Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

「The Human World.」

Now that they had reconciled, Lü Yang and Ang Xiao naturally stopped fighting. They parted ways once more, each beginning their final preparations.

「The Taihuang Realm.」

Lü Yang arrived here once again. He took out the Righteous Banner, and from within the billowing purple qi, Progenitor Tingyou strode forth, his eyes shimmering with an endless, splendid light.

"Progenitor!" Lü Yang hurriedly bowed upon seeing him, a look of shame on his face. "I apologize. This disciple failed to obtain the Outer Path Cultivation Technique for you... but as long as Mu Changsheng wasn’t lying to me, and the Cultivation Method is truly with the Nourishing Life Master, I swear I will get it for you, no matter the cost."

It might have seemed like a simple sentence.

But in reality, Lü Yang had put a great deal of thought into it. The single phrase "as long as Mu Changsheng wasn’t lying to me" perfectly showcased the naivete and inexperience of a young man.

If Ang Xiao had been there, he certainly would have sneered in contempt.

But for Progenitor Tingyou, it only made him think that Lü Yang still cared about him. ’He really is a good kid. I shouldn’t be so hard on him...’

As for him being a Saint Sect True Monarch?

In Progenitor Tingyou’s eyes, there was no such thing. ’He’s clearly an outstanding disciple of my Wu Ghost Sect! Saint Sect True Monarch is just his camouflage!’

’He may act cruelly, enjoy setting traps for others, and have no immortal virtue to speak of. Everyone calls him a brute, but I know he’s actually a good, kind-hearted kid!’

This perception wasn’t formed overnight. It was a persona Lü Yang had constructed in front of Progenitor Tingyou over many years. People, after all, always believe what they want to believe. The more opinionated someone is, the more stubborn they become once they have a preconceived notion.

Of course, Lü Yang wasn’t lying.

In fact, if the opportunity arose, he absolutely wouldn’t hesitate. Even if it meant using up one of his chances to restart, he would definitely seize the Outer Path Cultivation Technique.

So, his choice of words was just a small ploy.

Ultimately, a sincere heart was still necessary. The ploy was just a way to open the door; it was Lü Yang’s sincerity that had truly moved Progenitor Tingyou.

"My matter can be set aside for now."

Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. "Regarding the refinement of the Great Mighty Spirit Qi, I’ve thought of a method that can speed up the process."

Lü Yang’s eyes lit up at his words. "Please enlighten me, Progenitor."

"By using the Taihuang Realm!"

Progenitor Tingyou pointed at the ground beneath them. "This Outer Realm has been influenced by the Human World, causing a distortion in time around it that is visible to the naked eye."

Hearing this, Lü Yang’s brow furrowed slightly. "That is true... but I have experimented with this before. It’s not a true time distortion. Although ten thousand years in this realm equals one year in the outside world, something that takes one year to accomplish outside might require ten thousand years here."

"I understand."

Progenitor Tingyou smiled. "But that’s only because the intentional appearance of time still exists here... If that appearance collapses, the situation will be different."

These words opened a new door for Lü Yang, and understanding dawned on him. "The intentional appearance of time collapses... The flow of time on both sides will gradually unify."

"The ten thousand years of time in the Taihuang Realm will collapse, matching the one year of the outside world."

"There’s an opportunity to exploit a loophole in the process!"

"During the collapse, the time in the Taihuang Realm will still be different from the outside world. But after the collapse, its time will once again be unified with the outside."

"In short, during the time collapse, the vast expanse of time in the Taihuang Realm can still be used. I can leverage the differing flow of time to accomplish things that would normally take ages... and once time on both sides is unified, the time I’ve spent will be synchronized with reality!"

It was a fantastically unconventional idea.

"In that case, can I really accomplish things in the Taihuang Realm in one year of outside time that might normally take a thousand, or even ten thousand years?"

"It’s not that easy."

Looking at the excited Lü Yang, Progenitor Tingyou shook his head.

