Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

[Please select a restart anchor point.]

Looking at the text floating on the panel, Lü Yang fell into deep thought. After all, he now had a total of three restart anchor points, so he naturally needed to choose carefully.

Initial anchor point: Qi Refining Cultivation.

First anchor point: Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment + Golden Core Dao Body.

Second anchor point: [Fruit of Celestial Fire] Perfected Lord.

All three had their own advantages. If he chose the second anchor point, he would have an excellent opportunity to use the [Skill of Perfect Vitality] to swallow the [Fruit of Celestial Fire]. The Emperor Fruit was still very tempting.

However, after careful consideration, Lü Yang gave up on this idea. "There’s no need. After all, I’m definitely going to choose Cultivation for this restart.

"I’ve already swallowed the [Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire]. Although it’s not impossible to swallow another [Fruit of Celestial Fire], doing so would make the Fire Fruit Position I control too powerful. It could improve my combat power, but it wouldn’t actually be of much use for the growth of my Cultivation."

This was easy to understand. He currently possessed four of the five elements and was only missing the Wood Element. As long as he could find a Wood Fruit Position and swallow it, he could immediately rely on the Dao of Arcane Body to advance to the Late Stage of Golden Core.

But what about the [Fruit of Celestial Fire]? Even if it was an Emperor Fruit, after devouring the [Fruit of Celestial Fire], he would still only have four elements. No matter how strong his combat power was in the Middle Stage of Golden Core, he still wouldn’t be a Great Perfected Lord.

"Not to mention that the lifetime with the [Fruit of Celestial Fire] was actually very dangerous.

"Because at that time, I was probably already being watched by the old monsters of the Stain Sect. If I abruptly revealed the Cultivation of the Dao of Arcane Body, it would be no different from courting death."

Thinking of this, Lü Yang skipped the second anchor point.

"The first anchor point, which is the anchor point I chose in my Previous Life, isn’t impossible, but at that point in time, I was also already being watched by the Pure Land.

"Of course, I could also choose to sever my ties just like in my Previous Life.

"But for this restart, I plan to swallow the [Fruit of Pomegranate Wood] and gather all Five Elements. Once I sever ties, I will have to find someone to help in Refining a Life Form Body from scratch again."

The question was, who could he find? Chen Taihe, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak? That could work, but Lü Yang felt that he might not have the ability for Seeking Gold. If he chose him, it was very likely his efforts would be in vain.

"Rather than finding someone, it’s better to do it myself. Isn’t it just seeking the [Fruit of Pomegranate Wood]? I already have Cultivation regarding this Dao Fruit. As for the Cultivation Technique used for Seeking Gold, I have the ready-made Heaven-Mending Skill. It’s better to continue Refining my main body into a Life Form Body and then find a way for my main body to proceed with Seeking Gold."

Considering this point, the first anchor point wouldn’t work either. Because at the first anchor point, he was already a Foundation-Stage Cultivator who cultivated the [Fruit of Rampart Earth], so it was impossible for him to switch to cultivating the [Fruit of Pomegranate Wood]. He could only choose to give up.

"But the initial anchor point..."

Lü Yang furrowed his brows tightly. The initial anchor point was very important in his heart. Generally speaking, if he chose this anchor point to restart, he wouldn’t prioritize Cultivation.

However, this time was different. After all, his gains this time were simply too massive—so massive that only by choosing Cultivation could he pack them all away and take them with him. Choosing anything else would be a pure loss.

"...I’ve got it."

Suddenly, Lü Yang’s eyes lit up. He looked at his first anchor point, and a rather bold idea emerged in his mind, bringing a smile to his face.

Subsequently, he made a decision and shouted loudly, "Proceed to the initial anchor point!"

Before his voice died away, the darkness in front of his eyes began to surge like flipping pages of a book. Then, a ray of sunlight pierced through the dark night and shone into his pupils.

***

[You died from looking directly at the true body of the Master of Dao. Before you died, you attracted the gaze of the Master of Dao. However, even as noble as a Master of Dao, they couldn’t understand what you were screaming about before you died. It was only because you shouted with such great momentum and had conflicts with certain Masters of Dao that They spared you a glance.]

[Current remaining pages of the Centome: 88]

"Those whose names are called, step forward in front of me."

A voice buried in his distant memories echoed in his ears, making Lü Yang feel a bit dazed. He looked toward the black-robed Daoist standing on the stage allocating the Entry-level Disciples.

"Senior Brother Liu..."

