Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

"RUMBLE!"

At the exact moment True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde’s Dharma Body shattered, high above in the vault of heaven, the star of the Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth flared with blinding brilliance. Simultaneously, a pattering rain of blood began to fall between heaven and earth.

However, a second later, True Monarch Gangxing’s expression shifted slightly. After the death of a dignified Perfected Lord, there was no sign of a Golden Soul emerging. Instead, a gust of sinister wind swept past. Formless and intangible, it melded into the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the blink of an eye, rolling back the clouds and smoke as it surged in all directions.

"CLANG!"

Almost at the same time, True Monarch Gangxing drew his sword. Although he didn’t elevate his Position, the resplendent sword light unfurled like a raging prairie fire. The dispersing sinister wind was instantly extinguished by more than half.

Following this, the other two Perfected Lords of the Sword Pavilion also struck in unison, frantically strangling the sinister wind formed by the Heart Demon. Unfortunately, their Cultivation was significantly weaker. In the end, scattered wisps of the sinister wind managed to escape.

Although the amount was much less compared to when it first appeared, for a Heart Demon, as long as a single avatar escaped, recovery was only a matter of time.

"How could this be..."

Witnessing this, True Monarch Gangxing finally realized something was wrong. "After being killed by this Heart Demon, not even the Golden Soul is left behind?

"How can such a vicious entity exist in this world?"

His expression was exceedingly grim, carrying a hint of regret. However, what was done was done, and he had no other recourse because the Heart Demon had already escaped. Its escape was like a fish returning to the ocean or a bird ascending into the cyan heaven. From now on, the vast seas and boundless skies were its domain.

Meanwhile, in a dense forest in the North, Minor Metal also felt a connection and abruptly opened his eyes, a profound joy surfacing in his gaze.

"It’s a success!" At this moment, he only wanted to throw his head back and laugh aloud.

In his senses, the entity that had devoured his Heart Demon had swelled to an unimaginable degree and was currently speeding toward him!

"It wants to kill me and completely seize ownership of the Heart Demon’s Five Divine Techniques," he thought. "This nearly fatal sense of crisis... If nothing unexpected happened, it has already devoured True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde. It’s just not at Perfection yet, so its Position is roughly at the Outer Dao True Monarch tier. Regardless, it can completely crush me."

Thinking of this, Minor Metal’s expression turned increasingly resolute.

On the other side, Lü Yang, suspended above the Sea of Suffering, also witnessed this scene, his expression more solemn than ever before. "Master Chong Guang, oh Master Chong Guang, what do you plan to do?"

He would not intervene. Minor Metal’s verified path was the embodiment of a Heart Demon to begin with. If he made a move, he could only use the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder to directly obliterate the Heart Demon that had been so painstakingly cultivated.

"You can only rely on yourself, Master Chong Guang," he thought. "If you succeed, I’ll naturally be glad to see it. If you fail, then don’t blame me for reaping the spoils and pocketing this Heart Demon for myself."

Lü Yang calculated in his heart while focusing his gaze on Minor Metal. He saw that although Minor Metal was ready for battle, he showed not the slightest hint of panic, seemingly having a well-thought-out plan. He had already vaguely grasped a ghost mask shrouded in purplish-black smoke in his palm, causing Lü Yang to freeze in surprise.

"Hmm... it’s him?"

Who was Lü Yang? Back in the day, he dared to clash with a Bhagavat during Foundation Establishment. He always loved taking risks, using a small advantage for great gain, and was thoroughly familiar with such tricks. Thus, he quickly caught on.

"So that’s how it is!" The next second, he clapped his hands and laughed. "As expected of Master Chong Guang! After all, he still has a bit of Immortal Spirit Fortune on his side. With this, the matter is settled!"

In the North.

Minor Metal sat cross-legged, tuning his Spiritual Essence to its peak state. The Gold Attribute from his Foundation Establishment Perfection was entirely concentrated around his Soul.

Although it wasn’t as potent as a True Monarch Gold Attribute, it still offered some defense against Heart Demons. Right now, he had drawn it all out. Not only that, but he was also recklessly and frantically extracting new Gold Attribute from his Soul, replenishing the surrounding area and turning it into a shimmering golden barrier to protect his Soul.

