In the celestial realm of thunder, amidst the chaotic ballet of forty-nine splintered continents, a maelstrom of cosmic proportions stirred, threatening to devour all in its path. A cataclysmic collapse, relentless and ever-intensifying, rent the skies with growing fissures, as if a celestial blade cleaved the heavens asunder. Woe betide any caught in the immediate vicinity, for the very fabric of reality threatened to unweave itself, swallowing them whole.

There, suspended in the swirling chaos, stood Yan Leizi, a gleam of uncanny ambition burning in his eyes. His arms outstretched, the shard of land beneath him began to resonate with a slow, deliberate rotation.

“My Thunder Immortal Grand Array shall be complete this day!” Yan Leizi bellowed, his hands moving in intricate gestures. A surge of arcane energy, seemingly boundless, flowed from his form, coursing through the land beneath, spreading like an inexorable tide.

Wang Lin, his heart pounding, watched from afar, a grim expression etched upon his face. He floated in the distant sky, observing Yan Leizi’s machinations in brooding silence.

Beside him, a youth with an air of unsettling charisma observed with a glint in his eyes. “To forge a celestial realm into a weapon…intriguing. Yet, such an endeavor without a guiding spirit, a *fa ling*, is ultimately futile!”

Yan Leizi roared with laughter. “Who says it lacks one? Fa ling, manifest!” With these words, he spat forth a sliver of grey light.

Within the light lay a mirror, no larger than a palm at first. But as it met the swirling energies of the realm, it surged, growing exponentially until it stood taller than a man, its form a distorted oval.

The mirror’s surface shimmered, and from within emerged a nascent soul, a *yuanshen*, radiating potent spiritual energy.

“A Yin Void cultivator’s yuanshen!” Wang Lin breathed, his eyes narrowing.

“A Fourth Rank Upper Immortal,” the charismatic youth murmured, his gaze flicking over the yuanshen. He made no move to interfere, curious to witness the spectacle of this self-proclaimed Yan Leizi’s attempt to bind the thunderous realm.

Furthermore, his keen senses detected a truth: this Yan Leizi was but a phantom, a manifestation of a power residing elsewhere.

The Yin Void yuanshen, its eyes wide with disorientation, floated helplessly in the air. Yan Leizi, his voice a command, thundered, “Forty-Ninth Spirit, go!”

Instantly, the yuanshen’s eyes blazed with newfound awareness. It bowed towards Yan Leizi and, with a fleeting flicker of its spectral form, merged with the land, its essence dissolving into the very fabric of the forty-ninth fragmented continent. The land stirred, awakening with a newfound sentience.

But this was only the beginning. Before Wang Lin’s very eyes, the ancient mirror rippled again, and another yuanshen emerged, then another, and another. Each met Yan Leizi’s command and vanished into the earth, imbuing the shattered lands with life.

Soon, of the forty-nine fragments circling in their cosmic dance, twenty-eight now throbbed with the essence of a *fa ling*, a weapon-spirit.

“More spirits, arise!” Yan Leizi cried, his eyes burning with fanatical glee. The mirror shuddered, contorting violently, and from its depths sprang forth another yuanshen. This one radiated power far surpassing its predecessors. Wang Lin gasped, recognizing the essence of a Yang Solid cultivator.

“Ninth Rank Upper Immortal,” the youth observed, his composure unyielding.

Following this elite spirit came thirteen more, each dissolving into the earth. With their sacrifice, forty-two of the forty-nine continents pulsed with a vibrant new power. The very structure of the array shifted, its potency climbing to unimaginable heights.

“One more time!” Yan Leizi howled, a cry born of decades of meticulous preparation. The mirror trembled once more, and after a pregnant pause, a single yuanshen emerged. It was ancient and withered, seemingly fragile. Yet, the power emanating from it eclipsed all that had come before.

“This…!” Wang Lin’s pupils constricted. The sheer force of this being rivaled even that of the ancient patriarch of the Huan family.

“A Nirvana Peering cultivator’s yuanshen!”

“Third Rank Celestial Immortal,” the charismatic youth breathed, his eyes suddenly gleaming with interest. He wet his lips, his excitement starting to show.

The aged yuanshen gazed towards the heavens, its eyes filled with a fleeting echo of a long-lost past. But at Yan Leizi’s command, it shuddered and vanished into the earth.

Instantly, the seventh continental shard of the Immortal Array erupted with an oppressive aura. The very fabric of the grand formation pulsed with a surge of unprecedented might.

