Beneath the gaze of gathered cultivators, Wang Lin shimmered, stepping onto the void as if it were solid ground. Li Yuan, ever observant, followed close behind, and soon, both vanished into the ethereal nothingness.

Throughout their journey, countless questions gnawed at Li Yuan, yet he suppressed them, never uttering a word of Zhan Konglie. His wisdom dictated that certain truths were best left unsaid, for every soul held its secrets close.

Seasons turned with fleeting swiftness, and months melted away. As they neared the heart of the fragments, the number of cultivators swelled, yet their pace never faltered. Finally, they arrived at the epicenter of the shattered Thunder Immortal Realm.

Here, all signs of other mortals vanished, replaced by a desolate expanse of impenetrable darkness. No soul stirred within this void.

Suspended in the air, Wang Lin surveyed the surroundings. Within the memories of the ancient Yao elder, this was the very shard where the sealed Repository Pavilion lay hidden!

“Brother Li,” Wang Lin intoned, his voice resonating with grim resolve, “Do you perceive any irregularities here?”

The moment Wang Lin halted, Li Yuan began his meticulous work. His left hand wove intricate seals, his eyes shimmering with arcane light as he scrutinized the void for enchantments. After a moment, his expression hardened. “Indeed, I sense the faintest ripple of a restrictive formation. Though subtle, my heart-bound senses detect it. The craftsmanship bears a resemblance to Immortal Barriers, yet there is a distinct divergence.”

With a flick of his wrist, he released a torrent of arcane energy. It splintered into eighteen fragments, each a miniature enchantment, which streaked forward into the void. A fleeting glimpse of a phantom silhouette manifested amidst the darkness – a translucent landmass, materializing for but a heartbeat before vanishing entirely.

Upon this ephemeral continent stood a towering spire, a palatial edifice of immense size. But the vision was fleeting, gone before its details could be discerned.

“Brother Xu, I require time,” Li Yuan declared, his voice firm with conviction. An aura of unwavering self-assurance radiated from him as he prepared to dismantle the barrier.

He settled into a meditative pose within the void, his left hand orchestrating a symphony of hand seals, each imbuing the air with potent enchantments. Periodically, he pressed his hand to his brow, unleashing dark tendrils that snaked through the newly formed seals, weaving them into a complex sigil. As this sigil took form, the phantom continent flickered into existence once more, only to vanish as quickly as it came.

Wang Lin remained patient, his gaze fixed upon each fleeting glimpse of the continent.

Gradually, as Li Yuan’s enchantments gained momentum, the continent flickered with increasing frequency. Wang Lin, unwavering in his focus, began to perceive the land with growing clarity.

At the heart of the phantom continent stood a colossal edifice, its shape reminiscent of four colossal spires thrusting upwards, like a pair of demonic horns piercing the heavens.

Upon each of the four spires sat a silent sentinel, unmoving, seemingly oblivious to Wang Lin’s intense scrutiny.

Wang Lin’s pupils constricted, a chill coursing through his veins.

“Brother Xu,” Li Yuan spoke, breaking the tense silence, “To completely dismantle this barrier would require months, perhaps years. However, to simply force an opening, allowing you passage with my support, offers an eighty percent chance of success. The choice is yours, Brother Xu.”

Wang Lin strode forward, reaching the edge of the ephemeral continent. “Then open a path for me. Hide yourself, Brother Li, for danger lurks here. Once I retrieve the Immortal Art, we shall depart.”

Li Yuan offered no further argument. He tapped his brow, unleashing a torrent of dark tendrils that intertwined, forming a potent brand. He wove a barrage of seals into this brand, bathing it in a sinister light.

With a final surge of power, Li Yuan thrust his hand forward. “Heart-Bound Shattering!”

The brand hurtled into the void, finding purchase upon the ephemeral continent. Immediately, the landmass began to pulse, its reality flickering erratically, solidifying and dissipating in rapid succession.

The brand, radiating dark energy, expanded with each cycle, carving out a circular tunnel in the fabric of reality.

The tunnel shimmered precariously, threatening to collapse at any moment.

