In the Central Continent, within the prestigious Immortal Crane Sect, Li Tian had just arrived to take the entrance test. A decade had passed since his ventures into the Western Desert, where he had meticulously tracked and captured numerous otherworldly demons.
Afterward, he returned to the Southern Border, where his name became synonymous with chaos due to his daring theft of countless assets from the most powerful super clans. His actions escalated further when he began capturing Gu Immortals, trading them in the Treasure Yellow Heaven for immense wealth and resources.
Now, his forces had expanded significantly. Li Tian commanded a force of over thirty Gu Immortals. Among them, ten were Rank 8 Gu Immortals, their power towering above most cultivators, and he had even managed to make one of his clone a a bit low ranked pseudo Rank 9 Gu Immortal. The remaining Gu Immortals under his command were Rank 7, with several possessing the power of pseudo Rank 8.
Despite his overwhelming strength, Li Tian maintained a low profile as he entered the Immortal Crane Sect, concealing his true cultivation and influence for reason.
One reason for his secrecy was the danger of attracting too much attention. If he revealed his true strength and influence, it would place an overwhelming spotlight on his actions, leading to endless scrutiny and disruptions.
Such exposure would draw the attention of the Heavenly Court, which would surely intervene if they discovered the scale of his growing power. Li Tian preferred working in the shadows, avoiding the complications of constant interference and conflict while he pursued his goals.
His current objective was the creation of an Immortal Gu, a process requiring immense resources: life force, Human Qi, and Heaven Qi. He had come to the Central Continent specifically because of the abundance of Human Qi concentrated in the Emperor City.
As for Heaven Qi, he had devised a plan to lure Heaven's Will itself, though this would undoubtedly provoke a direct confrontation with the Heavenly Court. To prepare for such an inevitable clash, he had used every resource available, butchering countless Gu mortals, Gu Immortals, Desolate, Ancient Desolate, and even Immemorial beasts and plants to harvest resources and souls.
As part of his preparation, Li Tian had created a soul path clone named Meng Lan, using it as a vessel to increase his soul foundation significantly. Consuming vast quantities of Guts Gu, he raised his soul foundation to a staggering 100 million. His mastery in Soul Path also saw tremendous growth, evolving from Master-level attainment through sheer cultivation.
To reach Grandmaster attainment, Li Tian made Meng Lan ascend to Rank 6, at that he told to his clone pose profound questions to the Heavenly Dao, further solidifying his comprehension.
Later, through the Gacha system, he acquired another Grandmaster attainment in Soul Path. Rather than discarding it, he merged this newly obtained attainment with his own, achieving the extremely rare Great Grandmaster level, granting him near-peerless mastery over the Soul Path.
After that, he created a powerful killer move designed to break through the barrier of the 100 million man soul foundation, combining both Creation Path and Soul Path techniques. He named it Create a Way to Breakthrough, though the name was long and awkward, reflecting his self-admitted lack of creativity in naming techniques.This killer move was highly complex, using a Creation Path Immortal Gu called Create a Way Gu. This core Gu allowed the user to manipulate the fundamental structure of barriers and limits within their cultivation, making it possible to forcefully breach limitations of the soul foundation.
Supporting this core, Li Tian incorporated several specialized Soul Path Gu worms, each enhancing the killer move's effects:
Vast Soul Gu: Expanded the capacity of his soul foundation, allowing it to hold more soul essence.
Soul Compression Gu: Compressed the vast soul energy into a denser form, preventing instability.
Eternal Mind Gu: Stabilized his consciousness during the breakthrough, ensuring mental clarity.
Man Soul Expansion Gu: Focused specifically on amplifying the man soul component, a critical aspect of his foundation.
The combined effect of these Gu created a cascading process. The Create a Way Gu would initiate the breakthrough attempt by tearing down the natural limitations of the soul foundation, while Vast Soul Gu expanded his capacity, and Soul Compression Gu ensured the soul did not scatter uncontrollably. Eternal Mind Gu and Man Soul Expansion Gu stabilized both the consciousness and soul structure during the expansion.
To accelerate the process further, Li Tian based his soul cultivation ranks on the same system as Spectral Soul, referring to his level as Desolate Soul. This method emphasized efficiency and avoided unnecessary refinement stages, focusing entirely on power expansion.
The killer move, once activated, consumed a significant amount of Immortal Essence but provided exponential growth in his soul foundation, pushing him past the 100 million mark. However, due to the immense energy requirements and the partial instability of his soul compression, Li Tian's soul foundation had temporarily stabilized at 50 million. His clone, Meng Lan, similarly approached 50 million Desolate Soul but remained incomplete due to limited resources.Li Tian calculated that achieving a complete 100 million Desolate Soul would require an overwhelming influx of soul energy. His plan involved executing a large-scale massacre, targeting an entire region filled with mortals, Gu Masters, and ancient creatures alike. This act of mass extermination would provide the necessary souls to refine into Guts Gu, further empowering his foundation.
His strategy involved deploying specialized Soul Path formation for the task. The Soul Reaper Gu was essential, as it allowed the direct harvesting of soul fragments upon death. The Boundless Wraith Gu would gather the residual soul fragments, preventing their natural dissipation. To preserve the extracted soul, the Soul Cage killer move would be activated, storing the fragmented essence within an isolated space.
Once collected, he would use the Dang Hun Mountain to make them into Guts Gu, gradually consuming them to expand his clones soul foundation further. This method, though efficient, came with immense risks. That's why he is planning on doing it when the time is ripe, for now he deployed his clones to form a formation.