Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 306: A Superior Move

Lü Yang had never hesitated to show his utmost animosity toward Ang Xiao.

Whatever Ang Xiao wanted to do, he would sabotage. Whatever Ang Xiao didn’t want to do, he would ensure came to pass. In short, his entire strategy was to oppose him.

That was why he was so interested in Yu Suzhen’s past.

Reaching the Final-phase of Qi Refining in three years... she must have received significant opportunities with Ang Xiao’s help. But how many of those opportunities had Ang Xiao secretly tampered with?

With World Purger Fei Xue watching from above, it was the perfect time to investigate!

At this thought, Lü Yang’s expression grew focused as he performed the Secret Technique. Yu Suzhen’s past memories began to flow out like a torrent of water.

’Her experiences over the last three years!’

Soon, Lü Yang had complete control over Yu Suzhen’s memories. Layers of dim scenes floated up, one after another, until a final image was reflected before his eyes.

At first, Yu Suzhen’s history was just as he had predicted.

She went through countless hardships, finally began Qi Refining, and joined Heaven Mending Peak. After being targeted by Liu Xin, she miraculously turned the tables and killed him, obtaining the inheritance of a Primal Daoist.

But this was where things went wrong.

Inside Liu Xin’s Myriad-Soul Banner, Yu Suzhen had seen an existence she had never encountered before. Her current level of cultivation was entirely due to that being’s guidance!

’What... is this place?’

Within the memory, Lü Yang’s eyes widened. All he could see was a murky river, its churning waves revealing glistening white bones.

The river was vast and seemingly endless.

In the heart of the river stood a colossal boulder, as massive as a mountain, firmly anchored in the very center and demarcating the waterway.

’Something’s not right...’

Lü Yang’s brow furrowed. This scene was what Yu Suzhen had seen inside the Myriad-Soul Banner, yet his own understanding of the banner far surpassed hers, and he had never discovered such a place within it! ’This is undoubtedly Ang Xiao’s backup plan. Did he tamper with the Myriad-Soul Banner?’

Suddenly, Lü Yang remembered.

’I’ve seen this place before.’

It was a memory that didn’t belong to him, yet he could now recall every detail with perfect clarity. In that memory, he was standing right in this very place. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, in the memory, there was another person here.

That person was standing atop the giant boulder in the middle of the river, staring right at him.

HISS!

In that instant, Lü Yang sucked in a sharp breath. He subconsciously looked toward the spot from his memory, only to see that a figure had actually appeared there!

’No... he’s an outsider!’

’A trap!?’

At this moment, Lü Yang was in the middle of a Soul Search; all the scenes before him were, in essence, illusory. But that figure was different. He was unmistakably real!

He had walked right out of the memory!

........

「An Unspeakable Place.」

In a place shrouded by layers of shadow and the void, a handsome Daoist was sitting cross-legged in mid-air. He looked up, his eyes flowing with starlight like a river.

The next second, he smiled.

"Fellow Daoist, you truly are extraordinary. I placed my pawn in the Stain Sect and severed all karmic links, yet you still managed to deduce my plan and gather such a grand entourage to wait for me here..."

Ang Xiao’s tone carried a long-absent thrill. In his eyes, everything that had happened so far was merely a game between him and the Daoist behind the scenes. He had used Yu Suzhen as a pawn, and his opponent had called upon Great Undertaking, World Purger Fei Xue, and others to intercept it.

This was no small feat!

’To have calculated my true objective so precisely... it seems the matter of the Earth of Chen has already been exposed. And that’s not even mentioning the Perfected Lord who’s watching.’

Lü Yang’s guess had been correct.

At this very moment, World Purger Fei Xue was waiting just off the coast. Her Dharma Body was fused with Heaven and Earth, making her invisible to anyone who was not also a Perfected Lord.

’My fellow Daoist hasn’t made a move himself from start to finish.’