"This method is merely exploiting a loophole. Time is ultimately collapsing, so a large amount of it will be wasted in the process. There won’t be much left over."

"However, I’ve calculated it, and you should be able to get a few decades out of it." At this point, Progenitor Tingyou smiled faintly. "At the very least, it can help you refine the Great Mighty Spirit Qi ahead of schedule. Moreover, Ang Xiao will never see it coming. It should serve as a trump card for you."

"Progenitor..."

Lü Yang looked deeply moved. This method of using the Taihuang Realm’s spatio-temporal distortion sounded simple, but the actual implementation, down to the finest details, would be extremely difficult.

It was clear Progenitor Tingyou had been planning this for a long time.

’As expected of my world-shocking wisdom!’

Progenitor Tingyou, however, still had some regrets. "The spatio-temporal intentional appearance of this realm is very special. It’s a pity I don’t have enough time to deconstruct and analyze it."

"I can only use this crude method to buy us some time."

"If I could master it completely, I might not have to destroy it and could still buy you more than enough time... This is very important for you."

"Because only then can you bridge the gap in foundations between you and those old-timer Perfected Lords in a short period. This is the only gap you currently cannot close—and it’s our gap, really. After all, we are both still young, while every one of those other old-timer Perfected Lords has had tens of thousands of years to temper themselves."

After speaking, Progenitor Tingyou even sighed. "Sigh... my abilities are insufficient."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yang immediately waved his hand grandly.

"No matter how important it is, it’s not as important as you!"

"This place might be nice, but that’s all it is. If it gets destroyed this time, so be it. There will always be opportunities in the future to let you slowly comprehend it, Progenitor."

He was quite philosophical about it.

With the Centome, if he really wanted time, he could just find a place to hole up after restarting, sit back, and watch the world change. Who could possibly cause him trouble then?

But what would be the point of that?

True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde lived long enough, didn’t he? He lived a stable life until his time was up, a well-known veteran in the Early Stage of the Golden Core Realm.

And what was the result? It was as if he hadn’t lived at all!

In a full thousand years, Lü Yang suspected the man hadn’t made any progress at all... But was that his fault? Was it because his Talent Skill was poor, and he possessed not a shred of Enlightenment?

Lü Yang felt that was an unfair assessment.

’Ultimately, the key reason was that he never went anywhere. He just sat on Zenith Cliff!’

’Holing up in one place, shutting himself off from the world—and he expected to make progress?’

’He’s lucky he didn’t regress!’

’In the end, this is an era of great struggle... Doing nothing will only get you half the results for twice the effort. It’s a wasted life. A man’s gotta fucking stir up trouble!’

The bigger the trouble, the greater the achievement!

The greater the achievement, the more trouble you can cause!

Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately cupped his hands toward Progenitor Tingyou. "Progenitor, there’s no need to hesitate. Let’s begin! First, we’ll refine the Great Mighty Spirit Qi!"

"...Very well, then."

Progenitor Tingyou nodded and immediately began the procedure.

A moment later, Lü Yang walked out of the Taihuang Realm.

Then, he leisurely made his way to the Void Sea of Light and met up with Ang Xiao, an amiable smile on his face. He even waved and greeted him.

"Yo, Senior."

"..."

Ang Xiao was instantly on alert.

’What kind of trick is this brute up to now?’

At this thought, he subconsciously glanced toward the Taihuang Realm, but his view was obstructed by the billowing purple qi, preventing him from seeing what was happening around it.

Lü Yang, of course, had no intention of explaining. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Isn’t it about time we set off?"

In this life, Lü Yang had many plans.

’Use the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness to increase my strength and feed it back into the Dao of Arcane Body. After my strength has increased, I’ll go after the Emperor Fruit—the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal and the Fruit of Rampart Earth...’

’If I can get just one, it’ll be worth dying for!’

He grew excited at the thought.

His path on the Dao was only just beginning!