The Grand Hall of Azure Cloud was once a place of light and majesty. Now, it smelled of sickness and old incense.
The Sect Master, a man who had once split a mountain with a wave of his hand, lay on a bed of spirit jade behind a silk screen. His breathing was ragged, sounding like dry leaves scraping against stone. The corruption from the Heavenly Dao Sect Incident (the blood mist detonated by Gu Sha) had not been purged. It had festered, merging with an old internal injury to create a necrotic poison that defied standard healing.
Below the dais, the Council of Elders was in session.
"We must open the Ancestral Vault," Elder Zhang (Mo Tian's puppet) declared, slamming his hand on the table. "The Sect Master needs the Nine-Cycle Reincarnation Pill. It is our only hope!"
"Impossible!" Elder Liu (The Head of Discipline) argued. "The Vault can only be opened in times of absolute crisis! It contains the Sect's ultimate heritage. If we open it now, we risk destabilizing the defensive array!"
"Is the death of the Sect Master not a crisis?" Elder Zhang shot back, his eyes gleaming with a strange, purple light. "Or perhaps, Elder Liu, you want him to die so you can take the throne?"
"You dare accusation me?!" Elder Liu stood up, his Golden Core aura flaring.
"Enough!"
Yan Luo stood up from her seat at the right hand of the dais. She wore the ceremonial robes of the Acting Sect Master. Her face was pale, her expression unreadable.
"Bickering will not save him," Yan Luo said, her voice cutting through the noise. "Elder Zhang is right. We cannot let the Master die. If the Azure Cloud Sect loses its Nascent Soul leader, the neighboring sects—especially the Iron Fist and Divine Sword—will tear us apart."
She looked at the Elders.
"We will open the Vault in three days, during the Lunar Eclipse Festival. The energies will be stable then."
Elder Liu hesitated, then sat down. "If the Saintess commands it... so be it."
Elder Zhang bowed low to hide his smirk. "Wise decision, Saintess."
Later - The Saintess's Palace
Yan Luo entered her chambers and collapsed onto the chaise lounge. She was trembling.
"Three days," she whispered. "Three days until the end."
"You did well."
The shadows in the corner coalesced. Mo Tian stepped out. He wasn't wearing his disciple robes or his noble disguise. He wore a simple black combat suit, his new Perfect Chaos Core humming with a terrifying, silent gravity.
He walked over to the table and poured himself wine.
"Opening the Vault requires the tokens of the Seven Peak Lords," Mo Tian said. "By gathering them for the ritual, you are handing me the keys to the kingdom."
"The Vault contains the sect's protective barrier core," Yan Luo looked up at him, her eyes hollow. "Once you take it... the sect will be defenseless. The arrays will fail. The Spirit Vein will be exposed."
"Yes," Mo Tian took a sip.
"Millions of mortals live in the valleys below," Yan Luo's voice cracked. "Without the barrier, the spirit beasts from the wilderness will flood in. It will be a massacre."
Mo Tian set the cup down. Clink.
He walked over to her. He didn't offer comfort. He offered logic.
"The Azure Cloud Sect is already dead, Yan Luo. The Sect Master is rotting. The Elders are corrupt. The neighbors are sharpening their knives. If I don't destroy it, the Divine Sword Sect will. And they won't be as... surgical... as I am."
He leaned down, gripping her chin.
"I am offering a quick death. A mercy kill. And from the ashes, we will build something stronger."
Yan Luo looked into his purple eyes. She wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him, because the alternative was accepting that she was the greatest traitor in history.
"Will you spare the disciples?" she asked weakly. "The young ones? The ones who know nothing?"
Mo Tian smiled. It wasn't a kind smile.
"I will spare those who kneel."
He released her.
"Three days, Yan Luo. Maintain the facade. When the moon turns black... the Azure Cloud turns red."
He vanished into the shadows.
Yan Luo touched her neck, where the Soul Lotus lay. It felt like a noose.
"May the Heavens forgive me," she whispered.
But she knew the Heavens were deaf. Only the Villain was listening.