A storm brewed over the Black Lotus Sect, but the elders remained blind to the decay spreading within their ranks. Their arrogance was their weakness, their faith in control absolute. They never suspected the rot beneath their feet.
But Jin Xiao knew.
And he was about to accelerate their fall.
Target: The Ice Lotus – Mu Qinglan
Among the sect's core disciples, Mu Qinglan was a name spoken with both admiration and fear.
A prodigy. A pillar of virtue.
Untouched by sect politics, she focused solely on cultivation, her will unshakable. Her mind, an ice-covered fortress.
But even the strongest fortresses had cracks.
And Jin Xiao never failed to find them.
Bai Ling's Mission
In a secluded training hall, Mu Qinglan sat in deep meditation, a thin layer of frost covering her robes. The Frozen Lotus Scripture allowed her to purge distractions, to suppress emotions. It had made her strong, unyielding, untouchable by mortal temptations.
She was the hardest to corrupt.
But Bai Ling had no doubts. Master had given her the method.
Draped in flowing white, Bai Ling stepped into the hall, her every movement an intrusion into Mu Qinglan's disciplined world. The scent of rare lotus incense followed her, subtle but deliberate, meant to break the mind's defenses without it realizing.
"Junior Sister Qinglan," Bai Ling greeted, voice smooth as silk, bowing with calculated grace.
Mu Qinglan's sharp eyes flickered open, their glacial depths unshaken. "Senior Sister Bai. What brings you here?"
"I bring you… truth."
A blade of silence stretched between them, sharp enough to cut.
Mu Qinglan's gaze hardened. "Truth?"
"The truth about the sect. The truth about you."
The First Crack
Bai Ling knelt, her presence seeping into the room like creeping frost. Her voice, a melody of temptation, was woven with a careful blend of persuasion and venom.
"You believe the elders have guided you to greatness, do you not?" Bai Ling whispered, her tone threading through the silence.
Mu Qinglan's expression remained neutral. "They have."
"Then tell me, why does your cultivation always halt just before a breakthrough? Why do you feel an invisible wall, no matter how hard you train?"
Mu Qinglan's fingers twitched. Subtle. Barely noticeable. But a reaction nonetheless.
She remained silent.
Bai Ling's smile was the edge of a dagger. She had studied her target well.
"You think it's natural," Bai Ling murmured, "but it's not. It's the sect's doing."
Mu Qinglan's brow furrowed, her first true sign of doubt. "Impossible."
Bai Ling leaned closer, her voice a venomous whisper, her breath a ghost against Mu Qinglan's ear. "Then why does the Sect Master's son, a fool with half your talent, always advance faster than you?"
The air turned razor-sharp with cold.
The words struck exactly where they needed to.
Mu Qinglan's faith was built upon the certainty that her effort would always yield results.
But what if that certainty was a lie?
Bai Ling's fingers grazed Mu Qinglan's wrist, light as snowfall. A calculated, deliberate gesture.
"They have been siphoning your progress," Bai Ling continued, her voice dripping with poisoned honey. "Stealing your potential to feed their chosen heirs. You train, you meditate, you strive… and yet, they decide how far you can go."
Mu Qinglan's breathing deepened. Bai Ling could see it—the moment of conflict within her, the battle between reason and instinct.
Lies could be refuted. But what about truths she had always felt, yet never understood?
"Come with me."
"See the truth for yourself."
For the first time in years, Mu Qinglan hesitated.
Then, slowly… she nodded.
The first crack had formed.
Jin Xiao's Preparation
Far beyond the sect's walls, in the depths of an abandoned shrine, Jin Xiao sat in quiet meditation, his presence an oppressive force even in stillness. The flickering candlelight cast long, twisted shadows over the stone walls, their dancing shapes reflecting the corruption he sowed.
He had seen everything through Bai Ling.
Felt everything.
A slow, knowing smirk curled his lips as he intertwined his fingers, feeling the weight of another victory approaching. Mu Qinglan was his greatest challenge yet.
But she would break.
They all did.
And once she did, he would make her destroy everything she once stood for.
The taste of victory was already sweet on his tongue.