Chapter 106: Power Beyond Limits

Morning sunlight filtered through the spirit-glass windows of the Cloud-Sea Pavilion. Aunt Lin slowly opened her eyes and lay still for a moment before realizing she was back in her room.

She pushed herself upright and checked her meridians. The familiar ache from her Qi Stagnation was still there, but the sharp pain left by the previous night’s strain had faded.

"You finally woke up."

Lin Tian’s voice came from the balcony.

He stepped inside, already dressed and ready for the day. His expression was calm, but his eyes briefly settled on Aunt Lin before moving to her condition.

Aunt Lin swung her legs over the side of the bed and straightened her robe. "Master."

"How do you feel?"

"Much better. The pain has eased."

Lin Tian nodded. "Good. Don’t force yourself yet."

Aunt Lin gave a small smile. "I can still walk."

"I didn’t say you couldn’t."

She looked at him for a moment before letting out a quiet breath. The tension from the previous night had faded, leaving the room much calmer than the forge had been.

Lin Tian walked to a nearby table and picked up two small jade talismans. Fine runes covered their surfaces, so tightly packed that they almost looked like thin cracks in the jade.

Aunt Lin recognized them at once.

"Pattern Mask Talismans?"

"Yes."

She took one from his hand and examined the markings more carefully. "Tier 2 illusion talismans. They can alter the appearance and hide most of a cultivator’s Qi presence."

"That should be enough for what we’re doing."

Aunt Lin looked up. "You want to test the pagoda outside the sect."

Lin Tian nodded. "There’s no reason to activate it here. A disturbance that strong could attract attention."

"Especially from the Matriarchs."

"Exactly."

The Cloud-Sea Pavilion was not a place where powerful cultivators could move freely without being noticed. If the pagoda produced anything close to the pressure from last night, someone was bound to sense that something unusual had happened. Lin Tian had no intention of explaining a newly forged Tier 2 Peak-Grade artifact before he understood its limits himself.

Aunt Lin looked down at the talisman in her hand.

"The Desolate Weeping Woods?"

"The outer edge."

She considered it for a moment before nodding. "Fewer people there, and there should be enough space to test it."

"That’s the plan."

Aunt Lin pressed the talisman between her fingers.

A faint shimmer spread across her body. Her features blurred for a moment before settling into a much more ordinary appearance. Even the feeling of her Qi seemed to fade until it was difficult to sense her cultivation at all.

Lin Tian activated his own talisman.

The same ripple passed over him, changing his appearance and dulling his Qi presence.

Aunt Lin looked at him for a moment before giving a small nod. "That should do."

Lin Tian adjusted his outer robe and made sure the pagoda was secured at his waist. He gave the room one final glance before turning toward the door.

"We’ll keep the test outside the sect and return before anyone starts wondering where we went."

Aunt Lin stood and followed him.

Neither of them drew attention as they left the chamber and moved through the pavilion’s quiet corridors. The morning was still young, and the outer halls had only just begun to stir.

By the time they stepped outside, the two disguised figures looked like ordinary cultivators heading out for the day.

Together, they left the Cloud-Sea Pavilion and disappeared into the morning mist.

***

The journey away from the sect was short, but the surroundings changed quickly after they crossed the outer boundary. The clean spiritual energy of the mountains faded, replaced by gray miasma hanging close to the ground.

They had entered the Desolate Weeping Woods, a corrupted land filled with demonic energy and wild beasts. Twisted dark trees stood on both sides, with old leaves and scattered bones covering the ground.

Aunt Lin’s breathing became slightly heavier. With her Qi Stagnation, the cold miasma made each breath uncomfortable.

"Stay close," Lin Tian said, keeping his voice low as he watched the surrounding forest.

He reached out and steadied her by the arm as they moved forward. A faint warmth spread from his body as his Yang Qi circulated, forming a protective layer around them.

The miasma weakened as it touched the warmth of his Yang Qi, leaving the air around them much clearer.

Aunt Lin noticed the change and glanced at him. She could feel the warmth of his Yang Qi more clearly here, and some of the tension in her body eased.

"The demonic energy is quite dense," Lin Tian said, scanning the trees. He released a small amount of Divine Sense, carefully checking the area around them. "It’s a good place to test the pagoda."

