The art of augury, akin to the daily counting of celestial cycles, manifested in this woman was something else entirely. The moment her words echoed forth, ominous ebony circles, each the size of a clenched fist, materialized upon Wang Lin’s very flesh.

These dark sigils, as soon as they appeared, began to spread with terrifying speed. Wang Lin shuddered, a chilling premonition of his own demise gripping his soul.

“I foresee, in the first breath, your flesh unraveling,” the woman intoned, a smile gracing her lips as she gazed upon him.

The encroaching darkness seeped deep within, revealing glimpses of stark white bone, corrupting even the osseous structure into blackened fragments, ready to crumble.

The zither’s melody grew frantic, weaving with the woman’s gentle pronouncements to tear and twist within the ebony circles devouring Wang Lin’s form.

“I foresee, in the second breath, your bones shattering.”

A chorus of sickening cracks echoed from within Wang Lin, his bones riddled with a network of ebony fissures, reaching even the skull itself!

Were he rendered transparent, one could witness the entirety of his skeletal structure on the verge of implosion, some fragments already reduced to dust.

This agony, no less severe than the celestial concubine’s earlier visceral sorcery, propelled Wang Lin backward, his life force draining, a slow march toward oblivion.

Already gravely wounded, the tempestuous powers of rejection within him struggled to be contained. His dissolving organs, now compounded by this foretelling magic, pushed him to the very precipice of oblivion.

Yet, Wang Lin did not reach for the bow. Though near death, he clung to life. The Grand Empyrean had not yet revealed himself. He refused to believe these two celestial concubines were the final test.

That bow, he knew, held but a single arrow’s worth of power. If that strike failed to cripple the Grand Empyrean and his cohorts, it would mean his true and utter demise.

Not until the final hour… the bow must remain untouched!

“I foresee, in the third breath… your spirit extinguished,” the woman whispered, regarding Wang Lin with the gentle gaze of a lover, her jade fingers pointing as she delivered the final decree.

Her soft voice intertwined with the frantic zither, reverberating across the heavens! These two celestial concubines worked in concert, each employing distinct methods to extinguish Wang Lin’s existence!

Especially in combining their arts. One troubled Wang Lin’s spirit, and the other drew closer using the strange augury. Each part intertwined with the others, showing a calculation done well in advance.

As the final words left her lips, Wang Lin unleashed a roar that shook the heavens. He could not comprehend the augury, but he felt its power, a formless assault that manifested precisely as the woman foretold.

His flesh was rotting, his bones cracking, and now, his very soul writhed in agonizing pain, threatening to shatter! But in that instant, Wang Lin raised his right hand and slammed it against his brow!

The impact resonated through his very being. Within the realm of the Nether Beast, his body had been an unstable fusion of Daoic and Celestial flesh, constantly shifting and reforming.

His Celestial form, especially, had been subjected to the madman’s torments, evolving into a nascent form of the Immortal Undying Body! Imperfect, yet possessing the essence of immortality coursing through his veins.

Had he not been on the brink, Wang Lin would never have risked the transformation. The powers of rejection within would surge out of control, unleashing a cataclysm within his very being.

Throughout the battle, he had barely contained these rebellious forces. Should he shift from the Ancient God to the Celestial Body, that fragile equilibrium would shatter.

The fully unleashed rejection would be a wild beast beyond his control, forever untamable!

But now, there was no time for hesitation. As his soul teetered on the edge of oblivion, Wang Lin’s hand struck his brow, and with a deafening roar, golden light exploded from his form.

The radiant light coalesced, enveloping the heavens and the earth, bathing even the distant Vermilion Bird Star in a golden hue.

Within the frozen prison, the white-robed figure shattered the ice and emerged, his pallid face contorting as the light blinded him.

As the golden aura washed over everything, Wang Lin’s Ancient God form faded, receding into the seven starlike marks upon his brow. In its place stood the Immortal Undying Body, radiating celestial brilliance!

The woman who had delivered her ominous pronouncements paled, disbelief etched upon her face. Coming from the realms of the Immortals, Wang Lin’s transformation evoked a legendary tale!

