The difference between passivity and initiative, though a mere syllable, is as vast as the heavens themselves. It alters not merely actions, but the very spirit within!

Guided by the seven celestial stars of the Ancient Gods, Wang Lin, after two millennia upon the path of cultivation, finally brought his Ancient God physique to the seventh star.

A Seven-Star Ancient God possesses a physical form so formidable that few cultivators in the Second Step could hope to inflict harm, save during the tribulations that plague such beings. Else, as with the Ancient Gods of old in the Immortal Realm, it would require countless immortals assailing him for days on end to inflict true injury or death.

Indeed, a complete Seven-Star Ancient God boasts a physical strength that can rival even a Third Step cultivator in the initial stages of the Empty Nirvana Realm!

More crucially, among the Ancient Gods, the seventh star marks the threshold of accelerated adulthood. Upon achieving this stage, the physique grows ever stronger with the passage of time!

Ascending from the fifth star onwards is an arduous climb, but each star gained amplifies their power exponentially. Now, with his own cultivated magic, the dual origins of lightning and fire, and a mastery of myriad arts, Wang Lin, though not yet of the Third Step, could stand against a Third Step cultivator in the early Empty Nirvana Realm. He would not merely hold his own but, barring unforeseen events, achieve victory.

As a Seven-Star Ancient God, Wang Lin was now a match for Tu Si of the same star. Though Tu Si possessed a complete ancestral heritage, Wang Lin was unique, the first being in history to fuse the path of cultivator and Ancient God into a single, formidable entity!

He would even dare to clash with a mighty one in the mid-stages of the Empty Nirvana Realm, despite facing likely defeat. Yet, even such a being would find it exceedingly difficult to slay him!

Among the powerful of the Third Step – the Empty Nirvana, Empty Spiritual, Empty Mysterious, and Empty Tribulation Realms – each stage, like those of the Second Step, is divided into four levels: initial, middle, late, and perfected. The gulf between these levels is immense, akin to that which separates the stages of Cleansing Nirvana and Shattered Nirvana.

Wang Lin, eyes ablaze with determination, sat serenely upon the chair. He endured the violent reverberations that, moments before at the eighteenth breath, had threatened to shatter his very being. Yet now, that same force held little sway over him.

Continuing from that eighteenth breath, the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first breaths swiftly followed.

These three breaths passed in an instant, and the rebounding power surged ever higher, lashing against Wang Lin’s body even as the potent aura of the ancestral heritage permeated the chamber.

This ancestral essence was devoured greedily by Wang Lin, his body, and the ancient demon corpse beneath his hand, becoming akin to two terrifying black hole vortexes. Upon entering his being, the essence split into two streams, each drawn away with ferocious speed.

This siphoning, already arduous under the chair’s rebounding force, became increasingly difficult. Yet, Wang Lin refused to yield. He knew that to squander this moment would mean losing an opportunity that might never arise again!

The twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth breaths followed in quick succession!

The rebounding force of the chair reached a terrifying peak, the din of its onslaught deafening. Even Wang Lin’s Seven-Star Ancient God physique began to falter.

His body trembled and threatened to collapse. But the regenerative power of a Seven-Star Ancient God far exceeded that of the sixth, healing him almost as soon as he broke.

Between Wang Lin’s brows, amidst the seven fixed stars, a faint, hazy vortex began to form from the continual absorption of the ancestral essence.

This vortex was the nascent form of the eighth Ancient God star. Should it materialize, Wang Lin would ascend to an Eight-Star Ancient God!

An Eight-Star Ancient God – a being of immense power among the stars!

But attaining this level was far more difficult than achieving even the seventh star. Though the vortex had appeared, it was so faint that it could easily go unnoticed!

If Wang Lin were to falter, the nearly imperceptible vortex would vanish without a trace!

Meanwhile, within the ancient demon corpse before him, a boundless demonic aura surged, driven by Wang Lin’s relentless infusion. Even the newly-formed demonic star within his right eye was now sent into the corpse. In mere moments, the petrified flesh of the ancient demon seemed to soften, no longer as rigid as stone.

And within its right eye, once a dull void, a faint, spectral light flickered, revealing a demonic star slowly forming, becoming clearer with each passing breath!

At the same time, beyond the illusory net hundreds of feet away, Tuo Sen, who was rapidly healing, saw his flesh writhing. In a few breaths, it had restored itself to eighty percent!

Tuo Sen’s physical form was once that of Tu Si, who had been near the apex of Eight-Star Royal Bloodline Ancient Gods. Tu Si had lingered at this level for too long. His physical form was the limit of an Eight-Star Ancient God.

To reach Nine-Star level, Tu Si had used the Ancient God clan’s secret of ink flow spirit split, but the secret failed. Thus, the demon spirit of Tuo Sen emerged.

The flesh which Tuo Sen now inhabited possessed regenerative powers far beyond those of Wang Lin. If not for the heavy injuries he had sustained from the prior shout, it would have already restored itself entirely.

The eighth restoration point was his limit. The last two were not body injuries but spirit damage inflicted by the scream. That damage needed time and meditation to heal. He could not recover quickly.

