The grand plaza of the Verdant Serpent Sect was a sea of people, a tense and vibrant tapestry of green and black. On one side, the disciples of the Verdant Serpent Sect stood, their green robes a stark contrast to the somber, grey-and-black attire of the Blackwood Sect disciples on the other. In the center, a series of massive arenas had been erected, and the air crackled with anticipation and thinly veiled animosity. This was the final day of the joint Grand Competition, a high-stakes event where the pride of two rival sects and the control of the Crimson Cloud Valley were on the line.
On a high platform overlooking the arenas, the elders of both sects were seated. The seating was segregated, a clear line drawn down the middle. On one side sat the First Elder, flanked by a proud Elder Jin and a focused Elder Mei. On the other side sat the Blackwood Sect's First Elder, a man with a face like withered bark, and several of his most powerful subordinates. They exchanged false pleasantries, their words dripping with diplomatic venom, while their eyes were locked on the final match in the central arena.
The final was a brutal affair. Liu Feng, Elder Jin's prized disciple, was facing off against the Blackwood Sect's champion, a ferocious youth named Wu Jian who wielded a heavy, serrated saber. The clash of fist against steel echoed through the plaza, each impact sending shockwaves across the stage. The disciples of both sects roared for their respective champions, their voices a cacophony of encouragement and insults.
From his lonely peak, Wei watched the spectacle with detached indifference. He noted the Blackwood Sect disciples consuming pills just before the match, a useless gesture against a poison they couldn't possibly anticipate. Their confidence was built on a foundation of lies.
Wei felt the timer on the weather artifact in the distant Sky-Rupture Peaks tick down to its final moments. He looked up. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue.
Then, it began.
A single, dark wisp appeared in the sky. Then another, and another. With an unnatural, accelerated speed, the wisps coalesced, forming a thick, dark cloud that blotted out the midday sun. The temperature dropped, and a strange, oppressive silence began to fall over the plaza as disciples from both sects looked up, their cheers dying in their throats.
"A weather-manipulation artifact," the Blackwood Sect's First Elder commented to his Verdant Serpent counterpart, a smug, knowing look in his eyes. "How curious." He believed he was witnessing the first act of his grand victory.
Before the Verdant Serpent elders could react, the first drop fell. It was a droplet of shimmering, liquid gold. Then another fell, and another, until a full-blown shower of beautiful, golden rain began to cascade down upon the entire plaza.
The Verdant Serpent disciples were mesmerized. But the Blackwood Sect disciples, expecting a deadly crimson rain, looked on in confusion. Why was it gold?
The effect was instantaneous, devastating, and indiscriminate. A Verdant Serpent disciple in the front row froze mid-cheer. But a few feet away, a smirking Blackwood Sect disciple also froze, his cruel smile locked on his face. The paralysis spread like a plague through both sides of the plaza. One by one, then thousands by thousands, cultivators were turned into statues of flesh and blood. In the arena, Liu Feng was locked in a defensive stance. His opponent, Wu Jian, was caught with his saber raised, his face a mask of utter shock and disbelief.
The entire plaza, once a sea of noise and motion, became an eerie, silent tableau. Tens of thousands of cultivators from two powerful sects were caught in the 'Golden Slumber', their bodies paralyzed, their spiritual seas sealed.
On the high platform, absolute chaos erupted. "Poison!" Elder Jin roared, his Spirit King cultivation flaring as he fought against the insidious numbness. But on the other side, the Blackwood Sect's First Elder was also struggling, his face a mask of pure terror and confusion.
"What is this?!" he shrieked, his triumphant sneer replaced with panicked disbelief. "This isn't the Crimson Soulfall! The antidote isn't working! What is happening?!"
His own plan had backfired in the most spectacular and impossible way. He and his elders were being paralyzed alongside their enemies. The trap had sprung, but it had caught everyone.
It was at this moment of shared, universal panic that Wei made his move.
