From the heavens tore a gaping rift, unleashing a cataclysmic roar that was not so much a beast’s cry, but a mournful, otherworldly howl. It was a sound of such chilling power that it wrenched Wang Lin, who was attempting to meld with the very fabric of the cosmos, back into corporeal form. The howl, some vile sorcery or accursed artifact, had disrupted his mastery of space, preventing his escape through the technique of Dimensional Shrink.

In that fleeting instant, a gargantuan hand descended, its movement suggesting meticulous planning. It seemed the pursuer had not only located Wang Lin, but had also anticipated his desperate attempt to flee. Emanating from the approaching limb was an aura thick with the power of incense and worship, a clear indication that this foe was no mere Second Step cultivator, but one who had ascended to the Third Step. Nay, more accurately, a newcomer to the ranks of the Void Nirvana, akin to Si Mozi and Shui Daozi. The air about the hand was filled with a savage hunger, directed solely at Wang Lin.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wang Lin whirled around, his right hand summoning forth a single, blackened fingernail. It radiated a palpable aura of dread and despair, and in the moon’s pale light, seemed to echo with the wails of the damned.

This was the nail gifted to him by the Great Desolate Paragon, granted out of respect for the Old Vermillion Bird: a fragment of unspeakable venom. Wang Lin, acting on instinct, flung it forth. The nail screeched through the void, a harbinger of darkness, colliding with the palm of the colossal hand.

A deafening blast erupted as the nail pierced the outstretched hand, shattering into fragments upon impact. A searing agony, black as pitch, surged outward, engulfing the palm and racing up the arm.

Touched by an ethereal autumn breeze, the limb shuddered, then crumbled into a cloud of ash, vanishing into the void.

The nail’s potency had taken Wang Lin by surprise. Yet, even with the hand obliterated, the surge of feral energy washed over him, forcing a gout of blood from his lips. Grim-faced, he summoned another defense, this time the Ancient Breath Leaf. Like a shooting star, it hurtled towards the celestial rift. “Seal!” he commanded.

The leaf swelled in size with impossible speed, growing ten, a hundred, a thousand times larger, until it slammed against the tear in the fabric of reality, sealing it shut. A furious snarl echoed from within the fissure as Wang Lin stepped forward, merging once more with the heavens and earth. He vanished in a blink, using Dimensional Shrink once again. Three breaths after his departure, the Ancient Breath Leaf, which had sealed the rift, dissolved into shimmering motes of light, disappearing without a trace.

Within the star-strewn expanse of the Ancient Starry Sky, Wang Lin materialized, his expression grim. He formed a hand seal, chanting, “Fallen leaves return to their roots!”

Immediately, a glimmer of light manifested before him, coalescing into the form of the Ancient Breath Leaf, which he grasped in his hand. His eyes flashed with cold resolve. He accelerated forward, a streak of celestial energy, employing Dimensional Shrink once more, fading into oblivion.

“In my current state, I cannot return to the Cloud Sea. The Hunt of the Venerable Assembly has begun anew. So be it. My life has been a tempest of trials. Let the Ancient Starry Sky’s Hunt bring forth whatever powers it may. I shall use the art of Devouring to restore my cultivation amidst this pursuit!” Wang Lin scoffed.

Upon the abandoned Cultivation Star, after the Ancient Breath Leaf dissipated, a figure emerged from the rift. It was a hulking brute of a man, thrice the height of a normal man, his features contorted in a savage snarl, his eyes burning with merciless intensity. Upon his brow was a marking – the fearsome head of a blue wolf, symbol of the Feng Tian Wolf Clan, one of the four Ancient Fierce Clans under the command of the Venerable Assembly. He was not alone; perched upon his shoulder was a maiden. Dressed in crimson, she possessed a captivating beauty, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, her eyes brimming with captivating charm. With every gesture, she exuded an allure that could ensnare the heart. Upon her brow was a sigil, an arcane rune that, were Wang Lin to behold it, he would instantly recognize as belonging to the mysterious race of Sealers from the Ancient Starry Sky. It was from the Sealer race that Wang Lin had encountered an elderly member within the Seven-Colored Realm who almost took his life.

The maiden was not yet a Third Step cultivator, merely at the Third Level of the Celestial Decay realm. In her hand, she held a compass, which she manipulated with deft fingers. After a moment, she looked up, her voice like a gentle chime, “East, 197,845 li! But the venom in your right arm has diminished your strength by thirty percent. Had I not aided you, that toxin would have been most difficult to purge.”

With a contemptuous snort, the giant took a single step forward. The heavens trembled. The desolate planet itself began to crumble. The force of the giant’s step shattered the planet into fragments. But the impact didn’t spread far, when the giant waved his left hand it condensed into a sphere of energy in his hand, and he threw it to the sky ahead.

The sphere detonated in the void with a thunderous roar, tearing the very fabric of reality and opening a fluctuating black hole. The giant strode forward, stepping directly into the abyss.

Wang Lin, traversing the Ancient Starry Sky with Dimensional Shrink, abruptly halted, flinging the Ancient Breath Leaf behind him without hesitation.

