Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: This Is No Ordinary Loose Cultivator

”I’m not! I didn’t!”

At that moment, Duo Bao Child felt incredibly wronged. He quickly looked to the Dragon-Fishing Elder beside him. ”Fellow Daoist Fishing Dragon, you know me! You can vouch for me!”

”Well...”

Hearing this, the Dragon-Fishing Elder opened his mouth, then said in a low voice, ”Fellow Daoist Five Elements, I don’t think Duo Bao Child would betray you at a time like this, no matter what.”

As soon as he said this, Five Elements Zhenren, who had been on the verge of losing his temper, instantly came to his senses. ’Never mind the fact that Duo Bao Child was once robbed by a Saint Sect Zhenren—a blood feud that deep can’t be faked, so he most likely wouldn’t betray us. Even if he did, now is not the time to voice such accusations and destroy our morale.’

”...I misspoke.”

Five Elements Zhenren let out a long breath, quickly regaining his composure. ”This must be the Stain Sect’s cunning. They deliberately set a trap for us, and we fell for it.”

”My miscalculation has put you all in danger.”

”But rest assured, everyone. I will atone for my mistake. When we break through their encirclement, I’ll cover the rear. I will get you all back safe and sound!”

Five Elements Zhenren’s words quickly steadied the group.

Then, Five Elements Zhenren’s gaze swept across the scene, and he immediately grasped the key to their situation. ”The Demon Sect Zhenren we have surrounded must be the one in charge of this operation.”

”He used himself as bait to lure us in.”

”But that also means he’s trapped within our own encirclement.”

”Our only option now is to attack him first. If we strike with overwhelming force, we can pressure the other Demon Sect Zhenren into rescuing him. That will create the opening we need to escape!”

In this respect, Five Elements Zhenren’s judgment was quite astute.

In fact, it was just as he thought. Although Lü Yang was acting as bait, Perfected Yin Shan would never sacrifice him to achieve victory.

If Lü Yang was truly facing a life and death crisis, Perfected Yin Shan would surely abandon the encirclement to save him first.

Five Elements Zhenren had misjudged only one thing.

—Lü Yang’s strength.

RUMBLE!

In an instant, the Mana of more than a dozen Foundation-Stage Cultivators clashed. Though they were high in the heavens, the aftershocks still caused the earth’s crust below to crack, as if an Earth Dragon were flipping over.

Almost all the Foundation-Stage Cultivators felt their vision go black as the force of the impact shattered their extended Divine Sense. Time itself seemed to stop. They could hear nothing and see nothing. Only after a long while did their senses gradually return, and they fixed their eyes on the scene at the center of the conflict.

But to everyone’s surprise, both sides were completely unscathed.

On Five Elements Zhenren’s side, a large umbrella hovered in mid-air. Its surface shimmered with five-colored light, the Five Elements rotating in a cycle, securely protecting everyone beneath it.

”What a fine Superior Sentient Artifact!”

Seeing this, even someone as discerning as Perfected Yin Shan showed a hint of surprise. ’They may be from a Small Sect, but they’re not entirely without merit.’

On the other side, however, Five Elements Zhenren was inwardly groaning.

’I almost couldn’t hold on...’

His Primordial Five Elements Umbrella was a Supreme Treasure passed down through the generations of the Five Elements Sect. Not only was it a Superior Sentient Artifact, but it also possessed two whole Divine Effects.

Standing beneath it, one was said to be able to overcome all of the Five Elements, making one impervious to the Ten Thousand Laws.

And yet, with just a single blow, cracks had appeared on his Enchanted Umbrella. The once ceaseless, ever-flowing radiance of the Five Elements now showed significant weaknesses.

Two or three more hits like that, and both the treasure and its master would be destroyed!

At this thought, Five Elements Zhenren looked expectantly toward Lü Yang. ’He took the full brunt of our attack. He must be severely injured, right?’

And then he saw a sight that made his eyes widen in fury.

As the dust settled, Lü Yang was revealed, standing calmly in his Profound Cloak. He smiled. ”Is that all the strength you have? Did you forget to eat before coming out?”

”That... That’s impossible!”

