Hark! Zhou Yi needs aid!

Though Zhou Yi and Wang Lin shared no deep bond, a fleeting moment in the Celestial Realm etched Zhou Yi’s memory deep within Wang Lin’s very soul.

He was a man willing to burn his own soul for a woman’s love, his devotion, while not beautiful, was made distinct in the clarity of his eyes. A clear light shining in the dark, that moved all who bore witness.

He gifted Wang Lin a most precious Gem of Ascendancy, a price to ask the impossible, to guard the corpse of his lost love. A simple request, yet encompassing Zhou Yi’s entire life, made in his final breath.

Thereafter, Zhou Yi became the sword spirit of the Rain Immortal Sword. Yet, the lingering trace of his soul within the woman’s corpse scattered like dust, lost to the ages. In that moment, Zhou Yi felt the sound of the world shatter before him.

His heart broken, he took up his sword. Its blade now lacked warmth, and as a spirit he surged into the void, vowing to slay Ling Tianhou! In his heart there was nothing but the desire to find death, for his heart’s desire was already lost to him.

Wang Lin’s life has been a true testament to the cruelty of the realm of cultivation. Most whom he met were consumed by selfish desires. Only a rare few found a place in his heart… Situ Nan, Duntian the Little Fierce Tiger, Zhou Yi…

Once, he was but a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, an insignificant junior before Zhou Yi. But now, Wang Lin had attained the Ascendant Realm!

He inhaled deeply, then stepped into the rift.

Some deeds, though fraught with peril, must be undertaken by a man bound by his convictions.

Once, he faced down demon generals to save the thirteenth. Today, he would rescue Zhou Yi, even with the lingering presence of the Sword Sovereign Ling Tianhou barring his way!

The instant he crossed the threshold, Ling Tianhou’s divine sense, brimming with a fierce arrogance, crashed against him like a tangible assault, a thunderous roar.

This domineering presence struck like a honed blade, its sharpness capable of cleaving the very heavens, aimed directly at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s outermost defense, the black veil of the Soul Devouring Banner, trembled, a chorus of screams echoing from the countless souls bound within, forming a barrier to repel the piercing attack.

But Ling Tianhou’s divine sense was too strong! The sword pierced through the defenses without hesitation, and continued its assault on Wang Lin.

In that moment, a flash of resolve flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes. He knew that continuing forward was perilous, but retreat would mean abandoning all hope of saving Zhou Yi.

A man’s life is measured by his deeds, and some must be done. To hesitate is to live an empty existence, even to the end of days!

Resolve hardened into determination. Wang Lin took a step, and Ling Tianhou’s sense became even more intense, hurtling towards him with renewed strength.

Without a word, Wang Lin swept his right hand before him, causing the golden runes encircling him to coalesce around his body. The blade struck, sending arcs of white lightning dancing across the runes, shielding Wang Lin as he stepped forward once more!

Many of the tiny insectoids that resided within the golden runes stiffened and fell, and Wang Lin swept them into his storage pouch.

This single step triggered an even more overwhelming surge of divine sense, reverberating through the narrow rift like the wrath of the heavens. Its intent was to crush any who dared to trespass!

The souls within the Soul Devouring Banner offered no resistance. Breaching the defenses again, it imprinted itself upon the surface of Wang Lin’s demon armor.

At that moment, demonic energy exploded from the armor, and Wang Lin felt an unimaginable force bearing down upon him. He thought that if he did not retreat, he would instantly be crushed! But, it was only a feeling. With a mind trained by the ages, Wang Lin resisted the urge. His eyes burned with a fierce determination as the soul of the scattered demon sealed within his primordial spirit for centuries was unleashed for the first time.

This scattered soul had yet to be fully integrated, so it was not his second primordial spirit. Emerging from Wang Lin’s brow, the horned demon, its body black as pitch, emitted a demonic shriek. Its eyes swirled with madness, and it lunged to devour Ling Tianhou’s divine sense.

As the demon soul materialized, Wang Lin’s armor surged with an unprecedented torrent of demonic energy, flooding the demon’s form and solidifying its existence.

It swallowed Ling Tianhou’s divine sense whole, and a vortex of power erupted within its body. The arrogant intent within the divine sense writhed madly. The demon howled, and a flicker of lucidity flashed within its demonic eyes.

Wang Lin felt his primordial spirit tremble and sensed the demon’s instability. Without hesitation, he moved his will and sent his mind’s strength through his brow and into the soul. He focused on the seal on the soul, the one he has etched for centuries.

The soul was dragged back towards Wang Lin’s brow, and his demon armor turned into silken strands of black energy that retreated into the darkness. His armor returned to his storage pouch, and he stepped forth and covered ten paces. Immediately, a third surge of divine sense, more intense than the previous two, roared from the depths of the rift. Among the deafening thunder, a faint, haunting whisper, the voice of Ling Tianhou, could be heard.

