Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 549: What? The Stain Sect Has Fallen?

Feixue Palace.

Lü Yang led Yu Zhou through the vast, empty hall. Before long, a large bed hung with a thin gauze canopy came into view.

However, Lü Yang’s gaze immediately fell upon a floor-to-ceiling mirror beside the bed. It emanated karmic fluctuations similar to those of the Zouyu Race. Such fluctuations had been completely undetectable before he entered the palace, but now, they were glaringly obvious.

"This is it."

With a brief divination, Lü Yang understood this was the entrance to the disordered history. At the same time, a nervous expression appeared on Yu Zhou’s face.

After all, the Zouyu Race had departed five thousand years ago.

Yu Zhou was the eldest of the current Zouyu Descendants, yet even so, he had only read about the disordered history in his race’s historical records.

Now, five thousand years later, those records were likely all outdated.

That was why Lü Yang hadn’t even bothered asking him for the specifics of that disordered history, intending instead to find someone else to learn from after he arrived.

"Let’s go."

As he spoke, Lü Yang made a pinching motion with his hand. Under the influence of Heaven, the space around Yu Zhou collapsed, shrinking a Sumeru into a Mustard Seed, and was put away by him.

The next moment, he stepped toward the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

.......

「Meanwhile. The Pseudo-History. The East. The Zouyu Ruins.」

Once upon a time, this place had been an Immortal Dao Sacred Land where countless cultivators made pilgrimage. With several Perfected Lords presiding over it, it had even become the mightiest of the Four Great Forces for a time.

Now, however, the party was over. It was said that this was the last place the Zouyu Royal Family had been seen before they vanished. To ensure the old dynasty could never be restored, the newly ascendant Celestial Wu Royal Family had turned the area upside down in their search but found nothing. In the end, they could only cordon it off, turning it into a forbidden land.

Now, a glance around revealed only crumbling walls and ruins.

Other than that, there were countless tiny insects lurking in the sand and soil, hiding within the Spiritual Qi, all seemingly in a state of tranquil dormancy.

Qi-eating Insects.

It was said these Extraterrestrial Alien Species had once caused considerable trouble for the continent until a Perfected Lord intervened to subdue them. Afterward, they were released into this very area.

All to prevent anyone from getting close.

At the edge of the forbidden land stood a pitch-black watchtower. Inside, two figures sat cross-legged, their Divine Sense constantly sweeping the surrounding area.

"Chen Dao, what did you do to get sent here?"

"I mean, this place is basically exile. Everyone knows the Zouyu Descendants were wiped out long ago; there’s no way they’re coming back."

"I wouldn’t be so sure. They say the soul jades of the last batch of Zouyu people have yet to shatter. If that wasn’t the case, why do you think the higher-ups are making such a fuss, throwing Qi-eating Insects in here and assigning people like us to monitor it day and night? I’m afraid even a Perfected Lord has a trace of spiritual perception watching this place!"

"Besides..."

At this, the cultivator named Chen Dao trailed off, immediately piquing the curiosity of the burly cultivator beside him.

"Besides what?"

Chen Dao hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice. "And... they say someone has actually walked out of here before. A Perfected Lord of unknown origin!"

"A Perfected Lord!?"

The burly cultivator was visibly shocked. After all, ever since the Bhagavat achieved his Attainment, the Perfected Lord of the Golden Core realm had been the highest-level cultivator in the world.

Suddenly, a thought struck the burly cultivator.

He was overcome with emotion and couldn’t help but say, "Speaking of which, when the Bhagavat achieved his Attainment back then, the nine heavens rang out in celebration. Looking back now, it was truly an unprecedented, glorious era."

"Indeed."

Chen Dao nodded as well. "And to this day, no one knows that Bhagavat’s origins. We only know that he ascended and left right after his Attainment."

"Since then, there have been no more Masters of Dao in the world."

"It’s a pity. If that Bhagavat had remained here to preach his Dao and found a sect, he would have created a supreme Dao Lineage capable of overpowering both the Immortal Court and the Jiangnan Sword Sect."

"Liu Xiao, what do you think is really Beyond the Heavens?"

