Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

"Star Palace!?"

Lü Yang was amazed, but on the surface, he showed a look of confusion. "What is the Star Palace? Could it be an Immortal Department under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Court, and you intend to invite me to take charge of it, Daoist?"

"HISS...!"

Upon hearing this, the Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm, who originally had some probing intentions, hurriedly waved his hand. "You misunderstand, Daoist. You cannot speak such words carelessly.

"The so-called Star Palace is a super Outer Realm far superior to our Profound Spirit Realm. About five thousand years ago, our Profound Spirit Realm was incorporated under the jurisdiction of the Star Palace. After achieving their Dao, all successive Supreme Venerables of the Profound Spirit Realm had to go there to seek an audience with the Great Powers. Now that you have emerged, Daoist, you naturally cannot be an exception."

"There’s actually such a connection?" Lü Yang frowned slightly, pondering in his heart. "Five thousand years ago... It seems the Profound Spirit Realm was incorporated by the Star Palace during the last millennial tribulation."

This was quite normal. After all, the essence of the previous millennial tribulation was various factions eliminating dissidents, specifically targeting the Outer Dao. It was understandable that the Profound Spirit Realm was incorporated as a result.

"However, judging from the Profound Spirit Realm’s encounters in previous lifetimes, the Star Palace probably didn’t take this place seriously," he thought. "They didn’t even share intelligence regarding the Immortal Pivot. Otherwise, with the scale of the Profound Spirit Realm, it wouldn’t have been captured by the Immortal Pivot back then. Instead, it would have fled at the first sign of trouble."

However... this was actually a good thing!

"Just the identity of a local Outer Dao True Monarch of the Profound Spirit Realm might not necessarily prevent the Bhagavat from intervening," he continued reasoning. "After all, the Bhagavat is never ashamed to stoop down and strike at those beneath him.

"But adding the Star Palace into the mix changes everything.

"After all, the Star Palace also has a Master of Dao. If I can connect with the Star Palace and then kill the Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva, the Bhagavat absolutely will not intervene!

"To hell with that garbage Immortal Pivot! I share a bitter enmity with those Demons!" he mentally cursed.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang’s expression immediately turned solemn. "I understand. Since I am now a Cultivator of the Profound Spirit Realm, and this is a long-established rule, there is naturally no reason for me not to comply."

"Good! Excellent!" The Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm laughed upon hearing this. "Since that is the case, I will act as a middleman for you, Daoist. I’m sure the Star Palace will warmly host you."

Despite his words, he sneered inwardly. "Warmly host? What a joke!"

Once upon a time, when he had just taken control of the Fate, high-spirited and having just achieved the position of Supreme Venerable, he had thought the same. However, reality was much crueler. In all fairness, those Star Monarchs of the Star Palace were not strong. If they were within the Profound Spirit Realm, he was confident he could win in a one-on-one Combat. Unfortunately, after leaving the Profound Spirit Realm, his combat strength plummeted, and he was brutally put in his place by that group of Star Monarchs. Looking back, it was still somewhat humiliating.

"Perfect, this will also crush his arrogance," the Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm calculated shrewdly in his mind. "I had to suffer the storm back then, so why should you get an umbrella? It’s only right that you experience the same severe beating I did."

When he returned from the Star Palace back then, it took a full century of recuperation to recover from his injuries. The man before him would certainly receive the same treatment when he went. By then, he wouldn’t have to worry about this guy competing for favor and being highly regarded by the Profound Spirit Realm.

Meanwhile, in the Void Sea of Light, within the Star Palace.

In the Ten Thousand Lands Realm, billions of stars converged into four Star Constellations, jointly guarding a towering palace that illuminated the surfaces of all the stars like a massive sun. Every single one of these billions of stars had a massive number of inhabitants. Across the four Star Constellations and twenty-eight Star Maps, a full twenty-eight Star Monarchs patrolled endlessly, day and night. They made the entire Outer Realm a bustling, densely populated utopia, its prosperity enough to shock anyone from any other Outer Realm.

However, in stark contrast to the prosperity outside, the interior of the palace—the center of the Ten Thousand Lands Realm guarded by billions of stars—was completely dead and silent. A gloomy, icy chill spread across the floor.

This was the true core of the Star Palace, and the origin of its name. At this moment, within the towering palace, Cultivators dressed in luxurious robes walked past in silence. With solemn expressions, they inspected the palace’s Arrays day and night. Any slight error would be corrected immediately. They did this for no other reason than to maintain the Arrays in their most perfect state. Only in this way could they lock away vitality and prevent the passage of time from slipping away within the halls.