Doing so carried immense risks. The Gold Attribute was not a case of ’the more, the better.’ In fact, the more Gold Attribute one had, the easier it was to be influenced by it, losing one’s emotions and desires, and ultimately having one’s true self melted away by it. Therefore, balancing the amount of Gold Attribute was also part of the cultivation for Foundation Establishment Perfection.

Yet at this moment, Minor Metal completely abandoned his control over the Gold Attribute, allowing himself to be corroded just to secure more Gold Attribute to guard his Soul.

Suddenly—

"SWISH..."

Minor Metal, who had been mostly corroded by the Gold Attribute and had almost lost his emotions, suddenly shuddered. As if waking up from a dream, all his emotions revived at once.

This was a sign that all the Gold Attribute he had desperately refined had been effortlessly breached. After all, the best way for a Heart Demon to invade was through a person’s emotions and desires. His sudden return to lucidity was undoubtedly due to the Heart Demon’s invasion. The entity had arrived silently and was about to swallow him whole!

This was a Perfected Lord’s Heart Demon. Even if it currently only possessed the strength of an Outer Dao True Monarch, Minor Metal’s Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivation, fiercely guarding his Soul at all costs, could only buy him a single instant of clarity. However—that was enough!

"Perfect timing...!"

Minor Metal’s eyes were icy. The scene before him was entirely within his expectations. The instant he awoke, he crushed the purplish-black ghost mask in his hand.

"Inverted Sumeru!"

Almost simultaneously, Demon Subduing Zhenren, who had just returned to the Sword Pavilion, abruptly froze. Then his vision went black, and his clear Divine Sense plummeted rapidly toward an abyss.

A second later, True Monarch Gangxing’s furious roar echoed from the Sword Pavilion.

"You’re courting death!!!"

It was one thing for True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde to fall; he didn’t actually care much about his death. But Demon Subduing Zhenren was different. He absolutely would not allow anything to happen to the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal.

This was also why Minor Metal felt there was still suspense, whereas Lü Yang believed the matter was settled. Ultimately, it came down to a difference in perspective brought by their Cultivation levels. In Minor Metal’s eyes, Demon Subduing Zhenren was merely an outstanding disciple of the Sword Pavilion. However, Lü Yang knew that the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal was deeply tied to Old Gang’s Great Dao.

With the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal in peril, how could he not intervene?

In a flash, True Monarch Gangxing’s Position climbed sharply, instantly breaking through to the Great Perfected Lord tier. Following this, he slashed out with his sword, plunging the strike into Demon Subduing Zhenren’s Spiritual Space. Under the intense pressure of his Position, all of the Heart Demon’s methods were rendered completely ineffective, and Minor Metal’s Inverted Sumeru was shattered in an instant.

Not only that, True Monarch Gangxing, having recovered his Cultivation, was like a completely different person from before. Following the karmic links, this sword strike actually slashed across the void straight toward Minor Metal!

However—this sword strike was exactly what Minor Metal had been waiting for!

At this moment, Minor Metal’s Soul was left with only a final speck of Spirit Light intact. His true consciousness was completely muddled, on the verge of being utterly obliterated in the next split second.

Yet the Sword Light had arrived.

True Monarch Gangxing’s Great Perfected Lord sword strike had used up most of its Mighty Power to sever the Inverted Sumeru and ensure the safety of Demon Subduing Zhenren’s true consciousness. But a Great Perfected Lord was still a Great Perfected Lord. Even if only a sliver of Sword Light remained, augmented by a Great Perfected Lord Position, it was still world-destroying—absolutely not something a Cultivator below the Great Perfected Lord tier could withstand.

More importantly, as the target of the Sword Light, Minor Metal had completely lost his human form. All that remained was a final sliver of his Soul, heavily surrounded by the Heart Demon. The very Heart Demon that had originally sought to devour him now became his natural protective umbrella, bearing the brunt of this Great Perfected Lord Position sword strike on his behalf!

"RUMBLE!"

