Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 147: A Future Pillar of the Stain Sect
Northern Border, Divine Martial Sect.
Lü Yang strolled leisurely among the pavilions and terraces, even taking the time to admire the scenery, as if he were merely a young scholar on a spring outing.
However, roiling clouds had, at some unknown point, gathered above his head, blanketing the entire Divine Martial Sect. Yet the many Cultivators within the sect remained completely oblivious. They continued their Cultivation, engaged in Combat, and chatted amongst themselves, as if the clouds were nothing more than an illusion, nonexistent in their eyes...
Within the clouds, thousands of electric serpents slithered and coiled.
From start to finish, this strange phenomenon didn’t kill a single disciple of the Divine Martial Sect. It merely brushed past them, carrying away something intangible.
—Merit, Qi.
Every disciple of the Divine Martial Sect touched by the clouds, though they didn’t notice the cause, felt their bodies grow inexplicably heavy, as if burdened by a thousand-pound weight.
Then, Lü Yang looked up at the sky.
The Prophetic Orrery between his brows began to glow, allowing him to see with perfect clarity. At this very moment, countless gazes were fixed upon the Divine Martial Sect!
He saw the approving gaze of Perfected Chong Guang.
He saw an Arhat from the Pure Land shake his head and sigh.
Of course, none of them were physically present. They had divined the karmic links, using the omnipresent Great Net of Karma Links that pervades Heaven and Earth to gaze upon this scene from afar.
Under their watch, Lü Yang simply smiled.
The next moment, the clouds receded like a turning tide, all of it flowing into Lü Yang’s palm and coalescing into a fruit woven from Merit and Fortune.
CHOMP!
Lü Yang popped the fruit into his mouth and devoured it, his red lips and white teeth making quick work of the flesh, consuming every last trace of the Merit and Fortune the Divine Martial Sect had accumulated over many years.
While he was at it, Lü Yang also made his way to the Divine Martial Sect’s treasury. He casually opened it, took out a Storage Bag, and began stuffing things inside indiscriminately. The haul included Spiritual Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, and all sorts of Qi Pills—he plundered the Divine Martial Sect’s entire collection of treasures.
Such a drastic shift in Fortune naturally alerted the two Perfected Persons of the Divine Martial Sect.
"The Sect... The Sect’s been robbed!"
Perfected Huan Wu immediately took out an Enchanted Mirror that reflected the scene within the Sect. He saw Lü Yang’s carefree figure and his eyes nearly burst from their sockets in rage:
"It’s Lü Yang! He’s not at the Skull Mountains, he’s in the Divine Martial Sect!?"
In that moment, both Perfected Huan Wu and Master Xuanwu felt a chill in their hearts, their fiery passion instantly turning into an indescribable, bone-deep cold.
’It’s over! It’s all over!’
Hearing this, Arhat Fulong whipped his head around. He immediately formed a seal for an Ability, preparing to unleash his Innate Ability at any cost to return to the Divine Martial Sect at once.
Soon, a familiar resistance washed over him.
It was obvious that Lü Yang was using Separation to stop him. This time, however, Arhat Fulong was prepared. A torrent of immense Mana instantly surged forth.
"You can’t stop me!"
Arhat Fulong transmitted his voice, laced with killing intent. He was, after all, in the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. How could Lü Yang, a mere Early Stage of Foundation Establishment cultivator, hope to compete with his Mana?
Then, he heard a soft chuckle:
"Thank you for seeing me off, Daoist. I’ll be taking my leave now."
The next second, Arhat Fulong pierced through the void and arrived at the Divine Martial Sect in a single step, only to see Lü Yang’s departing silhouette and the lingering Divine Power Radiance left in his wake.
He drifted away, free and unfettered.
Arhat Fulong saw it clearly. The direction he had fled was toward the Stain Sect’s Sea of Clouds. He hadn’t been touched by even a shred of the karmic links from the Vast Skull Mountains!
"How dare you... HOW DARE YOU!!!"
Arhat Fulong was so furious his Golden Body was on the verge of exploding. He almost lost all reason and gave chase into the Sea of Clouds, but he stopped himself at the last second and calmed down.
After all, if he truly dared to charge into the Sea of Clouds, he would be courting death. Not even the Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land would save him, let alone allow him to kill Lü Yang.
