Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 173: If It’s Fated, Must I Go?

"You bastard... You bastard!"

Inside the Grand Ward, Elder Lin’s hands trembled with rage. He never would have imagined that he, an eight-hundred-year-old Unity Cultivator, could be tricked by a young man!

But beyond his fury, he was also filled with confusion.

That was First Grade True Qi! As far as he knew, it was enough to make any Foundation-Stage Cultivator go mad for it. Why wasn’t Lü Yang tempted? Didn’t he want it?

Of course, that wasn’t the truth.

Admittedly, Lü Yang was truly tempted by the so-called Mahayana First Grade True Qi. After all, it concerned his future path on the Dao and whether he could go further.

Not to mention, it was left behind by a Primal Daoist.

He possessed a Primal Daoist’s Myriad-Soul Banner and also had a Manual of Primal Qi. He undoubtedly shared karmic links with it and had a high chance of obtaining the opportunity within.

’But even if I have a karmic link to it and I’m tempted, do I really have to go after it?’

Lü Yang’s mind was perfectly clear. The lesson from Arhat Fulong was still fresh in his memory!

’I must be focused in my actions, not chase trivialities at the expense of the essentials. More importantly, I can’t be too greedy. As for the Mahayana First Grade True Qi, I can always dedicate a future life to pursuing it.’

’As for now?’

’First, I’ll trap and kill this bunch of Great Cultivators of Unity from the Immortal Alliance, then overthrow the Immortal Alliance’s rule, extract the Earth Qi, and break through to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment!’

Therefore, from the very beginning, Lü Yang had no interest in Elder Lin’s words, nor in the secrets of the Primal Daoist. His entire performance was just a ploy to string them along, buy time to lay down the Grand Ward, trap everyone inside, and finally, kill them all in one fell swoop!

"Array, rise!"

Lü Yang performed a Finger Technique to activate the array. Instantly, countless beams of array light surged, gathering the boundless Spiritual Qi from the seawater within a ten-thousand-li radius and transforming it into a vast ocean!

And beneath their feet, the sea floor was exposed!

The seabed, once shrouded by the ocean, was now revealed, exposed under the open sky. All around them, however, monstrous waves surged, reaching for the heavens.

Looking up at the sky, the bright Cyan Heaven was gone.

All they could see was a vast riverine sea flowing across the sky, reflecting the light of the heavens. It drew ever closer, preparing to crash down upon their heads!

In an instant, the entire surface of the sea seemed to groan. The water vaporized so intensely that brilliant rainbows appeared in the vault of the sky.

"My heavens..." a Great Cultivator of Unity couldn’t help but groan in a low voice.

This was no longer something human power could accomplish.

This was the might of Heaven and Earth!

Lü Yang, using the power of the Grand Ward, churned the vast ocean for ten thousand li. Billions of tons of seawater flipped and crashed down. In its presence, the so-called Unity Cultivators were no different from ants!

The next second, the seawater crashed down.

Everyone hastily raised their Mythical Light, not to resist, but to circulate their Mana to the absolute limit, communicating with the Emperor’s Golden Seal of Tushita located within the Immortal Alliance.

Human power could not contend with such natural might. To fight it, the only way was to elevate one’s Position!

Instantly, Mythical Light emerged from all the Unity Cultivators, empowering their Foundation Establishment Position. They clearly intended to use their Position to withstand Lü Yang’s oceanic bombardment.

Seeing this, however, Lü Yang revealed a faint smile.

He had previously spent decades in seated meditation at the Stain Sect, outlasting Arhat Fulong while also studying Arrays and Talismans. With the help of the Prophetic Orrery, his progress had been incredibly fast.

Now, he was a Sixth Grade Array Master!

And the array before them was a Sixth-Grade Array he had meticulously deduced. It was the equivalent of "Foundation Establishment" in the field of arrays. How could it not handle a mere Position?

Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately took out the Abi Sword.

"Go!"

With a quick Finger Technique, the Abi Sword fell into the center of the array. As its Sword Light seeped out, the once clear, azure seawater instantly turned into a surging crimson!

The Blood Sea Heaven-Filling Sword Array Map!

This array was something Lü Yang had deduced and sublimated from the Blood River Sword Formation he created during his Qi Refining days!

Now, empowered by the Abi Sword, the azure ocean transformed completely into a Sea of Blood, which surprisingly also possessed a Position at the Foundation Establishment Level. With a heavy press, it instantly broke the bones and sinews of the first Great Cultivator of Unity in its path. Amidst a series of CRACKLING sounds, his aura rapidly weakened.

Then came the second, the third...

