The General Clan's camp was a model of military discipline. By the time the moon hung high and silver over the Cloud Peak Range, the guards were rotated, fires banked, and silence reigned. It was the perfect environment for a strategic infiltration.
Lin Tian, nestled snugly in his carriage, waited for the rhythmic breathing of his father, General Lin Zhao, to deepen. Once the pattern of a heavy sleeper was established, Lin Tian silently pushed away his blankets.
He wasn't crawling anymore. Now at Foundation Establishment Stage 9, his body was light as a feather, saturated with pure Qi. Using the Minor Qi Guidance he'd mastered in Chapter 2, he could manipulate his weight. He didn't float; he simply reduced friction and gently glided out of the carriage. His mission was focused and silent, his movements betraying nothing of his infant form.
The Azure Water Sect's mountain was less than a kilometer away.
Lin Tian quickly activated the Observer's Eye, painting the environment in glowing lines of spiritual energy. The entire mountain was bathed in the sickly yellow glow of the Qi-gathering Formation.
[Formation Code: Flawed (Efficiency 47%). Weakness: Input Node 3 relies on a single, non-redundant connection to a local Stone Golem idol.]
The weakness was exactly where the system predicted. The disciples of the Azure Water Sect, arrogant in their monopoly over the vein, had grown sloppy, relying on an ancient, simple idol to anchor a major node.
Lin Tian glided past the perimeter, avoiding the patrolling shadows. He reached the idol—a squat, weathered stone carving covered in minor script. The idol was pulsing with weak, unstable Qi, siphoning the energy from the Spirit Vein and feeding it into the main formation.
Lin Tian didn't need to destroy it. Destruction caused noise.
He channeled a needle-thin stream of his own Perfect Foundation Qi, using the purity of his energy like a scalpel. He didn't attack the idol itself, but rather the single, almost invisible thread of connection between the idol and the ground's ley lines. The thread was severed in a fraction of a second.
The result was silent but catastrophic.
The yellow glow of the formation flickered and died, not because it was broken, but because the code had gone null. The enormous amount of Azure Spirit Vein energy that was previously being siphoned was instantly released, gushing upwards into the surrounding atmosphere like a geyser.
Lin Tian felt the immediate difference. The air, minutes ago sparse, was now thick, almost viscous, with pure spiritual energy. This was the density he needed.
He moved quickly, guided by the Observer's Eye, toward the original fissure where the energy flowed. It was a small cave, previously locked down by the formation. Now, it was just a gaping hole of raw, intoxicating power.
Inside, the energy was overwhelming. It was cold, clean, and felt like running water across his skin.
[System Notification: Core Formation Prerequisites Met. Environment Quality: Optimal.][Initiating Dimensional Repository: Golden Core Creation Elixir Generated.]
The elixir, a vial of swirling, liquid light, appeared on a nearby flat stone. Lin Tian, without hesitation, grabbed the vial and drank the whole thing.
The process that followed was unlike the gentle refinement of his Foundation. This was a cosmic furnace. The elixir didn't create the core; it acted as the ultimate catalyst, forcing his perfectly pure Foundation energy to compress to an impossible degree.
His mind screamed, but his infant body remained still, his focus absolute. Compression… compression… three thousand times tighter than any core the Mortal Realm had ever seen. The pure white of his Foundation energy was crushed until it shattered the color spectrum.
When the compression stabilized, a tiny, glittering object sat at the center of his Dantian. It wasn't the dull yellow of a Golden Core, nor the faint white of a Divine Core. It was a shimmering, multi-faceted jewel that pulsed with every color imaginable.
[System Notification: Core Formation Success! Stage: Divine Golden Core (Perfect). Purity: 100%.][Host Power Index: Raised by 1,000%. Meridians capacity expanded 500%.][Aura Signature: Detected as Alien Code. Heavens are reacting.]
At that very moment, the entire Cloud Peak Range shuddered.
Up above, in the clear night sky, the cosmos itself seemed to reject Lin Tian's existence. The air cracked with electrical energy, and a small, perfectly circular column of purple lightning descended. It was a miniature, highly focused Heavenly Tribulation.
The lightning slammed into the mountain, but Lin Tian, protected by the dense Spirit Vein and the instantaneous, reactive power of his Divine Golden Core, barely felt a tremor. The energy was absorbed and refined into pure spiritual fuel.
The entire event lasted less than ten seconds, leaving a faint, acrid scent of ozone and shattered stone. The Azure Water Sect was oblivious, thinking it was a strong, localized storm.
Lin Tian, now a Divine Golden Core expert, stood up on shaky legs—he could walk now. His physical development was catching up to his spiritual power.
He performed a quick scan of the environment. The Observer's Eye immediately flagged a nearby location.
[Target: Mei Lan, Status: Servant. Cultivation Potential: Suppressed Divine Grade (Innate Sword Soul). Current Location: Servant Dormitory (100 meters).]
He had secured his power, but now it was time for the final piece of the plan.
Lin Tian glided silently toward the dormitory. He found the small, desolate room of Mei Lan. She was sleeping fitfully, her small hand clutching a frayed blanket. Her face, even in sleep, held a look of cold, intense resilience.
He reached into his Dimensional Repository and pulled out a simple, Tier 1 pill he had generated earlier: a Mortal Grade Purification Pill. It was basic, but its purity was absolute (100%), and its function was to cleanse and stabilize internal systems. For a suppressed Innate Sword Soul, this would act as a key.
He gently placed the pill on the worn, wooden bedside table, ensuring it was the first thing she would see in the morning. He then turned and, like a silent phantom, glided back to the General's camp.
By the time the sun rose, Lin Tian was back in his carriage, looking like a baby who had enjoyed a perfectly sound, spiritually balancing night of sleep.
The Azure Spirit Vein was exhausted for now, the Azure Water Sect's formation was subtly ruined, and the future master of the Sword Dao was about to wake up.