A low growl came from somewhere in the fog.

Lin Tian stopped.

Another growl answered from the other side.

Then a third came from ahead.

Heavy footsteps grew louder through the mist as something moved toward them.

***

The miasma shifted through the trees.

Dozens of blood-red eyes appeared in the fog.

"Nether-Bone Wolves," Aunt Lin whispered, her fingers tightening around his robe.

The wolves slowly stepped into view and formed a wide circle around them. More than thirty crowded the area, their dark bodies covered in patches of exposed bone. Sharp spurs protruded from their backs and joints, giving them a far more dangerous appearance than ordinary wolves.

Most were between Middle and Peak Qi Gathering.

At the back of the pack stood the Alpha. It was nearly twice the size of the others, with faint purple light glowing from the bone-spurs along its body. Its aura had already reached the early Foundation Establishment Realm.

Aunt Lin’s expression turned serious.

"There’s too many."

The Alpha raised its head and howled.

The rest of the pack lowered their bodies at once, spreading around Lin Tian and Aunt Lin as they prepared to attack.

***

Maine continuity aur terminology ko same rakhte hue unnecessary gore, over-technical lines, aur repeated explanation hata di hai. Pagoda ke seven layers ko consistent rakha hai, aur Aunt Lin ka analysis uski actual knowledge ke hisaab se rakha hai.

Aunt Lin did not panic. She was his vanguard and the Master of the Artifact Pavilion, and she knew better than to freeze when danger was already in front of her.

"Lin Tian, allow me."

She quickly took eight small golden flags from her spatial ring. Her years of studying spiritual terrain showed in the way she moved. Without hesitation, she placed the flags around them in a tight octagon and drove each one firmly into the ground.

"Rise, Golden-Tortoise Defensive Formation!"

She bit the tip of her tongue and pressed a drop of blood into the central node.

WUMMMM!

Golden Earth Qi surged through the eight flags and rose into a curved barrier around them, its surface resembling the shell of a giant tortoise.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A group of wolves crashed into the barrier from different directions. The formation shook under the impact, but the golden shell held firm. Their corrosive saliva hissed against its surface before losing its strength and falling harmlessly to the ground.

Sweat appeared on Aunt Lin’s forehead as she continued feeding Qi into the formation, keeping the barrier stable under the repeated attacks.

"Clean work," Lin Tian said. "You’ve secured the rear. Now let me see what our creation can do."

He stepped beyond the barrier.

The wolves immediately changed their targets.

They turned toward him and rushed forward from every direction, their claws tearing through the dirt as the pack closed in.

Lin Tian’s expression remained calm as he reached for the dark-silver pagoda at his belt.

"Let’s see how much pressure you can take."

He poured a strong stream of liquid Qi into its core.

The pagoda rose from his palm and floated into the air. Its small form expanded rapidly until it became a towering seven-layered pagoda above the forest.

The Void-Stone at its base flashed black.

BOOOOOOM!

The Abyssal Weight Array awakened.

A terrifying pressure spread through the surrounding forest. The wolves in mid-air suddenly lost their balance and crashed back to the ground, while those still charging struggled to keep their bodies upright.

The suppression did not simply press down from above. It filled the entire area, making every movement heavier and slowing the flow of spiritual energy through their bodies.

Several Qi Gathering wolves were forced completely to the ground, unable to resist the pressure.

Even the Alpha struggled.

Its large body sank lower as the invisible force pressed against it. The purple glow along its bone-spurs flickered while its aura shook under the suppression.

Aunt Lin watched from behind the golden barrier, her eyes fixed on the pagoda.

A Tier 2 artifact should not have this much suppressive power.

She had worked with countless formations and artifacts over the years, but she had never seen a suppression array behave like this. The energy was spreading through the seven layers with almost no waste, and the force produced by the formation was far beyond what she had expected.

Lin Tian stood beneath the pagoda without being affected by its pressure. His robes moved slightly in the disturbed air, but his body remained completely steady.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

The pagoda had passed its first real test.

He stepped forward as the suppressed wolves struggled beneath the formation, already reaching for the beast cores they would leave behind.