Lin’s eyes gleamed, a cold smirk dancing within, yet he was first to surge forth, his steps traversing the void as he made straight for the sapphire-robed maiden in the distance. Xu霆’s visage darkened, his own footfalls echoing Lin’s, the two now abreast, hurtling towards their quarry like swift-finned fish cleaving through the waters.

The battlefield teemed with a multitude of cultivators, a maelstrom of spells and clashing steel, the air pierced by the shrill cries of enchanted swords. Xu霆, ever the bloodthirsty, seized upon any alliance warrior weaker than himself, striking with swift, brutal force, his path momentarily slowed by his cruel opportunism.

Having walked the Dao for over a millennium, Lin perceived Xu霆’s intent with crystal clarity. Without comment or mirroring Xu霆’s delaying tactics, he maintained his relentless pace, gradually closing the distance between himself and the sapphire-robed maiden.

Amidst the chaotic fray, the maiden, her eyes sharp and clear, noticed Lin and Xu霆’s approach. Her gaze, devoid of fear, ignored Xu霆, fixing instead upon Lin with an icy intensity.

Lin’s speed intensified, weaving through the throng of combatants, rapidly drawing near. Moments later, he stood less than a hundred paces from the maiden, a triumphant roar echoing from his lips as his right fist clenched, unleashing a devastating blow into the air!

The punch shattered the void, a thunderous boom reverberating as countless ripples spread outwards, coalescing into a tempest that surged towards the sapphire-robed maiden.

Lin himself did not falter, his form relentlessly following the wake of the tempest, closing in on his target.

Not far behind, Xu霆’s eyes flickered with malice, a triumphant smirk spreading across his face. He halted, withdrawing from the chase, a mocking glint in his eyes.

“Xu Mu,” he hissed, “for one who has walked the Dao so long, your schemes are woefully simple! This woman is clearly a figure of importance within the alliance, else she would not be overseeing this battle. Though her cultivation may be meager, surely she is guarded by formidable protectors. You hoped to lure me to my death, presuming I am but a simpleton? Let us see how you fare!”

He watched with increasing delight as Lin drew ever closer to the sapphire-robed maiden, his mirth growing with each passing moment.

Undaunted, Lin continued his assault, the tempest roaring with earth-shattering force as it hurtled within ten paces of the maiden.

Her eyes flashed with cold determination. She knew the Giant Demonkin that bore her aloft could not withstand such a force, yet her composure remained unshaken. With serene confidence, she pressed her left hand down, towards the behemoth beneath.

In that instant, the very cultivation star borne by the Giant Demonkin shuddered, its rotation accelerating to an impossible speed. Waves of crimson energy pulsed outwards, engulfing the surroundings.

Within these scarlet waves lay a devastating power. With each pulse, the cultivation star visibly shrank in size.

The tempest summoned by Lin’s punch was the first to be caught in the crimson tide, instantly annihilated in a deafening explosion.

Unimpeded, the crimson waves surged towards Lin with terrifying speed.

Xu霆 watched in gleeful anticipation, inwardly congratulating himself on avoiding a potentially fatal trap. Just as he savored Lin’s impending demise, he caught the faint hint of a smile on Lin’s face as he glanced in his direction.

Xu霆’s heart faltered. He knew Lin. His expression in this moment of apparent peril sent shivers down his spine.

“Something is amiss!” Xu霆 realized. He knew Lin well and at this moment, even in his moment of potential demise, his countenance betrayed no distress. He understood then that a great danger was upon him.

In that instant, a massive cauldron materialized around Lin, its echoing chimes filling the air. Lin’s right hand moved with lightning speed, pointing towards Xu霆. He uttered a word in a low rumble: “Exchange!”

Instantly, Xu霆 felt a soul-rending power engulf him. He had no time to react, no chance to resist. The power was immense, beyond anything he could comprehend. As it enveloped him, time seemed to freeze. The crimson waves were a mere foot away from Lin, yet in that frozen moment, their positions were reversed!

It was as if the heavens and earth had been inverted, reality turned on its head!

A heartbeat later, time resumed its flow. In truth, there had been no pause, no stillness. It was merely that the speed of the spell had created a phantom image, a trick of the eye.

When he regained his senses, the crimson flood was upon him, the overwhelming power sending a mortal shiver down his spine, making every hair stand on end. Without a moment’s hesitation, he wove hand seals, his core essence bursting forth from his body. In a blink of an eye, a hundred layers of protection surrounded his body.

These layers were woven from raw essence, using the most potent defensive arts of the Eastern Haven Xu family. To an outsider, Xu霆 was enveloped by a shimmering field of golden light, the myriad layers pulsing like a miniature sun. But even as these hundred layers materialized, the crimson waves crashed upon him.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The crimson waves, like a raging tide, collided with the layers, shattering over thirty of them in a heartbeat.

Terror gripped Xu霆’s heart. He did not remain still, but retreated with frantic haste. However, the crimson tide relentlessly pursued him. More layers of light shattered.

