The dreadful shriek was swallowed by the bellowing tempest, masked beneath its roaring cadence. Within the swirling mists, the hulking warrior of the Fengtian Wolf Clan found his calculation thwarted. The lithe figure of the maiden, concealed until now, was forced from the illusory embrace of the ancient tomb’s fog. Regardless of power or cultivation, all who entered here faced trials – even those mighty three-step cultivators. How much more so, then, this mere woman of the Feng Mie clan?

The moment her form emerged, she shuddered violently, her flesh withering at an alarming rate. In the blink of an eye, the mists devoured her, leaving behind a crimson-stained skeleton. Yet, within this very fog, the woman died again. At the instant of her demise, the lifeless bones emitted a ghastly, grey light. In a macabre miracle, flesh regrew, and within a heartbeat, the slain maiden lived once more. Her eyes betrayed an unbridled terror. In mere moments, Wang Lin had tricked her to death, and she rejoiced at her survival; she then met death again as she was exposed to the fog.

The Heaven-Sealing Three Lives had thus witnessed two ends. Yet, this was not the source of her fear. Despite her rebirth and the last life to be spent, she remained trapped within the fog. The mists killed unseen. Were she to face another assault, the result would be true oblivion. Barely resurrected, the maiden’s face paled as she retreated, seeking escape. But the fog’s speed was unmatched. Before she could flee far, it surged forth, engulfing her anew.

Despair filled her eyes. Her Feng Mie lineage granted them near-immortality, but now, the dread of final death loomed. In a lightning flash, she was engulfed. Yet, instead of destruction, a surge of life bloomed within her, focusing at her brow, there, an archaic number was carved.

Experiencing life and death in such a fleeting moment, sweat soaked her robes. Before she could gather her wits, a sucking force seized her, and with futile struggles, she was dragged deeper into the fog’s abyss, followed by the Fengtian Wolf Clan warrior.

These events unfolded before Wang Lin’s very eyes. A flicker of comprehension crossed his gaze as he witnessed the maiden’s death and resurrection. “I slew her once, and the eerie mists claimed her again, yet she refuses to perish! The Feng Mie clan… they are too formidable!”

“But her final expression was no deception. Despair revealed her very soul. Should she die again, she shall never live again!” Wang Lin’s keen observation and shrewd mind made such analysis easy.

His bewilderment stemmed from his own condition. Upon contact with the mists, no numerical mark had appeared upon his brow. Instead, the fog transformed into a surge of ancient god power, absorbed instantly by the stellar mark. This power, however, was tainted with death and haunted by rancor. Upon absorption, a primal fury ignited within Wang Lin, threatening to overwhelm his mind.

Only through swift suppression and immediate cessation of absorption did he avert madness. Yet, even after banishing the chaotic power, his mind experienced an unparalleled clarity, as though traversing from the depths of winter to the height of summer.

With no mark upon his brow, he remained untouched by the consuming force. Cloaked in the mists, Wang Lin’s eyes shone as he pondered. The location where he obtained the number and the mists brought him closer to the origin of the ancient tomb.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Those numerical marks, incomprehensible to outsiders, are ancient characters! Could this be the path out of the tomb, spoken of by that greedy wolf?” Excitement surged through Wang Lin as he fixed his gaze upon the depths of the fog, the direction which had swallowed the Fengtian warrior and the maiden.

“No wonder no ancient mark appeared on my brow… no wonder the mists transformed into god power within my form… the warrior bore the number ’14’… the maiden, ‘2q’…” Wang Lin licked his lips, his gaze thoughtful.

“Peril lurks here, and the ancient tomb is a den of danger… shall I go, or shall I remain?”

After a moment, resolve hardened within Wang Lin’s eyes. He had always been one to seize fortune from the jaws of peril! To abandon entry into the ancient tomb would mean waiting for an unknown age, perhaps even a lifetime, for another such opportunity. With a flicker of his gaze, Wang Lin’s expression steeled, and he plunged headlong into the fog’s embrace.

The greatest danger held the greatest opportunity. “Ancient tomb, I, Wang Lin, shall taste your terrors and your treasures! As an ancient god, I am certain to gain greater reward than any other!”

