Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 341: Minor Metal’s Calculation

The moment Minor Metal finished speaking, the Qi trace around him changed abruptly.

He had originally cultivated his Abilities to Divine Power Perfection, obtaining Immortal Tree, Shade Dragon Water, Fear of Cutting, and Steel Flame Furnace, a path that pointed directly toward the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire.

Now, however, his Abilities had changed.

The light from his Abilities that symbolized the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire abruptly dissipated, like a lamp blown out by the wind. In its place, hazy streams of Divine Illusionary Colors appeared.

"Essence of All Flowers, Guan Chou Sea, Mist Crossing, and Long Hatred Song!"

Four Void Divine Techniques. Even Ang Xiao was somewhat surprised. "Every one of them is Upper Grade. Aren’t you afraid Mu Changsheng will just possess you outright?"

"That will depend on you, Sir," Minor Metal said with a calm smile.

"Hahaha!"

Ang Xiao couldn’t help but clap his hands and laugh heartily.

Minor Metal’s choice was brilliant!

This was because No Heaven, much like Ang Xiao himself, was shunned by the world’s Perfected Lords. They would not allow Mu Changsheng to actually succeed in attaining his Void Certificate through it.

Under such circumstances, no one should have been willing to help Minor Metal. Furthermore, his new path was the antithesis of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, so even his staunchest former supporter, World Purger Fei Xue, could not possibly intervene on his behalf. Only Ang Xiao, who was also an enemy to the world’s Perfected Lords, had both the motive and the ability to act.

After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

If Minor Metal pursued the path of No Heaven now, not a single Perfected Lord would try to stop him. Compared to him, Ang Xiao’s situation was undoubtedly more important.

’He’s using me as a human shield.’

At this thought, Ang Xiao didn’t get angry. Instead, he chuckled. "I do have a way to help you resist possession by Mu Changsheng’s consciousness."

Mu Changsheng was indeed extraordinary.

In Ang Xiao’s eyes, however, he wasn’t so extraordinary as to be incomprehensible. How many prodigies of breathtaking talent had he seen in his long life?

They were all in the past now.

’Only by ascending to the throne and becoming a Perfected Lord can one truly gain a foothold in this world... The last one was Fei Xue. This man is cut from the exact same cloth as her.’

’Will he be the next?’

Ang Xiao mused internally, but his face betrayed nothing. He continued to smile faintly. "I can help you. But, young friend, what can you offer to help me in return?"

"What you lack, Sir, is merely time."

Minor Metal directly exposed Ang Xiao’s dilemma. It wasn’t that Ang Xiao feared Fortune’s Gold Quest. The problem was that right before it began, a part of his consciousness had been trapped within the South Celestial Gate. He had lost his connection to the Current World and missed the optimal window to intervene.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

Fortune had already passed the initial stage and was beginning to draw the attention of the Fruit. Having reached this point, Ang Xiao no longer had time to lay his own plans.

This, too, was part of World Purger Fei Xue’s scheme.

But to put it another way—

"As long as I can buy back that lost time for you, Sir, I believe you won’t need anyone else’s help. You’ll have your own way to break this deadlock."

As he finished speaking, Minor Metal revealed his bargaining chip.

A Splendid Light surged around his entire body, and Ang Xiao immediately sensed its source. "The Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire... and its corresponding Ritual?"

"I have taken the concept behind the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire and named my version ’Reversal.’"

Minor Metal said in a low voice, "Fortune was ensnared in your scheme, Sir, and I helped him escape a situation of certain death. That is the ultimate ’Reversal’—enough to draw the attention of the Fruit!"

If Lü Yang had been here, he would have had a sudden realization.

That transaction!

Before entering the South Celestial Gate, Minor Metal had taken the initiative to propose a deal with Lü Yang: for Lü Yang to remain inside the South Celestial Gate and use himself as bait for Ang Xiao.

