From the crimson depths of the void emerged an elder clad in robes the color of dried blood, none other than Lie Yunzi, the venerable patriarch of the Luo Tian Battle Clan!

Lie Yunzi’s eyes, like ancient dragon orbs, snapped open, and a glint of arcane energy flashed within. He cast a chilling gaze upon the alluring sorceress before him. “I am indeed Lie Yunzi,” he declared, his voice a calm, unyielding stone.

A smile bloomed upon the sorceress’s painted face. She sipped from her teacup, a delicate porcelain vessel, then placed it down with a gentle chime. “Venerable Lie Yunzi, your name echoes throughout Luo Tian. That you, a representative of Luo Tian, should grace the Crimson Sparrow Sect with congratulations for their new Sacred Emperor, speaks volumes of Luo Tian’s desire for amity.” She paused, her eyes glinting with sly amusement. “And you, fair maiden, core disciple of the Corpse Yin Sect, possess a cultivation base that belies your tender years, bordering on Nirvana. Whispers speak of your four Corpse Puppets, three of whom wield abilities rivaling those who have shattered Nirvana. That the Corpse Yin Sect should send you, too, indicates a deep respect for the Crimson Sparrow Sect.” Though Lie Yunzi’s tone remained placid, his words struck the sorceress like a subtle blow, causing her eyes to flicker almost imperceptibly.

“And this esteemed Daoist friend,” the sorceress purred, shifting her gaze to the bald-headed warrior, “hails, I presume, from the Alliance? Though I do not know by what name you are called.”

The warrior replied in a monotone voice, “From the Kingdom of Chuyun, I am Mo Zhi!”

“Mo Zhi?” The sorceress furrowed her brow, plainly unfamiliar with the name.

But Lie Yunzi’s ancient eyes snapped into sharp focus. He turned fully towards the bald warrior, scrutinizing him with an intensity that could pierce armor. After a long, silent moment, he spoke, his voice tinged with surprise, “So, you are Mo Zhi.”

A faint smile touched the warrior’s lips. He clasped his fist to his chest in a gesture of respect. “Mo Zhi greets the venerable elder.”

“Esteemed Mo Daoist, Venerable Lie Yunzi,” the sorceress interjected, her voice laced with curiosity, “now that the Crimson Sparrow Sect has revealed a new Sacred Emperor, does either of you know of their origins?”

“I know only that this being is steeped in arrogance,” Lie Yunzi scoffed, lifting his teacup and then setting it down untouched. “Every congratulatory envoy has been denied a glimpse of their true form, and the Four Great Sects keep the Sacred Emperor’s name locked tight upon their tongues. The whole affair reeks of mystery.”

He had been dispatched by the Thunder Immortal Hall to the Crimson Sparrow Sect, bearing both congratulations and a deeper, more clandestine purpose: to forge direct contact with this new Sacred Emperor. The matter was of utmost importance, warranting his personal intervention.

“I, however,” the sorceress murmured, “have caught a whiff of rumors. Three years past, during the great battle within the Immortal Emperor Qing Shuang’s hidden realm, the Crimson Sparrow Sect is said to have spirited away an individual…”

Lie Yunzi snorted softly. He was intimately acquainted with that tale. Luo Tian had dissected the matter exhaustively, even identifying the individual in question. While Yan Leizi was convinced that the story held weight, the vast majority dismissed it as far-fetched. The idea was simply too preposterous.

“Him? Unworthy of being Sacred Emperor,” Lie Yunzi spat, a dismissive sneer twisting his lips. Had the scoundrel not invoked the name of Qing Shui, he would have been captured, and his essence molded into a puppet, forced to unlock the secrets of the Battle Rune.

That Wang Lin, of all beings, should become a Sacred Emperor? Lie Yunzi could not, would not, believe such utter absurdity!

The thought of Qing Shui brought a measure of satisfaction to Lie Yunzi’s soul. Qing Shui’s disappearance was precisely as he had foreseen. Indeed, he suspected a direct correlation between Qing Shui’s actions and the turmoil that had engulfed the Alliance’s headquarters.

His journey to the Crimson Sparrow Sect was driven not only by Luo Tian’s mandate but also by a personal ambition. Under the banner of Luo Tian, he intended to wrest Wang Lin from the clutches of the Crimson Sparrow Sect.

