In the eastern reaches of the Roiling Star Domain, adrift amidst the vast cosmic sea, lay a world dedicated to the cultivation of power. It was not a grand planet, nor blessed with a potent spiritual essence, merely a common sphere for those who sought the path of immortality.

Yet, upon its surface, countless battles had dwindled the ranks of cultivators, leaving mostly those who had barely grasped the foundations of power. Once-proud sects lay abandoned, monuments to forgotten glories.

It was autumn upon the land. The wind, tinged with the chill of the coming winter, swept across the plains, whirling fallen leaves in a frenzied dance across the sky. Nestled within a fold of verdant hills, a secluded valley offered sanctuary.

Within its embrace grew Autumn Orchids, blossoms that dared to bloom only as the year waned. Their fragrance was subtle, imbued with a touch of melancholy, a reflection of the season’s fading beauty.

Each autumn, the valley transformed into a tapestry of these orchids, a spectacle of transient loveliness. Their reign was brief, yielding to the icy grip of winter, when snow would blanket the valley and all within, until the returning caress of spring called them forth once more.

Now, before the full onslaught of autumn, the valley throbbed with the orchids’ final, delicate beauty.

Deep within this fragrant haven stood a humble dwelling, its weathered timbers bearing witness to the passage of countless seasons. Perhaps some learned recluse of ages past had made it their home, their life ebbing away amidst the scent of the autumn blooms.

Before this cottage sat an old man, clad in robes of faded green. His face was a roadmap of wrinkles, his eyes fixed upon the orchids with a profound sense of longing.

A gust of wind rustled through the valley, causing the orchids to sway. It buffeted the old man, making his robes ripple and sending strands of silver hair dancing across his weathered face.

A handful of withered leaves, carried by the wind, drifted lazily across the sky. One danced before the old man’s eyes, momentarily obscuring his view of the orchids.

He sighed softly, lifting his head. A violent cough racked his frame, leaving his face flushed and marked with sorrow. He gazed at the wind-tossed leaves, his expression heavy with a poignant sense of loss.

“Autumn has come…” he murmured. “The orchids, too, will soon fade. Before long, they will wither and die… But next year, they will bloom again, and I will not be here to witness their awakening…” He shook his head, raising a hand to examine his palm. Upon it was etched a strange mark, an insignia in the form of an orchid, faintly radiating a gentle light.

“These past years, the three seals have been completed…” he continued in a near-whisper. “This is the final task I can perform for my master…”

“Where will I be, this time next year?” he mused. “I wish for no further reincarnation, only to close my eyes and find rest… Master, have you come?” The old man looked up, speaking softly into the air.

“I know you have come,” he added, not turning his head, his voice laced with a touch of bitter resignation.

The gust of wind that swept through the valley gathered the fallen leaves, spiraling them upwards towards the heavens, until they disappeared beyond the rim of the hills. The wind departed, but it left behind a figure who stood silently behind the old man. He, too, gazed towards the orchids, yet it was unclear whether his eyes were fixed upon the man or the ephemeral beauty of the flowers, or perhaps both, equally.

It was Wang Lin, clad in robes of pristine white, who stood there.

The old man slowly rose, turning to face Wang Lin. His eyes reflected a turmoil of emotions – complexity, bitterness, and finally, a tranquil acceptance, tinged with a lingering reverence. After a long, silent moment, he knelt, his voice soft and respectful.

“Disciple Xie Qing, greets his Master…”

Wang Lin gazed upon Xie Qing, a sharp pain stabbing at his heart. It was as if the very blood had been drained from his soul, for he saw the state of Xie Qing’s ailing body…

“The Third Soul of the Seven-Colored Immortal…” Xie Qing continued, still kneeling. “I am he… But I am Xie Qing, not the Immortal.”

“Why you?” Wang Lin’s face was ashen. Though his acquaintance with Xie Qing had been brief, he held him in his heart as he did the thirteen, as a valued disciple.

“Master…” Xie Qing raised his head, his eyes beginning to glisten with unshed tears.

“When fragments of my past memories began to surface, I chose to flee, to resist, to feel resentment… I came here, and gazed upon these orchids, reflecting upon my life. I finally realized, I am Xie Qing… I am not Su Dao, the Seven-Colored Immortal!” A faint smile touched Xie Qing’s lips as he murmured the words.

“The Third Soul holds all the memories of the Seven-Colored Immortal, and they will be invaluable to you, Master… I know that, throughout this realm, the First Soul, the Second Soul, and the Four Generals are searching for me…”

“The Four Generals once served the Seven-Colored Immortal, but their hearts have long since changed. They seek the Third Soul for their own purposes… Whichever of them claims the Third Soul will inevitably devour it.

“Master, this is the fate of the Seven-Colored Immortal, the fate of Xie Qing. I cannot escape it…”

“Even if I were to be reborn, it would be futile… This Third Soul has fled for countless years, and now, its end has come… The Third Soul possesses only memories, not power, not understanding. Though the soul is strong, it cannot protect itself.

