“Unbelievable! The ancient texts of the Rain Celestial Realm spoke true!” Venerable Xuan Bao murmured, a serene smile gracing his lips as he gazed at the distant behemoth, Wang Yue, roaring its way forward, encircled by countless cultivators of Luo Tian.

His eyes glittered with arcane knowledge. With a flourish of his right hand in the void, he whispered, “Rain Celestial Guardians!”

At his command, a thunderous rumble echoed across the starfield. Before Xuan Bao, the nothingness itself ripped open, forming a gargantuan fissure, a wound upon reality, easily a hundred zhang in length.

An immense pressure surged forth, and from within the crack, bathed in golden light, stepped a towering figure clad in golden armor.

The golden warrior radiated blinding light, a miniature sun in humanoid form. His resplendent armor gleamed, and he held himself like a celestial soldier descended from the heavens. With a single stride, he claimed his place in the starry void. A second later, the rift pulsed again, and three more golden warriors strode forth, their golden auras enveloping the entire area.

Wang Lin, witnessing the arrival of these four armored giants, felt his pupils contract, a jolt running through him like a thunderclap.

“Celestial Guardians!”

He could distinctly feel the immense power emanating from these warriors, a crushing aura akin to a towering mountain. These were undeniably Celestial Guardians, forged with the secret arts of the Immortal Emperor Qing Lin. “Celestial Guardians are ranked by gold, silver, bronze, and iron. These are of the Golden grade!” Wang Lin swiftly glanced at Xuan Bao, then retreated, darting towards the collapsing edges of the swirling vortex.

Unperturbed by their arrival, Xuan Bao gestured forward. Instantly, the four Celestial Guardians moved, hurtling towards Wang Yue.

The colossal beast roared, its tendrils lashing out. Simultaneously, the Blood God and others surged forth to meet the Guardians. The Blood God, chanting an incantation, unleashed a crimson tide with a wave of his hand.

A sea of blood materialized, surging forward to engulf the Guardians. However, the blood sea merely shuddered upon contact, failing to impede the golden warriors in the slightest. With swift coordination, they encircled Wang Yue and the Luo Tian cultivators from the four cardinal directions.

Xuan Bao made another grasping motion, and once more, overwhelming power poured from the fissure. Nine ebony butterflies emerged, fluttering into existence.

Their wings were jet black, and their appearance was menacing. As they spread their wings, a raging storm erupted.

The gale was fierce, sweeping forward, and the nine butterflies danced forward through the starfield.

Even Wang Lin, known for his composure, blanched at the sight of them. “Those… those are the butterflies born from the Divine Chariot!” He gasped, then realized the difference. The butterflies of the Divine Chariot were kaleidoscopic, vibrant, and beautiful.

But these nine were utterly black, representing a twisted version of the artifact. “Just who is this old man?” Wang Lin felt a chill crawl down his spine. Even the enigmatic being who had interfered in the clash between Qing Shui and the Blood God had not filled him with such profound disbelief.

He had both Celestial Guardians and Divine Chariot butterflies, yet to see them wielded by another left him speechless.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Lin averted his gaze. With a burst of speed, he rushed towards a specific object floating in the starfield.

It was the broken wooden carving that had been wielded by the Black Fiend Demon Lord. Even in its fractured state, a potent aura radiated from it.

Wang Lin’s face hardened. He knew that he had no place in the grand battle unfolding before him. Instead, he would use the chaos to his advantage, seizing opportunities as they presented themselves. Darting forward, he raced towards the half-carved idol.

Many others had the same idea. Several cultivators were already locked in fierce combat around the broken idol, each determined to keep the others away.

Wang Lin’s arrival did not go unnoticed. The combatants immediately turned their attention towards him. The Luo Tian cultivators hesitated, but the Alliance fighters quickly singled him out, several warriors breaking away to intercept him.

Wang Lin remained calm. Chanting an incantation, he unleashed a howling gale, pushing against them with incredible force. Simultaneously, his right fist clenched, delivering a devastating blow.

A thunderous explosion ripped through the air as the force of his fist merged with the magical winds, creating a unique power signature. This force contained a fusion of magical skill and the primal strength of a powerful god. It was the nascent expression of Wang Lin’s unique power! While the two forces were only tentatively combined, they were still more than enough to overwhelm ordinary cultivators. The Alliance fighters reeled, feeling an unimaginable and alien force crashing against them. Their bodies trembled, their souls shook, and they were forced into a hasty retreat.

