Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 293: Massive Plunder

A few days later, Lü Yang confirmed that Master Xiuxin was fine.

The [Puppet] Talent Skill was truly overbearing. Whenever Lü Yang activated it, Master Xiuxin would inevitably submit, regardless of her prior attitude. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

As for Yun Miaqing, however, Lü Yang didn’t use his [Puppet] Talent Skill to forcefully control her.

It was mainly because he didn’t need to. Ever since Yun Miaqing discovered Lü Yang could help her speed up her cultivation, she had been focused solely on training in seclusion.

Especially after Yun Miaozhen suggested they stay at Hidden Sword Manor for the time being, she became a complete shut-in.

This, however, suited Lü Yang’s intentions perfectly.

The only slight annoyance was that because Master Xiuxin also practiced the Ice Heart Ruthless Sword Technique, she had no friends in the Sword Pavilion.

After all, it was common knowledge that this set of Magic Formulas emphasized being supremely heartless, with one’s sword becoming like a heart of ice. Aside from a very small number of people who actually enjoyed that sort of disposition, no one was interested in trying to cozy up to a cold shoulder. The only person Master Xiuxin could summon was just a Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator.

’Currently, my [Puppet] Talent Skill can only control those in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.’

’As for the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment, I’ll probably have to wait until my Immortal Spirit Body has been nurtured to that Realm before I can attempt to control them. I’d better not take the risk.’

Prioritizing stability was paramount!

As for entering the Sword Pavilion to control those in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment? That would be like taking a crap right under a Perfected Lord’s nose. Lü Yang would never dare.

Therefore, the top priority was to raise his own Realm as quickly as possible.

Lü Yang’s Immortal Spirit Body was currently in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. To advance, it had to devour a sufficient number of Geng Metal Spiritual Objects. Fortunately, this wasn’t too difficult to accomplish.

BOOM!

Within Hidden Sword Manor, Yun Miaozhen’s expression was icy as her immense spiritual perception enveloped the entire estate. Immediately after, she unleashed the powerful aura of a Late-phase of Qi Refining cultivator.

Lü Yang had ultimately bestowed his favor upon Yun Miaozhen, allowing her to break through her bottleneck from the Mid-phase to the Late-phase of Qi Refining. This made her utterly devoted to him. However, the moment she stepped out of the room, she immediately forgot his existence, remembering only his commands.

’Find an excuse and ransack Hidden Sword Manor!’

As a subordinate Sect under the Sword Pavilion’s jurisdiction, Hidden Sword Manor was filled with Geng Metal Spiritual Objects. If not for his fear of alerting the Sword Pavilion, Lü Yang would have plundered it by force long ago.

But having Yun Miaozhen do it would avoid any such trouble.

After all, Hidden Sword Manor wasn’t even a Foundation Establishment Sect. Its strongest expert was only at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining; they wouldn’t dare to do anything to a Late-phase of Qi Refining cultivator from the main Sect.

That was to say nothing of Master Xiuxin, who was also present.

Soon, Yun Miaozhen’s cold voice echoed throughout Hidden Sword Manor. "Effective immediately, Hidden Sword Manor is sealed! No one is to enter or leave without permission!"

As her voice faded, Master Xiuxin made her move. She took out a handkerchief and cast it into the air. Despite being an ordinary Artifact, empowered by the status of a Foundation-Stage Cultivator, it blotted out the sky, forming an impenetrable barrier that completely enveloped Hidden Sword Manor.

"Which esteemed senior has cast this spell to seal our manor!?"

A figure shot into the air from the center of Hidden Sword Manor. His voice was filled with terror as he flew over almost instantly.

The newcomer was an old man in dark robes.

Although he had the cultivation of a Great Perfection of Qi Refining cultivator, he clearly had not practiced any Legendary Techniques, so his actual power was average at best. His face, too, showed clear signs of old age.

"You are..."

The old man was taken aback when he saw Yun Miaozhen. His expression quickly grew grave as he recognized her as one of the disciples from the Celestial Sword Pavilion who had come to select a Sword Embryo.

"Yu Shu Yun Miaozhen."

Yun Miaozhen clasped her hands behind her back and gave a cold smile. "I’ve received a tip that Hidden Sword Manor is colluding with the Jiangbei Demon Dao, intending to abduct disciples from my Celestial Sword Pavilion!"

"What!?"

At these words, the dark-robed old man’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Colluding with the Jiangbei Demon Dao!?

This was an incredibly serious accusation! In Jiangnan, colluding with the Demon Dao was the ultimate transgression. Once discovered, it was a crime punishable by death!

