“By the Celestial Decree of Realm’s End, spare me!” the aged one croaked, despair etching deep lines into his face. Yet, his pleading eyes were fixed not upon the looming darkness, but upon Wang Lin, ensnared within the shimmering net.

Alas, Wang Lin, lost in the throes of cosmic revelation, possessed no power to command, let alone halt the machinations of the Celestial Bead.

Seeing Wang Lin’s inaction, the old man offered a wretched smile. The crescent moon mark upon his brow, once a symbol of ancient power, detached itself, trailing wisps of crimson essence. A titanic hand, emerging from the swirling vortex, seized the mark and drew it back into the abyss.

The elder’s brow erupted in a crimson mist, his very being withered. His eyes dimmed, devoid of light, and his body was hurled backward as if struck by a celestial hammer.

Fear, stark and unadulterated, shone in the eyes of the black-clad youth. His gaze, when it dared flick toward Wang Lin, was fraught with icy terror and a desperate, almost involuntary, aversion.

He lunged to catch the falling elder, who, with a flicker of remaining strength, gasped, “Retreat! Quickly!” heedless of the blood still gushing from his forehead. Without a word, the youth seized his charge and fled into the shadows.

The vortex of black and white energies dissipated, reforming into their primal essence. The energies pierced the now-constricting net and vanished into the Celestial Bead. The Bead drifted towards Wang Lin, hovering motionless before him.

The shimmering net, once a cage of blinding light, was gradually consumed by the encroaching void. Silence reigned, broken only by the sigh of the unending darkness.

As for Wang Yue and Luo Chen, they remained trapped beyond the folds of the net, lost forever in the encroaching nothingness.

Qing Shui, stunned, watched the events unfold. The strange energies of the place had all but quelled his Celestial Essence. He gazed upon Wang Lin, the haze of confusion slowly clearing from his eyes, replaced by a growing focus.

Wang Lin’s own spirit was shaken, his bewilderment no less profound than that of the elder who had lost his ancient mark. He recognized the arm that had reached from the vortex. It was the same he had witnessed when the Celestial Bead first awakened its power.

Lost in contemplation, Wang Lin cautiously raised his right hand and touched the Bead. In that instant, the Bead dissolved into his flesh, burrowing into his very soul, vanishing into the depths of his nascent spirit.

“In the Age of Antiquity, there dwelled the Ancient Folk, who cultivated the essence of Heaven and Earth, ascended to the ranks of the Immortals, and forged the Ancient Celestial Realm… The Ancient Celestial Realm, the very heart of our Immortal World, the true Immortal Realm!” Qing Shui murmured, seemingly to himself, a thread of sorrow woven into his words. “My master, Bai Fan, was one of the Ancient Folk, who attained enlightenment within the Celestial Realm, and then descended to the mortal plane to guide and teach.”

“My master often said that the Ancient Celestial Realm was the guardian of all living things in the cosmos. As long as the Celestial Realm stood, so too would Heaven and Earth. Should the Celestial Realm fall, all life would perish…”

“He believed the Ancient Celestial Realm to be eternal, but on that fateful day… the colossal trees that anchored the realm to the four cardinal directions crumbled, and the Ancient Celestial Realm vanished without a trace… Even my master, despite a lifetime of searching, could find no sign of it.”

“The disappearance of the Ancient Celestial Realm marked the collapse of the Age of Antiquity, ushering in the Age of the Ancients. From then on, the world became lost. The Immortals were gone, and the path of cultivation was shrouded in mystery… Then came the Qi Refiners… I, Qing Shui, am one such Qi Refiner, once the crown prince of the Qing Shui Kingdom.”

“Though the Celestial Realm may be gone, my master, Bai Fan, and a few others who hailed from that realm, created new lands, taking over the four great pathways that once led to the Ancient Celestial Realm. They formed their own territories, calling them… the Immortal Realms!”

“The Realms of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning divided the cosmos into four, with Yunhai beneath the Wind Realm, Kunxu beneath the Rain Realm, Luotian beneath the Thunder Realm, and Zhaohue beneath the Lightning Realm… The Kunxu Starfield, once beneath the Rain Realm, was renamed by the mortals, becoming known as the Alliance. Few now remember that it was once called Kunxu.” Qing Shui sighed, his gaze drifting toward the void, as if he could see the long-lost Realm of Thunder. “It was in the Thunder Realm that I met her…”

Wang Lin, lost in his thoughts, gradually shrunk in size, the sounds of popping and cracking echoing from within him. Before long, his colossal form, once three hundred zhang tall, returned to the size of a mortal man.

Upon his brow, five Ancient God stars swirled in a ring, radiating a palpable aura of ancient power. Wang Lin had achieved the might of a Five-Star Ancient God, placing him among the powerful of the universe!

A Five-Star Royal Ancient God, if he unleashed his full power, could challenge even the early stage of Nirvana Shattering cultivators! And if he were to return to the starry skies, with the suppressed power of his origin unleashed and integrated, few in the early stage of Nirvana Shattering would be able to defeat Wang Lin.

Clenching his fist, Wang Lin felt for the first time the full extent of his power. His expression remained unchanged, his eyes calm as he regarded Qing Shui, but he remained silent.

A fleeting moment of tenderness appeared in Qing Shui’s eyes, swiftly replaced by a profound agony. He could never forget the day, lost in madness, when he had slain the woman he loved. The pain burrowed deep within him, a constant, gnawing presence that no amount of regret could diminish.