"Who knows? Even the Perfected Lords can’t go Beyond the Heavens. They can only pluck a few stars from the sky every now and then. That’s something only a Master of Dao would know, I imagine."

In the gloomy forbidden land, their conversation sounded particularly jarring. A light breeze blew between them, and at that very moment, a young man in white standing beside them with his hands clasped behind his back suddenly spoke. "So, if there are no Masters of Dao in the world today, who are the Perfected Lords?"

The young man’s tone was calm, his voice gentle.

He stood between the two of them as if he were just another guard stationed there, inserting himself into their conversation with the utmost naturalness.

"Are you an idiot?"

Chen Dao glanced at the young man and said irritably, "Of all the Perfected Lords in the world, the Immortal Court naturally has the most, with the Jiangnan Sword Sect in second place."

"As for third... hmm, that would probably be the Yama Dao."

’At first, Lü Yang listened with keen interest. The Immortal Court, the Sword Sect... they clearly correspond to the Dao Court and the Sword Pavilion in the Current World, just with some minor changes.’

But in the next moment, he froze.

"...The Yama Dao?"

The corresponding faction from the Current World immediately came to Lü Yang’s mind, but the conclusion was so outlandish that he had to confirm it again.

"The Yama Dao... how many Perfected Lords does it have?"

"Three!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Chen Dao said, "As everyone knows, after the Bhagavat’s Attainment and the fall of the Zouyu, the world fell into chaos. It was an era of Dragon and Snake, with everyone Seeking Gold."

"The most outstanding of them was none other than the Yama Dao’s first Perfected Lord, the world’s former number one Loose Cultivator, and the current True Monarch Taozhu Yingke, Mu Changsheng. If Ancestral Master Yama hadn’t had the support of this Perfected Lord, he might not have been able to compete with the highly experienced Master Chengde of the Sword Sect back in the day."

Lü Yang clicked his tongue in amazement as he listened.

’Mu Changsheng, Ancestral Master Yama, Master Chengde... This is a completely different historical trajectory. But what was the root cause of all this?’

Lü Yang made a few calculations with his fingers and immediately understood.

’It was Ang Xiao!’

’I knew it... Back then, Ang Xiao’s successful Attainment of the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood was only possible because a being of the Daoist Lord Level—the Saint Sect Ancestral Master—interfered from behind the scenes.’

But this Pseudo-History has no Masters of Dao!

’Without them, Ang Xiao couldn’t achieve the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood, and thus couldn’t interfere with the other Fruits corresponding to the Earth of Chen. Mu Changsheng, in turn, benefited from this.’

’Without Ang Xiao, the original Mu Changsheng would have been able to attain the Fruit of Long-Flow Water; there’d have been no need to scheme for No Heaven... Of course, here in this Pseudo-History, his name is Mu Changsheng. His success in Seeking Gold also directly affected this timeline’s version of Progenitor Tingyou.’

’Why did Progenitor Tingyou lose out to True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde back in my time?’

’It was because he was backed by the Sword Pavilion, had the support of a Perfected Lord, and was far more senior. That’s how he managed to claim the Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth before Progenitor Tingyou could get to it.’

’But this Pseudo-History is different.’

’Because of Mu Changsheng’s butterfly effect, Progenitor Tingyou’s counterpart in this Pseudo-History—Ancestral Master Yama—also gained the support of a Perfected Lord.’

’Naturally, the result was that this Ancestral Master won out.’

’Wait a minute...’

At this thought, Lü Yang froze, then turned to Chen Dao and Liu Xiao. "The Sword Sect of the South, the Immortal Court of the East... what about the power in the North?"

’How could the Yama Dao possibly be third?’

’The Pure Land being missing is understandable. After all, in this Pseudo-History, the Bhagavat left immediately after attaining the Nascent Soul realm, so he clearly never passed down the Pure Land’s Dao Lineage.’

’But what about the Stain Sect?’

The two men were momentarily stunned by the question before it registered. "The North... You mean the Demon Sect? They were wiped out by the Immortal Court ages ago."

"..."

For a moment, Lü Yang couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He blinked in a daze.

’What? My Stain Sect... is gone!?’