With a flick of his wrist, the Bloodsword materialized! Crimson light pulsed urgently within the swirling, ethereal bubble, before slashing forth with thunderous speed. Even as a scream echoed, and he glimpsed the activation of the warding sigils, Wang Lin again summoned the Bloodsword! Its ruby glow danced frantically within the bubble, and with a single, swift cut, a deafening roar erupted as the bubble shattered. Wang Lin strode forth. He had foreseen the treachery within this supposed boon, yet even had the Spiritus Ascendant himself ushered him in, Wang Lin possessed the means to unravel any plot. Thus, he stepped into the swirling mists, through a passage where the Spiritus Ascendant coughed blood, his face ashen, retreating in haste. Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with frigid intent, the Bloodsword aimed directly at the fleeing figure.

A deafening boom reverberated as the Spiritus Ascendant flung out a hand, but the Bloodsword, impervious to all defenses, pierced through his right arm. With a stifled groan, the Spiritus Ascendant faltered, and Wang Lin pressed his advantage without pause. He knew his foe was a nascent Third-Step Ascendant, and he could afford no delay. To kill, he must strike decisively. Even as the Bloodsword dripped, a bolt of raw lightning erupted from his right eye, shaking the very fabric of reality. The Lightning Diagram, ringed with nine attendant bolts, surged forth into the mists, slamming into the reeling Spiritus Ascendant. “Primal Lightning!” The Spiritus Ascendant cried out, his voice laced with shock. Already wounded by the initial trap and the unexpected Bloodsword, he was now confronted by Wang Lin’s Lightning Diagram.

Too swift, and with the distance between them so slight, the Diagram struck home in an instant. The Spiritus Ascendant, his face deathly pale, threw up his arms, unleashing what little remained of his incense power. It coalesced into a colossal statue, barring the way.

Thunderous echoes shook the heavens as the Diagram crashed into the statue. The obsidian figure, arms crossed over its chest, shuddered as the raw celestial power of the Diagram tore through it, spider-webbing cracks across its surface. With a final, deafening crack, the statue shattered, and the Diagram recoiled back into Wang Lin’s right eye. The Spiritus Ascendant spat blood, his face twisted with fury, as he lunged forward, seeking to escape the mists. Behind him, a furious roar echoed. Within the depths of the fog, some chained beast was rapidly approaching. Through the swirling mists, a crimson form could be glimpsed: a creature akin to a Qilin, wreathed in flames, charging forth.

“A Fourth-Grade Fire Spirit!” The Spiritus Ascendant’s heart quailed, but there was no time to dwell on the discovery. He was trapped within this fog, with Wang Lin before him and a raging Fourth-Grade Spirit behind. He had no time to tame such a beast, particularly one of that caliber! More importantly, the wards within the mists were beginning to stir. If he could not escape swiftly, he would be trapped when the wards fully reasserted themselves. Furthermore, he had fallen prey to Wang Lin’s trickery within the passage, suffering a grievous wound from an insidious ward that had fused with his very essence. He had contained the injury for a time, but Wang Lin’s Bloodsword had weakened its hold, and the primal lightning had shattered it entirely, unleashing its destructive power within his spirit.

Such a life-threatening crisis had not befallen the Spiritus Ascendant in millennia. He could scarce believe that he, a being on the verge of ascension, could be brought so low by a mere whelp.

Yet he was still a nascent Third-Step Ascendant. Despite his desperate straits, he made a swift decision, abandoning the tempting Spirit and lunging towards Wang Lin, his eyes burning with a murderous rage. “You believe you can trap me, little insect? When I escape, I will flay your soul and obliterate your spirit!” With a furious roar, the Spiritus Ascendant burst forth with unimaginable speed, poised to escape the mists. Wang Lin would not allow it. In the instant after unleashing the Lightning Diagram, the Nine-Colored True Flame roared to life in his left eye, erupting forth as a tempest of multi-hued fire aimed directly at the Spiritus Ascendant in the fog.

“Another Primal Flame?! Who are you?” The Spiritus Ascendant bellowed, forming a hand seal and spitting forth a breath of his very essence. It coalesced into a painting of mountain and sea, a vast ocean stretching into the horizon, where a lone peak rose against the endless expanse. As the flame storm struck, the Spiritus Ascendant roared, “Tidal Surge!”

As the words left his lips, the painted ocean exploded forth, forming a titanic wave a hundred fathoms high, crashing against the Nine-Colored Flame storm.