Five Elements Zhenren’s pupils constricted on the spot. The others stared wide-eyed, barely able to believe it.

One must remember that, just now, besides Five Elements Zhenren who was defending against the other attackers, the remaining six had gone all out, not daring to hold back in the slightest.

And that wasn’t all. Their group included the Dragon-Fishing Elder and Duo Bao Child, two cultivators at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. How could anyone possibly withstand a combined blow from such a lineup? Even another cultivator at the same stage should have at least suffered damage to their Dharma Body. Yet, judging by his appearance, Lü Yang was completely unharmed!

Meanwhile, Lü Yang simply brushed off his Profound Cloak.

The Black Mantle of Hundredfold Wards!

This was the same Spiritual Treasure that Ye Xingfeng had given him before his death while they were Overseas. Its Divine Effect, Hundredfold Wards, could block any attack one hundred times!

This was the advantage of having one’s Karma Links obscured.

The strengths and weaknesses of the Black Mantle of Hundredfold Wards were both very clear. Its strength was that it could block an attack one hundred times, no matter how powerful.

Its weakness was that even the most minuscule attack would use up one of its wards.

In other words, the best way to break this Spiritual Treasure was not with a single, all-out strike, but with thousands upon thousands of attacks in a short period of time.

However, with the Karma Links now obscured, not even a Foundation-Stage Cultivator could calculate the karmic links involved. Naturally, no one could figure out the Black Mantle of Hundredfold Wards’ weakness. At most, they might guess something was wrong and need time to slowly probe for the flaw. But how could Lü Yang possibly give them that chance?

The next second, Lü Yang spoke in a deep voice, ”Loose Cultivator Dragon-Fishing Elder, colluding with the Dao Court in the East, plotting to murder a Saint Sect Zhenren.”

”This is no ordinary Loose Cultivator, but a lawless Demon! To deal with a Demon like this, my Stain Sect must strike hard!”

Upon hearing this, the Dragon-Fishing Elder nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

’This is outrageous! A Saint Sect Zhenren is calling *me* a Demon?!’

’Besides, what does this have to do with me? The one hunting you was Duo Bao Child!’

For a moment, everyone threw an imperceptible glance toward Duo Bao Child. ’If we’re talking about traitors, why did he call out the Dragon-Fishing Elder and not you?’

Duo Bao Child’s face instantly flushed crimson. ”This is a ploy by the Demon Sect to sow discord!”

”I’m not a traitor!”

Everyone quickly looked away.

’Yes, we all understand the reasoning,’ they thought. ’But who knows if this isn’t just you playing along with his scheme? Our lives are at stake. If you really are a traitor, we’ll all die because of you.’

Thinking this, even the Dragon-Fishing Elder, who had the best relationship with Duo Bao Child, silently put some distance between them, not daring to let him get any closer.

Witnessing this, Five Elements Zhenren couldn’t help but look at Lü Yang and sigh, ”The Demon Sect... truly lives up to its name!”

’A blatant, open scheme!’ he thought. ’Even when seen through and understood, it’s impossible to escape. Even I can’t suppress the suspicion in my heart right now.’

As for Duo Bao Child, he had reached the very peak of his fury.

In a daze, he seemed to recall the humiliation from his youth, of being ambushed and robbed by a Stain Sect Zhenren, who stripped him bare. In that instant, he lost all reason.

”You bastard!”

With a furious roar, Duo Bao Child could no longer hold back. He shot out from the crowd as the Ten Thousand Treasures River surged forth, washing over Lü Yang’s position.

Almost at the same time, Five Elements Zhenren’s expression changed drastically. ”Be careful! Come back!”

In truth, even before the shout, Duo Bao Child had already sobered up. He felt a bone-deep chill as his eyes met Lü Yang’s smiling gaze.

’An Ability... He just used an Ability to lure me out!?’

Determination!

For someone standing on the edge of a cliff, sometimes all it takes is a gentle push, and they will naturally plummet into the abyss, never to pull themselves out again.

At that moment, everyone could clearly sense the killing intent that permeated the space between Heaven and Earth.

Duo Bao Child’s perception of it was especially clear.

’He wants to kill me!?’