Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 556: Rather Die

At this thought, Lü Yang’s understanding of the Pseudo-History deepened.

’This Pseudo-History is like a massive proving ground for karmic deduction. It can simulate the future, and those simulations can then be applied to the real world!’

It was just like—

’The Centome!’

Of course, in terms of sheer Mighty Power, the Centome, which allowed for a true restart, had already achieved Transcendence. It was far beyond what this Pseudo-History could ever compare to.

But their effects were very similar.

’Using the Centome resets my personal history. I can learn information I didn’t know before and use it to change the future.’

’And here, in this Pseudo-History, I can do the same. I can use it to predict the course of future events and gain intelligence about what’s to come. It’s not nearly as precise as restarting my life personally, but it’s still a valuable reference... In fact, Ang Xiao must have done the exact same thing!’

The Pseudo-History even had another advantage.

It allowed one to Deprive the fundamental essence of a person within the Pseudo-History and apply their future possibilities to oneself, guaranteeing that one would reach a specific future.

This was something not even the Centome could do!

After all, the Centome was just a simple restart. Every different decision created a butterfly effect, leading to a different future.

’It’s a total hack!’

At this thought, Lü Yang couldn’t help but get pissed off. He hated two kinds of people most in his life, and one of them was cheaters. They simply don’t play by the rules!

What’s that? *I’m* the one with the cheat?

Oh, never mind then!

Lü Yang took a deep breath, regained his composure, and looked toward Hongtian. He saw that Hongtian had also finished his own reflections and was now looking back at him.

The next moment, Hongtian clasped his hands in a formal salute.

"I must thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist. Without it, I fear I would have met an ignominious end, not even knowing why I died."

"As for a way out of this predicament..."

At this, Hongtian chuckled. "While it may not be enough to resolve the situation completely, I do have a way to buy myself more time for Seeking Gold."

"Oh?" Lü Yang’s eyes brightened.

Hongtian, however, fell silent, clearly having no intention of elaborating.

Lü Yang had no intention of pressing him. After all, even if Hongtian did tell him, who could say if it was the truth? It was better to just wait until he began the process of Seeking Gold; everything would become clear then.

"In that case... I wish you success, fellow Daoist."

Lü Yang rose with a flick of his sleeves. "You can leave this body here, fellow Daoist," he said coolly. "If you wish to speak with me, simply use your Mana to awaken it."

Hongtian nodded and smiled.

"I won’t see you out."

........

Severing his connection to the Puppet, Lü Yang opened his eyes. Back on the mainland, in the Zouyu Ruins, he emerged from his Quiet Chamber of seclusion and looked up at the sun and moon in the sky.

In the Pseudo-History, the Fruit of Celestial Fire had also manifested due to Hongtian’s presence. It hung high in the sky, creating a scene where the sun and moon shone in unison.

Strangely, however, it didn’t react to Lü Yang at all.

Furthermore, according to Lü Yang’s senses, this so-called Fruit of Celestial Fire was somewhat illusory—like the moon’s reflection in water or a flower in a mirror. It was not a truly existing object.

’The Pseudo-History... is ultimately different from the Current World.’

The same was true for the people here.

Suo Lan, who had been slain by Summon, had simply vanished into thin air upon death. Otherwise, Lü Yang would have tried to refine him into a Banner Spirit for his Myriad-Soul Banner.

’And Hongtian...’

By now, Lü Yang had a vague understanding of the Saint Sect Ancestral Master’s intentions.

’He wants me to watch a dress rehearsal taking place in the Pseudo-History!’

’Otherwise, there’s no explaining my perfect timing. It’s like a stage play: I arrive just as Hongtian is about to prepare for his Seeking Gold Ascension Position.’

After all—

’A lack of Cultivation, the omen of demotion... are these the only two traps in the Attainment of the Fruit of Celestial Fire?’

This wasn’t because Lü Yang looked down on the Daoist Court Daoist Lord.

Rather, it was because while these traps were indeed significant, Hongtian wasn’t completely helpless. He hadn’t reached a point of desperation, so it clearly wasn’t a situation of certain death...

’So... there must be an even bigger trap!’

At this thought, Lü Yang lowered his eyelids, concealing the turbulent emotions in his eyes.

’I don’t know what it is... I’m certain there’s a bigger trap, but I don’t know what it is! *That’s* the problem. That’s the heart of the matter!’

Then, he thought of Hongtian again and sighed to himself.

He had previously considered helping Hongtian succeed in Seeking Gold, only to kill him at the final moment. That way, he could seize the "possibility" of guaranteed success for himself.

Now, however, he had come to a new realization:

’In this Pseudo-History, perhaps the possibility of Hongtian succeeding at Seeking Gold never existed from the very beginning. This is a surefire deathtrap!’

........

「Inside the Hidden Secret Hall.」

As Lü Yang withdrew his consciousness, the Puppet collapsed to the ground. Hongtian casually stored it away, his gaze vacant as he stared ahead.

Just then, a voice suddenly spoke:

"Something on your mind?"

Hongtian smiled. "You could say that... Yama, tell me, the outside world we’ve deduced—what do you think it’s really like? What sights does it hold?"

After a moment of silence, the voice spoke again:

"If you want to know, just go out and see for yourself."

Hongtian sighed. "Getting out is the hard part... Someone doesn’t want us to leave. The Immortal Court... I suspect something is wrong with them. They might know more secrets than we do."

"Don’t overthink it."

The voice was firm, each word resonating with conviction. "You just need to focus all your efforts on the Attainment of the Fruit of Celestial Fire. Once you succeed, the path forward will naturally open."

"That’s precisely the problem."

Hongtian let out a long breath of Muddy Qi. "That outsider showed no Killing intent toward me from start to finish, unlike that mysterious Perfected Lord from last time."

"Something’s not right."

Hongtian frowned. "From what I can deduce, outsiders can gain something by killing us. It seems to be our future possibilities."

"That mysterious Perfected Lord from last time killed Lingxiao for that very reason."

"But this outsider, this Lü Yang... his Cultivation is comparable to mine, he seeks the Fruit of Celestial Fire just as I do, and the parallels between us are striking."

"That being the case, my future should be incredibly valuable to him."

"After all, it’s possible for my Seeking Gold to succeed. What’s more, I just bluntly told him that I had a way to deal with the Immortal Court’s interference."

"And yet, he remained completely unmoved."

"Is he wary of the powers backing me? Impossible. This man clearly has a deep demonic nature; he would never abandon his schemes against me over such a trivial concern."

"Unless..."

At this, Hongtian looked up at the heavens, his eyes filled with melancholy.

"He is certain that even if I can resolve the trouble with the Immortal Court, my death is still guaranteed. Therefore, seizing my future is completely meaningless to him."

As his words fell, a complete silence descended upon the Hidden Secret Hall.

After a long while, the voice returned. "So? Are you going to give up?"

"You could go back to the path of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. With your level of Cultivation, you could easily reclaim your position and live out your days cultivating peacefully here. It wouldn’t be a bad choice."

"Cultivating peacefully?"

Hongtian grinned. "Ever since the Bhagavat achieved Attainment, people like us can’t even go Beyond the Heavens. We can only sit here, trapped, and have the audacity to call it ’cultivating peacefully.’"

"If you ask me, it’s nothing more than wasting our lives away in a stupor."

"If you expect me to live like that..."

As he spoke, a fierce ambition ignited in Hongtian’s eyes, like a caged bird gazing out at the boundless sky.

"I’d rather die!"