Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

To Lü Yang, it was but an instant.

From descending out of the Void Land to entering the anchored position in the Outer Heaven Sea of Light, the entire process felt like the world was spinning. It was as if thousands of years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Soon, Lü Yang’s vision changed.

As he looked down from the Void Land, the area he was descending toward seemed like a footprint. As he fell, his perspective zoomed in.

The scene before him transformed again. It was no longer a so-called footprint, but an indescribable existence. At first glance, it resembled a black hole formed by an Outer Realm, but upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t a black hole so much as a massive shadow projected onto the Sea of Light.

"This is..."

Lü Yang didn’t land inside the shadow but on its edge. Still, he could sense the terrifying gravitational pull emanating from it.

"It’s a bit like the Immortal Pivot."

’That broken place, the Immortal Pivot, has a similar, terrifying gravity. It periodically attracts Outer Realms, which are then salvaged by Perfected Lords.’

But this one was different.

’Although there’s gravity, it’s confined to an area centered on the shadow. It doesn’t affect anything outside that range.’

Lü Yang observed with his spiritual perception, looking down at the entire area. His expression grew increasingly strange. ’Hmm, from above, it really does look like a footprint... The person who left it must have been wearing shoes. The shadow is from the sole of their foot, and this outer ring is from the shoe itself...’

It sounded a little bizarre.

After all, what kind of figure could leave such a mark on the Outer Heaven Sea of Light? And not just the person—even the shoes they wore could produce a Divine Effect?

And yet, that wasn’t even the most outrageous part.

’In the past, I might not have been able to tell... But now, as my Cultivation continues to rise, I can see a few clues.’

Lü Yang’s gaze sharpened. He instantly opened the Sea of Suffering and observed the area again from another perspective. The awe in his eyes deepened.

"This... isn’t even where he truly set foot!"

"That Great Power wasn’t walking in the Current World, nor did they truly step into it. The place they were actually walking was the Sea of Suffering!"

The area now reflected in the Outer Heaven Sea of Light was merely the shadow cast upon the Current World when that Great Power walked through the Sea of Suffering and left a footprint there! That was why its external manifestation appeared as an extremely profound shadow.

"Incredible!"

This marvel made Lü Yang involuntarily recall the Seven Luminaries Heaven he had once seen. The origin of that Outer Realm was also quite exaggerated.

It also involved a Great Power.

They had merely passed by and had a fleeting thought, ’It would be nice if an Outer Realm could land here,’ and it had triggered a response from the Outer Heaven Sea of Light.

Which in turn led to the actual birth of an Outer Realm.

Furthermore, the Fruit Position Prototype that eventually condensed within the resulting Seven Luminaries Heaven was of the Incense and Candle Divine Dao, embodying the concept of "worshipping a deity."

Thinking of this, Lü Yang couldn’t help but ponder:

’These two Great Powers couldn’t be the same person, could they? Which Nascent Soul Daoist Lord descended to the mortal world? It couldn’t possibly be the Saint Sect Ancestral Master, right?’

Lü Yang thought, ’It’s hard to say!’

After all, the reason he had come here was because of a mouthful of blood he had once spat out, and this place just so happened to help him evade the pursuit of the Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata.

It was too much of a coincidence!

At this thought, Lü Yang tentatively whispered to his surroundings, "Disciple Lü Yang pays his respects to the Ancestral Master. If the Ancestral Master has any command, this disciple would not hesitate to die ten thousand deaths to carry it out!"

—Nothing happened.

’How terrifying!’

To be honest, if the Saint Sect Ancestral Master had actually descended at that moment and given him a few orders, Lü Yang would have felt a bit calmer.

It was precisely this situation—where nothing happened and no information was forthcoming—that put Lü Yang on his highest alert. He was terrified of taking a wrong step and falling into a pit... At this thought, he couldn’t help but look around again, becoming jumpy at the slightest sound. He was stuck, unable to advance or retreat, his expression shifting several times.

