The Blood Ancestor gazed coldly upon Wang Lin, his finger unwavering, still descending. In an instant, the void compressed three inches before Wang Lin!

A deafening “BOOM” echoed through the ether as Wang Lin coughed up a mouthful of crimson, his body sent hurtling like a kite severed from its string. He spun in the air, crashing to the earth where the very ground spiderwebbed with deep, groaning fissures.

Wang Lin staggered backward, each step rending the earth beneath him, the cracks spreading like grasping claws. He retreated a hundred paces amidst the shattering cacophony before finally regaining his footing, his form battered and bloodied, crimson staining his lips.

Before him, the ravaged earth bore silent witness to the immense power of that single, crushing touch.

The Blood Ancestor strode forward, closing the distance to a mere ten paces. His voice, though calm, carried the weight of ages. “I shall grant you but three sentences!”

More blood trickled from Wang Lin’s lips. Many bones within him were fractured, a testament to the power of the blow. Even the celestial guard’s robust flesh was now grievously wounded for the first time, yet a chilling smile crept onto Wang Lin’s face.

“Wang believed, perhaps naively, that the Blood Ancestor would unleash the full might of his finger, disregarding Yao Xixue’s fate, and obliterate this mere avatar!” Wang Lin spoke with unwavering defiance. Though the Blood Ancestor was powerful, he was no celestial god. And Wang Lin, as a defiant cultivator, dared to rebel against the heavens themselves. What fear could he have for this Blood Ancestor?

Had the Blood Ancestor truly pressed home his attack, Wang Lin was certain this celestial guard would have been destroyed, and with it, the sliver of his consciousness contained within.

“You have two sentences remaining,” the Blood Ancestor intoned, his gaze flicking skyward, a hint of murderous intent flickering in his eyes.

He had, in truth, been tempted to crush this man, to delve into his very soul to locate Yao Xixue.

Yet, caution held him back. In his eyes, Wang Lin was a creature of cunning and ruthlessness. How else could he have caused such chaos within the Demon Spirit Land, mocking even the ancient masters, himself included, forcing them to watch helplessly as he vanished into the tide whirlpool, lost to sight?

This man came before him as a mere fragment, unafraid of death. Were he to truly destroy this avatar, then surely his true self would act against Xixue! The Blood Soul Pill, after all, could have flaws revealed…

Wang Lin wiped the blood from his mouth and straightened his tattered garments. “Blood Ancestor, Yao Xixue is safe. These hundreds of years, I have not harmed a hair on her head. I will surrender her to you, allowing father and daughter to reunite. However, you must permit me to leave, and swear to leave me unmolested!”

The Blood Ancestor turned his gaze from the heavens to Wang Lin, his eyes devoid of emotion, replaced by an unsettling serenity. “Agreed! I swear upon my very Dao. Return my daughter, and I shall not kill you.”

Wang Lin stared intently at the Blood Ancestor, a silent battle raging within him. He could not discern truth from falsehood. After a prolonged silence, he spat forth a crystal, which upon hitting the ground, formed a fragile teleportation array. It pulsed erratically, threatening to collapse at any moment.

“Yao Xixue resides within this array!” Wang Lin stated calmly.

He would no longer play games with the Blood Ancestor. The other had cultivated for tens of thousands of years; his machinations were far more complex. Realizing this, Wang Lin transformed his strategy from subtle manipulation to audacious intent!

Casting forth the teleportation array, Wang Lin blurred into a streak of light, retreating towards the edge of the continent and the empty void beyond.

His speed was unmatched, pouring his entire cultivation into the act.

“Blood Ancestor, I have presented you with a choice. How you choose to act is your own affair… If you trust my words and enter the array, it signifies your honesty, your oath true! Then, Wang Lin shall be honest in turn, and I shall trust you.

“But, if you refuse to enter the array, and instead pursue me, it signifies a lack of faith, a false promise. Then, blame only yourself when Wang Lin turns ruthless and slays the immortal!” Wang Lin’s eyes flickered with a glacial light. He truly did not desire to become an enemy of the Blood Ancestor. It was only out of desperation that he had imprisoned Yao Xixue. He had configured the teleportation array to activate only three times, to coincide with his plan!

The Blood Ancestor glanced at the teleportation array, and his spiritual sense swept through it, instantly detecting a trace of Yao Xixue’s aura. Though he could not discern the precise destination of the teleportation, he was certain of his daughter’s presence. The array led to her.

He took a step forward, arriving before the array in an instant. With a grasping gesture, he shattered the unstable portal, the crystal fragments dissolving into countless sparkling motes of light, all gathered within his right hand, reforming into a solid crystal once more.

Then, he whirled around, glaring at Wang Lin’s retreating figure vanishing into the void. He muttered, “To imprison my daughter for hundreds of years, and then expect a few words to grant you freedom… I do not believe in such things! How could I not kill you!” With that, his eyes blazed with centuries of pent-up fury, and he lunged forward, giving chase with terrifying speed.