“Rather than be devoured by another, I would rather offer myself to you, Master…” Xie Qing whispered, his voice laced with regret.

Wang Lin remained silent, his heart pierced with an unbearable sorrow. He stood as if he had stepped into a realm of perpetual frost, the bone-chilling cold seeping into his very being, turning to a gnawing pain.

He had spoken to Qing Shui, promising to slay the Third Soul to ensure Qing Shui’s safety. But now, how could he bring himself to do so? This was no mere act of sentimentality, but the agonizing choice to slay his own son!

Memories of his time with Xie Qing flooded his mind, images buried deep within his soul. Yet now, they were crystal clear, unforgettable!

Wang Lin was a man bound by emotion!

“Master, your disciple has prepared everything for you… If I were to survive, and be merged with the other two souls, then the seven phantasms would automatically return to their rightful places. I can sense that five of these phantasms have already completely separated, but the remaining two will still converge upon me… I can also sense those two phantasms, they are extremely important to you Master. If I didn’t die, they would be in danger…”
Xie Qing’s voice, thin but resolute, echoed in the cavern. “If I do not perish utterly, if my triune soul re-forges itself, then Master…Master will be…” A spark of bright clarity ignited in Xie Qing’s eyes as he gazed upon Wang Lin.

“These years, since the awakening of my Third Soul, I have, with my soul-crafting abilities, forged three seals. The first requires no external force, I can unleash it myself. Under this seal, should death claim me, the Third Soul will not be drawn into the cycle of rebirth. Master can claim it…”

“At that moment, this Third Soul will awaken fully upon my demise. It will open the core chambers of this hidden domain. It will unlatch the great gate, allowing Master to escape from this prison…”

“The remaining two seals, I crafted for Master. With these two seals, at the instant the gate to the Immortal Astral Realm is breached, amidst the surging power that will flood in from that realm, these seals will serve. Master can use them to seal away both the Second and Third Souls!”

“Thus…all will be quieted…” Xie Qing’s words choked off with a sudden, rattling cough. He coughed and coughed, and a torrent of crimson blood sprayed from his lips, staining the orchids before him a ghastly scarlet.

It was the cost of his ravaged soul, bled dry in the forging of those three seals. He had sacrificed all, unheeding of the toll.

Wang Lin stared at Xie Qing, utterly bereft of words. He heard Xie Qing’s pronouncements, watched the lifeblood spill, and the agony within him intensified.

Then, with a convulsive jerk, he lifted his head to the heavens, his face contorted in a primal roar.

“I, Wang Lin, clawed back my destiny from the jaws of the Reincarnation Tribulation! I became master of the Heavenly Dao! Yet why? Why can I still not command my own fate? Why must I face such choices again?!”

“Heaven! Whether it be the Heaven of this Cave Dwelling Realm, or the Heaven of the Immortal Astral Continent, do you watch?! If Heaven is so merciless, then I, Wang Lin, swear this oath! I shall dedicate this life to the destruction of Heaven itself!!!” The veins in Wang Lin’s face throbbed and pulsed. He teetered on the edge of madness, and in the instant of his raging oath, a torrent of energy erupted from his being. It spiraled upward like wisps of smoke, then coalesced, forming a spectral blade. This blade, born of his vow, crackled with the power to shatter the void and annihilate the heavens!

At that instant, Xuan Luo, Great Celestial Sovereign, who had followed at a distance, his composure, for the first time in this realm, shattered. His eyes, wide with shock, were fixed on the phantom blade, unseen by any but him.

“The Aura of Obliteration!! This is the very breath of annihilation!!! This child’s oath…it has conjured the essence of Obliteration! He… he…!”

Tears streamed down Xie Qing’s face as he knelt, bowing his head to the earth.

“My soul is too diminished. I have waited for Master, and in my heart, I hesitated. But now… now I regret nothing… No need for Master to act. I am already at the brink… This is my last time… I call out… Master…” With lingering affection, Xie Qing gazed upon the stained orchids, then closed his eyes, staunching the flow of tears. A serene smile touched his lips as he exhaled his final breath… and passed into stillness.

At the moment of his passing, ethereal tendrils of soul-stuff seeped from his seven orifices. These strands were the Third Soul, bearing within them the memories of its myriad incarnations, the entirety of Xie Qing’s life!

Now, by the power of Xie Qing’s own seal, that Third Soul could not return to the cycle of rebirth. With his death, those memories began to rapidly dissipate. If allowed to fully vanish, then Xie Qing himself would be extinguished from existence forever.

“This is not the last time!” Wang Lin snarled, his head snapping down. Fury blazed within him, directed at the very fabric of existence. With that utterance, he strode forward, reaching Xie Qing’s side. His right hand flashed out, seizing the escaping Third Soul from the air.

In that instant, as he grasped the Soul, it fully awakened. The heavens themselves convulsed, the very planet trembled with an earth-shattering roar. The stars reeled in the cosmos, and the four great starfields shuddered as one!

Even beyond the boundaries of this realm, cosmic changes rippled outward!