Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Time flew by, and thirty-five years passed in a flash.

Inside the spacious hall, a tall man in a Profound Robe sat cross-legged with his hem spread across the floor. One hand formed a Finger Technique against his chest, while the other formed a seal pressed against his Dantian.

At the center of his forehead, a speck of light flickered faintly like a thunderbolt, constantly rippling with golden Illusionary Colors. It carried a strong aura of masculinity, accompanied by the faint rumble of thunder. This anomaly persisted for a long time before gradually dissipating and vanishing around him.

He thought, "Finally... it’s reached Perfection!"

Lü Yang looked up, a hint of joy surfacing in his eyes. He lightly tapped his glabella, drawing out the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder and resting it on his palm to examine closely.

Compared to thirty-five years ago, its changes were immense.

The current Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder had impressively crossed the threshold of a Fruit Position Prototype in terms of Mighty Power. It had become a true Outer Dao Fruit Position, with all its Fruit Position Imageries achieving Flawless Perfection.

"My many years of bitter cultivation haven’t been in vain!" Lü Yang smiled in satisfaction.

Ever since realizing he truly couldn’t leave, he had been obediently cultivating inside Nourishing Life Master, adjusting the imagery system of the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder. As for challenging Emperor Ying, he was in no rush.

"Based on my experience in Nourishing Life Master, the gains from the previous stage play a crucial role in the next one," he thought. "It likely determines the success or failure of clearing the stage.

"In my current state, I haven’t nurtured the World Heaven Seed to the point where it can forge a path in the Sea of Suffering. Attempting Emperor Ying now would be asking to be humiliated. That aside, if there’s danger in the stage and I die inside, it would be a massive loss. It’s better to spend my time cultivating."

Therefore, he focused entirely on his cultivation afterward.

Relying on the sword scar injuries left by the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord, the Profound Gate God Fusion Refining Dao Skill was utilized to perfection, and the progress of the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder was also gratifying.

"Reaching this point is already very good," he mused. "In the end, it’s missing one element, so it stops at the Outer Dao. If I can gather the final Wood Fruit Position imagery, it will definitely advance to the orthodox rank!"

Moreover, there were disparities even among Outer Dao.

At the very least, the quality of the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder far exceeded Mu Changsheng’s No Heaven. It was the Outer Dao Fruit Position closest to orthodoxy that Lü Yang had ever seen in his life.

A second later, the Righteous Banner emerged.

From amidst the billowing purple mist, Progenitor Tingyou stepped out. After the Righteous Banner had condensed all the imageries of the Fruit of Celestial Fire, its Profound Mysterious had ascended to a higher level.

Thirty-five years of time was enough for him to reconstruct his Dharma Body and recover to his Peak. Revealing himself now, he had clearly seen Lü Yang’s achievement. With a joyful expression, he said, "The Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder is complete? How fast! If we’re talking about potential, I’m afraid even my Fruit of Sorrowless Heaven falls short..."

"You flatter me, Progenitor." Lü Yang hurriedly waved his hand. He hadn’t let it go to his head yet. The power of the Fruit of Sorrowless Heaven was built upon Progenitor Tingyou himself, making the Supreme Venerable rank a certainty for him. "Compared to you, Progenitor, I’m still far behind."

"You child... you’ve worked hard," Progenitor Tingyou said, a trace of heartache flashing in his eyes. He looked at the sword scars on Lü Yang’s body. Compared to thirty-five years ago, not only had they not improved, they had actually worsened.

Over the years, he had tried to think of a solution. Unfortunately, these sword scars were no longer a problem that Enlightenment could solve. It was entirely a disparity in quality. Even if his Enlightenment reached the heavens, he would still be helpless.

However, he quickly restored his smile. After all, today was a day of celebration, and he didn’t want to be a killjoy. Thus, he simply changed the subject. "Now that the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder is complete, how is its Fruit Position Imagery?"

Hearing this, Lü Yang immediately burst into laughter. "Very good! I just counted the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder; it has a full four imageries. It’s likely because I used four elemental Fruit Position Imageries when weaving it."

"Oh?" Progenitor Tingyou’s eyes lit up. "Which four?"

"The first is Summoning, the second is Creation, the third is Ying Yuan, and the fourth is Manifestation!" Lü Yang smiled confidently, clearly quite satisfied with them. "Summoning is derived from the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. With this imagery, whenever someone thinks of me in their heart, has karmic links connected to me, or is connected to objects I have set up, I will sense it. Even if separated by thousands of miles, I can instantly perceive the reason and even directly see the other party.

