The maiden faltered, a fleeting shadow of malice darkening her countenance, yet it vanished as swiftly as it came, replaced by a fragile smile. With a gentle curtsy towards Wang Lin, she murmured, “This humble one is enlightened. Might I inquire as to the esteemed one’s name?”

Twice had she sought his name, and Wang Lin’s wariness was roused. Though he knew not of spells woven from names, the Grand Empyrean’s arts, particularly those of the Great Scribe, were shrouded in ancient mysteries. The precision with which she’d divined his hiding place, as if witnessing it with her own eyes, brought to mind a figure deeply etched in his memory: Tian Yunzi!

Indeed, of all he’d encountered on his path, Tian Yunzi remained the most inscrutable and the most feared. Even compared to the Water Daoist, the apprehension he inspired was far greater.

His expression serene, though his heart was now a battlefield of caution, Wang Lin met the maiden’s gaze and slowly uttered, “Xu Mu.” His name, though no true secret to those who sought it, felt different when spoken from his own lips.

The maiden’s eyes flickered, silently repeating “Xu Mu” thrice. A barely perceptible furrow creased her brow. *This one will not reveal his true name. The puppet arts of the Name Scribe cannot be weaved upon him…*

Wang Lin turned, ignoring the woman and Si Mozi, and hastened into the depths of the passage, the Empyrean envoy scrambling to follow. They receded into the distance.

As they moved, Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed. He had probed the River and Soul Serpent clans, testing the waters within this Blighted Domain. He understood so little of the enigmatic Great Empyrean, whose sudden benevolence bred suspicion. To unravel his motives, he must test, as he had with the Dragon Armor Clan months prior, and as he did now with these clans. He must discern the limits of the Empyrean’s patience!

*The discarding of two Elder Council members, the appointment of a clan chief at my whim, even my abolishing the Elder selection… all within his tolerance. This Elder Council, then, is of little consequence to the Great Empyrean!* Wang Lin mused, his eyes gleaming. Abruptly, he turned to the Empyrean envoy behind him.

“The Dark Scorpion Clan Chieftain shows promise. I would see him as an Elder Council member.”

The envoy paused, hesitant. Wang Lin’s gaze swept over him, and his pupils constricted. He sensed, somehow, that the envoy was communicating through some unseen channel.

At length, the envoy nodded, his hesitation gone. “If the Young Empyrean commands it, so it shall be.”

A smile touched Wang Lin’s face as he turned to continue onward, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared.

*It is so! The Great Empyrean cares nothing for the Elder Council. Who… who is he truly?* Wang Lin remained silent, the two figures streaking through the passage like twin rainbows.

Before long, they emerged from the tunnels and entered the domain of the Great Empyrean Star. Gazing upon it at such close range, Wang Lin quelled the tremors within him and studied it intently.

A palpable aura of majesty emanated from the star, spreading outwards with each imperceptible rotation. Guided by the Empyrean envoy, Wang Lin stepped forward, stepping onto the Great Empyrean Star!

“No celestial winds?” The instant he set foot on the star, Wang Lin’s heart quickened. The star’s strangeness unfolded. This was the first time in his life that he’d stepped onto a cultivation star and not encountered any celestial winds.

The entire Great Empyrean Star was devoid of mountains! Instead, it was a sea of plains, teeming with bizarre flora. Enormous leaves, large enough to comfortably cradle several men, unfurled from strange plants. They were packed together nearly endlessly, and covered almost every inch of the star.

Only in the northwest did this strange vegetation begin to thin, revealing grey earth. There, a clear space of a thousand *li* stretched out, ringed by countless seals.

“This is…” Wang Lin’s eyes flickered almost imperceptibly as he gazed upon the faintly visible seals. His heart pounded in his chest.

“There lies the arena for tomorrow’s Elder Council selection,” the Empyrean envoy explained, seeing Wang Lin’s gaze fixed on the northwest.

“Young Empyrean, I was charged with bringing you here. Now, I must return and oversee the other cultivators’ arrival. If the Young Empyrean has no further need of me, I shall take my leave.” The envoy bowed, cupping his fist in salute.

Wang Lin had no intention of keeping the envoy by his side. He returned the gesture, saying, “Thank you.” He always reciprocated kindness with kindness, and the envoy had been respectful on both occasions they met.

“The Young Empyrean may wish to familiarize himself with the Great Empyrean Star. Come the dawn, he will be notified when the Elder Council selection begins.” The envoy bowed deeply before departing, transforming into a streak of light and vanishing into the grey horizon.

With the envoy gone, the entire Great Empyrean Star, seemed to stretch before Wang Lin, leaving him alone under the immense sky. He stood, his gaze fixed upon the northwestern arena, before he finally looked away and vanished in a flicker.

He reappeared at the edge of the arena. A thousand *li* in length was an unimaginable distance for mortals, often requiring a full day’s ride by horse. But for cultivators, such an arena was just large enough.

