Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 649: Chapter 644: The Strength of the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected

Du Xuan Immortal Monarch could hardly believe his own eyes.

’Forging a path in the Sea of Suffering... How could it be forging a path in the Sea of Suffering? He actually carved out a Great Dao... This person’s Fruit was really achieved through a Void Certificate?’

Foundation Establishment, achieving a Fruit through a Void Certificate to become a Perfected Lord?

What kind of joke was this!

At this moment, Du Xuan Immortal Monarch felt a bone-deep chill. Although Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s strength was still inferior to his, his potential wasn’t something he could compare to.

Because Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had already taken the first step of the Void Attainment Position by forging a path in the Sea of Suffering. He had even walked a full thousand zhang, causing his Position to skyrocket, and the endless conceptual waters of the Sea of Suffering had become his very source of power.

"Kill!"

A flash of Sword Light reflected in Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s pupils. Not daring to be careless, he hurriedly performed a finger technique and once again activated the [Celestial Capital Demonic Breaking Divine Sound].

However, it was no use.

The Fruit of Sword Dao that Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had attained through his Void Certificate was simple to the extreme in both its concept and its profundity. In the end, it all came down to a single word:

[Slash]!

Slash through profound mysteries, slash through concepts, slash the Dharma Body, slash the Soul, slash the Grotto Heaven, slash Mana... Under the heavens, there was nothing among all phenomena that he could not sever!

The Sword Light was like a meteor, vanishing in the blink of an eye with brilliant splendor. The destructive power of the [Celestial Capital Demonic Breaking Divine Sound] was instead shattered to pieces before it. Du Xuan Immortal Monarch hastily summoned water and fire to protect himself, but when the sword fell, the fire was extinguished and the water dried up. The attack landed right in front of him!

"CRACK!"

The next second, countless cracks spiderwebbed across Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s face, and blood seeped out. He couldn’t help but frown; he had fallen into a disadvantageous position once again.

He hadn’t anticipated that Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s Sword Light would be so sharp.

’A simple [Slash], powerful because of its purity... When facing this kind of Fruit, I shouldn’t meet it head-on. I should be fighting a battle of attrition, dragging things out.’

This miscalculation was born from habit.

When he was previously in combat with Progenitor Tingyou, he had discovered that Progenitor Tingyou possessed a myriad of techniques. A prolonged fight would have only led to him being manipulated by Progenitor Tingyou.

In comparison, his advantage lay in absolute power, so he ultimately chose to clash head-on.

But when facing Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, he had subconsciously used the same tactic, never imagining that Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s style was completely different from Progenitor Tingyou’s.

One wrong move, and every subsequent move was wrong.

By the time he realized it, he had been forced into a disadvantageous position again... At this thought, a look of utter frustration appeared on Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s face.

But his actions showed no hesitation:

"BOOM!"

He self-detonated again!

In truth, it hadn’t reached that point yet. He still had many ways to turn the tables... it was just that self-detonation was the easiest method with the lowest cost.

After all, this was the advantage of a Mid-stage Immortal Monarch. Since he was immortal and there was no real loss, self-detonation was simply the most efficient and least draining Dharma Gate.

At this moment, even Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s Sword Light couldn’t handle Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s self-detonation. He could only retract its edge and quickly put distance between them.

This was his advantage.

Faced with the same self-detonation, Progenitor Tingyou couldn’t withstand it and didn’t react in time. He, however, could react instantly, relying on the escape speed of a Sword Cultivator to make a quick getaway.

So, strictly speaking, Progenitor Tingyou was not skilled at combat. At least compared to Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, Progenitor Tingyou’s combat skills could only be described as average. He relied entirely on his world-shaking intellect to achieve a Dimension Reduction victory over his opponents. In contrast, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected was a true veteran of a hundred battles!

"CLANG! CLANG!"

Amidst the cry of the sword, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected merged with his Sword Light. Moving like a fleeting shadow, in a single blink, he appeared directly in front of the exploding bloody light.

"Hm!?"

Instantly, the bloody light trembled.

Majestic Sword Qi howled, scattering the bloody light and revealing the Splendid Light hidden within... It was Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s Soul, which had been hiding in his flesh and blood after his Dharma Body exploded!

The next second, Sword Light flared.

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s robes whipped about, instantly turning blood-red under the surging concepts. A terrifying killing intent erupted from his sword like a bursting dam.

[Sword of Daoic Principle and Righteous Karmic Severance]!

