Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 390: Frying Fish Is So Satisfying

The stars shifted and time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, another decade had passed.

Within Li Hen Heaven, Progenitor Tingyou sat cross-legged, the Incense Fire Divine Talisman of the Nether Lord of Yama’s Heaven hovering before him.

After a short while, Progenitor Tingyou opened his eyes.

In that instant, three Innate Divine Techniques flared to life across his body. Along with his Innate Ability, their combined aura forcefully shattered his bottleneck.

Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, a Great Trueman!

In the Foundation Establishment Realm, this step was a qualitative transformation. The difficulty of recovering his cultivation to this level was thus far greater than before, which was why even Progenitor Tingyou had spent a considerable amount of time on it.

But regardless, he had finally succeeded.

Elsewhere, an excited look appeared on Lü Yang’s face. After all, while both were in the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, Progenitor Tingyou’s caliber was leagues beyond Long Yue’s.

"Congratulations, Progenitor."

The moment Progenitor Tingyou concluded his cultivation and opened his eyes, Lü Yang appeared before him, offering a respectful bow.

Progenitor Tingyou shook his head with a wry smile. Although he had recovered his physical body, he was still bound by the Myriad-Soul Banner. Strictly speaking, as the Banner Master, Lü Yang had no need to be so polite. Even if he were to make an outrageous request, Tingyou would have no way to refuse.

And yet, Lü Yang’s attitude had never once wavered.

Admittedly, Progenitor Tingyou found this feeling of being respected quite pleasant. Furthermore, Lü Yang had always taken the revival of the Wu Ghost Sect to heart.

What was this?

’Such a pure and sincere heart...’

Progenitor Tingyou sighed with emotion, then personally helped Lü Yang up. "I’ve finished testing the Incense Fire Divine Talisman for you," he said. "I have thoroughly investigated its pros and cons."

’As expected of the Progenitor!’

"What are the pros and cons of this Incense Divine Power?"

At this, Lü Yang recalled various bits of knowledge from before his transmigration. "Is it possible the Incense is poisonous?" he couldn’t help but ask. "Does using it come with great hidden dangers?"

"Not quite," Progenitor Tingyou said, shaking his head. "Or rather, it was originally evolving in that direction, but someone forcibly corrected its course."

Lü Yang was stunned for a moment before quickly understanding.

’Of course. Since Fortune considers this realm its final fallback, how could it allow something as obviously detrimental as poisonous Incense to develop?’

"The advantages of Incense Divine Power are simple," Progenitor Tingyou continued. "First, its floor is high. The weakest abilities are on par with a Qi Refining Great Divine Technique. Second, progress is fast. As long as you have enough Incense, there are no bottlenecks and no Tribulations, allowing you to advance all the way to Foundation Establishment Perfection!"

Those two points alone were outrageous.

Yet Lü Yang remained unfazed. There was no such thing as a free lunch; the greater the advantages of the Incense and Candle Divine Dao, the greater its inevitable flaws must be.

"But..."

As expected, Progenitor Tingyou’s tone shifted. "I can resolve most of its shortcomings, but two are inherent to its nature."

"The first is the Dao Foundation."

Progenitor Tingyou said grimly, "Although Incense Fire Gods have a Position, they do not cultivate it themselves and thus have no Dao Foundation. Their Position is granted by the veneration of Incense."

"Once the Incense scatters, their cultivation plummets."

"The higher they stand, the harder they fall. The Capital City Gods are the most vulnerable—without Incense, they would die almost instantly!"

This was similar to how Foundation Establishment cultivators supported a Perfected Lord.

The difference, however, was that a Perfected Lord had a Grotto Heaven. Even if all their Foundation Establishment followers perished, the Perfected Lord would at worst retreat into seclusion along with their Fruit, suffering no harm whatsoever.

Incense Fire Gods were another matter entirely. If their mortal followers died in large numbers, the god would lose their source of Incense, creating an immediate, life-threatening crisis!

’That’s probably why this realm is so peaceful,’ Lü Yang thought. ’If a real war broke out, a Capital City God at Foundation Establishment Perfection could, in desperation, flip the table—sink continents, and extinguish the divine path entirely. With that level of mutually assured destruction, the three major powers are forced to maintain peace.’

