Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 716: Chapter 711: Cuckoo’s Nest

[Human World]

Magnificent jade towers and pavilions stood in grand spectacle. Below them, clouds billowed and swirled, evoking an ethereal, immortal grace. It was like a majestic palace standing in the heavens, a breathtaking sight to behold.

Inside one of the pavilions.

Demon Subduing Zhenren sat cross-legged in meditation, his brow deeply furrowed. He seemed to be trapped in a bitter struggle, the Divine Power Radiance around his body flickering erratically.

After a long while, he abruptly opened his eyes.

”I failed again...”

Demon Subduing Zhenren slowly exhaled a breath of Muddy Qi. Though he spoke of failure, his expression was incredibly high-spirited, showing no signs of disappointment.

After all, he hadn’t been defeated in terms of raw strength.

”That Star Palace Cultivator, Qing River, isn’t actually stronger than me. He only barely defeated me by relying on a Secret Treasure capable of unleashing the strike of a Perfected Lord.”

At this, Demon Subduing Zhenren’s tone was full of confidence. ”But it’s no matter. Relying on external items is nothing special. Besides, he isn’t even cultivating the Star Palace’s Emperor Fruit. The next time we meet, I’ll have tempered my Five Divine Techniques to the absolute limit. I’ll just kill him with a single sword strike—he won’t even have a chance to use his Secret Treasure!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure of light floated out from his body.

It was Dragon Map.

He stroked his beard and chuckled. ”Good. Sword Cultivators would rather break than bend. For you to have such a Dao Heart, unaffected by a single failure, is already commendable.”

”This is just the beginning of my journey.”

Upon hearing this, Demon Subduing Zhenren was filled with ambition. ”The world is full of masters! Once I achieve the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal, I will test my sword against the world and witness the prowess of all its Cultivators!”

”Good! Spoken with ambition!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Lü Yang, who was standing beside Demon Subduing Zhenren, reached out and patted his shoulder. ”You’ll have to keep working hard, Daoist.”

”Senior, you praise me too much.”

Demon Subduing Zhenren nodded, completely oblivious to any issue with Lü Yang standing beside him, and merely gave a somewhat bashful smile.

Witnessing this, Lü Yang remarked with deep feeling, ”Daoist, this Veil of the Trees of yours is incredibly useful.”

Hearing this, Ang Xiao, who stood on Demon Subduing Zhenren’s other side, quickly waved his hand humbly. ”It’s just a little trick, nothing worth mentioning.”

After speaking, he glanced at Dragon Map. ”What do you think, Daoist?”

Dragon Map nodded. ”You are too humble, Daoist. This profound technique itself is of an extremely high Position, and you have wielded it to the point of perfection.”

”Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life!”

As he spoke, his expression was utterly serious, and like Demon Subduing Zhenren, he seemed completely unaware of how bizarre and strange the current scene was.

Next, Ang Xiao looked at Lü Yang, completely ignoring Demon Subduing Zhenren and Dragon Map, and said openly, ”What are your plans now, Daoist? Are you just going to kill them? It’s not out of the question, but the method seems a bit too crude.”

’He’s testing me...’

Lü Yang sneered inwardly. The only reason he could appear in the Human World right now was by relying purely on Ang Xiao’s Veil of the Trees to deceive the rules of this place.

After all, he was already in the Middle Stage of Golden Core.

Although he still didn’t have a Grotto Heaven, after taking control of the Dao of Arcane Body, he could no longer exploit loopholes like he did in his Previous Life. Thus, he had no choice but to ask Ang Xiao for help.

However, this was not a long-term solution.

After all, if Ang Xiao were to withdraw the protection of the Veil of the Trees right now, the rules of the Human World would likely obliterate him instantly, leaving not even a corpse behind.

’Leaving my life in the hands of another is not my style.’

With this thought, Lü Yang spoke up immediately. ”Forget it. Daoist, just keep deceiving this Perfected Lord’s remnant soul. As for this Demon Subduing Zhenren, leave him to me.”

”Very well.”

Ang Xiao nodded, but curiosity bloomed in his heart. After all, according to his speculation, there was a high probability that Lü Yang was the resurrected Master of Dao of old.

But speculation was just speculation.

