Blinding golden light pierced the heavens, instantly seizing the gaze of every member of the Thunderflash Clan. But as their eyes fell upon the wisp of a soul ensnared within that radiant energy, a collective gasp of horror ripped through their ranks!

“The Great Elder!”

“This…this…cannot be! How could the Great Elder be captured? Has some mighty being of the Third Step intervened?”

“He spoke the truth then! The Great Elder’s formidable flesh crumbled, and even his very soul was nearly extinguished, leaving behind but a single, tattered fragment!”

“Who is this fiend?! That the Great Elder should fall, be captured by his hand, and the Undying Sacred Lightning returned in such a weakened state…this is…”

A thunderous clamor erupted, for the Great Elder was the very spirit and foundation of the Thunderflash Clan, revered as a godlike ancestor. They had dismissed Wang Lin’s words as lies, but now, witnessing the Elder’s diminished state with their own eyes, a terror beyond description seized them!

Their spirits shattered; their bedrock crumbled. If even the Great Elder had fallen, what hope had they against this foe?

All transpired in the blink of an eye. To outsiders, Wang Lin was a merciless storm, showing no quarter. He had first declared the Elder’s capture outside their protective barrier, knowing that the Thunderflash Clan would never believe such a tale about their revered leader. Yet, in doing so, he had planted a seed of doubt.

Then, with a single, decisive blow, he shattered the formation. In that instant, when the Thunderflash Clan was thrown into disarray, he revealed the Kunji Whip. He did not even need to strike; the mere presence of the Great Elder’s soul bound to it was like an unseen lash, cracking across the hearts of all who witnessed it!

The seed of doubt he had sown now blossomed into a tempest, and as Wang Lin had foreseen, chaos reigned among the Thunderflash Clan!

Seizing upon this moment of pandemonium, Wang Lin’s eyes blazed with a deadly light. Beneath him, the Lightning Dragon roared, a blur of motion. With a flick of his wrist, crimson light erupted as the indestructible Blood Sword swept forth, aimed directly at the Celestial Fifth Decay cultivator standing amidst the clan!

This was a meticulously laid trap, a strike meant to kill! The Blood Sword moved with unimaginable speed, reaching its target in an instant. With a thunderous boom, it pierced straight through the cultivator’s brow!

A chilling scream shattered the air, jarring the Thunderflash Clan back to their senses. But their awakening came at a terrible price.

The Celestial Fifth Decay cultivator crumpled, a gaping hole where his forehead once was. His physical form dissolved, his spirit fleeing in a desperate shriek. But the Blood Sword was too swift, overtaking him and piercing him once more!

In ordinary times, without the prior shock and bewilderment, slaying a Celestial Fifth Decay cultivator, even one wielding the power of lightning, would have been a difficult, drawn-out battle. But now, it was swift, almost effortless, a single, devastating blow!

Against one not versed in lightning arts, Wang Lin would have faced a far more arduous struggle. For his true power could overcome a Celestial Third Decay, but a Fourth Decay would demand more of him.

The scene unfolded so quickly that the Thunderflash Clan had barely registered the Great Elder’s capture before Wang Lin, with a single, decisive strike, annihilated one of their Celestial Fifth Decay kin.

Wang Lin, his face an emotionless mask, paid them no further heed. He stood upon the colossal Lightning Dragon, the Blood Sword circling him like a crimson halo, and charged forward. The panicked cultivators parted before him, none daring to impede his advance!

“Their minds are broken, Scatterspirit. With your power, it will be enough!” Wang Lin thundered, as the Lightning Dragon bore him onward, through the shattered ranks of the Thunderflash Clan, towards their sacred ground.

That sacred ground lay nestled at the heart of the sixteen cultivation stars. As Wang Lin drew near for the second time, his eyes blazed with an inner light. Nearing the sacred domain, his expression grew grave. He seated himself upon the Lightning Dragon’s head, assuming a meditative posture. His energy surged forth, merging with the Dragon, becoming one.

His eyes flashed with a deadly intent. The Lightning Dragon roared with earth-shattering force!

Many Thunderflash Clan members stood guard before the sacred ground, but at the sight of the gargantuan Lightning Dragon, their courage faltered. They retreated in disarray.

With a deafening roar, the Lightning Dragon slammed into the sacred ground!

The land trembled, a protective barrier shimmering momentarily before shattering into a thousand fragments. The very ground of the sacred domain convulsed as if a titanic earthworm churned beneath it, cracking into a thousand pieces. At the epicenter, the Thunderflash Clan’s temple shuddered violently.

