Suo Huan waved his hand in embarrassment. "My Enlightenment is limited, that’s why I was the last to wake up... But as you said, Fellow Daoist, I did indeed make some small gains."

As his voice fell, Suo Huan opened his palm. A shimmering aquatic light gathered in his hand, reflecting the celestial glow. This was the fundamental Profound Mysterious of the [Fruit of Spring Water]—the [Shared Drink], which could take on injuries for others, heal wounds, and restore Mana. At this moment, however, this profound ability had undergone a completely new transformation.

"Hm? This is..."

Lü Yang was taken aback. From this Fruit Position’s profound ability, which had originally been purely supportive, he actually sensed a hint of a threat. A strange light glinted in his eyes.

"This is another wondrous use of the [Shared Drink]."

"Previously, when I used this profound ability, I could take on injuries for others. Now, in addition to injuries, I can use the technique to take on even an uninjured body."

Lü Yang raised an eyebrow at this. "If you borrow an uninjured body, what happens to the person you borrowed it from?"

At these words, Suo Huan’s expression turned peculiar. He gave a sly chuckle. "Naturally, they get injured... However much I borrow, that’s how much they get hurt."

"HISS!"

Before Suo Huan had even finished speaking, Lü Yang understood the insidious nature of this new use. What ’borrowing an uninjured body’? It was clearly just transferring injuries to someone else!

’It’s like he’s wearing thornmail armor.’

With this new profound ability, Suo Huan had become a complete porcupine. Hitting him was like hitting yourself. There was simply no way to attack him, which would be a massive headache for any opponent!

What was even more brilliant was that you couldn’t even attack his allies. He could take an ally’s injuries onto himself, then use an enemy’s healthy body to heal his own wounds. In the end, the enemy would still be the one getting hurt while his side remained unscathed... From a support perspective, it was simply invincible!

"It’s not quite that useful."

Suo Huan shook his head. "With my current Cultivation, I can’t just borrow a healthy body out of thin air. I need to engage in Combat for a moment to collect their Qi trace before I can use it."

"You can leave that to me."

Lü Yang laughed heartily. "Fellow Daoist, you’ve just come out of seclusion. First, enter the Righteous Banner to stabilize your Qi trace. Or perhaps you could enter my [Yellow Court] and help me analyze the water-related imagery within."

"The [Yellow Court]?" Suo Huan’s face showed his curiosity.

"It’s a True Treasure I recently finished Refining."

Lü Yang lightly tapped the spot between his eyebrows. Instantly, ripples of colorful light spread out, making the point of light there even more eye-catching, as if a great chiliocosm was revolving within.

"Fellow Daoist, feel free to enter and take a look."

Suo Huan nodded. "Very well."

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a streak of Flying Light and vanished into the [Yellow Court]. Lü Yang watched him go and nodded in satisfaction, his heart filled with growing anticipation.

’Now that the [Yellow Court] is complete, I can gather many cultivators. With Progenitor Tingyou, Master Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, and Fellow Daoist Suo Huan to help me, it’s enough to gradually perfect and strengthen it. If the path reopens, I absolutely have to bring the [Yellow Court] back with me, and I need to figure out a proper way to handle it...’

Suddenly, Lü Yang felt a stir in his heart.

In the chaos, time was uncounted. He had only meditated briefly, but in the blink of an eye, a year had passed. In the Taihuang Realm, however, more than ten thousand years had gone by.

At that moment, Lü Yang finally sensed a miraculous Qi trace appear out of thin air within the Taihuang Realm.

’The Path to Immortality... It’s opened!’

Lü Yang raised his head. Myriad points of Splendid Light gathered in his eyes, allowing him to see through the Star Sea, straight to the source of that miraculous Qi trace. What he saw was a massive gateway.

"After waiting for countless ages, this day has finally come!"

"The Immortal Path is opening!"

"Charge in!"

Almost simultaneously, within the Taihuang Realm, Spiritual Perceptions in the major restricted zones awakened one after another, their gazes turning toward the gateway, filled with intense joy and emotion.