The array buckled and groaned under the assault of a dozen primeval behemoths. Then, before Wang Lin, a sight long unseen, a creature of utter timidity – the Nether Beast – materialized in spectral form!

So vast was the Nether Beast that even its wraith-like presence threatened to engulf the entirety of the array. The colossal phantom exuded an aura of supreme dominance, a psychic weight that crushed the spirit of any who beheld it.

As the specter rapidly solidified, the ravening beasts battering against the array’s edge paused, their savage eyes fixated on the Nether Beast.

A tremor, sourced from the deepest recesses of their soul-memories, seized each monster. They shuddered, their roars turning to whimpers as they instinctively retreated. This ancient, ingrained fear rendered them incapable of aggression, filled them with an almost crippling dread.

Slowly, as the Nether Beast’s form coalesced completely, the primeval creatures, bellowing in terror, fled. The Nether Beast stood revealed!

Half of its gargantuan body extended beyond the confines of the array. So immense was its scale that this protruding mass found itself face-to-face with an extra-stellar cultivator.

A mere yard separated beast and man!

The cultivator, a middle-aged warrior already weakened by a wounded spirit, stood utterly paralyzed. He gazed, dumbstruck, at the mountainous horror before him, all coherent thought banished from his mind.

The Nether Beast, equally bewildered, stared with vacant eyes, as if struggling to comprehend its surroundings. It gaped at the countless extra-stellar warriors arrayed before it, and at the pack of fearsome, retreating beasts that it, in its own perception, deemed monstrous.

Its innate cowardice surged to the fore. Involuntarily, it shuddered.

That single tremor reverberated through the starfield, sending out shockwaves like a cosmic tide that swept across all around.

But quickly, its unfocused gaze snagged on the lone cultivator standing a scant yard away. For a moment, their eyes locked.

The middle-aged cultivator, his face ashen, broke the silence with a piercing, unearthly scream. He stumbled backward in frenzied haste, his hands flailing uselessly. He seemed to have forgotten every spell and sigil he knew, reduced to primal fear.

His shriek, however, proved the final straw. It startled the timorous Nether Beast, its vacant eyes instantly replaced by abject terror. It, too, emitted a frightened bellow.

Rarely had it been so close to another being. The proximity bred a paralyzing fear, a feeling that threatened to overwhelm it. To the retreating cultivator, however, the beast’s roar was a sonic cataclysm that shattered his sanity. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and, heedless of the cost, invoked a blood-fueled escape, vanishing in a crimson streak.

This sudden flight, coupled with the retreating roars of the primeval beasts, only magnified the Nether Beast’s terror, pushing it to a fever pitch.

It could not recall if it had ever truly encountered such creatures. Yet, in this moment, it was utterly terrified by their savage appearance, by the unnerving closeness of the cultivator. To the Nether Beast, these beasts were horrific, merciless, and utterly beyond comprehension.

Consumed by a rising tide of fear, the Nether Beast’s eyes contracted in horror. Its body convulsed violently as it sought to flee. Simultaneously, overwhelmed by terror, it unleashed another deafening roar.

The sound thundered through the cosmos, a wave of pure sonic force that annihilated all other sound. The very fabric of reality trembled.

The souls of the primeval beasts shrieked in agony and redoubled their retreat. Their eyes reflected a deep-seated dread, an ancestral memory that quashed any thought of resistance.

However, their piercing cries only amplified the Nether Beast’s own fear. It trembled uncontrollably, desperate to escape, its terror reaching its zenith.

The Nether Beast’s sudden appearance and reaction terrified not only the primeval beasts but also the tens of thousands of cultivators surrounding them. These extra-stellar warriors, seeing the massive beast for the first time, trembled in awe. The Nether Beast’s panicked roar, far from inspiring confidence, sent them scrambling backward in terror.

Even the five Great Ones faltered, stepping back in shocked alarm. Though they knew nothing of the beast’s true nature, its sheer size and presence filled them with a sense of profound foreboding.

