Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 502: The 4 Treasuries Daoist Canon, Selecting Magic

Make no mistake. Though Lü Yang was headed for the imperial harem, his intentions were pure. His destination simply happened to be located inside.

This was all Emperor Jia You’s fault.

Although Emperor Jia You had a harem of three thousand, he was single-mindedly devoted to Cultivation. As such, he had moved many cultivation manuals and texts from the outside into the imperial harem.

These included Daoist Scriptures on Daoist Skills, scriptures, and the Hundred Skills of Cultivation—a truly encyclopedic collection. Emperor Jia You was quite proud, dubbing it the Four Treasures Daoist Canon and boasting that it contained all the Cultivation methods in the world. Due to his hobby, the many concubines of the harem followed suit.

From the Empress down to the lowest-ranking Talented concubines.

Every concubine had read the Daoist Scriptures within the Four Treasures Daoist Canon. Some even developed unique insights into certain texts, using their knowledge to curry favor with Emperor Jia You.

Of course, none of that was important.

What was important were the Daoist Skills within the Four Treasures Daoist Canon, which greatly interested Lü Yang. Now that he controlled the Celestial Wu Hall, it was the perfect time to peruse the Daoist Canon.

Soon, Lü Yang arrived before the palace complex that housed the harem.

A kind-faced eunuch was waiting for him. Seeing this, Lü Yang broke into a smile, stepped forward, and clasped his hands in greeting. "It is good to see you, Fellow Daoist An."

"Lord Du Huan, you are too kind."

Eunuch An waved his hand, his expression turning serious. "I’ve heard that you wish to enter the harem, Lord Du Huan. That is against the rules. I must ask you to show some self-respect."

"You speak truly, Eunuch An."

Lü Yang smiled. "However, I am here to investigate a case... I suspect there is a Demon Sect spy within the Celestial Wu Hall, and they have been passing information to the outside!"

"...What?"

At these words, Eunuch An’s eyes narrowed. "Lord Du Huan, you cannot make such baseless accusations. The Inner Court is loyal only to His Majesty. How could we possibly collude with the Demon Sect?"

"All the more reason to investigate, then."

Lü Yang glanced around before lowering his voice. "Fellow Daoist... to be perfectly honest, His Highness the Crown Prince is taking the matter of His Majesty’s assassination very seriously. He plans to remain in the Celestial Wu Hall going forward. If the Inner Court cooperates with the investigation, it would do much to put his mind at ease."

"This..."

Eunuch An’s brow furrowed, his resolve clearly wavering. After all, the Inner Court eunuchs like him owed their entire existence to the Celestial Wu Royal Family.

With Emperor Jia You in seclusion, Crown Prince Longxing was now their master.

’If their master wanted to investigate, could they really stop him?’

Of course, Eunuch An could also see that Lü Yang was merely using the investigation as a pretext to peruse the Daoist Canon—abusing his power for personal gain. But so what?

’If you didn’t abuse your power for personal gain, could you even be called a Dao Court official?’

’Besides, he needed Lü Yang to put in a good word for him with Crown Prince Longxing!’

At this thought, a smile bloomed on Eunuch An’s face. "I see! In that case, please, come in and investigate, my lord. The harem is yours to search as you see fit!"

"My thanks, Fellow Daoist An."

Lü Yang nodded, satisfied, and strode into the palace that housed the Four Treasures Daoist Canon. A magnificent sight greeted him.

The vast hall was crammed full of bookshelves overflowing with Daoist Scriptures, all sorted by category. The sheer volume was even more staggering than that of the Saint Sect’s Dharma Hall!

’That’s right. After all, the Dao Court *is* the East.’

In the North, besides the Saint Sect, there were countless other sects, large and small. Each had its own ultimate techniques, which were not necessarily inferior to the Saint Sect’s Daoist Skills.

In the East, however, the Dao Court reigned supreme.

All Daoist Skills and Abilities fell under its jurisdiction. It was only natural that a Daoist Canon built with the full resources of the Dao Court would be more extensive than the Saint Sect’s.

’How should I choose?’

A thoughtful look crossed Lü Yang’s face. Though he had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, he wasn’t actually skilled in Combat. He often relied on sheer mechanics and stats to brute-force his way to victory.

