Within the Immortal Emperor’s grotto, the arcane seals woven amongst the flowering vines were shattered by the violent clash between Wang Lin and the Wind Demon. With the destruction of the barrier, a colossal hand of seawater seized the God-Slaying Spear, attempting to drag it down into the abyss. Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with icy resolve. “Collapse!” he roared.

Instantly, the black aura radiating from the God-Slaying Spear amplified into an infinite darkness, consuming the heavens like a black sun. Even the watery hand clutching the spear was devoured by the encroaching shadow.

As the darkness reached its zenith, a thunderous explosion echoed through the cosmos, unleashing a wave of annihilation. The hand of seawater shattered, its constituent droplets instantly vaporized into nothingness.

Yet, Wang Lin’s expression remained grim, his vigilance heightened. Even the Wind Demon, from afar, shifted uneasily, its gaze fixed upon the turbulent sea. A guttural roar, deep and resonant, erupted from the ocean depths, an earth-shattering sound that shattered the very fabric of reality. The roar became a sonic boom, engulfing the heavens and eclipsing all other noise.

The sea surface heaved violently, rising inexorably. Wang Lin’s pupils contracted, his breath catching in his throat at the sight before him.

It was no mere surge of water; the entire ocean was coalescing, forming a titanic humanoid figure that slowly rose from its prone position!

A giant emerged, its size defying comprehension. Its very act of rising threatened to breach the sky itself. Its immense form was wrought entirely from seawater, and as it ascended, the seabed was revealed, a gaping chasm where the ocean once lay. The ocean was no more; only this colossal being of water remained, a Titan of the Sea!

Its features were blurred and indistinct, but its immense, shoulder-high ears bore no resemblance to any mortal. It fixed its gaze upon the minuscule figures of Wang Lin and the Wind Demon, then slowly raised a hand, creating a vast, swirling maelstrom as it reached for Wang Lin.

The very air crackled with the force of its approach, a tempestuous wind buffeting Wang Lin, forcing him to retreat to evade the titan’s grasp. “Mere dewdrop seals hold no sway over Wang!” Wang Lin declared, his eyes igniting with twin flames, the Vermillion Bird tattoo upon his skin glowing with crimson light.

As the Sea Giant’s other hand swept down, Wang Lin outstretched his arms. An inferno erupted from his body, consuming everything around him in a sea of fire.

The firestorm raged, fueled by Wang Lin’s profound energy, engulfing the heavens in an instant. It was a breathtaking spectacle: an endless sea of fire above, and a monstrous titan of the sea below!

As the Sea Giant’s hands closed in, Wang Lin, immersed in the fiery maelstrom, roared. The flames of the heavens responded to his will, plummeting from the sky towards the Sea Giant.

The firestorm rained down, engulfing the Sea Giant in searing heat. Even the Wind Demon, witnessing this cataclysmic display, gasped in awe and cast Wang Lin a look of profound dread.

In an instant, the sea of fire converged around the Sea Giant, creating a boiling cloud of steam that expanded outward in a ring.

The Sea Giant roared again, the waters that formed its body seeming to boil, erupting in a cacophony as they billowed towards the sky, attempting to meet the fire head-on.

It was as if the sea sought to devour the heavens themselves; not Wang Lin’s battle, but a war between the sky and the sea!

The ocean’s fury raged, rushing towards the inferno. A towering wall of water, connecting heaven and earth, formed and swept inward, relentlessly compressing the firestorm.

A deafening thunder echoed as the colossal wave constricted, extinguishing the inferno. Within moments, the wave had shrunk to within a hundred yards of Wang Lin, its watery embrace obliterating all fire it touched.

As it pressed closer, an enormous face emerged from the heart of the wave.

It was the face of the Sea Giant, and with a furious roar, it opened its maw, seeking to devour Wang Lin whole!

Wang Lin’s eyes burned with fiery intensity, the Vermillion Bird tattoo glowing fiercely beneath his robes. He steeled his mind, and a cry of the Vermillion Bird echoed from his very soul.

The Vermillion Bird’s cry was shrill and triumphant. As it resonated, Wang Lin seemed to ignite, and a crimson Vermillion Bird burst from his body, spreading its wings above him. An indescribable sea of fire erupted, greater than any seen before!

As the Sea Giant’s maw closed, Wang Lin’s eyes burned with ruthless intent. He whispered a command, “Vermillion Bird Fire!”