But the mirror was not yet finished. The ancient artifact buckled and groaned, its surface cracking under the strain. From the growing fissure, a pair of massive hands burst forth, as if to tear the mirror asunder and unleash the entity imprisoned within.

From the shattered mirror stepped a man of middle age, his face twisted in a savage snarl. As he roared, his murderous aura coalesced into a crimson storm, whipping around him with terrifying force.

Wang Lin recoiled, his eyes wide with awe and apprehension. He could not fathom the depths of this being’s power. Only one comparison came to mind: he was not as mighty as the Blood Ancestor.

“Ninth Rank Celestial Immortal!” the charismatic youth hissed, his eyes blazing with avarice. Yet, he stayed his hand, resisting the urge to seize the magnificent prize.

Yan Leizi gazed upon the savage man, a flicker of regret dancing in his eyes. “You are the old one’s fifth most suitable soul. Alas… Fifth spirit, take your place!”

The bloodthirsty man turned, his gaze locking onto Yan Leizi. After a moment of unnerving silence, he lunged, his murderous aura rippling outwards as he vanished into the earth.

Immediately, a wave of oppressive darkness blanketed the sixth continental fragment. The darkness spread, engulfing the entire Immortal Array in a suffocating pall of murderous intent, further amplifying its power.

Before the aftershocks of the darkness had subsided, the ancient mirror groaned once more, a web of cracks spider-webbing across its surface. From within its collapsing depths, one final yuanshen emerged.
The ancient spirit, a venerable elder, materialized, and with his arrival, the very fabric of reality twisted and stilled. The rifts that marred the heavens, born of cosmic fracturing, hung frozen in their jagged paths.

Though no power visibly emanated from him, the elder’s presence forced Wang Lin to recoil, the sheer weight of his authority pressing down with terrifying force.

“A Second Grade Immortal King!” the demonic man hissed, his eyes gleaming with sudden interest.

The elder’s spirit, unusually, held no trace of the common daze, but shone with crystalline clarity. He offered a respectful bow, surveyed the ravaged landscape, and finally fixed his gaze upon Yan Leizi, a faint nod accompanying his aged, resonant thought, “Remember your promise!”

With these words, the elder’s spirit dissolved into the earth, vanishing completely. From the fifth splinter of the shattered land, a colossal energy erupted.

The grinding cracks across the ancient mirror deepened and lengthened, and from within, another spirit emerged. This one pulsed with crimson light, reeking of blood and seething with an all-consuming hatred that exploded outwards at its arrival.

“Blood Ancestor!” Wang Lin gasped, his face paling as he retreated, his eyes locked on the horrifying figure. A moment later, he discerned a crucial detail – though it bore the form of the Blood Ancestor, its eyes were dull and vacant, devoid of any divine spark.

The Blood Ancestor’s spirit descended heavily, merging with the earth. Yet, in the instant before its complete dissolution, it raised its head, its empty gaze lingering on Wang Lin.

“The Fourth Divinity returns! A Sixth Grade Immortal King!” The demonic man declared, a sinister smile twisting his lips. “Intriguing! I wonder…are there any Immortal Lords to be found?”

“Indeed, there are!” Yan Leizi called down from the heavens, a hint of arrogance lacing his voice.

The fractures upon the ancient mirror instantly widened, not as a single line, but in a web of splintering cracks that threatened to shatter the artifact completely.

A ripple of energy pulsed across its surface, and this time, two spirits stepped forth as one, a wave of unimaginable power washing over the land, almost tangible in its intensity.

These spirits were imperfect, their forms slightly dimmed, their brows bearing seals that emitted an ethereal light.

The demonic youth’s expression shifted. “First Grade Immortal Lords!” he murmured, his eyes fixed on the two spectral figures.

Wang Lin’s face was ashen. He felt the same terrifying strength in these two as he had once sensed from Tian Yunzi.

Yan Leizi, a flicker of apprehension crossing his features, performed a series of hand seals, then pointed and cried, “Third Divinity, Second Divinity, return to your places!”

The two spirits glanced down at Yan Leizi, their expressions cold and indifferent, before silently descending to merge with the earth, vanishing from sight.

As they disappeared, the ancient mirror shuddered violently, the cacophony of cracking reaching a crescendo as it shattered into countless shards. And as it fell apart, the spirit of a middle-aged man strode forth from the wreckage.

This man appeared utterly ordinary, devoid of any visible power. Yet, the moment he emerged, a killing intent that could tear the heavens themselves asunder erupted from his being.

