The accusation hung heavy in the air. Elder Sun had made himself a target by pinning the blame too quickly. Lin Wei, by shifting the poison plot back onto his master while denying the theft, created a perfect, messy situation.
Elder Zhi's eyes, filled with killing intent, flickered between the two of them. He didn't care who poisoned his sword; he cared who stole his treasure.
"Sun, you will be stripped of your Outer Elder title and sent to the mines for this insolence," Elder Zhi commanded, his voice cold as ice. "But the servant... the theft was too clean for a fool. I will search his soul!"
Soul-searching was a high-level, forbidden technique that left a victim an empty shell. It was a death sentence.
Elder Zhi raised his hand, channeling powerful Foundation Establishment Qi. The pressure on Lin Wei became unbearable, forcing him to his knees.
Now!
Lin Wei roared, not with his voice, but with the Void Eye Edict. He unleashed a massive burst of his condensed Sixth Level Qi. It wasn't an attack; it was a powerful, refined distraction.
The dark-green Qi exploded outward, colliding with Elder Zhi's massive pressure field. The clash was silent and utterly destabilizing. Zhi staggered backward, shocked that a mere 'servant' could generate such an energy blast.
Lin Wei sprang up, seizing the moment of chaos. He grabbed Elder Sun, who was frozen in terror. "Elder, you wanted to escape the debt? Run!"
Using his Mountain Crushing Fist (Void Command Edition), Lin Wei smashed his fist into Elder Sun's back, a force strong enough to send the unprepared, weak cultivator flying over the outer wall of the main compound. Elder Sun's fate was irrelevant, but his departure created the perfect diversion.
Lin Wei didn't follow. He channeled his remaining Qi and the raw spiritual energy from the single, dark-red Spirit Herb he had stolen.
"Devour!"
He absorbed the herb in a single, desperate rush, forcing its powerful essence into the Edict. The power was immense, pushing his cultivation to its very limit.
Qi Condensation, Peak Ninth Level!
With the final, violent surge of refined power, Lin Wei sprinted toward the steepest, most remote edge of the mountain. Elder Zhi was recovering and roaring orders to his disciples.
Lin Wei reached the precipice of Cloud-Split Peak. He looked down at the sheer, terrifying drop. He was one step from the Foundation Establishment realm, with the world's fury at his back.
He jumped.
The wind tore at him. Below was a swirling, cloud-filled chasm. Lin Wei channeled the entirety of his Peak Ninth Level Qi into his legs and a rudimentary, self-taught Gliding Technique based on the Void Command. He wasn't flying; he was falling with style.
His only hope was to reach the treacherous, mist-shrouded foothills, where the sect's authority melted away. Lin Wei had escaped the Azure Sky Sect—not as a Foundation Establishment Master, but as a heavily wanted, immensely powerful Outcast who had broken the rules of the entire mountain. His path to Immortality had begun in the clouds, and now, he was plunging into the unknown world.