In his view, the Crimson Sparrow Sect had undoubtedly seized Wang Lin with a specific purpose. Three years had likely been sufficient for them to extract whatever value he possessed. Now, Wang Lin probably held little significance for them. Acquiring him should prove relatively straightforward.

“Oh?” The sorceress’s voice was silken with amusement. “Rumors say that this individual, with a single arcane art, slew the Void Fiend Zi, and that his power brought down two of the three Avatars of Tian Yunzi, leaving the last wounded. Why then, Venerable Lie Yunzi, are you so certain of his unworthiness? The Crimson Sparrow Sect, I hear, went to great lengths, even summoning the true form of the Crimson Sparrow Spirit to guide them.”

“I parted ways with this individual just before he ventured into Qing Shuang’s hidden realm,” Lie Yunzi declared, his voice flat and unwavering. “His cultivation level is known to me. I find it impossible to believe that he has undergone such a drastic transformation. Such tales are nothing more than embellished rumors.”

The sorceress’s brow furrowed. The Corpse Yin Sect had meticulously pieced together fragmented intelligence, concluding that the Wang Lin who had risen to prominence within the Immortal Emperor Qing Shuang’s secret domain was in fact the new Crimson Sparrow Sacred Emperor. But Lie Yunzi’s words sowed seeds of doubt.

“This Wang Lin was once a true, ordained Thunder Immortal of Luo Tian,” the sorceress mused, her voice trailing off. “If even Luo Tian deems him incapable of becoming the Sacred Emperor…” She fell silent, her thoughts swirling.

“Are you speaking of Wang Lin?” Mo Zhi suddenly spoke, his voice cutting through the tension.

Just then, Lie Yunzi’s head snapped up, his gaze fixed upon the entrance to the grand hall. A peculiar expression danced across his face. Mo Zhi, too, lifted his head, his eyes riveted on the doorway.

Finally, the sorceress turned her gaze towards the entrance. As the three focused their attention on the threshold, a wave of searing heat suddenly erupted from the outside, engulfing the hall and drawing the ambient fire essence of the heavens and earth into a swirling vortex.

In that instant, the fire essence within the hall seemed to awaken, imbued with sentience. It surged and danced, parting like a worshipping crowd to clear a path.

Through that path, a figure slowly strode into the hall. The newcomer was clad in crimson armor, obscuring their face, save for a shock of pure white hair. A white cloak cascaded from their shoulders, mirroring the white Crimson Sparrow insignia emblazoned upon the armor. Their presence radiated an aura of immense power.

With the scrape of metal on stone, the armored figure advanced into the hall, ignoring the three onlookers. Their cloak billowed behind them, carrying an unimaginable heat that filled the hall.

All the fire essence of the heavens and earth erupted in tumultuous activity, swirling about the armored figure, forming a fiery halo. At that moment, an oppressive weight descended upon the hall.

It was not merely a change within the hall. The very fabric of reality, the essence of the planet, the fire essence of the entire star system, seemed to converge upon this figure, gathering around them in a raging maelstrom.

With this sudden shift in the essence of heaven and earth, the very pressure of the cosmos bore down upon them all.
Before the figure clad in gleaming armor, four robed ascetics filed into the grand hall. Each was an elder, their cultivation reaching the hallowed realm of Shattered Nirvana. They wore robes of crimson, though their hues differed subtly from those of Lie Kongzi.

The four followed the armored warrior into the hall, standing at his side as they silently observed the assembled three.

The armored figure strode to the fore, his cloak billowing behind him as he took his seat. From within the confines of his helm, eyes like burning embers pierced through the gloom, settling upon the trio.

A palpable aura of authority emanated from him, stirring the very essence of fire within the heavens and earth. This celestial manipulation thwarted any attempt at probing with divine sense, and even if such an intrusion were to pierce the swirling energies, the cloak of the Vermillion Bird Sect, draped upon his shoulders, rendered his true visage all but impossible to discern.

The great hall fell into an unnerving stillness. The armored one’s arrival had been a spectacle, agitating the fiery energies of the world. Beads of sweat trickled down the brow of the alluring maiden. To sit here now was akin to being placed within a celestial forge. Her cultivation had once been sufficient to disregard such discomfort, but with the armored figure’s presence, the hall had become the focal point of all fiery energy. Even her might was now strained.

“This junior, Li Yingzhi of the Corpse Yin Sect, offers her respects to the Vermillion Bird Sacred Emperor,” she announced, abandoning all pretense of levity. Under the sheer weight of his presence, she rose to her feet, her demeanor one of reverence, as though addressing the elders of her own sect.

