Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 388: A Little Stain Sect Shock for the Seven Luminaries Heaven

Even so, Lü Yang didn’t let down his guard.

He had killed three Divine Monarchs of the White Lotus Sect. Although the Banner Spirit had done the deed, it had used the Tribulation Wave, which had the Divine Effect of killing without incurring karmic links.

’This way, I can at least avoid them tracking me down.’

With the karmic links severed, the chances of White Village being immediately discovered were low. This would give him time to make his arrangements leisurely and avoid being put on the defensive.

But even so, Lü Yang still couldn’t understand the White Lotus Sect’s reaction. Were they really just going to send their people to die one after another like this?

’No, even in a match full of scrubs, you wouldn’t find idiots like this... It must be the difference in environment. This Outer Realm probably isn’t as much of a dog-eat-dog world as that broken place I’m from. The top factions rarely go to war for real, and they usually give each other some face. That’s why a situation like the one just now could even happen...’

Lü Yang always made a habit of overestimating his enemies.

Although he hadn’t understood it at first, after a moment’s thought, he quickly grasped the internal logic behind the White Lotus Sect continuously sending its people to their deaths.

’Ultimately, the foundation of this realm is Incense!’

’However, for the gods at the very top—the great gods comparable to the Foundation Establishment Perfection level, like the Capital City God—no amount of extra Incense can make them any stronger.’

After all, a Fruit Position Prototype can’t give rise to a Golden Core.

In fact, if there was too much Incense, they’d have to worry about a new Capital City God emerging.

If that was the case, what was the point of fighting?

’Because there are rarely any real, large-scale wars, they lack the experience, methods, and vigilance that come with them. That’s why they do all sorts of stupid things.’

To put it bluntly, it was because they had known peace for too long.

But this was only temporary. People could learn and grow.

Lü Yang had no doubt that after he had made the White Lotus Sect suffer such a great loss, they would become more vigilant. The next time they came, they would surely be fully prepared.

That was when they would become truly difficult to deal with.

’In other words... before that happens, I must build up a sufficient advantage for myself. Otherwise, if I really have to face the full force of the White Lotus Sect, I’ll be no match for them!’

Lü Yang constantly reminded himself to be vigilant. Just in case, he even swept the Tribulation Wave over himself to ensure his mind remained clear. Only then did he turn to look at the three White Lotus Sect Divine Monarchs who had just been refined into Banner Spirits. He saw that Incense was still continuously swirling around their bodies.

"Banner Spirits... can also receive Incense?"

Lü Yang’s gaze flickered. He had refined these three Divine Monarchs into Banner Spirits only after killing them. They were essentially dead things, so they couldn’t provide him with Incense.

They couldn’t produce it, but they could receive it!

They were still Divine Monarchs of the White Lotus Sect, and at this very moment, Lü Yang could clearly feel the Incense belonging to the White Lotus Sect being drawn to his location!

"Well, this is..."

Lü Yang’s expression gradually grew strange. Although the White Lotus Sect had many followers, not all of them worshipped the Mother of Non-Birth directly.

It was just like with the County City Gods, State City Gods, and City Gods.

The people of a county would naturally worship their own County City God, not some State City God. However, the County City God was still part of the overall City God System.

By the same token, the three White Lotus Sect Divine Monarchs before him actually had their own followers; they had just been integrated into the greater system of the Void Home.

’The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal...’

Thinking of this, Lü Yang’s eyes brightened as he precisely identified the loophole in this Incense God System. "It feels like I can poach their followers, can’t I?"

Then, he looked to the other side.

Over there, Wang Anping was still sitting in a daze, while on the other side, Lin Sheng was still silently chanting Scripture, trying to break through the "Illusion Realm."

"Are you willing to join my Wu Ghost Sect?" Lü Yang asked calmly.

"I am!"

Hearing this, Wang Anping didn’t hesitate for a moment and immediately prostrated himself on the ground. Lin Sheng, on the other hand, pretended not to have heard. Seeing this, Lü Yang was very decisive.