Then, seeing Master Xiuxin beside Yun Miaozhen, the dark-robed old man didn’t dare entertain a single rebellious thought. He immediately bowed low and exclaimed, "We’ve been wronged! For generations, my Hidden Sword Manor has forged swords for the Upper Sect and has never had any presumptuous ambitions. How could we possibly collude with the Demon Dao? We implore the Upper Sect to see the truth of the matter!"

At that, Yun Miaozhen’s eyes narrowed. "Are you implying that I’m wronging you?"

"That... I would never dare..."

Before the dark-robed old man could explain, Yun Miaozhen waved a dismissive hand. "Enough. Since I am here, I am confident I will find the Demons."

’Right on schedule. They should be arriving any moment now.’

A moment later, a loud explosion rocked Hidden Sword Manor as a pillar of Demonic Qi erupted into the sky. The dark-robed old man, who had been trying to remain calm, was instantly scared deathly pale.

’There really are Demons here!?’

Yun Miaozhen, however, was not the least bit surprised by this development.

After all, she was the one who had tasked Master Xiuxin with secretly manipulating karmic links to lure these very Demons here, originally with the intent of having them abduct Yun Miaqing.

"Damn it! How did it come to this?"

Amidst the surging Demonic Qi, a Stain Sect Disciple glanced around with a grim expression. Though he appeared overwhelmingly ferocious at first glance, his eyes were filled with terror.

’Something’s not right. How could I have become so blinded by greed?’

’My original plan was just to abduct a few low-level disciples from the Sword Pavilion on the outskirts of the South. How did I inexplicably end up in a place like Hidden Sword Manor?’

’...This is bad!’

As the thought struck him, the Stain Sect Disciple’s face turned ashen. "It’s a Founda—"

SHING!

The next instant, Master Xiuxin flicked her finger. A beam of Sword Light shot out, and in the blink of an eye, it claimed the lives of all the Stain Sect Disciples present.

"It is everyone’s duty to slay the Demons of Jiangbei."

Yun Miaozhen’s expression was serene as she turned to look at the dark-robed old man, who was so frightened he hastily explained, "Esteemed one from the Upper Sect, I swear we had no prior knowledge of this..."

"And what if you didn’t?" Yun Miaozhen shook her head. "Even if you truly knew nothing beforehand, you are still guilty of negligence. I was the one who discovered it this time, so no harm was done. But if these Demonic Cultivators had actually succeeded in abducting disciples from my Sword Pavilion, you would not have escaped responsibility when the matter was investigated."

"This... this..."

The dark-robed old man’s expression grew even more bitter. He noticed that after speaking, Yun Miaozhen had fallen silent and was now just staring intently at him with wide eyes.

...Hmm?

After a moment of silence, the dark-robed old man lowered his voice. "Now that the Demons have been vanquished, is it possible... that this matter won’t be investigated any further?"

"That depends on you."

Yun Miaozhen said nonchalantly, "Harboring Demons is a major crime, after all. If you want to prove your innocence, you must get to the root of the problem."

The dark-robed old man’s eyes darted about as a thought came to him.

"Esteemed one from the Upper Sect... now that you mention it, the manor recently acquired a new batch of Spiritual Objects and Sword Embryos for sword refining. It’s possible these Demons came for them. Perhaps they’ve already tampered with those Spiritual Objects... I wonder, would the Upper Sect be willing to take them away and inspect them thoroughly on our behalf?"

At this, Yun Miaozhen finally gave a slight nod. "That is indeed a critical point."

........

「In a Quiet Chamber within Hidden Sword Manor.」

Yun Miaozhen entered the room, carrying a heavy Storage Bag, and immediately saw Lü Yang at the desk.

"Who’s there!?"

Yun Miaozhen was startled at first, but upon seeing Lü Yang’s face and meeting his gaze, a look of confusion clouded her eyes, and then, everything came back to her.

The next moment, she bowed, approached him cautiously, and presented the Storage Bag to Lü Yang. "Master, I have inspected all of Hidden Sword Manor. All the Geng Metal Spiritual Objects are here. There are no more. If you need more, I’m afraid we’ll have to search the surrounding Sects."

"Ah."

Lü Yang stood and took the Storage Bag.

"You’ve done well."

After counting the Geng Metal Spiritual Objects in the Storage Bag, Lü Yang nodded in satisfaction. With a single thought, he sent them all into his Immortal Spirit Body.

But this still wasn’t enough.

A paltry place like Hidden Sword Manor, which didn’t even have a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had only accumulated enough Geng Metal Spiritual Objects to speed up his progress by about ten percent. He needed more.

"Have you done what I asked you to do earlier?"

"Yes, Master. It’s done."

Yun Miaozhen whispered, "I’ve already sent a letter to the Ancestor. I’m currently the most valued disciple in the Yun Family. He will certainly come once he receives the letter."

A smile spread across Lü Yang’s face.

The first fish had taken the bait.