Without a doubt, this transaction allowed Minor Metal to play a tangible role in the scheme against Ang Xiao, acting as a weight on the scales. Without this deal, Lü Yang would have simply passed through quickly, and Ang Xiao might have realized something was amiss sooner, triggering a chain reaction.

This was the true purpose of the deal between Minor Metal and Lü Yang!

On the one hand, it was to lure Ang Xiao into the trap. On the other, it was to create a bargaining chip for himself and demonstrate his value.

"Of course, this alone isn’t enough to make Fortune’s Gold Quest fail."

"However, with this, I am confident I can compete with Fortune for the Fruit’s attention. I can buy you at least an hour, Sir. That should be enough time for you to make your move, shouldn’t it?"

Minor Metal was shrouded in Splendid Light, his expression unreadable.

There was another aspect to his gambit: to maintain the Ritual, he had to stay alive. If he died, there would be no one left to keep Fortune occupied.

The subtext was clear: *You’d better not pull any tricks.*

Ang Xiao studied Minor Metal, his own expression equally inscrutable. After a moment, he said suddenly, "...Just keeping you alive? I have many ways to do that."

Hearing this, Minor Metal nodded. "You’re welcome to gamble, Sir."

’Gamble? What a joke!’

If Fortune succeeded in his Gold Quest, thousands of years of Ang Xiao’s planning would go up in smoke, and his Realm would even regress. With his entire Dao path at stake, how could he possibly take that gamble?

"...Remarkable."

Looking at Minor Metal, Ang Xiao finally smiled and gave a slight nod. "In all these many years, you’re the first person to dare blackmail me. You truly have courage."

"There is no irreconcilable conflict between us, Sir."

Minor Metal lowered his gaze. "If you help me, Sir, then I, in turn, can help you upon my ascension. It’s a win-win situation. The choice is yours."

While they spoke, Fortune’s Gold Quest continued. Time was short. Ang Xiao finally abandoned his probing and took a candle lamp from his sleeve. He lit it with his Mana, and the dim flame illuminated their surroundings, emitting a Spiritual Aura that calmed the Heart Spirit and cleared one’s thoughts.

"This treasure is called the Sun-veiling Golden Cup."

"As its name implies, it is a Treasure of Fruit Position associated with the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood. Before the flame burns out, it can lend you its ’sun-veiling’ wonder to help you conceal your consciousness."

"This way, Mu Changsheng will be temporarily unable to possess you."

"However, I will only protect you for a time, not for a lifetime. By the time the flame dies, I will likely have dealt with the matter of Fortune."

"At that point, I wouldn’t mind adding a No Heaven to my collection."

Minor Metal immediately cupped his fists. "Many thanks, Sir!"

As a veteran Saint Sect Zhenren, Minor Metal knew very well that for someone like Ang Xiao to say all this was already a show of immense sincerity.

For a Saint Sect Zhenren, what was the most trustworthy kind of deal?

It wasn’t the good faith between the parties involved, but whether each could get what they needed and if there was profit to be made. On this point, both of them had an exceptionally precise grasp.

The Dragon Monarch from his Previous Life had clearly failed to grasp this.

Although that was also because the Dragon Monarch was unaware of Ang Xiao’s true objective and thus miscalculated, Minor Metal would clearly not make the same mistake.

In fact, in this regard, he was even more shrewd than the Dragon Monarch.

After all, Ang Xiao’s current predicament was something Minor Metal himself had created. Without him, Fortune might not have been able to ascend and pursue his Gold Quest so smoothly.

That was why Ang Xiao had called it "blackmail"!

A Foundation Establishment cultivator blackmailing a Great Perfected Lord at the Late Stage of Golden Core... Even if he was just taking advantage of the circumstances, wasn’t the ability to seize such an opportunity a form of power in itself?

The next second, Minor Metal closed his eyes.

A Splendid Light erupted from his body, shooting straight into the heavens and drawing the attention of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. Meanwhile, his consciousness had already retreated into No Heaven!