## The Twelfth Scroll, Immortal罡, Tenth Sun: Chapter 1905 – The Soul’s Three Tribulations!

Wang Lin, a spectral figure, ascended from the Scorpion Temple, rising towards the sky’s rippling expanse. Within those concentric waves resided a colossal drum, a thousand fathoms wide, towards which he hurtled. His right hand clutched the Bone Yin Blade, emanating a chilling aura so profound it threatened to freeze all existence, a force at odds with the very cosmos.

The drum’s reverberations echoed, shaking not only Wang Lin’s bones but also, within the waves surrounding the celestial drum, conjuring countless phantoms. Each wraith was clad in crimson armor, akin to blood-soaked celestial warriors, numbering in the hundreds, their essence steeped in malice as they charged towards Wang Lin.

This was the second trial of the Inner Three Tribulations, the Blood Shadow Calamity!

Each blood shadow possessed power comparable to a Sky Profound cultivator, impervious to death, their destruction merely a prelude to their rebirth from the rippling waves, an endless tide. This unyielding cycle became a torment for any attempting to overcome this trial.

Crucially, with each demise, the blood shadows grew stronger. Prolonging the battle only amplified their power, threatening to utterly obliterate the one facing the tribulation!

Few dared to brave the Inner Three Tribulations in succession. Most would retreat from the Ethereal Calamity after barely surviving the Separation Calamity, choosing to return, better prepared, to confront the Blood Shadow Calamity at a later time.

Its terror lay in its indestructibility, making survival a rare feat!

Wang Lin knew not how others faced this Blood Shadow Calamity, but he possessed his own method. The moment the thousand shades materialized, Wang Lin, suspended in mid-air, unleashed a blinding torrent of golden light from his eyes. A terrifying majesty, akin to divine authority, radiated outward.

Within that golden light, Wang Lin’s gaze held a force of suppression, an unparalleled power born from the fusion of the Jade Robe Elder’s Celestial Extremity Sword shards. Even the Scorpion Soul had trembled before this gaze; how much more would these wraiths of the Inner Three Tribulations?

His eyes swept across the sky, and wherever his gaze fell, the blood shadows shuddered, halting in their advance, their spectral forms displaying fear. In that instant, they each felt as though a celestial wrath descended, a golden blade cleaving through their essence. To take another step would invite annihilation!

“Return!” Wang Lin commanded, his voice a chilling pronouncement from mid-air.

Though his voice was soft, it resonated within the blood shadows like the roar of a celestial sovereign, causing them to tremble violently. Driven by primal fear of Wang Lin’s gaze, they retreated hundreds of fathoms, merging back into the rippling waves from whence they came, vanishing from sight.

Throughout the ages, countless methods had been employed to overcome this trial, but none had ever achieved what Wang Lin had. With a single glance, a single word, he shattered the Blood Shadow Calamity, forcing it to recoil in terror. Such a feat was unheard of!

As the blood shadows faded, Wang Lin shot forward like a comet, directly towards the thousand-fathom drum in the sky. The drum shuddered, poised to unleash its third, resonating note.

But before it could be struck, Wang Lin arrived. His Bone Yin Blade rose, and in a single, swift motion, he brought it down upon the drum!

At that instant, Wang Lin’s Five Elemental True Body manifested behind him. His form flickered, its image layered upon itself, raising its own right hand, conjuring phantom Bone Yin Blades, forming a trio following Wang Lin’s attack.

As Wang Lin’s Yin Blade struck, the third drumbeat, *thrum*, arose. But the echoing sound was immediately drowned out by the whistle and boom of the blade, utterly silenced.

A single sweep from Wang Lin’s blade, followed by three strikes from his Five Elemental True Body, crashed upon the drum.

From afar, the scene resembled four celestial blades, imbued with the power to sunder the heavens and earth, falling upon the illusory drum. The deafening roar erupted into an endless thunder of drumbeats, as the drum cracked from the center, shattering into fragments!

The shattered pieces swirled outwards, unleashing a storm that swept across the heavens.

The third trial of the Inner Three Tribulations, never fully revealed, was crushed by Wang Lin’s single strike, shattering the very foundation of the tribulation!

Having overcome six Heavenly Tribulations in succession, Wang Lin’s expression turned grim. The Inner Three Tribulations were far stronger than the Outer Three, requiring the use of his suppressing gaze and Bone Yin Blade.

If this was the case, the Final Three Tribulations would be far more powerful, becoming a chasm few cultivators could ever overcome to become a Sky Tribulation Grand Venerate!

He descended gracefully, landing on the Scorpion’s Tail. His Bone Yin Blade retreated into his flesh, disappearing without a trace. He gazed at the sky, awaiting the arrival of the Final Three Heavenly Tribulations.

Within Wang Lin’s body, beyond bestowing the suppressing gaze of celestial authority, the Yin Blade, and the resilience of his physical form, the Jade Robe Elder had also gifted him a conduit formed from the Immortal Ancestor’s hair!

This conduit allowed Wang Lin, to a certain extent, to embody both Immortal and Ancient bloodlines! The hair contained an overwhelmingly potent Immortal Qi, acting as a substitute, a bridge to Immortal lineage!

While this hair could not truly perfect Wang Lin’s dual Immortal and Ancient existence, it still served a purpose. At the very least, it allowed the conduit formed by the Immortal Ancestor’s hair to circulate pure Immortal Force with each breath he took!