The Sword Light pierced into the Heart Demon’s body, instantly triggering a chain of explosions. Like the rising sun melting ice and snow, it put up absolutely no resistance!

Formless transformations? Useless!

Avatar Guardians? Useless!

In an instant, the roles of Minor Metal and the Heart Demon were entirely reversed. Struck by the sword, the Heart Demon’s state plummeted to a condition even worse than his!

"Now is the time!"

Without any hesitation, Minor Metal immediately rallied all of his Heart Spirit. The final speck of his Soul’s Spirit Light lunged forward, ravenously feasting upon the remnant of the Heart Demon!

At this moment, his Qi trace was no longer concealed!

The Jiangbei Land violently quaked. The Lay Lines surged as billowing turbid fire tore through the earth, spreading across ten thousand miles. Reaching the heavens and stretching to the ends of the earth, it cast a pall even over the morning sun.

Meanwhile, countless Cultivators in the large and small Sects surrounding the epicenter of the anomaly felt their hearts sink. It felt as if a massive boulder had materialized out of thin air upon their Spiritual Spaces, crushing them until they couldn’t breathe. Following this, they all summoned their Flying Lights, scrambling to escape the anomaly’s radius of effect.

Such a commotion naturally drew the attention of Perfected Lords.

Above the Sea of Clouds, the originally nonchalant World Purger Fei Xue abruptly turned her head. Her beautiful eyes locked onto the direction of the disturbance, flashing with a hint of surprise.

"...Such a thing is actually happening?"

At this moment, turbid fire continued to erupt from the Lay Lines, sweeping up a vast, ocean-like expanse of black smoke. Within the smoke, countless vengeful spirits let out agonizing shrieks.

Following this, the dark clouds rolled backwards, directly crashing through the canopy of Gang Clouds and ultimately transforming into a heaven-reaching Profound Tier staircase. At the very bottom of this Profound Tier stood a black-robed Daoist with his hands behind his back. Despite his Ordinary appearance, his brows radiated an arrogant, piercing sharpness. Innumerable vengeful spirits clustered around him like stars revolving around the moon.

In this manner, Minor Metal stepped onto the Profound Tier staircase and ascended step by step. His movements seemed slow, but in reality, they occurred in the blink of an eye. The higher he went, the more insignificant all things appeared when looking down at the earth.

"Haha... Hahaha!"

The next second, Minor Metal’s hearty laughter resounded like thunder. A majestic voice then transmitted through the profound ladder beneath his feet, passing through the sky-filling black smoke and echoing across every corner of the Immortal Pivot:

"Neither Buddha, nor demon, nor holy Immortal,

"All Phenomena are but a nightmare, leaving me uniquely profound.

"The fires of wrath reduce a thousand scriptures to ashes,

"The springs of greed pour into the sea, boiling in a single cup.

"Facing a thousand calamities head-on, I laugh with my head held high,

"Entangled by nine deaths, I stride forward through the flames.

"Today I slip my shackles and roam utterly free,

"One step to the cyan clouds, one step to heaven!"

As his voice fell, he took his final step, standing firmly at the top of the Profound Tier staircase. He felt as if all his bindings had been cast off, looking down on all the diminutive mountains.

"BOOM!"

Almost at the same time, within the Sea of Suffering, the endless waters of imagery seemed to respond, ebbing and flowing. Boundless undercurrents churned the seawater, parting it to both sides.

A gentle Splendid Light slowly rose from the bottom of the sea!

This ray of light was completely different from the severed Dao of Arcane Body. Impartial and perfectly straight, it stood tall like a pillar of heaven. One end plunged into the deepest depths of the Sea of Suffering. The other end pierced straight out above the Sea of Suffering, as if reaching directly to the Other Shore!

Overseas, in the Four Seas Gate Dragon Palace, the Old Dragon Monarch who was previously dozing abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with astonishment. "A fourth Great Dao beyond the Three Foundations?

"This is impossible!

"Once the Constant is established, the Variable suffers a heavy blow, and the Three Foundations have already been witnessed by all Cultivators. How could a fourth Great Dao possibly appear at a time like this?

"Whose handiwork is this!?"