Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Overseas, on a remote island in the Azure Sun Cultivation Realm.

’It’s begun, just as I expected....’

Lü Yang’s expression was calm as he gazed up at the sky. His Qi trace was so completely withdrawn that, at a glance, he seemed no different from a mortal. Only within his mind did a thousand thoughts swirl.

Mu Changsheng’s motive was simple.

Expose Ang Xiao, reveal the secret of the Earth of Chen ahead of schedule, and in doing so, turn Ang Xiao into a public enemy—all to secure a sufficient chance of victory for himself.

——It was all just as he had predicted.

’Through Mu Changsheng’s hand, I’ve exposed a portion of Ang Xiao’s secrets, making him a target for all, while simultaneously concealing my own existence.’

After all, the decision to expose Ang Xiao hadn’t come from him, nor had he given the slightest hint beforehand. The entire act was purely Mu Changsheng’s own idea. No matter how one tried to scry the truth, they would only discover Mu Changsheng’s karmic links. There would be nothing else—it would be impossible to trace it back to him.

’Now this is how you act as a mastermind!’

’Fight, go on and fight, let them all fight... Let them fight until the heavens fall and the earth shatters, forcing Ang Xiao to reveal more of his trump cards. Only then can I deliver the final, decisive blow!’

........

Within No Heaven.

Ang Xiao stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression cold. He was completely enveloped by a vast ocean formed from countless converging scenes of memory.

"Myriad fathoms of the Red Dust, refine!"

Outside the Vast Ocean, Mu Changsheng performed a Finger Technique and began an Incantation, instantly triggering a change in the ocean of memories. Countless scenes surged madly into Ang Xiao’s Divine Soul Thought.

These were all Mu Changsheng’s own experiences, the culmination of his long life. There were moments of peace, passion, anger, sorrow, and despair... Each scene was saturated with an Extreme level of emotion, and as they merged with Ang Xiao’s Divine Soul Thought, they began to influence his own feelings.

Gradually, Ang Xiao’s expression began to change.

These scenes were like sharp blades, precisely cutting away at his emotions, excising his consciousness, and cleansing this wisp of his Divine Soul Thought.

This was another application of No Heaven.

It was also an application that many had long suspected: stuffing "Mu Changsheng’s" memories into another’s Spiritual Space, thereby transforming them into another Mu Changsheng.

In his previous lives, Mu Changsheng had never used this method.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he couldn’t; his Dao Heart wouldn’t permit him to use it. Now, however, Lü Yang had mended the flaw in his Dao Heart.

Furthermore, armed with the possession technique recorded in the Zhaomu Department Order Book, Mu Changsheng had simply abandoned the Soul snatched away by the Saint Sect Ancestral Master. He instead targeted Ang Xiao’s Divine Soul Thought, whose quality was even greater than his own Soul’s. Its future prospects might be even brighter!

Of course, Lü Yang’s machinations were a part of this.

But Mu Changsheng wasn’t particularly opposed to it. He was basically just going with the flow, putting on a show of struggling a few times before simply going along with it.

However, Mu Changsheng’s expression soon changed.

His plan had been perfect: use the Primal Daoist Evil as bait, seal his target with the power of No Heaven, and finally, cleanse Ang Xiao’s Divine Soul Thought.

There hadn’t been a single mistake from start to finish.

There was just one problem: he had underestimated Ang Xiao.

Although he felt he had been generous in his assessment, greatly overestimating Ang Xiao, this "overestimation" was still nowhere near enough.

"Red Dust Heart Refining?"

"Mere parlor tricks!"

Amid the endless scenes of memory, Ang Xiao slowly began to speak. His bearing was peerless, and his powerful will lent his voice an infinite sense of pressure.

The Vast Ocean of memories created by No Heaven was actually quite terrifying. For a Perfected Lord, it might be possible to endure by relying on their Gold Attribute. For a Cultivator without a True Monarch Gold Attribute, however, this ocean of memories was a death sentence. Once tainted, they might never be able to break free in their entire life.

Yet Ang Xiao pressed forward, undaunted.

