“Such profound cunning, such decisive action…Seven-Colored Daoist…” Wang Lin, a clarity blooming in his mind, witnessed all. He understood the true reason for the Seven-Colored Daoist’s willing surrender to illusion.

“That Fan Shanmeng lured the Seven-Colored Daoist into illusion with her art, and he simply allowed her to weave her spell. But with his formidable cultivation, he reshaped everything within, turning the illusion into a warped echo of the ancient battles of the Cave World!” Wang Lin surged forward, towards the fading presence of the Seven-Colored Daoist.

“His deepest longing is to find his Third Soul, yet years have passed without a single clue! He knows not where it lies hidden, nor into whom it has been reborn! Thus, within this illusion, as if dreaming, he returns to the time when he divided his essence into Three Souls and Seven Spirits!”

“And then, as now, he follows this illusory Third Soul, to witness the direction of its reincarnation, a sight denied to him in the past! If he truly sees where the Third Soul went, whether the illusion be truth or falsehood, it will offer him a chance to find what he seeks!”

“This…must not succeed! For if the events unfolding in this illusion reflect the truth of the past, the Seven-Colored Daoist might truly find his Third Soul!”

Enveloped by the grimace canvas, Wang Lin transformed into a spectral streak, racing forward. As a primordial spirit, his speed surpassed the ordinary, yet he still lagged behind the Seven-Colored Daoist and the elusive Third Soul. The starry expanse ahead was devoid of their traces, and his divine sense could not find them.

“This will not do. I am too slow…” A chilling glint sparked in Wang Lin’s eyes. He raised his right hand and struck his own being fiercely, expelling a breath of primordial spirit. Colorless yet more precious than blood, its release caused his spirit to visibly wither.

He stepped into the expelled breath, and his speed surged exponentially, vanishing in an instant. He hurtled forward, a hundred times faster than before.

In a fleeting moment, Wang Lin appeared in a distant realm, catching a glimpse of the Seven-Colored Daoist at the very edge of his extended divine sense.

“Still short!” With gritted teeth, Wang Lin exhaled another breath of primordial spirit. His speed erupted once more, a searing pain spreading through his very spirit, threatening to tear it apart. This agonizing velocity reached the limit of his endurance in a heartbeat.

Driven by this desperate pace, Wang Lin’s divine sense finally caught up with the Seven-Colored Daoist. He saw the complete figure of the Daoist, and before him, the Third Soul emanated a milky light, speeding into the distance.

The Seven-Colored Daoist frowned, sensing Wang Lin’s presence. This illusion was of his own making, and the intrusion of another was immediately apparent. Yet, the moment was critical, the key to finding the Third Soul’s reincarnation.

Such an opportunity was a treasure, for none in the Cave World were capable of such grand illusions. Ignoring Wang Lin’s pursuit, the Seven-Colored Daoist unleashed his full speed, focusing on the Third Soul. He must see where it was going!

Finding that place would give him the chance to trace its echoes after leaving the illusion.

Time slipped by like sand. Wang Lin expelled a third breath of primordial spirit, barely keeping pace with the Seven-Colored Daoist. His spirit burned, a roaring flame consumed by its own light.

The stars ahead blurred, forming a colossal star chart, a condensed map of the entire Cave World. Wang Lin recognized it at once. It was the very representation of the world itself, unified, before the formation of the boundary array.

He saw the Third Soul plunge into the star chart, not towards its center, but close. It was the Inner Region!

“The Inner Region! The Third Soul went to the Inner Region!” Wang Lin’s eyes shone with an odd light. The Third Soul vanished into the Inner Region, but the Seven-Colored Daoist roared and cast a spell upon the star chart. In Wang Lin’s perception, the chart expanded rapidly, and the Seven-Colored Daoist found the Third Soul once more!

It passed through the Cloud Sea Star Region, heading towards Zhaohe!

Perhaps it would linger there, or continue through Zhaohe to other regions. Soon, Wang Lin would see the Third Soul’s final destination!