Tuo Sen suddenly looked up, his eight star points spinning fast as he stared behind the illusory net toward Wang Lin who sat on his chair, his expression complex.

He was, perhaps, the one in all creation who knew Wang Lin best, from his days as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to the present, where he stood on the verge of mastery, affording himself sufficient time to recover.

Such things were easy to say, but how many in the world could truly achieve them!

“You wish to battle, and I shall grant it! The battle outside the Sealed Realm was not satisfying enough. Today, within this Daogu inheritance grounds, we shall clash once more!” Tuo Sen declared. Stepping forward, with a resounding boom, he crossed the breach in the Gu Xi Leaf seal and stepped from the illusory net into the inheritance palace!
For the first time, Tosen uttered a sentence devoid of the self-aggrandizing “I, the God,”. It was a simple address, yet it revealed a profound shift within his heart: the acknowledgment of Wang Lin as a true Ancient God.

Throughout his existence, Tosen had never truly accepted Wang Lin as one of the Ancient Gods. Even after his escape, he persisted in believing Wang Lin was merely a mortal who had pilfered his inherited memories. Even after Wang Lin ascended to become a Six-Star Ancient God and clashed with him in battle, Tosen still harbored an inner contempt, deeming Wang Lin unworthy of the title.

But now, witnessing Wang Lin’s transformation into a Seven-Star Ancient God, feeling the raw, boundless power of the Ancient God coursing through his very being, and observing the perilous trial of inheritance that Wang Lin was enduring while yet granting him restored dignity… his spirit could no longer deny the truth.

He was, indeed, one of them. An Ancient God, like himself.

“There is no true animosity between us. This battle is our destined struggle, a trial by inheritance!” Tosen’s voice boomed like crashing waves. With a thunderous step forward, the very palace trembled. His form swelled rapidly, expanding to a colossal thousand feet. His right hand clenched into a fist, and he unleashed a devastating blow.

Ancient Gods possessed the power to manipulate their physical form at will. Tosen wielded this mastery with ease. Wang Lin, in his earlier days, had yet to fully grasp this concept. But now, upon attaining the Seven-Star rank, he sensed its edges. He knew, for instance, that this thousand-foot form was not the limit of his power.

Wang Lin’s eyes blazed like lightning, igniting with fierce intensity the moment Tosen entered the palace. Within his gaze burned a potent battle spirit. The seven Ancient God star-markings upon his brow spun with blinding speed. As Tosen’s fist hurtled towards him, Wang Lin raised his left hand, clenching it into a fist and unleashing a counter-blow without hesitation.

Two Ancient Gods, both inheritors of the legacy of Tusi, now stood within this ancient tomb palace, ready to engage in the second act of their destined conflict.

The impact of Tosen’s fist unleashed a tempestuous roar throughout the palace. Ling Dong Shangren and Zhou Jin hastily retreated, their bodies wracked with injuries that precluded them from joining the fray. They could only find refuge at a distance, cross-legged, focusing their energies on swift healing.

Ling Dong Shangren maintained a serene expression, oblivious to the outcome of the battle. He solely focused on his restorative breathing techniques.

Zhou Jin, however, bore a look of complex emotion. He had witnessed firsthand the rise of Wang Lin, the stark difference in his strength before and after entering the ancient tomb. Any last lingering illusions shattered. In silence, he closed his eyes, dedicating himself to his own recovery.

Behind Tosen, the moment his fist was unleashed, a colossal, spectral figure materialized. Towering above the palace, it was vast beyond comprehension, its visage filled with savage arrogance and a contemptuous disregard for all life.

Its emergence caused the entire palace to shudder violently, threatening to crumble into dust.

It was the phantom image of Tusi!

The eight-star, peak-level royal Ancient God, Tusi! Tosen was a mere sliver of Tusi’s demonic intent. Though this intent had now usurped control, his soul, his very essence, remained inextricably bound to Tusi.

Now, with this full-powered strike, Tusi’s phantom flared into existence, mirroring Tosen’s movements behind him. Its own right fist unleashed a violent blow, moving like a plummeting star, hurtling towards Wang Lin alongside Tosen.

In that same instant, behind Wang Lin, another gigantic figure, equally immense, also materialized. But this phantom was also Tusi! Yet, in stark contrast to the savage apparition behind Tosen, this Tusi radiated profound wisdom and ancient weariness.

As Wang Lin’s fist surged forward, the spectral Tusi behind him raised its left hand, clenching it into a fist and unleashing a devastating strike.

If there were heavens, they would have changed color. If there were clouds, they would have been torn asunder.

This was a scene of destiny itself!

From afar, it appeared that two colossal figures, mirroring each other in every detail—from the fine lines etched into their skin to their sheer size—were unleashing a furious exchange of blows.

The only difference was that one of the specters exuded a demonic savagery, while the other radiated a calm and profound wisdom.

And below the feet of these two colossal specters stood Wang Lin and Tosen.

They drew closer, an instant later Tosen reached the stone platform, and in mid-air his right fist crashed down and met Wang Lin’s left fist head-on!

And in that instant, as the two began their destined battle, a lithe figure appeared outside the illusory web in the distance. This figure was none other than the alluring woman, one of the Eight Consorts of Ancient times!