And while there were few Cultivators in the world who could defeat him with his stats and mechanics alone, he couldn’t forget that there was one Foundation-Stage Cultivator whose stats and mechanics surpassed his own. If he were to fight that person with his current strength, defeat would be almost certain.

’Master Demon-Vanquishing Perfected...’

In his Previous Life, Lü Yang had never once seen the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected fight with his full strength. He dispatched nearly every opponent with a single sword strike.

After all, he possessed two Titled Level Sword Intents.

Besides the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, the only other person in the entire Sword Pavilion who had comprehended a Titled Level Sword Intent was True Monarch Gangxing—and he was a Golden Core Great True Monarch!

’He’s just too broken!’

Lü Yang sighed. When it came to Sword Intent, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had already reached the absolute pinnacle. Lü Yang knew he couldn’t compete in that arena, so he had to find another path.

’If I can’t beat him in quality, I’ll beat him in quantity!’

He would choose a few powerful Daoist Skills and then use the Immortal Dao Law to empower and rapidly master them, thereby enhancing his own Combat prowess.

Lü Yang already had a plan in mind:

’My five Abilities are my Innate Ability, the Mountain and Sea Map of the Imperial Decree, and my four Talent Skills: Emperor’s Fate, Guiyuan Palace, Heaven and Earth, and Coiling Dragon Root.’

’Setting aside my Innate Ability for the moment, of my Talent Skills, Emperor’s Fate is more of a support ability, mainly strengthening the power of my Innate Ability. Guiyuan Palace is geared toward defense, containment, and suppression, while Heaven and Earth works in tandem with Guiyuan Palace to refine whatever has been suppressed.’

’As for Coiling Dragon Root, its Divine Effect lies mainly in neutralizing injuries and dispelling malevolent forces.’

This entire system of Abilities, much like the concept behind the Fruit of Celestial Fire, is primarily focused on "governing." It lacks any methods specifically designed for combat and killing.

But that was to be expected.

After all, the scion of a wealthy house should not court needless danger. Bloody battles are for generals; from the perspective of the Fruit of Celestial Fire, engaging in them directly would be a Lower Grade approach.

’Still, there are exceptions.’

’Even an Emperor sometimes personally leads his armies into battle, treading into perilous territory. The key is to find a Daoist Skill that fits this image and allows me to perfectly unleash my stats.’

Lü Yang spread his Divine Sense and began to search through the Four Treasures Daoist Canon. Unfortunately, the collection was simply too vast. He couldn’t just skim each volume; he had to read them in detail to grasp their underlying concepts and determine if they suited him. The process was incredibly draining.

After a long while, he finally managed to find two Daoist Skills that caught his interest.

A Noon Fire Dao Skill: the Fenghou Suiyang Book.

A Bing Fire Dao Skill: the Jianyang Emperor’s Light Talisman.

’The "Wu" in Wu Fire, or Noon Fire, corresponds to beacon towers. The Fenghou Suiyang Book channels this principle, allowing one to command the fires of war and crush enemies head-on. Its weakness is that it’s too cumbersome.’

It was powerful, yes, but it lacked speed.

Against an opponent with a Divine Communication Technique skilled in evasion and avoiding disaster, they could easily escape, causing me to waste a large amount of Mana for no result.

’The Jianyang Emperor’s Light Talisman is meant to cover this weakness. It borrows the Divine Effect of Bing Fire. "Bing" represents the sun, resplendent in the noon sky. Anyone who looks upon it will feel as if they are staring directly into the morning sun, their Divine Sense instantly blinded and unable to perceive their surroundings. They naturally wouldn’t be able to detect my attack, let alone dodge it.’

Even so, Lü Yang remained unsatisfied.

The two Daoist Skills were good, but they only grazed the edges of the Fruit of Celestial Fire’s core concept. It was wishful thinking to believe he could rely on them to fight the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected.

"Unfortunately, I’m not familiar enough with the Four Treasures Daoist Canon."

If only someone had read the entire collection, they might be able to help him pick out the perfect Daoist Skill. But even among the concubines of the harem, few could claim such a feat.

Just then—

"The Empress has arrived!"