Mei Lan moved like a predator given a massive feast. The spiritual wealth of the Azure Water Sect, which had once been a source of crushing servitude, now represented the necessary fuel for her Divine Core. She arrived at the Sect's mountain gate well before General Lin Zhao's military forces could begin their slow siege. The Sect was already in turmoil, frantically reinforcing their defenses against the impending Imperial Edict. Sect Master Luo was frantic, pacing the main hall.
Mei Lan stood alone at the base of the mountain. She wasn't interested in the martial trials or the fortified gate. She activated her Observer's Eye and scanned the entire mountain formation—the foundation of the Sect's power.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Azure Water Sect Mountain Formation. Flaw: Reliance on three key Qi conduits for central defense.]
The Innate Sword Soul instantly translated the flaw into a perfect attack vector. Mei Lan channeled her pure Divine Core Qi, concentrating it into a thread of energy so fine it was invisible to the naked eye. She launched the attack, targeting the precise spiritual nexus of the three key conduits simultaneously.
The defensive mountain array didn't explode—it imploded. The massive spiritual energy designed to protect the mountain folded inward, collapsing the three conduits and triggering chain reactions across the main protective shield. Sect Master Luo, standing inside the main hall, felt the core spiritual structure of his Sect dissolve instantly. He screamed in disbelief. "Impossible! No single strike could achieve that!"
Mei Lan stepped through the crumbling gate, walking past the bewildered and panicked outer disciples. Her targets were specific: the Spiritual Herb Vault, the Core Library, and the Sect's hidden Spirit Vein Access Point.
She encountered the Inner Elders first—a group of four Core Formation masters and three peak Foundation Establishment veterans. They were formidable, highly trained cultivators, but they were already spiritually destabilized by the collapsing array. Elder Qi, who had been incapacitated by Mei Lan in Chapter 10, shouted a warning that was instantly ignored.
Mei Lan met their combined fury—four distinct waves of spiritual attack—with a single, ruthless technique: The Blade of Purity.
She drew a sword that wasn't there. Her Sword Intent manifested as a shimmering, physical blade of pure, terrifying white light, created entirely from the energy of her Divine Core. She met the attacks with three instantaneous sweeps. The Blade of Purity didn't deflect or block; it sliced the spiritual structure of the incoming attacks. A Core Master's fireball was neatly halved and dissipated; a spear technique was fractured into useless, disorganized Qi; and the coordinated defensive wall crumbled as the Sword Intent introduced spiritual entropy.
Mei Lan moved with surgical speed, delivering disabling strikes to their cores. She used her empty palm to strike the Dantian of one master, obliterating his Golden Core instantly, turning him into an empty shell of a man. She targeted the meridian cluster in the backs of the others, ensuring they were incapacitated with micro-fractures in their meridians—alive, but permanently removed from the battlefield. Her efficiency was absolute.
Mei Lan located the Spiritual Herb Vault. The ancient lock array was operating with inefficient sequencing. She channeled a thread of Sword Qi into the keyhole and applied pressure. The ancient lock didn't turn; it re-sequenced, falling open with a soft, compliant click.
Inside, the spiritual wealth of the Azure Water Sect was exposed. She began her acquisition methodically, assessing the purity of every resource.
[Resource Acquisition: Azure Water Sect Treasury secured. Materials obtained: 1,200 High-Grade Spiritual Herbs, 50 Spirit Jades, 3 Core Formation Pills (Divine Purity Rating: 55%).]
She then moved to the Core Library, a vast chamber filled with scrolls and jade slips. She placed her hand flat on the central archive stone and allowed the Innate Sword Soul to instantly absorb and catalogue the spiritual imprints of every technique within. The process took only seconds, but it exposed Mei Lan to centuries of flawed cultivation logic. She stored the knowledge, knowing it held political and strategic value for Lin Tian.
[Archive Acquired: Azure Water Sect Core Techniques (345). Cataloged for future reference.]
Mei Lan realized the scale of their initial hoarding. The total spiritual value of the seized assets was enough to propel three ordinary Core Formation masters to the Nascent Soul realm. For her Divine Core, it was a necessary boost, but still only a fraction of what she would ultimately demand.
Mei Lan found Sect Master Luo cowering in a small meditative chamber, stripped of all arrogance. Luo wept, begging for mercy. "The resources are yours! Take everything! Spare the Sect! We serve the Emperor!"
Mei Lan's voice was cold. "You held me in servitude. You suppressed my path. The payment is due."
She raised her hand, and her Blade of Purity formed again—this time, vast and blinding. She didn't aim at him. She aimed down, driving the vast energy of the blade directly into the Sect's hidden Spirit Vein Access Point.
The Sect Master watched in horror as the very foundation of his mountain split apart. The earth convulsed, and the unleashed energy ripped through the halls, tearing down the main pagoda and igniting the forested slopes. The Azure Water Sect was not simply defeated; it was annihilated, its spiritual foundations erased.
Mei Lan walked away from the destruction, the sound of the approaching Imperial Army drums faintly audible in the distance. She had left nothing for General Lin Zhao but scorched earth and a clear victory. She was ready for the next level of the grand saga.