The spiritual signature of the defeated Elder Yun—a blast of residual, corrupted Heavenly Immortal Qi—ripped across the Immortal Cloud Continent, settling violently near Lin Tian's hiding spot. In the cave, Lin Tian ended his meditation, his Divine Nascent Soul instantly processing the external catastrophe.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: External Qi Flow Anomaly. Source: Defeated Heavenly Immortal Stage 6. Cause: Annihilation by Innate Sword Soul Purity.]
Lin Tian confirmed the critical intelligence: Mei Lan had not only won her confrontation against the Azure Sea Sect's enforcement officer, but she had done so with such overwhelming purity that the Elder's spiritual signature fractured upon death, sending a clear, terrifying message across the Tier 2 realm. This chaos was a strategic gift. The Sovereign's Hall—the ruling body of the Cloud Heavens—would be in immediate lockdown, terrified of an unknown force capable of dismantling a veteran Immortal so efficiently. Lin Tian realized he had a narrow window to manipulate this fear and protect his anonymity before the true investigation began.
Lin Tian channeled his command to his Tier 2 puppet, Elder Mu, who was anxiously preparing for his scouting mission to the Black Sun Sect. Stop your departure. Elder Yun has fallen. The Sovereign's Hall must be paralyzed. We will provide the narrative. Elder Mu's reaction was immediate terror. "Master! Elder Yun was a high-level enforcer! The Sovereign's Hall will send a Grand Unity team! We must flee!" Silence. Lin Tian's mental rebuke was absolute. Fear is a political tool. The Sovereign's Hall is weak. Your task is to confirm a narrative of existential, untraceable threat. Lin Tian then supplied Mu with a complex, fabricated spiritual report, designed to look like intercepted, high-priority communication from the defunct Azure Sea Sect. The narrative was designed to paralyze the Tier 2 ruling body: Elder Yun was assassinated by an "Ascendant from the Sunken Heavens"—a name Lin Tian invented—who wielded "The Dao of Universal Purge." The report detailed how this Ascendant was targeting the Azure Sea Sect because they held ancient knowledge vital to Tier 3 advancement. "Deliver this report to Grand Sovereign Chen," Lin Tian commanded. "Make the delivery highly public and anonymous. Ensure the Sovereign believes the threat is external, organized, and specifically interested in their highest secrets. This will force them to focus inward." Mu obeyed instantly. He knew the devastating effect this intelligence would have. The Sovereign's Hall, always paranoid about interference from the Nine Heavens (Tier 3), would divert all military and political resources to guarding their ancient secrets, rather than hunting a single, rogue cultivator (Mei Lan). The entire political structure of the Cloud Heavens was now focused on a ghost threat Lin Tian had just created.
With his political cover secured, Lin Tian needed to consolidate the resources Mei Lan and Elder Mu had acquired in their raids. He had hundreds of Immortal Purity Pills and the runoff from the Azure Sea Vein. This wealth was enough to take him from his current Heavenly Immortal Stage 4 to the very brink of the next evolution: Grand Unity Immortal (Stage 9). Lin Tian began cultivating. He didn't just absorb the pills; he subjected the massive spiritual buffer to the ultimate refining process, using the HSDS to synthesize the material into pure Tier 2 Immortal Essence that perfectly complemented his Divine Nascent Soul. He advanced through Heavenly Immortal Stages 5 and 6 in a single week. The acceleration was profound, but as he reached Stage 7, he hit the expected limit.
[Cultivation Status: Heavenly Immortal Stage 7. Bottleneck Detected. Reason: Immortal Body Refinement Incomplete. Body requires infusion of Elemental Immortal Qi to stabilize Tier 2 structure.]
Lin Tian realized that while his Perfect Immortal Body (forged in the Tribulation) was flawless, it was still a general template. To truly master the Heavenly Immortal stages, he needed to integrate the foundational elements of the Cloud Heavens-Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire-into his physical being. This required synthesizing four distinct types of Tier 2 energy. The current HSDS functions (Observer's Eye, Omni-Talent, Purity Protocol) were insufficient for creating this elemental synthesis. The System immediately updated his core task.
[Core Task Updated: Integrate Elemental Immortal Body. Objective: Synthesize four core Elemental Immortal Qi sources (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind).]
Lin Tian understood the magnitude of the task. Synthesizing four fundamental elements required more than pills; it required vast, elemental-specific resource veins across the continent. This meant infiltrating four major, powerful Tier 2 sects, each specializing in one element. He noted that the Black Sun Sect (Fire Element) was already destabilized by Elder Mu's sabotage, and the Azure Sea Sect (Water Element) was already crippled by Mei Lan's attack. However, he needed two new, major targets: a Mountain Dao Sect (Earth) and a Sky Wind Temple (Wind). He realized his strategy had to expand. He needed a dedicated System function for long-range, multi-target surveillance and resource allocation.
[System Notification: New Function Unlock Initiated: Strategic Dao Map. Allows host to view political, resource, and cultivation heat-maps of the Cloud Heavens. Unlocking requires a Major Political Victory (Securing control over an Immortal Sect's core territory).]
Lin Tian smiled in the quiet darkness of the cave. He had cured the Elder, exposed a false enemy, and created a political vacuum. The Cloud Heavens were ready to be carved up. He had the first three targets; now, he would use the chaos to conquer them, one elemental flaw at a time. His ultimate goal remained absolute control over the resources of this realm.