Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Regardless, the stone statues of the Star Palace managed to convince themselves.

As the saying went, facts spoke louder than words. Since Lü Yang had already displayed a powerful Dharma Body and a Void Attainment Position, getting to the bottom of his secrets would be completely meaningless.

That was a thought only a Lower Cultivator would entertain.

Instead, the stone statues’ main concern was how to maximize the utility of this great treasure that had suddenly popped up before them.

"Have him search for the Dao of Arcane Body?"

"It’s too difficult. The Celestial Mansion has now been reduced to the backyard of the Immortal Core Demons. Trying to find clues about the Dao of Arcane Body in there is a total pipe dream."

"Then what should we do?"

"I remember there’s Magic from the Profound Wall that can extract a person’s lifespan. How about we suppress him and use that Magic to drain his lifespan?"

"After all, since he cultivated such a powerful Dharma Body and assimilated a Dharma Body Dao Fragment, a conservative estimate of his lifespan would be over a hundred thousand years. If the thirty-six of us divide it up, we could immediately restore our Peak condition. We wouldn’t have to stay stuck in these garbage stone statues anymore," one of the stone statues proposed.

For a moment, all the stone statues fell silent. Their Spiritual perception fluctuated. Clearly, quite a few of them were tempted, as this truly was a viable plan.

However, in the next second, a figure broke the silence. "This plan will not work!"

The Spiritual perception of the stone statues immediately focused on the speaker. Soon after, another stone statue retorted, "Why won’t it work? Give us a reason, Fellow Daoist Hao Yuan."

Hearing this, Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s Spiritual perception rippled. If he were to give reasons based on morality or virtue at a time like this, he certainly wouldn’t be able to convince everyone. Ever since that disastrous defeat over a hundred thousand years ago, everyone’s mindset had changed. The Golden Era of the past was long gone.

Therefore, after a moment of silence, he gave his answer. "Because he cannot be suppressed."

Before his words even faded, a stone statue scoffed. "Are you kidding? The thirty-six of us are right here, and you’re saying we can’t suppress a mere Outer Dao native?

"Even if he assimilated a Dharma Body Dao Fragment, I’d say he’s at the Middle Stage of Golden Core at best. He definitely hasn’t reached the level of a Great Perfected Lord. Let alone the thirty-six of us joining forces, even you alone, Fellow Daoist Hao Yuan, should be able to easily suppress him. Yet now you’re uttering such absurd nonsense..."

"Did you all really not see it?" Hao Yuan Shangzhen sneered. "The Qi trace on his body looks the same as before, but it’s actually completely different. The one who came isn’t his true body at all!"

As soon as he said this, a dead silence fell over the hall.

For a time, the stone statues’ Spiritual perception converged on Lü Yang once again. However, Lü Yang merely snorted coldly, dispersing them all without hesitation.

"What? It’s not his true body?"

"How is that possible? Observing his Mighty Power, if it isn’t his true body, then it must be an absolute Upper Grade technique of creating avatars. How could an Outer Dao native get their hands on that kind of Dharma Gate?"

"Stop calling him an Outer Dao native. He’s a peerless prodigy capable of achieving a Void Attainment Position. What’s wrong with him having a few tricks up his sleeve?" Hao Yuan Shangzhen shook his head. "Of course, if you guys don’t believe me, you can make a move. But if he gets away and we forge a deep enmity as a result, the costs will far outweigh the benefits."

"..."

The atmosphere fell silent once more. After a long time, a stone statue finally let out an apologetic laugh. "You’ve misunderstood, Fellow Daoist. We were just discussing countermeasures a moment ago.

"It’s normal to have differing opinions.

"Since he isn’t his true body, naturally we cannot resort to force. We should try our best to win him over, though it would be best if we could trick his true body into appearing before us..."

"That will be difficult! Since this person used an avatar to meet us, it’s evident he’s already on guard."

"Sigh, public morals are in decline. It’s all because the Immortal Core Demons have polluted the atmosphere. In this day and age, even Outer Dao natives have learned that you can never be too careful around others."

Amidst their conversation, the stone statues fell back into a deep slumber one by one.

"We’ll leave this matter to Fellow Daoist Hao Yuan. His cultivation method is quite special, allowing him to maintain his Spiritual perception clear for long periods. We can’t do that. If we continue any longer, we’ll likely start draining our lifespan."

Before long, only a single strand of Spiritual perception remained in the grand hall.

Seeing this, Lü Yang chuckled and chimed in at the right moment. "It seems you seniors have already discussed how to deal with me. I wonder if you could enlighten me?"

He appeared entirely fearless and self-assured.

In truth, Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s judgment wasn’t wrong. Naturally, Lü Yang wouldn’t come alone to a place like the Star Palace, which was teeming with big shots. That would be far too dangerous.