He strode past the countless scenes and emotion-filled memories with a single step. His Dao Heart, cleansed of all dust and glowing with light, was as unshakable as bedrock.

He sought the Nascent Soul; he sought the Great Dao.

Everything else—all the emotions and desires, all the worldly entanglements—was merely cast far behind him, utterly insufficient to stand in his way.

Seeing this, Mu Changsheng’s expression shifted slightly. He immediately changed his Daoist Hand Seal, instantly altering the content of the memory scenes. This time, what appeared were countless hardships and obstacles.

Frankly, as the Heavenly God’s contingency plan, Mu Changsheng had been challenged by Perfected Lords from all over the world fighting above their station. It was no exaggeration to say his path of cultivation had been fraught with hardship. He now manifested these trials one by one, using them to assault Ang Xiao’s Divine Soul Thought, clearly intending to shake his will to seek the Dao.

But Ang Xiao remained utterly unshaken.

The desperate straits and moments of despair that were etched into Mu Changsheng’s very soul were met with nothing but contempt from Ang Xiao, as if they were fragile clay chickens and pottery dogs to be trampled underfoot.

He even had the spare energy to chuckle lightly:

"Junior, you’ve shown your hand... A Dao Heart Cultivation Technique. Interesting. Did that person behind the scenes give it to you? Did you see his face or hear his voice?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Changsheng’s heart skipped a beat.

However, before he could formulate a lie to deceive Ang Xiao, Ang Xiao shook his head. "No, someone so cautious would never make that mistake."

"You definitely didn’t see him."

"Even if you did see something, it was surely a fabrication he deliberately showed you to mislead me. There is no point in my asking you."

Mu Changsheng: "...."

’Hey, wait a minute! Why do you sound like you’re old spiritual acquaintances with that mysterious Saint Sect True Monarch? I’m the one locked in fierce Combat with you right now!’

Mu Changsheng gritted his teeth and said nothing.

He could see it now. Ang Xiao had also achieved Dao Heart Perfection. His sense of self was unshakeable, completely immune to his techniques.

But—he had still won.

RUMBLE!

The next second, the sound of a torrential flood thundered from outside No Heaven, vast and mighty, making Ang Xiao let out a sigh.

"It’s that shrew...."

World Purger Fei Xue!

The affair of the Earth of Chen involved Minor Metal’s Seeking Gold. Now that Mu Changsheng had spread the news far and wide, how could the furious World Purger Fei Xue not come looking for trouble?

And with World Purger Fei Xue here to stir up trouble, he naturally couldn’t continue tangling with Mu Changsheng.

This was also part of Mu Changsheng’s plan. If he couldn’t forcibly possess Ang Xiao’s Divine Soul Thought, then he would stall—drag things out until Ang Xiao was forced to give up on his own!

"...Tsk."

Ang Xiao stopped in his tracks. He stopped trying to fight through the memory scenes Mu Changsheng had created, as there was no longer any point. World Purger Fei Xue was about to arrive.

If he’d had the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he could have slaughtered his way through No Heaven and extinguished Mu Changsheng’s consciousness instead!

Unfortunately, he was out of time.

Thinking of this, Ang Xiao nodded, his tone frank. "I have lost this time. Your methods are impressive, Daoist. I will let you have this round."

He admitted defeat.

Of course, he could still turn the tables if he absolutely had to, but the cost would not be worth the reward. Compared to that, it was better to admit defeat decisively.

"But next time, it will be my turn to set the board."

As his voice fell, Ang Xiao proactively withdrew his consciousness, leaving the blank Divine Soul Thought to Mu Changsheng as he prepared to close the gateway to the Netherworld.

But just before he left, he gave the sky another inexplicable glance.

He had many theories about the mastermind who had plotted against him this time, but his opponent understood him far too well—to a degree he hadn’t even anticipated.

But who could possibly understand him so well?

Generally, the only people who understood him this well were either his close friends or people he had screwed over horribly... and as for the former, most of them had also been screwed over horribly by him.

After thinking it over and over—

"This so-called mastermind... Fortune, it couldn’t really be you, could it?"