The Imperial Isolation Chambers were humming, not with the sterile quiet of confinement, but with the combined, focused power of the Divine Purity masters. Lin Tian, stable at Golden Immortal Stage 6, sat across from Mei Lan, who stood radiating the fierce, controlled power of her new Golden Immortal Stage 1 foundation. She had safely transported the immense Tier 2 spiritual treasury, and her presence completed Lin Tian's strategic readiness.
"The Lower Heavens are paralyzed by the collapse of the Sovereign's Hall," Lin Tian transmitted, his mental voice cold and absolute. "But that peace is artificial. The Celestial Emperor will soon notice the lack of tribute. We require a sovereign territory—a beachhead for the Lin Dynasty."
Lin Tian channeled his power, projecting the Strategic Dao Map of the Lower Heavens onto the vault wall. His gaze fixed on a small, hyper-secure domain in the northern sector: The Obsidian Star Territory, ruled by House Lie, one of the Assembly's formerly neutral factions.
"The Obsidian Star Territory contains the Primal Essence Well—a continuous source of Tier 3 energy that rivals the Emperor's main distribution hubs," Lin Tian commanded. "We will seize it."
Mei Lan nodded, her eyes blazing with focused understanding. "The strike must be fast, Master. If we challenge a direct vassal, the Emperor's main forces will mobilize before we can secure the assets."
Lin Tian activated the Cosmic Flaw Detector, aiming its immense conceptual power directly at the Obsidian Star Territory's capital fortress.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Obsidian Fortress Defense Array. Foundational Law: Dao of Rigidity. Flaw Detected: Symmetry and Stagnation. Array logic is unchanging, reliant on brute force resistance. Vulnerability: Entropy Cascade.]
"The defense is strong but stupid," Lin Tian transmitted. "It is a fortress built on static logic. Elder Jiao and Lord Xing will provide the temporal and political shields. You will be the spearhead."
Lin Tian assigned the strategic roles: Lord Xing (Time Master) was to establish a temporary Temporal Slowdown Field around the target territory, slowing the perception of time for any incoming reinforcements by one day for every hour of real time, guaranteeing Mei Lan complete security during the siege. Elder Jiao (Entropy Master) was to use his Dao of Entropy to prepare the final strike, injecting minute, structural decay into the fortress's primary energy conduits an hour before the attack. Mei Lan (Purity Blade) was to execute the single, lethal strike that triggers the Entropy Cascade and instantly collapses the rigid fortress.
The two puppets, a Dao Master and a Golden Immortal, executed their preparatory commands flawlessly. Lord Xing, fueled by his mastery of the Dao of Time, cast the powerful Temporal Slowdown Field—a shimmering, invisible barrier that sealed the territory in a moment of subjective time.
Elder Jiao, trembling but obedient, slipped into the territory and injected the Entropy Flaw into the fortress's energy conduits.
Mei Lan stood alone at the perimeter of the Obsidian Fortress. She saw the powerful, stagnant defense array pulsing with stable Primal Saint Energy.
She channeled the entirety of her Divine Purity Core, manifesting the Blade of Purity into a massive, concentrated column of white light. Lin Tian's final command resonated in her mind: Strike the fracture point. Do not hesitate. Achieve maximum destruction with minimum energy.
Mei Lan launched the attack. The Blade of Purity struck the fortress wall, hitting the pre-set Entropy Flaw with surgical precision.
The rigid Dao of Rigidity array, already compromised by the decay, instantly collapsed. The external defensive Qi, instead of dispersing, was violently pulled inward by the flaw, accelerating the structural failure of the entire fortress.
CRASH!
The Obsidian Fortress did not shatter; it liquefied into a torrent of shattered Saint-Stone and useless spiritual debris. The entire fortress was instantly annihilated by its own rigid flaw.
Mei Lan entered the ruined territory, her Purity Core absorbing the vast, escaping spiritual essence. Her targets were the leaders of House Lie, who survived the blast but were utterly demoralized and crippled by the spiritual backlash.
She confronted Lord Lie, the territory's ruler, who lay pinned beneath a slab of Saint-Stone, his Golden Immortal core fractured.
"Why?" Lord Lie gasped, staring at the ruthless, pure power of the girl. "Why this brutality? The Emperor protects us!"
Mei Lan simply knelt and channeled Lin Tian's chilling verdict. The Dao of Rigidity is inefficient. Your power is forfeit.
She forcibly extracted the essence of Lord Lie and his remaining high-level subordinates, ensuring no lingering martial threat remained.
[RESOURCE ACQUISITION: Obsidian Star Territory seized. Golden Immortal Essence (x7) secured. Access to Primal Essence Well gained.]
Mei Lan immediately turned the territory over to Elder Jiao, tasking him with stabilizing the Primal Essence Well and establishing permanent cultivation arrays.
The first strategic territory of the Lin Dynasty in the Nine Heavens was secured in less than one hour of real time. Lin Tian smiled in the chambers. The war against the Celestial Emperors had officially begun, and he had secured his first vital energy source.
The resources are flowing, Lin Tian mused. Time to turn this conquest into power.