From the Eight Directions of the Cultivation Alliance, the twin Halls and four Revered Lords held sway. Among these domains lay the infamous Killing Prison Realm, a separate world birthed from a fragment of a collapsed Immortal Sky Realm. Its first Lord, eons past, seized a rift in space-time left by the shattered Rain Immortal Realm as its foundation. He then commanded the forging of ninety-nine Sky-Piercing Swords from the finest celestial iron, these colossal blades becoming the very architecture of the Killing Prison Realm.

Within the Cultivation Alliance, the Killing Prison Realm was spoken of in hushed whispers. For millennia, it had served as a dark blade, its shadow looming over countless conflicts. From the ancient wars with the Four Saint Sect to the later uprisings of the Corpse Yin Sect, the fingerprints of the Killing Prison Realm were ever present.

On Sixth-Tier Cultivation Stars, few knew of its existence. But upon ascending to the Seventh Tier, the name “Killing Prison Realm” resonated with dread.

On Seventh-Tier worlds, where cultivators chafed at the idea of their souls being controlled, the Killing Prison Realm became the executioner. It dealt with the rebellious, carving its legend in torrents of blood.

Of course, some were beyond even the reach of the Killing Prison Realm’s assassins. These unfortunates were hunted by other factions within the Cultivation Alliance.

The Killing Prison Realm was the Alliance’s most savage weapon, a haven for those steeped in a lifetime of slaughter.

For countless ages, the Killing Prison Realm maintained its core of ninety-nine elite killers. When one fell, another was immediately raised to take their place. Beyond these ninety-nine masters were countless outer disciples, each sworn to the will of their lord.

Above all these stood the Lord and Vice-Lord of the Realm.

The Killing Prison Realm, while not a sect in the traditional sense, dwarfed most in power. Few dared to provoke it within the Alliance’s starfields.

Even Great Ascendant cultivators approached the Killing Prison Realm with caution. Its assassins were masters of concealment, vanishing without a trace should their initial strike fail.

Since its inception, none had ever dared to breach the gates of the Killing Prison Realm. Wang Lin’s incursion was a mere scratch. But today, all would change, with the chilling pronouncements of the vengeful Qingshui.

The mighty sword-structures of the Killing Prison Realm began to buckle and break. Fragments of stone and celestial iron rained down, unleashing a tempest of destruction across the Realm.

Cries of alarm filled the air as countless figures in dark robes emerged from the storm. Old and young, their cultivations ranged from Yin Void to the middling stages of Insightful Void, though the majority lingered between Yin-Yang and Illusory-Reality. A handful had touched Insightful Void. “Xu Mu,” Qingshui’s voice echoed like a winter gale, stepping past the dark-robed figures, “Can you relieve me of these rabble?”

Wang Lin knew Qingshui intended to give him a boon, for although numerous, these warriors were nothing to one with the body of a Primordial God. “Have no worries, Senior Brother!” Wang Lin replied, unleashing a devastating punch.

The air exploded as his fist tore through the sky, creating a void of collapsing space. It hurtled forward like a storm, such that even a late-stage Insightful Void cultivator would have to flee.

The Yin Void cultivators at the forefront, stained with a lifetime of bloodshed, were instantly overwhelmed by the force of Wang Lin’s attack. Crushing sounds reverberated through their bodies, and they exploded in gouts of blood. The foremost was utterly annihilated.

Those beside him watched in horror, a strange force holding them in place, preventing escape.

One by one, their bodies shattered, and as their wounded souls tried to flee, Wang Lin grasped them in his hand.

This slaughter unfolded in the blink of an eye, leaving the remaining cultivators in a state of shock. “Xu Mu! He is the genuine Thunder Immortal Xu Mu of Luo Tian!” someone cried, finally recognizing Wang Lin.

Wang Lin stood as cold as ice. Hundreds stood before him, yet he did not consider them a threat. Before his transformation into a Five-Star Royal Clan God, he could not have faced such a horde. But now, everything was different.

Wang Lin took a step forward, ripples spreading beneath his feet, and vanished.

“Shrinking the Earth to an Inch!” A nascent Insightful Void cultivator gasped, his eyes wide with shock and dread. His scalp tingled as he retreated instinctively. “He knows Shrinking the Earth! Even with our numbers, it will be difficult to harm him!”

Wang Lin reappeared behind a Yin Void cultivator and lightly struck his back.

The cultivator never saw it coming. His body vibrated as an immense force entered him, shattering every bone and tearing his flesh apart.

Wang Lin grasped his fleeing soul and vanished again.

“Form a formation!” An Insightful Void cultivator roared, his eyes bloodshot. But his warning was cut short as he whirled around, spitting out a crimson light.

The light contained a finger-length flying sword, its keening wail accompanied by the tormented screams of thousands of trapped souls. It shot towards its target with terrifying speed.

“A decent blade,” a cold voice echoed from all directions. Wang Lin emerged from the void, his right hand swelling to the size of a Primordial God’s, seizing the blade and yanking it back.

The cultivator cried out, his face ashen. The flying sword was his natal treasure, and Wang Lin’s touch severed their connection, wounding his very soul. But far more potent was the fear that gripped him.

“He seized my natal treasure so easily! What is his cultivation?” This Insightful Void cultivator was renowned even within the Killing Prison Realm, surpassing even the feared Killer Servitor Yu Fei.

But now, he was truly terrified. He remembered how Yu Fei had been slain even after returning to the Realm, crushed by a hand of similar scale, and his blood ran cold.

Without hesitation, he retreated, summoning a host of jade slips from his storage pouch. “Explode!” he screamed. The slips detonated in a series of deafening blasts.

The event unfolded in a flash. Even as the shards settled, Wang Lin reached the Insightful Void cultivator and touched his brow.

With a thunderous roar, the famed warrior of the Killing Prison Realm collapsed, his soul forced out of his body by Wang Lin’s touch.

In that instant, Wang Lin truly felt the extent of his transformation. It wasn’t that the Insightful Void warrior was weak; rather, Wang Lin had ascended to the ranks of true power! Meanwhile, Qingshui, laughing, dashed towards the towering spire at the heart of the Killing Prison Realm.

A black-robed elder seated within opened his eyes with a scowl. As the Vice-Lord, he felt a tremor of fear. Instantly, he split into two identical figures. One tore a rift in space, surrounded by swirling eddies, and stepped through. The other snorted and transformed into a black wind, charging out of the spire.

The black wind dispersed, revealing the elder before Qingshui. “You go too far!” he roared.

Qingshui’s eyes flashed. He made a hand seal, and eight black dragons manifested, roaring and lunging to devour the elder.

At the same time, Qingshui reached the tower and sealed off all routes of escape. “Heaven and Earth, Frozen!”

His Celestial Origin surged, releasing a wave of frigid air that transformed the air into ice crystals.

With a series of cracks, the ice crystals burst, scattering blue light. The Killing Prison Realm was bathed in a freezing glow, sealing all paths of escape.

Qingshui stepped out of the blue light, destroying the tower. Within the ruins, a black-robed elder was half-way through the rift, struggling against the blue light that clung to him.

Qingshui seized the elder from the rift.

As he did, he saw a flash of movement and leapt back, using the elder as a shield.