Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Lü Yang’s main body left the Profound Spirit Realm without hesitation.

Admittedly, he had had a lot of fun toying with the Profound Spirit Realm earlier. However, when it came to a life-or-death matter of such magnitude, he always maintained clear priorities.

"Besides, this isn’t running away," he thought. "This is a strategic retreat. Only by staying outside the Profound Spirit Realm can I advance or retreat with justification. If things succeed, I will immediately press the advantage; if they fail, I can easily withdraw in time. Fortunately, the Constant that the Saint Sect Ancestral Master established for the Immortal Pivot seems to target Outer Realms, not individuals. As long as someone is aware of it, they can still escape. If even a person couldn’t flee, that would be true despair... Though with insufficient Dao Heart Cultivation, it’s hard to even realize the danger."

He traveled continuously, distancing himself from the Profound Spirit Realm.

Only when he confirmed that no enemies were pursuing him and no sudden gazes from a Master of Dao fell upon him did Lü Yang pat his chest and finally ease his tense nerves.

"Thank goodness I was cautious enough," he thought.

The one sent to the Star Palace was merely an avatar. His main body had remained safely hidden behind the Profound Spirit Realm, its karmic links concealed by the empowerment of the Profound Mysterious of Night Exorcism.

"Although the Incense and Candle Avatar was exposed right under the Bhagavat’s nose, it is, in the end, only a part of the Bhagavat," he reasoned. "It’s not the true Bhagavat residing on the Other Shore. Its Mighty Power is limited, and its Position isn’t high enough. It’s impossible for it to directly catch my main body through the connection between avatar and true form."

Of course, just to be safe, after leaving the Profound Spirit Realm, Lü Yang still retreated into the Nourishing Life Master. He only felt secure within the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness, where a Master of Dao could not interfere.

After doing all this, he shifted his Heart Spirit back to his avatar in the Star Palace.

Meanwhile, in the Star Palace.

While Lü Yang’s main body was dealing with a nerve-wracking situation, his Incense and Candle Avatar was having a fantastic time.

With a generous wave of Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s pen, he had acquired almost a complete set of everything produced by the Star Palace. His Righteous Banner was nearly stuffed to the brim.

However, matters had their priorities, and items had their varying degrees of importance. The vast majority of these resources could only serve as a stockpile for now. Without the Star Palace’s specialized technology, he couldn’t truly convert them into usable array artifacts.

Lü Yang collected them to prepare for refining a Star Map himself in the future. Stockpiling materials ahead of time was never a bad idea.

Of course, there were two items that were immediately useful.

"One is the Five Elements Star Marrow," he mused. "It can be used to mend the Great Dao and elevate the Profound Mysterious. It’s perfect for the Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder. I took five portions of it."

Although this material was considered rare in the Star Palace, it wasn’t so scarce as to be a priceless treasure. Essentially, every Star Monarch had some in stock, and certain prominent families possessed quite a bit. Combined with the Star Palace’s own reserves, when Lü Yang asked for five portions, Hao Yuan Shangzhen even felt he was asking for too little.

"The other is a Dao Weapon," he thought.

However, unlike the Dao Weapon Radiant Spirit God used earlier by Star Monarch Fang Ritu, the Dao Weapon provided by Hao Yuan Shangzhen was on a vastly superior scale.

Hao Yuan Shangzhen explained, "Radiant Spirit God is merely a class of Tactical Level Dao Soldiers.

"To put it bluntly, it’s used to boost the combat prowess of the Star Monarchs’ servants, allowing them to hold out as long as possible when engaging in Combat against Immortal Pivot True Monarchs in the future.

"On the other hand, the true Strategic Level Dao Soldiers share the same clearance level as the Twenty-Eight Star Map. Only old fogeys like us have the authority to use them."

Under Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s guidance, Lü Yang arrived at a remote Star Sea. There, he beheld an ultra-massive steel structure.

How large was it exactly? Frankly speaking, its scale was indistinguishable from the Profound Spirit Realm itself. Inside the colossal structure, densely packed Array Treasure Creations were operating in a frenzy.

"This is Factory One," Hao Yuan Shangzhen explained. "Back in the day, our Twenty-Eight Star Map and all the Strategic Level Dao Soldiers were produced in this very facility."