Wang Lin, fleeing along the thunderous chains within the void, instantly felt a surge of murderous intent erupting behind him. He sighed inwardly, and his eyes narrowed with chilling determination.

“Blood Ancestor, you leave me no choice! It is not Wang’s nature to be cruel, but you force my hand!”

The Blood Ancestor surged forward, his eyes burning with the fire of vengeance. Closing the gap in mere strides, he raised his right hand, slamming it downward with immense force. The very void seemed to halt, frozen in that instant.

The thunderous chains beneath Wang Lin’s feet shattered, severed in the middle. At the same time, the surrounding void was swallowed by a sea of blood, encompassing Wang Lin entirely!

“Refine!” A low growl echoed through the void as the surrounding sea of blood surged inward, coalescing upon Wang Lin. It was incredibly fast, penetrating his skin through every pore, instantly saturating the sliver of Wang Lin’s consciousness within the celestial guard.

An indescribable agony erupted throughout Wang Lin’s being, the spiritual sense within the celestial guard experiencing a torment beyond comprehension, as if being torn apart, piece by piece!

Against such torment, the fortitude of the celestial guard’s body was tested to its limit, resisting the blood sea’s refinement, slowing the process, at least for now.
The celestial guardian crumbled, yet the battle was far from over. A crimson beam erupted from the shattered husk, piercing the veil and vanishing into the ethereal plane. It was no true disappearance, but a dread sorcery, a shattering of reality itself, aimed at the hidden sanctuary of Wang Lin’s true self.

Blood Ancestor’s hatred for Wang Lin had reached a fever pitch. He yearned to devour the illusion, to claim its essence, and even to extinguish the hidden flame of the true form through this arcane art.

In an instant, the fragment of land where Wang Lin was concealed was bathed in an unholy red. A crimson tide surged across the ground, a malevolent ocean converging upon the hidden one. It seeped into the earth, coalescing into a single, crimson needle, poised to pierce Wang Lin’s very being.

A single strike from this ethereal spike would shatter his spirit, bringing swift and utter annihilation.

Deep beneath the surface, Wang Lin’s eyes snapped open. Without hesitation, he produced the enchanted orb gifted by Li Yuan, channeling his celestial power to shatter half of the contained enchantment. With a burst of speed, he tore from the earth as the crimson needle relentlessly pursued.

“Blood Ancestor,” the spirit of Wang Lin, housed within the collapsing celestial guardian, rasped a final, venomous utterance, “I wonder if your daughter fares well in the crumbling void!” Then, the illusion shattered.

Blood Ancestor’s countenance shifted in rage and alarm. He sensed a catastrophic unraveling within the crystalline core of the very teleportation array. He cast aside his pursuit of Wang Lin and the puppet’s remains, desperately flinging the core outward and imbuing it with a stabilizing rune.

The core flared to life, manifesting a third and final teleportation portal.

A wave of destructive energy pulsed from within, but Blood Ancestor could spare no thought for the danger. His face dark with fury, he plunged into the gate. His hastily etched runes struggled to maintain its integrity, preventing its collapse as he passed through.

As the gate closed behind him, Blood Ancestor materialized within a vast, enclosed realm, and his face paled. His ageless eyes recognized the truth – this was a celestial storage domain.

A chilling dread crept into his heart, a sensation long forgotten. Not even his battles with Tian Yunzi had inspired such primal fear.

At his core, he was but a mortal, a powerful cultivator, yes, but still mortal.

He felt his heart hammer within his chest. Eons of experience had gifted him with a thorough understanding of these celestial repositories.

He knew that their collapse meant utter obliteration, the annihilation of all within. Even the blood essence pills might prove insufficient against such catastrophic power.

Only by consuming them all at once, perhaps, could he hope to endure the cataclysm with their mysterious essence.

“Damnation! How did Wang Lin find such a place? Even Tian Yunzi could only hope to stumble upon such a treasure by pure chance! Wang Lin, I swear eternal vengeance upon you!”

Blood Ancestor gnashed his teeth. He sensed his daughter’s presence within this strange dimension. He hurtled toward a nearby valley, and with a surge of power, swiftly located the enchanted orb that held Yao Xixue captive.

Without pausing to release her, he seized the orb and turned his focus to escaping the trap.

Outside, Wang Lin, desperately evading the crimson needle, channeled his fury and drew upon every arcane seal within the storage domain, triggering its final, catastrophic unraveling.

“You would end me? I shall rend the heavens and see you consumed by the very cosmos!” Wang Lin’s fingers became blades, and he struck himself nine times, increasing his speed. Yet the crimson needle, a malevolent splinter in his soul, drew ever closer.

Clutching Yao Xixue’s enchanted prison, Blood Ancestor succumbed to madness. His ancient composure shattered, replaced by a crimson aura that radiated pure desperation. He bolted for the teleportation gate that his runes desperately held intact.

Around him, the storage domain buckled and shattered. Mountains split and tumbled, and waves of apocalyptic power threatened to engulf him.

“Wang Lin! Should I escape, I shall hunt you to the ends of creation, and you will suffer a death beyond imagining!”