Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 357: Lord Hongyun’s Profound Foresight

’Of course, he has every reason to suspect me.’

Lü Yang’s thoughts turned, and he instantly understood the source of Hongju’s suspicion. It was most likely that Hongju had noticed something odd about the Abilities he’d just used to suppress Arhat Fulong.

’Hongyun cultivated the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire.’

’But I cultivate the Fruit of Pomegranate Wood.’

’The Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire doesn’t include Xin Metal Abilities. Our cultivation paths are different—that’s practically ironclad proof. It’s only natural that he’s suspicious.’

Despite this, Lü Yang wasn’t the least bit panicked.

After all, with the Hongyun Gold Attribute in his hands, he effectively held Hongju’s life in his grasp. If he so wished, he could make Hongju drop dead at any moment.

Otherwise, he would never have dared to appear in his true form before a cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection.

At this thought, a calm smile spread across Lü Yang’s face. He looked at Hongju and said softly, "What is it? If you have doubts, you should speak them."

"...Hongju awaits my Lord’s commands. I have no doubts whatsoever!"

In an instant, Lü Yang sensed a shift in Hongju’s emotions. All his doubts had turned to panic, yet he was forcing himself to maintain a calm and steady facade.

However, Lü Yang had no intention of just bluffing his way through this. If he wanted Hongju to work for him, he needed the man to be thoroughly convinced. Otherwise, even if Hongju couldn’t refuse, he might feign compliance while secretly undermining him, creating unnecessary trouble. Therefore, after a moment of contemplation, Lü Yang spoke decisively.

"There’s no need for that."

Lü Yang, recalling how the old Hongyun had treated Hongju, smiled. "Hongju, you are an intelligent man. I have kept this matter from you for a long time. It is time I told you the truth."

"Now, take a look at this body of mine."

With that, Lü Yang intentionally revealed a hint of his true nature. Hongju glanced over and froze on the spot. ’An Immortal Spirit... This person actually has an Immortal Spirit Body!?’

Wait, no!

With Hongju’s sharp eye, he could naturally see that Lü Yang had not yet been ’born’—in other words, this Immortal Spirit Body had not yet reached the point where it could advance no further!

Meanwhile, Lü Yang wasn’t concerned about his identity being exposed. The Perfected Lords were now in seclusion, and Hongju was controlled by the Hongyun Gold Attribute. Revealing a bit of his background was of little consequence. As his thoughts raced, he chuckled lightly. "Did you really think I’ve done nothing for the past five thousand years?"

Hongju was utterly shocked by this statement.

’Hasn’t that been the case?’

After all, from his perspective, Hongyun had spent all these years in an endless, unchanging cycle: seeking the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, dying a violent death, seeking the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, dying a violent death.

"Hmph... You underestimate me."

Lü Yang gave a cold smile. "After failing to obtain the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire for five thousand years, even a fool would realize something was wrong. How could I possibly keep banging my head against that wall?"

As he spoke, Lü Yang’s aura suddenly flared.

Master of Weapons, Wan Jin Gong, and Su Xuan Frost—three dazzling Innate Divine Techniques manifested before Hongju, making his pupils shrink in an instant.

"These three Abilities... The mysterious Cultivator from Overseas back then... was actually you, my Lord!?"

Lü Yang admitted it readily. "If I hadn’t laid my plans Overseas and lured out No Heaven, would there be such a golden opportunity as all the Perfected Lords going into seclusion today?"

Hongju was stunned by this revelation.

But as he thought about it carefully, he suddenly felt... that it actually made sense?

Lü Yang had indeed played a significant role in enabling No Heaven to emerge. He was the one who had proposed going to the Overseas Biyang Cultivation Realm in the first place.

And whose territory was the Azure Sun Cultivation Realm?

Lord Hongyun’s, of course!

In an instant, it all clicked for Hongju. ’It connects! The logic is sound! Could it be that No Heaven was Lord Hongyun’s true plan all along?’

At this thought, Hongju felt as if he’d been enlightened. ’I knew it! Why would my Lord have invested so much effort in the Azure Sun Cultivation Realm for a mere scrapped Quasi-Essence Artifact? That would have been far too petty! No Heaven is a prize worthy of my Lord’s former stature as a Golden Core Perfected Lord!’

