The wind whispered accusations of false strength; mere rustling reeds mistaken for a celestial army. With eyes of glacial scorn, Qing Shui beheld the storm of feathers, each sharpened to a lethal edge, that descended from a thousand leagues around. Without a glance, he strode forth, a single step carrying him before Wang Lin, his gaze lifting to the heavens where seven iridescent bolts of divine retribution plummeted towards him.

The first, a crimson fury, roared down with earth-shattering force.

But as the scarlet lightning threatened to consume him, a crimson light flared in Qing Shui’s right eye, expanding like a bloody maw. With a single, impossible gulp, he devoured the cataclysmic red thunderbolt whole! Crimson energy pulsed through his form, and he surged towards the second, an orange tempest of celestial fire.

Again, without hesitation, he swallowed the orange lightning. The crimson glow in his eye intensified, and he continued his feast. Seven bolts, each a different hue of the heavens, vanished in turn, each consumed before Wang Lin’s widening eyes could fully register the impossible act.

Arcane energies crackled around Qing Shui, chilling the air itself. A dangerous aura, like a caged beast, writhed within him, emanating especially from his right eye, now radiating a light of pure, visceral crimson, a color so intense it shook the very soul. “This heavenly fire…it is not unpleasant,” Qing Shui spoke, turning his gaze, though still cold, held a flicker of something akin to acknowledgment for Wang Lin. “It helps to mend the fractured edges of my own power.”

“To summon wind, to conjure rain, to sow seeds of soldiers,” Qing Shui raised his right hand, tracing ancient symbols in the air, a wistful expression gracing his features. “These are the first three techniques taught by my master. Now, observe!”

“To command the winds took but a moment’s understanding. To conjure the rain, a month of contemplation. But to sow these seeds of war, I spent a century in solitary meditation.” With a sigh, Qing Shui released the sigil and swept his hand forward, an effortless gesture.

As if scattering starlight, crystalline shards appeared before him, silently halting the advance of the countless feather-weapons conjured by the Blood God Child, weapons that filled the air for hundreds of miles.

Then, before Wang Lin’s astonished gaze, one shard began to glow. It coalesced into the form of an ancient man, wreathed in the scent of the grave. Yet from this figure, a potent force rippled, an aura of raw, untamed energy, creating a being of unsettling power. “The ancient cultivator, Meng Mu. I felled him before the ascent to the Immortal Realm!”

Another crystal shimmered, transforming into a youth, handsome yet haunted, a miasma of death clinging to him, tempered by a fierce, underlying rage.

“The ancient cultivator, Kang Ran. I slew him before the ascent to the Immortal Realm!”

“The ancient cultivator, Lu Jie. I executed him before the ascent to the Immortal Realm!”

With each utterance, a crystalline fragment shattered, releasing spectral figures. Each was surrounded by death, yet possessed an aura that sent tremors through Wang Lin’s very being. “Chen Feng, Fifth Grade Celestial. I struck him down during the Immortal Wars!” “Rou Die, Eighth Grade Celestial. I extinguished her light during the Rebellion!” “Sheng Tianhou, Third Grade Immortal King. I vanquished him in the Wind Immortal Realm!” “Yun Meng, Seventh Grade Immortal King. I ended her life in the Battle of the Plains!”

As Qing Shui spoke, his voice laced with remembrance, a ghost stepped from each crystal, leaving Wang Lin and even the Blood God Child in open-mouthed shock.

Especially chilling were the spectral figures of the Immortals, each radiating a palpable rage and a hunger for vengeance, as if denied their final rest. Their presence turned the very cosmos into a haunted battleground. “Yao Haiqing, Ninth Grade Immortal King. I silenced him in the War of Scattered Techniques!” A phantom bearing a faint resemblance to the Blood God Child materialized, his essence steeped in death. The Blood God Child recoiled in horror. “Liu Yun, First Grade Immortal Sovereign. I conquered him in the Sovereign Sealing War!” “Cao De, Third Grade Immortal Sovereign of the Rain Immortal Realm. I broke him during the Immortal Breach!” “Chen Han, Fifth Grade Immortal Sovereign. I crushed him in the Rebellion!” “Huo Hanzi, Seventh Grade Immortal Sovereign of the Wind Immortal Realm. I overcame him in the Ancient Pass!” “Qing Shuang, Ninth Grade Immortal Sovereign of the Rain Immortal Realm. I sundered her first avatar during the Immortal Rain War!”

