Her memory, like a butterfly from forgotten ages held captive in Wang Lin’s grasp, dissolved into a wisp of butterfly-soul. His desperate grip closed on emptiness, leaving him to gaze as that spectral butterfly, once nestled in his arms, faded into a gentle breeze and drifted towards the heavens.

In those days, within Wang Lin’s embrace, she aged, her gaze softened by gentle love. Her youth surrendered to time, and her raven hair turned silver as she walked her life’s path. She closed her eyes, the same eyes that Wang Lin could never forget.

Her right hand, feebly raised, sought to touch his face one last time, but strength abandoned it halfway. It fell, limp and lifeless. A single tear escaped her closed eye, falling to the earth, perhaps to nourish the blossoms of the coming spring.

Centuries spun by in the blink of an eye. The oceans shifted, mountains crumbled.

A thousand years could not be called eternity, yet they were sufficient to erase all but the most stubborn memories. But not Wang Lin’s. He remembered, always, and forever. . . .

Now, as if the loom of time had unwound itself, Wang Lin cradled the one he loved, yet this time, it was he who was fading into nothing. This time, it was he who could not hold on.

Now, though Li Muwan was but a spectral echo, in Wang Lin’s arms, she felt achingly real, as if he held the entire world. But his strength was failing, his body fading away.

His hands, consumed by the inferno of the soul’s black flames, dissolved into transparency, passing through Li Muwan’s ethereal form and vanishing altogether.

His face, too, began to mirror the passage of ages, youth swiftly yielding to the ravages of time. Lines etched themselves deep, and he became a wizened old man, fading into the same nothingness.

It was as if the tragedy of old were playing out again, but with the roles reversed.

The only constant was the enduring tenderness in Wang Lin’s eyes. As he disintegrated, as the black flames devoured the last vestiges of blue fire, the embers of his life’s purpose finally coalesced, turning into unquenchable karmic flames. Wang Lin’s essence swiftly vanished from the world.

Only his gaze, burning bright even as his physical being dissolved, remained fixed upon Li Muwan, growing more distant.

Li Muwan collapsed to the ground, staring at the sky with a piercing gaze, her heart rocked by unseen tremors.

“Who… who are you?!” Li Muwan cried, her voice strained. A pain, of unknown origin, gnawed at her soul.

Karmic fire raged, consuming all, but it could not touch Wang Lin’s unyielding spirit, nor could it extinguish the memories etched within his heart.

“These karmic flames are born of my unwavering devotion! With this devotion, I forged my path, lived only for her!”

“The heavens are cruel, seeking to erase all devotion. But my devotion has become this raging inferno. Even the heavens cannot take it from me!!”

“If these flames seek to consume my flesh, if this devotion threatens to destroy me, I shall not resist! This fire is Wang Lin’s eternal vow. This karma is the path I choose!!”

“The heavens offer an unfeeling path for all living things. What good is it to follow it? I embrace devotion, burn karma with it, and transform it into a cycle of existence. I will not ascend. Even if it means a descent through the nine hells, if such hell is freedom, then I will embrace that descent!”

In the instant the karmic flames threatened his complete annihilation, a thunderous cry of the Vermillion Bird erupted!

From within the black inferno emerged the majestic Vermillion Bird, a creature of immense size, its plumage no longer blue, but a haunting black. Like a phoenix reborn in the heart of darkness!

The cry of the Vermillion Bird reverberated throughout the world, piercing the barrier of this human realm. From the incense stick upon the back of the Great Emperor Star Turtle, it echoed forth, shaking the entire star!

The Myriad Sound Daoist, a youthful figure who had patiently waited for days, was about to raise a peach to his lips. He froze, his body seized by the echoing cry, and stared intently at the incense.

The Vermillion Bird’s cry resonated across the heavens.

The Azure Dream Daoist’s eyes gleamed. Astonishment flashed across his face.

“That Vermillion Bird’s cry… it is no ordinary Vermillion Bird. It is…”

The Vermillion Bird’s cry was indeed extraordinary. It carried within it an untamed fury, a defiance that refused to be extinguished, as if it originated from the depths of the abyss, rather than the heavens.

“Impossible! Before he left, the Grand Astrologer Cloudfall foretold that this little wretch faced a mortal trial, one he could never survive!” Si Mozi’s face paled, his pupils constricting. He stared at the incense stick.

Cloudfall, standing beside him, was equally stunned. Her hands, hidden beneath her sleeves, moved in a blur as she attempted to unravel the threads of fate, but at that moment, her fingers shuddered, and her fingertips cracked, drawing blood. It was as if an unseen force had shattered her calculations, as if Wang Lin’s current state defied prediction.

The Elder Vermillion Bird’s eyes shone with excitement. As the second generation Vermillion Bird, he understood the cry. He knew what had just occurred within the world’s boundary.

“Good lad! He triggered the Vermillion Bird Transformation amidst the karmic flames! Surviving this, the Nine Cycle Karmic Tribulation will rise. The real tribulation is now at hand!”