The voice chanted, like a spell.

The Soul Devouring Banner could not resist. Without his armor, Wang Lin was protected only by the ten thousand Sigils of Life, his final defense. These quickly transformed into a million, expanding to meet the assault. But as the million Sigils reached out to combat Ling Tianhou’s mind they were crushed in a moment.

The beast unleashed a thunderous roar, and with a surge of primal energy, materialized before Wang Lin, colliding headlong with the incoming divine sense. Lightning crackled and danced across the raiju’s fur, coalescing into a sphere of raw electrical power.

The earth beneath the raiju sputtered, releasing a cascade of sparks as the creature was forced backward by the relentless assault of the deity Ling Tianhou’s ethereal presence.

Seizing this momentary reprieve, Wang Lin instinctively replenished his life imprints, summoning forth a legion of a million. His eyes flashed with cold determination. Passive defense was a fool’s gambit; to break through this barrier, offense was the only path!

Wang Lin surged forward, each step ringing with power. His right hand flashed, executing a series of Annihilation Finger strikes. Immortal power surged through his veins, unleashing bolts of inky darkness that screamed towards the incorporeal form of Ling Tianhou’s divine sense.

The dark energy of the Annihilation Fingers erupted in a thousand shards of darkness, each one an arrow seeking its mark, rippling the fabric of existence itself as they impacted the divine presence.

With another step, Wang Lin summoned the Devil Transformation Finger. Reversing the flow of immortal energy within his body, he drew upon the residual power of the four celestial drops gifted to him long ago. Thus, even without the aid of immortal jade, his immortal energy remained undiminished, a fountain of power that mirrored the unending nature of his life imprints.

At Wang Lin’s fingertip, this power twisted into vile, palpable demonic energy. It was tainted and amplified by the aura of the Devil Scatter Soul residing within his primordial spirit, transforming it into a force of utter corruption. Ten streams of pure demonic energy erupted from his finger, each one a missile of concentrated malice.

Then, with a flourish of his right hand, Wang Lin summoned the Path to the Yellow Springs, its swirling spectral energy engulfing the area. He strode forth upon the ethereal river, each step carrying him closer, converging all his supernatural skills into a devastating barrage aimed directly at the divine sense of Ling Tianhou.

But Wang Lin was far from satisfied. His eyes blazed with an icy fury. He transmuted a million life imprints into pure, unadulterated killing intent. Saving only one to safeguard his primordial spirit, the remainder he channeled through his finger, unleashing a single, devastating wave of crimson energy. The celestial sword aura gifted to him by Ling Tianhou would remain dormant. To unleash it against its master’s divine sense would be folly, for it would surely be absorbed and turned against him.

At that moment, the entire Tide Abyss seemed to tremble. Beyond the jagged rifts, loose earth and fractured stone tore themselves free from the abyssal walls, levitating as though caught in the grip of an unseen force.

All of Wang Lin’s attacks collided with Ling Tianhou’s divine sense in a cataclysmic clash. At the peak of the chaos, the raiju unleashed a deafening roar that echoed through the depths, transforming itself into a colossal bolt of pure lightning. It lunged forward, following Wang Lin’s unleashed power to rip and tear at the invading presence of the deity.

A series of muffled explosions reverberated throughout the Tide Abyss entrance in the Watersprite Prefecture. The ground trembled with the passing of each shockwave.

Even Murong Zhuo, far below in the depths, felt the tremors above, a force of unimaginable power. His companions, Zhao and Xu, could only stare upward in fear, their eyes wide with shock.

“So terrible… could this be the work of Wang Lin?” Xu Fei gasped, her heart pounding. The resentment she had harbored since Wang Lin had shattered her spiritual senses vanished in an instant. She swore to herself that this was a man she would never dare to cross.

The terrible aftershocks rippled through the abyssal walls, reaching the very bottom of the Tide Abyss, a labyrinthine corridor echoing with the passing of eons.

The corridor formed a circular maze around a central black void whose bottom could not be seen. In the corridor, a greatsword jutted from the earth, half of its blade buried deep within the stone. As the vibrations passed, the blade seemed to loosen in its resting place.

The echoes faded as they spread outward. In Fire Sprite Prefecture at the exit, beneath the swarming mosquitoes and the black fog that confined the Da Luo Sword Sect, the figure known as Greed Wolf, who had been meditating in slumber, snapped his eyes open, a sharp light piercing the darkness.

“Ling Tianhou’s aura! Has he arrived before me? No… it is only a fragment, and there is another presence… unfamiliar, yet potent. If it is here now, could it also be after the token?”

Greed Wolf cast a nonchalant glance toward the Da Luo Sword Sect disciples around him before closing his eyes once more.

The tremors were faint at this distance, and only Greed Wolf had noticed them.

Within the Da Luo Sword Sect, seated in meditation in a simple Daoist robe, Ling Tianhou’s eyes snapped open…