Only Wang Lin understood. This roar was the sound of utter terror, of a creature pushed to the brink of madness. With a grimace, he noticed a film of white spreading across the beast’s eyes.

The timid Nether Beast was on the verge of being scared into unconsciousness! Small wonder, considering the horrific visage of the primeval beasts.

Wang Lin strode forth, appearing instantly upon the Nether Beast’s back. Its hide felt uncharacteristically soft, yielding. He had no time to ponder this. He raised his hand and gently touched the beast, sending waves of calming energy and a direct order into its mind.

The beast began to recover slightly, its vacant eyes clearing, but Wang Lin’s command sparked a fresh wave of terror.

The Nether Beast shook its massive head violently in refusal, its eyes betraying its fear of devouring the primeval beasts.

However, this gesture only amplified the terror of the retreating cultivators and the remaining primeval beasts. To them, the monstrous Nether Beast seemed ready to attack.

Bound by their mental link, the Nether Beast, despite its fear, obeyed Wang Lin’s iron-willed command. It opened its maw, unleashing a deafening roar, a desperate attempt to bolster its courage.

Above, a yawning Nether-maw appeared, its depths churning with an irresistible vortex of devouring power. The struggling primeval beasts were torn from their positions, their cries cut short as they were sucked into the swirling abyss.

Not only the beasts but the tens of thousands of cultivators as well were in danger of being sucked into the maw. Wang Lin stopped it by striking the Nether Beast and halting its hunger.

He knew the beast’s nature. Should it consume so many souls, it would slip into a years-long slumber, an outcome he wished to avoid. That was the reason he had not summoned the Nether Beast to the battlefields of the past.

Devouring the souls of the primeval beasts would not induce slumber, and an awake Nether Beast was far more useful to Wang Lin!

Amidst the extra-stellar cultivators’ terror, the Nether Beast’s maw slowly closed, only to reopen moments later. To the horror of the extra-stellar warriors, including the five Great Ones, the beast shuddered and emitted a mournful belch, its eyes filled with misery and lingering fear. Even now, it remained terrified of the beasts it had just swallowed.

It did not enjoy eating primeval beasts… They were not delicious. They were terrifying.

As the extra-stellar cultivators stared in disbelief, Wang Lin issued the command to transform into a mote and return to his inner world. The Nether Beast, without hesitation, vanished, dissolving into nothingness and merging with the mark upon Wang Lin’s brow.

This time out had terrified it, leaving its body almost limp. It needed rest to calm its still-racing heart.

Ten thousand divine souls, summoned with the ancient edicts, and even the ultimate war machines held in the Long Reverence Hall had been broken by the Tri-Wheeled Formation.

However, the extra-stellar forces had one final weapon: The colossal stone obelisk connected to chains, and upon those swaying chains hung nine massive coffins.

As the extra-stellar warriors remained transfixed by the image of the Nether Beast, nine runes on the surface of the obelisk began to glow. They transformed into nine lines of power that snaked down the chains toward the coffins. At the moment of contact, a series of explosions tore through the air. The lids of the nine coffins shattered, reduced to splinters!

From within, strands of black hair, like unholy weeds, spilled out and spread rapidly to fill the space between the stars.

“Guardians of our extra-stellar stars, spirits who have existed for eons. Today, your body, once divided into nine, will be united. We summon your undying soul to shatter this array and slay this man!” The five Great Ones prostrated themselves, biting their tongues and spitting out vital essence of their souls. The blood was greedily absorbed by the nine hair-covered coffins.

Tens of thousands of remaining warriors joined them. Their blood, too, was consumed by the coffins.

With roars that shook the stars, the nine coffins exploded!

The energies of the Ancient Gods, Demons, and Fiends twisted together, forming a force of the Ancient Dao, surging from the shattered coffins!

It was an Ancient Dao power that belonged to Ye Mo!

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed, and a grave expression stole over his face. He stood within his array, staring intently at the shattered coffins. He had not imagined the extra-stellar forces would possess such pure Ancient Dao energy!

“Not the left eye! If it were the left eye, the energy would be far greater. If not the left eye, then what…what is this?”