Nestled within the northwestern reaches of the Verdant Demon Continent, amidst a sprawling and treacherous mire, stood the Sect of the Daoist Fiend. Revered as one of the Nine Sects and Thirteen Houses of the Eastern Lands, its formidable status rested upon a single, awe-inspiring truth: within its halls dwelled a power rivaling the very pinnacle of the Void Tribulant realm.

Only by wielding such might could a sect hope to etch its name into the annals of the vast Eastern Lands, earning both renown and fear.

Across the immortal expanse of the Celestial Gang, any who dared to tread the path of the Void Tribulant were hailed as Grand Venerables. Even those who ascended to the later stages of this arduous journey were still granted this esteemed title. But it was only upon reaching the very apex of the Void Tribulant, poised on the precipice of enlightenment, yet unable to cross the final threshold, that one could be crowned a Golden Venerable!

Should one break free from these mortal coils and achieve the rare and sublime state of Void Tribulant Perfection, they would be known as a Celestial Venerable, an entity so powerful that even the Great Celestial Venerables held them in the highest regard, showering them with gifts and seeking to bind them to their cause.

For these Celestial Venerables were the strongest of mortals, second only to the Great Celestial Venerables themselves! And though the Great Celestial Venerables were not without their own rivalries, they rarely engaged in direct conflict, for the unleashing of their power could bring devastation to all around.

Thus, the disputes between the Great Celestial Venerables were often decided by the strength and number of Celestial Venerables at their command.

To be a Celestial Venerable in the Celestial Gang was to be bathed in unimaginable glory and power, to be the recipient of the Great Celestial Venerables’ favor.

Whispers told of a realm that lay between the Celestial Venerable and the Great Celestial Venerable, a hazy domain known as the Leaping Celestial Venerable. Those who achieved this state transcended all others of the Void Tribulant Perfection, and even the Great Celestial Venerables possessed but a handful of such beings in their service!

Throughout the ages, few had ever reached the heights of the Celestial Venerable. Even fewer had ascended beyond, to become Leaping Celestial Venerables. It was said that Luo Yunhai of the Great Soul Gate had been such a Leaping Celestial Venerable, and it was this power that gave him the audacity to challenge the Great Celestial Venerable Dao Yi!

Yet, this Luo Yunhai was a wild and untamed soul, bound by a karmic debt to Dao Yi, a debt that forced the Great Celestial Venerable to strike him down. Even in death, Dao Yi preserved his soul, returning it to his sect in recognition of his immense talent.

In the entirety of the Celestial Bull Continent, only Luo Yunhai had ever been known to reach the realm of the Leaping Celestial Venerable!

Golden Venerable, Celestial Venerable, Leaping Celestial Venerable, and Great Celestial Venerable: four distinct titles, each representing a pinnacle of power!

The Great Soul Gate, with its ancient patriarch, the Azure Ox Ancestor, and the legend of Luo Yunhai, who dared to challenge a Great Celestial Venerable, enjoyed a reputation that resonated even after the passage of countless years. The Azure Ox Ancestor, a Golden Venerable in his own right, possessed a true physical form, and the Great Soul Gate held ancient secrets and arcane connections, ensuring its place among the Thirteen Houses, and a powerful one at that.

The Returning Unity Sect, however, lacked a Golden Venerable. Even its sect master was merely a Grand Venerable of the Void Tribulant, a gulf of insurmountable distance separating him from the pinnacle.

Yet, the Returning Unity Sect boasted five cultivators who had reached the later stages of the Void Tribulant, each occupying a position of great importance.

Moreover, the sect possessed a suit of ancient armor of renowned power. A Grand Venerable of the Void Tribulant, when clad in this armor, could experience a surge of power, and through a sacrifice of their life force, could unleash an attack rivaling that of a Golden Venerable!

It was this armor that placed the sect in an awkward position. The sacrifice of life force could only be performed thrice, after which death was certain. But the sect had five who were worthy to don the armor. Thus, they barely held their place among the Nine Sects.

As for the Sect of the Daoist Fiend, its master was known as a Golden Venerable, his might resounding throughout the Eastern Lands! Yet, compared to the Azure Ox Ancestor, they were not evenly matched; the Azure Ox Ancestor had his true form as an aid.

But that did not make the Daoist Fiend Sect the weakest of the Nine Sects, for besides its Golden Venerable sect master, it also boasted four Grand Venerables of the Void Tribulant. And, most importantly, beyond the sect itself, there was an Ancestor!

This Ancestor of the Daoist Fiend Sect had ascended to the realm of the Celestial Venerable! He cared not for worldly affairs, nor did he pay homage to the Green Fiend Scorpion Temple. He pursued only his own cultivation. Thirteen thousand years past, he had departed, drawn away by the Great Celestial Venerable Dao Yi, to serve under his banner!

With such a remarkable Ancestor, the Sect of the Daoist Fiend echoed with renown throughout the Eastern Lands, and held a dominant position in the Verdant Demon Continent!

Yet, the Ancestor’s affection for the Sect of the Daoist Fiend had waned with the rise of his power. Petty squabbles and the deaths of a few disciples mattered not, so long as the sect was not destroyed and its teachings lost. Only if the very existence of the Sect of the Daoist Fiend were threatened would the Ancestor, for the sake of his reputation, intervene.