The clash was cataclysmic. Clouds of scalding vapor billowed into the sky as Wang Lin’s flame storm shattered, the colors swirling back towards him. But the ocean, too, was vaporized, leaving nothing in the painting but a desolate mountain! Wang Lin coughed blood, staggering back, but his face was a mask of savage determination.

He could not allow the foe to escape! He would slay a nascent Third-Step Ascendant! “Mountain Fall!” The Spiritus Ascendant roared, his steps bringing him within three fathoms of freedom. Ignoring the roaring, approaching Spirit, he hurled the painted mountain from the painting at Wang Lin. “Retreat!” His roar shook the very heavens.

Fire blazed in Wang Lin’s left eye, lightning crackled in his right. Now, both erupted forth in unison, the fire and lightning merging between his brows, coalescing into a burning bolt of lightning. Like a comet, it hurtled towards the oncoming mountain.

“Celestial Lightning, the essence of all lightning, coalesce!” “Celestial Flame, the essence of all flame, converge!” “Lightning and Flame, the Great Destroyer!”

The bolt of fused lightning and flame slammed into the painted mountain, unleashing a cataclysmic explosion that threatened to tear the very heavens asunder, churning the fog into a tempestuous maelstrom.

The mountain shattered, and the Spiritus Ascendant’s eyes widened in disbelief. The force of the explosion had halted him in his tracks! Wang Lin held his ground, enduring the backlash with savage determination, and raised his right hand, pointing it at the trapped Spiritus Ascendant.

“Phantom Fire, burn!”

Without warning, phantom fire erupted within the astonished Spiritus Ascendant. It flared forth with no warning, engulfing him before he could even react.

Screams tore through the air as the Spiritus Ascendant was consumed by the flames. Blood erupted, only to be instantly vaporized. Agony wracked his body, and the insidious ward within him flared to life, exacerbating his wounds. “Phantom Fire cultivator! Accursed Phantom Fire cultivator!” The Spiritus Ascendant screamed, enduring the burning pain and staggering forward, one step bringing him within two fathoms of freedom. He lunged, tearing at the air before him, roaring, “I open the Spiritus Demesne! With my very being as incense, I summon the Primordial Demon God of my Spiritus Clan!”

Before him, a rift tore open in the fog, an endless stream of demonic energy pouring forth. Wang Lin lashed out with the Ancient Leaf, seeking to seal the tear, but even as he moved, the Spiritus Ascendant flung forth another leaf! The two leaves clashed, sealing each other away, and fell to the side. With no Ancient Leaf to contain it, the rift unleashed a towering, obsidian statue, identical to the figure the Spiritus Ascendant had summoned earlier, but far more substantial. The statue’s arms were crossed over its chest, but as it emerged into the world, the arms began to twitch.

With a deafening crack, the statue’s arms swung open, unleashing a wave of annihilating force that swept across the land, bearing down upon Wang Lin. This destructive power brought an immediate and visceral sense of danger, threatening to tear his very bones asunder. Without hesitation, Wang Lin raised his right arm, and the Ancient God’s Bracer materialized, “Ancient Protection!”

In an instant, the spectral form of the Sky-Rending Ancient God materialized before Wang Lin, its massive, battle-scarred form shielding him from the onslaught. Its arms wrapped around Wang Lin, cradling him within its protection.

With a roar, the destructive power of the statue crashed against the Ancient God’s back. The colossal figure stood firm, enduring the world-shattering force. With a fluid motion, it turned, and with a mighty heave, it unleashed a fist the size of a mountain, striking the statue. Though he had witnessed this before, the Ancient God’s power and warmth filled him with a profound sense of awe. The blow struck true, and the statue shattered into a thousand fragments, the force of the impact sending the shattered pieces crashing into the Spiritus Ascendant, who had almost escaped the fog.

The echoes of the blast reverberated through the air, and the Spiritus Ascendant was hurled back into the mists. The Ancient God’s spectral form faded, and Wang Lin, seeing that his enemy was now severely wounded, did not hesitate. With a hand seal, he tore the three jade slips left by the scholar from the fabric of reality.

The slips flickered with light, halting the swirling red mist. The fog, now unrestrained, surged forward, rapidly sealing the gap. “No!” The Spiritus Ascendant screamed, lunging forward, seeking to escape once more, even as the Fourth-Grade Spirit closed in. Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with frigid intent as he pointed at the Spiritus Ascendant, whose body was half-submerged in the fog, fighting desperately to escape. “Hold!”