At the same time, within the secluded elder quarters of the sect—
A dimly lit chamber lay hidden behind multiple layers of concealment formations.
An elder knelt on the cold stone floor, his head lowered in reverence.
"As you commanded, Master, the entire sect has already been quietly encompassed by the Blood Killing Formation. It only awaits your order. Once activated, we can seize the Heavenly Stone without obstruction."
His voice carried a trace of pride, as if presenting a flawless accomplishment.
Seated before him was an old man with white hair and a scholarly demeanor. His eyes were closed, fingers moving subtly as if tracing invisible runic calculations in the air.
The room was silent for a long moment.
Then his eyes slowly opened.
"Have you noticed anything unusual within the sect recently?" he asked calmly.
The kneeling elder shook his head without hesitation and replied.
"Nothing worth concern, Master. Everything proceeds as usual."
Although two useless pieces of trash had disappeared, it was not a matter worth attention. They were merely disposable, and they still had hundreds of inner court disciples under their thumbs.
The old man gave a faint hum but did not immediately respond.
Instead, his gaze lowered slightly as he fell into contemplation.
Something… was off.
In the past, every divination he performed regarding the Heavenly Stone always led to the same outcome.
Acquisition.
Inevitability.
Yet recently, the threads of fate had begun to blur.
His fingers moved again, forming a silent calculation seal as he attempted a deeper prophecy.
Moments later, his brows creased.
Emptiness.
Where the future should have been, there was only a vast void.
And within that void, he glimpsed a single flash of lightning—faint at first, yet sharper and more dazzling than anything else in the tapestry of fate.
The result made his expression sink.
"The fate line has changed…"
He attempted to trace the origin of that anomaly, but the moment his spiritual sense pushed further, a suffocating warning surged from the depths of his soul. A cold chill ran down his spine, as if an unseen will had locked onto him.
He immediately withdrew his divination.
If he forced it, heavenly retribution would descend.
Secrets guarded by the Heavenly Dao were not things mortals could pry into without consequence. Even cultivators at his level would be reduced to ash under true heavenly tribulation.
Before the Heavenly Dao, all cultivators were nothing more than ants struggling beneath the sky.
He exhaled slowly, suppressing the unease in his heart.
"Continue the preparations," he said at last, his tone returning to calm. "In two months, we will act."
His eyes narrowed faintly.
"By then, the final item I require will appear at the Great Bianhuang Pass."
The kneeling elder's face lit up with fanatic devotion.
"As you command… All hail the Divine One.
He did not dwell on the distorted fate any further.
Whether fate had changed or not was meaningless to him.
He would obtain the Heavenly Stone.
And he would complete the plan that had failed two thousand years ago.
Far in the Eastern Region, within one of the ancient sects—
The Heavenly Dao Pavilion stood atop a cluster of floating peaks, its halls grand and solemn, bathed in dense Essence Qi.
Spiritual beasts circled lazily in the sky, and streams of pure energy flowed like mist between the pavilions, giving the entire sect an otherworldly aura.
Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was heavy.
Li Zhen knelt on the cold jade floor, head lowered, while the Sect Master sat above him, his expression dark and displeased.
"Li Zhen," the Sect Master said slowly, his voice carrying restrained anger, "I placed great expectations on you. Yet this time, you have disappointed me greatly."
"I… apologize, Master," Li Zhen replied, his voice low.
However, his clenched fists betrayed the storm in his heart.
Every memory replayed vividly in his mind—the fight, the defeat, the humiliation… and worst of all, being beaten and stripped bare in front of others. The shame clung to him like a brand that refused to fade.
The Sect Master's gaze grew colder.
"Apologize?" he repeated. "Will your apology erase the humiliation our sect has suffered?"
His voice hardened.
"Losing a fight is one thing. Cultivators lose and win all the time. But to be beaten into such a state and left half-naked in a secret realm—do you understand what that represents?"
Li Zhen's body stiffened.
"You are the chief disciple of an ancient sect," the Sect Master continued, each word measured and heavy. "Do you know what the other sects are saying? They mock the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, claiming our disciples are incompetent enough to be reduced to that state."
The pressure in the hall deepened.
"And all of this," he added sharply, "stemmed from your petty obsession with a woman, and your inability to handle a mere disciple from a lesser sect."
Li Zhen bit the inside of his cheek but did not dare raise his head.
After a moment, the Sect Master asked coldly, "Do you at least know who defeated you?"
"…No, Master."
The single word made the Sect Master's expression turn even uglier.
"Useless."
Silence fell for a brief moment before he spoke again.
"Go to the Sword Grave and cultivate in seclusion for fifteen days. Temper your sword heart and clear your mind."
His tone shifted slightly, becoming more commanding.
"Soon, the Demon Extermination operation at Bianhuang Pass will begin. You will participate."