Wang Lin moved like a wraith, rapidly advancing, determined to avoid the deathly, rancorous fog, despite its ability to empower his god-force. He knew that to absorb it would mean the loss of his own will, becoming but a puppet of death and spite. Wang Lin’s speed increased, but his caution remained vigilant. This vigilance had allowed him to survive life-threatening situations. The only reckless action to date was to attempt to manipulate the man who seemed to be Lord Zun. This was a crazy action he thought about when talking to the previous Vermillion Bird.

He had even created logical reasons and blended the soul of Yunzi to deduce and plan, even planning to flee to the inner part of the region should that place have a partially recovered Lord Zun.

But, after escaping the holy grounds of the Fire Finch clan, Wang Lin began to question if that middle aged man was Lord Zun. After this he had a terrifying thought, that sent chills down his spine. “Why would I think of doing such a crazy thing and create such crazy thoughts…” but before he could think about it more, he was easily distracted by something else and forgot all about questioning if that middle-aged man was Lord Zun.

But now, after entering the fog, his thoughts cleared. It was as though inside and outside of the mist were two different worlds. It was as though a power from some unknown place tried to stop Wang Lin when he had entered the fog and caused his thoughts from earlier to return. Now, that terrifying thought was getting more and more serious. Wang Lin broke into a cold sweat.

Turning his head back, Wang Lin looked past the fog to the Great Star that was so still.

After a long time, Wang Lin retracted his vision and had fear in his eyes. He had never had this feeling before. The more he remembered the events that transpired when he arrived at the Great Star, the more he felt like some power had been controlling him.

After remaining silent, the fear in Wang Lin’s eyes disappeared and was replaced with coldness. He pondered what he had decided and was certain that the decision to enter the ancient tomb was from his calculations, not from some power controlling him. He then turned back toward the depths of the fog.

He sped up, almost becoming a long ray of light, as he closed in on the depths of the fog. He saw the struggle of the cultivators being pulled around by the suction forces.

These people all had numbers on their foreheads “45, 71…” While remaining silent, Wang Lin was reaching the core of the fog. In the distance, he saw a terrifying rift. The world inside the rift had no fog, but had traces of distortion. Even so, Wang Lin could see debris of stone floating around. Then, he saw tombs of the ancient.

Wang Lin’s eyes lit up. He took a step to enter the rift, but the fog around him roared. Wang Lin suddenly turned his head and his eyes shrank.

Behind him, the fog moved and roared. Then, a figure slowly walked out. This person was a middle-aged scholar, but he was extremely beautiful, almost like a woman! However, he looked slightly pale as he walked to the edge of the fog. This meant it was hard for him to reach this point.

He had nine strange statues surrounding him. These statues didn’t have hair and had nine different expressions – anger, joy, sadness, and so on. Each expression was different and the statues were emitting a dim yellow glow as they surrounded the scholar, allowing him to arrive at this point. This scholar also didn’t have a number between his eyebrows!

He saw Wang Lin and had a surprised expression, while Wang Lin was calm, but was shocked. He knew how powerful the fog was, but this person had somehow arrived at this point. Without saying a word, Wang Lin turned and took a step into the rift and was about to enter the ancient tomb.

“Fellow Daoist, could you help me?” A pleasant, feminine voice came from the scholar.

Inside the Great Star, there was a giant palace floating in an endless sea of stars. This sea of stars seemed to be hidden inside the Great Star, so no one was able to find it.

The palace was dim and only had a few candles burning, with popping sounds.

With the help of the light, one could barely see a well on the ground inside the palace. There was water inside the well, and the surface of the water was smooth as a mirror. It was reflecting three candlelights, so it was hard to tell what was real and fake.

A figure completely covered by a black robe, so one couldn’t see anything, was quietly standing by the well, looking at the surface of the water. The surface of the water was reflecting the three candles and a white-haired figure.

This figure was Wang Lin! Wang Lin’s figure was surrounded by the three candles, as though he was sealed. But just as Wang Lin had stepped into the fog, ripples started to appear on the surface of the water. The water was being affected by some power that didn’t belong in this world. As the water rippled, Wang Lin’s figure was distorting and slowly faded away.

“The sudden opening of the ancient tomb is messing with this old man’s plans… how unfortunate… how unfortunate… only a bit more…” The person covered by the black robe muttered as he looked at what was happening. He raised his right hand, revealing a withered hand with thin, slightly curved nails and pointed to the surface of the water.