The Orchid Pavilion had been transformed from a luxurious scholarly retreat into the heart of a cosmic siphon. Elder Long Wei, the kingdom's greatest spiritual authority, sat outside the chamber, his ancient brow beaded with sweat. He was frantically maintaining three layers of concealment formations, struggling against the spiritual vacuum created by the infant within. Every few minutes, he felt the Earth Spirit Dragon Vein shiver violently, protesting the impossible drain.
Inside, Lin Tian, barely nine months old, was a perfect, unmoving statue. He was accelerating through the final, perilous stages of the Soul Transformation realm with the speed of a runaway star, guided by the perfect Heaven-Shaking Soul Transformation Sutra. He had devoured the last of the Imperial Herb Garden's spiritual wealth, using the energy to compress his core further and further, preparing for the true spiritual birth. His goal was the Soul Transformation Peak-the final threshold of the Mortal World.
Lin Tian felt the last of his Divine Golden Core reserves fully integrate, merging the purified energy with his Sea of Consciousness. The moment of culmination arrived, silent and absolute.
[Cultivation Status: Soul Transformation Peak Achieved. Nascent Soul Forging Initiated.]
Lin Tian's mind, the domain of the HSDS, focused entirely on the forging process. He began to compress his Soul into a perfect, miniature spiritual clone-the Nascent Soul. A normal cultivator would spend decades carefully guiding the fragile spiritual essence; Lin Tian used the Omni-Talent to achieve instantaneous, flawless compression. He poured the Divine Purity of his energy into the tiny core, determined to create a spiritual entity that was flawless enough to survive the higher tiers.
The power surge was catastrophic.
The compression-achieved with a purity that defied the Azure Cloud World's laws-created a spiritual spike that instantly shattered Elder Long Wei's concealment formations. The Elder screamed, not from injury, but from the sudden exposure to the raw, terrifying power.
"Master! Control it!" Elder Long Wei shrieked, scrambling to re-erect the shattered arrays. "The leakage is absolute!"
The spiritual signature of Lin Tian's birth-the overwhelming energy of a Divine Nascent Soul-shot out of the Imperial Capital and ripped through the sky. It pierced the thin veil separating the Mortal Realm from the next plane of existence: the Heavenly Gate.
In the vast, shifting expanse of the Cloud Heavens (Tier 2), a figure of immense power, stalled for millennia at the Grand Unity Immortal peak, suddenly froze. This Observer, known only as Venerable Qiao, was tasked with monitoring the lower planes for energy anomalies.
Venerable Qiao felt the spike-an energy signature so pure and clean it seemed like a direct contradiction to the Mortal Realm's coarse existence. He immediately extended his spiritual will, attempting to forcefully pierce the Heavenly Gate and investigate the source of the divine energy spike.
In the Orchid Pavilion, Lin Tian felt the intrusion-a cold, probing, immensely powerful will descending from above. It was a Tier 2 being, a Grand Unity Immortal, attempting to assert dominance and seize the source of the anomaly.
[WARNING! External Spiritual Signature Detected. Origin: Cloud Heavens (Tier 2). Threat Level: CATASTROPHIC. Observer Intent: Subjugation and Resource Theft.]
Lin Tian did not interrupt the forging of his Divine Nascent Soul. He did not have time to fight. He directed the HSDS to counter the threat instantly.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Analyzing Tier 2 Protocol. Solution: Initiate Source Code Rejection (Maximum Purity).]
The Observer's Eye instantly analyzed Venerable Qiao's probing will. It dissected the Immortal's spiritual signature, recognizing its fundamental reliance on the rules of the Cloud Heavens. Lin Tian then took the raw, chaotic Source Code of his own reborn soul-the true energy of the Heaven-Shaking Dao System-and, without engaging in combat, injected a single, microscopic thread of that pure, cosmic chaos into Venerable Qiao's probing will.
The effect was devastating on the Immortal plane.
Venerable Qiao shrieked, a sound that echoed across the Cloud Heavens. His probing will, which had traveled light-years to reach the Mortal Realm, instantly fractured. He felt an energy that was not merely stronger than his own, but fundamentally alien and corrosive-a level of universal purity that threatened to unravel his own millennia-old, hard-won Immortal Body.
"Impossible! That is Source Code! An Omni-Lord is observing the Mortal Realm!" Venerable Qiao ripped his consciousness back from the Heavenly Gate, his entire being paralyzed by the fear of engaging an entity of true cosmic scale. He would report the anomaly, but he would never approach that terrifying source again.
The threat vanished as quickly as it arrived. The spiritual chaos caused by the intrusion settled, leaving the Orchid Pavilion silent and still.
Lin Tian completed the final stage of compression. His consciousness merged with the new spiritual entity-the Nascent Soul. It was not golden, but a shimmering, crystalline entity of impossible purity, pulsing in his Dantian. He had successfully forged the ultimate mortal core.
[BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED! Nascent Soul Born. Purity: 100%. Host is ready for Ascension Tribulation. Estimated time to required Ascension energy: 48 hours.]
Lin Tian opened his eyes. He was still a nine-month-old infant, but his presence now carried the heavy, absolute authority of a being who had stared down an Immortal. Elder Long Wei, still trembling, sensed the change instantly. The Elder knew he was now serving a being destined for the cosmos.
Lin Tian pushed himself up and, for the first time, effortlessly stood upright on his own two feet. He took one step, then another. He no longer needed a carriage, a carrier, or political shields.
The Mortal Realm is a fine cradle, but the game has been won, Lin Tian mused. The resources are secured, the puppets are loyal, and the threats have been silenced.
He looked out toward the sky, where the Heavenly Gate was now subtly visible only to his Divine Nascent Soul. He knew the Ascension Tribulation would be the final price for his theft of the Azure Cloud World's resources.
He had 48 hours to prepare. The next stage of the saga was about to begin.