As Wang Lin’s Immortal Undying Body manifested, the energies of the augury surged within, detonating with a deafening roar. Wang Lin’s newly formed body was instantly shattered!

Yet, in that very instant, a flash of golden light heralded its miraculous reconstitution!

The gentle woman coughed up ethereal blood, stumbling backward, her augury undone, her very spirit injured! But none of this compared to the horror and disbelief reflected in her eyes!

She had felt a strange familiarity about Wang Lin, a mere suspicion at first. But now, seeing his body shatter and then reform in a golden flash, her face contorted in abject terror!

“The Immortal Undying Body!” she gasped. She retreated, her terror surpassing even what she felt before the Immortal Exalted.

“You… you possess the Immortal Undying Body! The Immortal Undying Body, before which all Immortals bow!! You are no native of this star! Who are you, and what is your relation to the Immortal Emperor?!” The woman was paralyzed, her mind reeling, as if struck by countless celestial lightning bolts.

“He cannot be slain! He cannot be slain!” she muttered, fear gripping her more intensely than when facing the Immortal Exalted.

Not only her, but also the zither player stopped playing when she saw what was happening. The celestial concubine looked dazedly at Wang Lin who radiated golden light, her expression was changing wildly.

Within the golden aura, Wang Lin’s body was besieged by a raging storm, the unleashed powers of rejection threatening to tear him apart. Before the eyes of the two celestial concubines, his body shattered once more!

Yet, again, it reformed.

After several such cycles, the zither player bit her lip. As her Yin Moon spread further across the heavens, she knew if Wang Lin wasn’t slain then the technique of the Yin Moon Sect would ruin her projection and even impact her true body.

“His Immortal Undying Body is incomplete, clearly learned through illicit means! Kill!” she snarled, and with a flick of her wrist, she seized a string on the zither and pulled it violently. The heavens trembled as a deafening note echoed through the void.

The illusory dagger before her seemed to come alive, fusing with the blood she spewed forth, and shot towards Wang Lin!

All of this occurred in the blink of an eye. Wang Lin, his body reforming once more, roared in pain, madness twisting his features. He gestured wildly with his hands, and as the nine daggers hurtled towards him, he unleashed the power.

He waved once and his body shattered again.

But even in destruction, he managed to cast his spell. Darkness engulfed the heavens, and from the distant waters, a nascent sun rose.

The Art of the Lingering Night, Wang Lin’s first creation!

Though shrouded in darkness, the boundless golden light emanating from Wang Lin’s shattered form could not be concealed. His body seemed to fuse with the sun rising from the waters, and that fusion gave birth to the power of sundering the dark night.

The Lingering Night surged forth.

And at that moment, Wang Lin’s body reformed once more. Roaring in agony, he slammed his hands upon the water, summoning a colossal stone gate!

With the gate’s appearance, an aura of ancient time suffused the area. The second spell he had created; the Art of Flowing Moon was now in play. Lingering Night and Flowing Moon were already amazing in and of themselves but now, after Wang Lin’s celestial transformation, they were even better.

The heavens churned, and the darkness was torn asunder by the golden light. Four of the blood-red daggers unleashed by the zither player shattered before they reached Wang Lin. The Art of the Flowing Moon intercepted the remaining five, until only three reached Wang Lin and stabbed into his body before exploding.

The celestial concubine who had used the art of augury was consumed by The Art of Lingering Night and Flowing Moon. Her spirit started to crack when she was struck by it. As a result she vomited blood.

She had no desire to keep fighting!

Just as Wang Lin had unleashed the two spells and was starting to reform his body, a blurry figure walked out from the heavens.

The blurry figure’s age and sex were not discernable and were made of hazy mist.

“This old man is one of the five Grand Empyreans of the Primordial, the Void Spirit Grand Empyrean.” As its wavering voice spread across the heavens the figure raised his right hand and slammed his palm down on the back of Wang Lin who had just reformed.

Wang Lin shuddered, spitting out golden blood. He turned into a golden rainbow and shot back towards Vermillion Bird.

The figure sucked in the blood Wang Lin spat out as he stared greedily at the fleeing Wang Lin. He morphed into a cloud and chased after him.

“Celestial Blood, I don’t care what form it’s in, I need it.”