From the temple above, the Undying Lightning, drawn from the void, seemed weakened. Yet, as Wang Lin’s Lightning Dragon breached the sacred ground’s defenses, a surge of electrical energy erupted from within the lightning, engulfing the temple and tearing it asunder, leaving behind a cloud of dust and debris.

As the temple crumbled, the Undying Lightning seemed to sense the impending doom. With a thunderous crackle, it began to contract, receding from the sacred domain and fleeing towards the boundless void!

Far off, a vortex, swirling with crackling energy, materialized in the star-strewn sky. The Undying Lightning hurtled towards it, seeking refuge in its heart.

Seeing the Undying Lightning about to escape, Wang Lin leaped from the Lightning Dragon’s head and, with three lightning-fast steps, drew near the retreating energy.

He stood beneath the vortex, now almost completely consumed by the Undying Lightning, leaving only a small portion visible.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin roared and reached out, grasping desperately at the remaining tendrils of lightning, and with a mighty heave, pulled downwards!

“Come down here!”

The heavens roared in defiance, and a silent howl seemed to echo from within the vortex. An immeasurable force surged forth, ripping at Wang Lin, causing blood to gush from his lips. He could scarcely resist the pull from the void!

The Undying Lightning was pulled further into the vortex, leaving only mere fathoms of itself visible. Wang Lin was dragged closer, his body stretched taut, as if he, too, would be swallowed by the vortex.

His face twisted in a snarl. He had sacrificed everything, plotting, fighting, even uniting with Scatterspirit to defeat the Great Elder, all for the chance to devour the Thunderflash Clan’s Undying Lightning. But now, in this pivotal moment, it was slipping away!

If it had fled into the starry skies, Wang Lin would have given chase, but the scene before him defied all expectations. That vortex led to an unknown realm, radiating an alien aura that filled Wang Lin with a primal dread!

The sensation chilled him to the bone, like the feeling Scatterspirit had experienced when first venturing beyond the Seven Million Worlds and beholding the so-called Immortal Realm!

“The Undying Lightning is mine! None shall snatch it from me! Slay any Immortal who dares! Seize the very Gods!” Within Wang Lin’s heart roared an indomitable will. He had tasted the freedom and survival of the Seven Million Worlds, and now he would not back down, no matter what horrors lurked within that vortex!

“Ancient God body, awaken!” With a roar, Wang Lin tightened his grip on the desperate Undying Lightning. The Ancient God stars in his brow began to spin, and his body swelled with an earth-shattering rumble. In an instant, he stood a thousand feet tall, the very embodiment of the Ancient God!

A thousand-foot giant, the very earth trembled. Wang Lin’s arms bulged, swollen to immense proportions. His blood coursed through his veins like a raging river, his heart thundering with each beat, unleashing a torrent of power!

The Ancient God stars spun faster in his brow, unleashing the force within every fiber of his being, stirring a tempest of unimaginable force within him!

The storm fused with his heartbeat, and a deafening roar echoed through the heavens. In the face of this terrifying explosive force, Wang Lin’s grip on the Lightning tightened, his muscles straining as he pulled downwards with all his might!

“Come Down!!!”

The world shook as Wang Lin roared and staggered back, wrenching the Undying Lightning back from the vortex for a hundred feet!

With a deafening rumble, the Lightning was pulled further into the vortex, as the powerful energy tried desperately to break the connection with Wang Lin.

“No one dares steal from me, I will crush them!” Wang Lin roared and again pulled as all his strength was used. This time, there was a roar of anger coming from the powerful vortex.

With another pull, another few hundred feet of the Eternal Lightning was removed from the vortex.

All the gathered clan members could only look on in silence and awe.

“Release, you must release now! This is no power for one man. Continue to defy me, and you shall be eliminated!” From the vortex, a voice echoed through the galaxy, shaking the stars themselves.

Throughout the world, countless people, no matter who or what they were, could hear the sound of the voice.

In the Blue Silk Clan, on the Blue Mountain, Lee Qianmei, a woman filled with confusion, looked far away with a haunted look in her eyes. She could feel memories returning to her, memories that she could not ignore.

Next to her, Blue Dream Dao sighed. The hand holding the ancient zither was frozen in place. He looked up to the heavens, his eyes icy and still, watching the stars move along their pathways.