The expanse was vast beyond reckoning, yet even in the starlit void, it seemed but a speck. Still, to witness it at close range was to have one’s spirit shaken to its very core.

Upon the last of the six Cultivation Stars, a splinter of the Fenghuang Wolf Clan, crimson mists billowed and churned. In the heart of this swirling chaos, Wang Lin materialized!

His eyes blazed crimson, the wounds to his primordial spirit faintly mended. With a gaze as cold as the void itself, and without a moment’s hesitation, he conjured a spectral form and, even as he retreated, delivered a resounding palm strike towards the six planets.

At this touch, the hidden seals Wang Lin had planted on the Cultivation Stars erupted in a cataclysmic burst. One of the worlds shuddered violently and collapsed in on itself, the force of its demise echoing across the cosmos!

This was no barren, discarded world, but a planet teeming with spiritual energy, painstakingly acquired by the Fenghuang Wolf Clan. Its destruction unleashed a power unlike anything a desolate star could muster.

Not only did mountains and plains crumble, but vast, concentrated spiritual energy was unleashed! The roars of destruction shook the heavens and the earth. The Cultivation Star shattered into countless fragments, which were hurled outwards in a tempestuous, all-consuming storm.

Wang Lin had timed the destruction perfectly, anticipating his pursuers. As he devoured the spiritual energy to mend his spirit, he had left behind this deadly trap!

Just as the Fenghuang Wolf Clan behemoth drew near, the star imploded.

Yet, the destruction of a single planet could not fully illustrate Wang Lin’s ruthless decisiveness. In the very instant of that first star’s demise, the remaining five Cultivation Stars roared in unison!

The colossal shockwaves, laced with countless shards of stone, coalesced into a force that surged heavenward, spreading outwards in a devastating explosion.

From afar, it appeared as though the very fabric of the cosmos was collapsing, a scene of utter devastation!

The storm birthed from the destruction of the six Cultivation Stars was akin to a gaping maw, lunging for the Fenghuang Wolf Clan giant and swallowing him whole within its turbulent embrace.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

The deafening clamor echoed madly through the void. Yet, amidst this chaos, a chilling wolf howl pierced the din. The ten-thousand-foot azure wolf, though undiminished in size, burst from the ruins of the six Cultivation Stars, its form now but a spectral echo, its very essence fading.

It lunged toward Wang Lin with a furious roar, eager to devour him like a celestial wolf consuming the moon!

As the wolf’s jaws closed in, Wang Lin smirked. With a swift wave of his right hand, a tortoise shell materialized before him!

The shell radiated an ethereal glow, piercing the void in all directions with countless beams of light. As it flickered wildly, the shell shimmered, swelling and transforming into a colossal, ancient tortoise!

It was the Ancient Soul Seal, a gift from the old Vermillion Bird, destined for the trials of the Great Emperor Star!

The tortoise emerged, sheltering Wang Lin beneath its massive form. It issued a deafening screech that echoed across the void. The azure wolf struck with earth-shattering force, crashing against the tortoise shell.

From a distance, the scene was truly epic: six Cultivation Stars imploding into a storm that scoured the cosmos. Outside that maelstrom, the spectral ten-thousand-foot wolf clashed with the snarling, gigantic tortoise!

The resonating booms echoed across the stars, sending ripples in every direction, like waves upon a raging sea. The tortoise shell shuddered, shrinking rapidly, snatched up by Wang Lin as he retreated.

The azure wolf, weakened by the destruction of the Cultivation Stars and the backlash from the Ancient Soul Seal tortoise, crumbled, staggering backward ten thousand feet.

The Fenghuang Wolf Clan giant emerged from the collapsing Cultivation Stars, weakened. With a wave of his right hand, the tattered azure wolf returned to his back.

Cold light flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes, blood trickling from the corner of his lips. As he retreated, ripples of power emanated from beneath his feet, hinting at the imminent use of the shrinking earth technique for escape. Yet his gaze, almost imperceptibly, lingered on the maiden upon the giant’s shoulder. His pupils constricted as his focus narrowed.

Even the maiden did not realize that, as Wang Lin retreated and prepared his escape, his attention was fixed upon her.

Had she known, had she understood Wang Lin’s nature, her heart would have trembled with a sense of foreboding.

The Fenghuang Wolf Clan giant’s eyes blazed with murderous intent, and he stepped forward to give chase. But suddenly, his expression twisted in horror as ethereal flames engulfed his body from within. The eerie blaze spread to the weakened azure wolf on his back, eliciting a pained howl.

“A fire-wielding cultivator! Damn them!” The giant paled, spitting blood in shock.

The maiden on his shoulder frowned, and her gaze turned to Wang Lin, now retreating towards the edge of sight. She raised a jade hand to her brow, and muttered a silent incantation. “Descendant of the Sealed Clan, call upon our clan’s great sealing power, to bind this escape…”

But her words were cut short as Wang Lin’s eyes flashed. In that instant, within the storm of collapsing Cultivation Stars, an ocean of blood-red light burst forth!

It was the Blood Sword, long hidden upon the Cultivation Star, concealed even as the world shattered. It had remained unseen within the chaotic storm, but now, it emerged with terrifying speed, bathing the cosmos in its crimson light as it streaked towards the maiden!

