Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

「Immortal Pivot, Overseas.」

A Golden Soul traversed the Netherworld, completing the reincarnation process in the blink of an eye. It opened its eyes within a school of deep-sea fish in a remote stretch of ocean.

"BOOM!"

In that instant, the Golden Soul connected with its Grotto Heaven and merged with its Fruit. The newborn fish instantly swelled in size. In an act reminiscent of a carp leaping over the dragon gate, it transformed into a dragon.

However, the majestic, newly revived True Dragon showed no intention of revealing its qi trace. Without a second thought, it dove toward the deepest parts of the ocean, dug a hole, and buried itself. Attaching its spiritual perception to the surrounding sea beasts, it cautiously began to probe the outside world.

After a long while, the Old Dragon Monarch finally breathed a sigh of relief.

’He didn’t follow...’

’That makes sense. No matter how powerful that Nameless Perfected Lord is, he’s not without rivals. If nothing else, that Gangxing fellow must be dying to fight him to the death right now.’

’I’m fine! I’m not going to die!’

Yet, before the Old Dragon Monarch could even fully catch his breath, cracks suddenly reappeared on his physical body, which should have been completely healed after reincarnation.

"CRACK! CRACK!"

In an instant, distinct cracks spread across the Old Dragon Monarch’s draconic form. Scales shattered and blood sprayed, and the color drained from his face.

’Th-th-this... what kind of technique is this? A Curse Technique? But that shouldn’t be possible, I’ve already reincarnated! Unless it was the work of a Great Perfected Lord, how could an injury persist through reincarnation... No, wait, that’s not right. It’s not that it couldn’t be healed, but that it wasn’t *fully* healed.’

The Old Dragon Monarch quickly seemed to realize something.

The very next second, without a moment’s hesitation, he shattered his Dharma Body again, committing suicide to return to the Netherworld. He crossed the cycle of reincarnation and revived within another school of fish.

He repeated this process a total of four times.

"Haaa...!"

After the fourth time, the Old Dragon Monarch was reborn again. He finally managed to spit out a mouthful of foul-smelling, black blood, and the cracking wounds no longer appeared on his body.

’The Netherworld is pretty reliable after all.’

After four reincarnations, he had shaken off the worst of his grievous injuries. Though he was inevitably weak and drained, he had at least stabilized his condition.

Recalling the devastating blow he had just suffered, a trace of bitter resentment flashed in the Old Dragon Monarch’s eyes. ’Mu Changsheng... Back then, he didn’t actually erase that Light of the End of the Dharma for me. He just suppressed it, letting it fester and grow worse! If it weren’t for him, how could I have been so grievously wounded?’

The very thought made the Old Dragon Monarch grind his teeth in fury.

’A mere practitioner of the Outer Dao...!’

He could accept losing to Lü Yang. After all, he was a Perfected Lord of the Saint Sect who not only controlled the Fruit of Celestial Fire but also cultivated an Ancient Golden Core.

There was no shame in losing to such an opponent.

But Mu Changsheng? What kind of trash was he? A practitioner of the Heterodox Dao... a creature no better than a dog! To think he had actually been ambushed by him—it was an absolute, monstrous humiliation!

The more the Old Dragon Monarch stewed on it, the angrier he became. His expression grew fouler and fouler, and his aged face, set upon his majestic dragon head, actually began to turn red from the intense humiliation.

After all, Mu Changsheng had screwed him over spectacularly.

The moment the Tribulation Evil Profound Light had detonated, both his Realm and Mana had temporarily regressed, his very foundation affected by the Power of the End of the Dharma.

Of course, this had all been part of Lü Yang’s calculations.

Otherwise, Lü Yang could not have possibly surpassed the Old Dragon Monarch in Mana, Realm, and Fruit all at once to land such a devastating blow.

In reality, Lü Yang was only stronger than the Old Dragon Monarch in terms of his Fruit.

This wasn’t because the Fruit of Vast-Sea Water was inferior to the Fruit of Celestial Fire, but because the Position of the Water Element Supreme Venerable had shifted, inevitably weakening the Fruit of Vast-Sea Water.

But victory and defeat were all that mattered.

The Old Dragon Monarch, of course, didn’t know the inside story. He only knew that Lü Yang had grievously wounded him in a single exchange, and he hadn’t fully recovered even after reincarnating four times.

But the more he dwelled on it, the deeper the vicious glint in the Old Dragon Monarch’s eyes became.