Once he understood, Lü Yang looked back at Progenitor Tingyou. "And the second flaw?"

"The second is the Incense itself."

Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. "Incense is the crystallization of human thoughts and contains countless impurities. Those with an unsteady will are likely to suffer from Qi deviation and go mad if they use it."

"This problem becomes more pronounced the higher one’s Realm."

With that, Progenitor Tingyou pointed at the Incense Fire Divine Talisman of the Nether Lord of Yama’s Heaven. "Right now, it’s only at the level of the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment."

"And it’s already putting some pressure on me."

"Even if it reached the peak of this realm, the level of Foundation Establishment Perfection, I could still suppress it... but just because I can doesn’t mean others can."

"If my deductions are correct, the great deities of this realm at the Capital City God level don’t manifest in the mortal world precisely because they are encumbered by their Incense. They must remain in seclusion to preserve their sense of self and avoid going mad. On the other hand, this also presents a good opportunity to hone one’s Divine Will."

As his voice fell, Progenitor Tingyou looked at Lü Yang.

"Aren’t you cultivating Sword Intent?"

"I don’t understand the Sword Dao, but based on my deductions, this Incense Divine Power should be beneficial for honing your Sword Intent, as long as you use it in controlled amounts."

Lü Yang’s heart pounded with excitement.

But he quickly calmed himself. Forging his Sword Intent with Incense Divine Power wasn’t out of the question, but it would require a stable external environment.

’But that time is coming soon.’

A determined glint appeared in Lü Yang’s eyes.

After ten years of lying low and secretly proselytizing, the White Lotus Sect was now nothing more than an empty shell. He had long since hollowed out its flesh and blood, consuming it completely.

His method of conversion was simple: using their shell to hatch his own eggs.

He used the follower base of the three White Lotus Divine Monarchs to expand outward, spreading his influence by word of mouth and convincing one White Lotus Sect member after another to voluntarily become a Banner Spirit.

By now, a full ninety percent of the White Lotus Sect’s followers had been secretly converted into Banner Spirits. As long as Lü Yang didn’t order the Banner Spirits to change their faith, the offerings would continue uninterrupted, and the flow of Incense would remain directed at the White Lotus Sect. Their Incense Fire Gods would be none the wiser.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang made a quick calculation on his fingers. ’They should be here any moment now...’

BOOM!

Moments later, thunderous roars echoed from outside Li Hen Heaven as several vast torrents of the Power of Incense morphed into colossal, sky-blotting hands that clawed toward him!

Lü Yang looked out and saw countless figures gathered outside Li Hen Heaven. The weakest among them was comparable to a County City God of the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. As their auras erupted in unison, they sketched out a magnificent mirage, its Mythical Light illuminating the heavens and sealing off the surrounding space completely.

Void Home!

This time, the White Lotus Sect had mobilized its entire force!

Their leader was none other than the Black Lotus Divine Venerable. The Incense Divine Power around him was so dense it was nearly solid, and his aura was hardly inferior to Long Yue’s.

Yet upon seeing this, Lü Yang showed not a hint of panic.

’I may have intentionally left a trail, but I didn’t think the White Lotus Sect would actually take the bait... I’ll grant them this, though: they’ve improved since ten years ago.’

’At least they’ve learned to use overwhelming numbers.’

It seemed they hadn’t considered the possibility of a trap. Or perhaps they believed that even if there was one, they had enough power to crush it?

A beautiful thought, but it played right into his hands.

’Now that my grand design is complete, their attempt to overwhelm me with numbers will just be a group delivery of free kills...’

At this, Lü Yang couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.

’Calculating karmic links, laying out grand schemes, playing my enemies like puppets in the palm of my hand, with everything going according to plan... It’s been so long since I’ve felt like this!’

’Ah...’

He was starting to understand the Bhagavat.

Shooting fish in a barrel feels amazing!

At that thought, the Myriad-Soul Banner appeared in Lü Yang’s hand. The next moment, the vast ocean of Incense that had once belonged to the White Lotus Sect—enough to sustain a Capital City God, a master at Foundation Establishment Perfection—suddenly reversed course and surged toward Li Hen Heaven!