One of his greatest fortuitous encounters to date, the Myriad-Soul Banner—the predecessor of the Righteous Banner—was kindly gifted to him by this senior brother before his death.

Lü Yang sighed with emotion for a moment as memories of the past flooded into his mind. Being surrounded by such "talents" in this environment gave him an unprecedented sense of security.

There was nothing quite like the comfort of the newbie fish pond!

[Restarting a lifetime. You may choose one of the following gains from your Previous Life:

One: Artifacts.

Two: Cultivation.

Three: Cultivation Technique.

Four: Give up all gains and randomly awaken a Talent Skill based on your Previous Life’s experiences.]

Looking at the panel before him, Lü Yang was in no rush to choose. Instead, he decisively chanted in his heart, "Set this exact moment as my third anchor point!"

Back when he broke through to the Golden Core, the [Centome] rewarded him with two anchor points. One of them had become the current second anchor point, set at the moment he achieved the [Fruit of Celestial Fire]. There was one remaining that he had never used, and now he finally made up his mind to place this anchor point here and now.

Soon, the new anchor point emerged.

"At this point in time, I haven’t formally made a choice yet, so my Cultivation is still Qi Cultivation. This way, the purity of the initial anchor point can be guaranteed."

With his past experience, Lü Yang felt certain in his heart that there would be no problem operating this way. Not only was there no problem, but he could even exploit an incredibly outrageous bug: at this moment, he was actually still stuck in the selection phase.

Then what if he were to restart at this exact moment again in the future? Restarting intrinsically came with a selection interface, and he already had a selection interface right now... In that case, wouldn’t he be able to choose twice?

"It just might be possible!

"It’s just that the options for one of those choices are fixed based on my Previous Life. But I can totally discard everything and choose to awaken a Talent Skill!"

In short, from now on, as long as he chose the third anchor point to restart, he would have two chances to choose, and one of them could be entirely spent on a Talent Skill!

"With the experiences of my Previous Life, if I choose a Talent Skill, I will definitely be able to pull an Upper Grade Talent Skill!

"Even if I can’t pull one, I can just restart a few more times and gather a few Golden Talents. Then I can use the Talent Skill integration function to roll for a Colorful Talent."

Of course, that was a matter for the next restart. For this time, he still had to choose Cultivation. However, Lü Yang was not in a hurry. Instead, he decided to first soothe his tense mood, striking a balance between exertion and rest in Cultivation.

Step one: Be assigned to the Yin-Yang Unity Hall.Step two: Surpass Yu Suzhen.

After doing all this, he finally clicked on the Cultivation option on the panel. In an instant, a boundless and unparalleled Mighty Power emerged from within his body.

"Phew...!"

Lü Yang let out a long breath of relief. However, before he could even fully catch his breath, a voice he had almost forgotten echoed faintly within his Spiritual Space:

"Daoist... are you just going to leave me be?"

Fuck, who... Oh, it’s Sichou’s Residual Thought.

Lü Yang’s heart skipped a beat, but his face showed absolutely no fluctuation. He immediately smiled inwardly, "How could I? I was just certain that nothing would happen to you, Daoist!"

—That was a lie. In truth, ever since seeing the massive pitfall on Demon Subduing Zhenren, Lü Yang had basically abandoned Yuan Tu, so naturally, he hadn’t thought about caring for Sichou’s Residual Thought.

But looking at it now, although Sichou’s Residual Thought had been hiding in Yuan Tu’s Spiritual Space, it seemed that it had ultimately bound itself to him. Therefore, after he chose Cultivation this time, it was also brought over with him. Unfortunately, it was just a residual thought. It didn’t even know how to go about Proving Nascent Soul, so it had little utility value...

"It’s good that you still remember me, Daoist."

Within the Spiritual Space, the illusory figure of Sichou’s Residual Thought let out a bitter smile. "However, I have fortunately not failed my mission this time, and I have prepared a surprise for you, Daoist."

"...What?" Lü Yang was taken aback upon hearing this.

The next second, he saw Sichou’s Residual Thought reach into its robes and pull out an extremely faint, bright yellow ball of light surrounded by karmic links.

Lü Yang was instantly stunned.

With his Cultivation, it was naturally impossible for him to misidentify what this bright yellow ball of light was... This was imagery! And it was the imagery of the [Fruit of Rampart Earth]!

"Si Chou! My good brother! I knew you were reliable!"

In an instant, Lü Yang became completely ecstatic. He grabbed Sichou’s Residual Thought’s hand and shook it vigorously, his eyes filled with burning fervor.

What was a surprise? This was a fucking surprise!