Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

As the mysterious figure's voice fell, True Monarch Gangxing's eyes narrowed. He had never been to the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness, but he certainly knew of it.

After all, Demon Subduing Zhenren held one of the clues.

Besides, at the level of a Great Perfected Lord, there were few things in the entire Void Sea of Light that he didn't know about, not to mention his background with the Sword Pavilion.

In fact, back when he was stuck in the Middle Stage of Golden Core, he had specifically searched for the coordinates of the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness. But alas, fate was not on his side, and his efforts ended in failure. He then resorted to a risky gamble with the Eternal Sword. Later, when his cultivation went awry, he had considered trying again.

But the result was still nothing.

He had even asked Demon Subduing Zhenren for the coordinates to the Human World, but having the coordinates without the necessary karmic links meant he couldn't enter.

After several failed attempts, he had given up.

He never expected that just when he had long since abandoned this path, someone would suddenly bring up the old matter again. And clearly, this person possessed relevant information.

".....Interesting."

After a moment of silence, True Monarch Gangxing chuckled. "Before we get to that, why don't you show your true self, Daoist? Then we can talk."

"Otherwise, with you in this state, it's hard for me to trust you."

As he spoke, he glanced again at the figure before him, formed entirely of gathered mist, its gender indistinguishable. At first glance, he might have even mistaken it for Ang Xiao!

The visitor, however, shook their head.

"My true body is not here. I can only converse with you, Daoist, through a strand of spiritual perception... If you do not believe me, I have something to say. Once you hear it, you will."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Fruit of Celestial Fire!"

The visitor crisply uttered these four words, causing True Monarch Gangxing's eyes to narrow as he felt a grasp on the visitor's identity.

'It must be that Old Loach.'

'Interesting. Where did the Old Loach get information on the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness... Mu Changsheng? Yes, that Lower Cultivator also has a background with the Heavenly God.'

'But why is he looking for me?'

'The Old Loach may be a coward who fears death, but he's never muddle-headed when it comes to important matters. If there were a benefit he was determined to get, why would he ever think of coming to me?'

'Does this mean he has doubts about that Celestial Human Residual Consciousness? Worried he's being set up? But what could a mere Mu Changsheng do to trap him? It must be someone else... Ang Xiao? Yes, that must be it. Only Ang Xiao could make this Old Loach so wary.'

'That's why he came to me.'

'He wants to use my power to create a stalemate with Ang Xiao, making it easier for him to fish in troubled waters? That sounds exactly like a scheme this Old Loach would cook up.'

True Monarch Gangxing instantly sorted through his thoughts.

The next second, he chuckled. "Daoist, you've come to the wrong person. I have no karmic link with the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness. I couldn't get in even if I wanted to."

Of course, it wasn't that his heart was unmoved. This was a probe. 'You want my help? Fine. First, figure out a way to get me into the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness. Then we'll talk!'

'If I can't get in, then it's all just empty talk!'

At these words, the visitor frowned. After a moment of silence, they said in a low voice, "The karmic links for the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness can generally only be obtained from four sources."

"First, a cultivator with an Emperor Fruit."

"Second, possessing a Seal left behind by the Guardian Lineage of that era."

"Third, receiving help from the Heavenly God."

"And fourth, pure Fortune—establishing a karmic link by chance with the Great Power who opened the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness back then."

Hearing this, True Monarch Gangxing's expression darkened slightly.

'As if he didn't already know this.'

'The problem was that he met none of the four requirements. If he had, he would have entered the Human World long ago. Would it have even been Demon Subduing Zhenren's turn?'

The next second, the visitor spoke in a heavy tone. "Let's not talk about the Emperor Fruit for now. The Heavenly God... given your position, Daoist, that's certainly impossible as well. As for pure Fortune, it's too illusory to pursue. That only leaves the Guardian Lineage of that era... and on that, I do have a bit of a clue."

"What clue?"

"The Star Palace!" the visitor explained. "As far as I know, there is a branch of the Guardian Lineage within the Star Palace. They must have a usable Seal in their possession."

"..."

True Monarch Gangxing fell silent.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject. "You seem to know quite a lot, Daoist. But as far as I'm aware, the Old Dragon Monarch hasn't left the Immortal Pivot in all these years."

"How would he know about the Star Palace?"

"The matter of a Guardian Lineage inside the Star Palace is not something one can discover without a personal investigation... You aren't the Old Dragon Monarch, are you, Daoist?"

At these words, the visitor suddenly laughed, then said softly, "How many years have you lived, Daoist? You're considered a rising star. As for this old man... to be honest, when the Bhagavat shattered the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness with one foot, this old man was right there watching. You think this old man wouldn't know about the Guardian Lineage?"

"...I see."

True Monarch Gangxing nodded. The reason the other party gave was logical and convincing. After all, the Old Dragon Monarch was indeed widely acknowledged for his longevity.

However—

'This person is definitely not the Old Dragon Monarch!'

True Monarch Gangxing silently came to a conclusion in his heart: 'The Bhagavat stamped out the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness. With the Old Loach's cowardice, he'd dare run over to watch?'

'Wasn't he afraid the Bhagavat would crush him to death as an afterthought?'

'That's just not the Old Dragon Monarch's personality! If it were him, faced with such a thing, he would have run as far away as possible, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself in it.'

'And then there was the tone the person used with him.'

'On the surface, he's deferential, but his words hide a domineering streak. He even dared to mock me. That's not the Old Loach's style... Who is this person?'

Thinking of this, True Monarch Gangxing stared intently at the figure formed entirely of gathered mist and suddenly spoke one name:

"Ang Xiao?"

Before his voice had even faded, the mist abruptly froze.

But in the next second, the visitor chuckled. "Since you think so, Daoist, then I am Ang Xiao... Here are the coordinates I have."

With that, a strand of spiritual perception shot forth.

True Monarch Gangxing caught it and began to sense the Sea of Light according to the coordinates recorded within. An illusory phantom of light immediately appeared in his spiritual perception.

"...The coordinates are correct."

Lifting his head, he looked at the mysterious person before him again and said grimly, "But without the karmic links, I still can't get in. Why not see this through to the end, Daoist?"

The visitor sneered upon hearing this. "I have already told you the method, Daoist. The Star Palace, the Guardian Lineage. If you're interested, Daoist, then find a way yourself. If you're not interested... I don't care either. However, this particular Nourishing Life Master is very special. It should hold great benefits for you."

'Of course I know there are great benefits!'

True Monarch Gangxing mused. In the spiritual perception, besides the coordinates, the visitor had also included a brief description of the Nourishing Life Master.

'A library that records information on all the Fruits in the world.'

'If I can enter it and find the Book corresponding to the Fruit of Celestial Fire, it would be enough to solve my current predicament, and perhaps even allow me to reach even greater heights!'

On this point alone, he could not give up.

However, just as he was about to continue bargaining, he saw that the visitor had already dispersed their Divine Sense. The mist scattered, clearly having lost all interest in talking.

At the same time, it left him with a mystery:

'Is this person really Ang Xiao? Or was I wrong before, and he really is the Old Dragon Monarch, just intentionally putting on this act?'

「The Nourishing Life Master」

The Old Dragon Monarch abruptly came to his senses and opened his eyes. He instinctively looked around, only to see Lü Yang and Ang Xiao also opening their eyes at the same moment and looking around.

Three people, three pairs of eyes, all looking at each other.

No one spoke.

The bizarre atmosphere made Mu Changsheng, who was standing to the side, feel out of place. He felt as if something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

Within the vast Secret Realm, an undercurrent surged.