Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 113: Wisdom and Effort

"...One of them got away."

The scorched black earth was pockmarked with deep craters, as if it had just been plowed. A mangled corpse lay at the bottom of each one.

Of seventeen Monks, one had escaped.

Lü Yang’s Secret Demon Yin Thunder had blasted the remaining sixteen to death. The Buddha Light, which should have suppressed Yin Fiend energy, had no effect whatsoever.

But this was to be expected. So-called "counters" were always relative. For example, water counters fire. Under normal circumstances, this is true. But what use is a single cup of water against a blaze that spans a thousand miles? The gap between Lü Yang and this group of Monks was even greater than that.

The escapee, Guangming, understood this point all too well.

At this moment, thousands of miles away from Lü Yang, a mountain forest served as the Monks’ gathering point. Guanghai, the leader from the Pure Land for this operation, was present.

"Hm?"

Guanghai, who had been sitting peacefully with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. A moment later, a tangible golden Buddha Light rippled into existence beside him.

The next second, Guangming stumbled out of the Buddha Light and collapsed.

The moment he hit the ground, he looked around in absolute terror. Only when he confirmed that the terrifying figure was nowhere to be seen did he let out a heartfelt sigh of relief.

"I escaped... I actually escaped!"

It hadn’t been in vain—his deliberate gathering of the other Monks to use as human shields, pretending to prepare a powerful move while actually activating the Talisman of Bounding to flee.

The Talisman of Bounding could teleport a Cultivator marked by the spell to the Talisman’s owner.

The effect could also be used in reverse. Guangming had used a Secret Technique to activate it this way, which was how he instantly teleported to Guanghai’s side.

"What happened?"

Guanghai frowned, looking at Guangming’s wretched state. "Did you encounter a powerful enemy? How many were there? And where are the fellow disciples who were with you?"

Guangming froze at the question.

In that instant, his mind raced. ’Tell the truth? Are you kidding me? Should I tell my senior brother that I deserted my post and fled?’

’I’d be signing my own death warrant!’

After all, to give the dead Monks justice, Guangming was certain his senior brother wouldn’t hesitate to execute him.

Guangming’s eyes darted about. The next second, a look of profound grief washed over his face. With a sob in his voice, he said, "So many! There were too many to count! It seems that group of Demons had a backup plan.

I fought with my life on the line and killed a few before I managed to escape. The Demons slaughtered everyone else..."

"What?"

Before Guangming had even finished speaking, Guanghai’s expression turned grim. He felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. ’So those Demons from the Stain Sect have already gathered their forces?’

’We must find a way to annihilate them.’

Guanghai took this matter very seriously. He immediately summoned another Monk in a kasaya robe. "Guang Hui, take the Naga and exterminate that group of Demons."

The Monks of the Pure Land were divided into the Eight Legions of Monks. The Naga ranked second among them and were considered the most elite squad under Guanghai’s command.

After speaking, he turned back to Guangming. "Junior Brother Guangming, you will lead the way."

"Ah? Me?"

Guangming froze, the corner of his mouth twitching. His heart screamed in protest, but under Guanghai’s gaze, he could only grit his teeth and nod with a smile.

’It’s fine. This time, there shouldn’t be any problems... right?’

Looking at the mighty Naga Monks, a troop of over a hundred strong, Guangming calmed down a little. After all, the enemy was just one person.

The weakest of the Naga Monks were at the Mid-phase of Qi Refining. Their leader, Guang Hui, had gone even further, refining three Great Spells. At a critical moment, he could rally the Monks to perform a Secret Technique, manifesting a Dragon Elephant Vajra. This being possessed an exceptionally high Position, making it nearly equal to a Dharma Protector Vajra and second only to a Foundation-Stage Cultivator.

’With such strength, how could they possibly lose?’

’No matter how strong that great Demon is, he’s still only at the Qi Refining Stage. As long as a hundred Monks swarm him at once, there’s no way he can kill them all before his Qi runs out!’

Meanwhile, back on the scorched battlefield

"By the Perfected Lord... A Foundation-Stage Cultivator can actually enter an Outer Realm?"

