Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

The North, the Sea of Clouds.

A young man, who seemed to be the darling of the heavens and favored by providence, sat upright on a futon. With every breath he took, boundless radiant light swirled around him.

After a moment, he opened his eyes.

"Sigh, it’s too slow!"

Fortune exhaled deeply. His Qi trace flared, and two Innate Divine Techniques materialized around him. Impressively, his Cultivation had been restored to the realm of Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection.

However, the barrier between the Mid-phase and the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment stood before him like an insurmountable chasm, stubbornly blocking his path and preventing him from breaking through in one fell swoop. It would take at least three years to restore his Cultivation to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. To him, every minute and second of this process was an agonizing torment.

Just then, a streak of flowing light pierced through the air.

"Hmm? A message from Chen Taihe?"

Fortune’s eyes flickered, a look of anticipation suddenly rising in his gaze. He immediately plucked the flowing light from the air and swept it with his Spiritual perception, eager for good news.

However, a moment later, he flew into a rage.

"Send reinforcements? How dare Chen Taihe say such a thing?

"A Cultivator at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection, an Inner Sect Peak Master, carrying countless Spiritual Treasures and knowing quite a few Techniques, yet he actually failed to capture a single Loose Cultivator family?"

Before his voice could fade, he furiously hurled the Fei Xin onto the ground.

"Damn it, Heaven Repairing is so incompetent..."

After cursing like this for quite a while, Fortune finally recovered from his rage. Soon, having calmed down, he noticed something was wrong.

"My emotional fluctuations are too extreme. This isn’t right," he thought.

Thinking of this, Fortune picked up the Fei Xin from the ground again, his brows furrowed tightly. "This was sent by Tuanxu. He is the personal disciple of Great Undertaking. It should be trustworthy."

Aside from its Spirit Light being a little dark, the Fei Xin didn’t seem to have any issues.

But the strange feeling in his heart couldn’t be ignored. Prompted by this, Fortune immediately formed a Daoist Hand Seal, planning to inspect what exactly was wrong.

This was also the very method by which he had managed to survive for five thousand years. By using this Daoist Hand Seal, he could directly sense good and bad fortune, bypass karmic links, and avoid being blinded by superficial appearances. Before every action in the past, he would use this method to divine the outcome. If it showed a sign of Great Evil, he would change his plan or simply steer clear of it.

Although the cost was quite high, Fortune felt it was perfectly appropriate for this moment.

Yet, just then, another Fei Xin flowing light pierced through the air, "coincidentally" interrupting Fortune’s action and prompting him to reach out and catch it.

"This is..."

Fortune took down the Fei Xin and focused his gaze. His expression immediately changed. "Demon Subduing Zhenren? The one cultivating the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal... Is the Sword Pavilion getting serious?"

Could this be the source of the anomaly?

At this thought, Fortune stood up, intending to go see Fei Xue. As for divining his fortune, the interruption had completely snuffed out his motivation to do so.

"This Technique consumes an immense amount of energy. The fact that I am still in the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment and struggling to recover to the Late Stage is partly due to this. If I divine my fortune now before going to see Xue Feihong, she might be displeased to see my Cultivation severely depleted... Besides, she can divine it herself. There’s no need for me to waste the effort," he reasoned. It was a perfectly logical thought.

Soon, riding his Flying Light, Fortune arrived at Feixue Palace. There, he saw World Purger Fei Xue standing with her hands behind her back, gazing out the window toward the Profound Spirit Realm.

"Greetings, Daoist," Fortune took the initiative to bow.

"Rise." World Purger Fei Xue didn’t even turn her head, simply saying indifferently, "It seems the situation over at Gantang Dao isn’t going well; otherwise, you wouldn’t have come out of your way to find me."

"...You are perceptive, Daoist."

Fortune let out a sigh and proceeded to spill everything: the Master of Heaven Mending Peak’s failure and request for aid, the Sword Pavilion dispatching Demon Subduing Zhenren, and his own unease.

Before he even finished speaking, World Purger Fei Xue turned around with an utterly bizarre expression.

"Are you saying you feel something is wrong, but you don’t know what exactly it is? So you specifically came to consult me and have me make the decision for you?"

Hearing this, Fortune shook his head and offered a compliment. "You are a Perfected Lord, after all, and I am no longer what I used to be. When it comes to seeking good fortune and averting disaster, I naturally have to rely on you. Furthermore, whether I can reclaim my Position directly affects whether you can break through to the Late Stage of Golden Core. Thus, I trust you won’t harm me in this matter."

Fortune felt he had balanced softness and firmness perfectly in his words. On one hand, he expressed his trust in World Purger Fei Xue; on the other, he emphasized his own usefulness. No matter how one looked at it, it was a flawless response.

However, World Purger Fei Xue was left even more speechless.

