Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

The battle erupted in an instant.

It wasn't just the True Monarch of Contained Light and Floating Heaven who realized the tables had turned. Sooner or later, everyone present discovered their own situations had been completely reversed.

"HAHAHA!"

High in the heavens, World Purger Fei Xue laughed boisterously. On the other side, Ang Xiao's face darkened, yet he didn't seem overly disappointed.

'It's far too early for that. You think you've already broken free?'

A cold glint shone from his narrow eyes, hidden beneath layers of haze. 'This game, set for the attainment of the Fruit of Celestial Fire, wasn't laid by me alone. Do you really think you can escape?'

He had escaped once before, finding freedom from his cage by fleeing into the Netherworld.

And what of this nameless beast before him?

Could he do the same?

At this thought, a spark of anticipation joined the profound coldness in Ang Xiao's eyes. 'If he really can pull it off, it might not be such a bad thing!'

......

The great battle erupted.

This time, it was no longer a private show for Ang Xiao and World Purger Fei Xue. Every Perfected Lord present made their move, and brilliant lights of every color instantly filled the space between Heaven and Earth.

"RUUUMBLE!"

Emperor Jia You and Bao Lian Hidden Buddha immediately began fighting with true killing intent, unleashing their True Fire. Every other Perfected Lord engaged their own opponents, and the sound of booming impacts rose and fell in waves.

The Daoist Court Grandmaster faced Bhumba Bodhisattva; the Grand Tutor battled True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde; the Grand Protector clashed with True Monarch Teng Guangye Hui of the Sword Pavilion; True Monarch Zeng Cai Qiluo was entangled with the Sword Pavilion's True Monarch Gai Shuangling Feng; Bright Pearl Great Saint and Profound Turtle Great Saint were locked in combat; and the True Monarch of Contained Light and Floating Heaven blocked the Old Dragon Monarch's path.

The entire Immortal Pivot descended into chaos.

However, this was merely a facade. In reality, there was order amid the chaos. All the Perfected Lords seemed to be fighting with great fervor, but they were all secretly watching one particular spot.

Lü Yang and True Monarch Gangxing.

This confrontation alone was the true key. Whoever won would determine the outcome of this clash between the Righteous and Demon Daos and emerge as the final victor!

And as luck would have it...

"Apologies, senior. There are two of us."

Lü Yang unfurled the Righteous Banner, summoning Progenitor Tingyou. The moment Progenitor Tingyou appeared, her Position ascended, and her aura instantly reached its peak.

Two First-class True Monarchs!

Across from them, True Monarch Gangxing's face went pale. He still hadn't recovered the Mana he'd just lost activating the Eternal Sword!

But he quickly regained his composure.

"I see. It seems today is the day of my Attainment."

The Great Perfected Lord of the Sword Pavilion took a deep breath. He didn't choose to flee. Instead, he raised the Eternal Sword, a look of grim resolve in his eyes.

He had long grown weary of his current half-dead state, his path to the Dao seemingly hopeless. This conflict between the Righteous and Demon Daos was, without a doubt, his greatest opportunity. As such, he would either achieve Attainment today and return to his peak, or die and be reincarnated. There would be no third option.

With that thought, he abandoned any idea of stalling for time.

If he really dragged things out, he was confident he could survive a two-on-one fight, though his injuries would worsen. But what was the point? His goal had always been the pursuit of the Dao!

To hear the Dao in the morning is to be able to die content in the evening!

"Then bring it on."

Having come to this decision, True Monarch Gangxing's emotions settled. His gaze was as tranquil as an ancient well as he walked, step by step, toward Lü Yang.

"Let it be three swords."

His tone was utterly detached as he spoke. "I lack the strength for a prolonged entanglement. I will unleash three sword strikes. If those three strikes fail to kill you, I will end my own life on this spot."

Lü Yang sneered at his words. 'Anyone can talk tough.'

'Three sword strikes? It's just Sword Light at the Great Perfected Lord level. Do you really think I can't block it? I blocked World Purger Fei Xue's attack back then, and I can do it again today!'

"SHING!"

There was no hesitation, no more probing attacks. Victory would be decided in three strikes, so they naturally had to go all out, condensing what should have been a Combat of a thousand moves into just three!

"The first sword: Heaven Opening!"

With that thunderous declaration, Lü Yang's pupils contracted. Before his eyes, the majestic and what should have been Boundless canopy of the Immortal Pivot's sky suddenly cracked open with a deafening roar!

Heaven and Earth split asunder, and all creation was plunged into darkness.

All color and form vanished. In that moment, Lü Yang's spiritual perception could sense only a single sword. Wherever its edge passed, it sundered heaven and earth, utterly unstoppable!

RUUUMBLE!

In the Boundless darkness, the Sword Light illuminated all existence. It was as if a majestic Outer Realm was truly being carved out by the light of the blade, rumbling as it bore down on him.

Just then, Progenitor Tingyou, standing beside Lü Yang, resolutely stepped in front of him. She pushed the Fruit of Sorrowless Heaven to its absolute limit as the infinite, Profound Mysterious power of the Ruyi Heart gathered on her lips, shimmering with radiant light. It then burst forth in a single, mighty shout:

"Annihilate!"

