The air in the Cloud Heavens was chaotic, not just from the natural flow of Immortal Qi, but from the sheer discord sowed by Lin Tian's fabricated Imperial Decree and the turmoil within the Black Sun Sect. Mei Lan had fled the site of her last battle, following her instinct-and the immense spiritual pull of the purest resources.
She soared above the shimmering, floating clouds, her mind focused entirely on the Purity Core that hummed in her Dantian. The Core demanded resources, and it rejected anything less than high-grade Tier 2 materials.
As she flew, a spiritual signature, stable and immensely powerful, locked onto her. This was not a panicked rogue cultivator or a disorganized bandit. This was a dedicated hunter.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Heavenly Immortal Stage 6. Status: High-Level Enforcer. Intent: Capture and Interrogation (Azure Sea Sect).]
The attacker, Elder Yun, was a veteran Immortal dispatched from the crippled Azure Sea Sect to hunt down the "treasonous artifact" that had shattered their foundation. Yun was meticulous, but his cultivation was rigid and flawed, a weakness Mei Lan's Purity Core instantly recognized.
Elder Yun materialized directly in Mei Lan's path, blocking the lane between two massive cloud islands. He was clad in blue-and-white robes, his face stern with the righteous fury of a sect master witnessing the ruin of his home.
"You stop, demon spawn!" Yun thundered, channeling a concentrated blast of Heavenly Immortal Qi. "You shattered the Azure Sea Vein and stole our wealth! Your arrogance ends here!"
Yun's attack was a vast, crushing torrent of water-aligned Immortal Qi-a powerful move designed to incapacitate the target with overwhelming pressure.
Mei Lan did not move. Her Innate Sword Soul instantly analyzed the attack, not as a wave of water, but as a complex matrix of energy flows. She recognized the weakness: the attack relied on three redundant stabilization nodes to maintain its cohesion at distance.
She raised her hand-again, without drawing a weapon. Her Sword Intent manifested as five invisible, razor-thin threads of pure energy. She launched them with surgical precision, striking the three stabilization nodes and two secondary pressure points in Yun's Qi path simultaneously.
The attack, mid-flight, fractured. It did not strike Mei Lan; it diffused harmlessly into a cool mist that passed around her.
Elder Yun stared in stunned disbelief. His most powerful technique, one that had defeated dozens of rivals, had simply unraveled. "What sorcery is this? You are merely Foundation-" he paused, correcting himself as he sensed the impossible purity of her core. "No, you are Core Formation, but your energy is... divine!"
Mei Lan took one step forward, her voice low and demanding. "Your technique is inefficient. Your energy is impure. You are an obstacle."
Enraged, Elder Yun drew his ceremonial blade and launched himself into close combat. This was his specialty-rigid, formalized sword arts refined over three centuries.
This was exactly what Mei Lan needed. She allowed him to close the distance, using the intense focus of his attack to stabilize her own Divine Core. The Purity Core began to hum, identifying weaknesses in his sword's spiritual lattice, his stance, and his centuries of flawed practice.
Mei Lan drew her own invisible Blade of Purity. She met his spiritual sword not with a clash of force, but with a series of instantaneous, minimal touches. Each touch delivered a microscopic dose of her Divine Purity, which immediately corrupted the structure of his flawed Immortal Qi.
Yun's movements became sluggish. He felt his own power betray him, his Qi seizing in his meridians. He knew he was being defeated by a higher order of physics.
Mei Lan delivered the finishing strike: a vertical chop with her empty hand that carried the force of her Purity Core. The blow didn't aim for his flesh; it aimed for his Spirit Root, the foundation of his immortal being.
The blow landed with devastating, muted finality. Elder Yun screamed-a horrific, internal sound-as his Spirit Root fractured. His body didn't explode; it withered, his Immortal longevity collapsing instantly. He tumbled out of the cloud layer, falling toward the earth miles below, his cultivation base gone, reduced to a desperate, dying mortal.
Mei Lan stood alone. She had defeated a Heavenly Immortal Stage 6 master in less than a minute, suffering no damage. She looked down, satisfied, confirming that the spiritual resources of the defeated Immortal were now her own.
[Resource Acquisition: Heavenly Immortal Stage 6 Qi Harvested. Purity: 90%]
The fight had been a necessary resource grab, but the chaos of her Divine Purity was still a danger. She needed a deep, secure place to convert the harvested energy into stable power.
She scanned the distant horizon, following a faint, ancient spiritual pulse that her Purity Core found irresistibly attractive. The pulse led her to a region of the continent known as the Void Peaks-a chain of abandoned, desolate mountains where no Sect dared venture due to ancient curses and extreme isolation.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Ancient Spiritual Garden (Tier 2, High Purity). Status: Abandoned.]
Mei Lan smiled-the first flicker of genuine anticipation since her rebirth. She had found a massive, hidden trove of untouched resources. This was the perfect place for her to cultivate in isolation, ensuring her next breakthrough would be utterly undisturbed. The strategic chaos Lin Tian created allowed her to operate with impunity, and she would now use that freedom to become unstoppable.