"Fortune... No wonder he couldn’t reclaim his Position even after five thousand years! Ang Xiao probably didn’t even try that hard to deal with him; it’s simply that there’s something wrong with this guy’s head!" she thought.

If you already felt something was wrong, why did you come to me?

Looking at his demeanor, it was clear he sensed something amiss but still harbored a fluke mentality. However, for a Saint Sect True Monarch like her, shooting the arrow first and drawing the bullseye around it was the standard procedure.

With this in mind, World Purger Fei Xue performed a quick divination. The karmic links... Everything was normal.

Immediately after, she slightly raised her eyes, casting her gaze down to the South, calmly sweeping over every inch of Gantang Dao... Similarly, there was absolutely nothing wrong. Then, she smiled.

"Interesting... Who is plotting against Fortune?" she wondered.

Even though she found nothing amiss, Fortune, as the person involved, felt something was wrong while she perceived nothing. That in itself was the biggest problem!

Of course, it was also possible that Fortune was just being paranoid, turning a perfectly fine situation into a conspiracy theory. But still, whether there was an actual issue or not, World Purger Fei Xue treated it as if there were! And if there was a problem that she couldn’t detect, it meant the problem was huge!

At this thought, World Purger Fei Xue cast another glance at Fortune.

"Wait, that’s not right."

The next second, a look of comprehension flashed in her eyes. "It’s not that he isn’t vigilant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed all the way here to see me.

"Is he trying to shift the risk?

"On the surface, he claims to feel something is wrong. In reality, he just doesn’t want to expend his own manpower and wants me to send reinforcements instead. That way, even if it’s a trap, it’ll hardly affect him..." World Purger Fei Xue frowned slightly.

Following that, she sighed inwardly, "Minor Metal was much more reliable.

"When Minor Metal was handling Sect affairs, he never gave me any cause for worry. And he certainly wouldn’t be like Fortune, actually scheming against me!" It was a pity that their paths ultimately diverged.

The melancholy in World Purger Fei Xue’s eyes vanished in the blink of an eye. In the very next second, she reverted to her aloof, ice-cold, and unapproachable demeanor.

She then spoke directly, setting the tone. "I will not lend you a hand.

"As for Gantang Dao, if you aren’t willing to give up, then send Great Undertaking over. I won’t interfere further, but there is one thing... You cannot leave Holy Fire Cliff."

With that, she gave Fortune a profound look and added, "Remember, ultimately, one must rely on oneself."

Hearing this, Fortune felt immensely disappointed.

After all, the best outcome would undoubtedly have been for World Purger Fei Xue to intervene. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about a thing; even if there were real danger, she could handle it.

"Rely on myself? She really is that Mad Woman," he cursed inwardly. "I worked so damn hard to find a backer, yet I have to rely on myself before the transaction, and I still have to rely on myself after? What’s the point of having a backer then!"

Of course, he didn’t dare let these emotions show.

Instead, Fortune nodded and said, "You are absolutely right, Daoist. In that case, I will have Great Undertaking make a trip on my behalf. I’m probably just overthinking things."

***

The Sea of Suffering.

Lü Yang stood tall and straight, the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder pulsing in his palm. It radiated an ethereal brilliance that sank downward with the circulation of the Cataclysm Launcher and diffused across the Sea of Suffering.

A moment later, he abruptly opened his eyes, clapped his hands, and laughed.

"As expected of a Saint Sect True Monarch. She actually managed to keep Fortune safe!"

At this moment, within the perception of the Cataclysm Launcher, Fortune’s figure had completely vanished from the minor tribulation event he had orchestrated.

"What a pity!

"My Position is still too low to alter the broader tides on a higher level. If I were a Great Perfected Lord, let alone Fortune, even Fei Xue would be dragged into my tribulation!"

Lü Yang shook his head. From this aspect, he also recognized the limitations of the Cataclysm Launcher. Once its Profound Mysterious was expanded to the scale of an event, it became very difficult to forcefully manipulate the thoughts of Cultivators in the same Realm. Even just nudging things along was challenging. The so-called Tribulation could only be used to bully Lower Cultivators.

"But this is only temporary," he mused.

"In the end, it’s because the Position of the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder isn’t high enough. If one day I am promoted to the Emperor Fruit, I should have a massive influence even on Cultivators of the same Realm.

"Of course, this is also because I spread the Profound Mysterious over the entire event. The concept was too broad, which led to a lot of resistance during manipulation. If I applied it to smaller matters or simply altered the essence of an object directly—concentrating the Profound Mysterious—the effects would improve."

Lü Yang’s expression remained calm as he analyzed his gains and losses.

After all, this was his first time properly orchestrating a layout from behind the scenes. Whether successful or not, it was valuable experience that would prepare him for greater endeavors in the future.

"Never mind, I’ll ignore Fortune for now."

The next second, Lü Yang shifted his gaze to the other end of this minor tribulation, chuckling softly. "The Sword Pavilion, however, won’t be so lucky."