One by one, crystals shattered, and apparitions materialized, each eerily real, each emanating a terrifying aura of death and fury. In an instant, Qing Shui was surrounded by a legion of immortal souls. Wang Lin did not doubt their identities, especially upon beholding the ethereal shade of Qing Shuang. He felt an earth-shattering awe.

“My life has been stained with too much bloodshed,” Qing Shui said, his voice calm. “This ‘Sowing of Soldiers’ is but the act of taking that carnage, and refining it. Taking all those I have ended, and tearing their very souls from the cycle of rebirth, binding them here. Only then may this technique be considered close to complete.” Though his voice was even, a storm of killing intent brewed beneath the surface. Wang Lin was overwhelmed by the sheer scope of Qing Shui’s past.

As Qing Shui spoke, the spectral army before him unleashed a power that threatened to rend the heavens. They surged towards the Blood God Child!

The Blood God Child’s face lost all color. He had never imagined the ‘Sowing of Soldiers,’ a technique recorded in his clan’s ancient texts as belonging to the Immortal Emperor Bai Fan, could be so terrifying.

“This is no Immortal Emperor! He is a Demon Lord!” The Blood God Child stumbled backward, the spectacle before him sending shivers down his spine. The clan’s texts spoke of his ancestor, Yao Haiqing, but made no mention of his death at the hands of Qing Shui! “Defense of Thorns!” The Blood God Child screamed, his brow pulsing with malevolent energy.

The feather-weapons, infinite in number, hurtled forward to meet the onslaught of immortal souls. The very air screamed as two armies clashed for dominance.

The battle threatened to unravel the fabric of space itself. Yao Yun, under the Blood God Child’s thrall, was no match for the might that raged around him. After repeated blows, he was left weakened.

The Blood God Child continued to retreat, his defenses crumbling. Before him, one of the immortal souls detonated in a surge of raw power, ripping through his defenses. It was not alone. All around him, the souls gathered, their combined malice crushing him. For the first time in a long time, the Blood God Child felt the cold grip of fear. He was facing his mortality.

Especially terrifying were the souls of the Immortal Sovereigns, each a potent force.

Against just one, the Blood God Child could prevail, or perhaps even two. But wounded and facing Qing Shui, he was quickly succumbing to the chaos.

“Qing Shui, do you truly seek my death?” The Blood God Child hissed, his face a mask of rage. With a sweeping gesture, he pulled upon the very fabric of space, drawing upon power so vast it threatened to collapse the cosmos. “So you want to die! How foolish!” Qing Shui responded, moving so quickly his form blurred. He seized empty air and with a flex, an orb of impenetrable shadow took form, and roiled with dark power.

The Blood God Child’s eyes narrowed, resolve hardening his face. He fled to Yao Yun, pressing a finger between the man’s eyes. Yao Yun’s eyes bulged, and his body began to shrivel, as if drained. Yet, for a moment, the haze of manipulation lifted, and Yao Yun’s mind cleared. Above him, the ancient demon that possessed him solidified, strengthened. It drank his life.

Yao Yun withered, skin clinging to bone. All his flesh, energy, and even his very soul were absorbed by the ancient demon. A sad smile touched his lips as his memories cleared.

“The Yao Clan…is gone…” His lifeless body fell from the sky. Above him, the ancient demon burst forth and slammed into the Blood God Child.

It all happened in an instant. Empowered, the Blood God Child’s eyes blazed. With a wrench, he tore open the fabric of reality. From the rent in space, a spectral lantern drifted.

“Qing Shui, if you seek death, then do not blame me for slaying an Immortal!” The Blood God Child screamed. Above him, the ghostly form of the ancient demon took form. The colossal beast stared at Qing Shui, its crimson eyes screaming with a primordial rage.