The mists, struck by the azure radiance, shattered into nothingness. Even the phantom maw, scarcely manifested, vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Tian Yunzi’s face drained of color, disbelief etched in his eyes. He snapped his gaze skyward, his shock palpable! Behind the three figures of the Azure Dream Dao Sovereigns, across the vast expanse of stars, strode Wang Lin. His white robes billowed, his silver hair danced about him as he approached.

In Wang Lin’s right hand, he clutched a half-compass.

The compass appeared utterly ordinary, emitting no discernible aura. Yet, to Tian Yunzi, it was a thunderclap to the soul, his shock morphing into an unimaginable dread!

“This… this cannot be! You could not have found my true form! Even if you have, what does it matter? I have awakened ninety-nine times! I *am* the Dao of Heaven!” Tian Yunzi, fixated on the approaching Wang Lin, raised his right hand and pointed towards the cosmos.

“The Dao of Heaven is one with all! Return to me, essence of creation!” he bellowed. The swirling mists surrounding him surged outwards, hurtling towards the stars. The firmament shuddered, and a colossal maw materialized, indistinct and spectral.

It lunged downwards, intent on devouring all below!

But in the instant before it could strike, the monstrous mouth convulsed strangely and dissolved into cosmic dust.

Tian Yunzi’s complexion shifted once more, his eyes widening in alarm.

“Do you truly believe this awakening is your ninety-ninth?” Wang Lin’s voice was cold, his advance relentless.

Silence descended upon Tian Yunzi, save for the glint of murderous intent in his eyes. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, a blur of motion aimed directly at Wang Lin!

“I have absorbed three thousand fragmented souls! Even if my awakening is incomplete, I still wield the essence of the Dao! All beings that spring from the Dao are but insects before me! You are not a soul of the Seven Hues! Even with my true form in hand, I will crush you!”

Tian Yunzi morphed into a spectral afterimage as he closed upon Wang Lin, but a flash of azure light intervened. Azure Dream Dao Sovereign stepped forth, his wide sleeves unfurling to ensnare Tian Yunzi.

Tian Yunzi’s face contorted in rage, his primal roar shattering the silence.

“You, too, are born of the Dao! Dare you impede me?!” Dismissing the Dao Sovereign’s intervention, Tian Yunzi lashed out, his attack meeting the other’s defense head-on.

The heavens echoed with the force of their collision. Azure Dream Dao Sovereign stumbled back, his face paling. Tian Yunzi, however, remained unyielding, pressing his attack with renewed ferocity. He was within mere ten paces of Wang Lin!

Wang Lin met Tian Yunzi’s gaze, his expression calm, a hint of mockery playing upon his lips. As Tian Yunzi closed in, Wang Lin spoke softly, a low incantation against the night.

“This body… is mine, in the end… let the path… be extinguished.”

Nine paces from Wang Lin, Tian Yunzi faltered. A runic brand upon his chest pulsed with an eerie light, sending ripples of power cascading across his form.

With each pulse, the insights into the Dao that had filled this stolen vessel vanished like snowflakes in a roaring flame. Without that understanding, the vessel lacked its very foundation.

In Tian Yunzi’s left eye, the origin of Fire flickered and died. In his right, the origin of Lightning collapsed. The origins of Slaughter, Life and Death, Cause and Effect, Truth and Illusion, all shattered within his brow. Even the origin of Restriction, woven into the crimson threads of his eyes, dissolved, its connection to the Dao severed.

In a fleeting instant, the seven origins that had resided within Wang Lin’s form were gone, scattered back into the cosmos.

A body is but a vessel, like a water bucket. Within it resides the water of origin. The understanding of the Dao forms the very vessel, making it strong and preventing it from leaking. But now that understanding was gone, the vessel had shattered, its contents spilling forth.

Tian Yunzi staggered, horror dawning in his eyes. Never, in all his countless awakenings and devourings, had such a thing occurred!

“Let the spirit… be shattered…” Wang Lin intoned, his voice a chilling whisper.

As the words left his lips, the fragment of Wang Lin’s soul within Tian Yunzi, the one intertwined with his three thousand fragments, dimmed and flickered. It burst in a cascade of crystalline light, scattering across the void. The body of a cultivator, bereft of its soul, is no more than a mortal husk!

How could this mortal frame sustain the fused presence of Tian Yunzi’s three thousand souls? The body convulsed, its foundations collapsing under the strain!

The terror in his eyes reached a fever pitch. He had plotted against heaven, manipulated the earth, woven his schemes across eons. But here, before Wang Lin, he was twice undone!

He had not foreseen Wang Lin’s discovery of his true form. He could not fathom that Wang Lin still held sway over this vessel. In his mind, such a thing was impossible. He believed he had fully absorbed the body, turning it into something wholly new. Even now, he couldn’t comprehend what had truly transpired!

Why could Wang Lin still manipulate his body? Why could Wang Lin extinguish the path, shatter the spirit?

