Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect-Chapter 286: Fei Xue’s Calculation

At that moment, it wasn’t just Ang Xiao.

The other Perfected Lords were all stunned, clearly caught completely off guard. Only True Monarch Zeng Cai Qiluo of the Stain Sect remained calm.

But why would World Purger Fei Xue bother to explain?

Her peerless, mighty power slammed into the Netherworld. In that instant, this force from the Current World destabilized the cycle of reincarnation, immediately provoking the resistance of the entire Netherworld.

RUMBLE!

The next second, World Purger Fei Xue let out a muffled groan. She was clearly suffering a backlash from the Netherworld, and the light of her Fruit dimmed instantly.

Yet on the other side, Ang Xiao was in an even worse state. As the Netherworld went berserk, his Qi trace plummeted to rock bottom, and blood suddenly erupted from all over his body. This was no ordinary blood; it was the very essence of his True Monarch’s Dharma Body. To lose even a single drop was an immense loss.

And now, Ang Xiao was bleeding from every inch of his body!

"Hahaha!"

Seeing this, World Purger Fei Xue laughed wildly. "I knew it! I knew you hadn’t mastered the Netherworld! You were just hiding inside!"

Using the Veil of the Trees!

The Netherworld does not interfere with the Current World. If Ang Xiao had truly mastered the Netherworld, he shouldn’t have been able to meddle with the Earth of Chen in the Current World.

Everything he’d said before—telling the Dragon Monarch he’d let the Celestial Python enter the Netherworld, telling Lü Yang and Suo Huan he’d save a place for them—was all just empty promises. He was exploiting what they didn’t know. After all, even he had only managed to sneak in; he was nowhere near being able to control the Netherworld!

And now, the Netherworld was on a rampage.

World Purger Fei Xue’s attack had thrown the Netherworld into turmoil, causing it to start purging all "foreign entities." Ang Xiao was now exposed as one of them!

His injuries were being inflicted by the Netherworld itself!

"So that’s how it is... I was wondering why, despite the Fruit of Long-Flow Water falling, not a single Foundation-Stage Cultivator who practiced it had died..."

"So your public announcement of going into seclusion was just a facade?"

At this, even Ang Xiao looked impressed. "But to disguise the Fruit of Gully-Rill Water as the Fruit of Long-Flow Water... how did you manage that?"

"How? What a joke!"

World Purger Fei Xue sneered. "What’s your level of Cultivation? You cultivate the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood. What makes you think your understanding of the Water Fruit Position could ever compare to mine?"

"Water is inherently formless. It takes its shape from its vessel."

"The Fruit of Gully-Rill Water, the Fruit of Long-Flow Water, the Fruit of Vast-Sea Water, the Fruit of Sky-River Water... they are all, in essence, just variations of water. Once your Cultivation is high enough, a little disguise is nothing difficult."

"What? Are you the only one allowed to scheme in the shadows, while I can’t have a little fun of my own?"

"Did you really start thinking you were a Master of Dao?"

At her words, Ang Xiao could only shake his head with a rueful smile. "There is truly no shortage of heroes in this world... I underestimated you, you shrew."

World Purger Fei Xue made it sound simple.

But Ang Xiao was no fool. For her to have deceived his eyes meant that World Purger Fei Xue’s own Cultivation was unimaginably high!

"You... don’t tell me you’ve mastered a Second-Grade Cultivation Skill?"

"Which Outer Realm’s Fruit did you Deprive and feed to your Fruit of Gully-Rill Water?"

Ang Xiao rubbed his chin, intrigued. "If not for that, how could you have progressed so quickly with a mere Fruit of Gully-Rill Water?"

"And another thing—how did you find out about my plan?"

This was what truly puzzled Ang Xiao. He had thought his move using Suo Huan was a perfect secret, yet every one of Fei Xue’s countermoves had struck a fatal blow to his scheme.

If she hadn’t known in advance that he planned to use Suo Huan for ’Seeking Gold’ to drag the Fruit of Long-Flow Water into the Netherworld, her calculations could never have been so precise.

"You want to know? Get over here and take a punch from me, and then I’ll tell you."

World Purger Fei Xue roared with laughter as the Fruit of Gully-Rill Water ascended once more. Her graceful figure reappeared, though the way she brandished her fist was decidedly crude.

This was the trap she had so carefully laid.

She was known for her vengefulness, not for being magnanimous. After Ang Xiao’s scheme had killed Minor Metal and blocked her path of cultivation, how could she possibly just go into seclusion and let it slide?

