Chapter 1980: | Renegade Immortal
Renegade Immortal - Updated on March 9, 2025
Wang Lin’s tormented roar echoed, a seismic wave that washed over a great swathe of the Ancient Dao Imperial City, seizing the hearts of all within the palace walls with chilling dread.
Though many of the Three Vein Clansmen were feasting in the royal palace that night, countless more, deemed unworthy of the nocturnal revelry, awaited the dawn’s Grand Ceremony in the city proper. Thus, the Sky Citadel teemed with their kind, a blaze of lanterns casting a vibrant glow upon a cacophony of music and laughter. Merriment reigned, a seemingly boundless celebration of joyous abandon. But then, Wang Lin’s anguished cry ripped through the air, a terrifying proclamation: “Ye Dao, I will slay you!”
The music stuttered and died. The joyous revelry evaporated, replaced by a chilling silence, broken only by the flickering rainbow light of the lanterns, now casting an unsettling pall.
“Whose voice dares defile the air with such pronouncements?”
“Ye Dao… Ye Dao… is that not the sacred name of our Dao Ancient Emperor?”
“The audacity! To utter such treason within the very heart of the Imperial City!” The brief silence shattered into a chorus of horrified whispers, spreading like wildfire through the area afflicted by Wang Lin’s scream.
Within the Ancient Dao Palace, the nine mighty warriors sworn to Xuan Luo, nearest to the source of the uproar, snapped their eyes open, their faces etched with shock. They leapt to their feet as one, their gazes fixed upon the mountain valley beyond the palace, where Wang Lin dwelled.
Deep within the heart of that mountain, in a hermetically sealed grotto, Xuan Luo sat in serene meditation. He sensed the imminent return of his past life and sought to forge a relic of immense power for Wang Lin before the transformation.
Before him floated a small, iridescent blade of curious design. From its hilt, four distinct blades sprouted, resembling not swords, but the prongs of a quad-pointed trident. Moreover, a fifth blade flickered at the edges, seeming poised to materialize at any moment.
At intervals, Xuan Luo would exhale a stream of emerald mist, enveloping the multi-hued blade.
“I have labored long on this blade,” he murmured, his voice a low hum of power. “It has manifested four forms. When the time is right, when all five are complete, it shall become a weapon of unparalleled strength for Wang Lin.” A flicker of pride and affection warmed his features.
Having dispatched Wang Lin to deliver a ceremonial tribute to the Dao Ancient Emperor, Xuan Luo had retreated into seclusion to craft this powerful relic. He felt a pang of regret, a sense of unfulfilled duty to his disciple, and thus dedicated himself to this task, pouring a vast portion of his spiritual essence into the blade.
But the moment his eyes opened, he heard it – the scream from beyond the mountain, from the wooden house nestled in the orchard. A desperate, world-shattering cry.
The killing intent within that scream was enough to shatter the heavens. The words themselves sent a jolt of disbelief through Xuan Luo.
He rose swiftly, his gaze piercing through the mountain’s heart, finding the wooden house.
“What madness has transpired?” A dark premonition gripped his heart. Without hesitation, he flung out his sleeve, attempting to withdraw his spiritual essence from the blade. However, the forging process had reached a critical juncture, and even recalling his spirit would require the span of half a joss stick’s burning.
In his mounting anxiety, Xuan Luo sent a telepathic command to his nine warriors within the Ancient Dao Palace.
“Go to Wang Lin’s dwelling. Discover the cause of this disturbance. Above all, keep him stable until I arrive. This matter must be kept secret!”
Within the valley, in the wooden house, Wang Lin’s scream unleashed a torrent of power. Ripples of energy erupted outwards, engulfing the surrounding landscape. Within these waves echoed his anguished cry, his vow to slay the Dao Ancient Emperor, and the unleashed, earth-shattering power within his very being.
The wooden bed beneath Wang Lin’s kneeling form splintered into dust. The table and chair before him, and the entire house itself, dissolved into swirling fragments, a catastrophic implosion preceding a devastating outward blast. This cataclysm excavated the earth, forming a monstrous vortex of destruction.
The storm tore through the valley, obliterating trees, grass, the stone table, the river – all reduced to swirling motes of dust, carried skyward by the raging tempest.
At the storm’s epicenter, Wang Lin floated, his hair whipping wildly about his face, his eyes bloodshot and burning with murderous intent. He had succumbed to utter, unbridled madness.
Never had he known such a frenzy, such a searing agony.
