“So, this was his grand design!” He had spoken of needing me to inherit the Celestial Ancestor’s cultivation, to become the Second Celestial Ancestor, and through this, unlock the chains binding his entire race.

I placed little faith in his words. Thus, when his right eye threatened to devour me, I offered no resistance, instead weaving my spirit into the Heavenly Defiance Pearl. With a feigned annihilation of my soul, I deceived the eye, all to witness the true nature of his scheme. And now, the truth was laid bare before my eyes! Wang Lin observed the unfolding events, a flicker of respect kindling within his heart for the strategist who had usurped his body.

“By using my form to bear the lineage of the Celestial Ancestor, and then merging it with the madman’s husk, he seeks to forge the Ancestor’s Eyes. This, he believes, will imbue the Ancestor’s Head with a semblance of life, making it appear less like a corpse. He will then harness the intrinsic power of the Celestial Ancestor, residing within the right eye, and, through means unknown, compel the lifeless head to speak.

In this elaborate charade, he aims to shatter the shackles of his kin. For such a binding is a form of cosmic prohibition, a decree acknowledged by the very fabric of existence. To break it, one must deceive the Law itself! The Law is an unyielding, immutable force, and yet, through the Grand Tutor’s audacious actions, success might be within his grasp!” Such an unconventional method of releasing a sealed race had never crossed Wang Lin’s mind. To witness it unfold before him stirred a grudging admiration for the man’s ingenuity.

“But… is this man truly the Grand Tutor?” Lost in contemplation, Wang Lin listened as the final words formed within the Ancestral Head.

“…Race…Whole…Race…Unleashed…” The Ancestral Head’s eyes blazed with golden light, unnervingly lifelike. The words, spoken in the Grand Tutor’s voice, flowed slowly, deliberately. But as the final syllable was about to escape its lips, a cataclysmic event shattered the delicate balance!

A booming laugh echoed from the rift in the heavens above. Simultaneously, a single droplet of golden blood, a celestial tear, plummeted earthward with terrifying speed. Just as the Ancestral Head was to utter the conclusive sound, this golden ichor struck its brow!

The Ancestral Head shuddered violently as the golden blood spread, engulfing the entire visage in an instant. The gaping mouth was sealed shut by the shimmering liquid, the final syllable choked back into the abyss.

The Grand Tutor, inhabiting Wang Lin’s form, roared with primal fury, his eyes burning with incandescent rage. He lunged toward the exit of the Ancestral Right Eye, but the golden blood held him captive within its radiant prison. The Ancestral Head had undergone a profound transformation, now a golden effigy, as if sculpted from liquid light. “Lian Dao Zhen!!!” The Grand Tutor bellowed, his voice thick with desperate rage.

From the rift in the heavens, the Celestial Sovereign’s laughter reverberated, followed by his descent, his foot landing upon the crown of the Ancestral Head.

Hot on his heels, the Twin Grand Empyreans emerged from the rift. The two young maidens were pale, their expressions grave. Their gazes locked onto the golden Ancestral Head beneath the Sovereign’s foot, their pupils constricting in involuntary apprehension.

“Grand Tutor, your machinations run deep! You knew that Dao Fei was but a vessel, prepared long ago for My return! Therefore, I chose Dao Fei’s body as My vessel for the return of the Celestial Sovereign. You also knew that the Nether Dao Sovereign was merely a sacrifice to ensure Dao Fei’s success. You believed that his presence was intended to mitigate the dangers of the inheritance, for his Dao was one of unparalleled arrogance. Thus, you thought that when I heeded your words and brought Wang Lin here, it was to drive the Nether Dao Sovereign mad, and in his madness, to prolong his resistance. The longer he persevered, the greater the likelihood of Dao Fei’s success. So, you believed I brought Wang Lin here for your benefit, allowing you a single, fleeting moment of joy. You thought your scheme could truly deceive Me?!” The Celestial Sovereign smiled, a trace of condescension in his features. His eyes shimmered with an unnerving intelligence, as if the secrets of the universe were an open book to him.

“You first sought to have Me slay Wang Lin, believing you had deciphered My character. You assumed that the more you urged Me to kill, the more suspicious I would become, and thus, I would spare him. You believed I was unaware that Wang Lin was the body you coveted! Yet, I did not kill him, but prepared him for you!” The Celestial Sovereign continued, his gaze fixed on the Ancestral Head below, his voice laden with a confidence born of absolute control.

“Because I control all, I led Wang Lin, step by calculated step, to this Ancestral City, to this very Palace, fulfilling your desires!

I wished to witness the folly of the Grand Tutor!

You sought to transfer the inheritance from the Nether Dao Sovereign to Wang Lin, and then seize Wang Lin’s body, guiding him here to become the Ancestral Head’s right eye.

You also anticipated that Wang Lin, in his efforts to rescue Dao Fei, would seek the aid of the Twin Grand Empyreans, delaying My intervention. You planned to exploit My confinement of Dao Fei within the Underground Palace, using the opportunity of My Sovereign Return to transform Dao Fei into the left eye, while I was stuck.

Then, using the secret art of the Dao of Mourning, you planned to make the Ancestor speak, so that he could break the sealing of your Clan. All of this, you truly believed, was hidden from Me?” The Celestial Sovereign’s laughter boomed once more.

