He chose to wait. Nigh six decades remained of his lifespan, and he would not, in these final fifty years, see the generational tribute of his clan become another’s raiment.

Fourscore years, a lifetime for mortal men, yet these fourscore years became naught but a sojourn within the Green Scorpion Shrine.

In these years, he could draw no power from the heavens, could not cultivate, but could only patiently await, sheltered by the Heaven Defying Bead. As he waited, he felt himself growing old, many memories fading, as if shrouded in mist, obscured, or perhaps merely gathering dust.

He forgot much: the Realm of the Caves, the Celestial Bull Continent, even the perils that surrounded him waned in his mind. He entered a state beyond comprehension, as if becoming one with the heavens, yet not through the mastery of space itself.

Still, in his heart remained a few figures he could not, would not, forget: his parents, and the maiden with gentle smile, her fingers dancing upon a silent zither.

Some, in their vast lives, forget the purpose of their reincarnation…

Some, living ordinary lives, only recall, in their dying gaze at the stars, the pursuit they had abandoned…

Some, who shatter entire worlds, perhaps seek only a single figure… even if but a reflection, they would turn the very firmament to set it aright…

Time flowed. Not forty years, but thirty… After one hundred and ten years of waiting and resolve within the scorpion edifice, the green-robed elder made his choice!

He could wait no longer. Less than thirty years of life remained to him. He need not wait, for he had no need of further trial. He could not believe anyone could sit thus for one hundred and ten years. This was not meditation, not seclusion, but a slow descent into oblivion!

He saw that Wang Lin’s flesh was all but spent. Were he not prepared, it would have already been hollowed and devoured by the swarming Green Scorpions.

Were his spirit still intact, its destruction would but summon a ravenous horde to consume it, a grim nourishment. Such torment, such a price paid in death, he could not believe could be endured!

On this, the one hundred and tenth year, the green-robed elder rose slowly, his cough growing ever more violent. Flanked by the two Green Scorpion Emissaries, he made his way towards the space where Wang Lin lay.

Soon, the sound of his coughing faded into the distance, growing faint within the scorpion shrine.

In a space of swirling green, the green-robed elder emerged, frail and wan. He gazed at the swarming scorpions below, at the place where Wang Lin’s body lay hidden, and was silent for a long moment.

“I know not if you can hear me, but if you can, I commend your endurance… To withstand such an environment for over a century… I could not…”

“The war between the Celestial Bull Continent and the Green Scorpion Continent… according to the Green Scorpion Emissaries, nears its end…” The elder spoke slowly, and paused.

Then, his voice echoed once more in the green space.

“If you can hear me, if you truly endure, then I ask that you show mercy to the Green Scorpion Continent after you attain the boon… If you can promise this, then even if you retain your senses, I will not hesitate to grant you what you seek!”

The elder murmured, his words tinged with weariness and age.

“I am old, so very old, and will pass away in a few decades. These years… they have been long and weary… My clan’s purpose is to safeguard this place…”

“After I am gone, I hope that you will agree to deliver the ashes of my clan’s priests, interred beneath this scorpion temple, to the Central Continent, for that is the home of my people…” His voice was filled with melancholy, like a deathbed wish, and held a strange sincerity.

But!

In his right hand, concealed beneath his robes, he clutched a jade slip of verdant hue. No cultivation was needed to activate it, for only the priests of old could wield its power. Its purpose was twofold: to unleash destruction, and to sense the fluctuations of the spirit in the surrounding area.

Should Wang Lin display even a tremor of consciousness during this exchange, he would not hesitate to crush him with the jade slip, and show no such leniency as he claimed!

This was his final test!

After his words had lingered for some time, and the jade slip showed no reaction, the green-robed elder released a sigh. He put away the jade slip, raised his gaze to the mass of green scorpions below, and bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The blood scattered below, and the scorpions shrieked in unison, madly retreating and revealing Wang Lin’s withered form as if it were newly uncovered.

“Eight Essences, yet one remains…” the elder murmured. He raised his right hand, emerging from his robe, but his arm was covered in green fur, dry and reeking of decay.

Now, the green fur peeled away, and a yellow light enveloped his arm. Slowly, his arm melted, and three earthen-yellow pearls floated forth.

