A cataclysmic thunderclap, vast as the heavens themselves, echoed through the land like a raging tempest, a brutal assault upon the senses. The sonic boom swallowed all other sound, leaving but a single, desperate plea ringing in the ears of all: “Make way!”

It was the cry of survival, the unified roar of a hundred cultivators charging forward, each voice a piercing blade. Even a venerable ‘窥涅’ cultivator would have been momentarily stunned by such a concerted outpouring of will. “Make way!” The sound still reverberated when an even greater sonic blast erupted, chasing the first, escalating the oppressive aura. This voice was Wang Lin’s, and as the words left his lips, he surged forward.

In that moment, Wang Lin was not alone. Behind him, the survivors of the brutal struggle for the portal, those who had clawed their way through the carnage, advanced as one. Each step upon the void thundered like the striking of a war drum, as if they sought to shatter the very sky. Wang Lin pressed on, each footfall a deafening explosion, his course set directly for the six emissaries of the Thunder Immortal Hall stationed before the array.

The sheer force of their advance was overwhelming. Only by witnessing it firsthand could one truly grasp the power of their desperation: a hundred cultivators, eyes blazing with a primal need to live, mouths open in ragged shouts, surging towards the teleportation array.

Even the high-ranking emissaries of the Thunder Immortal Hall found their resolve shaken. Their cultivation was considerable, yet they stood in awe before this unrelenting wave.

As the mass of cultivators drew closer, their footfalls a thunderous cacophony, the air thick with the metallic tang of shattered flesh, one of the emissaries faltered, his face paling. He took an involuntary step back.

That single step was the breach in the dam. He stumbled again, and then again. He was not alone. One by one, the other emissaries yielded to the inexorable pressure, retreating before the onslaught. Retreat, retreat, retreat!

They were forced to yield, compelled by an invisible force that seemed to strip away their very essence. Though each could have slaughtered half of the charging cultivators with ease, the weight of their combined desperation, coupled with the memory of their earlier, savage assault, had pierced their hearts with fear.

In all their years of cultivation, they had seldom witnessed such unwavering resolve, not even amongst the ‘問鼎’ cultivators who, even as their bodies crumbled and heads flew, sought to take a final bite from their enemies. They had seen those who, knowing death was certain, chose to detonate their very souls to inflict damage, but never had they seen so many willing to embrace the same grim fate. What they had witnessed had seeded an unshakeable fear in their souls.

Were that all, it would have been manageable, but within the ranks of the charging cultivators were several ‘阴虚’ cultivators, two ‘阳实’ cultivators, and Wang Lin himself!

It was the presence of these few, particularly the memory of Wang Lin’s instant kill earlier, that turned their fear into pure, unadulterated terror. There was no defense! Only retreat, retreat, and retreat again. They stumbled backward, faster and faster, until they were pressed against the very heart of the teleportation array.

“Activate the array! We must flee! They are mad! A pack of lunatics!” One of the emissaries, a man of middle years, his face ashen, stared into a sea of bloodshot eyes. Before he could finish his plea, three of his companions sank to the ground, forming intricate hand seals to activate the teleportation. Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with cold calculation. With a single stride, he crossed the threshold of the array, followed by the surging mass of cultivators.

The three remaining emissaries grit their teeth and prepared to meet the attack head-on. One of them, with a desperate incantation, spat forth a mouthful of essence blood into which swirled a golden lock. As the lock emerged, it pulsed with blinding light, growing exponentially in size.

“‘锁元封神’!” The emissary roared, his face contorted in a mask of desperation. The massive golden lock shattered, unleashing a storm of golden shards aimed at Wang Lin and the charging cultivators.

Wang Lin’s hand flashed through a rapid series of seals. He pointed a finger towards the sky. A swirling vortex of black wind erupted from his hand, engulfing the heavens. The wind solidified into a serpentine black dragon, which roared defiantly.

From its maw issued a torrent of freezing wind that swept across the land. The golden shards, so dazzling a moment before, were instantly caught in the icy blast and shattered into nothingness.

At the same time, Wang Lin clenched his fist, and the black dragon plummeted from the sky, shrinking as it fell, until it rested in the palm of Wang Lin’s hand. The black mists dissipated, revealing a familiar golden lock.