He intended to play it safe and lay low in this life.

Therefore, the one who came was merely an Incense and Candle Avatar. However, despite being an avatar, it was so lifelike it could practically pass for the real thing, and its combat prowess was in no way inferior to his main body.

"...You are very smart." Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s Spiritual perception swept over as he spoke in a faint tone. "I am Hao Yuan. This time, on behalf of the Star Palace, I am officially inviting you to join us, Fellow Daoist. I wonder if you are willing?"

"It is exactly what I wish for," Lü Yang nodded gladly.

"Very good." Hao Yuan Shangzhen spoke cautiously. "In that case, as allies, I have a proposal. We require you to extract some of your excess lifespan, Fellow Daoist.

"After all, as you can see, the condition of us old folks isn’t actually very good. This matter won’t require your true body to make an appearance. We can even hand all the tools over to you. You can operate them yourself and simply have your avatar deliver it afterward... We just need a little bit of lifespan. Not much, how about around ten thousand years?"

"..."

Lü Yang didn’t answer. Instead, he just stood there in place, his wide eyes meeting Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s gaze across the space with a noncommittal half-smile.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate for a moment.

In the end, Hao Yuan Shangzhen was the first to concede. He knew what Lü Yang meant—it was nothing more than demanding benefits. His silence was merely out of fear of exposing his bottom line.

Simply put, his attitude was, "I won’t say what benefits I want. You just offer what you see fit. It all depends on your sincerity. If you have none, then there’s nothing I can do to help."

Thinking of this, Hao Yuan Shangzhen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. "This method of asking for benefits... Sigh, the Outer Dao natives really have been led astray by the Immortal Core Demons. Every single one of them has started playing mind games."

After a moment, Hao Yuan Shangzhen spoke again. "May I ask, Fellow Daoist, have you ever heard of the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness?

"It is said to be a Supreme Secret Realm that can guide one straight to the Nascent Soul stage. In the past, it had a total of seven trials, but it is now fragmented. I happen to have a Passage Token right here..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Token landed in front of Lü Yang.

Seeing this, Lü Yang’s expression turned odd.

"This actually suits me perfectly," he thought.

To be honest, he had been pondering how to get to the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness just a while ago, because he didn’t possess any karmic links to it in this life.

As for the Dragon Map, he had left it in the Spiritual Space of Demon Subduing Zhenren in his Previous Life, and it had long since been dealt with by the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord. Naturally, he couldn’t bring it back with him after his restart.

Originally, Lü Yang’s trip to the Star Palace included the idea of taking the opportunity to ask for the karmic links to the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness. He just hadn’t figured out how to broach the subject. Now, there was no need to think about it anymore. Before he could even open his mouth, Hao Yuan Shangzhen had unexpectedly taken the initiative to deliver the item right to his doorstep.

"But this is perfectly normal," he reasoned in his mind. "The Star Palace only has the Human World in their hands. In their eyes, that trial was deadlocked long ago, so the corresponding karmic links are naturally worthless. By bringing this out, they mostly just want to fool me. They just didn’t expect that I actually need this exact item."

Lü Yang deliberated inwardly, but on the surface, he revealed a tempted expression. He first put the Token away, then shook his head. "Just this one item is not enough."

Seeing this, Hao Yuan Shangzhen decided to speak frankly. "What do you want, Fellow Daoist?"

Hearing this, Lü Yang’s eyes darted around. He didn’t propose his plan to deal with Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva. After all, this was their first meeting, and they weren’t very familiar with each other yet.

Under these circumstances, expecting these living dead of the Star Palace to deal with an Immortal Core Demon and back him up was definitely unrealistic. He also hadn’t demonstrated enough value to make them do so... However, Lü Yang believed that, given time, they would eventually choose to help him.

Thus, he changed the subject and put forward another request. "I am very interested in the seniors’ Array Device Technique. I wonder if I might have the opportunity to learn it?"

He had felt that something was amiss earlier.

The Star Palace’s so-called Dao Weapons—those steel creations—and the Profound Mysterious methods of combining artifacts with Arrays gave him a sense of déjà vu.

It wasn’t until now that he finally remembered.

"It’s Crash Course: Array-Artifacts!" he realized. "The very first Array manual I obtained in the Stain Sect! Although the Star Palace’s methods are much more advanced, the design principles coincide perfectly with it!"

In other words—

"The Star Palace’s Crafting Technique is connected to the Stain Sect!" he concluded.

A bold guess surfaced in Lü Yang’s mind. "Of the Four Peaks of the Stain Sect, Crafting Peak focuses on Artifact Refining... Could it be the First Generation Master of Ten Thousand Treasures Peak?"