This Immortal Force enabled Wang Lin to wield a treasure, near invincible within the Cave World!

A treasure capable of threatening even a Sky Tribulation cultivator in the early stages!

Wang Lin watched the sky in silence, unmoving.
The heavens darkened, the tattered remnants of clouds fleeing before an unseen wind. A moment of respite, then a spectral luminescence bled from the celestial canvas, a ghastly light hinting at arcane secrets best left undisturbed. This ethereal glow coalesced high above, solidifying into a monstrous brand – a colossal glyph seared across the firmament!

The rune writhed with unnatural energy, resembling a grotesque visage, a twisted caricature of a human face. Yet, it pulsed with an inherent power, a cosmic resonance suggesting its very existence was interwoven with the fundamental laws of creation.

Wang Lin, his eyes narrowed to pinpricks, watched the infernal sigil. The moment it materialized, a chilling premonition, a whisper of impending doom, brushed against his soul. He felt its menace, yet could not discern the specific avenue of its attack.

“The Seventh Tribulation…” Wang Lin muttered, his brow furrowed in grim contemplation. A snort of defiance rose in his throat, and he prepared to dispel the ominous symbol. But suddenly, his expression shifted, morphing into one of profound alarm. He felt it, a subtle discordance, a growing malady within his very being. His spirit essence, his Yuan Shen, was under assault!

His Yuan Shen, once a radiant orb of vital energy coiled within him, now showed signs of sickening decline. Its brilliance dimmed, its form weakened. In a single heartbeat, it had withered significantly, its strength diminished by a substantial fraction. At this rate, within a mere seven breaths, his Yuan Shen would crumble into nothingness, his very existence erased from the tapestry of reality!

The transformation was terrifyingly abrupt, a stark and brutal reminder of the Xuan Tribulation’s dread power. Only now did he truly grasp the magnitude of its threat.

His essence was being drained, consumed. To stall the inevitable, he needed to replenish his Yuan Shen, to flood it with the lifeblood of the universe. Time was a cruel mistress, offering no quarter. Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with resolve. He opened his mouth, a primal act of devouring, and attempted to draw upon the surrounding celestial energies. But the power he sought eluded him, a phantom just beyond his grasp!

The Xuan Tribulation’s oppressive aura had saturated the region, encompassing thousands of leagues. No one could enter its domain, and even the ambient energies of the cosmos were held captive, beyond his reach.

The second breath echoed like a death knell. The decline of his Yuan Shen accelerated, its light dimming further, its form becoming increasingly frail.

“A devious Seventh Tribulation!” Wang Lin roared, throwing his head back in defiance. With a surge of power, he launched himself skyward, a determined comet hurtling toward the ghastly rune. He raised his right hand, his fist clenching, and unleashed a devastating blow!

As his fist flew, the spectral image of a Dao Ancestor materialized behind him, echoing his strike with unimaginable force. But as the ancestral blow crashed into the spectral glyph, it passed straight through, leaving it untouched. The rune remained unharmed, as if it were nothing more than a mere phantasm, visible but intangible.

The third breath arrived, a harbinger of doom. His Yuan Shen continued its rapid decline, now withered to almost half its former glory.

Darkness settled upon Wang Lin’s face. The truth dawned upon him.

This Seventh Tribulation, the first torment of the Soul’s Triptych, was known as the “Ten Breaths of Spiritual Atrophy!” Countless cultivators had perished beneath its insidious curse, their Yuan Shen drained dry, their very souls extinguished in a mere seven breaths.

It was a terrifying enigma, silent and insidious, capable of killing without a trace. The rune etched upon the sky was the key, the focal point of this dread power. But it could not be destroyed. It would linger in the heavens, a constant reminder of mortality, until its victim drew their final breath, only then would it vanish.

Wang Lin, his gaze unwavering, locked onto the celestial symbol. His mind raced, seeking a solution.

“I underestimated this Xuan Tribulation… It is far more cunning than I anticipated… To wither my Yuan Shen, to cut me off from the surrounding energies… There is but one recourse!”

His eyes gleamed with desperate inspiration. He could not draw power from the surrounding lands, but within this very region, a potent source of pure, unadulterated energy lay dormant – the Scorpion’s Soul!

Without hesitation, he shifted his stance, moving with a speed born of desperation. As the fourth breath threatened to consume him, he reached out, his hands slamming against the Scorpion Temple.

The ancient structure shuddered beneath his touch. His hands pulsed with an insatiable hunger, drawing upon some hidden wellspring of power. As he channeled his will, a mournful, tormented screech erupted from within the temple’s depths.

The fifth breath descended like a specter. From the Scorpion Temple, a swirling miasma of souls poured forth, flowing towards Wang Lin’s outstretched hands. The spectral vapor solidified into tangible energy, flooding into him, replenishing his withered spirit.

The Scorpion’s Soul, previously cleaved into six fragments by Wang Lin himself. Four had been consumed to bolster his own ascent, the remaining two had been secreted within the Scorpion Temple, hidden from the world.

Under normal circumstances, they would have remained elusive. But now, amplified by his current power and fueled by the echo of the four fragments he had already absorbed, the residual essence of the Scorpion’s Soul was drawn forth, leaving the temple violated and bare.