Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

That’s right. The moment he received Liu Ying’s message and realized an opportunity had presented itself, Lü Yang—who had long coveted Ang Xiao’s Gold Attribute—hatched a plan.

The plan was simple.

First, he would use a Storage Bag as bait, forcing Ang Xiao to hold back for fear of destroying it. Then, he would launch a sneak attack with his most powerful technique.

If he succeeded, he’d be able to perform Gold Absorption on Ang Xiao.

If he failed, he would lose a Storage Bag at most.

Of course, given Ang Xiao’s sharp eyes, Lü Yang didn’t dare try any tricks that might backfire, so he had genuinely placed items inside it.

As for the result of the plan, it was a mixed bag.

’I didn’t get the Gold Attribute... Although Ang Xiao was injured, his wounds weren’t severe. I didn’t truly break through his defenses to create an opportunity for Gold Absorption.’

’On the other hand, the effect of that strike was undeniable. It’s enough to let me regain some initiative in my future dealings with Ang Xiao. Otherwise, with him crushing me in every aspect of strength, I’d just be completely suppressed, forced to take a loss when it came to splitting any benefits...’

While Lü Yang was still calculating his gains and losses,

Ang Xiao, on the other hand, was not in a good mood. For a moment, his hand clutching the Storage Bag trembled slightly, and he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’Hoist by my own petard!’

He had been careless!

’Is it because it’s been too long since I left the Netherworld? On top of that, I’m usually the one scheming against others, rarely the one being schemed against. My on-the-spot reaction was half a beat too slow!’

If this were him tens of thousands of years ago, before he hid away in the Netherworld, how could he possibly have been fooled by Lü Yang? At worst, it would have been a break-even situation. But now, he’d gotten some scrap-like treasures in exchange for damage to his Dharma Body. From the looks of it, it would probably take thirty to fifty days to recover.

The next second, Ang Xiao’s gaze sharpened abruptly.

’...Forget it!’

He had always been one to take things in stride. He cursed a few times in his mind and let it go. The problem was... since he had taken this loss, he couldn’t afford to take any less of the benefits!

What he had now wasn’t enough!

Thinking of this, Ang Xiao said in a deep voice:

"Daoist, you and I are allies now. As allies, we should naturally share good things. Hiding them away is not what allies do."

He saw it clearly. Lü Yang definitely wanted to negotiate over this windfall.

The reason was simple. If Lü Yang truly didn’t want to talk, why would he deliberately take out an even bigger Storage Bag after the one he had was snatched away?

To deliberately make him jealous?

Impossible. If he could get rich quietly, why reveal it? Since the other party took it out and let him know about it, there must be another reason.

’He... wants my Gold Attribute?’

Ang Xiao pondered, vaguely guessing Lü Yang’s intentions, but he grew even more vigilant. ’The Gold Attribute... how can something like this be casually given to an outsider?’

At this thought, Ang Xiao sighed again. This was a classic case of the Stain Sect’s unequal distribution of spoils. In the end, it would probably still have to be decided with fists.

Although he was currently injured, he was still full of confidence.

’The only reason I fell for his trick before was because I was completely focused on snatching the item. I was careless and didn’t react in time, which is how he succeeded. It won’t be so easy this time.’

Admittedly, the Tribulation Evil Profound Light was very powerful.

But before it could be activated, it also required a locking-on process.

Before, he had been caught off guard and locked onto by Lü Yang first, leaving him no way to evade. He could only choose to take the hit head-on, suffering a minor injury.

But this time, he was prepared. If he used the Veil of the Trees to protect his karmic links in advance and avoided Lü Yang’s lock-on, then no matter how powerful the Tribulation Evil Profound Light was, it wouldn’t be able to hit him. And if it couldn’t hit, it was meaningless. It would only waste a large amount of Mana. After a few more attempts like that, Lü Yang would be at his mercy.

At this thought, Ang Xiao was about to make his move.

But just then, Lü Yang spoke up:

"Senior, you’re not wrong. Since we are allies, we indeed shouldn’t hide things... How about this: we split the spoils of war evenly?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Ang Xiao froze.

