Wang Lin’s gaze fell upon Li Yuan’s feet, and as the man stepped upon the iron sword, a peculiar sensation washed over Wang Lin. It was as if the man and the blade had, in that instant, become one.

Withdrawing his stare, Wang Lin’s divine sense returned to its usual state. He strode forward, his entire being stepping onto nothingness. As his body descended into the void, it was as though he pierced a veil, the thunderous roar in his ears amplifying a thousandfold.

Upon the iron sword, the woman of the Ge clan scoffed inwardly. “This treasure, passed down through my lineage, possesses no great magic, yet it is unmatched in its resistance to lightning!” With a thought, she urged the sword forward, following the chains forged of pure lightning. The stray bolts seemed to have no effect upon it.

Her eyes lingered on the back of Li Yuan, perched upon the blade’s tip. Her brow furrowed, for his position there unsettled her. Yet this was not the moment for complaints. The iron sword’s speed was not great, but its steadiness was its strength, cleaving through the lightning with unwavering purpose.

All around lay the endless void, with no end in sight. Yet no cultivator who ventured into the Thunderous Realm would become lost in this emptiness, for they needed only to follow the chains of lightning to find their way.

After a time, as the iron sword delved deeper into the void, the woman upon its hilt, her divine sense trapped within the sword’s aura, grew uncertain. She could not see Wang Lin. *Could it be*, she mused, *that he has fallen behind?* Suddenly, she whipped around, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her, piercing through the sword’s aura and finding its mark upon her very being. Horror, absolute and consuming, filled her eyes.

For behind the iron sword, Wang Lin, clad in white, walked with utter calm upon the lightning chains. He trod upon them as if they were paved roads, each step sure and steady.

Lightning danced and weaved, encompassing him entirely, yet it caused him no harm. On the contrary, it seemed to soothe him, even invigorating his spirit. His very essence drank in the power.

With each step Wang Lin took, a torrent of lightning erupted behind him, a spectacle visible even from afar, like a beacon in the endless night.

Upon the sword’s tip, Li Yuan was filled with a sudden melancholy. His footing faltered, his control nearly slipping away.

“Old friend,” Li Yuan sighed inwardly, “It has been long… so very long… since we last met.” Steeling his resolve, he sensed a shift in the Ge clan woman behind him. He turned, and his eyes widened as he beheld Wang Lin upon the lightning chain.

“He can walk upon the very essence of the Thunderous Realm!” Li Yuan’s expression darkened momentarily before returning to its usual composure.

Wang Lin spoke not a word, but the fiery beacon that trailed him slowly faded, until, after half a month in the void, it disappeared altogether.

Only then did Wang Lin release a breath of relief. He had not desired the spectacle. His body, infused with the power of lightning, had been reacting to the chains, creating a bothersome display. Such a thing could draw unwanted attention. Now that his body had adapted to the chains, his worries subsided.

*These two spoke of Li Yuan’s life essence being held by the Ge clan. This all seems to be because they rescued him. Yet, I suspect there is more to it.* As they journeyed onward, Wang Lin continued to observe Li Yuan and the woman of the Ge clan, piecing together the puzzle.

*That woman’s iron sword seems to stir Li Yuan. I wager his loyalty to that family and the circumstances of his rescue are all part of a larger plan.* Wang Lin stared at the sword, studying it intently, yet he could not discern its secrets. Clearly, it possessed a great resistance to lightning, for even as they ventured deeper into the void, and the lightning grew fiercer, the sword remained unaffected.

They traveled in silence, the Ge clan woman casting glances at Wang Lin, her eyes filled with trepidation. She feared him, for she had seen him absorb her仙灵 and tread upon the lightning with impunity.

*He holds a fragment of my soul,* she thought, *This means i need to be even more carefull*

*I have no true quarrel with him, only some conflict. As an elder cultivator, he surely will not hold it against me, so long as I obey.* She decided, trying to assuage her fear.

As for Li Yuan, he hid his shock and stood still on the blade’s tip. His body was as steadfast as the ancient sword itself.

Time passed, and for nearly two months, the three flew through the void. The Thunderous Realm was vast. In all that time, they encountered no other cultivators, as if they were the only beings in existence.

The monotonous journey frayed the Ge clan woman’s temper. Yet, each time she turned to lash out at Li Yuan, she was overcome by an inexplicable feeling. The sight of his back filled her with a sense of familiarity.

Try as she might, she could not place it. She could not recall where she had seen that sight before.

*I feel like I have seen this before*, she thought, as she travelled.

