“A curse upon you!” the Emerald Sorcerer roared, his final words upon the precipice of death. With eyes that saw beyond the veil, he understood the cruel irony: Wang Lin, wielding the very power and blade gifted to him, had used them to slay the Emerald Scourge.

This realization, added to the weight of his fading life, was too much. Crimson stained his beard as he coughed a torrent of blood, his life force extinguished.

He had bestowed upon Wang Lin an unyielding body, a gaze that could quell the very heavens, meridians woven from an Immortal Ancestor’s hair, an ancient blade steeped in shadow, even the essence of the earth itself, allowing the creation of two corporeal avatars!

All this… given freely.

His eyes, wide and unseeing, burned with a hatred that transcended the mortal coil. Even in death, this venomous spite clung to him, threatening to birth a vengeful spirit.

Wang Lin, however, had no time for the dead. He leaped, bone-blade held high, cleaving the air as his four avatars manifested behind him. Each wielded its own shadow-blade, a chorus of steel descending upon the fleeing soul of the Emerald Scourge.

Within that terrified soul, an equal measure of loathing festered. It cursed the Emerald Sorcerer, for had he not intervened, the Scourge would not be facing oblivion. But now, with the sorcerer’s demise, the Scourge’s fury had nowhere to vent, morphing instead into frantic desperation as it fled.

A spectacle of terrifying grandeur unfolded. The Emerald Furnace continued its chaotic implosion, shards of verdant metal becoming a deadly storm. Amidst this maelstrom, the Emerald Scourge shrieked skyward, its soul desperate to escape. In its wake, Wang Lin, his white hair dancing in the wind, eyes burning with celestial might, raised his shadow-blade. Behind him, his four avatars mirrored his every move, a wave of power threatening to unmake the very fabric of reality.

It was then that three figures arrived, drawn by the turmoil. Three streaks of light pierced the sky, revealing Cloudrift, Tang Jia, and the elder Bian Yun, the other chosen bearers of the Heavenly Bull Soul Armor from the realm of Tianniu.

Why, after a century of separation, they were drawn to this forsaken temple remained a mystery. Their journey through the Scorpion Shrine had been strangely effortless, encountering no resistance until they reached its heart.

But the welcome they received was a blade forged from the depths of nightmares.

“Wang Lin! He’s here!” Cloudrift and Tang Jia exclaimed in unison, disbelief etched on their faces.

“He’s not… dead?” Bian Yun stammered, his eyes wide with stunned realization.

The blade fell. The soul of the Emerald Scourge shrieked a final, desperate plea. Its ethereal form contorted, desperately seeking an escape. But it faced not one blade, but five: Wang Lin’s and those of his four avatars.

The first blade struck, twisting the Scourge’s essence. Even as it writhed, a second descended. A third fell from the heavens. Cornered, it turned, spewing a torrent of noxious green mist, but then, the fourth and fifth blades arrived, splitting the very sky.

The ensuing explosion shook the foundations of the shrine. The Scourge’s scream reached a crescendo as the five blades severed its soul into six pieces.

Wang Lin devoured the four fragments that fell below, transforming them into wisps of pure spiritual energy that streamed into his seven apertures, surrounding him in an ethereal aura.

The remaining two fragments, accompanied by faint cries, fled deep into the Scorpion Shrine, their fate unknown.

Silence descended, broken only by the ragged breaths of Cloudrift, Tang Jia, and Bian Yun, audible in the echoing depths of the temple.

Wang Lin stood suspended in the air, the remnants of the absorbed soul-mist retreating back into his body, leaving seven strands of dense energy coursing through him. His face was serene, his right hand still gripping the shadow-blade. His eyes, cold and unwavering, swept over the arrival of the bewildered trio.

“Leave,” he commanded, his voice a low, resonant rumble. As he spoke, a wave of terrifying power emanated from him. His gaze focused on Cloudrift, instantly stripping away all pretense, leaving him feeling exposed and vulnerable, as if the heavens themselves were about to crush him.

The sensation vanished as quickly as it came, but the lingering impression left Cloudrift breathless.

Tang Jia shared the same experience, her face pale with shock as she gazed at Wang Lin. She could not believe the transformation, the sheer power radiating from him after a century of absence.

His gaze held an edge, a force capable of tearing the heavens apart, of crushing all who dared to stand before him.

But it was Bian Yun who bore the brunt of Wang Lin’s power. Having clashed with Wang Lin before, he was granted no quarter. The intensity of the gaze shook him to his core, sending a thunderous roar through his mind. He stumbled backward, three paces, his face ashen, his brow slick with sweat. He felt abandoned, left alone to face the crushing weight of the cosmos.

He even sensed that the heavens pressing down on him were born from Wang Lin’s very eyes. Within that gaze, he glimpsed the barest hint of a blade, and he knew that if it were ever fully unsheathed, it would tear him asunder.

The feeling was so overwhelming that he teetered on the edge of madness. Then, Wang Lin’s single word – “Leave” – cut through the pressure like a beacon, and Bian Yun fled without hesitation, retreating thousands of feet before his trembling body could find relief. He stood there, drenched in sweat, a shiver running through him.

Cloudrift and Tang Jia, merely shaken and not crushed by Wang Lin’s gaze, retreated with him. While they were not as shaken, Cloudrift felt a deep bitterness, knowing that his reunion with Wang Lin was taking place in this shrine, under such circumstances.

The three retreated into the depths of the shrine, unable to complete their task. Tang Jia could only look into the distance, her face pale and her mind racing.

Wang Lin turned back to the Emerald Sorcerer’s body, his face expressionless. The other man had helped him greatly, yet had ultimately sought to leave him in ruins.

Despite everything, the man had given him so much. As Wang Lin was about to look away, he paused, noticing a thin tendril of black gas rising from the dead man, condensing into a patch of fog. The fog was filled with hate, and it made the room icy.

“This is…” Wang Lin said to himself. As Wang Lin reached out to it, he was met with a frenzied, screeching roar that shattered his mind.

“I hate you!!”

“I hate!!”

Wang Lin shuddered, and his eyes opened. “A ghost! He created a powerful ghost!” This ghost was of a higher quality than any that he had ever seen, even greater than that left by the Star-Seizing cultivator he had slain. It was just shy of being an impeccable soul!

Wang Lin waved his hand, capturing the ghost, and trapping it for himself.

With this ghost, and all of the others he had captured, he would be able to create a banner of incredible power!

This banner, combined with a fragment from the Great Soul Gate’s mountain-protecting array, would allow him to create incredible illusions.

The Emerald Sorcerer had given him power, and then, in death, he had given him more…

A strange expression crossed Wang Lin’s face. With the Emerald Sorcerer gone, he sighed, and then waved a hand. The Emerald Sorcerer was turned to dust, leaving only his robes.

Wang Lin took the robes, but found that he could not penetrate them with his divine sense. After a pause, Wang Lin added the robes to his collection, taking everything the old man had had to offer him.

In the end, the Emerald Sorcerer had given everything to Wang Lin.

His cultivation base now increasing, Wang Lin took a breath, his eyes lit with excitement!

“I can finally see how far my cultivation base will rise! My base was so weak. Hopefully, this will allow me to stand with the strongest in this world!”

“And the Dao Sect, I swore an oath, and I have not forgotten that oath!” Wang Lin closed his eyes, and he could still see their faces. Each and every one of the people who died on the Star-Seizing grassland.”