"...Oh? Split it evenly?"

’This bastard, is he really that kind?’

’He isn’t hiding another Storage Bag, is he?’

"I won’t hide it from you, Senior."

Lü Yang grinned. "Using the portion you have in your hand as a baseline, I have three more portions here. In addition to that, there are also four Ancient Scriptures."

Hearing this, Ang Xiao’s eyes darted as he immediately began calculating in his mind: ’Three more portions, which means a total of four portions of Five Elements Star Marrow and four drops of Sun and Moon Profound Juice, plus four Ancient Scriptures... That’s a huge sum. It should be pretty close to the real number.’

Meanwhile, Lü Yang continued,

"Now that you and I are allies, Senior, I can split these things evenly with you... but in return, you’ll have to do me a small favor."

"The Gold Attribute is off the table."

Ang Xiao was on high alert, absolutely refusing to let Lü Yang perform Gold Absorption.

"I don’t need the Gold Attribute."

Lü Yang smiled and shook his head. He had, of course, noticed Ang Xiao’s wariness toward him and knew that hoping to arrange a trade for the Gold Absorption was impossible.

’If I want to perform Gold Absorption, I’ll have to use force!’

However, his current strength was insufficient, so Lü Yang could only push the thought to the back of his mind for now. He changed the subject, "Don’t worry, it’s really just a small thing."

With that, he took out four Jade Scrolls from his Storage Bag. Each Jade Scroll was currently glowing, revealing intricate characters. The strokes that formed the characters had various forms, like flowers, birds, fish, insects, or even Dragon and Phoenix Seals. They were all pictographs that Lü Yang had never seen before.

"Please translate these, Senior."

Lü Yang spread his hands. "These four Ancient Scriptures are all written in a script I’ve never seen before. But with your vast knowledge, Senior, you must recognize it, right?"

’Of course I know!’

Ang Xiao’s eyebrows rose slightly. He recognized these pictographs. They were the All Heavens Divine Text, from before the creation of the Pocket World Technique. It was rumored to have been created by a Master of Dao.

But it had gradually fallen out of use.

Thinking of this, Ang Xiao immediately grinned. "...Alright, we have a deal."

As soon as he finished speaking, he swept his spiritual perception over them, translated the contents of the four Jade Scrolls, compiled them into a volume, and sent it to Lü Yang.

Lü Yang looked down. Instantly, four red lights intertwined in the depths of his eyes, forming a uniform line of text:

[HUGE TRAP! DO NOT CULTIVATE!]

’This old bastard, he’s too vicious!’

Lü Yang sighed inwardly, then pushed the item back. "Senior, you might as well save your effort. Let’s all be a little more sincere and have a proper trade."

Ang Xiao was taken aback. "What, did I translate it wrong?"

His eyes were filled with innocence and confusion.

If it weren’t for the warning from the Immortal Core Survival Guide, Lü Yang might have actually believed him. Now, however, he just shook his head firmly:

"I’ll give you two more chances, Senior."

"If that doesn’t work, then we fight."

At these words, Ang Xiao suddenly laughed. "Oh, right. I just remembered that I did get a few things wrong. Wait a moment, let me fix it."

Soon, the new translation was ready.

Lü Yang focused his gaze on it again.

[Minor trap, best not to cultivate.]

"..."

After a moment of silence, Lü Yang pushed the item back again. "One more chance."

This time, Ang Xiao didn’t bother with any more pointless excuses. Instead, he crisply extended a hand toward Lü Yang. "The items. Give me half first."

Lü Yang directly took out a drop of Sun and Moon Profound Juice and sent it over.

Seeing this, Ang Xiao didn’t dawdle. He put the item away, changed a few words in the translation, and only then did the Immortal Core Survival Guide stop issuing warnings.

"Thank you, Senior." Only then did Lü Yang put away the Jade Scrolls and hand over the remaining items.

On the other side, Ang Xiao took the items, astonished. ’This kid... he actually has a way to tell if there’s a problem with the content I give him?’

’Tsk, what a difficult one... ’

At this thought, the two of them raised their heads in unison and met each other’s gaze.

And then, they both broke into sincere smiles.