’He’s a master of killing with a borrowed knife, all while hiding himself in the shadows... but if he truly had the power, if his cultivation was on par with mine, why would he need to hide?’

The smile on Ang Xiao’s lips slowly widened. ’Your cultivation isn’t that high, is it, fellow Daoist?’

’Middle Stage of Golden Core? Early Stage? You must be borrowing the Power of a Fruit Position... It couldn’t be Foundation Establishment, could it? Let me see just what tricks you have up your sleeve...’

At this point, Ang Xiao already felt victory was in his grasp. It was true, he did want to use Yu Suzhen to lure out the Primal Daoist Evil and refine it into an avatar, but he never put all his eggs in one basket. Thus, Yu Suzhen was not only his pawn, but also the poisoned bait he had set!

In his eyes, the Daoist hiding behind the curtain had miscalculated only one thing.

’You probably never imagined that I can already crudely wield the power of the Netherworld. This Nether Emissary, while not my avatar, is even better than one.’

’If you ignore it, it will help me bring the Primal Daoist Evil back to the Netherworld, and my plan will have succeeded all the same.’

’But if he has a mind to stop it and kills the emissary, he will inevitably suffer a backlash from the entire Netherworld!’

A backlash from the Netherworld was nothing like karmic links.

Karmic links were a great net riddled with countless holes and oversights. But all people were subject to reincarnation, making the Netherworld’s influence truly inescapable!

’The Netherworld’s backlash strikes the True Spirit directly. Even if you’re borrowing someone else’s body, you won’t be able to hide!’

At that point, he, residing in the Netherworld, could follow that connection to directly lock onto the true body of the Daoist behind the scenes and uncover his origins.

’No matter which option you choose, fellow Daoist, I remain undefeated. In the end, I’m still one move ahead in this game!’

At this thought, Ang Xiao couldn’t help but laugh out loud. For a person of his stature, the feeling of outwitting this "fellow Daoist" was a rare pleasure.

’So, what will it be? Will you hand over the Primal Daoist Evil on a silver platter, or will you let me see your true face?’

Ang Xiao looked toward the Current World with anticipation.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang had also realized what was happening. He understood that he had fallen for Ang Xiao’s scheme, but he wasn’t particularly panicked.

’My main body is a world away. No matter how bad it gets, it’s only the avatar that will suffer...’

Lü Yang studied the suddenly-appeared figure through his Puppet. The entity had walked out of the memory and directly entered the avatar’s Spiritual Space.

Looking at it carefully now, he saw that it was half-black and half-white, with a bizarre appearance. It was tall and gaunt, holding a Mourning Stick in one hand and dragging a Soul Hook with the other. It let out a great laugh, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. Squinting at Lü Yang, its eyes gleamed with a cold light. Without another word, it spoke:

"Halt! What manner of demon are you?"

At these words, Lü Yang laughed. "A demon? I think you’re the one who looks more like a demon. Trespassing in another’s Spiritual Space is hardly the action of the Righteous Dao."

"Insolence!"

The figure gave a cold laugh. "Do you take me for some blind mortal? You have a consciousness but no soul, a spirit but no life-force. If you’re not a demon, then what are you?"

’Judging by that tone... this isn’t Ang Xiao himself?’

Lü Yang heard him loud and clear and began to speculate. ’What on earth is this thing? The "demon" it mentioned... could it be referring to the Daoist Remnant?’

In this respect, Ang Xiao’s methods were actually cut from the same cloth as Lü Yang’s. It was just that Lü Yang had created a Second Avatar, while Ang Xiao had created a Nether Emissary. Both creations were completely ignorant of their true origins, knowing only to complete the tasks assigned to them by their masters behind the scenes.

And so, the next second, the monster shook its head. "Forget it. I can’t be bothered with the details."

"In any case, a soulless, spiritless person like you ought to be sent to reincarnation anyway. Whether you’re the one I’m looking for or not, it makes no difference. Today, I’ll capture both you and that demon outside!"