Before him, the golden light of his Metal Origin, nestled amongst the other four, shattered. From the explosion, the very essence of the Metal Origin coalesced into corporeal form.
As the Metal Origin emerged, it transformed into a streak of golden light, followed by the remaining four, all joining together before Wang Lin to form a complete and unified Five-Element True Body.
The Five-Element True Body, wreathed in a swirling aura of five colors, snapped its eyes open, revealing the same maddened fury mirrored in Wang Lin’s own.
Wang Lin launched himself into the air, his hair dancing as if possessed. He reached down, his hand grasping at the Five-Element True Body. With a blinding flash of rainbow light, the two merged, and Wang Lin unleashed another earth-shattering roar.
With that roar, his cultivation soared, leaping from the late Sky Tribulation stage to the very peak of Sky Tribulation! His long-held theory, his analysis of his own path to power, had become reality.
What should have filled Wang Lin with elation was lost to him. He felt no kinship with this newfound power, for only one thought consumed him: to storm the Imperial Palace, slay the Dao Ancient Emperor, and reclaim Wan’er!
A furious aura wreathed him. Again, Wang Lin raised his right hand, slamming it upon the valley floor with earth-shattering force. Dao Ancient Mountain itself trembled. Deep beneath the surface, within the hidden chamber he had prepared, the Great Celestial Sun, bound to the head of the Immortal Ancestor, shuddered. Above the chamber, a vast fissure ripped open, and the Great Celestial Sun, pulling the severed head, ascended towards the surface.
But then, from the Dao Ancient Palace, nine figures, emboldened by Xuan Luo’s whispered commands, streaked forth as nine brilliant comets. They tore through the heavens, their sonic booms splitting the very air, and descended upon the once-idyllic valley.
At once, they beheld the ruins, the swirling vortex, the trembling earth riddled with cracks, and within that tempest, the disheveled figure of Wang Lin, radiating an unholy fury.
“Young Lord! You…”
“What calamity has befallen? We beg you, Young Lord, temper your rage!”
“By Xuan Zun’s decree, we nine have come to inquire. We beseech you, Young Lord, to enlighten us.”
The nine, their faces etched with shock, offered respectful bows as they spoke.
Within the swirling storm, Wang Lin’s eyes burned with icy resolve. Once more, he seized the earth, and the ground erupted. A swirling vortex of black and white energies shot forth and merged with him, while the Immortal Ancestor’s head, now a golden ray, was swept into his storage pouch with a flick of his sleeve.
The deed complete, Wang Lin whirled, his gaze locked upon the Dao Ancient Imperial City.
“Ye Dao!” he growled, his teeth clenched. Without acknowledging the nine, he lunged towards the Palace, his footsteps echoing like thunder across the sky.
But scarcely had he moved when the nine sprang into action, barring his path. Seven of them wove intricate hand seals, causing the Dao Ancient Palace to emanate a hazy azure aura. This mystic energy linked heaven and earth, forming an immense barrier.
Without hesitation, they invoked the Palace’s Grand Formation, seeking to halt Wang Lin’s advance!
Wang Lin faltered, his head snapping up. His eyes, now bloodshot, blazed with a chilling madness.
“You dare obstruct me?”
“Young Lord, we implore you, restrain yourself! By Xuan Zun’s command, we are bound to detain you until he arrives to pass judgment,” the elder of the nine, his voice laced with trepidation, addressed Wang Lin, offering a stiff bow.
“Master Xuan Luo…” A pang of anguish struck Wang Lin’s heart. He knew Xuan Luo was sworn to protect the Dao Ancient lineage, that even this Emperor had been appointed by his hand. But now…
“Out of my way!” Determination hardened Wang Lin’s features. He would slay the Emperor before Xuan Luo could arrive to intervene, thus sparing his master from an impossible choice.
It was the only path left to him.
With a roar that shook the valley, Wang Lin unleashed a tempest of Great Celestial Suns around him. Their forms, more defined than they had been within the Yu Gu Dao Mountain, sent a shockwave through the nine.
“A Great Celestial!”
“These are the Great Celestial Suns!”
“He…he is a Great Celestial!”
As disbelief washed over the nine, Wang Lin raised his right hand, and with a single, devastating sweep, the Dao Ancient Palace’s azure barrier shattered. The nine were cast back like leaves in a hurricane, each coughing blood. Wang Lin did not kill them. Instead, he stepped forward, transforming into a blazing comet that soared from the Dao Ancient Mountain range.
A thunderous roar echoed through the heavens as he hurtled towards the Imperial Palace, intent on slaughter. (To be continued…)