At his words, the Vermillion Bird above him expanded its wings with blinding speed, unleashing an endless sea of fire that spread in all directions!

The fire was boundless and eternal, and as it spread outward, the Sea Giant shrieked in agony, recoiling in terror.

Even the wave connecting heaven and earth disintegrated before the onslaught, dissolving into a vast, retreating cloud of mist.

It retreated faster than it had advanced, yet the Vermillion Bird fire clung to it like a curse, relentlessly pursuing its prey. In moments, the wave vanished, the water surging downward, reforming into the Sea Giant.

But the Sea Giant had diminished. Now, it stood less than a thousand feet tall, no longer sitting, but standing.

As the Sea Giant re-formed, the Vermillion Bird fire engulfed it completely, and Wang Lin, his eyes gleaming with power, pointed forward with his right hand.
Instantly, the Vermillion Bird shrieked once more, transforming into a crimson blaze that streaked across the heavens like a fallen star. It plunged towards the Sea Giant, piercing the fiery sea that wreathed its form. In a heartbeat, the Bird breached the watery barrier and burrowed deep within the Giant’s colossal body.

A mournful cry echoed from the Sea Giant’s maw, its voice filled with despair. From afar, the titanic form was engulfed in flames, a raging inferno consuming it from within, kindled by the Vermillion Bird’s fiery passage.

Consumed by this internal and external conflagration, the Sea Giant thrashed its mighty limbs in a desperate struggle. Yet, it could not halt the scalding heat, which relentlessly vaporized the water that formed its being. Great plumes of misty vapor billowed from its form, shrouding the heavens in a thick, ethereal shroud.

The Wind Demon, a witness to this spectacle, wore an expression of bitter defeat. In that ancient realm, he had finally grasped the true gulf that separated him from Wang Lin. Yet, though his spirit was crushed, a venomous glint sparked in his eyes, fueled by a desperate unwillingness to yield. The Sea Giant, consumed by the relentless fire, continued its futile struggle, its form shrinking with each passing moment as the vaporous essence of its being dissipated. But as it teetered on the brink of annihilation, the Giant unleashed a final, earth-shattering roar. Gathering the last vestiges of its watery essence, it compressed itself into a single, shimmering droplet. With a burst of power, it shattered free of the fiery prison and hurtled towards Wang Lin. The Vermillion Bird, screeching in pursuit, followed closely behind, its fiery wings trailing a burning wake.

The droplet, propelled by the Giant’s dying will, moved with blinding speed, closing the distance to Wang Lin in an instant – a final, desperate act of defiance. But Wang Lin remained unmoved, his expression serene and unperturbed. His right eye flashed with azure light, and a shimmering azure shield materialized before him, just as the droplet drew near.

With a deafening boom, the droplet slammed into the shield, forcing it back a few inches under the immense force. Yet, the shield held firm, unyielding, and withstood the attack.

In the same breath, the Vermillion Bird arrived, its wings ablaze. With a sweeping motion, it enveloped the droplet in a sea of impossible heat. The droplet, caught in the inferno, dwindled in size, until with a final, desperate cry, it vanished completely.

The echoes of the Sea Giant’s final roar still lingered in the air, but in that moment, as the droplet dissolved, the very fabric of reality seemed to unravel. The heavens above shattered with a thunderous cacophony, and the earth beneath crumbled into dust. The cataclysm lasted but a few heartbeats before the world dissolved into countless fragments. Beneath the shattered remnants of the sea, the verdant green of life emerged, a stark contrast to the destruction that reigned.

The Sea World, once a vast and boundless expanse, was revealed to be nothing more than a dewdrop clinging to a leaf within the garden. As the dewdrop vanished, Wang Lin’s vision blurred, and when it cleared, he found himself once more amidst the blooming flowers where he had first been ensnared.

In the instant that the Sea World collapsed, the Wind Demon, with all the speed he could muster, bolted free, reappearing within the hidden garden. His sole purpose was to break into another forbidden realm, to escape the clutches that held him.

But as soon as he emerged, Wang Lin’s figure materialized before him. Struck with terror, the Wind Demon tried to recoil, but a chilling voice echoed in his ears, “Be Still!”