All of this was meticulously recorded on the tortoise shell map, bestowed upon Wang Lin by the Azure Ox Ancestor of the Great Soul Gate.

“In the entirety of the Eastern Lands, only seven Celestial Venerables still walk this earth! I wonder, with my current cultivation, and clad in the Celestial Bull Soul Armor, what power I could unleash…” Within the swirling darkness of the storm, Wang Lin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes glinting with anticipation.

“Golden Venerables are of no concern. Celestial Venerables… I have never fought one, but I yearn for such a battle!” Wang Lin’s white hair fluttered in the wind as he flung back his sleeves. His robes billowed, shrouding his head in shadow.

From afar, Wang Lin, clad in white robes, his face hidden from sight, his white hair concealed, exuded an aura of mystery and ancient power.

The Sect of the Daoist Fiend, in the northwestern reaches of the Verdant Demon Continent, was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable fog. Once home to over a hundred thousand disciples, perhaps even more,

but now, after over a century of distant wars, they numbered less than thirty thousand. Though their numbers had dwindled, the Sect of the Daoist Fiend’s power had not diminished significantly. Two of the four Grand Venerables of the Void Tribulant were leading the battle on the Celestial Bull Continent, while the remaining two guarded the sect.
The Grand Patriarch of the Dao-Devil Sect had retreated into seclusion over a century past, his ambition set upon ascending to the celestial echelon of a Heavenly Venerate. Yet, he remained absent, shrouded in mystery.

In his absence, and with its ranks thinned, the Dao-Devil Sect had maintained the Dao-Devil Miasma Array for over a century. This swirling veil served as both protector of their domain and ward against unforeseen calamities.

The entirety of the Dao-Devil Sect was nestled within this ethereal fog, perched upon a tapestry of swamplands. With potent sorcery, they had wrested mountains from the edge of the heavens, anchoring them within the mire to create a series of celestial peaks.

Stones, too, were drawn from the celestial sphere, and with mystic might, forged into azure flagstones. These paved the treacherous wetlands, granting the disciples of the Dao-Devil Sect passage as smooth as any well-trodden road.

Vast was the Dao-Devil Sect, its boundaries lost to the distant horizon. Isolated mountains and towering pavilions intertwined in the pattern of a Ba Gua array, concealing and safeguarding the sect’s innermost heart.

This central sanctum was no mire, but a pristine lake, its waters so clear that the very bottom was visible. Ripples often stirred within its depths, hinting at the presence of some ancient, immortal beast.

Upon an isle in the lake’s center stood the sanctuary where the Grand Patriarch sequestered himself, the site of the Dao-Devil Sect’s Grand Hall and the repository of its forbidden knowledge.

Beyond the world-veiling miasma, Wang Lin, garbed in white, stood serenely in the air. The cowl concealed his features, yet could not hide the frigid intensity of his gaze. He beheld the distant Dao-Devil Sect, and the coldness in his eyes slowly coalesced into murderous intent.

“It has been long since I shattered a sect’s lineage and extinguished its bloodline,” Wang Lin murmured.

Though Wang Lin’s life had been steeped in carnage, he was not inherently bloodthirsty. As his cultivation deepened, he rarely drew his power unless provoked, or driven to the brink of oblivion.

Yet now, a palpable aura of death surrounded him. This Dao-Devil Sect, upon the fringes of Meng Tu Continent, had gathered its forces to bar Wang Lin’s safe passage, attacking with a fervor bordering on madness.

More than that, in their assault, they had hurled severed heads – heads that, though Wang Lin held no personal connection to them, belonged to warriors who had fought alongside him on the Extreme Celestial Plains.

Their deaths, he knew, were laid at his feet, a debt owed to him. Closing his eyes, Wang Lin saw again the grim hail of heads, the faces contorted in agony and despair, the echoes of their final moments.

And he heard again the venomous voice that haunted him:

“You favor heads, do you not? These, then, are the first offering of the Dao-Devil Sect!”

“I favor heads… yes, I do favor them…” Wang Lin’s eyes snapped open, brimming with a murderous rage.

The attempted capture orchestrated by the Dao-Devil Sect, the agonizing and cautious sojourn within the Green Scorpion Temple – these were not transgressions that could be atoned for with a single life. Since the Dao-Devil Sect chose to stand against him as a whole, his retribution would be the destruction of their lineage and the annihilation of their entire order!

“Regardless of cultivation level, none shall escape! Blame only that you are members of the Dao-Devil Sect!” Wang Lin’s heart seethed with a thousand acts of violence, a potential for devastation rarely unveiled. Yet, when unleashed, it would be a force of apocalyptic proportions.

He raised his right hand, sweeping it towards the distant Dao-Devil Sect. In that instant, a sea of fire roared into existence, coalescing into ninety-nine roaring fire dragons that encircled the sect, sealing it within layers of molten fury.

Next, bolts of lightning danced forth, weaving a web of electricity that merged with the firestorm, forging an airtight barrier.

Following the thunderous barrage, vast expanses of restrictive enchantments spread outwards, entwining the flames and lightning into a unified, unyielding seal of suppression.

Having accomplished this, Wang Lin lifted his head and began to walk, stride by stride, towards the Dao-Devil Sect.

With each footfall, the very heavens trembled, the resounding echoes reverberating in all directions. From Wang Lin’s very essence emanated an aura of homicidal intensity, bearing down upon the Dao-Devil Sect like a harbinger of doom!