’That’s right, I regret it. I regret choosing to attack Lü Yang back at the Nourishing Life Master’s. But regret won’t change my decision now.’

’The more this is the case, the less I can afford to back down.’

’I’m already entangled in this grand scheme. Knowing the style of that Saint Sect Perfected Lord, he’ll never let me go. My only choice is to fight him to the bitter end!’

’I have to see this path through to its dark end!’

With this in mind, the Old Dragon Monarch immediately split off a wisp of his spiritual perception, tore open the void, and slipped into the Four Seas Sect. The first thing he saw was a great mountain.

Or, to be precise, a tortoise shell.

Then, a somewhat slow voice spoke with composure. "So it is the Old Dragon Monarch. This old one is getting on in years, so I won’t go out of my way to greet you."

"Yuan Xu..."

The Old Dragon Monarch’s expression shifted as if he’d realized something. He quickly scanned his surroundings and demanded in a heavy voice, "Where are Profound Turtle and Bright Pearl? Where have they gone?"

"Gone. They’ve all gone."

Yuan Xu Great Saint sighed. "Old Dragon Monarch, the Fruit of Vast-Sea Water dimmed for a moment. Surely you’re not going to pretend that humiliating defeat just now didn’t happen?"

"The Celestial Python has already chosen a sturdier branch to roost on. Profound Turtle and Bright Pearl are no fools, either. Since you, Old Dragon Monarch, can no longer give them an adequate sense of security, they must naturally seek another path. This old one is sentimental, which is why I am unwilling to leave, but I have no intention of getting entangled in your personal grudges."

"..."

The Old Dragon Monarch fell into a long silence. He understood in his heart that neither Profound Turtle Great Saint nor Bright Pearl Great Saint would ever return to the Four Seas Sect.

’This is what the Overseas is like. This is the Four Seas Sect.’

On the surface, with three cultivators at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, they seemed formidable—as if they could truly contend with the Four Great Forces. In reality, they were nothing more than a pile of loose sand.

When they had the advantage, they could ride the coattails of the situation.

But now that they faced a headwind, before he had even made his move, his "teammates" had surrendered one after another. ’Truly useless mud that can’t be plastered on a wall!’

His hopes of a swift advancement to Great Perfected Lord completely dashed, the Old Dragon Monarch sighed in resignation. He had no choice but to change his plans and flee toward the South.

’What about Yuan Xu Great Saint? What damn good is a practitioner of the Outer Dao!’

......

「North, Hongyun Secret Forest.」

The Sea of Suffering opened, and Lü Yang strolled out. He returned to his small wooden cabin, took out the Righteous Banner, and vanished into the billowing purple qi.

Upon entering the Righteous Banner, Lü Yang saw a pale-faced Progenitor Tingyou.

"Progenitor! Are you alright?"

Lü Yang saw this and knew Progenitor Tingyou’s Position had fallen back to its original state. He hurried forward to check on him, breathing a sigh of relief only after finding no serious issues.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."

Progenitor Tingyou offered a faint smile. "Besides, I’ve already laid the foundation this time. Ascending in Position again won’t take nearly as long."

In short, the frame for a multi-stage rocket had been built. This frame was the Great Dao that Progenitor Tingyou had paved using the Fruit of Sorrowless Heaven. With this frame in place, any subsequent rise in Position would be instantaneous. ’From now on, I’ll have a First-class Perfected Lord under my command!’

Lü Yang smiled, pleased with himself.

But his expression soon turned serious again. "If nothing unexpected happens, Ang Xiao, the Old Dragon Monarch, and True Monarch Gangxing are about to join forces."

True Monarch Gangxing wants the Fruit of Celestial Fire.

The Old Dragon Monarch and Ang Xiao are mortal enemies.

And for someone like Ang Xiao, while he might normally consider the grudge between the Sword Pavilion and the Saint Sect, he’ll always put his own interests first when his path to the Great Dao is on the line.

"Given time, the Sword Pavilion is bound to grow in power."

"Gangxing and the Old Dragon Monarch are manageable, but Ang Xiao... he has already absorbed the Celestial Python. If he absorbs just one more, he can return to the realm of Great Perfected Lord!"

"Therefore, the crisis is far from over."

At this, Lü Yang’s expression became grave, and he announced his plan. "At this critical juncture, I have decided to bring my talent back to the Saint Sect!"