The killing intent infused the very air, becoming one with the fabric of reality. Wang Lin choked, coughing up blood as his power faltered. He stumbled backwards, but the killing intent remained, a constant pressure that filled the world. His face was drawn and pale, his eyes wide with terror.

“The Rain Immortal Realm…a Sixth Grade Slaughtering Immortal Lord!” The demonic youth’s expression became grim, his gaze hardening on the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man remained calm, appearing to regard Yan Leizi.

Yan Leizi pointed towards the earth beneath him. “First Divinity, return to your place!”

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then moved with sudden speed to the earth, vanishing completely. Immediately, the first fragment, at the center of the Immortal Array, blazed with murderous intent, a wave that cascaded over every splinter of the shattered land.

“The Immortal Array…complete!” Yan Leizi shouted, his eyes glittering with triumph. He had originally prepared forty-nine spirits, but his discovery of the Blood Ancestor had caused him to change his plans, sacrificing another spirit in its place.

As Yan Leizi spoke, the Thunder Immortal Realm underwent a violent transformation. The forty-nine fragments of land, now infused with the spirits of powerful entities, gained a life of their own. They shrunk in an instant, becoming forty-nine palm-sized shards, gathering around Yan Leizi.

From each fragment, a thread of divine consciousness drifted, rapidly merging into Yan Leizi’s body. Once all forty-nine threads had been absorbed, his form flickered and solidified.

Yan Leizi’s original soul had been divided into forty-nine parts, fused with the fragments of land to allow him complete control. Now, as the fragments rejoined, the pieces came together to form his true self once more.

The forty-nine fragments orbited him, emitting an overwhelming aura of power that imbued Yan Leizi with awe-inspiring authority.

“Impressive!” The demonic youth remarked, watching Yan Leizi. “This Immortal Treasure is potent, but it still lacks a certain sharpness. This, I presume, is why you lured me here.”

Yan Leizi fixed his gaze on the demonic youth. “Immortal Lord Clear Water, I desire your Extremity!”

The demonic man frowned. “I am not Clear Water!”

“I have traveled through the Immortal Realm countless times, poring over every available scripture! At last, I discovered that within the Thunder Immortal Realm dwelled one known as Clear Water, an individual of immense power who possessed the legendary Extremity! He was the Crown Prince of the Clear Water Kingdom in the ancient cultivation world! Ascending to the Immortal Realm, he came to this Thunder Immortal Realm and eventually became an Immortal Lord. But before the Realm shattered, he underwent a terrible transformation, abandoning his former ways and unleashing a bloodthirsty rampage! The Immortals rose against him, but his Extremity was too powerful, and he wrought untold slaughter. Finally, the Immortal Emperor Bai Fan himself intervened, defeating him in single combat, yet he could not bring himself to deliver the final blow.”
Torn asunder by a cruel fate, the warrior awakened as if from a fevered dream. The veil lifted, and he beheld the horrifying truth: his hands were stained with the blood of immortals, a massacre fueled by a power not his own. Among the fallen lay his dearest friend, his most promising disciple, and generations of his own lineage. Most devastating of all, his beloved, the companion who had walked beside him for eons, lay lifeless amidst the carnage.

A wave of anguish crashed over him, threatening to drown his very soul. He, who had wrought such unspeakable devastation, felt the insidious tendrils of the dark magic tightening their grip once more. But in a final, desperate act of defiance, before madness claimed him entirely, he raised his celestial blade and plunged it into his own heart. His body and spirit shattered, yet even in death, he fought against the encroaching darkness. To ensure no twisted sorcery could resurrect him, he sundered his essence into nine fragments, each imprisoned within a swirling vortex conjured from his own potent artifact.

Witness to this tragedy, the celestial emperor, Bai Fan, was moved by the depth of his disciple’s despair. Upon each of the nine seals, he wove an intricate web of healing energy, a testament to his enduring hope that one day, the fallen warrior might fully reclaim his sanity. For this was no ordinary immortal, but Qing Shui, Bai Fan’s sole student, and the brightest star in the Thunder Realm, destined, many believed, to ascend to the throne of an emperor himself.

Yan Leizi, having recounted this sorrowful tale, reached into his satchel and produced an ancient jade tablet, worn smooth by the passage of ages. “This,” he declared, “is a record left by Emperor Bai Fan himself, detailing the life of Qing Shui. Gaze upon it, and the truth shall be revealed.” With a flick of his wrist, the jade tablet spun through the air towards the youth shrouded in shadow.

The youth caught the tablet, and for a long moment, remained still. Then, a flicker of confusion, like a candle in a storm, ignited within his eyes.