Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

[Beiji Exorcism Institute.]

Lü Yang sat upright in the hall. A bright mirror hung high above his head, and seven cauldrons circled around him. Profound Mysterious light swirled all over his body, but a dark Splendid Light suddenly rose.

"Hmm?" The next second, he abruptly opened his eyes, sensing something in his heart. Immediately after, he clapped his hands and laughed. "As expected of Master Chong Guang, his capability to take action is truly unquestionable!"

Just now, [Student as a Model] brought a response. Impressively, it was feedback from Minor Metal’s side. There were three Abilities in total, all of which were Cultivation related to Heart Demons. This was all Cultivation that could not be mastered without personally granting Enlightenment to a Heart Demon and fighting it. Yet now, he had obtained them for absolutely free.

"[Free Heaven], [Formless Realm], and [Five Poison Heart]."

Lü Yang carefully pondered over the three Heart Demon Divine Techniques gathered by Minor Metal, feeling increasingly satisfied. "Three Abilities are enough to raise Heart Demons to another level!" Just like how a Cultivator could raise their Realm through Cultivation, Heart Demons could also be improved.

"The methods of the current Heart Demons are actually still too weak. In most cases, they can only cast some superficial Illusion Realms to bully Lower Cultivators. However, if Master Chong Guang can use Heart Demons to achieve the Golden Position and trigger a response from the [Tribulation], I can take the opportunity to map these Heart Demon Divine Techniques onto all Heart Demons, allowing them to truly become a species. In this way, Heart Demons will inevitably become a great menace to the entire Cultivator community!"

Thinking of this, Lü Yang smiled even more happily. "When that time comes, I’ll be in the perfect position to sell Thunder Skills on a massive scale. With Heart Demons wreaking havoc on the world on one side and Thunder Skills destroying Demons on the other, I will stand in the middle and make a massive fortune off the trend..." With this, why worry that the Righteous Qi Dao wouldn’t prosper?

"Grow up quickly, Master Chong Guang. I’m counting entirely on you!" Lü Yang thought to himself. As for the names of these Heart Demon Divine Techniques, Minor Metal felt they sounded somewhat like Pure Land Buddhist Cultivators, but Lü Yang felt they were nothing special. After all, he had stitched them together in the first place.

The next second, Lü Yang opened his palm, and a thick Book appeared in it. On it were five large characters: [Great Derivation Divine Refining Technique]!

This was the Dharma Gate that Bhagavat had imparted to him at the very end of his previous life in the Celestial Mansion. However, at that time, the [Immortal Core Survival Guide] appraised it as a massive trap and advised against cultivating it, so he gave it up. Yet today, when he looked at it again, the appraisal result had changed to a medium trap.

"This has nothing to do with Dao Heart Perfection," he mused. "It’s more because my Cultivation has now risen and increased. A significant portion of the traps Bhagavat buried in this Dharma Gate can no longer be hidden from me."

Of course, he still wouldn’t actually cultivate it. But he could stitch it. He could extract some of its Dharma Gate concepts, verify them as harmless with the [Immortal Core Survival Guide], and then stitch them into his own Dharma Gate. That would be perfectly fine. After all, his Enlightenment wasn’t high. With low Enlightenment, he had to do more stitching. Only by stitching in the essence of other profound Dharma Gates could he raise the grade of his Cultivation Technique.

"From this perspective, my He-Transformed Heart Demon Scripture can almost rival a Third-Grade Foundation Method now. This is all thanks to Bhagavat’s sponsorship; his Dharma Gates are still very useful. I also referenced a little of Si Chou’s Dharma Gate. It can be considered gathering the strengths of a hundred schools."

However, it was only a reference, because the karmic links of copying it entirely were simply too heavy. If he wasn’t careful, Bhagavat might descend through space and stomp him to death with one foot... It was also out of consideration for this factor that he had thrown it to Minor Metal.