From his remote northern peak, a pillar of brilliant, silver light erupted into the sky, so bright it momentarily outshone the sun. The 'Heaven's Tears' array roared to life.
"What now?!" the Blackwood Sect's First Elder snarled, his victory-turned-nightmare cut short as he stared at the impossible pillar of light.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. The golden clouds were suddenly drawn towards the silver pillar, absorbed by a vortex of purifying energy.
"Look!" Elder Guan shouted, pointing a trembling finger. "Up there! On Punishment Peak!"
All eyes, from the struggling Verdant Serpent elders to the terrified Blackwood Sect members, turned to the source of the light. They saw the massive, glowing formation, and standing at its edge, a lone figure with silver-streaked hair. It was the reclusive Poison Elder, Wei.
Having cleansed the sky, the 'Heaven's Tears' array began its secondary function. It began to generate its own rain. A gentle, silver shower, infused with the concentrated antidote Wei had brewed, began to fall upon the plaza.
But this was Wei's masterstroke. The antidote was not a universal cure. He had designed it to be keyed to the specific spiritual signature of the Verdant Serpent Sect's core cultivation method.
Where the silver rain touched the golden-sheened skin of the paralyzed Verdant Serpent disciples, a sizzling sound could be heard. The golden hue dissolved, and the effects of the poison were instantly neutralized. A collective gasp went through the plaza as tens of thousands of green-robed cultivators were simultaneously released from their paralysis. They stumbled, confused and terrified, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
In the arena, Liu Feng was freed just as his body was about to give out. He collapsed, breathing heavily, his life his own once more.
But when the silver rain touched the Blackwood Sect members, it did nothing. It was like ordinary water. They remained frozen, statues of terror and confusion, their useless antidotes doing nothing to save them. The entire Blackwood Sect contingent, from the youngest disciple to their First Elder, was left completely paralyzed and helpless.
With his work done, Wei let the 'Heaven's Tears' array slowly power down. He descended from the peak, landing softly on the high platform. His face was a mask of grim seriousness and feigned exhaustion.
"First Elder," he said, his voice carrying across the now-silent plaza. "It seems the Blackwood Sect's treachery knows no bounds."
He turned to the paralyzed, sputtering First Elder of the Blackwood Sect, whose eyes darted about in sheer terror. "An interesting tactic. To poison everyone, including your own, hoping to catch us in the confusion. Did you really think we would not be prepared for such a possibility? My antidote, it seems, is a bit more... discerning than yours."
His words, a masterful lie, painted the entire picture. The Blackwood Sect had launched a dastardly attack, but Wei, with his unparalleled foresight, had not only predicted it but had created a targeted cure that could distinguish friend from foe. It was a feat of poison craft that was beyond legendary; it was divine.
A wave of awe and gratitude washed over the Verdant Serpent disciples. The reclusive, somewhat feared Poison Elder was not a villain; he was their silent guardian, a hero of unimaginable skill.
Elder Jin strode forward. "Wei... you saved my disciple. You saved all of our disciples. You saved the sect."
"I merely did my duty," Wei said humbly.
[System Notification: Grand Deception successfully executed.]
[System Notification: Widespread chaos successfully sown and controlled.]
[Calculating Rewards...]
[Host has received: 20,000 Sovereign Points for orchestrating a sect-level event.]
[Host has received: New Title - 'Sovereign of Schemes'. Title grants a passive boost to the effectiveness of all future plans and deceptions.]
Wei inwardly smiled. He turned to his own First Elder, his expression hardening. "First Elder, this was an open act of war, committed in our home. Their entire force, from their disciples to their highest leadership present, is now at our mercy. They are powerless, their plot exposed. We will never have a better opportunity to end their threat, once and for all. I request permission to lead the punitive expedition."
His words, coming from the man who had just saved them all, carried an immense weight. He was the hero of the day, and his voice was the one everyone was listening to. He had checkmated his opponent in a way they could never have imagined, delivering their entire army into his hands without a single drop of blood being shed.