Seeing is believing, so he also wanted to see what powerful techniques Lü Yang could display, and whether they would live up to his image of a Master of Dao’s methods.

In the next second, Ang Xiao moved.

A mist formed by the Veil of the Trees completely shrouded Dragon Map’s senses, leaving his face vacant and his thoughts frozen. He even began to drool.

Immediately after, Lü Yang decisively activated his Talent Skill.

Cuckoo’s Nest!

In that instant, Ang Xiao witnessed an utterly terrifying scene—Demon Subduing Zhenren’s figure began to slowly fade into nothingness.

In his perception, Demon Subduing Zhenren’s Abilities, identity, karmic links, and Fate—everything he could sense that constructed the ”existence” of Demon Subduing Zhenren—was being grafted onto Lü Yang. The process was so complete that it even sparked a corresponding thought in his mind:

’Is this person’s real identity Demon Subduing Zhenren?’

But in the next moment, Ang Xiao snapped out of it and subconsciously took a step back. ’No! What is this... What a terrifying possession skill!’

’Are these the Abilities of a Master of Dao?’

’If I hadn’t already interacted with Lü Yang, and if I hadn’t just witnessed the entire possession process with my own eyes, I would have mistaken him for Demon Subduing Zhenren!’

’Unbelievable!’

At the same time, Lü Yang naturally noticed the change in Ang Xiao and was satisfied. ’This should be enough to intimidate him a bit.’

Lü Yang knew very well.

Cooperating with Ang Xiao was no different from asking a tiger for its skin. The only reason their partnership held was because there hadn’t yet been a benefit great enough to warrant a betrayal.

Therefore, he had to do everything he could to keep the other man in check.

At the very least, he had to make Ang Xiao wary of him, to not dare turn on him lightly. Only then could he secure enough benefits for himself during their cooperation.

Soon, Lü Yang opened his eyes.

”Daoist, you can remove the Veil of the Trees now.”

Upon hearing this, Ang Xiao immediately dispersed the profound effect that had been concealing Lü Yang, yet the Human World showed no reaction whatsoever to Lü Yang’s presence.

Because Lü Yang was now ”Demon Subduing Zhenren.”

Even within his body, a Dao Foundation and Abilities had appeared, corresponding perfectly to the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal. Moreover, he could command them as easily as his own limbs, with no awkwardness at all!

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but glance at Ang Xiao.

Cuckoo’s Nest was derived from the Gold Attribute of True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde, and just that alone was enough to produce such a terrifyingly powerful Talent Skill.

’What if it were Ang Xiao’s?’

For a moment, Lü Yang’s gaze grew fervent, making Ang Xiao increasingly wary. He subconsciously frowned and took a step back.

’What are you trying to do?’

Seeing this, Lü Yang knew that beating around the bush would be useless and said directly, ”This technique of mine requires Gold Attribute to maintain. I wonder if Daoist would be willing to give me a sliver?”

”...Gold Attribute?”

”That’s right,” Lü Yang said with a sincere expression. ”I’m willing to trade for it.”

However, before he could even finish speaking, Ang Xiao shook his head without hesitation. ”Apologies, but the Gold Attribute is a Cultivator’s foundation. I could never hand it over to another.”

”I see... Then forget it.”

Lü Yang shook his head, not at all disappointed; after all, he had expected as much. He changed the subject, ”Daoist, you can release your profound effect now.”

Ang Xiao nodded.

In the next second, Dragon Map, who had been dazed for a long time, suddenly came to his senses and was instantly alarmed. ’With my Cultivation, how could I have lost my focus like that? Wait! Is someone trying to harm me?’

Thinking of this, he quickly looked toward Lü Yang.

Seeing Lü Yang safe and sound, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. ”Thank goodness, Subduing Demons, you’re alright... Did you notice anything strange just now?”

”No,” Lü Yang replied honestly, shaking his head.

”Is that so...”

Dragon Map’s brow furrowed as he pondered, ’Strange. Was I not being influenced by someone? Have my injuries worsened, making my Soul unstable?’

’That’s not impossible.’

’But for some reason, I still feel like something is wrong, though I can’t put my finger on what... Forget it. At least Demon Subduing Zhenren isn’t in any danger.’

’It must have been my imagination.’