One day, as they delved ever deeper, the lightning intensified, and the thunder echoed without end. The lightning upon the chains crackled, like great dragons roaring, and exploded outwards.

Wang Lin, walking upon them, felt discomfort. A warning bell rang in his mind. It was not the lightning itself, but the tremors running through the chains.
The tremor resonated from ahead, shaking the very chains that bound the realms and unleashing a volatile lightning aura upon them.

Even the shimmering aura of the iron sword, a shield against the void, flickered precariously, threatening to shatter. The woman, known as Ge, visibly panicked, frantically redoubling her efforts to maintain control, while Li Wu furrowed his brow in grim contemplation.

As they pressed onward, the quaking grew more violent, the unleashed lightning crackling with a feral energy that promised devastation with the slightest touch. Each surge boomed like the death knell of giants.

Wang Lin, his face etched with worry, his eyes narrowed in caution, felt a deep sense of unease. A terrible premonition gnawed at his soul, whispering of a presence of immense and dreadful power that awaited them.

“Senior,” Li Yuan began, his voice laced with apprehension, “though I have never traversed the Thunder Celestial Realm, I have heard tell that these chains, which bridge the shattered continents, should never tremble with such ferocity. And look, Senior!” He pointed to the ethereal void on their left. In the distant, swirling mists, another of the lightning chains pulsed with an erratic glow.

“Venerable one,” Ge added, her voice trembling, “that chain, though far distant, still radiates with unnatural light. It cannot be just our chain that is afflicted! Perhaps this entire region writhes in some unseen cataclysm! Perhaps… perhaps we should turn back. Before my departure from the clan, my forefather warned that these chains were never meant to convulse. For if they do… if they *ever* do, it means naught less than the sundering of the continents themselves!” Her face was ashen, the dread in her voice mirroring the throbbing vibrations beneath their feet.

The tremors escalated in both frequency and intensity, the wrathful lightning dancing across the chains in blinding, terrifying displays.

Wang Lin, having already taken note of Li Yuan’s observation, remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. Finally, his face hardened. “The answer lies beyond. And we have passed the point of return. We shall face it and know the truth!”

Li Yuan nodded, concurring with the unspoken sentiment. They had journeyed too far. Retreat now would likely prove futile, and besides, a cultivator, though prudent, must sometimes embrace the perilous path when there is no other choice.

“Lady Ge,” Li Wu interjected, his voice calm despite the surrounding chaos, “while our passage through the void has surely played a part, it is not the root of this turmoil. And truly… we tarry too long to consider retreat!”

Without another word, Wang Lin surged forward, his speed amplified, overtaking his companions and the iron sword. He flew into the maw of the void.

Li Wu, watching Wang Lin’s disappearing form, mused to himself, “He has held back his true strength. This one is no ordinary mortal. My instincts rarely fail me! To overcome a master of the Yin Void realm… such a feat is not born of mere chance!”

Wang Lin, having left the relative safety of the iron sword, flew for only a short time before his gaze sharpened and he halted, transfixed by the sight ahead. A vast, billowing mist, thick with celestial energy, unfurled before him, obliterating their path. It stretched to the horizon, an endless, impenetrable barrier.

The iron sword, carrying Li Yuan and Ge, soon caught up. Upon seeing the fog, Li Yuan gasped. After a moment of intense scrutiny, his face paled. “A forbidden ward!”

Wang Lin, who had already sensed the faint pulse of forbidden magic within the mist, spoke, “If it is a ward, can you unravel it?”

Li Yuan furrowed his brow, studying the ethereal barrier with growing dread. “I cannot be certain. This is no single ward, but an intricate web of countless enchantments, interwoven and empowered by the very essence of the Thunder Celestial Realm! Who possesses the power, the audacity, to weave such a labyrinth!” His voice trembled with awe and fear. He retrieved a compass from his storage pouch. Its needle spun wildly, erratically, as he chanted arcane calculations under his breath. Suddenly, the compass imploded in a burst of dust.

“It is a Celestial Grade Middle Tier ward,” he whispered, his voice hollow. “Forged upon the very bones of this realm, with the souls of ancient spirits chained to nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine fixed points. A colossal, all-consuming formation capable of devouring heaven and earth!”

At that moment, a raucous laugh echoed from within the mist. An old man strode forth, clutching a length of the very lightning chain that pulsed beneath their feet. “Ah ha! It seems I have stumbled upon fortune! I was coming to find you. But you are here! Excellent, excellent.”