“Enter!” Li Yuan roared. Wang Lin, with the swiftness of a lightning bolt, surged forward, plunging into the unstable tunnel.

The moment he crossed the threshold, the tunnel imploded, the phantom continent, and Wang Lin himself, vanishing from the void.

“May fortune favor Brother Xu,” Li Yuan murmured, before weaving a complex enchantment. Cloaked within the arcane energies, he vanished, concealing every trace of his presence.

The surrounding void descended into an eerie silence.

Wang Lin found himself upon the fragmented landmass. He unleashed his divine sense, confirming the absence of the void behind him. Instead, a shimmering wall of protective enchantments barred his return.

His divine sense honed in on the spire at the heart of the continent. As he did so, one of the sentinels atop the spires snapped open his eyes, casting a chilling gaze in Wang Lin’s direction before disappearing into the structure.

Wang Lin, moving with impossible speed, raced towards the distant spire. As he neared, a figure materialized, a man clad in dark raiment with a visage as cold as winter. He uttered a single incantation and thrust his hand towards Wang Lin.

“I have awaited you, interloper. Death awaits you for defiling this sacred ground!”

As the hand seal blazed forth, a wave of crushing force slammed into Wang Lin. He retaliated with a palm strike of his own, resulting in a thunderous clash that reverberated throughout the land.

The black-robed man’s gaze grew colder, his eyes filled with disdain for this intruder. “I see you are of the Yang Solid stage, as well. Then perish by my hand!” He plunged forward, a tide of power descending.
As the echoes faded, a Celestial Bolt materialized from the heavens, aimed with deadly accuracy at Wang Lin.

“This is the Realm of Thunderous Immortals, and the Repository of Antiquities is a treasure of that realm. Why can your Four Great Clans trespass, yet I am forbidden?” Wang Lin scoffed, surging forward to meet the celestial fury head-on. As the Bolt descended, he neither flinched nor evaded. Instead, at the very instant of impact, his nascent soul emerged from his brow and devoured the raw power of the Bolt whole.

A tempest of lightning now danced across his form, a spectacle of formidable might.

One of the figures cloaked in black staggered, his face twisting with malice. He had clearly not anticipated that his quarry could consume celestial lightning. At that moment, Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with predatory intent. He spat forth a single grain of sand, which, with a flick of his wrist, swelled to an immense Fragmented Seal. Emanating an oppressive weight, it plunged downward towards the cloaked man.

“Because you are unworthy!” The cloaked figure sneered, raising his hands and uttering an arcane incantation. He thrust upwards, but his bravado crumbled as the seal pressed onward, unfazed. His spell was useless!

The Fragmented Seal, imbued with unbridled power, hurtled earthward. The pressure it exerted was so intense that the cloaked cultivator felt the icy grip of helplessness. The Seal struck with a thunderous roar that shook the very air.

His eyes wide with terror, the cloaked man bit through his tongue, spewing forth a gout of crimson blood. A flash of sanguinary light enveloped him, granting him a desperate surge of speed. He escaped the collapsing pressure field, appearing a hundred paces away. As he materialized, his face was ashen and his eyes burned with hatred. Without a word, he turned and fled.

Wang Lin, bearing the Fragmented Seal upon his outstretched hand, moved in relentless pursuit.

Together they fled to the central pavilion.

“Show yourselves!” The cloaked man bellowed, as he reached the pavilion walls.

From the four corners of the pavilion roof, three figures descended. They stood beside their comrade, their gaze fixed on the approaching Wang Lin.

Each of the three possessed the cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator, their united presence radiated an aura of immense power, meant to deter Wang Lin.

The air crackled with murderous intent.

“The Repository of Antiquities belongs not solely to your Four Great Clans. Allow me passage, and I shall spare you conflict. If you deny me, though I may fall, half of you shall die before the day is done!” Wang Lin declared, his voice laced with icy resolve.

“None but those of the Ascendant Void are worthy to enter the Repository!” One of the figures scoffed. They perceived Wang Lin’s cultivation, and witnessed his extraordinary feat of swallowing Celestial Lightning, they remained undeterred. Their numbers and their united power assuaged their concern.

