The very instant Wang Lin’s foot touched forward, decrees echoed forth from within the very heart of the Lu Clan on the star of Eastern Shores!

“Weave the Celestial Canopy!”

“Bind the Immortal Daemon!”

“Seal the Eight Horizons!”

With each echoing command, from the dozens of orbiting minor stars surrounding Eastern Shores, thousands of cultivators chanted in unison. In a thunderous roar, veils of light manifested, layering themselves around the target, wrapping it in an ethereal embrace.

Swiftly, the veils multiplied, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million… on and on until they reached the nigh-unbreakable count of nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand!

The radiance emitted from this multitude of barriers pierced the void, spreading like wildfire across the eastern reaches of the Sea of Stars. Even in the far-flung starfields of the other cardinal directions, a brilliant aurora could be seen rising in the East.

A murmur swept across the Sea of Stars. Cultivators dragging celestial bodies into alignment, ancient families in flight, and entire armies of migrating practitioners, all felt the reverberations of the light emanating from the East. They turned their gaze, though they could not discern the events unfolding so far away, they could witness the raw power stretching across the boundless expanse.

Far, far removed from Eastern Shores, in the very heart of the Sea of Stars’ war encampment, stood a formation of over six hundred fortified celestial bodies. Within the vortex at its center, Master Lu’s eyes shone like lightning as he stared into the distance.

Beside him, Yan Leizi, Xue Shenzi, and Lie Yunzi, their faces ashen, trembled as they felt the unfathomable power emanating from Eastern Shores.

“The formation of Eastern Shores is ancient, passed down through the ages. Rumor has it that the Lu Clan has nurtured a spirit of the array for tens of thousands of years. Once fully unleashed, with its essence incorporated, its power is truly terrifying. I wonder if Wang Lin can break it…”

“His cultivation…it has reached a height beyond comprehension. Yet, even with such strength, cracking the formation of Eastern Shores will surely take time…”

“If it were I, breaking this formation would take but a few breaths…” Master Lu, his gaze unwavering, mused with a dawning realization.

“Twenty breaths, sufficient! I will see how long Wang Lin takes to shatter it!”

The nine million layers of light erupted, forming a barrier that even Master Lu would require twenty breaths to overcome—the apex of Second Step arts. Even a being on the Fifth Decay of Heaven and Man would find it nigh impossible to breach such a defense alone.

Wang Lin’s gaze remained calm, his eyes fixed on the swiftly rising veils of light. A cold smile flickered across his lips.

“So, it becomes more interesting… yet this is still not enough!”

Wang Lin raised his right hand, pointing towards the heavens. With a thunderous roar, the seven Ancient God Stars emblazoned on his brow began to spin, unleashing a torrent of Ancient God aura, nay, Dao Ancient power, that erupted from his very being!

As this aura flooded the starfield, space itself twisted and warped, revealing countless fissures as if the fabric of reality could not withstand such pressure!

Dao Ancient, an existence transcending even the Ancient Gods!

Indeed, it was from the Dao Ancient that the Ancient Gods themselves were birthed. In that moment, a colossal, spectral silhouette manifested behind Wang Lin!

The phantom was indistinct, only the visage of a head, a skull with a missing left eye!

The immensity of this head blotted out the stars, dwarfing everything in existence. A wave of oppressive power radiated outwards, filling the eastern Sea of Stars!

As this aura manifested, countless cultivators across the Sea of Stars were struck with terror, as if faced with a being beyond their comprehension!

Within the formidable array, Master Lu’s eyes widened in disbelief as he beheld the gargantuan head.

“That… what… what is that?! Ancient God? Ancient Demon? Ancient Devil?”

The existence of the Dao Ancient was beyond the ken of almost all. Even for Master Lu, this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a being!

Wang Lin remained composed, his right hand still pointed skyward, slowly clenching into a fist. As he lowered it, he unleashed a blow across the distance toward the nine million veils of light!

“God Tremor!”

The starfield quaked. As Wang Lin’s fist descended, a phantom fist, tens of thousands of feet in size, materialized in the void and hurtled forward!

In the blink of an eye, this colossal phantom fist slammed into the nine million layers of light.

The barriers shuddered violently. As the fist struck, their brilliance flared, and a thunderous roar echoed across the Sea of Stars!

Without resistance, the veils buckled and shattered beneath the might of the colossal fist! Nine million, eighty million, sixty million, thirty million…

It was as though the fist had plunged into a still lake, the surface rippling and shattering as it delved deeper. The ancient array crumbled and broke apart!

With relentless destruction, in a single breath, the entire formation exploded, utterly powerless to halt the descent of the phantom fist as it tore through the remaining barriers, annihilating all that lay in its path!

The shattered array swirled back upon itself, revealing the swirling vortex formed by dozens of orbiting celestial bodies within. As the remnants of the shattered array crashed into the vortex, they unleashed deafening explosions and caused deep fissures to tear across the surface of the orbiting stars, threatening to shatter them completely.

