Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 277: Carving up Yuan Tu?
The Primordial Magnetic Divine Mountain shimmered with myriad colors.
This Divine Mountain was unlike any ordinary object. It was formed after a Perfected Lord perished and his Grotto Heaven merged into Heaven and Earth, its original properties stripped away in the process.
Every Perfected Lord’s Grotto Heaven corresponded to a specific Fruit. Therefore, a Grotto Heaven fragment like this one—born of Heaven and Earth with no specific alignment—was incredibly rare. To say nothing of its unique ability to help a cultivator ascend to a Flying Ascension Blessed Land and attain the rank of Seeking Gold. This was something no other Grotto Heaven could do.
Otherwise, why would the Crown Prince of the Dragon Palace, the Celestial Python, have set his sights on it?
If any Grotto Heaven could aid in Seeking Gold, then with his status, he could have simply broken through in the Dragon Monarch’s Grotto Heaven. There would have been no need for all this trouble.
However, this Divine Mountain was currently of no use to Lü Yang.
All he needed was the Wood Qi of the Tiger, an essence of the Earthly Branches produced within the Divine Mountain. If not for this, he never would have collaborated so earnestly with Summon.
This fact was known to everyone present.
Almost at the very instant Lü Yang entered Meditation, Hui Ku and a group of Monks appeared outside the Divine Mountain. They had previously been hiding with the power of a Spiritual Treasure.
"Amitabha!"
Joy was written on the faces of the Monks. Hui Ku laughed heartily. "Benefactor Yuan Tu, today is the day of your reckoning! A perfect day to enter our Pure Land!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Monks began forming hand seals for their Magic Formulas, chanting a Buddha’s Name in unison. "We respectfully summon the Vast Power Celestial Dragon Temple!"
Their voices faded, and a vast Buddha Light surged through the Foundation Establishment Realm. A towering temple materialized within the light, borne upon auspicious clouds. Inside the temple stood a Golden Statue.
If Lü Yang had not been in Meditation, refining the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, he would have surely recognized the temple. It was none other than the former Fulong Temple, merely altered in appearance. The Golden Statue within was no longer Arhat Fulong, but a Buddha bearing Lü Yang’s exact likeness.
"Hahaha!"
Only then did Hui Ku finally let out a roaring laugh. The pent-up frustration from being so terrified by Lü Yang’s sword that he hadn’t even dared to appear was finally starting to fade.
’No matter how great your Abilities are, what can you do?’
’You still have to surrender without a fight, don’t you?’
Yes, in Hui Ku’s eyes, Lü Yang had accepted his fate and was ready to surrender. After all, one was completely defenseless while refining the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
’He knows what’s good for him.’
’Otherwise, if we really had to fight, it would be impossible to end things without a few deaths. Now that this Demon is willing to surrender, it can be considered an act of immense Merit.’
As his thoughts wandered, Hui Ku even felt a tinge of envy. With Lü Yang’s Cultivation, once he finished refining the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to achieve Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection, he would then join the Monks and assume the position of Vast Power Celestial Dragon Arhat. From there, he wouldn’t be far from becoming a Great Zhenren Level Venerable of the Pure Land.
Of course, by then, there would be no more Lü Yang.
At this thought, Hui Ku couldn’t help but crack a grin, and the twenty-three Monks standing behind him revealed nearly identical smiles.
However, at that very moment, a loud shout echoed from the distant horizon. "An Immortal Decree arrives!" In an instant, an immense, Mighty Power scattered the Buddha Light of the Pure Land. Gazing into the distance, they saw a long procession of carriages.
"Hm? The Dao Court?"
Hui Ku frowned at the sight but said nothing. The Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land had warned him beforehand that the Dao Court would also be taking a piece of the pie.
Soon, several Forbidden Guards from the Dao Court’s All Heaven Department made their way over.
Their leaders were old acquaintances, Standard Third Grade officials of the Dao Court who, like Hui Ku, had once appeared in the Dongyang Blessed Land to search for treasure.
Commander of the All Heaven Department, Hou Lan.
Minister of the Ministry of Communication, Cheng Tinggui.
The two men were currently holding a Golden Book together. With solemn expressions, they declared, "By order of His Majesty’s Immortal Decree, Lü Yang of the North is conscripted to serve in the court and is hereby bestowed the Upper Third Rank!"
Hui Ku was unconcerned by this development.
The Pure Land and the Dao Court had already come to an agreement. The Pure Land would take Lü Yang’s Dao Foundation, his Dharma Body, and his entire Cultivation, while the Dao Court would claim his Soul.