BOOM!

He was blasted into ashes, then refined into a Banner Spirit.

Watching his former senior brother get annihilated and then reborn, his face now etched with loyalty, Wang Anping’s heart was instantly filled with a chilling dread.

’The Wu Ghost Sect... What kind of sect is this?’

’Everyone says my White Lotus Sect’s methods are bizarre, that we delude our followers and are nothing but evil gods... Bullshit! This Wu Ghost Sect is far more evil than we are!’

But when you were under someone else’s roof, you had no choice but to bow your head.

Soon, as the Myriad-Soul Banner unfurled, Wang Anping, despite a hundred unwillingnesses in his heart, gritted his teeth, summoned his courage, and voluntarily transformed into a Banner Spirit.

The next second, when he reappeared, just as Lü Yang had expected, a stream of pure Incense emerged from his body and empowered Progenitor Tingyou. Although there was only one stream, it verified Lü Yang’s earlier deduction, and a confident smile spread across his face.

"Time to expand..."

In his eyes, this world was still far too normal.

Even the White Lotus Sect, which called itself an evil sect, was really just deluding followers and treating human lives as worthless. They had no professionalism and hadn’t even industrialized their methods.

Their utilization rate for talent was simply too low.

"I’ll have to show them how it’s done!"

Now was the perfect time to give Seven Luminaries Heaven a taste of the Stain Sect’s shock and awe!

......

「Seven Luminaries Heaven, White Lotus Sect Headquarters.」

Tens of thousands of followers were gathered here, every single one handpicked from the various branch altars for their unwavering faith and the purity of their Incense.

At this moment, they were performing their morning rites.

Every believer was piously chanting the scriptures of the White Lotus Sect, and as they did, streams of Incense drifted into an unseen location.

The Void Home.

This place was the Incense Divine Realm of the White Lotus Sect. Similar in nature to an Earth God Temple or a City God Temple, it was supposed to be an Immortal’s Pure Land, a sacred ground where all gods paid homage. Yet now, its halls were toppled, its treasure trees collapsed, and its splendid lights had scattered with a great crash, causing many lesser gods to cry out in terrified anguish.

The chaos only ceased when a figure appeared.

It was a young man in a black robe with a solemn expression. His grave gaze was fixed on the three Divine Halls within the Void Home that had caused the chaos.

The areas around the Divine Halls were now nothing but rubble.

And yet, right in the center, the three statues remained, their Splendid Light soaring to the heavens, wreathed in Incense.

His name was Hei Lian, and he was the right-hand man of the Mother of Non-Birth. When the Mother of Non-Birth was in seclusion, he was the one who presided over the sect’s affairs.

As such, his Cultivation was second only to the Mother of Non-Birth, comparable to a City God.

In Lü Yang’s terms, this would be a Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Dead? Or alive?"

According to the intelligence he’d received, an entire Pantheon responsible for a border region should have been completely wiped out. From the Great Divine Monarch on down, not a single one was supposed to have survived.

But now?

The three Divine Halls had been smashed to pieces, a sight that indicated the death of an Incense Fire God. And yet, the statues within the halls were not broken; they remained as whole and brilliant as ever.

This wasn’t right.

"...This is bad!"

In the next second, the Black Lotus Divine Venerable reacted abruptly. "Send someone immediately! Investigate the domains of these three Divine Monarchs and check for any changes in the Incense flow."

As he spoke, an icy killing intent surfaced in the Black Lotus Divine Venerable’s eyes. If the Divine Monarchs had merely died, it wouldn’t be a major issue. After all, the Incense was still there; at worst, they could just be replaced. The other Divine Monarchs in the sect would be more than happy to "take care of" the followers left behind by their fallen comrades.

But now, it seemed the three Divine Monarchs hadn’t died.

That was a huge problem!

To fall into enemy hands and not die... they had most likely chosen to betray the sect. And if they betrayed them, what if they took their followers with them?

"This is... an attempt to deprive my White Lotus Sect of its very foundation!"