"Keep at it, Master Chong Guang," Lü Yang cheered for Minor Metal in his heart, his eyes full of expectation. "Whether I can strike it rich and rise to the top this time depends entirely on whether you can carry this heavy burden forward, Master Chong Guang!"

South, Gantang Dao.

Minor Metal, who was meditating, abruptly opened his eyes. For some unknown reason, he felt a chill circling within his body, which inexplicably vanished a moment later.

"Is someone plotting against me?" Minor Metal instinctively wanted to divine the cause but actively stopped himself. "No, the Great Net of Karma Links hasn’t fluctuated. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Originally, with his Position of Foundation Establishment Perfection, he was as conspicuous as a brightly colored butterfly on a spider’s web. Setting up a trap in Gantang Dao would normally have been impossible to hide from a current-era Perfected Lord, and other Foundation-Stage Cultivators would inevitably have sensed something amiss. Yet, the reality was that the Great Net of Karma Links showed zero reaction to his appearance. Minor Metal didn’t know the reason behind this. However, he knew this was a hard-won opportunity for him. If he took the initiative to pluck the Great Net of Karma Links, he would very likely break this rare state.

"This is the Tribulation..."

For no reason, this thought suddenly arose in Minor Metal’s mind. Since karmic links weren’t displaying, outsiders naturally had no way of detecting him, but he also had no way of seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster. In the end, everyone would still have to rely on their own abilities.

Lü Yang wasn’t surprised by this. Although under his orchestration this minor Tribulation would lean more favorably toward Minor Metal, the [Tribulation] itself had no biases. In other words, it only wanted Cultivators dead. As for whether the one to die was Minor Metal, Fortune, or True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde, it didn’t care.

Thinking of this, Minor Metal simply released his Daoist Hand Seal, giving up his usual habit of calculating karmic links, and instead called Master Xiao Hai and Ye Guyue in.

Soon, two streaks of Flying Light descended one after another, transforming into a man and a woman who walked into the Quiet Chamber. Compared to before, Master Xiao Hai and Ye Guyue showed not the slightest abnormality now. However, when Minor Metal looked at the two of them using his Heart Demon Divine Technique, he could see that what occupied their Spiritual Space was no longer their Souls. Instead, they were two shadows.

"Heart Demons devour Souls. Cultivators who are swallowed by them can’t even reincarnate. It’s no different from having their Souls completely shattered and dispersed. They truly are vicious and ruthless creatures." Minor Metal sighed with emotion in his heart, then spoke. "How many people have arrived outside?"

Previously, Master Xiao Hai had gathered his clan members to discuss matters because Holy Sect Disciples were springing up everywhere in the South, and they had now slaughtered their way right to the gates of Gantang Dao.

"Only one came," Master Xiao Hai said in a low voice. "Looking at his Cultivation, he should be in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. However, he didn’t attack immediately but formed an array, encircling Gantang Dao."

After speaking, he circulated his Mana to sketch out a human portrait. Minor Metal took a close look, and his eyebrows immediately twitched slightly. He laughed. "So it’s my martial nephew, Tunxu."

Master Tunxu was considered quite young even in the Stain Sect. However, what truly made Minor Metal smile with joy was this person’s identity: he was Great Undertaking’s disciple, and Great Undertaking was the Guardian that Fortune had granted Enlightenment to for himself.

"It seems Fortune can no longer hold back! He sent a grand-disciple over to test the waters first, hoping to quietly take the Grotto Heaven Fragment back without alerting anyone? What wishful thinking!"

Of course, this couldn’t be considered Fortune underestimating the enemy. After all, if he himself weren’t here, a direct disciple of the Stain Sect like Master Tunxu would be more than enough to easily kill Master Xiao Hai and seize back the Grotto Heaven Fragment. But he was here now. So the situation would have to change.

"How could just a grand-disciple be enough? I have to find a way to lure him onto the playing field himself." Minor Metal pondered in his heart. This was just like fishing; it required ample patience. Fortunately, as a Saint Sect Zhenren, he was equally well-versed in this tactic.