"At the same time, Summoning can coordinate with Manifestation. Manifestation is derived from the Fruit of Post-Road Earth. After observing the target through Summoning, Manifestation can immediately project my Mighty Power, directly manifesting it on the target. Whether Killing or rewarding, it’s all up to my will.

"As for Creation and Ying Yuan, they also have their respective Abilities.

"Creation is derived from the Fruit of Spring Water. Reflected upon my thunder, Cultivators of all levels can gain some benefits after being baptized by my thunder.

"For example, reconstructing their physical bodies and eliminating all chronic ailments.

"Or increasing their Cultivation and advancing their Realm.

"As for Ying Yuan, it is derived from the Fruit of River-Sand Gold. It focuses on accumulation, allowing me to continuously store thunder, thereby making the Mighty Power of the thunder’s outburst increasingly stronger."

Lü Yang explained everything in detail.

Progenitor Tingyou listened earnestly, then frowned. "The design of your Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder seems to share similarities with the Fruit of Celestial Fire. Using Thunder Skill to govern the world?"

"You have keen insight, Progenitor." Lü Yang cupped his hands and let out a bitter smile. "This wasn’t intentional on my part; it was truly a natural outcome. I’ve also been considering how to change it."

"It indeed needs to be changed." Progenitor Tingyou nodded. "Engraving Laws has already reached the very end of the path of rules. If you blindly imitate its Profound Mysterious, you will easily fall into the Lower Grade."

"What you say is very true, Progenitor!" Having spoken so much, they finally reached the main topic. Lü Yang hurriedly asked with a face full of anticipation, "Then, Progenitor, what do you think the Profound Mysterious of the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder should be?"

At these words, Progenitor Tingyou immediately fell silent. After a long while, he spoke in a deep voice. "Although this Fruit Position of yours is named the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder, thunder is actually just its superficial appearance. Its essence is actually Yin and Yang. The intersection of Yin and Yang gives birth to thunder. Since that’s the case, you cannot solely focus your eyes on the thunder.

"Thunder represents categories; thus, it brings forth all categories and gives rise to the myriad species."

Finally, Progenitor Tingyou proposed a concept: "Perhaps you can develop the Fruit Position Profound Mysterious in the direction of ’information’, but this will be a bit difficult..."

After speaking, he cast a worried glance at Lü Yang.

Catching this glance, Lü Yang was immediately displeased. He thought, "What does that mean? Is the Progenitor looking down on me? My Talent Skill is far from being fully utilized yet! When I activate Supreme Dao Transformation in my next life, who will be able to stop me?"

"Information, information... Then I’ll give it a try," Lü Yang said with a relaxed expression. This was also the advantage of the World Heaven Seed; it allowed for infinite trial and error. Therefore, he wasn’t afraid of taking detours. As long as there was a path to walk, it was a good thing.

Right then, he uttered, "Hmm?"

Suddenly, Lü Yang raised an eyebrow. The Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder had stirred. Summoning revived autonomously, resonating with the unseen karmic links.

In a daze, Lü Yang’s line of sight passed through the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder, and a scene surfaced in his eyes. Judging by the background, it seemed to be inside Nourishing Life Master. Immediately after, two figures abruptly appeared. One of them had a hunched back, looking like an old man, while the other wore an equally nervous expression.

Coincidentally, he recognized both of them.

"Old Dragon Monarch and Mu Changsheng," he thought.

Lü Yang was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected these two to group up again, especially after Mu Changsheng had ruthlessly scammed the Old Dragon Monarch once before.

In the scene, the two were conversing.

"Are you sure we can run into that person here? If you ask me, he’s eighty percent likely to be dead. That sword chime back then... it nearly scared the soul out of this old man!"

"Rest assured, Senior," Mu Changsheng replied. "That adult has unparalleled talent, and his Enlightenment is exceptionally transcendent. I think he’s injured at most, not dead. Moreover, he holds five Supreme Fruit Position Books in his hands. These items can only be consulted in Nourishing Life Master. If we wait here for a few years, we’ll definitely be able to wait until he arrives."

"I’m just afraid we don’t have enough time..."

The Old Dragon Monarch and Mu Changsheng continued their low-voiced conversation like this, completely unaware that Lü Yang was watching them. Even the Great Net of Karma Links didn’t ripple in the slightest.

He thought, "Interesting. The Profound Mysterious of this Summoning is incredibly useful. As long as someone is thinking of me in their heart, I can sense it. This will prevent many people from scheming against me!"

Following that, Lü Yang once again called out his Incense and Candle Avatar.

"For the Old Dragon Monarch and Mu Changsheng to reconcile and specifically come to Nourishing Life Master to wait for me... could it be that a great chaos I’m unaware of has occurred in the Current World?"