But so too would the Seven-Colored Daoist, whose eyes now burned with fervor. He knew not if this mirrored the truth of the past, but it was a chance!

His first chance in countless millennia!

“If he finds the Third Soul, I am doomed. I must find it before they do! And if I cannot, I must not let anyone else find it first!” Wang Lin’s eyes hardened with resolve, but his cultivation paled in comparison to the Seven-Colored Daoist. He was powerless to stop what was happening.

The Third Soul seemed to slow, as if about to stop, and the Seven-Colored Daoist’s excitement reached its peak. At this critical moment, Wang Lin halted. Without hesitation, he made a hand seal, and the grimace canvas around his spirit flickered with eerie light, enveloping him before he vanished.

When he reappeared, the world was awash in the colors of the rainbow. Wang Lin shuddered and opened his eyes. He was back in the first layer of illusion, where the Seven-Colored Daoist sat in meditation on a distant mountain peak, his face filled with eager anticipation.

Wang Lin, still encased in the grimace canvas, floated in the air.

Seeing his surroundings, he did not hesitate. His primordial spirit surged back into his physical body within the first illusion.

The moment he reentered his flesh, Wang Lin stood from his meditative pose. Without wasting a second, he strode towards the peak where the Seven-Colored Daoist sat, lost in meditation.

He could not stop the Daoist in the second layer of illusion, but he could use the grimace canvas to return to the first layer and interfere. Or, he could force the Seven-Colored Daoist to awaken from the second layer prematurely, achieving his goal!

As Wang Lin approached the summit where the Seven-Colored Daoist meditated, the nine firebird suns surrounding the Daoist simultaneously opened their eyes, unleashing a wave of burning heat. This heat was not of fire, but of pure light!

The heat of light was far more intense than any flame. Wang Lin felt as if he were melting. His hair in the first layer of illusion ignited and vanished.

Agonizing pain seared his body. A step further, and he would be incinerated!

“I cannot get close!” Wang Lin’s face was pale, his eyes filled with desperation. He knew not what the Daoist had seen during this time in the second illusion, but he knew that if he could not stop him, he would have to flee!

But he refused to leave. He retreated a few steps, staring intently at the Seven-Colored Daoist, his expression of joyous rapture visible within the circle of suns.

“How can I awaken him…What can I do? What can I do?” Wang Lin’s eyes darted about, a torrent of thoughts swirling through his mind.

Then, his eyes narrowed.

“Illusions, and especially layered illusions, can be treated as dreams. What I need to do is to wake this Seven-Colored Daoist from his dream. If he is dreaming, he is sleeping. If I look at it that way, it becomes simpler!

I see him as sleeping, so I must wake him! Wake him…” Understanding dawned in Wang Lin’s eyes. He flung his sleeve, and the Fire and Thunder Origins roared from his left eye, coalescing before him into a vortex of burning, crackling lightning.

At the same time, Wang Lin made a hand seal. The Life and Death Origin, the Karma Origin, and the Illusion Origin all surged from his brow, merging with the vortex and causing it to grow.

Finally, the Murder Origin appeared. The moment it entered the vortex, the spinning mass howled, rapidly reshaping itself under Wang Lin’s control, transforming into the shape of a massive horn!

He had created a device to amplify sound, using six great Origins! Within it, countless rotating Origin energies formed corrugations. As sound entered, it would be amplified exponentially.

With that done, Wang Lin channeled all the power of the Ancient Three Clans within him, fusing it into the Dao Ancient. The sky behind him twisted, and the Dao Ancient phantom manifested.

Veins bulging on his face, Wang Lin held his breath. Then, he roared into the Origin-made horn!

His roar was that of an Ancient God, that of a Dao Ancient, that of the sound he learned in the Ancient Tomb when he repelled the Palm Sovereign! The sound shook the heavens, causing the Seven-Colored Daoist’s world to reverberate with deafening explosions!

The sky shattered, the earth quaked, and chasms ripped open the land. The winds howled in a furious storm. All of this was caused by Wang Lin’s roar! And this was before it had even passed through the amplification of the six Origins!