Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

[Celestial Human Residual Consciousness].

Above the Void Sea of Light, Lü Yang stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves. The many phenomena that had appeared when his Fortune manifested his Dharma Body had vanished without a trace.

At first glance, he looked like an ordinary man.

Lü Yang stood upon the Sea of Light, sensing the Profound Mysterious of the Dharma Body he had refined with such painstaking effort. ’So that’s how it is,’ he thought. ’This is what it means to devour a Fruit...’

The next moment, he let out a soft breath:

"HA!"

In an instant, the surrounding Duality of Life and Death Profound Light erupted violently. It was like a bursting dam or thunder rolling across the heavens; even the entire firmament trembled for a moment.

This was the Dharma Body he had refined by achieving Major Mastery in the Skill of Perfect Vitality. In an ordinary Outer Realm, that single breath would have been enough to shatter mountains, change the face of the earth, and even trigger the realm’s collapse. Only an Outer Realm that had birthed a Fruit Position Prototype could possibly have contained it.

"Incredibly powerful."

Lü Yang clenched his fist, feeling the power boiling within him. ’It was clearly refined by devouring the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire,’ he thought, ’but its actual Profound Mysterious is vastly different.’

The Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire itself was self-explanatory.

It could illuminate what the sun and moon could not, and clarify what Heaven and Earth left obscure. Its Fruit Position Imagery and Profound Mysterious were largely focused on this aspect of "revelation"; it was not actually suited for combat.

However, the Dharma Body refined using it was different.

This was because the Skill of Perfect Vitality, in devouring a Fruit, merely used it as nourishment. It took the Fruit’s Position Imagery to nurture the imagery of one’s own Cultivation Technique.

RUMBLE!

At that moment, Lü Yang’s body swayed. His Mud Ball Palace opened, and billowing black smoke surged forth. Amidst the smoke, he transformed, rising up as a colossal deity.

The giant deity stood firm in the Void Sea of Light. Its skin was the color of black gold, its form stalwart and imposing. If placed in an Outer Realm, entire mountain ranges would be nothing but fine gravel to it, and the vastest ocean a mere puddle at its feet, utterly insignificant.

Atop its broad, mountain-like shoulders rested three faces.

One, in the center, had the dignified and solemn visage of a young man. The other two, on its shoulders, bore the faces of an old man and a young boy, each with their own unique expression.

In addition to its normal pair of human arms, two more pairs unfurled from its back and waist.

The moment this three-headed, six-armed body stood in the void, the surrounding Duality of Life and Death Profound Light violently scattered, spontaneously retreating from it.

This was not due to imagery, nor was it a Profound Mysterious.

It was pure power!

In fact, this was the true form of Lü Yang’s physical body. With every breath, his vital qi and blood surged like a mighty river, roaring within him!

’As I am now, ordinary imagery... from an Outer Dao Fruit Position, for example... can no longer harm me.’

Lü Yang could sense it clearly. This physical body was unbelievably tough, like an anchor. The moment it stood in the Current World, it was instantly bound to Heaven and Earth.

No matter what imagery, Abilities, or Profound Mysterious descended upon him, as long as it couldn’t affect Heaven and Earth, it couldn’t harm his body. Even for attacks that *could* affect Heaven and Earth, the damage depended on the extent of their influence and the rank of their Position. Stronger attacks might break his skin and draw blood; weaker ones would leave nothing more than a bruise. It was truly a peerless Dharma Body!

Of course, this wasn’t true invulnerability to all techniques.

By Lü Yang’s estimation, this body could, at most, ignore the imagery of an Outer Dao Fruit Position. The imagery of an orthodox Fruit Position could break his skin, and a Profound Mysterious was enough to inflict a wound.

But that was the extent of it.

It could be wounded, yes, but crippling him, let alone killing him, was another matter entirely. With his abundant reserves of qi and blood, he could recover in an instant.

Lü Yang stretched his colossal limbs with relish.

’Never mind anything else, just this durable body and its savage, immense strength are worth a Fruit Position Imagery on their own,’ he mused. ’It gives me an overwhelming advantage in Combat.’

After all, this was just a Dharma Body—practically a bonus for a Cultivator. In Combat, it was like having extra health and defense out of nowhere. An attack that would severely wound another person would leave him unscathed. The advantage in any exchange would be immense.

And that wasn’t all.