"My Lord... your foresight is profound!" Hongju bowed deeply once more.

’Thinking back on how my Lord repeatedly tried to obtain the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire for five thousand years... I used to think it was foolish, but now I see it was all a disguise!’

’A classic feint, distracting from the real objective.’

’Enduring humiliation and hardship, all for this very day!’

’On the surface, he deliberately acted like an unlucky wretch to confuse his hidden enemies, but in reality, he had long ago prepared a plan to shed his old skin and turn the tables from a losing position!’

’And now... he has succeeded!’

’With all the Perfected Lords in seclusion, no one can stop my Lord from Seeking Gold anymore... Hmm? But if that’s the case, why isn’t my Lord pursuing the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire again?’

The doubt had just surfaced when Hongju came up with an explanation himself.

’After all, to obtain the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire again would mean offending that Ang Xiao to the death. The man is at the Late Stage of Golden Core; why create such a powerful enemy unnecessarily?’

’Changing paths opens up a world of new possibilities!’

’As for how ’Lord Hongyun’ managed to switch cultivation paths as a Perfected Lord... well, it involved the methods of a Perfected Lord. No matter how outrageous it seemed, Hongju felt it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.’

With this realization, the bewilderment Hongju had felt over Hongyun’s failure in Seeking Gold vanished, and his spirits lifted. Even his rigid impression of Hongyun had softened considerably. ’Sure, he’s a little different from the Lord Hongyun of the past, but wasn’t that just a deliberate disguise?’

’This is the real Lord Hongyun!’

"My Lord, your profound scheming is truly admirable. Your subordinate is impressed!"

The next second, Hongju bowed low once more. This time, his emotions were perfectly calm, all his previous doubt and panic completely gone.

Seeing this, Lü Yang nodded in satisfaction.

He then began to reminisce with Hongju about old times. With the memories of Hongyun extracted by the Centome, he handled the conversation with practiced ease.

This act naturally made Hongju even more certain of his own conclusions.

’After all, a Perfected Lord cannot be subjected to Soul Searching. To be able to speak so clearly of the past, this person must be Lord Hongyun. He can only be Lord Hongyun!’

...

"Hongju, I have three tasks for you."

Having gone to the trouble of winning Hongju over, Lü Yang naturally intended to make full use of him. He said immediately, "First, I need you to go to the Ten Thousand Martial Realm and collect a strand of its aura for me."

He was, after all, no longer a member of the Stain Sect.

Moreover, his clone had already joined the Sword Pavilion and couldn’t move about freely. If he wanted to go to the Ten Thousand Martial Realm again, he would have to go in his main body... and that would be far too dangerous.

Having Hongju do it for him was much simpler.

"Your subordinate accepts the order!"

Hongju did not disappoint Lü Yang, accepting the task decisively. Seeing this, Lü Yang didn’t dally and laid out the remaining two tasks.

"Second, do you know the whereabouts of Minor Metal’s Xin Metal body?"

Although he had a clue about Xin Metal from Arhat Fulong, if he could get it directly from Hongju, why would he need to take the risk?

Unfortunately, Hongju shook his head upon hearing the question.

"Reporting to my Lord, the Xin Metal in Minor Metal’s possession was transformed from his previous life’s Immortal Spirit. Your subordinate has no leads; it was likely taken with him."

"Then forget it."

Lü Yang felt a pang of regret but sounded nonchalant. "Finally, I plan to make a trip to Su Heng Palace. Wait for my signal, and then you’ll make the journey for me."

’Why wouldn’t I use a free enforcer?’

With the Perfected Lords in seclusion, a cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection like Hongju was undoubtedly among the strongest experts alive. He was perfectly suited for exploring Su Heng Palace.

"As you command!"

Hongju respectfully withdrew. Once he returned after collecting the aura from the Ten Thousand Martial Realm, Lü Yang’s own Heavenly Qian Totalizing All Manifestations Dharma Body would be able to advance another step.

Just then—

BOOM!

In the distance, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed from the direction of the Skull Mountains. Lü Yang immediately turned his head, a realization dawning on him. "The Wu Ghost Sect’s Secret Realm... it has finally emerged!"

In other words, this generation’s Progenitor Tingyou should have appeared as well!