The Blood Sword flew with impossible velocity, reaching the maiden in an instant. It aimed directly for her brow, threatening to pierce through her skull. The maiden froze in shock, utterly unprepared for this sudden turn.

*Blood flashed.* With unimaginable speed, the Blood Sword pierced the maiden’s brow, exiting from the back of her head. It spun back towards Wang Lin, who, with a single step, vanished into the shrinking earth, gone!

Swift. Decisive.

The Fenghuang Wolf Clan giant’s pupils constricted, his heart pounded in his chest, and a chilling dread washed over him.
Though cloaked in the guise of a nascent fire cultivator, a cunning deeper than the abyss festered within him. He held his hand, feigning weakness, until, with a sudden surge, he ignited the dormant emotions within his foe. As the mighty warrior struggled to quell the inferno within his soul, a glint of steel emerged from the chaos of the collapsing star. A hidden blade, long secreted within the ruined world, flashed forth, stealing the life of the exquisite handmaiden of the esteemed Dao Lord of Melodies! A scheme of the deepest machination!

The blade itself was an anomaly, possessed of an unnatural swiftness and an edge sharper than a whisper. Aware that his opponent was a cultivator of the Third Step, perhaps capable of withstanding the crimson curse of his blood sword, the figure abandoned the chance to strike at the mighty warrior himself. Instead, he chose to extinguish the life of the serving girl, a calculated move born of chilling foresight. A flicker of apprehension danced within the warrior’s eyes.

It was not the skill of this supposed fledgling that he feared, but the endless arsenal of mystical trinkets and the fathomless depths of his calculated treachery.

Unbeknownst to him, the figure, beyond the immediate concern of escaping with his life, was driven by a deeper dread. He recognized the sigil etched upon the maiden’s brow, a symbol of power and terror that was branded into his memory.

The Sealed Extinction Clan! A lineage of immense power, all but unheard of in the ancient cosmos, their numbers dwindling to a precious few. With a member of this bloodline present, his own spells and abilities could be locked away, his connection to the very fabric of reality severed. Though her cultivation was meager, she presented a threat equal to, if not greater than, the Third Step warrior himself!

“A heart as cold as the void…” a mournful sigh echoed from the shoulder of the Feng Tian wolf-kin warrior. There, where a blade had pierced her brow, leaving a ghastly wound oozing crimson, the handmaiden’s eyes, once vacant, flickered back to life.

The gash upon her forehead writhed, the flesh knitting itself back together with impossible speed, until only a pale scar remained, a testament to her brush with oblivion. Even the wound that pierced the back of her skull closed with unnatural alacrity.

With delicate fingers, she wiped the lingering droplets of blood from the scar and raised them to her lips, tasting the metallic tang of mortality.

“A terrifying intellect and calculation…” she murmured. “He anticipated our pursuit, laying a trap amidst these six ruined worlds. With the precision of a master craftsman, he triggered the ancient wards as we drew near, detonating the stars in a symphony of destruction. The chaos and fear clouded our senses, blinding us to the truth. The hidden blade…

That was his true quarry, and he did not hesitate, for he knew the price of inaction…”

A flicker of understanding ignited in her gaze. “He knew I was of the Sealed Extinction Clan… This elaborate ruse was orchestrated… to kill me!” A captivating smile curved her lips, but a tremor of unadulterated fear lurked within her eyes.

“Such ruthless efficiency, such unwavering conviction once an enemy is identified. This is a being to be feared… We underestimated him, and even the Master was mistaken in his assessment. Had my bloodline not blessed me with the gift of three souls, I would have perished without so much as a breath.” Her pearly teeth gnashed together, masking a terror that threatened to consume her. For a fleeting moment, she had known the cold embrace of death, an experience wholly new to her.

“Hunt him down! To the edge of the cosmos, if need be!” she commanded, her voice a brittle whisper. “He fled northeast, one million, seven hundred thirty-four thousand, five hundred thirty-two leagues hence. We must anticipate his every move, for even his chosen path of escape may hold hidden meanings. This direction… This…” Her hand, clutching a star compass, trembled violently. Her head snapped up, her gaze fixed upon the northeast.

“The ancient Necropolis lies there! Why would he choose to flee to such a forsaken place!”

The Feng Tian warrior remained silent, his gaze unwavering, as he strode forward, rending the very fabric of spacetime with his passage. As he vanished into the void, the rift slowly mended, leaving only the swirling remnants of the destroyed star as a silent testament to the battle that had transpired.

Beyond the shimmering veil that guarded the ancient Necropolis, swirling mists churned with arcane energy, their touch capable of humbling even the mightiest of Third Step cultivators.

These ethereal tendrils spread for a radius of ten thousand leagues, where the eyes of the Taikoo Star Sea’s forces watched and waited.

Unseen, unfelt, within the inky depths of the Necropolis itself, a cataclysmic shift was brewing. Soon, it would erupt with a ferocity that would shake the very foundations of the ancient universe!

—

And yet, the crimson blood has not yet soaked the sleeves, the white robes have not yet been dyed red. Grasping a blue sword, to wear the color of blood, to bathe in the scent of iron. A two-day rampage would be beneath a drunkard’s scorn. It is not yet time to drink!