Lingdong the Ascended, blessed by Wang Lin with the Art of Fusion, shuddered as his body descended into the abyssal depths. His innate talent was undeniable; else, he would never have stood upon the precipice of the Third Step of cultivation.

Within mere hours, Lingdong had grasped the essence of this Art. Though he could not fathom its depths as Wang Lin did, he could, with its power, meld these ownerless Souls of Incense into a greater whole.

Inside the Imperial Furnace, the ocean churned into a violent vortex, its heart centered upon Lingdong. His eyes blazed with arcane light as he unleashed the bestowed Art, commencing the swift and powerful fusion.

Outside the Furnace, Wang Lin remained seated in meditative pose, ceaselessly channeling Ancient God power to nourish the nineteen trees. Now, they bore no trace of blight.

Vitality surged through them, and upon their branches, the first nascent leaves began to unfurl.

Turning his gaze away, Wang Lin swept his hand, tearing open a rift to his storage dimension. He reached within and drew forth the sealed girl of the Sealed Extermination Clan.

Though not breathtakingly beautiful, she possessed a delicate loveliness. Her pallid face was framed by raven tresses, and her eyes were tightly shut, revealing a hint of timidity that stirred a wellspring of pity in the heart.

“What is your name?” As he freed her from the dimension, Wang Lin eased the seal, stirring her to consciousness. Yet, she kept her eyes tightly closed.

At his words, her lashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. They were beautiful, clear and distinct in their black and white, but now filled with terror. She bit her lip, unable to meet Wang Lin’s gaze.

Looking upon her, Wang Lin’s mind conjured another face—one bearing the same fear, the same shyness, yet different in that its eyes held defiance and hatred.

“She resembles Yao Xixue…” Wang Lin’s gaze hardened, and he spoke with measured coldness, “What is your name?”

“Zhi…Zhi Man…Feng Zhi Man,” the Sealed Extermination girl stammered, her voice trembling.

“Zhi Man… a fine name,” Wang Lin said quietly. “You have died twice before. How is it that you yet live?” A natural air of dominance emanated from him, enfolding the girl.

“I am a handmaiden of Dao Sovereign Myriad Sounds. If you hold me captive, the Dao Sovereign will surely slay you…” The girl bit her lip and raised her eyes to meet Wang Lin’s, struggling to suppress the fear that still lingered there.

“He cannot enter the Ancient Tomb,” Wang Lin declared.

The girl paled at his words. Sharp-witted as she was, she immediately grasped their implication.

“Impossible! A clone of the Dao Sovereign cannot be slain!” Her voice rose in a shrill cry of terror.

Wang Lin stared at her coldly, offering no further explanation. Instead, he flipped his hand, producing a jade slip. He cast it towards her, and it adhered to her brow. Visions of Myriad Sounds’ demise flooded her mind.

As a confidante of Dao Sovereign Myriad Sounds, she knew much of the deity’s power. She could discern the truth within the jade slip’s visions.

Her face grew ever whiter. The scenes within the jade slip were undeniably real. The Dao Sovereign, reduced to a mere clone and stripped of power, had no chance against the combined might of Wang Lin and the Great Desolate Sovereign.

The vision of the Great Desolate Sovereign’s usurpation shattered her last hope, leaving her trembling.

“My patience is limited. If you do not answer my questions, I will search your soul,” Wang Lin’s voice grew colder. He knew of the Sealed Extermination Clan’s strange resilience and sought to break her spirit before resorting to soul searching.

Fear deepened in her eyes. She knew escape was now impossible. Her master was dead, her path of retreat severed.

“There is no great hatred between us. Even though you hunted me, I have slain you once already. Let that be repayment. If you cooperate, I will not kill you. I might even set you free!” Wang Lin said slowly.

“My Sealed Extermination kin possess three lives…” the girl whispered after a moment of silence.

“From what power do they originate?” Wang Lin asked, his eyes gleaming.

“It is not a power. At birth, we of the Sealed Extermination Clan are taken by the elders to the ancestral altar. After the ritual, each of us is granted three lives,” she said softly, biting her lip.

“You know not death! You dare deceive me? You seek your own end, so blame not Wang!” Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with killing intent. His right hand shot out, aiming for the crown of her head.

The girl looked up, her face etched with fear. “I have hidden nothing! We are born without mark upon our brow. Only after the ancestral ritual are we granted the Clan Seal, and with it, three lives!”

Wang Lin’s hand halted mere inches from her skull, his gaze fixed upon her with chilling intensity.

“How do you perform the sealing arts of the Sealed Extermination Clan?”

“By sacrificing life, unlocking the Clan Seal. Ancestral power then flows from the Seal to create the sealing,” she answered hastily, her voice trembling.