They felt that unless they fled, this strange energy would shatter them utterly. Never had they encountered such a bizarre and terrifying power.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed. The illusory Ancient God’s cauldron enveloped him, and in an instant, he swapped places with one of the cultivators.

To the onlookers, it was as if their vision flickered. By the time they regained their bearings, Wang Lin had completed the swap, using the momentum to reach the wooden carving.

But as he neared, a blade of pure energy materialized out of thin air, screaming towards him. The blade pulsed with a domineering intent, as if all creation would yield to its passage or face annihilation. Wang Lin knew this energy well; it was the signature of Ling Tian Hou’s sword!

“That treasure belongs to Chen Long of the Great Luo Sword Sect!” A chilling voice echoed, and a figure appeared in the wake of the blade. The blade was aimed directly at Wang Lin, and if he attempted to take the treasure, he would be impaled.
Wang Lin betrayed no flicker of emotion, his face an impassive mask as chaos reigned around him. Without hesitation, his hand closed upon the severed fragment of the wooden idol. Turning swiftly, a strange light ignited in his eyes, and he spat forth a ward of protection.

Instantly, the Seal of the Eighteen Hells manifested, a swirling vortex of dark energy. The moment it appeared, a blast of sword-qi slammed into it with a thunderous roar, shattering the ethereal blade into nothingness. Yet, the seal remained unbroken, tethered to Wang Lin as he retreated.

“A remnant soul, escaped from the grasp of an old acquaintance, dares to pilfer from me!” Wang Lin’s voice was a flat pronouncement. He cast a chilling glance at Chen Long, whose face had contorted with surprise, knowing this was not the time for a confrontation. He vanished into the melee.

The battlefield was teeming with warriors, a chaotic tapestry of spells and steel. None could discern the faces of their foes amidst the swirling dust and blinding light. Furthermore, Wang Lin never lingered, flitting from one location to another like a shadow. Thus, Chen Long failed to recognize him.

Only a fleeting sense of familiarity had brushed his senses, yet he could not reconcile the fleeting image with the Wang Lin he once knew. But the words echoed in his mind, striking him like a bolt of lightning. His body stiffened, disbelief etched upon his face as he gasped, “You…!”

Ignoring Chen Long’s exclamation, Wang Lin melted back into the carnage, a phantom scavenging the fallen for discarded treasures.

Yet, his spirit senses were fixed upon Wang Yue, the colossal beast. He bided his time, awaiting the opportune moment when the cultivators of the Alliance Star System would clash with the beast, creating an opening for him to enter its immense form and claim the legacy within! Simultaneously, his gaze strayed towards the azure-robed woman in the distance. The manner in which she had looked upon him was curious indeed. As he stealthily navigated the battlefield, he wrestled with the question: Who was she?

Wang Yue was encircled by four Golden Armored Celestial Guards, their golden auras intertwined, forming a radiant cage around the monstrous creature.

The Blood God Child and his cohorts fought valiantly, met by a swarm of nine butterflies. Their wings fluttered, creating a tempestuous vortex, a swirling confluence of power that seemed to bind heaven and earth around Wang Yue.

Within the whirlwind, the Blood God Child and his allies fought with grim determination, unleashing their spells and treasures in a deafening symphony of destruction. Wang Yue, enraged by its repeated encirclement, unleashed a primal roar from its gaping maw.

The roar reverberated with the ancient tongue of the God Race, for Wang Yue was drawing upon the power of the ancient gods!

The Mystic Treasure Elder’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. He laughed, extending his right hand in a sweeping gesture. The nine ebony butterflies increased the pace of their wingbeats. Black lines erupted from the butterflies and weaved themselves into a cage around Wang Yue.

The four Golden Armored Celestial Guards, roaring with determination, expanded to become towering giants, their attacks shaking the very stars.

The Mystic Treasure Elder smiled, his hand parting the air. A fissure opened before him, spewing forth a surge of verdant energy, carrying a terrifying aura that sent tremors through the minds of all within tens of thousands of miles.

Wang Lin’s body jolted as he watched the verdant energy recede, revealing a single arrow descending slowly from the rift.

The arrow was immense, thirty feet in length and seven feet thick, a shaft of pure emerald. Its tip was a six-sided prism of deadly light, its tail adorned with a quartet of violet plumes. Streaking along the shaft, were dark stains of aged blood.

It was these stains that sent waves of fear through the minds of the tens of thousands watching! Even the Blood God Child and his allies recoiled in horror. Even Yan Leizi, locked in a fierce battle with Wu Dongchan across the star-field, paused, his gaze transfixed upon the thirty-foot arrow.

“The Void-Piercing Nirvana Arrow!!”