In the end, only Elder Lin—the oldest, with the highest Cultivation and deepest foundation—was still struggling to hold on, but he was already a spent force.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Sea of Blood surged again and again, wave after wave crashing down. Elder Lin fought back desperately, but his face showed an indescribable look of helplessness and frustration.

Strictly speaking, the quality of Lü Yang’s True Qi was actually inferior to his.

The True Dragon Fiend refined by the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis was only Third Grade, while as a Great Cultivator of Unity, his own True Qi could be ranked as Second Grade on the mainland.

Unfortunately, Lü Yang wasn’t competing with him on quality at all!

Empowered by the array, an immense ocean of seawater carrying the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was enough to crush him completely with its despair-inducing quantity, even if its quality was inferior!

PTOO!

In the end, Elder Lin could only let out a miserable howl before he, like the other Great Cultivators of Unity, was frozen like an insect in amber within the boundless Sea of Blood.

......

Outside the Blood Sea Heaven-Filling Sword Array Map, Lü Yang stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.

’He still hasn’t appeared...’

To be honest, he had thought that after he suppressed so many Great Cultivators of Unity from the Immortal Alliance in one move, the Perfected Fortune would surely sense it and show himself.

This Blood Sea Heaven-Filling Sword Array Map had also been prepared for him.

But in the end, nothing happened.

’That’s right. Perfected Chong Guang is probably watching the Perfected Fortune at all times. If he were to appear rashly and be discovered by Perfected Chong Guang, that would be the real disaster...’

At this thought, Lü Yang’s heart was immediately set at ease.

Since the Perfected Fortune couldn’t come, there was nothing to fear!

The next second, he took a small gourd from his waist and unstopped it. A wisp of colorless, odorless, ethereal smoke immediately drifted out.

The Soul-Devouring Gourd!

This item was a Spiritual Treasure that complemented the Abi Sword. It contained a wisp of Soul-Devouring Smoke; even a Foundation-Stage Cultivator would have their Divine Soul thrown into chaos if afflicted.

With a thought from Lü Yang, the smoke immediately drifted into the array.

He didn’t kill the Great Cultivators of Unity outright. Instead, he first suppressed their Dharma Bodies with the Sea of Blood, then used the Soul-Devouring Smoke to suppress their Souls.

’After all, it’s not like I’m a natural-born killer.’

Besides, their True Spirits were not in their bodies but were entrusted to the Emperor’s Golden Seal of Tushita. Killing them might have actually allowed them to escape.

’I almost forgot, there’s one more...’

Lü Yang’s gaze shifted, and he saw Guang Ming, who had been far off in the distance just a moment ago, come scrambling over. Without a word, he executed a perfect sliding kneel in mid-air:

"Your Excellency’s divine might is immeasurable! This humble monk is in awe!"

"This humble monk is very familiar with the Immortal Alliance Headquarters. If Your Excellency wishes to go, I am willing to lead the way! To tell you the truth, Your Excellency, I can’t stand these overseas natives either..."

Before Guang Ming could finish, Lü Yang cut him off with a wave of his hand.

Honestly, the first time Lü Yang met Guang Ming, he thought nothing of him. The second time, he planned to use him. But this third meeting sparked a sense of caution.

Meeting once is a coincidence; twice is an accident.

Three times is intentional. Not to mention, the Overseas region was vast. For the man to run into him so conveniently... you didn’t need a brain to know there were karmic links at play.

And yet, this person was still useful.

"...Forget it. Come with me." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Lü Yang dismissed his stray thoughts. He used an Ability to sweep up Guang Ming, then packed the array, along with the unconscious Unity Cultivators, into the Soul-Devouring Gourd.

Immediately after, he soared away in a streak of Flying Light, heading straight for the Immortal Alliance under Guang Ming’s guidance.

At this moment, the Immortal Alliance was already in chaos.

After all, the Soul Lamps of eleven Great Cultivators of Unity had all dimmed to the point of near extinguishment. For the mid-to-high-level Cultivators of the Immortal Alliance, it was as if the heavens were falling.

Seeing this, Lü Yang didn’t hesitate, landing directly above the Immortal Alliance Headquarters.

His Abilities enveloped the entire island, sealing the void and prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.

The reason he had rushed over was to control the situation as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if anyone managed to escape, it would be much harder to manage things later.

’Next up is Qi Collection.’

To collect the Earth of Wu, he had to destroy the old order, establish a new one, and remove the "great mountain" of the Immortal Alliance that was pressing down on the Azure Sun Cultivation Realm.

For any other Cultivator, this step might have been baffling.

’Good thing I come from the Stain Sect.’

When it came to quickly destroying a faction, neutralizing it, and ultimately seizing complete control, the Stain Sect had a complete and proven method.