Ages past saw the Ancient Gods suffer three Curses and seven Tribulations. So too did the Ancient Daemons and Ancient Fiends. These trials of the ancient three races, though fraught with peril, heralded new beginnings. Those who endured emerged mightier than before.

Yet this time, Wang Lin faced a tempest of trials, far swifter and fiercer than any he had known. Not only did the tribulations of the Ancient God descend, but the curses of Ancient Fiends and Ancient Daemons also crashed upon him in a single, overwhelming moment.

For the Ancient Races, the first Curse was twinned with two Tribulations, and the second Curse mirrored this pattern, weaving together Tribulations of spirit and soul. Wang Lin’s Ancient God form had already weathered these first two Curses, enduring the four tribulations they brought. Now, he faced the ultimate trial for an individual of the Ancient Races: the three tribulations of the third Curse! But his fused form of Ancient Fiend and Ancient Daemon had never before undergone the four trials of the first two Curses. Thus, upon reaching the Eight-Star realm, all eight Tribulations of Fiend and Daemon struck simultaneously!

These ancient trials must be faced one by one. In Wang Lin’s left eye, eight Fiend Stars whirled like a vortex within a bottomless abyss, unleashing a wild and untamed aura. This Fiendish energy billowed outwards, first from his eye, then engulfing his entire face, and finally cloaking his whole form. He no longer resembled a cultivator in the slightest.

His face turned a ghastly green, contorted in a fierce grimace. Veins bulged across his body like coiling serpents. The Fiendish energy swept outwards from him, an epicenter of raw power, transforming Wang Lin into a true Daemon of old.

His white hair streamed behind him in eerie currents. A series of sharp cracks echoed from within his body. The fingernails of his forefingers writhed and lengthened rapidly, growing to a foot in length! These ten crimson claws possessed an unearthly, demonic beauty. And now, as the Fiendish energy swirled, a suit of crimson armor began to coalesce upon his body, the manifestation of Fiend Armor that only an Eight-Star Fiend could conjure. Clad in this armor, Wang Lin sat cross-legged upon the altar. The illusory form of the Dao Ancient vanished behind him, replaced by a towering Ancient Fiend, one-horned, its body green, its eyes burning with a malevolent light. It hovered behind Wang Lin, also seated cross-legged. Its Fiendish hair writhed and flowed, stretching hundreds of feet, ethereal as drifting smoke. Even those familiar with Wang Lin would hesitate, unable to immediately recognize him in this transformed state. He breathed slowly, deeply, channeling the power of the Ancient Fiend within. Now, the first Curse of the Ancient Fiend, with its two Tribulations, arrived! Like the tribulations of the Ancient God, this first Curse involved a Trial of Bone and a Trial of Flesh. As soon as these forces erupted within Wang Lin’s Fiendish form, the Fiendish aura throughout the starfield convulsed and churned. Wang Lin remained motionless, but his brow furrowed deeply. His closed eyes seemed to conceal the immensity of his pain. Inside him, the bones and flesh of his Fiendish body were assailed by Fiendish energy, threatening to shatter into pieces. Yet, for Wang Lin, this pain was far from unbearable. The tribulations of the Ancient God had been infinitely more intense. Time flowed on, and five days passed. Then, Wang Lin’s eyes snapped open. His brow was devoid of stars, and his right eye was empty, but within his left, the eight Fiend Stars spun at dizzying speed, radiating an all-consuming Fiendish power.

“The first Curse and its two Tribulations of the Ancient Fiend are nothing more,” Wang Lin declared, his voice calm and resolute. He had indeed earned the right to speak such words, for these Fiendish trials were trivial in his eyes. As the first Curse of the Fiend subsided, the second arose abruptly, flooding Wang Lin’s soul and spirit, and coiling within his body. The external Fiendish energy swirled and churned, creating waves of power, distorting even the Ancient Fiend phantom behind him, as though it wished to cry out in endless agony.

Wang Lin raised his right hand and pressed it against his left eye. His expression grew fierce as he poured all his mental strength into suppressing these twin tribulations of the soul. Under this relentless assault, the trials collapsed after ten days! Having endured two Curses and four Tribulations in succession, Wang Lin’s Fiendish aura swelled explosively, shaking the heavens and earth, as though a mighty Daemon had been unleashed upon the world. Wang Lin’s contorted features gradually smoothed. He formed a hand seal and rested them on his knees. The Fiend Stars in his left eye faded, and in the instant they vanished completely, the Daemon Stars in his right eye erupted in a resounding roar! Eight Daemon Stars blazed into existence. The Fiendish aura surrounding Wang Lin dissipated, replaced by an immeasurable Daemon energy. This Daemon energy surged, cloaking his surroundings in a black shroud, its mists writhing. From afar, it seemed one could hear the echoes of countless, tormented souls. Amidst this overwhelming Daemon energy, Wang Lin’s Ancient Fiend armor vanished, replaced by a suit of bizarre, jet-black armor. The black armor contrasted sharply with his white hair, creating a stark and unsettling image. Daemon runes appeared on Wang Lin’s face, spreading and twisting. He had transformed from a Fiend into a Daemon.