He paused before adding,
"And you will take the lead there. Redeem your name and restore the sect's dignity."
Li Zhen immediately bowed deeply.
"As you command, Master."
He rose, saluted once more, and left the hall.
The moment he stepped outside and the doors closed behind him, the restraint on his face shattered. His expression twisted with rage as he struck the stone lion statue beside the steps.
Crack.
The statue split and collapsed under the force of his blow.
"That trash…" he muttered through gritted teeth, eyes burning with humiliation and killing intent. "Whoever you are…"
His fists tightened until his knuckles turned white.
"I will find you."
"And when I do, I will return the humiliation you gave me—tenfold."
And the true source of much of the recent chaos sat quietly within his residence, completely unaware of the waves he had stirred outside.
Dense Essence Qi gathered in the room like mist, drawn inward by a radiant array carved beneath Lin Chen's feet.
The formation lines glowed steadily, circulating spiritual energy in precise cycles, while dozens of spirit stones placed at the array's nodes slowly dimmed as they supplied the required Qi.
The air trembled faintly.
His breathing grew deeper and more rhythmic as the gathered Essence Qi surged toward him, converging along his meridians and compressing toward his dantian.
Then—
A shockwave burst outward.
The surrounding Qi was abruptly swallowed into his body, the glowing array flickering before completely fading as the last of the spirit stones crumbled into dull dust.
Lin Chen opened his eyes.
A faint pulse of energy spread from him as his aura stabilized at a new level.
"Finally… a breakthrough," he muttered, standing up slowly.
He could clearly feel the difference. The previously scattered streams of Essence Qi within his body had now begun to converge into a more cohesive flow.
First Stage of Pulse Convergence.
He exhaled lightly, sensing the lingering richness of the energy in the room.
"These arrays really are convenient," he thought. "With enough spirit stones, the surrounding Qi becomes several times denser. Cultivating like this is far more efficient than relying on natural absorption."
Just as he was adjusting to his new realm, his nose suddenly twitched.
"Ah—"
He sneezed.
Once.
Twice.
Then several times in a row.
Lin Chen frowned and rubbed his nose, looking slightly confused.
"…Who the heck is thinking about me this much?" he muttered under his breath.
After a few more sneezes, he simply shook his head and dismissed it. Whatever the reason, it clearly wasn't important enough to interrupt what he had planned.
He stood up, stretched slightly, and left his residence without hesitation.
There was something far more important waiting for him.
Soon, he arrived at the secluded spot where he had previously discovered the Blood Stone.
Lin Chen narrowed his eyes and focused.
"…Aiva," he said slowly, staring at the stone, "is it just me, or are there a bunch of symbols floating around it?"
The moment he concentrated, faint runic lines and complex formation marks seemed to reveal themselves layer by layer around the crystal, like hidden veins beneath the surface of reality.
[You are not hallucinating.]
[This is one of the benefits of the Heavenly Sage's inheritance. Your perception has improved. You are now able to see the underlying structure of the array.]
"Oh," Lin Chen let out softly, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes. "That's actually pretty useful."
He tilted his head slightly and smirked.
"Then you know what to do."
Without another word, his body stilled for a moment.
The next instant, Aiva took control.
Lin Chen's hand rose and gently pressed against the Blood Stone, Essence Qi flowing from his meridians in an unusually precise and controlled pattern.
Instead of clashing with the formation, the Qi threaded itself into the array lines like fine needles, carefully probing every node and hidden linkage.
The surrounding formation runes flickered faintly.
Minutes passed.
Fifteen whole minutes went by as "Lin Chen" stood there, unmoving except for the steady circulation of Essence Qi being injected into the formation's core structure.
Then, at last, his hand withdrew.
The faint glow around the stone returned to its original state, as if nothing had changed on the surface.
Control returned to Lin Chen.
He flexed his fingers and looked at the crystal with curiosity.
"Aiva… what exactly did you do?"
[Only a minor modification.]
[Using the newly acquired formation knowledge, I adjusted several hidden nodes within the array surrounding this stone.]
"…And that is good or bad?"
[Good for us.]
[Bad for the original owner of the array.]
He blinked.
"…Explain."
[I embedded a parasitic sub-pattern within the formation structure.]
[You may consider it similar to a 'virus' in program logic.]
[Once the main array is fully activated, the modification will gradually spread through the formation pathways and seize partial control over the entire array.]
Lin Chen stared at the Blood Stone again, this time with a completely different expression.
"Wait… you're telling me," he said slowly, "you hijacked a hidden formation just by touching it for fifteen minutes?"
[Correct.]
For a moment, he was silent.
Then he let out a low whistle.
"Wow," he muttered, genuinely impressed. "Aiva, at this point I should just call you the Sage Under the Heavens. No one can match you."
*****
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