Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 327: Sword Species, Courting Death

While Lü Yang was assisting his Split Soul in Breaking the Tribulation within No Heaven, he was also keeping a close eye on the battlefield between the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected and the Profound Spirit Realm.

To be honest, he was a little worried.

After all, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected was only one person. For some reason, the Sword Pavilion hadn’t sent any other reinforcements, and the rest of the allies were just a handful of small-timers.

But on second thought, Lü Yang felt at ease.

In his opinion, the Cultivators from the Profound Spirit Realm were far too naive. ’What sort of backwater is this? Do they really think people will fight them at the same Realm?’

’Never mind that the Sword Pavilion only sent out the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected—they’re probably just that confident in him. And even if a real crisis did arise, would the Sword Pavilion’s Perfected Lords really just stand by and watch? The Ye Family’s True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde, at the very least, would surely send a slash of Sword Qi across the void!’

Besides, they had experience with this sort of thing.

How much of a prodigy was Progenitor Tingyou back in the day? And wasn’t he cut down by a single one of those sword strikes? To a Perfected Lord, there’s no real difference between the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment and Foundation Establishment Perfection.

But soon, Lü Yang realized how naive he’d been.

There was no need for a Perfected Lord to act at all.

High in the heavens, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Without even drawing his sword, he manifested the image of his Blessed Land and single-handedly stopped everyone from the Profound Spirit Realm!

"Daoist, stand down."

The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected sighed. "The Masters of Dao have laid their plans, and they feed upon the myriad realms of the heavens."

"Your Profound Spirit Realm is a relatively large one, where the Fruit of attainment still exists. You haven’t been in contact for long, so there’s still time to escape. If you leave now, Daoist, and sever all ties with this realm, you might still have a chance. Otherwise, given time, all Living Creatures in your world will be utterly devastated..."

The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s words were sincere, but Minghua Celestial Immortal couldn’t comprehend their meaning at all.

’Master of Dao? What Realm is that?’

More importantly... he was still convinced he would be fine. Although the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s strength exceeded his expectations, he was still certain victory was within his grasp!

"Behold, the Lingyang!"

The next moment, Minghua Celestial Immortal began to form Magic Formulas. An orb of Celestial Fire materialized above his head before settling into his palm. It radiated endless light and heat as orange-red Splendid Light flared outwards, twisting all of creation. It was as if everything was about to be dragged into the inferno in his hand!

This treasure was the greatest source of his confidence for this venture.

It was named the Lingyang. In essence, it was a manifestation of the Profound Spirit Realm’s Sun, an artifact personally forged by the Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm!

RUMBLE!

In an instant, the raging Celestial Fire became like a monstrous Taotie, mercilessly devouring its surroundings and causing even the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected to frown.

It wasn’t that he feared such an attack.

However, Ye Guyue, Ye Xingfeng, and the other Cultivators at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment behind him couldn’t withstand it. It was clear that Minghua Celestial Immortal had realized his opponent’s predicament.

’You want to protect these people!’

’What a sentimental fool... In that case, I’ll use them to drain your energy. As your strength wanes, mine will grow. No matter how powerful you are, you’ll be no match for me!’

Minghua Celestial Immortal’s calculations were flawless. He channeled the Lingyang, sending out wave after wave of an orange-red sea of fire. This was clearly an attack meant for wide-scale destruction, intended not only to engulf all the Perfected Persons behind the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, but also to incinerate the thousands of miles of fertile land below!

Seeing this, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s compassionate expression finally vanished. He reached out and rested his hand on the hilt of the Magical Sword at his waist.

The sword’s name was Non-Killing. Its guard was inlaid with the Celestial Spirit North Dipper Array Pattern, its hilt wrapped in the Five-Colored Jueqiao Thunder Attraction, its sheath crafted from the hide of the Mysterious Turtle Carrying the Map, and its tassel adorned with a Taiyi Qingli Fruit.

"...Celestial Will."

A soft, mournful sigh escaped him.

Before the sound of his voice had faded, his Sword Intent surged to the heavens. The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected drew a three-foot stream of light from its sheath, and in an instant, it flooded the entire world as far as the eye could see.

The sword strike, upon its release, was like the Milky Way collapsing through the clouds; its momentum, like a white rainbow drinking from a mountain stream.

Wherever it passed, the very wind congealed into crystal, and light itself stilled into a rosy mist. Before the sword’s cry could even be heard, it had already shattered the sun-like blaze and sent it reeling back. As its afterimage finally arrived, the clouds in the highest heavens could be seen tearing apart like fine silk.

The Sword Light condensed frost into a blade and shattered jade into a radiant edge. Hues of azure and white intertwined upon it, like a great dragon carrying the moon in its jaws. Perfectly centered and impartial, it slashed into the vast sea of fire created by Minghua Celestial Immortal. It swept up the entire inferno, carrying it soaring toward the heavens, where it finally detonated at the very zenith of the sky.