Daemons, beings who coexisted with Immortals, Gods, and Fiends in the realms of existence, for ages beyond count. All so-called Daemons of the past were mere imitations. Even the Ancient Daemons were not truly so, for true Daemons are not beings of flesh, soul, or cultivation, but rather of will – a will that recognizes only itself. Wang Lin’s path was akin to that of a Daemon, but he could never truly reach that state. His essence remained that of an Ancient God. Now, as the Daemon Stars spun, Wang Lin opened his eyes, and a cold, pitiless light shone within them. He would now face the first and second Curses of the Ancient Daemon.

The Curses and Tribulations of the Ancient Daemon were similar in power to those of the Ancient Fiend, yet they were even more intense. Of the three ancient races, the Ancient God was strongest, the Ancient Daemon second, and the Ancient Fiend the weakest.

The same was true of the three Curses and seven Tribulations. In seven days, Wang Lin’s Ancient Daemon form withstood the first Curse and its twin Tribulations. The pain of bone and flesh separating was still less severe than the tribulations of the Ancient God.

After another thirteen days, Wang Lin subdued the second Curse of the Ancient Daemon. The trials of soul and spirit had brought his Ancient Daemon form close to perfection! With his Ancient Daemon form having completely endured two Curses and four Tribulations, the balance between Wang Lin’s three ancient forms was complete. He sat cross-legged upon the altar, and without any obstruction, the eighth star of the Ancient God in his brow burst forth in a resounding roar!

An Eight-Star Ancient God!

Over two millennia of cultivation, amidst endless trials and tribulations, Wang Lin had reached this point. He had become an Eight-Star Ancient God, an Eight-Star Ancient Fiend, and an Eight-Star Ancient Daemon!

The three ancient forms united, with the Ancient God as the core – this was Dao Wood! Wang Lin’s eyes shone with a strange light. In his brow and eyes, twenty-four stars spun simultaneously, and an aura of Dao Ancient power emanated from him, filling the starfield. A feeling of overwhelming power surged within him. Wang Lin clenched his fist with determination. He knew that the true tribulations were yet to come.

The third Curse of the Ancient Races – all three at once! The third Curse had three tribulations. The first was the Blood of the Ancient Veins and the Vault of Heaven. The second was the Severed Divinity of the Ancient Dao.

As for the third tribulation, it was the strongest of all, the tribulation unique to each of the three ancient races. Its name was the Gift of the Ancient Ancestor!

Wang Lin knew little of the specifics. Though he had received the Dao Ancient inheritance, the memories passed on were limited. He only knew that the last two tribulations of the third Curse, especially the final one, must be faced within the Ancient Temples of the Ancient Nation on the Immortal-Astral Continent.

For the citizens of the Ancient Nation, reaching this final tribulation was a momentous occasion for the entire nation, an event worthy of celebration. Dao Ancient Yeh Mo had endured the final tribulation within an Ancient Temple, receiving a Dao Ancient title and becoming one of the Ancient Nation’s revered Grand Dignitaries, honored by millions. Even in the Immortal Clan lands, this final tribulation of the Ancient Nation was held in high esteem. Wang Lin sat upon the altar, his body enveloped in an increasingly potent aura of Dao Ancient power, preparing to face the first tribulation of the third Curse. To overcome this tribulation would mean becoming a true Eight-Star being!

With the power of the Eight-Star Ancient Trinity, even without the aid of his cultivation, Wang Lin believed he could defeat a Great Expert of the early-stage Emptiness Profound Realm. If he could further advance his cultivation, forming seven Dao Sources, and unifying them all, then even a mid-stage Emptiness Profound Expert would be no match for him. He could even fight with a late-stage Emptiness Profound!

The Blood of the Ancient Veins and the Vault of Heaven, the tribulation arrives!

The so-called Blood of the Vault of Heaven required one to gather all the essence, energy, and spirit of the ancient three races into a single drop of blood. This single drop of blood would be the essence of the being enduring the tribulation!

With this blood, one must shatter the Vault of Heaven, and invoke the bloodline of the Ancient Nation to obtain the recognition of the Ancient Ancestor, a being beyond mortal comprehension. If the Ancient Ancestor acknowledged one, then no matter where in the universe one was, the Ancient Ancestor would send back a drop of bestowed blood. This bestowed blood would merge with the essence of the essence, energy, and spirit into the blood, and from this blood one will be reborn, possessing a true ancient bloodline! This bloodline was on par with that of the Immortals!

The difficulty of this tribulation lay not in the pain of merging essence, energy, and spirit into the first drop of blood, but in obtaining the Ancient Ancestor’s recognition. Not everyone could achieve this! And even among those who succeeded, there were differences in the amount of bestowed blood one received. Common recognition resulted in only one drop, but greater recognition could result in two.

Dao Ancient Yeh Mo had received three drops when he endured this tribulation. In all of history, before Yeh Mo, the most anyone had received was eight drops!

This person was the Grand Dignitary Xuan Luo, one of the nine suns of the Immortal-Astral Continent! The same peerless powerhouse who had fought with the Grand Dignitary Dao Yi, another sun, over fragments of the Archaic God Realm!

Wang Lin sat upon the altar, and after a long silence, he closed his eyes. The Dao Ancient aura abruptly retracted from his body, concentrating within. He began the first step of this first tribulation of the third Curse: to melt his essence into a single drop of blood. His seated body flickered with blurred phantoms. Gradually, another Wang Lin emerged from within him. This was his Avatar, his cultivator Avatar!

With the Avatar’s departure, everything within Wang Lin’s true self was now of the ancient races!