Of course she had to retaliate!

In truth, she didn’t know the specifics of his plan for Suo Huan. She had laid this trap simply because she was convinced that the Fruit of Long-Flow Water would inevitably be Ang Xiao’s target.

The other Perfected Lords hadn’t dared to make such an assumption because they weren’t sure of his true identity. That was why they had intervened when he feinted an attack on the Fruit of Sky-River Water. But World Purger Fei Xue was different. From the very beginning, she had been absolutely certain.

’This bastard is definitely Ang Xiao!’

’I just knew there were no truly good people in the Stain Sect. If one appeared, it had to be a disguise!’ World Purger Fei Xue had based her entire judgment on this conviction.

And she held this conviction without a shred of doubt.

The outcome was just as she’d expected. After all his maneuvering, Ang Xiao still chose the Fruit of Long-Flow Water in the end, falling right into her prepared trap.

"Get the hell out of the Netherworld!"

"You blocked my path to the Dao, so I will see yours utterly destroyed!"

World Purger Fei Xue cackled as she furiously attacked the gateway to the Netherworld. The other Perfected Lords certainly didn’t mind hitting a man while he was down.

Just then, however...

"What a pity..."

Within the Dragon Palace, the Chongguang Evil Corpse that Ang Xiao had refined into an avatar suddenly stepped forward. With a sigh of regret, he produced a thick Talisman Book.

The instant the book appeared, an Illusion Barrier was lifted along with it.

"The Tongming Yiyun Talisman Book!"

This Treasure of Fruit Position, once taken from the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, had been taken by Ang Xiao along with the Chongguang Evil Corpse and completely concealed using the Veil of the Trees!

The next second, the pages of the Talisman Book flipped open, revealing the writing inside:

Lü Yang was cast aside as a disposable pawn by the Stain Sect, trapped in a hopeless situation. I helped him reverse his fate and gave him a new lease on life.

BOOM!

At almost the same instant, Lü Yang, who had been merely observing the battle, felt a karmic link descend upon him. This feeling... it was from a Ritual that drew the gaze of a Fruit Position!

High in the heavens, one of the Fruit Position Stars flared with brilliant light.

The Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire!

"We of the Stain Sect never put all our eggs in one basket," Ang Xiao’s voice echoed. "If the Fruit of Long-Flow Water is a no-go, then the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire will have to do as a replacement."

Despite his words, Ang Xiao sighed to himself.

’In truth, my ideal plan was to trigger both the Fruit of Long-Flow Water and the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire simultaneously and pull them both into the Netherworld.’

’That way, I would’ve snagged one at the very least, or two if I was lucky. The profits would have been immense. But after being ambushed by World Purger Fei Xue, not only am I heavily injured with the Fruit of Long-Flow Water now out of reach, but this move with the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire is a hasty one, with no guarantee of success.’

’Luckily, I had other preparations...’

Even now, as the Netherworld tried to purge him, his Dharma Body damaged, while also withstanding the pressure from a dozen or more Perfected Lords, Ang Xiao’s expression remained calm.

’That shrew directly attacked the Netherworld; she was bound to suffer a backlash as well.’

’But the backlash she suffered was far less than mine. For one, I’m physically inside the Netherworld, which makes my situation more severe. But the other reason... it must be Suo Huan!’

’My earlier plan was to have Suo Huan sacrifice himself to the Fruit of Long-Flow Water. Instead, she turned it against me, and he was sacrificed to that shrew’s Fruit of Gully-Rill Water. She used him as a shield! Part of the Netherworld’s backlash was channeled through Suo Huan and onto his Spirit Ruins Blessed Land.’

’If I want to break this deadlock...’

At this thought, Ang Xiao finally shifted his gaze downward.

Far below the raging battle between Perfected Lords, a lone figure stood, his lips trembling. As if sensing something, he, too, looked up.

Suo Huan.

This Outer Heaven Great Cultivator, who had been a pawn his entire life, suddenly laughed. "My lord, are you going to use me again? What use do I have left?"

"Of course."

Ang Xiao’s tone was placid, his eyes looking down on him as if he were an ant. "Your life."

SHIIING!

The next second, a brilliant streak of Sword Light tore through the sky, piercing straight through Suo Huan. Gulping down blood, Suo Huan turned to see the figure he had expected.

He gave a bitter laugh. "Fellow Daoist, I suppose you and I are in the same boat after all..."

The sword was named—Tribulation Wave!

The one who killed Suo Huan was Lü Yang!