Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 641: Chapter 636: Fucking Bhagavat Again?

As Si Chou finished speaking, Lü Yang’s expression tensed. His mind raced, pondering the entity’s words. ’What does he mean, no more Nascent Soul Dao Practice is being passed down?’

"I mean it literally."

Si Chou gave a cold smile. Having been exposed by Lü Yang, he clearly had no intention of pretending anymore. He laid his cards on the table, following Lü Yang’s train of thought as he spoke.

"After all, when the final battle was over, those of us who could die, died. Those who could flee, fled. The Immortal Pivot was carved up and divided, and the new order was set. Why would the victors allow anyone else to get a piece of the pie? It’s the classic case of boiling the hound once the rabbit is caught, of storing the bow once the birds are all shot down. If the Nascent Soul Dao Practice were allowed to spread, it would only become a source of future chaos."

These words sent shockwaves through Lü Yang’s mind.

’The new order was set?’

’How is that possible? Isn’t this millennial tribulation just beginning? How could the new order already be set? And when was this "final battle"?’

"Hm?"

Hearing Lü Yang’s thoughts, a hint of confusion crept into Si Chou’s voice. "The millennial tribulation... is just beginning? Didn’t it end five thousand years ago?"

’It ended!?’

"Yes." Si Chou’s voice grew urgent. "The final battle took place one hundred and twenty-nine thousand, six hundred years ago. We were all vying for Divinity Transformation."

"The battle was supposed to be three against three. Our sides were evenly matched, but at the critical moment, a seventh Master of Dao appeared and broke the stalemate. My two Daoist allies made a desperate escape while I stayed behind to cover their retreat, and I was killed... Isn’t that what happened? How many years has it been?"

Lü Yang stood frozen in place.

The sudden, overwhelming influx of information left him stunned for a moment. Then, without a second thought, he suppressed all his frantic notions. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a low voice.

"Who was the seventh Nascent Soul?"

"I don’t know." Si Chou shook his head. "I only know he was bald. And his Realm was clearly unstable, showing signs that he’d been rushed to that level of power far too quickly..."

’No doubt about it! It’s the damn Bhagavat again!’

At that moment, Lü Yang let out a long breath. "I was wrong before... or rather, I wasn’t thinking big enough. My suspicions were confined to the Immortal Pivot."

Until now, he had suspected the Bhagavat was a pawn, elevated by the Saint Sect Ancestral Master to oppose the Masters of Dao from the Dao Court and the Sword Pavilion. And indeed, the Ancestral Master may have had that intention. But when he broadened his perspective to encompass the entire Outer Heaven Sea of Light, the situation changed dramatically.

’The Bhagavat was the seventh Nascent Soul!’

’The Saint Sect Ancestral Master’s main reason for cultivating him was to repel foreign enemies. Only after the external threat was neutralized was he turned inward to consolidate power at home.’

’That sounded just like the Stain Sect.’

’As long as it doesn’t kill them, work them to death.’

But if that were the case, many of his previous assumptions had to be thrown out. The most crucial of these was the Saint Sect Ancestral Master’s attitude toward Lower Cultivators.

’I used to think he was supportive of them.’

At this thought, Lü Yang felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.

’After all, the Saint Sect Ancestral Master cultivated the Bhagavat and Ang Xiao, and now there’s Taiyin Immortal Venerable. No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to suppress them.’

’But looking at it now, the implications were chilling.’

’If the Saint Sect Ancestral Master truly didn’t want any new Masters of Dao to emerge, then what was the purpose of Ang Xiao and Taiyin Immortal Venerable?’

"...Hm?"

Suddenly, a thought struck Lü Yang. He looked at Si Chou. "No, that’s not right!"

Facing his stare, Si Chou remained perfectly composed. "What isn’t right?" he asked, curious.

Lü Yang’s brow furrowed. "If I can hear your voice, there’s no way my dear senior sister can’t. Are you telling me the two of you have never spoken?"

’It’s impossible they haven’t spoken. The news that the Saint Sect Ancestral Master has no intention of cultivating new Masters of Dao would be a bolt from the blue for Taiyin Immortal Venerable. It’s the perfect piece of information to drive a wedge between them. With the sharp instincts of a Master of Dao, how could Si Chou not have told her?’

