Wei stood in the heart of the enemy's den, the architect of a coup no one knew had happened. The bodies of the Nascent Soul elder and her two guards were gone, dissolved into nothing by his corrosive powders. He had looted their storage rings, adding their wealth to his own. Now, he was the master of a secret outpost, a weather-control artifact, and a small army of thirty unwitting Blackwood Sect disciples who were about to become his personal alchemists.
His original plan—to let the Blackwood Sect launch their attack and absorb the poison for his own gain—was a reactive one, born from the position of an outsider. Now, with total control, a new, far more elegant and profitable plan began to form. He would not just react; he would orchestrate. But first, he would not let the massive quantity of 'Crimson Soulfall' the disciples had already brewed go to waste. It was a feast waiting to be consumed.
He did not reveal himself. Instead, he used a simple illusion talisman to disguise himself as one of the Core Formation guards he had killed. He strode out of the central chamber where the disciples were gathered, their meal finished.
"Urgent orders from Elder Yan!" he announced, his voice altered to be rough and authoritative. The disciples immediately snapped to attention.
"There's a complication," Wei said, projecting an aura of urgency. "Our intelligence reports a last-minute defensive array being erected by the Verdant Serpent Sect. The 'Crimson Soulfall' in its current state may be ineffective. The elder has provided a superior refining vessel to increase its potency and ensure it bypasses their new defenses. We will purify the entire batch immediately."
He brought out his own Cauldron of Myriad Venoms. The disciples gasped. The sight of a legendary-grade artifact, combined with the authority in his voice, erased any doubt from their minds. They saw it as proof of their sect's power and the importance of their mission.
"Transfer the entire reservoir of 'Crimson Soulfall' into this cauldron. Work quickly!" Wei commanded.
The disciples scrambled to obey, setting up spiritual siphons to move the viscous, red liquid from their crude vats into Wei's magnificent cauldron. As the potent, soul-attacking poison poured in, the cauldron's dark-purple surface began to pulse with a hungry, green light. To the disciples, it looked like a powerful refinement process. To Wei, it was the beginning of a grand feast.
He stood before the cauldron, his hands placed upon its cool surface as if overseeing the "purification." In reality, he was activating its core ability. A massive, overwhelming torrent of pure, refined spiritual energy, converted from the essence of the 'Crimson Soulfall', began to flow from the cauldron directly into his body. It was a deluge of power far greater than anything he had absorbed before. His spiritual sea, already a vast ocean, began to rage with towering waves. The diamond-hard barrier of the Spirit Emperor realm, which had stood unyielding for decades, began to groan under the sheer pressure, microscopic cracks appearing on its surface for the first time.
The process took hours. The disciples toiled, ensuring a steady flow, while Wei stood like a statue, his face a mask of concentration. His aura was carefully suppressed, but inside, his cultivation base was skyrocketing. When the last drop of 'Crimson Soulfall' was gone, the cauldron's light faded. Wei felt a profound sense of power, a feeling of being closer to his breakthrough than ever before.
He turned to the disciples, his expression grim. "The purification failed," he lied smoothly. "The poison is too unstable. It has completely degraded." He let a moment of tense silence hang in the air before continuing. "High command anticipated this possibility. Elder Yan's orders were clear: if purification failed, we were to immediately switch to the contingency. We are now on Plan B. The new objective is capture, not annihilation. We will brew 'Golden Slumber'."
This time, there was no confusion, only weary acceptance. The explanation was logical, and the authority he projected was absolute. He reached into his storage ring and produced a stack of hastily written scrolls.
"Here are the instructions," he said, tossing them to the lead disciple. "Memorize the formula, distribute the tasks, and then burn these scrolls. Leave no trace. The elder expects this done by tomorrow night. Begin immediately."
The scrolls, which Wei had prepared himself, contained the simplified brewing process. The exhausted disciples, now under immense pressure, began the arduous task of creating a new poison from scratch. As they worked, Wei once again used his cauldron to "assist," secretly absorbing the essence of the 'Golden Slumber' as well. While not as potent as the soul poison, it still provided a steady stream of energy, further solidifying his massive gains. He was growing stronger by the minute, fueled by the labor of his enemies.
By the dawn of the day of the Grand Competition finals, the work was done. A massive reservoir connected to the weather artifact was now filled with a shimmering, golden liquid.
Wei, still in his disguise, gathered them. "Excellent work. Elder Yan is pleased. She has gone ahead to make the final preparations. Your orders are to remain here and guard the outpost until you receive the signal of our victory. Do not leave this cavern for any reason."
He walked to the black crystal orb, the weather-control artifact. He set the timer. In six hours, precisely when the final match was scheduled to begin, it would activate, draw moisture from the air, and release its payload.
His work here was finished. He slipped through the barrier formation and summoned his bee-cloud, leaving the thirty disciples to guard an empty mountain, completely oblivious.
He arrived back at the Verdant Serpent Sect two hours before the finals. The plaza was packed. The sect's elders, including his friends Jin and Mei, were seated on a high platform. Wei did not join them. He made his way to a remote, windswept peak overlooking the plaza.
From his storage ring, he took out thousands of high-grade spirit stones and began to construct the massive 'Heaven's Tears' formation array. With the knowledge from the system, he completed the hundred-meter-wide pattern in under an hour. At its center, he placed the crystalline, sky-blue disk.
His trap was set. Now, he needed the "cure" that would make him the hero. He took out the Cauldron of Myriad Venoms. He was not brewing a neutralizer for a poison that no longer existed. He was brewing the specific, catalyst-based antidote for the 'Golden Slumber' that was about to rain down on his sect. He created a concentrated batch, a single vial of pure, silver liquid, and loaded it into the secondary function of the 'Heaven's Tears' array core.
With all preparations complete, Wei found a comfortable spot at the edge of his formation. He looked down at the bustling plaza below. He could see Liu Feng, Elder Jin's prized disciple, stepping into an arena. He could see the proud faces of his fellow elders.
He looked up at the clear blue sky. Any moment now, the clouds would begin to gather. The Blackwood Sect believed they were about to paralyze their rivals, paving the way for an invasion. The Verdant Serpent Sect was completely oblivious.
And here, on a lonely peak, Wei waited. He was the eye of the storm, the silent conductor ready to begin his symphony. He sat down, closed his eyes, and focused his spiritual sense on the heavens, waiting for the first drop of golden rain.