"Forget it. First, let’s see where that mouthful of blood I spat out landed."

Lü Yang formed a finger technique with one hand and began to divine. A moment later, following the faint karmic links, he located the whereabouts of his blood.

"Hm? What’s that..."

Suddenly, Lü Yang’s gaze flickered. His eyes fell upon the edge of the shadow, where a faint light twinkled, startling him.

"An Outer Realm?"

’There’s an Outer Realm in a place like this!?’

Lü Yang’s spiritual perception scanned the area, and he discovered that the small region where the Outer Realm was located was quite peculiar. There were even traces of several other Outer Realms having existed nearby.

’Is it because this area is suitable for the birth of Outer Realms?’

The Outer Heaven Sea of Light was boundlessly vast, and similar regions weren’t unheard of. It meant that the Duality of Life and Death Profound Light in this area was more active than elsewhere.

However, these Outer Realms were clearly quite unlucky. As fate would have it, they had landed right on the edge of the shadow, within the range of its gravitational influence. Aside from the one he was looking at, the others had obviously been swallowed by the shadow already. Even this one didn’t have much time left.

’Probably only about a thousand years.’

Lü Yang shook his head. In a thousand years at most, this Outer Realm would fall into the shadow due to its gravity, be crushed, and turn into cosmic dust.

Unless a Perfected Lord could emerge from within the Outer Realm.

But that was impossible. After all, Lü Yang could tell with a single glance that this was just a Little Realm Heaven. It didn’t even have a Fruit Position Prototype, let alone a Fruit.

’In a Little Realm Heaven like this, you’d have to burn high incense just to produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator. A Perfected Lord is completely out of the question. If it were captured by the Immortal Pivot, its only fate would be to serve as a Marvel for Qi Refining Disciples to fight their Battle for the Dao...’ At this thought, Lü Yang’s eyebrows suddenly raised, and then he had another idea:

’Not necessarily.’

’It seems my mouthful of blood landed in this very Outer Realm. With my blood as nourishment, a Perfected Lord is impossible, but a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator is still a possibility.’

But soon, Lü Yang shook his head again.

’Foundation Establishment Perfection... that’s even more pitiful.’

Because once one’s cultivation reaches Foundation Establishment Perfection, they can roam the Outer Heaven Sea of Light for short periods and observe the life and death crisis their Outer Realm faces. However, they would be powerless to stop it. Even if they could do something, it would be a drop in the ocean. In the end, they would exhaust all their strength only to fail to prevent the tragedy, sinking into even greater despair.

Even if that Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator were a heartless person who chose to abandon the Outer Realm and flee alone, it would be useless. This was the only Outer Realm left in the entire shadow region. Without the World Heaven Coordinates of any other realms, there would be nowhere to land and nowhere to run. It was still a dead end.

While lost in thought, Lü Yang had already drawn near the Outer Realm.

But he quickly stopped, because he noticed something else approaching the Outer Realm at this very moment, like a streak of light.

"The remains of an Outer Realm..."

Lü Yang saw it clearly. It was a World Heaven Fragment, something that had already been swallowed by the shadow. It could no longer be described as an Outer Realm; at best, it was just a pocket of space.

’Strictly speaking, it’s similar to the little pocket of Heaven and Earth I temporarily create with the Yellow Court.’

Lü Yang stroked his chin. If a World Heaven Fragment like this were to collide with another Outer Realm, it would most likely trigger a catastrophe and accelerate the Outer Realm’s destruction.

To stop it would require a Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment at the very least.

With this in mind, Lü Yang was in no hurry. He could use this World Heaven Fragment to probe the depths of that Outer Realm and check for any potential traps.

Therefore, he did nothing.

A moment later, the World Heaven Fragment was extremely close to the Outer Realm. But just then, a bloody light suddenly burst forth from within the realm.

"Insolence!"