The word had barely left her lips when Progenitor Tingyou's Dharma Body shattered, scattering into streams of light. Only the Fruit of Sorrowless Heaven, enveloping her True Spirit, remained as it retreated into the Righteous Banner.

In response, the Sword Light halted.

A sword strike carrying the full weight of a Great True Monarch Position had been stopped cold by Progenitor Tingyou's selfless sacrifice, leaving Lü Yang completely unharmed!

But Lü Yang's eyes had turned bloodshot.

"KILL!!!"

In an instant, the Tribulation Evil Profound Light and Xiang-colored Spirit Water he had been accumulating for so long were unleashed in full, transforming into a sky-piercing Profound Light of intermingled gold and gray.

Both were profound abilities that required accumulated damage to be unleashed, damage Lü Yang had already stored to its absolute limit using his Incense and Candle Avatar. What he now unleashed was arguably the most powerful attack he could muster, and it crashed headlong into True Monarch Gangxing's second sword strike.

"The second sword: Dao Opening!"

With the second declaration, the Sword Light shifted. Within the space between Heaven and Earth that True Monarch Gangxing's first strike had carved open, the Three Elements of Gold, Fire, and Earth immediately manifested.

It was named "Dao Opening," yet it failed to manifest a complete Five Elements Dao Fruit.

This was because True Monarch Gangxing himself had only achieved the rank of Great Perfected Lord by patching together Three Elements, making it impossible for him to extrapolate a Five Elements Perfect Sword through his Sword Technique and Sword Intent alone.

Nevertheless, its power was still formidable.

As the second sword fell, Lü Yang's all-out attack was instantly crushed. The Mighty Power of the Gold, Fire, and Earth Three Paths Fruit Position then washed over Lü Yang, completely unstoppable.

"BOOM!"

Just like that, Lü Yang's body exploded.

But a second later, the bloody light receded, and Lü Yang's body instantly reformed. Aside from an indelible red line across his neck, he appeared unharmed.

Rebirth Appearance!

Fruit of Spring Water!

Dual damage reduction, injury transference, and the counterforce of his own all-out attack—these combined had actually allowed Lü Yang to withstand True Monarch Gangxing's second sword strike!

Seeing this, True Monarch Gangxing's face grew even paler. His appearance, once that of a young man, began to show visible signs of aging. His once-straight back became stooped. The Sword Intent in his eyes, however, did not diminish in the slightest. On the contrary, it began to burn with even greater intensity.

"The third sword: Life and Death Opening!"

The third and final sword. As it was unsheathed, True Monarch Gangxing's appearance, his condition, and his aura all began to reverse, as if Time itself were flowing backward!

Life and death.

For a dying man to reverse death and return to life—it was a killing move that could only be used on the brink of death, one that could truly replicate the Mighty Power he wielded at his peak as a Great Perfected Lord!

Heaven Opening, Dao Opening, Life and Death Opening.

These three Sword Techniques were the very ambition he held the year he first became a Great Perfected Lord: to open the heavens for himself, to open the Dao and become its master, and to open life and death to achieve Transcendence beyond the cycle of reincarnation!

Though all of that had now turned to dust.

Yet, in the instant he unleashed this third sword, he felt as if he had returned to that day, remembering the high-spirited ambition he once held to ascend to the Other Shore.

Holding nothing back!

Seeing these three sword strikes, Lü Yang fell silent.

All this time, True Monarch Gangxing had seemed strange. Compared to Ang Xiao, who specialized in the Power of Fruit Position, he actually preferred to use Sword Intent.

The fundamental Profound Mysterious power of his Fruit of River-Sand Gold?

He had barely used it.

That was why Lü Yang had always thought this Great Perfected Lord was a bit of a disappointment, his methods too one-dimensional. At this moment, however, True Monarch Gangxing revealed the reason.

Three distinct Sword Techniques.

Not a single one was related to his Fruit Position. They were all born of his own comprehension, the grand culmination of a lifetime of Sword Intent and Sword Technique. He had truly been walking his own path all along.

Given time, if he had been able to reclaim his Great True Monarch Position, he might have had a chance to attain the Void Certificate!

Unfortunately, his status as a Great Perfected Lord was both his making and his undoing.

Lü Yang shook his head, still full of confidence. He could sense that while this sword strike was powerful, it was not beyond the scope of his "Got a Pair."

'I can block this!'

"BOOM!"

The third sword fell. And yet, it did not.

For just before it could land, a hand appeared in front of Lü Yang, stopping the Sword Light and extinguishing True Monarch Gangxing's final counterattack.

'How can this be...?'

True Monarch Gangxing looked back, his expression blank.

Emperor Jia You!

Emperor Jia You was also a Great Perfected Lord now. Tanking that sword strike would be no problem for him—at most, he would suffer some minor injuries. But what about Bao Lian Hidden Buddha? Why hadn't the Bodhisattva intercepted him?

True Monarch Gangxing slowly shifted his gaze.

And then he saw Bao Lian Hidden Buddha departing without a backward glance. He also saw a Sword Light rising from the direction of the Pure Land, severing the state of Unity.

The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected. His original body.

Today, he would sunder the Pure Land and achieve Attainment in the Sword Dao!