Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 59: An Unexpected Problem

Standing before the Realm, Lü Yang carefully contemplated this "creation of the Master of Dao" while also pondering how to configure the realm to his greatest advantage.

’First, I definitely won’t step into the spotlight.’

’I only need to sow the seeds and then wait for them to blossom and bear fruit... If there’s no mastermind from the very beginning, then naturally, no one will come looking!’

’Second, I don’t need a world of peace.’

"After all, heroes are born in wartime, and it’s in chaos that one is hardly to find the truth... Even if a hero does emerge and discover the truth, they won’t be able to make any waves."

’Because I can just have heroes deal with heroes, and champions fight champions!’

Just like that, a multitude of parameters were fed into the Secret Realm.

The next moment, the entire Secret Realm burst into light, spinning in circle after circle. Within the glow, Lü Yang thought he saw countless scenes of the mortal world, constantly shifting and changing.

Seeing this, Luo Wuya took the initiative to speak. "Since you are entering the Secret Realm to cultivate, Junior Brother, I will not disturb you. I wish you success."

"Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother." Lü Yang returned the courtesy. "I will remember the kindness of your guidance, Senior Brother. When I achieve success in the future, if you have any request, please do not hesitate to ask."

Luo Wuya smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this.

"Junior Brother, you are destined for great things!"

The next moment, the light of the Secret Realm engulfed Lü Yang.

...

"Quite impressive..."

Inside the Secret Realm, Lü Yang stood atop a mountain peak, a look of curiosity in his eyes. He felt that the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees—everything—seemed incredibly real.

"...But there are still flaws. It’s not perfect."

A halo of light appeared behind Lü Yang’s head as the Heaven Divination Talisman activated. Performing a divination, he instantly saw through the illusion and discovered flaws that set it apart from the real Heaven and Earth.

These flaws were minuscule and existed only on a microscopic level. Only Lü Yang, with his Power of Divination, could perceive a fraction of them. An ordinary Cultivator, looking from a macroscopic perspective, would never see them. As for the "talent" who had lived in the Secret Realm since childhood, it would be utterly impossible for them to notice anything amiss.

"Rather than a world, it’s more like a giant stage set..."

All things were real.

However, the "world" was a complete fake, no different in nature from a pigsty at a common villager’s home.

"So this is the Stain Sect’s talent-rearing facility."

Lü Yang shook his head, putting aside his musings. He turned his attention to preparing for his grand undertaking of imparting the Dao, the most crucial part of which was creating a new cultivation system.

"With the Chat Jade Scroll, it’s no wonder Luo Wuya said Theft to Sainthood was a good fit for me..."

Because the Chat Jade Scroll, a deductive artifact, would allow him to create a cultivation system with fewer flaws, making it harder for the realm’s natives to detect.

’The cultivation system can’t be too complex.’

’After all, with my abilities, the more complex it is, the less it will hold up to scrutiny. Simple is best. So simple even a fool could understand it, so that anyone can cultivate it...’

’But it can’t be too weak, either. If the strongest practitioners of this system only reach the First Layer of Qi Refining, they won’t pose a threat to me, but the amount of fortune and essences that Theft to Sainthood could steal would be pitifully small. That would be detrimental to my own cultivation. So I should be bold and raise the system’s maximum combat strength.’

At this thought, Lü Yang had a sudden realization.

’That Direct Disciple Senior Brother Luo mentioned, the one who was killed by the inhabitants of a Secret Realm, probably wanted to maximize his gains just like me, but his plan went awry...’

’No, that won’t do. I need to set up a safeguard.’

Lü Yang pondered continuously until he finally had a framework. Then, with the help of the Chat Jade Scroll, he filled in the numerous details, at last forming a complete system...

A moment later, Lü Yang made his decision.

Theft to Sainthood was, after all, a Body Enhancing Technique. Therefore, if he was going to create a cultivation system, it made sense to base it on body enhancement. This would make his own practice more efficient.

Regarding the physical body, the most advanced knowledge Lü Yang possessed was the Taiyi Jade Light, which he had obtained from Yun Miaozhen.

Therefore, he planned to use this technique as the foundation.

At this thought, Lü Yang immediately began to activate it.

Heart-Fire, Lung-Metal, Spleen-Earth, Liver-Wood, Kidney-Water...

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, sinews, bones, flesh, blood, will...

Lü Yang calmed his mind and regulated his breath. He gathered the brilliant light condensed from his organs and his entire body, channeling it all toward the Celestial Gate at the crown of his head until it burst forth from his skull!

A magnificent flame of light enveloped Lü Yang, dissolving all "flaws" and leaving his physique as clear and radiant as jade.

This was the Taiyi Jade Light.

At the same time, Lü Yang used the Chat Jade Scroll to record every transformation of the Ability. Using this as a basis, he quickly formulated a complete system.

"This art shall be known as the Martial Dao!"

"Practitioners of the Martial Dao will first focus on Blood Qi. It is the art of mastering the Five Elements within the body, opening the nine heavenly apertures, and breaking through the profound gate of creation! A Perfected Martial Artist... will be comparable to a cultivator at the Late-phase of Qi Refining!"

"However, while the Martial Dao grants great Divine Power, its practitioners cannot fly..."

This was the safeguard Lü Yang had implemented: Martial Artists could not fly!

This way, even in the worst-case scenario where he suffered a backlash from the realm’s inhabitants, he could simply fly away. If he couldn’t win a fight, he could at least escape.

An unknown amount of time passed before Lü Yang awoke from his Meditation.

In his hand now lay a Book, a record of the "Martial Dao."

The next moment, with a mere thought from Lü Yang, the Book erupted in golden light, split into four in mid-air, and then scattered toward the far horizons.

"The pieces are on the board. Now, let’s see what the future brings..."

Lü Yang smiled faintly, then returned to the temporary Cave Mansion he had opened and once again entered seclusion. He still had much to accomplish in his cultivation.

For example, he had now mastered the Heavenfiend Radiance, the Yin Curse, and the Heaven Divination Talisman. He had gathered all three sub-techniques that comprised the Lunar Shedding Technique, just as Yun Miaozhen once had. However, he still had no clue how to merge and master them.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know the method.

In fact, the final step of the Lunar Shedding Technique was quite simple.

Shedding one’s form after death. Failure meant true death, but success would result in the birth of an Immortal Embryo, granting one a portion of the Mighty Power of a Foundation-Stage Cultivator.

In short, one needed to "die once."

For a normal cultivator, this step wasn’t actually that difficult. It was simply a matter of whether one dared to gamble on the odds between life and death, and whether they had the luck to succeed.

For Lü Yang, however, this was an insurmountable chasm.

"Because the moment I die, I’ll just restart!"

After restarting, he would return to the square. How could he possibly shed his form after death then?

Thinking of this, Lü Yang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

All this time, the Centome had been his greatest asset. No matter what danger he faced, he had the confidence to confront it, knowing that at worst, he could just start over.

But he never, ever would have expected that the Centome would become the very obstacle blocking his advancement