"Luring the tiger from the mountain... What a brilliant ’luring the tiger from the mountain’ scheme!"
Only then did Arhat Fulong truly understand Lü Yang’s plan. From the very beginning, Lü Yang probably never intended to face him in direct Combat!
He used Zhao Xuhe to lure me away, then detonated the Lay Line to bring down Heaven’s punishment and severely damage my Merit and Fortune. He seized that golden opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Divine Martial Sect, swallowing all the benefits for himself before drifting away... Even though Arhat Fulong had suffered such a massive loss, he had to admit Lü Yang was formidable.
The man was so damn cautious, a textbook example of a patient old turtle.
This was something Arhat Fulong had never expected. After all, before today, looking at Lü Yang’s history, who would dare say he wasn’t a favored son of Heaven?
Such a genius should have been courageously and diligently advancing.
In fact, Lü Yang had acted exactly that way on the Seizing Dao Battlefield—slaughtering Qi Refining cultivators, full of vigor, moving through Ten Thousand Armies as if they were no one.
’But thinking back now, it was all an act!’
That bastard was only "courageously advancing" against Cultivators of lower Realms. Against those of the same Realm, or even higher, he was as cautious as if treading on thin ice.
"What a miscalculation!"
Arhat Fulong sighed at the heavens, but he was still unwilling to accept it... because while Lü Yang’s scheme was brilliant, it ultimately had one flaw:
This move couldn’t kill him.
Thinking of this, Arhat Fulong was completely baffled. ’My Qi was heavily damaged by Heaven’s punishment. Even a cultivator in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment might be able to kill me...’
’With such a golden opportunity, why didn’t he make a move?’
If Lü Yang had really chosen to fight him, Arhat Fulong would have simply fought to the death. But now, he felt as if he couldn’t use any of his strength.
"What is he planning?"
......
Stain Sect, Sea of Clouds.
Lü Yang used Separation to return to Luofeng Mountain in a single step, having already put the matter of the Northern Border behind him. He had perfectly achieved his goal.
Plundering the Merit and Fortune of the Divine Martial Sect.
As for Perfected Huan Wu and Master Xuanwu, one was on his deathbed and the other was of limited strength. With their Merit stripped away, they were no longer a concern for the Stain Sect.
Besides, Yu Du and the others were still there. Lü Yang trusted they could handle it.
Back on Luofeng Mountain, Lü Yang took stock of his spoils and made up his mind. ’For the next fifty years, I’m staying in the Sea of Clouds and not going out.’
As for Arhat Fulong?
’Are you kidding me? Why would I fight a Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment cultivator to the death? The difference in our Realms is right there. If something unexpected happened, wouldn’t I suffer a huge loss!’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
All he had to do was wait patiently.
He was still young. He had broken through to Foundation Establishment before he was eighty, and he was only a little over a hundred now. He still had nearly two hundred years left to enjoy.
’Compared to me, Arhat Fulong has at most thirty or forty years left in this life. With his Merit and Fortune scattered, after he dies, he can only be reincarnated as a pig or a dog. He’ll never be able to return to the Foundation Establishment Realm. So, I just have to wait patiently for thirty or forty years, and then I can rest easy!’
From the very beginning, Lü Yang had seen things clearly.
Compared to Arhat Fulong, his Cultivation was not superior, he didn’t necessarily have more Spiritual Treasures, and he was far less experienced. His only advantage was his youth!
Time was his greatest asset!
Therefore, all his plans were built on this foundation.
He would use the self-destructing Lay Line to destroy Arhat Fulong’s chance at reincarnation, and then simply outlast the old man! Once he was dead and gone, Lü Yang would go dance on his grave.
’Engage in Combat? Fight to the death?’
’Too small! The thinking is too small!’
’Competing in Mana, competing in Abilities—in the end, none of it compares to competing in lifespan!’
Thinking this, Lü Yang was the very picture of composure. ’Arhat Fulong... Hmph! When you die of old age, I’ll go have a final, decisive battle with your reincarnation!’
Meanwhile, within Holy Fire Cliff.
Perfected Chong Guang withdrew his gaze from the Great Net of Karma Links and glanced toward Luofeng Mountain. He had a strange expression on his face, a mix of emotion and admiration, and couldn’t help but praise aloud:
"This child will one day be a pillar of our Stain Sect!"