At this moment, all was silent; time itself seemed to stand still. In Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s eyes, the roiling Sea of Suffering surged and roared behind Demon-Vanquishing Perfected. A thousand-zhang-long Great Dao stood firm within it, now wrapped in myriad Illusionary Colors, all of which empowered the single strike that Demon-Vanquishing Perfected unleashed.

’Gather!!!’

Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s spiritual perception roared frantically. For the first time, a sense of crisis bloomed in his heart. Before this, he had actually been composed and calm.

Because as a Mid-stage Immortal Monarch, he was immortal!

Normally, even if an Early-stage Immortal Monarch was astonishingly talented, any attempts to kill a Mid-stage Immortal Monarch would be futile, as the latter could be resurrected infinitely.

However, this resurrection was not without its flaws.

Du Xuan Immortal Monarch knew very well that between the process of self-detonation and resurrection, an extremely brief vulnerability would manifest—a moment where his Soul had nothing to cling to.

But he had never paid it any mind before.

After all, the window of vulnerability was too short; it was nearly impossible to seize. And yet now... Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had precisely captured this very instant!

"BOOM!"

The bloody light shattered.

A large swath of the void collapsed as if its pillars had been removed. Endless Illusionary Colors merged and were then extinguished, shattered to pieces by a single sword strike.

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected retracted his sword and stood, his gaze calm.

On the other side, Du Xuan Immortal Monarch had already reformed his Dharma Body. He stood there calmly, his expression as cold as a glacier, his right index finger pressed lightly to the spot between his eyebrows.

"DRIP..."

He lifted his finger. A single, crystal-clear drop of blood slowly rolled down. And there, between Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s eyebrows, was a conspicuous sword mark!

’A miscalculation...’

Du Xuan Immortal Monarch silently assessed himself. Although his Dharma Body was unharmed after resurrecting, his Soul and his Spirit Platform had indeed been struck in that instant.

The result was that, as a Mid-stage Immortal Monarch, a clear sword mark had appeared on his supposedly indestructible Spirit Platform, corresponding exactly to the one on his brow. Although he could recover with his cultivation after a period of quiet recuperation, he had, in the end, suffered a blow to his Primordial Qi!

This was also a flaw of Celestial Mansion Immortal Monarchs.

Under the same circumstances, an Immortal Pivot cultivator would have had no such problem, because the Immortal Pivot has the Netherworld to receive them, completely eliminating any similar fatal flaw.

"The Immortal Pivot... truly produces a wealth of talent."

The next second, Du Xuan Immortal Monarch raised his head to look at Demon-Vanquishing Perfected and Progenitor Tingyou, a trace of envy and hatred finally showing, unrestrained, in his eyes.

Why?

One used an Outer Dao Fruit Position to achieve perfection in all Five Elements, nearly scaring him to death. The other, with a Void Attainment Position, was even capable of forging a path in the Sea of Suffering.

Why could they do it?

But not him?

More importantly, he was a dignified Mid-stage Immortal Monarch facing two early-stage juniors, yet not only had he failed to defeat them, he had actually been injured by them.

It was an utter humiliation!

At this moment, jealousy and resentment toward Demon-Vanquishing Perfected and Progenitor Tingyou, the shame of being injured, anger—a host of negative emotions surged forth.

’...Hm?’

Instantly, Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s rage-filled eyes widened in shock. With a Dao Heart tempered over many years, how could such unsightly emotions surface out of nowhere?

He admitted he felt some jealousy and envy toward Demon-Vanquishing Perfected and Progenitor Tingyou, but he had his own Dao. How could he be affected by such minor negative emotions? As for shame, that was even more absurd. At most, he felt a little chagrin. The fact that his enemies could injure him was a testament to their skill.

’Something’s wrong!’ Du Xuan Immortal Monarch’s expression changed drastically.

Who is influencing my emotions, amplifying these feelings that should be insignificant, and using them to affect my state of mind and interfere with my thoughts!?

Just then, a series of heavy, muffled thuds spread out:

"THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!"

The sound of a heartbeat.

It was like the beating of war drums—heavy and powerful, shaking the cosmos. Centered on the Celestial Mansion Ninth Layer, it boomed into the heart of every Spirit Platform Cultivator.

At the center of the Celestial Mansion Ninth Layer.

Lü Yang slowly opened his eyes. His brow relaxed, revealing sincere relief and joy. He then looked up at the heavens, a smile gracing his face.

"It’s done."

As he spoke, a point of light suddenly appeared between his eyebrows, dazzling and brilliant. Behind his head, rings of Splendid Light slowly rippled outward.

The third True Treasure.

It’s complete!