A moment of contemplation settled upon him. His gaze flickered toward the distant figure of Wang Lin. Raising his right hand, he pointed a finger skyward. Instantly, a crimson orb coalesced into being before his fingertip. Simultaneously, unseen threads, born of the very fabric of the heavens, swirled into existence, converging upon the nascent sphere. The orb pulsed with crimson light, then shot forth like a bolt of celestial fire, aimed directly at Wang Lin.

Every hair on Wang Lin’s body stood on end, a silent scream of dread echoing in his heart. Were it not for the intervention of the enigmatic elder, he would have fled long ago. Now, with the Blood Ancestor’s half-formed avatar already expended, escape was no longer an option.

In this dire moment, Wang Lin gritted his teeth. There was no evading the inevitable. He spun around, spitting forth the fragmented seal, a relic of immense power, to act as a shield. The crimson orb struck the seal with earth-shattering force, a deafening roar echoing through the shattered lands. The seal trembled violently, its fragments threatening to scatter.

Yet, it held!

But a surge of raw power, unleashed by the orb’s impact, passed through the seal and crashed into Wang Lin. He paled, a mouthful of blood erupting from his lips as he was hurled backward, the seal itself dragged along with him.

The peril was far from over. The immense power, transmitted through the fragmented seal, cascaded over Wang Lin in waves. He coughed up three more mouthfuls of crimson, but a ferocious grimace twisted his features.

“You think to slay *me*? You underestimate my resolve!” Wang Lin braced himself against the seal with one hand. With the other, he delved into his storage pouch, producing a folding screen.

As the screen unfurled, the painted landscape upon it sprung to life. The surrounding world blurred, hues dissolving into monochrome as the terrain became a living landscape painting.

An ancient, immeasurable power emanated from this painted world. As Wang Lin stepped within the landscape, he felt his own strength drain away, replaced by the screen’s power flowing into the fragmented seal, battling against the monstrous energy pressing against it.

“The Mountain and River Screen!” The sinister youth’s eyes narrowed, but he quickly sneered. “Merely a copied imitation!” He raised his hand, tearing through the air with savage force. The illusion shattered with a sharp, rending sound. The painted landscape warped and buckled, forcing Wang Lin, pale and weakened, back into the real world. He stumbled backward once more.

“This humble screen I once borrowed and studied for a thousand years! Even if you possessed the true artifact, I could shatter it with ease, you paltry Upper Immortal!”

With a chilling laugh, the youth advanced, intent on pressing his advantage. But suddenly, he froze, his eyes flashing with cold light as he stared at the ground beneath his feet.

The entire fragmented continent began to shudder violently. Not in one spot, but across its entirety. The tremor was immense. In mere moments, countless mountains crumbled in echoing crashes, as if an enormous hand swept across the land, flattening every prominence.

In an instant, the continent began to rise, ascending with terrifying speed. Before the sinister youth could react, it was upon him, lifting him toward the heavens. He glared, leaping away just in time.

Wang Lin, meanwhile, recalled his treasures and swiftly fled, his gaze averted from the chaotic earth. As he retreated, he tried to melt into the landscape, vanishing into the natural world.

A chorus of bestial roars echoed from the distance. As the fragmented continent ascended, the iron chains connected to its edges vibrated with immense force. Upon each chain stood a monstrous Thunder Beast, bellowing as it launched itself into the sky.

The continent was being lifted by the sheer brute force of the Thunder Beasts!

And it was not alone. Across the Thunder Celestial Realm, nearly forty percent of its fragments – forty-nine in all – were rising in unison.

It was a grand formation, centered upon the fragment where Wang Lin and the youth stood, arranged in the pattern of a plum blossom.

Each of the forty-nine fragments was connected by iron chains, upon which the Thunder Beasts roared, pulled, and lifted.

The entire Thunder Celestial Realm was filled with the echoing booms of the continents being torn asunder. The forty-nine fragments began to spin, rotating around the central piece. At first, the motion was slow, but it rapidly accelerated.

The chains connecting the outer fragments snapped under the strain. Now, nothing could stop their rotation.

The speed of the spin reached that of a swift cultivator, creating immense vortexes that dwarfed comprehension.

Every mountain on those forty-nine continents crumbled, the land shaken to its core. The tremors triggered a cascade of calamities across the entire Thunder Celestial Realm.

The colossal vortexes, formed by the spiraling continents, created abyssal voids, generating unimaginable suction.

Shaken, stirred, and trembling, the Thunder Celestial Realm was collapsing.

This was not the destruction of a mere fragment, nor the simple erosion of empty space. It was the wholesale annihilation of the realm itself. The second such widespread devastation since its shattering in ancient times.

Horrifying cracks split the sky, venting frigid winds as they widened like countless rents in reality. The end had come!

The cultivators of the Thunder Celestial Realm were paralyzed with dread, beyond the power of words to express.

Even the sinister youth was stunned. He could not have conceived that the one who had lured him here would orchestrate such a monumental event.

“To use the collapsing fragments of the Thunder Celestial Realm as components… this is no mere formation… Could it be that he seeks to forge this entire realm into a treasure?!” The youth gasped. Even with his vast knowledge, he could only whisper, “Madman!”

Wang Lin was equally aghast. The howling winds from the void rifts, and the deafening crashes echoing across the realm, as if countless continents collided, filled his ears. He slowed his retreat. Cracks appeared all around him, their destructive aura terrifying him to his core.

A manic laugh echoed across the heavens. The enigmatic elder materialized in the sky, his eyes blazing with fervor. “I, Yan Leizi, have entered and exited the Eight Celestial Realms countless times, plotting for untold millennia! Is there any other cultivator in all creation with the audacity to forge the Thunder Celestial Realm, to manipulate the venerable Immortal Sovereign Clear Water himself?! Hahaha! Who dares match me?!

With half the Thunder Celestial Realm as my treasure, who in the entire Luotian Starfield can stand against me? With this, I will shatter the barriers of space! From this day forward, my Luotian cultivators will no longer need Luotian Stones! They will roam the Alliance Starfield freely! Chongxuanzi! When I was forced to flee, I swore that one day I would return with a million Luotian cultivators, and crush the Alliance under our heels!”