At that very instant, the starscape behind him tore open in a vortex, giving birth to the Feng Tian Wolf Clan giant.

But the moment that vortex appeared, the Ancient Breath Leaf slammed into it. “Seal!” Wang Lin’s words were cold, though his eyes betrayed a subtle flicker of recognition. He had caught a glimpse of the maiden upon the giant’s shoulder, and his gaze had snagged on the rune emblazoned upon her brow! Without betraying his surprise, Wang Lin stepped forward, vanishing from sight.

Roars of fury echoed from the void, accompanied by concussive booms, but the Ancient Breath Leaf held firm! Moments later, nearby, the starscape warped once more, forming another black hole. The Feng Tian Wolf Clan giant emerged, his face a mask of thunderous rage, his gaze instantly falling upon the Ancient Breath Leaf.

As his eyes fell upon it, the leaf burst into motes of light and vanished.

“Damn it, what sort of artifact is this?! Si Mozi fought this man, why did he not mention it! And Yun Luo, the Grand Emissary, returned and immediately went into secluded meditation!”
“Do not underestimate this one,” the maiden warned, a playful lilt in her voice as she glanced at the compass nestled in her palm. “Were he not grievously wounded, even with your cultivation, to capture him would prove a challenge.”

She chuckled softly, her gaze fixed on the intricate instrument. “Northwest, three hundred seventy-eight thousand, four hundred ninety-six *tahn*!”

The hulking warrior cast a cold glare at the maiden perched on his shoulder. Though his cultivation had reached the Third Step, he was loath to overly offend her. She was a handmaiden of the Myriad Sound Dao Sovereign, one of the Five Primordial Celestials. Her sudden appearance, offering aid in this hunt, was unexpected.

“Your mistress has likely gone to that ancient tomb. What is your true purpose in seeking me out? Speak plainly.” The warrior was in no rush to pursue Wang Lin; instead, he pressed the maiden for answers.

“Whether it truly *is* the ancient tomb remains uncertain, merely a strong suspicion derived from fragmented, archaic texts. Forget my mistress. Many powerful beings of this Primordial Star, even now, seek that place. Ah, but enough of that! The quarry is already a million *li* distant. Should you delay, he will surely escape.” The maiden’s face bloomed into a charming smile, her allure heightened.

The warrior remained silent, his eyes, like chips of ice, fixed on her.

“Very well, very well! I shall speak. Upon his capture, you must allow me to claim one thing from him. Agree to this, and the Dao Sovereign will bestow upon you a Grade Six Dao Spirit as recompense.” She batted her eyelashes, her voice a playful melody.

The warrior hesitated, then stepped forward, breaking his silence with action.

“Northwest, two million, seven hundred seventy-nine thousand, eight hundred forty-six *li*! How curious, it seems he has stumbled upon a branch clan of your own Feng Tian Wolf Clan.”

The warrior grunted in disdain, and with a single stride, tore a rift in the void before him. His form vanished within the tear.

In the starry expanse of the Primordial Star, Wang Lin emerged from a tear in reality. Before him lay six cultivator stars, arranged in a perfect circle, warded by the shimmering light of a grand formation. It was clearly a clan holding within the Primordial Star.

At a glance, a spectral wolf’s head, fanged and snarling, pulsed on the outer edge of the formation, a clear declaration to any passing cultivator of the Primordial Star: this territory belonged to the Feng Tian Wolf Clan.

“Wolf?” Wang Lin recalled the echoing howl from within the ruined star’s fractured sky.

With a snort, Wang Lin surged forward, a course set directly for the six cultivator stars. As he flew, his body erupted in a torrential spray of blood mist. The mist thickened, enveloping him entirely, as if flesh and bone, spirit and soul, were dissolving into this crimson maelstrom. In a heartbeat, the blood mist swelled to encompass tens of thousands of *zhang*, expanding with terrifying speed, surging towards the formation guarding the Feng Tian Wolf Clan’s branch clan. The array, though potent, proved utterly incapable of withstanding the encroaching tide. The blood mist, bearing Wang Lin’s essence, crashed onto the nearest cultivator star.

A chorus of chilling screams rent the air, followed by the frantic din of battle, but these were swiftly extinguished, swallowed by an unnatural silence.

Every cultivator on that star of sufficient cultivation was consumed by the mist, their bodies dissolving into bloody fluids, their essence devoured.

The crimson tide swept onward, engulfing the remaining cultivator stars. The screams, though normally unable to escape the void, were amplified by their sheer number, creating a wave of agonizing sound that resonated through the heavens. These six cultivator stars were a newly established branch of the Feng Tian Wolf Clan, populated solely by their clansmen. Now, they were being slaughtered by the red mist. In the void above, a black vortex twisted and writhed, and the Feng Tian Wolf Clan warrior emerged. The cacophony of screams, merged into one horrific chorus, assaulted his ears the moment he arrived. A murderous rage erupted in his eyes. With a guttural roar, he launched himself forward. The very fabric of space seemed to buckle and collapse beneath his feet. Behind him, a colossal, spectral wolf of azure fur manifested, its fangs bared in a savage snarl.