“With these three Pearls of the Earth, you should be able to manifest the Essence of Earth!” Breathing with difficulty, he waved his left hand, and the three pearls sped towards Wang Lin’s body. One vanished into his brow, one into his chest, and the last plunged into his dantian and disappeared.

As the three pearls fused with Wang Lin’s body, he shuddered, and a blinding light of earthen-yellow burst forth from him.

The light was brilliant, and the scorpions shrieked and retreated as it spread, as if sensitive to its touch. The light shone for many hours, until a layer of earth spontaneously appeared on Wang Lin’s body, encasing him.

Covered in earth, Wang Lin was as a clay statue, unmoving.
The sands of time slipped away, yet the emerald-robed elder remained steadfast, never leaving his vigil. He sat in serene contemplation beside Wang Lin’s prone form, his ancient gaze heavy with anticipation. For millennia, his people had dreamt of this moment, a chance to realize their most profound ambition. Its potential fulfillment weighed heavily upon his soul.

Three days hence, the delicate veil of ochre dust clinging to Wang Lin’s body remained unchanged. This stagnation sparked a flicker of surprise in the elder’s aged eyes.

“Three beads of Meng Earth… and still it is not enough?” he murmured, his brow furrowing with concern. “They have only succeeded in awakening a fraction of the earth essence within him…”

He paused, lost in thought. Then, with a sudden, decisive movement, he raised his left hand and pressed it firmly against his brow. With a strange and arcane ritual, he tore three specks of sand from the very fabric of his being.

These were no ordinary grains. They gleamed with a dark crimson hue, as if stained with the blood of ages past.

Gazing upon the precious particles held within his palm, the elder sighed. These treasures, gathered across countless years at immense cost to his people, pulsed with raw, untamed earth essence. Legend whispered that they were three of the nine primordial grains born when the Ancient Ancestor first shaped the lands, forming the very first continent.

Of those nine, five had been consumed, granting those who absorbed them dominion over the earth essence. One had transformed into a continent, upon which the Imperial City of Zhongzhou now stood, a testament to its inherent power.

Such artifacts were rarely witnessed, their value beyond measure. Without hesitation, the elder flung one of the crimson grains towards Wang Lin.

The instant it merged with Wang Lin’s flesh, a tremor shook his body. The thin layer of earth dust exploded outward, thickening at an astonishing rate. In mere moments, Wang Lin was encased within a sphere of earth, nine fathoms in diameter.

The sphere pulsed with a palpable earth essence, so potent it vibrated the very air. For nine days, it held firm, then abruptly imploded, vanishing back into Wang Lin’s form. It then erupted outwards once more. This cycle repeated itself eight times, before its power began to wane.

As its strength faltered, the second crimson grain hurtled forward, merging with Wang Lin’s flesh. Once more, a thunderous roar echoed as the sphere of earth reappeared, its essence now more intense than before, beginning its cycle anew.

This time, the cycle completed nine full rotations. With the final, resonant release, Wang Lin’s body radiated a burst of earth essence. Deep within his being, a ninth wellspring of power had awakened!

But the transformation was not yet complete. The essence contained within the second grain, though expended in the cyclical process, was not entirely depleted. What remained surged into the newly awakened ninth wellspring, relentlessly pushing it towards its true form.

The emerald-robed elder, his eyes blazing with fervor, rose to his feet. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the final crimson grain and sent it hurtling towards Wang Lin. As it pierced his skin, an overwhelming surge of earth essence flooded his form. The withered husk of Wang Lin’s body blossomed back to life, his injuries reversed as if time itself had bent to his will.

His earth essence swelled, greedily absorbing every last drop of power from the third grain. Within Wang Lin’s body, a third embodiment of true essence stirred, threatening to coalesce.

However, without the guiding spark of Wang Lin’s own consciousness to guide it, the embodiment remained incomplete. Yet, the moment his soul emerged from the protection of the Heavenly Jewel, he would seize dominion over both the earth and lightning essences, becoming a master of three true embodiments!

Such a feat, even for one still at the pinnacle of the Empty Spirit realm, would multiply his strength beyond reckoning.

Moreover, Wang Lin now possessed nine wellsprings of power. The instant his soul returned, it would harness these nine as a springboard to leap into the Empty Profound realm!

“Within his form lie three illusions of essence, two unique, and four truths!” the elder exclaimed, his voice thick with elation. “The unique and illusory are beyond my power, but the four truths… those, I can awaken to their true form!”