“A fine treasure indeed!” Wang Lin’s voice was like winter’s chill. He swallowed the lock whole, unleashing the power of his Yuan Spirit. Lightning energy enveloped the relic, and the process of refinement began.

The emissary who had unleashed the lock stumbled back, his face a mask of despair. But Wang Lin was faster. He surged forward, his fingers forming a sword of pure energy. With deadly precision, he thrust his hand toward the emissary. The man, in his retreat, fumbled at his pouch, summoning three small banners that spun around him, creating a vortex of violet energy. Wang Lin’s hand struck the violet energy and instantly felt a tremendous force pushing back. Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed with determination.

Seeing his chance, the emissary retreated further into the violet energy. Wang Lin merely smirked. He waved his right hand, revealing the bestial tattoo on his back. In a flash of killing intent, a dark grey light sprang up from the emissary’s feet.

The emissary’s face went ashen. His three banners spun faster, thickening the violet energy to combat the encroaching grey. But before he could react fully, Wang Lin was upon him, uttering a single word that froze the emissary in place. For a fleeting instant, the grey light surged forward, engulfing him entirely. As Wang Lin burst through the remaining violet energy, he brought his foot down upon the ensnared emissary.

A series of sickening cracks echoed through the air as the emissary was reduced to a pile of shattered stone upon the ground. Only the three small banners swirling around his body remained, carrying his Yuan Spirit to safety.

“Spare me! I offer a treasure of great value…” But before the words could fully form, Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed. He lunged forward, his fingers extended. The Kun Ji Whip manifested in his grasp. With a resounding crack, the Yuan Spirit was snared. Wang Lin seized the three banners, and with a burst of his own Yuan Spirit energy, sealed them and the captured soul into his storage pouch.

Meanwhile, the other two emissaries were surrounded by the swarm of cultivators. Hemmed in by two ‘阳实’ cultivators, several ‘阴虚’ cultivators, and countless ‘問鼎’ cultivators, they fell back inch by inch.

Suddenly, a flash of silver erupted from the fray. One of the emissaries clutched at his chest, blood gushing between his fingers. His eyes glazed over as his Yuan Spirit, carrying his storage pouch, fled into the sky.

Before Wang Lin could react, dozens of ‘問鼎’ cultivators, eyes bloodshot with primal fury, lunged at the fleeing soul, disregarding their own safety. The silver flash pursued the fading soul, relentless in its attack. Moments later, the emissary was dead.

The three emissaries who had been kneeling at the array finally completed their task. The three of them touched each other with both arms and they started to speak strange incantations. The array began to shine from its center. The teleportation array collapsed!

By sacrificing the integrity of the array, they had vastly increased its activation speed. In an instant, concentric rings of energy erupted from the center, surging towards the heavens. The three emissaries in the rings cast venomous glares at the cultivators, and their bodies were twisted into beams of light.

The rings spread wider, causing the array to tremble. The blinding light converged on the center, and the outer edges crumbled, breaking into shattered fragments. The last emissary, still fighting among the cultivators, retreated toward the light and plunged into the beam.

But even as they faded from view, Wang Lin surged forward. With a flick of his wrist, his fingers became a sword. He unleashed the ‘斩罗訣’, striking the light. The light shattered and faded, and the emissaries showed true terror and they were torn apart as they disappeared. As the light faded, the power of the array grew stronger. Another pillar of light erupted from the center, and the cultivators rushed into it. Shen Gonghu had been in the array, but never fought. He owed the Thunder Immortal Hall and did not wish to harm them. So he changed his appearance so that he could not be recognized.

As the cultivators surged in, the power of the light grew. As Xi Zifeng entered the light, she turned back and looked at Wang Lin. She seemed to say something before disappearing with everyone. The array was failing as the light grew stronger. Wang Lin went into the light and stared into the sky. He thought he had escaped.

As the light faded, the ‘阳实’ cultivator spoke aloud, “Please, tell us your name! We will never forget your kindness!” “Xu Mu,” Wang Lin spoke as the light whisked him away.

“Xu Mu!” Xi Zifeng spoke quietly with the name. “I will never forget!” And as the light faded, everyone quietly agreed.

They remembered Xu Mu and would never forget him.