SHIMMER!

What should have been a roar so loud as to be inaudible was reduced to a gentle breeze as it descended. All that could be seen was the residual light forming the image of an azure luan chasing the sun, while the dissipating Sword Qi took the shape of a white deer carrying a branch in its mouth.

’What an incredible Sword Light!’

Lü Yang saw the entire spectacle with perfect clarity. Compared to this one strike, the Sword Light produced by the other Sword Pavilion Perfected Persons couldn’t even be called swordplay!

’This is definitely not Divine Power!’

’No wonder the Celestial Sword Pavilion dares to claim it is number one in Combat. This sword strike must be the true essence of the Sword Pavilion... It’s simply unbelievably powerful!’

Minghua Celestial Immortal, and even the three Earth Immortals behind him, were all swept away by the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s sword strike. They were flung to the zenith of the heavens. Only seven Human Immortals, whose strength was comparable to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment, remained in place. They looked on in terror, each one bathed in blood, having all been heavily wounded simultaneously!

"Attack!"

Almost simultaneously, Ye Guyue sent a message via Divine Sense, "They’ve been struck by our Uncle’s Non-Killing Sword Intent! Their combat power is less than fifty percent of its peak!"

After all, Minghua Celestial Immortal was at the level of Foundation Establishment Perfection in the Profound Spirit Realm.

With three Earth Immortals comparable to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment at his side, even the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected couldn’t kill them all in a single strike. A prolonged battle was inevitable.

If the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected didn’t care about the lives of others, he could have attacked without restraint. But since he had to protect them, he naturally had to be more meticulous. That was why he not only swept Minghua Celestial Immortal and his cohort to the zenith of the heavens, but also deliberately dispersed his Sword Qi to heavily wound the seven remaining Human Immortals.

Everything was arranged perfectly.

In his calculations, Ye Guyue and Ye Xingfeng were more than capable of handling the cleanup. After all, both were Sword Pavilion Perfected Persons and belonged to the Direct Lineage of a Perfected Lord.

However—

"Xing Feng, don’t use your full strength in a moment."

As they attacked, Ye Guyue secretly sent a transmission to Ye Xingfeng at his side. "Our Uncle is a sentimental fool, possessed by his Heart Demon. We should relieve him of his burdens."

"Relieve him of his burdens?" Ye Xingfeng asked, somewhat confused.

"Exactly!" Ye Guyue said grimly. "The Shen Metal is one of the world’s Rare Treasures. It belongs to the virtuous. How can we let some Jiangbei Loose Cultivator named Lü Yang possess it?"

"Our Uncle is a fool for not taking it."

"That Loose Cultivator resides in the North and is already drowning in bad karma. The fact that we’re willing to let him reincarnate and join the Sword Pavilion is an act of heavenly grace. How can we continue to indulge him?"

Ye Xingfeng felt the same way but couldn’t help frowning. "But if we take the Shen Metal, how will we explain it to our Uncle?"

"Simple," Ye Guyue said coldly. "In a moment, you’ll deliberately leave an opening in your defense."

"Let these People from Beyond the Heavens go kill that Loose Cultivator. Once he’s dead, the Shen Metal will be ownerless. We can then retrieve it, and we’ll naturally have an explanation for our Uncle."

"As for that Loose Cultivator, if he dies, he dies.

"You could even call it his Karma. We’ll just be sending him off to his next life. At worst, we can guide him into the Sword Pavilion in the future, take him as a disciple, and that will settle our karmic links."

Hearing this, Ye Xingfeng immediately nodded. "Excellent!"

With this thought, the Sword Light in both their hands faltered for an instant.

The two sides were already locked in a fierce battle. The seven Human Immortals from the Profound Spirit Realm, led by Cheng Xian, naturally noticed this flaw the moment it appeared.

’An opening... I’ll take the Shen Metal first!’

Without a shred of hesitation, Cheng Xian summoned a Flying Light and shot past Ye Guyue’s blockade. Following his senses toward the Shen Metal, he charged onto the vessel!

Meanwhile, Ye Xingfeng was ’coincidentally’ tied down by the other Human Immortals.

BOOM!

The next second, the meditation chamber where Lü Yang was in seclusion was blasted to smithereens, revealing the scene inside.

Within the shattered chamber, Lü Yang’s Split Soul returned from No Heaven. As it opened its eyes, the four Abilities within his Spiritual Space flared with dazzling brilliance!

"Heh heh..."

Lü Yang’s true self had been watching the battlefield the entire time. How could Ye Guyue and Ye Xingfeng’s little scheme possibly escape his notice? He naturally let out a cold laugh.

’Sword Species... You’re courting death!’