’But if they have spoken... ’

’...then why would the Saint Sect Ancestral Master arrange to send me here? And why would Taiyin Immortal Venerable seem completely unconcerned, readily accepting the Ancestral Master’s ’goodwill’?’

And more importantly—

"You’re asking me to help you break free."

As this thought took shape, Lü Yang’s gaze fell on Si Chou, growing more profound. "...What are you trapped by? Don’t tell me it’s my dear senior sister."

’From the very beginning, this Si Chou has been lying!’

’He’s been acting as if he’s completely ignorant of what’s happening in the Current World, but with Taiyin Immortal Venerable here, that’s impossible!’

’Everything he’s said is just bait to lure me in.’

’Some of it has to be the undeniable truth, but it must be mixed with falsehoods. After all, the most masterful lie is ninety percent truth.’

’Which parts are true? And which are false?’

Lü Yang’s mind raced, and he made no effort to hide his thoughts from Si Chou. Or perhaps... he needed to keep thinking, to consciously suppress certain other thoughts bubbling up from his subconscious.

"..."

Si Chou studied Lü Yang, his features still a blur, but his tone shifted subtly. "I am, in fact, trapped by Taiyin."

"However, Taiyin is merely the warden."

He didn’t answer Lü Yang’s question, instead choosing to reveal more information. "The one who truly trapped me was the seventh Nascent Soul I mentioned... the Bhagavat, you called him? Yes, it was him. He appeared suddenly after my death, carving away and suppressing my five sense organs, severing my path to Resurrection."

"Otherwise, why do you think I established this Celestial Mansion?"

"To bring salvation to the masses?"

At this, a trace of resentment crept into Si Chou’s voice. "I established this Celestial Mansion to heal my wounds. Originally, it would have taken only a few tens of thousands of years to recover."

"But I miscalculated."

"That bald man... the Bhagavat... used some unknown method to find my Corpse. At the time, I was completely powerless to fight back."

"And so he tore away my eyes, my ears, my mouth, and my nose, suppressing them all. He even left behind that so-called Spirit Platform Technique to slowly corrode my Corpse... I did try to fight back. Five thousand years ago, I engineered the rise of a Child of Destiny, hoping to use him to restore my vitality."

"But the results were... unsatisfactory."

"The Child of Destiny was killed, exposing my existence in the process. Realizing I wasn’t truly dead, the Chu Sheng Sect sent Taiyin to keep me sealed, and so I have remained to this day."

Here, Si Chou finally fell silent.

It seemed like a complete, coherent narrative, and Lü Yang couldn’t immediately find any holes in it. That didn’t mean any of it was true, however.

’There have to be lies in there!’

Lü Yang’s brow remained furrowed as he continued, "Help you break free. How, specifically?"

"It’s simple!"

Si Chou said hurriedly, "My eyes, ears, mouth, and nose are all being suppressed. I had originally managed to struggle free of some of my bonds, but when Taiyin arrived five thousand years ago, she reinforced the seals. She even turned them into four Secret Realms, entrusting their suppression to four Mid-phase Golden Core cultivators..."

"Oh?" Lü Yang’s eyebrows rose at that.

In an instant, he made the connection to the Celestial Mansion’s four remaining Mid-stage Immortal Monarchs. He remembered Qingyang mentioning their respective domains when he had introduced them:

The Sun and Moon Realm, ruled by Du Xuan Immortal Monarch.

The Pure Heaven, ruled by Celestial Number Immortal Monarch.

The Preaching Land, ruled by Immortal Monarch Yan Xiu.

The Spiritual Mechanism Hall, ruled by Mingtang Immortal Monarch.

’Sun and moon for sight, purity for hearing, preaching for speech, and spiritual mechanism for breath... Eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Of course! So that’s what this is all about!’

At the same time, Si Chou’s somber voice added:

"Helping me break free will benefit you as well."

"The First Saint has always been ruthless. Taiyin is far stronger than you, and your chances of survival are slim. It would be better to cooperate with me. That way, you might just find a path to survival."