The journey to the Black Sun Sect was long and perilous, taking Elder Mu nearly five days of disciplined, furtive flight across the Immortal Cloud Continent. Mu was driven by a single, powerful mandate: secure the Cloud-Palm Fruit-the only ingredient capable of curing his deep-seated Wood Dao Flaw and granting him the ultimate spiritual fix promised by his master, the infant Lin Tian.
The Black Sun Sect was vast, built across three massive peaks whose tips pierced the highest layer of clouds. It radiated an oppressive, orderly power that spoke of millennia of consolidated Tier 2 cultivation. Mu, a mere Heavenly Immortal, felt acutely aware of his place on the hierarchy. Yet, the terror of displeasing Lin Tian and the promise of that overwhelming Divine Purity outweighed any survival instinct.
Mu located the sect's vital heart: the Grand Apothecary Peak, where the most precious spiritual flora was cultivated. The entire peak was protected by the Nine-Lattice Solar Formation, a defensive array renowned across the continent for its intricacy and strength.
Mu landed covertly in a dense cloud layer, channeling Lin Tian's command. Infiltrate. Do not engage. Use the flaws in their philosophy.
Mu activated the Observer's Eye, relying on the superior analytical power channeled by Lin Tian's Divine Nascent Soul.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Nine-Lattice Solar Formation. Flaw: Over-Optimization for Solar Energy. Vulnerability: Shadow Flow Exploitation.]
Mu realized the genius of the command. The Sect Master, arrogant in his Solar Dao, had over-engineered the formation to draw maximum light, creating an inevitable, minute lapse in the shield during the transition of the planetary shadows-a flaw only noticeable to a being focused on absolute perfection. Mu waited for the precise planetary alignment, and then, using his flawed Wood Dao Qi to mimic a natural shadow drift, he slipped through the micro-lapse in the Formation.
He was inside the fortress.
The Grand Apothecary Peak was a serene maze of spiritual greenhouses and protected gardens. Mu quickly located the Cloud-Palm Fruit growing in a specialized greenhouse protected by a subordinate array.
[Target: Cloud-Palm Fruit Formation. Status: Weak. Solution: Standard Wood Dao Frequency Disruption.]
Mu easily deactivated the field and reached for the shimmering, blue-silver fruit-the key to his salvation.
But as he grasped the fruit, he scanned the surrounding structures. He detected vast spiritual energy reserves being rapidly mobilized and relocated, not for the defense of the peak, but for offensive deployment.
Mu quickly scanned the Sect's central communication hub-a large, obsidian slate used for broadcasting military commands.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Black Sun Sect Central Command Slate. Data Stream: High-Priority. Content: Counter-Offensive Protocol.]
Mu skimmed the content. The Black Sun Sect had not been fooled by Lin Tian's fake Tier 3 decree (Chapter 31). They had correctly analyzed the political maneuver as a low-level provocation and were preparing a massive, coordinated attack on the weakened Azure Sea Sect under the guise of "Imperial Investigation." They planned to seize the remnants of the Azure Sea Vein before the Sovereign's Hall could act.
This is a problem, Mu thought, relaying the intelligence back to Lin Tian. My Master needs chaos, not organized warfare. The Black Sun Sect will consolidate power too quickly.
Lin Tian's mental response was instantaneous and surgical. The Black Sun Sect's strength is their organization. Their greatest weakness is their pride. Sow discord in their command structure.
Mu understood. He had to make the Black Sun Sect turn on itself.
He took the Cloud-Palm Fruit-a perfect, high-tier Tier 2 resource-and, before escaping, moved to the Sect's main power nexus, a massive crystalline array that channeled the sect's spiritual energy. He did not destroy the nexus. Instead, using a complex application of Lin Tian's commanded insight, he delivered a precise, microscopic flaw to the array's core stabilization sequence-a flaw designed to look like the work of an internal political rival.
The flaw was subtle: when activated for mass deployment, the array would over-siphon spiritual energy from the sector controlled by the Second Elder, triggering a catastrophic failure only in that specific faction's cultivation halls.
Mu knew the resulting spiritual collapse would be blamed instantly on the Second Elder's faction attempting a hostile takeover, plunging the entire Sect into an internal power struggle just hours before their scheduled external attack.
He had planted the seeds of anarchy.
Elder Mu secured the Cloud-Palm Fruit and executed his retreat, using the same shadow-flow vulnerability to exit the Nine-Lattice Solar Formation. He flew back toward Lin Tian's hiding spot, the perfect fruit secured, and a massive internal power struggle now brewing in one of the continent's major Tier 2 forces.
He was exhausted, but the thought of the perfect Celestial Wood Dew cure was his only sustenance.
He arrived back at the hidden cave and presented the shimmering, blue-silver Cloud-Palm Fruit to the infant master.
Lin Tian, now perfectly adapted to the Tier 2 Immortal Qi, accepted the fruit. He looked at Mu with a slight nod of acknowledgment.
"The resource is secured," Lin Tian transmitted. "Your loyalty is noted. Now, the reward."
Lin Tian channeled his energy, combining the Cloud-Palm Fruit with the specific blend of Immortal Purity Pills he had acquired earlier, instantly synthesizing the complex mixture into a single droplet of Celestial Wood Dew. He allowed Mu to consume the dew.
The taste of absolute Purity-now delivered directly by his Master-was the final, ultimate spiritual experience. Mu's centuries-old Wood Dao Flaw was instantly purged, his cultivation path made clean and flawless. His spiritual strength stabilized and surged, finally allowing him to progress past Heavenly Immortal Stage 3.
[New Loyalty Status: Elder Mu (Heavenly Immortal Stage 4). Status: Absolute Fanaticism.]
[Resource Acquired: Celestial Wood Dew (One Unit). Tier 2 Puppet Refinement Complete.]
Lin Tian smiled. He had turned chaos into resources, and resources into absolute, high-efficiency loyalty. The Black Sun Sect was crippled by internal war, the Azure Sea Sect was crippled by theft, and the Sovereign's Hall was paralyzed by false decrees. The Cloud Heavens were already his chessboard.
Time to accelerate, Lin Tian mused, turning his attention to the true goal: the Grand Unity Immortal Stage.