After he finished speaking, Lü Yang followed him to a corner of the factory. There, a star constructed almost entirely of steel hovered silently in the void. Its gray-iron luster and symmetrical design exuded a profound aesthetic of Order. Complex Array Patterns covered its entire surface.

"This is it." Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s Spiritual perception rippled slightly. "This is my personal reserve batch of Strategic Level Dao Soldiers. Taking your situation into consideration, I am specially lending it to you."

Hearing this, Lü Yang raised an eyebrow slightly. "May I ask what use this Dao Weapon has? Forgive my bluntness, but with my current Cultivation, the slight amplification effects a Dao Weapon provides are already incredibly weak."

"This one is different," Hao Yuan Shangzhen laughed. "This set of Strategic Level Dao Soldiers is named the Sun-Shooting Bow. Its role differs from the Radiant Spirit God. It is not meant for direct, head-on Combat."

"Oh? Then how is it used?" Lü Yang asked curiously.

Hao Yuan Shangzhen explained, "It is used for long-range strikes. Simply put, it can gather power and launch a long-range strike from a distance far beyond the reach of a True Monarch Divine Thought."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yang immediately understood.

An over-the-horizon strike!

However, he quickly furrowed his brow. "If that’s all it does, it doesn’t seem that impressive. It hardly seems to reach the so-called ’strategic’ level."

"What if I told you it can elevate your Position?" Hao Yuan Shangzhen smiled.

"...Tell me more," Lü Yang’s expression turned serious.

Hao Yuan Shangzhen elaborated, "This Dao Weapon is not meant to be used in the Current World. Instead, it must be taken to the Sea of Suffering. There, it will draw upon the infinite conceptual waters of the Sea of Suffering for empowerment.

"Therefore, unleashing a strike with it is equivalent to an inundation from the Sea of Suffering. If it charges up for long enough and draws in a sufficient amount of water from the Sea of Suffering, it can even push the Position of the attack up a notch. With your Cultivation, Daoist... reaching the threshold of the Great Perfected Lord realm in a single strike is not out of the question!"

...Holy shit?!

As Hao Yuan Shangzhen’s words fell, Lü Yang was plunged into immense shock. Did that mean this thing could unleash a strike near the level of a Great Perfected Lord?!

With weapons like this, the Star Palace still couldn’t defeat the Immortal Pivot?

"Do not overstate its capabilities, Daoist." Seeing the shift in Lü Yang’s expression, Hao Yuan Shangzhen quickly added, "Although its power is immense, the wear and tear is just as massive. These are essentially single-use Artifacts.

"Once you use it, it’s gone.

"Moreover, the activation conditions are exceedingly harsh. It requires a tremendously vast amount of Mana to drive it. Only old fogeys like us can barely meet the requirement.

"As for those Star Monarchs, they don’t have the capability."

Lü Yang frowned slightly upon hearing this. "To be honest, Senior, while I am confident that my Mana is not lacking, compared to all of you Seniors, I’m afraid I might still..."

"You can rest assured on that front, Daoist," Hao Yuan Shangzhen laughed heartily. "The Sun-Shooting Bow given to you has been modified. What it requires is not Mana, but Dharma Body Power.

"With your Cultivation, Daoist, you have more than enough to meet the requirements."

Lü Yang finally nodded. "That’s good to hear..."

Immediately after, he once again carefully examined the Star Dao Soldiers nearing final assembly inside the factory. "It really is a single-use item," he noted internally. "Because the materials used are mostly common ones. There aren’t any high-end materials. Or rather, its original design intention was to serve as a disposable tool."

Thinking of this, Lü Yang suddenly asked out of curiosity, "Such a Dao Weapon... who designed it?"

"Er..."

At this question, Hao Yuan Shangzhen, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, suddenly stalled. A moment later, he replied, "It was an old Array Treasure Master named Star Soul.

"You actually know him, Daoist."

"...I know him?" Lü Yang’s eyes flickered.

He only knew two Array Treasure Masters. One was Mingfeng, and the other was the old professor from the tutorials. Hao Yuan Shangzhen had no reason to be tight-lipped about the former.

"Does that mean... it’s that old professor who said I had no Talent Skill and was only fit for Cultivating the Dharma Body?" he realized.

"I didn’t expect that old professor to be so outstanding," Lü Yang couldn’t help but muse to himself. "Perhaps he’s a talent highly suited to become a Refined Banner Spirit."

Of course, this wasn’t him being petty.

It was simply that he cherished talent.