The Wind Demon froze, his body locked in place. The paralysis lasted only a moment, but it was enough. Wang Lin raised his right hand and touched the scar that marred the Wind Demon’s face. With a hiss, the scar faded away, revealing a flawless, ivory complexion beneath. “Yao Xixue,” Wang Lin said, his voice devoid of warmth, “I will not kill you. I will save you… to resolve this karma. I will reunite you with your father, and thereafter, we shall walk separate paths, our destinies forever untwined.”

Wang Lin’s right hand did not falter, each touch diminishing the horrifying scars that defiled her flesh. His movements blurred into a fleeting dance of power.

As the effects of the binding spell wore off, Wang Lin renewed it, imprisoning the Wind Demon in another moment of paralysis. Terror blazed in her eyes, for she knew what Wang Lin intended.

With each touch, the countless scars that marred the Wind Demon’s body faded, until at last, there were none. Before him stood Yao Xixue, the beautiful woman from the days of the Spirit Realm, restored to her former glory. Her skin, as white as jade, seemed as fragile as glass, radiating a captivating aura. For a fleeting moment, Wang Lin saw her as she had been, the beauty of the Spirit Realm.

With a final touch, Wang Lin pressed his finger to her brow. The Wind Demon shuddered. Memories of their first encounter flashed through her mind – the moment when Wang Lin, wielding his strange teleportation magic, could have gravely wounded her, yet chose instead to touch her brow.

In the chaos of the battle, she had not understood. But now, as Wang Lin’s finger touched her forehead once more, enlightenment dawned.

“The first touch… was to meld your memories with those of Xixue, to create a flaw, an opening for salvation…” Wang Lin murmured, a strange light flickering in his eyes as his final touch landed on her brow.

The light terrified her, sending shivers down her spine.

“If you had truly fulfilled your promise to Yao Xixue and avenged her, then you would not have been an extraneous element in this karma, but a part of it… If that were the case, I would not interfere.”

“But you did not. You deceived Yao Xixue, and I do not care for that, but you thereby disrupted the balance, defiling the threads of destiny and rebirth that I weave… Furthermore, your very existence is an echo, a ghost of a memory. The real you is long dead… The one who stands before me is nothing more than Yao Xixue. You have not died, only changed. You are merely a collection of memories.” The strange light in Wang Lin’s eyes intensified, and he opened his mouth, drawing a deep, forceful breath towards the Wind Demon.

The most domineering technique of the Immortal Arts of Clear Water, the art of Devouring, was unleashed for the first time. And what Wang Lin sought to devour was the demonic energy within Yao Xixue!

Terror reached its zenith in the Wind Demon’s eyes. She felt the demonic energy within her, a vital part of her being, surge outwards, drawn into the mouth of the cultivator before her.
A miasma of fell energies clung to the Wind Wraith, swirling and funneling into the maw of Wang Lin. In the final, desperate moment, the Wraith’s essence, and with it, the memories etched deep within Yao Xixue’s soul, were drawn into the emptiness of Wang Lin’s spirit.

“You should not have left your memories within her,” Wang Lin intoned, his voice a low rumble. “We hold no quarrel, and I will find you another vessel…”

The terror in Yao Xixue’s eyes began to recede, replaced by a growing bewilderment. Weak and trembling, she stumbled back, her gaze lost in a swirling fog of incomprehension.

“Who… are you?” she stammered, staring at Wang Lin. Her mind was a blank slate, devoid of all recollection. The stark horror of utter oblivion bloomed upon her face.

She was utterly lost, her fear a palpable thing that weighed heavily in Wang Lin’s sight. “Your name is Yao Xixue… and I am a friend, though perhaps a distant one.”

“Yao Xixue…” she whispered, testing the unfamiliar syllables on her tongue. The fog lingered in her eyes, yet a flicker of suspicion now colored her gaze.

Wang Lin sighed inwardly. He opened his mouth, and a spectral light blossomed forth. Yao Xixue gasped, recoiling in renewed terror. Her wary suspicion now transformed into stark dread. Bereft of memory, she beheld Wang Lin’s sorcery as a mortal witnesses the wonders of a god for the first time.

The Eighteen Hells Seal, glowing with eldritch power, materialized before him. Wang Lin pondered for a moment, then extended a finger towards the fourteenth layer. Within that level, a single soul writhed, shrouded in a crimson mist. Glimpses of its tormented form revealed a fathomless, seething hatred: the soul of the Blood Ancestor.