Before the seals, Wang Lin raised his right hand and pressed it gently into the void. An immense force of the seals crashed down from nothingness, converging before Wang Lin’s right hand. In an instant, a shimmering object, like a solid tortoise shell, formed before him.
The turtle shell’s edge churned with countless vortices, swirling betwixt the veil of reality and illusion. Wang Lin’s right hand descended, alighting upon the ancient carapace. A surge of defiant power, like the backlash of a trapped storm, erupted forth, striking him with furious force. Numbness seized his hand, and he stumbled back three paces before regaining his footing.

Within that counter-strike pulsed the faint echo of a soul, weathered by ages untold.

“A formidable enchantment indeed!” Wang Lin’s eyes glinted with shrewdness. “This is neither the Ban of Annihilation, nor the Seal of Life and Death, nor even the Curse of Years… Nay, by its aspect, it hints at the legendary, long-lost Forbidden Art of the Ancient Soul!” He had sensed the strangeness of the arena’s wards even when the Grand Emperor’s emissary stood nearby. Curiosity now blossomed into wonder.

“Intriguing!” A spark ignited in Wang Lin’s eyes. He knew that soon, those handpicked by the Emperor’s envoy would be brought forth. Time was a precious commodity, ill-spent on hesitation. With a single bound, he ascended, rising above the arena. A flash of lightning crackled in his right eye as he wove an intricate hand seal. With a mighty sweep, he unleashed his power, causing the heavens to rumble in response. Within his right pupil, the mark of the Thunder Dao spun with feverish intensity, erupting forth in a thunderous roar.

Before Wang Lin materialized a colossal Tableau of Thunder.

The instant it appeared, the tableau summoned the boundless lightning of the heavens. The ashen sky transformed, becoming shrouded in a tempestuous thundercloud. The earth below flickered with an eerie, intermittent light, caught in the dance of lightning and shadow.

Guiding the Tableau of Thunder with ethereal hands, Wang Lin plunged like a shooting star, descending towards the thousand-mile arena below. The tableau crashed through the air, its thunderous roar growing ever louder as it neared its target.

In the moment the Tableau of Thunder threatened to breach the arena’s barrier, a wave of light erupted from the ground. This light, the color of aged ash, swirled and coalesced, birthing a gargantuan image of a turtle shell beneath the descending thunder.

This shell dwarfed the one Wang Lin had touched earlier, its size multiplied many times over. Its edges pulsed with the same swirling vortices, shifting between states of being.

The tableau roared, and Wang Lin’s eyes burned with arcane light. As the tableau drew nearer, the spectral shell expanded with terrifying speed. In a blink, it grew vast, an arc that spanned the entire thousand-mile arena, arching over it like a protective dome!

Wang Lin’s pupils constricted, and he gasped, for this was no mere shell! It was the carapace of a colossal, thousand-mile-long behemoth!

To the west of the arena, beneath the shell, rose an enormous head. Around the shell sprouted four monstrous legs, and to the east, a stubby tail flicked into existence.

In the span of mere moments, a creature of unimaginable scale had manifested upon the earth!

An aura of primordial antiquity washed over the land, spreading throughout the Emperor Star. The titanic turtle, its body a canvas of gray, possessed a head upon which shone two clear, intelligent eyes. As Wang Lin approached, the ancient being lifted its head and released a piercing cry to the heavens!

The sound echoed across the land, twisting the very fabric of reality, causing the skies to change color. Waves of sonic force, distorted and amplified, ripped through the air like roaring tempests.

It was a scene of unparalleled wonder and terror. The colossal turtle, grounded upon the earth, bellowed at the sky, its visage contorted in a fierce display. Its gray carapace shimmered with arcane energy, and from each of its monstrous legs emerged claws of razor sharpness, capable, it seemed, of rending the very veil of the heavens.

From the tail sprouted a series of bulbous growths, from which emerged rows of gleaming, venomous spines.

From the turtle’s brow, as it roared, a single horn began to emerge. About the creature swelled an aura of water, so profound that Wang Lin felt a momentary illusion of the sea.

As if the very land had transformed into a boundless ocean!

Wang Lin waved his hands, and the Tableau of Thunder transformed into a streak of lightning, returning to his right eye, vanishing into the ether. He had never intended to force the arena’s defenses, but instead, to awaken them fully.

His goal achieved, Wang Lin retreated, his eyes shining with uncanny understanding.

“It truly *is* the Forbidden Art of the Ancient Soul!”

As Wang Lin retreated, the gargantuan head slowly lowered, and the monstrous form gradually dissipated. Soon, all returned to as it had been before.

Of the Four Great Forbidden Arts, the Ancient Soul stood as a relic of forgotten secrets. Lost to the relentless march of time, only fragments and whispers remained, hinting at a connection to the most savage of beasts. By binding the souls and flesh of these creatures, shaping them into potent enchantments with arcane methods, its power was said to be unmatched.