As Tian Yunzi writhed in confusion and fear, he heard Wang Lin utter a final, chilling phrase.

“Let the soul… be severed…”

Tian Yunzi shuddered violently. He felt the final connection fraying. The fragment of Wang Lin’s soul, now perfectly interwoven with his three thousand, abruptly vanished.

The union of three thousand souls was perfect, indivisible. But now, with Wang Lin’s soul extinguished, that perfection was shattered. Tian Yunzi’s body erupted in a violent implosion, scattering flesh and bone across the void. His two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine remaining souls, no longer anchored, were flung into the cosmos.

“No! This is impossible! It cannot be! Why? How can you still control this body? It defies the rules of the Dao, the very laws of this realm! I *am* the Dao! I decree all things! Any vessel I claim is mine!”
“I know your memories, a feat impossible even with your Three Lives Technique. Though you die a thousand deaths, I shall not perish. What dark sorcery have you employed? Who… who are you truly?!” Two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine souls, fractured by the shattering of flesh, dispersed into a swirling, nebulous mist. Within this ethereal cloud resided the echoes of every being devoured by Tian Yunzi across his countless awakenings.

Now, as one, they roared, the same question reverberating through the void!

“Who are you?! You are not the seven spirits and three souls of a man born of the seven colors, merely a mortal wretch I cultivated within my own domain! You cannot wield such power! I refuse to accept this!”

“You are but a fragment of the Heavenly Dao, while I, I am its master,” Wang Lin declared, his gaze fixed upon the two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine souls writhing before him. Madness and confusion danced in their eyes, a torment born of unanswered questions and disbelief.

As those words echoed across the star-strewn expanse, Wang Lin raised his left hand and touched his brow. The ancient god’s star vanished, replaced by a swirling vortex, a maelstrom radiating an ancient and desolate aura. Then, as Wang Lin’s right hand lifted, a spectral light erupted from his brow, soaring into the heavens, expanding with terrifying speed until it manifested as a colossal, monstrous beast!

The Netherworld Beast!

Upon its arrival, the beast appeared dazed. The sparsity of souls here lessened its fear, leaving it disoriented. It stared blankly at its surroundings, then its gaze was drawn to the swirling mist of Tian Yunzi’s fragmented souls. It continued to gaze, and its jaw slackened, a line of drool escaping its lips. A hesitant glimmer sparked within its eyes, as if contemplating that this swirling spirit mist, this looked remarkably delectable.

“Master of the Heavenly Dao? The Netherworld Beast… this Netherworld Beast… could it be the manifestation of that other wisp of my essence from ages past?!” Tian Yunzi’s collective consciousness reeled, their attention snapping towards the beast. Shock etched itself upon every soul.

He knew of the Netherworld Beast, of course. But when Lian Dao Fei shattered his spirit, it splintered, creating Tian Yunzi. Over the ages, he had lost all connection with the beast, unable to sense its presence. Otherwise, he would not have endured ninety-nine awakenings in a desperate attempt to reclaim the lost portion of himself, to take back his power over reincarnation.

“The game is over, Tian Yunzi,” Wang Lin announced, his voice calm yet firm. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the half-broken compass he had been clutching. It flew straight towards the Netherworld Beast’s partially opened maw, vanishing within.

A collective shriek, born of utter terror, ripped through the void as Tian Yunzi’s souls scattered, each fleeing with desperate speed along the two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine paths.

Lord Lan Meng and the others moved to pursue, but Wang Lin stayed them. His eyes remained fixed on the Netherworld Beast, which chomped its jaws, its eyes flickering with confusion before hardening into a cold, unfeeling gaze.

“Consume them. Only then will you be whole,” Wang Lin murmured, his voice tinged with exhaustion. He turned and, with heavy steps, settled into a meditative posture upon the beast’s back.

With a guttural roar, the Netherworld Beast lunged forward, soaring towards the vastness of space. As its jaws opened, the fleeing souls were ensnared by an irresistible force, dragged back against their will. One by one, amidst chilling cries of anguish, they were sucked into the Netherworld Beast’s gaping maw!

“Lord Lan Meng, fellow Daoists Qing Shuang and Hong Shanzi, I must reform my cultivator’s avatar and cannot return to the Immortal Realm with you. I shall rejoin you once I have resolved my own affairs. Please, give my regards to Senior Brother Qing Shui. Advise him to remain within the Immortal Realm. When I return, I will require his aid.”

Wang Lin clasped his fist in salute, his expression even more weary, and slowly drifted into the distance upon the back of the beast.

The Netherworld Beast’s eyes were now utterly devoid of emotion, mirroring the terrifying gaze it had possessed when it devoured Lian Dao Fei.

With the Netherworld Beast at his side, Wang Lin feared no one within the Realm of the Caves! At long last, he possessed the true capacity to contend for dominance!

And the prize? That elusive Third Soul!