The instant she spoke, Wang Lin’s hand descended, striking her crown. His divine sense surged into her mind, initiating a soul search. Her spirit, already broken, offered no resistance. Wang Lin swiftly absorbed all her memories.

With his current power, he could search her soul without causing permanent damage. Having learned all he needed, his eyes glinted. He raised his right hand and wiped her brow, tearing the Clan Seal from her in a burst of arcane energy. She shuddered as he cast a sealing spell upon her body and returned her to his storage dimension. Wang Lin stared thoughtfully at the faintly glowing Clan Seal in his hand.

The Sealed Extermination Clan was strange indeed. Its members shared no blood relation, but rather were infants stolen from other lands. Those who survived the ancestral ritual became members of the clan.

The ritual had a high mortality rate, and coupled with the disappearance of the Sealed Extermination’s ancestral altar long ago, their numbers had dwindled to a mere handful.
Stripped of their brand, a seal of lineage etched upon their very souls, they do not succumb to death, nor does their power wane. They are merely… unbound, no longer tethered to the Sealborn clan.

The Sealborn, beyond their arcane talents for binding and imprisonment, are whispered to possess the Thrice-Life Gambit, a perilous art capable of granting a mortal three chances at existence. This boon, however, can be stolen, grafted onto another, at a terrible price.

It was this dark ambition that festered within the heart of the Revered Harmonist. She sought, with painstaking care, a Sealborn soul, taking her as a mere handmaiden. Yet, the path to claiming the Thrice-Life Gambit is fraught with peril, demanding a pilgrimage to the lost altar of the Sealborn. Success is far from assured, and failure invites a wrathful backlash. And so, with the altar shrouded in the mists of forgotten ages, the Harmonist’s plot lay dormant, a seed of malice yet to bloom.

Holding the Sealborn’s brand, Wang Lin paused, a storm of thought brewing within his gaze. He decided against the young woman’s demise. She held no true malice towards him. He would take her mark, and once free of the ancient tomb, grant her passage to a new life.

With the mark safely stowed, Wang Lin’s senses flared, drawn upwards to the nineteen trees, nourished by the raw might of a nascent god. Verdant and teeming with life, their branches swayed under the weight of countless leaves.

Yet, among them, not a single leaf shimmered with the telltale essence of Ancient Breath. Patience held his hand. As the god-power flowed unceasing, one of the trees seemed to hasten towards its autumn years. Its leaves, one by one, fluttered down, succumbing to the pull of the earth. Only a single leaf clung steadfast, defying the inevitable.

All the gathered god-power surged towards this lone survivor, a desperate gamble of energy. Wang Lin watched, his breath held captive, as the leaf drank deep, its surface alight with fleeting brilliance. Yet, it remained a common leaf, its essence untouched by the whispers of antiquity.

Then, in a heartbeat, the faintest tremor shook its base, a fragile severance from the bough. Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. As the leaf broke free, its light faded, plunging towards the earth. It landed, lifeless, transformed into mundane dust.

The tree, its purpose fulfilled, ceased its intake of god-power, withering into ash and scattered on the winds.

A frown etched itself upon Wang Lin’s face. The other eighteen trees began their own shedding, mimicking the demise of the first. Was he doomed to waste precious time, to squander the vast power of the ancient god for naught?

“Why… why does this elude me? Was my judgment flawed? Ancient Breath… Ancient… Breath…” A spark ignited in his eyes, a flicker of understanding amidst the shadows of doubt.

He rose, his gaze fixated upon the remaining eighteen trees. Drawing a deep breath, he unleashed a gust of wind, born of his very essence, the breath of a nascent god.

It howled, a tempestuous force tearing through the boughs. The leaves shivered, then cascaded down, a torrent of green. But eighteen remained, clinging stubbornly, bathed in the radiant aura that now streamed from Wang Lin, as if they drank his breath itself.

Joy bloomed within his heart. With a gesture, he plucked them from their branches. They flew, each one emitting a celestial glow and circled Wang Lin, waiting on his command.

Ancient Breath leaves, at last!

But as the joy had barely settled in his heart, another blessing arose within the Emperor Furnace. In the sea of poison, the murmuring toxins ceased and faded, only to condense to nine drops of dark essence that contained the spirit of myriad devotees.

The joy didn’t stop there. The Enlightened Hermit had reached another level. Fusing with a portion of the Purple Sea’s devotees, he stood atop the power of the Purple Sea. His roar shook the very heavens as his body shook of his shackles and elevated to the third level of power.

The blessings didn’t end.

In this wood-covered world, a tremor shook everything. Rips in the very heavens allowed for a mausoleum to descend, revealing a large warrior who was shocked to see Wang Lin was here.