*What manner of cultivation does this Vermillion Bird Sacred Emperor possess, to unleash such a wave of pressure?* she wondered, stricken.

Mo Zhi, his gaze fixed upon the armored one, betrayed a glimmer of intrigue, yet held himself from certainty. Similarly, he rose to his feet under the crushing weight of the aura, bowing respectfully. “Mo Zhi of the Kingdom of Azure Cloud offers his respects to the Vermillion Bird Sacred Emperor.”

The armored figure’s gaze swept across them, lingering for a moment upon Mo Zhi, before settling upon Lie Yunzi.

Lie Yunzi drew a deep breath, rising to his feet with measured calm, and offered a respectful bow. “This old one is Lie Yunzi of the Battle Clan of Luo Tian, and represents the Lightning Immortal Hall of Luo Tian. I offer congratulations upon your ascension to the title of Vermillion Bird Sacred Emperor!”

The armored one’s gaze lingered longest upon Lie Yunzi, and a subtle shift, as of facial muscles moving beneath the metal, hinted at a smile. Whether it was one of chilling intent or benign favor, none could say.

Lie Yunzi’s heart quickened, and beneath the scrutiny of the new Sacred Emperor, a sliver of unease crept into his mind. Particularly disconcerting was the attention of the four Shattered Nirvana elders who flanked the Emperor, their gazes now fixed upon him.

“Lie Yunzi,” the armored figure spoke, his voice emerging from the armor’s depths, subtly altered, and further distorted by the swirling vortex of fire that surrounded him. It carried a quality of ethereality, a haunting whisper that resonated within the soul.

Lie Yunzi’s disquiet deepened. He stared at the new Emperor, taking a step back as he spoke, his voice grave. “Does the Sacred Emperor perhaps know this humble one?”

The armored figure studied Lie Yunzi for a long moment before turning his attention to Mo Zhi.

Suppressing his own doubts, Mo Zhi clasped his hands in a bow. “Sacred Emperor, I represent the Kingdom of Azure Cloud, and offer congratulations upon the Vermillion Bird Sect’s new sovereign. Upon the orders of my master, I have come to present a gift of celebration!” As he spoke, he reached out with his right hand, and a rift appeared in the void before him. However, the rift was unstable, clearly disturbed by the powerful energies within the hall.

Seeing the rift teetering on the brink of collapse, the armored figure raised a hand and pointed. Immediately, the fire energies of the heavens and earth parted, allowing the rift to stabilize.

This act caused the alluring maiden’s eyes to narrow in astonishment, and even Lie Yunzi’s gaze sharpened with a new intensity.

Mo Zhi betrayed no emotion, producing the prepared gifts – elixirs, celestial treasures, and other such items – from within the rift, one by one. Attendants from the Vermillion Bird Sect entered the hall to receive the offerings, bearing them to the side.

Finally, Mo Zhi produced a small banner of blue and green hues. The moment it appeared, a chilling aura spread throughout the hall, causing even the swirling fire energies to falter.

The armored one’s eyes widened, his gaze fixed upon the banner, a strange light flickering within them.

“This item was specifically entrusted to me by my master to be delivered to the Sacred Emperor. It is a captured spirit that he has refined and sealed away for centuries!”

The armored one reached out, seizing the banner. He studied it closely before turning to Mo Zhi, his voice deep and resonant. “Thank you!”

Upon hearing these words of gratitude, Mo Zhi simply bowed and fell silent.

Lie Yunzi, representing the Lightning Immortal Hall of Luo Tian, also brought a gift of celebration. Though valuable, nothing amongst it stirred the armored one’s interest. After presenting the offerings, Lie Yunzi’s eyes gleamed with a sudden thought, and he spoke. “Sacred Emperor, I have come on behalf of the Lightning Immortal Hall for official matters, but also to discuss a personal affair.”

Seeing the new Emperor’s gaze turn towards him, Lie Yunzi paused, considering his words. “Three years ago, the Vermillion Bird Sect took a man from the Azure Frost Immortal Abode. His name is Wang Lin. If this man is of no further use to the Vermillion Bird Sect, might I be permitted to take him with me?” At these words, the four elders surrounding the armored figure exchanged startled glances, their attention turning to Lie Kongzi.

“You seek Wang Lin?” the armored one asked, his gaze unwavering.