The Twin Grand Empyreans, hovering in the sky, watched with guarded expressions, their actions hesitant. A rare feeling, a profound dread, had taken root in the hearts of the two young maidens!

Within the right eye of the Ancestral Head, the Grand Tutor, ensnared in Wang Lin’s form, was ashen-faced, his eyes mirroring disbelief. He had failed to foresee that the Celestial Sovereign was privy to his every move! Yet, within him, nestled beside the Heavenly Defiance Pearl, Wang Lin remained calm. Should he choose, he could reclaim his body at any moment, yet he refrained.

“Things are not so simple… This man appears to be the Grand Tutor, but is he truly who he seems…? If he is not, then the final outcome of this affair will be most… interesting.” Wang Lin’s spirit remained concealed, biding its time, for he was determined to see this play through to its final act.
“So, Grand Diviner,” the Emperor boomed, his voice echoing through the Forbidden Palace, “I have foreseen your every machination. Yet, have you truly grasped the depths of my own grand design? Did you believe I truly intended to bequeath the power of the Immortal Ancestor upon that whelp Wang Lin? Did you suppose his presence in the Necropolis was merely to goad the Lord of the Underworld into prolonging his suffering?”

He paused, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “I tell you now, you were wrong! Utterly, devastatingly wrong! My plan is beyond the comprehension of all beneath the heavens. You cannot fathom it, Wang Lin cannot fathom it, not even the mightiest of the Great Celestial Sovereigns! My true purpose… lies with the Immortal Ancestor’s Skull!”

He swept a hand toward the colossal, mountainous skull that dominated the chamber. “For ages, it has slumbered, incapable of resurrection, a mere monument to the past, a mountain tasked with anchoring the spirits of my Seventy-Two Provinces. Yet, within it lies the greatest treasure of our lineage, the most potent of artifacts! Through it, I shall inherit the Immortal Ancestor’s power… without the slightest risk!”

He emphasized the word, “Inherit! Not merely be granted! Alas, the Immortal Ancestor fell long ago, torn asunder by a foe unknown, scattered to the winds. Only this skull remains, a silent testament to his demise.”

“I pondered for eons, seeking a way to reawaken its power. Then, I saw hope in you. And you did not disappoint! A subtle nudge in ages past, and you, like a puppet on a string, tirelessly labored to force open the skull’s eyes! Excellent! Magnificent!” The Emperor roared with laughter, his foot thundering against the ancient bone. A blinding golden light erupted, engulfing him in its celestial embrace.

“With this artifact, I shall become the most powerful Celestial Sovereign! Gemini! Dare you face me in battle once more?” The Emperor’s voice resonated with newfound might, his gaze fixed upon his foes. He blurred into motion, becoming one with the radiant skull, and charged towards the Gemini Sovereigns.

The twin sisters, their faces etched with grim determination, summoned a swirling violet sun behind them. From its radiant core materialized two shimmering blades of amethyst energy, aimed directly at the Emperor.

As they drew closer, the twin blades fused into a single, searing beam of violet light. Yet, as it neared its target, the Emperor raised his hand. The skull beneath him responded, its empty sockets blazing with golden light, projecting beams of pure energy that slammed into the approaching attack!

The impact reverberated through the palace. The violet energy shattered, splintering into countless shards that rained down upon the sisters, forcing them into a desperate retreat.

A predatory smile spread across the Emperor’s face. The skull pulsed with power as he summoned a golden avian artifact into his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed it, sending it screeching towards the Gemini Sovereigns.

The sisters, their faces pale with apprehension, exchanged a silent look. In unison, they surged towards the violet sun, their physical forms dissolving into wisps of energy, merging with the celestial body. A moment later, a single figure emerged: a woman in her early twenties, possessing an ethereal beauty and eyes that burned with cold fury. Draped in violet silks, she raised a delicate hand. The world responded, the very air turning violet.

“‘Return Wang Lin to me,’ the woman commanded, her voice resonating with power, ‘and I shall depart this place, abandoning this conflict. Refuse… and I shall unleash the Wrath of Violet Dawn upon your Ancestral City!'” The violet energy intensified within the Forbidden Palace, spreading outwards to engulf the Necropolis. Throughout the Ancestral City and across the entirety of the Immortal Continent, the sky bled violet, cloaking every inch of the land, every dwelling, in its ominous hue!

Simultaneously, a gargantuan violet meteor, dwarfing even half of the Ancestral City, manifested in the heavens, slowly descending. Its terrifying presence caused the city to groan and buckle, cracks spiderwebbing across the ground as terrified mortals scrambled for safety. The Emperor’s eyes narrowed as he beheld the merged form of the Gemini Sovereigns. The skull beneath him radiated a defensive shield of golden light, clashing against the encroaching violet energy, holding it at bay with the ancient power of the Immortal Ancestor.

“Had the Immortal Ancestor’s eyes remained closed, had I lacked control over this power, Gemini, your ‘Violet Dawn’ might have given me pause,” the Emperor sneered. “But now? Such paltry magic is not enough!” Suddenly, a voice, ancient and weathered, echoed through the Forbidden Palace.

“Perhaps,” it rasped, “with my aid… it will suffice!” From the gaping tear in the fabric of reality above, the Great Celestial Sovereign Ku Di emerged, his visage grim. Behind him, the Celestial Sovereign Hai Zi followed, his face pale and drawn.