’This Dharma Body is now practically equivalent to an Outer Realm. An Outer Realm can birth a Fruit, so naturally, a Dharma Body can as well. The Skill of Perfect Vitality calls this the Treasure Complete Method.’

Its Position was equivalent to a Fruit Position Profound Mysterious.

As for Lü Yang’s own Treasure Complete Method, he had a flash of insight and instantly knew its name: the Three Lives Primordial Qi Technique. It was housed within the three heads on his shoulders.

As its name implied,

while he maintained his Dharma Body, he could cultivate a stream of Primordial Qi in his chest that was intrinsically linked to his own life. This Qi was exceptionally pure and possessed the ability to extinguish all techniques.

When needed, he could channel the Primordial Qi into the three heads on his shoulders to unleash three distinct Profound Mysteries.

The left head, with its red lips, white teeth, and youthful vigor, was named the Past Dust Appearance.

Imagery coalesced within its eyes like candlelight, granting its gaze the power to perceive the obscure and scrutinize the minute. It had completely inherited the Profound Mysterious of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire.

The right head, with its white hair and wizened, ancient face, was named the Rebirth Appearance.

An aura of death emanated from its mouth and nose. Once enough had accumulated, it could transform into a ray of Tribulation Evil Profound Light—instantly fatal to anyone it touched.

The central head bore Lü Yang’s current face—that of a dashingly handsome and heroic young man. It was named the Present World Appearance. Spirited and vibrant, it had the effect of harmonizing the other two. Its Profound Mysterious was also simple: as long as the Past Dust Appearance and Rebirth Appearance were not destroyed, it could not be harmed.

Likewise, as long as the Present World Appearance was not destroyed, the other two could not be annihilated.

"How insidious!"

Relying on the instincts of a Saint Sect True Monarch, Lü Yang instantly understood how to apply the Three Lives Primordial Qi Technique to its maximum effect.

The method was actually quite simple:

’In Combat, I’ll have the Rebirth Appearance take point. Let it absorb attacks and accumulate death qi. If it gets destroyed, that’s the perfect opportunity to condense a Tribulation Evil Profound Light.’

’Meanwhile, the Past Dust Appearance will be responsible for observing the enemy’s weaknesses. The moment it finds one, I can immediately unleash a Tribulation Evil Profound Light to secure victory. Of course, even if that doesn’t work, it’s fine. As long as the Present World Appearance is unharmed, the Rebirth Appearance can be restored at any time, and I can just try again...’

Lü Yang was quite satisfied with this Dharma Body.

’If I had to point out a flaw, it would be that this Dharma Body is a little ugly. Three heads and six arms looks too ferocious; it doesn’t match my righteous and awe-inspiring image...’

After a moment of thought, Lü Yang’s form shifted.

In an instant, the colossal, god-like Dharma Body dispersed like a wisp of smoke. Lü Yang returned to his usual form, standing in the void with his wide sleeves fluttering.

Behind him, to his left and right, two shimmering figures flickered in and out of view.

One was the spirited youth, the other the wizened elder—the Past Dust Appearance and the Rebirth Appearance, which he had manifested as illusory forms to follow behind him.

"This looks much better. It has a certain Immortal Aura."

Lü Yang smiled and nodded, then sat cross-legged in the Sea of Light. He retracted his Divine Sense and once again recalled the Skill of Perfect Vitality that Si Chou had given him.

Before, his Cultivation had been insufficient, making it impossible for him to view the entire technique.

But now was different. Having refined the Life Form Body, he was a true Ancient Golden Core cultivator and could naturally examine the path of cultivation for the next stage.

’The Middle Stage of Golden Core for the Ancient Technique... how does it differ from the Pocket World Technique?’

Lü Yang focused his mind and looked intently.

Then, he froze.

"It’s... like this!?"

In that moment, he finally understood why Si Chou had been able to open a Celestial Mansion and manifest Twenty-four Fruit Positions with nothing but a corpse. The reason was actually very simple.

Because what he had cultivated was the Dharma Body itself.

And after Si Chou’s death, the Dharma Body had vanished from the world.

The proof was obvious: in his eleven lifetimes of cultivation, he had never once even seen a Body Cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection, let alone a Body Cultivation True Monarch.

The only thing that even came close to body cultivation was the Shixiu’s Golden Body of the Pure Land.

So, which Master of Dao had been the one to process Si Chou’s corpse after his death?

The Pure Land. The Bhagavat.