“The Age of the Ancients was the height of our Immortal power… But that golden age did not last, for the Four Immortal Realms engaged in a war to the death over a single object!” Qing Shui’s suffering remained hidden behind a mask of composure. This was his burden, the pain that haunted him every day and night in his solitary meditations.

“That war raged for eons, claiming countless lives within the Four Immortal Realms… Finally, at the apex of the conflict, a figure emerged from the void. He was, according to my master, Bai Fan, a remnant of the lost Ancient Celestial Realm!”

“His appearance quelled the fighting, and wielding a decree from the Ancient Celestial Realm, he erected barriers between the Four Immortal Realms, isolating them from one another. He declared that should those barriers ever be breached, the Ancient Celestial Realm would unleash its wrath, consuming all!” Qing Shui’s voice echoed in the void. Wang Lin listened in silence.

“With the Four Immortal Realms isolated, the war ended… But the source of the conflict, the object that everyone sought to claim, remained a mystery to me… All I know is that it was a bead…” Qing Shui glanced at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s expression did not change, but his heart leaped.
“If I were to obtain that Orb, I would hide it with the utmost care, never to reveal it lightly, nor allow any soul to set eyes upon it. Its significance is too great…” Qing Shui muttered, as if to himself, then sighed deeply.

“The War of the Four Immortal Realms left countless immortals shattered, their hearts and spirits broken. Whether of the Realm of Wind, Rain, Thunder, or Lightning, each was left in a state of profound weakness. Yet, it was in this very period that a calamity of epic proportions unfolded!”

“A strange race, calling themselves the Script-Weavers, appeared seemingly from nowhere within the lower domains of the Four Immortal Realms. These beings wielded arcane arts most peculiar, utterly unlike those practiced by us immortals. We cultivate not the Heavenly Dao, but Immortal Essence, turning the very forces of creation to our will. Yet, these Script-Weavers channeled their power into paper talismans, each imbued with potent spells, which they wielded as if they were enchanted treasures!”

“The ensuing battle was fierce… and though, in the end, we immortals prevailed, scattering the Script-Weavers and enslaving many to our will, the Four Immortal Realms suffered wounds far deeper… Subsequent investigation revealed that these Script-Weavers hailed from the Void Beyond the Stars! From this very place!” Qing Shui pointed a finger towards the ground beneath them.

Wang Lin inhaled sharply, his eyes gleaming with newfound understanding. He had encountered many of the Immortal Remnants, but never imagined they originated from this Void. A sudden thought bloomed in his mind, stirred by the memory of the old and young men he had met before.

“This Void is not confined to the Alliance Star System alone, but permeates all star systems within the Four Immortal Realms!” Qing Shui sighed wearily, murmuring, “After the war with the Script-Weavers, I began to feel a creeping madness, though, in my arrogance, I disregarded it… The events that followed, you have already learned from Yan Leizi.”

Wang Lin pondered in silence, then, after a long pause, turned to Qing Shui and said slowly, “Senior Brother, the elder mentioned he was of the Moon Devourer Clan of the Ancient Immortals…”

Confusion clouded Qing Shui’s eyes as he replied softly, “This, too, perplexes me. The Ancient Immortals are unknown to me. If this is so, then were the members of the Xing Clan, whom we encountered before, also from the same place, also Ancient Immortals?” Qing Shui’s confusion deepened.

“But I find it strange… why, at the moment the multicolored Qi appeared, did I experience such vivid hallucinations? I have heard that our Master was driven mad and died pointing to the heavens… What, I wonder… what did Master see?” Wang Lin’s gaze turned inward, lost in thought.

A vast enigma shrouded them, veiled beneath a shroud of obscurity, concealing the truth within. In the heart of the Void, Wang Lin and Qing Shui remained in contemplative silence.

The Immortal Essence within Qing Shui’s body was eventually sealed away completely, leaving him increasingly frail. By the third day, he was robbed of the strength to fly.

Wang Lin supported Qing Shui as they pressed onward through the Void. Circling him, the shards of the Immortal Realm, given to him by Yan Leizi, radiated a gentle light. An ethereal connection thrummed from them, as if communicating with the outside world, guiding them forward.

As Wang Lin supported Qing Shui, following behind the Immortal Realm shards, Qing Shui, on the ninth day, found himself utterly weakened. He gazed at the endless Void before him, then at the drifting shards, and whispered, “The Profound Treasure Spirit… Take the memories I have extracted. You should keep it. Its spirit contains remnants of Immortal Essence, of great use to you!”

“Your nature is much like mine was… I pray you will cherish what you have more than I ever did, for I have lost the right to cherish anything, or anyone…” Qing Shui stared at Wang Lin, seeing in him a reflection of his younger self.

The same ruthlessness, the same slaughter, the same aching solitude.

On this very day, the Immortal Realm shards ahead flickered with sudden, brilliant golden light. They paused, hovering before a swirling vortex that materialized.

Within the vortex, bathed in golden light, stood an ancient altar. Countless cultivators sat upon it, chanting in unison, their voices echoing in waves. Among them, Yan Leizi smiled, his voice carrying forth, “Welcome back!”

*Book Eight, Secrets of the Alliance, the Scroll of Heavenly Fortune, is about to unfold! Do you still remember Thirteen? Do you still remember Yao Xixue? And Ling Tianhou, Tian Yunzi, and the many familiar faces, as well as the devoted Zhou Yi and Wang Wei, a couple named Hu Juan!*