The Pure Land hoped to use Lü Yang’s Cultivation to activate the Fruit of Rampart Earth. The Dao Court, meanwhile, intended to make Lü Yang—the only living Perfected Person cultivating the Fruit of Rampart Earth—serve in the court and bow in submission. By doing so, they could seize its symbolism and usurp the Fruit of Rampart Earth’s position as the Earth Element Supreme Venerable.
Their goals did not conflict.
Thus, when the two parties met, the atmosphere was not the least bit tense. Instead, it was perfectly harmonious, with everyone acting cordially as if all was well.
A moment later, another streak of Sword Light came speeding toward them.
"Someone from the Sword Pavilion is here!"
Hui Ku laughed. The Sword Light arrived, and a handsome young man stepped out. His chilling gaze immediately locked onto Lü Yang.
The ones intending to "clean up" the Overseas this time were a tripartite alliance of the Pure Land, the Dao Court, and the Stain Sect; it truly had nothing to do with the Sword Pavilion. However, once Lü Yang became involved, the Sword Pavilion could no longer stand idly by. This was especially true for the Ye Family, the True Monarch’s Direct Lineage, who hated Lü Yang to the bone and wanted him dead more than anything.
"I am Ye Tao." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
The young man cupped his hands in greeting toward the groups from the Pure Land and the Dao Court before turning his gaze to the Tribulation Wave at Lü Yang’s side. "I have come for this sword," he said in a heavy tone.
"This Demon is of the Common People, with no notable background in his past life. For such a Divine Sword to be in his hands is like a pearl gathering dust."
"After my Sword Pavilion takes it into our collection, we will select another disciple—one with a proper background and an extraordinary past life—to bestow it upon. Only then can this sword shine with its rightful brilliance."
They had even already chosen the candidate.
It was to be True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde, who was due to be reincarnated in a few decades. Otherwise, Ye Tao would never have come personally as an Elder of the Ye Family.
"Excellent!"
Hui Ku smiled, unconcerned. The Tribulation Wave was certainly a fine sword, but the Pure Land had few Sword Cultivators and thus had no interest in it.
Meanwhile, Hou Lan of the Dao Court glanced around and asked curiously,
"Has no one from the Demon Sect come?"
Hui Ku shook his head. "Their main focus is on that Summon fellow. The more we take here, the larger a share we have to give them over there."
"I see." Cheng Tinggui nodded upon hearing this. "Since everyone’s here, let’s get started. The sooner we finish, the less chance there is for things to go wrong."
With that said, the crowd turned their eyes to Lü Yang on the mountain.
In the next second, the Myriad-Soul Banner beside him began to sway. One by one, Banner Spirits emerged, unleashing their Qi traces. They were none other than the seven Foundation Establishment Demons from before.
However, no one paid them any mind.
Which one of them—Ye Tao, Hui Ku, Hou Lan, or Cheng Tinggui—was not at Mid-stage Cultivation? To them, seven Early Stage of Foundation Establishment cultivators were as fragile as clay chickens and pottery dogs.
"I’ll go first!"
Hou Lan let out a cold laugh and immediately activated his Official Position. The Script for his rank—Commander of the All Heaven Department—burst forth with radiant light, which then shone down upon Lü Yang.
But the very next second...
"AH!"
Hou Lan, who had rushed to the front, came to an abrupt halt. A scream filled with sheer terror made Hui Ku and the others, who had been about to advance, freeze in their tracks.
’What’s going on?’
Then they saw it. A hand, wreathed in roiling Yin Fiend, had suddenly shot out from the Myriad-Soul Banner and clamped down on Hou Lan’s neck!
Without the slightest pause, the hand gave a slight twist, snapping Hou Lan’s neck as easily as if it were a dry twig. An infinite amount of Yin Fiend then swarmed over Hou Lan’s body like a spiderweb, erupting into a raging fiendish blaze that instantly incinerated him, leaving nothing but ash!
"Impossible!"
Witnessing this, Cheng Tinggui, who was also from the Dao Court, was the first to cry out in disbelief. Hui Ku and Ye Tao were equally stunned.
It was true that the Dao Court’s Cultivators were a bit on the weaker side.
But no matter how weak, he was still a Standard Third Grade official, comparable to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment! How could he have been crushed to death by a single hand? ’Is Lü Yang still awake?’
Soon, they saw the owner of that hand.
"I’m getting old. Past my prime."
The Myriad-Soul Banner fluttered, and a figure strolled out. He rubbed his shoulder and sighed, "Back in my day, a single glare would’ve been enough to kill him..."
The one who said this, however, was a handsome young man.
Hui Ku and Cheng Tinggui did not recognize him.
Only Ye Tao, staring at the man’s face, seemed to recall something. His eyes flew wide. "You’re... that remnant of the Wu Ghost Sect... Tingyou!?"
At these words, Progenitor Tingyou glanced over.
"Who did you just call... a remnant?"
