The Imperial Isolation Chambers were now the safest place in the Nine Heavens. Outside, Lord Xing—the master of the Dao of Time—focused his entirety, weaving a permanent, low-level Temporal Flux Barrier around Constellation City. Days outside became weeks inside the barrier, guaranteeing Lin Tian the centuries of safe, uninterrupted cultivation time he required.
Inside the vault, Lin Tian sat motionless. He was stable at Golden Immortal Stage 6, having just consolidated the immense spiritual wealth of the defeated Assembly houses. He had completed the strategic foundation; now, he would build the conceptual edifice. His sole focus was conquering the most elusive of the Great Daos: the Dao of Time.
Lin Tian channeled his power, initiating the Temporal Synthesis Protocol—a technique he had just synthesized from the stolen Dao Archive.
[System Notification: Temporal Synthesis Protocol Initiated. Target: Dao of Time Integration. Risk: Catastrophic Temporal Disintegration (5%).]
Lin Tian ignored the risk. He channeled his Divine Nascent Soul, reaching into the very fabric of the Nine Heavens to grasp the raw, terrifying principle of Time. The sheer weight of the concept slammed into his consciousness, attempting to pull his awareness through linear causality—a death that transcended mere annihilation.
He met the conceptual assault with the cold logic of the Dao of Entropy he had mastered. Time is a construct, Lin Tian mused. And all constructs have a point of decay.
Lin Tian wasn't trying to master Time; he was trying to optimize it. He used the Cosmic Flaw Detector to find the weakness in the Dao itself.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Dao of Time (Lower Heavens Manifestation). Flaw: Reliance on Universal Chronometer. Vulnerability: Disruption via Absolute Stillness.]
Lin Tian smiled. The Dao of Time in the Lower Heavens, while immense, still relied on the flow of the external cosmos—a giant, invisible clock. To control the clock, he needed to create a point of Absolute Stillness within his own being.
He poured all his Primal Saint Energy into his Divine Nascent Soul, compressing his consciousness to a single, infinitesimally small point that existed outside the linear flow of causality. He achieved Absolute Stillness.
The chaotic conceptual assaults of the Dao of Time flowed around him, unable to touch the point that existed beyond Time's influence. He began to absorb the concept directly, integrating the law of causality into his own code.
One year passed inside the Isolation Chambers.
Five years passed.
Lin Tian's Golden Immortal power stabilized at Stage 7. He spent the following decade meticulously mapping the intricate flaws in the Dao's structure, using his Dao of Entropy to prune away the inefficient branches of causality that afflicted other Time Dao masters.
A full Century passed inside the Chambers, shielded by Lord Xing's continuous, tireless manipulation of the temporal barrier. Lin Tian emerged from his deep cultivation, his eyes holding a disconcerting depth—the light of a man who commanded the passage of days.
He had fully mastered the foundational logic of the Dao of Time.
[BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED! Dao of Time Mastery Achieved (Foundational). Cultivation Status: Golden Immortal Stage 8.]
The mastery wasn't absolute—he could not yet reverse death or time travel—but he could now accelerate and decelerate local causality. He could make a fight that lasted ten seconds feel like ten hours for his opponent, or make a century of cultivation feel like a year of external time.
Lin Tian emerged, standing beside a relieved Lord Xing. "Your service has secured my foundation," Lin Tian commanded. "Your debt is paid. Now, your reward."
Lin Tian channeled his full Dao of Time power, focusing it on Lord Xing's Sea of Consciousness. He reached into the moment of his greatest grief—the death of his wife—and did not reverse the death, but simply purified the memory, stripping away the corrosive Reverse Causality Stress that had crippled his Dao.
Lord Xing felt the decades of stagnation vanish, replaced by the profound, clean understanding of the Dao of Time. He did not regain his wife, but he gained mastery—the wisdom to accept and control the flow of causality.
"Master!" Lord Xing thundered, the true, flawless sound of his Dao of Time mastery vibrating the vault. "I am eternally indebted!"
Lin Tian had now gained a loyal Dao Master whose time was no longer consumed by grief, making him a vastly more effective puppet.
He commanded Lord Xing to drop the temporal shield entirely. The instant the barrier collapsed, a massive influx of spiritual energy returned to Constellation City, and Lin Tian instantly sensed the status of his external empire.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Cloud Heavens Status Check. Target: Mei Lan (Sentinel of Tier 2). Status: Grand Unity Peak (Perfected). Location: Heavenly Gate Perimeter. Command Signal: ACTIVE.]
Mei Lan had used the century (external time) to perfect her power, reaching the absolute zenith of Tier 2. She was waiting patiently for his signal.
Lin Tian smiled. He was ready to challenge the higher powers of the Nine Heavens. His next target was the Celestial Emperor's realm itself—a jump that required not just power, but a complex, multi-tiered siege on the Tier 3 political structure.
The game is moving again, Lin Tian mused. It is time to conquer the higher heavens.