But it was not yet over. Wang Lin’s God Tremor was a strike born from the union of his Seven Star Ancient God heritage and the power of the Dao Ancient!

The veils of light were like paper before the force of the blow, offering less than a tenth of the needed resistance!

Seven Star Ancient God! Merely the raw power of the flesh was enough to contend with the Third Step. How could this tiny corner of Eastern Shores withstand such might!

With a deafening roar, the phantom fist crashed into the vortex surrounding Eastern Shores. The earth-shattering impact shattered the formation entirely!

Broken and scattered!

The
The swirling vortex of cultivation stars shuddered, a death knell echoing through the void. A dozen planets, once teeming with life, cracked and splintered under an unseen force. Their surfaces buckled, great chasms rent the earth, and then, with a deafening roar, they shattered into a million pieces!

The myriad cultivators who dwelled upon them were torn asunder, their bodies and souls dissolving into the cosmic dust. Even the most ancient masters, their veins thrumming with power as they desperately maintained the protective arrays, could not escape this cataclysm. They were erased from existence, their essence fading into the void alongside their shattered worlds.

Then, from the heart of the chaos, came the phantom fist of Wang Lin, a colossal projection of power spanning tens of thousands of feet. It plunged into the swirling debris, an unstoppable force aimed at the Eastern Main Star, the jewel of the vortex.

The remaining fragments of the shattered planets, drawn by the irresistible pull of the descending fist, crashed against it in a futile attempt to stem its advance. But they were mere pebbles against a mountain, and crumbled into nothingness at the moment of contact.

The fist, now unimpeded, thundered toward the Eastern Star. But as it descended, a desperate act of sacrifice unfolded in the northern reaches of the planet, near the ancestral home of the Lu family. A piercing shriek tore through the air as nearly ten thousand cultivators, seated in meditative trance, vomited forth their lifeblood. The crimson tide surged toward the elders at their center, infusing them with an unnatural power.

The elders’ bodies swelled, their robes straining against their distended forms. Veins like writhing serpents bulged beneath their skin, pulsing with arcane energy.

“Sacrifice the Bloodshadow! Conjure the Array Spirit!” a voice screamed, raw with desperation.

With a final, horrific detonation, the elders burst apart, their bodies dissolving into a crimson mist. The blood roiled and coalesced, forming a towering, ethereal figure in the sky. A bestial roar echoed from within the swirling crimson cloud, and the Bloodshadow lunged skyward, a being of pure, unadulterated array power.

Above, the sky above the northern lands was consumed by shadow. All light was blotted out by the monstrous fist of Wang Lin, poised to strike. The fist, a manifestation of ancient power, was descending upon the Eastern Star.

The Bloodshadow, a swirling vortex of crimson energy, hurtled upwards to meet it, its form indistinct and shifting, but radiating an aura of overwhelming arcane might.

In a blinding flash and a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the Eastern Star, the Bloodshadow collided with Wang Lin’s phantom fist. The shockwave ripped through the heavens, carrying with it the echoes of a dying world, shaking the very fabric of the cosmos. The force of the impact raced outward, cleaving through the void, a cataclysmic ripple that engulfed the eastern reaches of the celestial domain.

But the echoing thunder had barely faded when the Bloodshadow, overwhelmed by the sheer, raw power of Wang Lin’s attack, shattered. Crimson rain cascaded from the heavens, a mournful testament to a desperate sacrifice.

Before the blood could even touch the ground, Wang Lin’s fist, amplified by the force of the shattered Bloodshadow, descended with renewed fury. It struck the northern lands of the Eastern Star, unleashing a cataclysm of unprecedented scale.

The earth buckled and broke, tearing open a vast chasm that plunged deep into the planet’s core. Nearly ten thousand cultivators were swallowed whole, their bones and flesh crushed into dust beneath the unimaginable force. A crater, tens of thousands of feet across, now marred the surface of the Eastern Star, a gaping wound reaching six-tenths of the way to the planet’s core. A miasma of blood and dust filled the air, and the very oceans trembled in response.

The seas rose in furious swells, then, defying gravity, were lifted into the air by the planet’s shuddering convulsions. A torrent of water cascaded into the gaping wound in the north, filling the chasm, while the rest of the ocean poured down as a bloodied rain upon the devastated lands.

Slowly, the water filled the monstrous pit. From above, the shape was clear, a perfect impression, as if a god had punched his fist into clay.

Eight breaths.

From the moment Wang Lin unleashed his fist, shattering the protective arrays and consuming the smaller planets, to the final, devastating blow that ripped open the Eastern Star and claimed the lives of the Lu family, only eight breaths had passed!

Within the swirling vortex, the scholar Lu Fu, who watched from his seated position, shot to his feet, his face etched with shock and dismay. He realized his assessment of Wang Lin’s power had been tragically flawed.

“He hasn’t even reached the Third Step…yet his fist possesses such terrifying power…Eight breaths…eight breaths…” Lu Fu gasped, instantly discarding his earlier conclusions based on the rain-sword. He now placed Wang Lin on a level footing with himself, a peer to be both respected and feared.