Staring at Lü Yang’s back, Qin Tianhe was lost in a deep state of confusion. Clearly, the misunderstanding from his previous encounter with Lü Yang had not been cleared.

In fact, it had deepened.

But it was no surprise. After all, Lü Yang’s performance in the recent battle had been so utterly devastating that, from Qin Tianhe’s perspective, it was no different from watching a Foundation-Stage Cultivator in action.

But a second later, Qin Tianhe’s excitement returned.

He didn’t know how Lü Yang, a "Foundation-Stage Cultivator," had managed to enter the Secret Realm, but all that mattered was that Lü Yang was a Perfected Person from their own Stain Sect.

’This is a guaranteed win!’

Meanwhile, Lü Yang paid no mind to Qin Tianhe’s misunderstanding. His attention was focused entirely on the Monk corpses strewn across the ground before him.

’Perhaps these can be of some use...’

At this thought, Lü Yang immediately formed a set of hand seals and unfurled the Myriad-Soul Banner. Instantly, thick white smoke began to drift up from each of the surrounding corpses.

Following that, the Monks’ bodies dissolved into Qi one by one. Their Souls drifted out and were absorbed into the Myriad-Soul Banner. Once their Spirits were bound to the banner, the white smoke began to reform, manifesting the sixteen Monks once more. They all bowed low to Lü Yang in unison.

"Greetings, Master!"

Only then did Lü Yang nod in satisfaction. He looked at the still-spacious Myriad-Soul Banner, his heart burning with excitement. This Battle for the Dao might just be a fortuitous opportunity!

An opportunity to bring the Myriad-Soul Banner to the stage of Perfection through Refining!

After all, this Battle for the Dao had brought together so many Cultivators from the East, the West, the Dao Court, and the Pure Land. The entire region was teeming with lively, jumping... resources!

"Interesting..."

Just then, the figure of Progenitor Tingyou appeared behind Lü Yang. He studied the Monk Banner Spirits with great interest before suddenly speaking:

"I once drew inspiration from the East’s Heaven’s Mandate Dao to create the Yama Hall. Now, it seems the West also has something of value. If you can collect more of these Monks, I might be able to use them as a reference to improve the Yama Hall and raise its power to the next level."

"Oh?"

Progenitor Tingyou’s suggestion made Lü Yang’s eyes light up. He was suddenly reminded of the Fulong Temple that Arhat Fulong had used against him in his Previous Life.

The so-called Fulong Temple was, in fact, Arhat Fulong’s Dao Foundation.

It’s just that for Monks, Foundation Establishment doesn’t take place in the Foundation Establishment Realm, but rather within the Pure Land created by their Master of Dao. Their Dao Foundation is their personal temple.

And the more Buddha Followers it gathered, the stronger the temple’s master became.

If Progenitor Tingyou could incorporate this principle into the Yama Hall, then given the number of Banner Spirits within the Myriad-Soul Banner, Lü Yang’s strength would take another great leap forward!

Without another word, Lü Yang immediately cupped his hands. "Then I must trouble Progenitor to put his mind to it!"

Progenitor Tingyou sighed. "Strengthening the Yama Hall will also strengthen the foundation of my Wu Ghost Sect. At this point, this is all I can do."

"Try not to disturb me again from now on. I need to enter seclusion for a while."

"It’s a shame you only collected a dozen or so Monk Banner Spirits this time. Otherwise, my Enlightenment speed could be even faster..."

As his voice faded, Progenitor Tingyou took the group of Monks and entered the Grotto Heaven within the Myriad-Soul Banner, clearly intending to study the Monks’ cultivation approaches thoroughly.

Seeing this, Lü Yang finally understood the proper way to utilize Progenitor Tingyou.

Send him out for Combat?

’Thinking too small! That’s thinking way too small!’

He was a prime piece of technical talent! His effectiveness far surpassed the Chat Jade Scroll from his last last life. Almost anything that required Enlightenment could be delegated to him!

This just went to show that as long as the supremely talented Progenitor Tingyou worked desperately hard, he—Lü Yang—could surely go much further in this life!

When that time came, perhaps he too could say to others, "I, Lü Yang, have reached my current Stage entirely through my extraordinary wisdom and unremitting effort!"