“Xu Mu!!!”

Xu霆’s howl was a tormented scream. The crimson tide was far faster than he. Even as he fell back, the red waves had already closed in on him, the touch like tearing through the universe.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

As the scarlet waves breached Xu霆’s first set of shields, all his defenses buckled, his very flesh seemed to tear apart.

Before his protections were completely eradicated, Xu霆 frantically reached into his storage pouch, grabbing hundreds of five-elemental talismans. He had no time to anguish. He crushed them, filling his body with an additional myriad of colored defenses.

More than that, he frantically threw forward any treasure in his pouch, each meant to act as a shield.
Yet, as swiftly as these wards arose, they shattered like glass against stone, even enchanted artifacts crumbling to dust. Still, Xuting’s desperate resistance had taken its toll, the crimson ripples steadily weakening with each defiance. For the wave was not a focused beam, but a spreading tide, its power diffused across the void.

But even this diminished onslaught was more than Xuting could bear. Already, he had expended vast reserves of immortal essence and cast away countless treasures. Seizing this fleeting moment, he spat forth a mouthful of blood, imbued with the last vestiges of his vital energy. A crimson aura enveloped him, and he fled with desperate speed, leaving the crimson waves far behind.

Had the initial impact been as fierce, even blood-soaked escape would have been uncertain. Now, with the ripples weakened, a chance had presented itself.

Such blood magic was a last resort, one he loathed to employ on the field of battle. Yet, as Xuting sped through the void, he knew that what had just transpired, though fleeting in the span of moments, was no less perilous than his legendary clash with Wang Lin at the perilous First Line Sky!

The hatred in his heart for Wang Lin was a tempest beyond words. As he retreated, he roared, “Xu Mu! You…” He sought to betray Wang Lin, to sow seeds of doubt among the Rotian warriors and ancient masters.

But his words were cut short by a peal of laughter. Wang Lin, in the very instant of Xuting’s retreat, surged forward, a blur aimed directly at the crimson waves. “Indeed, a man of his word!” Wang Lin boomed. “You have generously weakened these crimson tides for my sake, Xu Daoyou, and Xu Mu does not forget such debts! Should I succeed in slaying this woman, your name shall be sung as the hero of this victory!”

With uncanny swiftness, Wang Lin lunged, the residual whispers of the crimson waves, already thinned by Xuting’s efforts, lapping harmlessly against him. Wang Lin, with two fingers aligned as a blade, unleashed the full might of his Ancient God flesh. The chaotic energies within him surged, and a swirling vortex of Yin-Yang Daoist intent manifested upon his fingertips. With a final, defiant thrust, he pierced the heart of the crimson wave.

*Boom!*

The void echoed with the impact. Wang Lin, unimpeded, vanished within the crimson maelstrom!

Xuting beheld this and his eyes burned with unbridled fury. A wave of rage crashed over him, shattering his protective blood aura. He stumbled backward, spitting forth another mouthful of blood, his very essence wounded by the betrayal.

The taste of blood, however, brought him back to his senses. He suppressed his rage, his gaze hardening with chilling resolve. Without hesitation, he turned and fled.

Wang Lin, deep within, sighed inwardly. Xuting was, despite his flaws, a formidable foe. Though provoked to fury, he had managed to regain control. To have eliminated him through such trickery would have been a true stroke of fortune.

Wang Lin could not forget that within Xuting’s true form, a fragment of his stolen origin still resided. He had slain only a clone in the First Line Sky, reclaiming but half of his stolen power.

He banished thoughts of Xuting and focused on the task at hand. He charged through the crimson waves, his gaze fixed on the woman in azure robes standing only a few spans away. He raised his right hand, forming a mystical sign, and a tempest of black wind roared into being around him.

The vortex was dense and terrible, and within its swirling depths, the roars of dragons echoed through the void. Two obsidian dragons, their heads of colossal scale, emerged from the storm and lunged towards the woman in azure, seeking to devour her whole.

Her expression remained as cold as starlight, but in her gaze towards Wang Lin, a flicker of sorrow bloomed.

“You do not know me, but I know you.”

She spoke not a word aloud but in her thoughts, as she cast a sorrowful glance at the eight-petaled lotus platform resting in her right hand, she plucked a single petal and tossed it forward. The petal pirouetted through the void, radiating a subtle, intoxicating fragrance. In a heartbeat, it expanded to an impossible scale, becoming scores of spans wide, and descended gently towards Wang Lin.

*BOOM!*

A cataclysmic tremor rocked the space around Wang Lin, reaching hundreds of spans in every direction. The very fabric of space seemed to buckle under an unbearable weight. Within a radius of ten spans, all things were threatened with annihilation.

The starlit expanse beneath Wang Lin’s feet cracked with a deafening cacophony. Ravines of broken void erupted from the surface. It felt as though a force from the heavens sought to crush him, to force him into the yawning abyss!