Passing through the jade pavilions and going straight into the depths of the palace, one would be greeted by a massive ancestral shrine shaped like a tower. On the walls of its four sides stood an imposing total of thirty-six quaint, pitch-black stone sculptures. This was the eye of the Array. Every Cultivator of the Star Palace who came here would reveal a look of awe before bowing solemnly to the surrounding stone sculptures.

This was because everyone knew clearly that the Star Monarchs outside were merely putting on a show and were only capable of bullying the Outer Dao. Only these thirty-six stone sculptures were the true foundation of the Star Palace. Even if all the Star Monarchs outside died out, they had to ensure that these stone sculptures suffered no damage whatsoever.

Soon, a Cultivator walked into the grand hall. He first bowed to the surrounding stone statues before speaking in a low voice, "Reporting to the Upper Truths, that Outer Realm has produced another Perfected Lord."

In the next second, a strand of Spiritual perception awakened. The stone sculpture it belonged to sat firmly at the very top of the thirty-six statues, causing the reporting Star Palace Cultivator to immediately put on a terrified and reverent expression. "Greetings, Hao Yuan Shangzhen!"

"Rise." The voice rumbled like thunder. Even though it was just a sliver of Spiritual perception, to a Lower Cultivator, it was still as unfathomable as a vast ocean. "Are you talking about the Profound Spirit Realm?"

"Your insight is clear, Upper Truth," the Cultivator hurriedly nodded.

"No, that’s not right," Hao Yuan Shangzhen said after a moment of silence, his tone filled with doubt. "How long has it been since that Outer Dao from the Profound Spirit Realm came last time? How could a newcomer ascend to the Upper Position so quickly?"

Contrary to Lü Yang’s guess, the Profound Spirit Realm had actually always been under the Star Palace’s observation—and heavy observation at that. Because the lifespans of the Cultivators in the Profound Spirit Realm were too unique, the severing of the Dao of Arcane Body had very little impact on them. To the Star Palace’s Ancient Law True Monarchs, who were trapped by their limited lifespans, this was simply a Rare Treasure. Thus, they had always wanted to see through the Profound Spirit Realm’s secrets.

However, to their frustration, over the past five thousand years, they had practically dissected every Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm, yet they still couldn’t find the source of its secrets. This was also why every successive Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm had to report to the Star Palace. As for the show of dominance, it wasn’t aimless; it was deliberate. The Star Palace wasn’t so bored as to specifically bully country bumpkins from the Outer Dao. Ostensibly a show of dominance, they were actually using Combat to secretly study the Profound Spirit Realm’s Fate Fruit, trying to uncover the truth behind its lifespans.

"To answer the Upper Truth, it is a little different this time," the Cultivator replied. "The True Monarch of the Profound Spirit Realm who came last time has not yet perished. The one coming this time is a newcomer, and it is said... he Void Certificated a Fruit to emerge."

Upon hearing this, Hao Yuan Shangzhen fell utterly silent.

"Huh?" After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, Hao Yuan Shangzhen nearly burst out laughing. "Void Certificate? These country bumpkins of the Outer Dao really lack knowledge. Do they think a Void Certificate is so simple?"

"Does the Upper Truth mean... it’s fake?"

"It is absolutely fake!" Hao Yuan Shangzhen said with utter certainty. "It should be that the Profound Spirit Realm has nurtured another Fruit. Given the foundation of that Outer Realm, it is not impossible.

"Interesting.

"Perhaps the reason we haven’t been able to uncover the Profound Spirit Realm’s secrets all this time is because we were missing this exact step... Let that Outer Dao come over, and deal with him according to routine."

At these words, the Star Palace Cultivator immediately smiled. What was the routine? Naturally, it was to let that country bumpkin of the Outer Dao come over, and then have the Star Monarchs take action, teach him a harsh lesson, beat him half to death, and throw him back. The Star Monarchs of the Star Palace were always happy to do this. After all, they didn’t have the guts to deal with those vicious Demons of the Immortal Pivot, but they certainly had the guts to bully the Outer Dao. In fact, they had plenty of it!

Watching the Cultivator leave, Hao Yuan Shangzhen also fell deep into thought. "The second Outer Dao from the Profound Spirit Realm... I wonder how he differs from the previous one."

Thinking of this, a wave of melancholy washed over him. As a former Ancient Law Great True Monarch, he was now trapped within a stone sculpture, living in a half-awake, half-dreaming state every day, merely prolonging his last gasp of breath. It was truly suffocating.

"Sigh, Dao of Arcane Body... where on earth are you?

"The inheritances have all been destroyed, and the Celestial Mansion has been reduced to the backyard of the Immortal Core Demons. In today’s world, is there truly not a single Cultivator of the Dao of Arcane Body left?"