Only the old man upon the lizard beast seemed unaffected, his eyes remaining shut, indifferent to all.

The woman standing beside the Azure Dream Daoist gazed, transfixed, at the burning incense. Her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Within the Human realm, the black Vermillion Bird soared into the sky, spreading its wings to block out the sun. Countless black flames swirled around it, radiating heat. Yet the heat did not burn the world, only the Vermillion Bird.

The cries of the Vermillion Bird grew louder, imbued with a soul-shattering energy.

The black Vermillion Bird was born from Wang Lin’s soul.

“The karmic fire has ignited! Now burn the chains of reincarnation to help my Vermillion Bird awaken for the fourth time!” The black Vermillion Bird shrieked, its massive form hurtling towards the heavens. Reaching the apex of the sky, the black flames erupted from its body.
From afar, the inferno resembled a colossal torch, and within its fiery heart danced the Vermillion Bird itself!

“By the burden of my karmic knowledge…” Wang Lin’s voice thundered, and as those words echoed, the flames surrounding him erupted into a sea of fire. With the Vermillion Bird at its center, this fiery ocean surged outwards in a cataclysmic wave.

In the blink of an eye, the entire sky was consumed by the abyssal flames, yet within the mortal realm below, no living soul could perceive the cataclysm unfolding above!

This fire sea, vast enough to shroud the heavens, intensified, becoming like a colossal tidal wave sweeping across the firmament.

“Ignite… the Incense of Mortals!” Wang Lin’s roar transformed into the cry of the Vermillion Bird, as he charged towards the edge of the sky. In that instant, the sea of fire contracted, rushing back towards Wang Lin, now transformed into the Vermillion Bird, coalescing into a fiery pillar that blasted skyward.

Within that column of flame, upon the ebony plumage of the Vermillion Bird, Wang Lin’s spectral form materialized once more. He gazed upward, and with a sweeping gesture of both hands, he commanded the heavens.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

Thunder reverberated through the celestial sphere, creating a force of annihilation that threatened to tear the very fabric of the heavens asunder.

And at that very moment, upon the Great Emperor Star, atop the first Incense of Mortals, resting upon the back of the colossal turtle, a wisp of black smoke spiraled skyward!

“It is lit!”

“The Incense of the First Trial, it is alight!”

“Let us see how long he can maintain it!” Tens of thousands of cultivators, their patience worn thin by days of waiting, had nearly dispersed, deterred only by their fear of the consequences. Now, as that single thread of black smoke ascended, a wave of murmurs and exclamations rippled through the throng.

The thin wisp quickly swelled into a thick plume of black smoke, like a war signal billowing across the sky. A wave of intense heat radiated outwards, and the Incense of Mortals began to burn with an unprecedented ferocity!

The combustion was so violent that the flames reached towards the heavens, devouring the incense at an impossible pace. In a mere moment, a great portion had already been reduced to ash!

Compared to the two remaining sticks, this display was frightening!

Just as the thousands of surrounding cultivators believed that the Incense of the First Trial would be consumed in an instant, the flames faltered!

That brief hesitation reverberated through the very souls of all who witnessed it, causing their hearts to tremble.

Si Mo Zi watched the Incense of Mortals with unwavering intensity.

His companion, the Grand Scribe Yun Luo, stood beside him, his face pale, a flicker of shadow crossing his eyes.

Within the Mortal Realm, Wang Lin, astride the ebony Vermillion Bird, his form wreathed in endless black flames, exhaled deeply. He lowered his gaze, looking towards a distant mountain peak where a fragile figure sat, gazing skyward. He whispered softly:

“My name… is Wang Lin!” With those final words spoken to Li Muwan, he lifted his head abruptly.

“The Nine Revolutions of Karmic Tribulation, come!”

The Nine Revolutions of Karmic Tribulation, a trial of karmic fire, had nearly claimed the life of the First Generation Vermillion Bird. Only the intervention of an Ancient Immortal had saved him from utter annihilation.

Now, Wang Lin, as the Sixth Generation Vermillion Bird, stood alone, without protection, to face the Nine Revolutions!

Within all creation, there are nine colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet, white and black, each representing a single revolution. These nine tribulations begin and end with black flames, completing the cycle of reincarnation.

Should he endure them all, he would ignite the Karmic Flame of Rebirth, breaking through his current limitations, leading the Vermillion Bird towards its fourth awakening, transforming solid fire into ethereal fire!

The Nine Revolutions of Karmic Tribulation began!

The black flames surrounding Wang Lin were suddenly swept away as if by a violent storm. In a blink, they transformed into a blood-red crimson, bathing the land in an ominous light.

With a deafening roar, the endless crimson flames encircling Wang Lin reversed course, surging inwards to consume him!

Upon the Great Emperor Star, the first Incense of Mortals, after its brief pause, continued to burn with renewed fury.

The incense had been burning for precisely one breath.