Having steadied his breathing, the cloaked man snarled and stepped forward. He drew a crimson flying sword from his storage bag, and with a flick of his wrist, sent it hurtling toward Wang Lin.

The remaining three charged forward as well. One began his own incantation, conjuring a tempestuous wind that swirled into a vortex before him.

The remaining two exchanged a glance and began their own incantations, conjuring a yin and yang pattern which emanated an unearthly power as it hurtled towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed, he retreated a step, and at the same time he flung the Fragmented Seal which soared through the air.

The two that had formed the Yin Yang pattern flew up and met the Seal head on. They began a combined incantation, using their magic to keep the Seal from crushing them.

The remaining two surged towards Wang Lin, weapons drawn and spells at the ready.

Wang Lin pulled back with each step a wave of ripples spread out around him, he seemed to become one with the earth and sky. He stopped abruptly and took one step forward.

He disappeared! Appearing behind the cloaked man. The cloaked man was shocked! He turned, the crimson blade slashing at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin simply pointed and said in a low voice, “Freeze.”

In an instant, the cloaked man and his sword stopped dead. Wang Lin didn’t even hesitate, he paid no mind to the sword, and rushed forward. He poked the cloaked man between the eyes.

The cloaked man’s body exploded, his soul rushed to escape, but Wang Lin was ready for it. A whip made of Karma appeared and snatched the man’s spirit out of the air.

One of the remaining three, other than the two fighting against the seal, rushed forward with gale force winds to get between Wang Lin and his target.

Wang Lin did not even look at this man. The bones on the back of his hand shifted and coalesced into a fearsome beast which rushed forward to meet the man.

At the same time, Wang Lin grabbed from his bag a Spirit Devouring Banner. Black smoke billowed out and consumed the man’s spirit. The spirit began to fight back, but the ghostly shape of the Blood Ancestor was ready and waiting. Just a flash of recognition was enough to break the spirit’s will to fight and it succumbed.

The whole event was clean and quick. Wang Lin swept the remaining black smoke to cover one hundred feet around. He fixed his stare on the remaining three and spoke in a low voice: “I. Will. Enter. The Repository.”

The two that were fighting against the Seal were shocked, before they could say anything they heard a cry for help. The man with the wind was quickly retreating. Before him, the bones of the phantom beast glowed with an otherworldly light. The aura of death was so strong it threatened to consume everything around them.

Even Wang Lin, who had summoned it, felt his will falter before it. But for those in front of it, it was too late. The wind turned grey and then became stone.
As the ghastly gaze of the bone-beast fell upon him, the sorcerer’s face drained of all color, and he recoiled in terror. But in that instant, a miasma of malevolent aura surged forth once more, a suffocating tide of ill omen.

His eyes wide with dread, the sorcerer watched as his right hand turned ashen, the grey taint crawling inexorably up his arm, threatening to consume him whole. In a desperate act of self-preservation, he hesitated not. With a single, brutal stroke, he severed his own right arm, the crimson spray painting the air. He stumbled back a thousand paces, collapsing to the earth in a frenzy of meditation, seeking to mend the wound and purge the encroaching corruption.

Yet, even with such a sacrifice, the grey blight persisted. It bloomed anew upon his left hand, spreading with an alarming swiftness. Despair etched itself upon the sorcerer’s face. With gritted teeth, he endured as the taint threatened to engulf him entirely. In that final, agonizing moment, his spirit, his very *Yuanshen*, tore free from the crown of his head, abandoning its mortal prison.

But even as his spirit fled, it was not spared. In the blink of an eye, his disembodied soul transformed, solidifying into a lifeless, petrified effigy. High above the desolate battlefield, the lone, stony spirit hung suspended, a monument to utter defeat.

Silence descended, heavy and absolute…

“I, Xu, ask of you now,” rang a voice that shattered the quiet, laced with the chill of a glacial wind. “Do I, perchance, possess the *qualifications*?” Wang Lin’s gaze settled upon the two sorcerers struggling against the crushing weight of the celestial seal, each word a frozen dagger.