“Wang Lin! It is he, Wang Lin, come to the Forest!” A soul-rending cry echoed within the Dao Yi Sect, its fury shaking the very foundations of the world.

But laced within that rage was fear, a deep-seated dread of Wang Lin. Dao Yi could never forget the scenes within the ancestral city’s palace. Even then, Wang Lin had been a formidable force. Now, as a Grand Empyrean, his power was unfathomable.

Especially telling was the immensity of his Empyrean Sun, second only to the Ancient Dao himself, a testament to Wang Lin’s terrifying strength.

“He has not even journeyed to the Ancient God Realm…!” On the frigid continent of the Extreme North, Martial Seal stood, his mind reeling, gazing at the heavens for an age. “To become a Grand Empyrean through his own power alone…!”

Within the Purple Sun Sect, the two young girls, their faces alight with joy, clasped hands and stared at the celestial canvas. “He has become a Grand Empyrean…”

Upon the Emperor Mountain of the ancestral city, Grand Empyrean Jiu Di gazed towards the ancient clans, his heart trembling. His face, ashen, betrayed a hint of disbelief.

“In the underground palace, he possessed the nascent form of an Empyrean Sun and claimed the head of the Immortal Ancestor…” The Sun possessed three colors – black, white, and gold, the latter surely stemming from the assimilation of the Immortal Ancestor’s head.

Logically, his ascension to Grand Empyrean shouldn’t have been so unexpected… but a mere century! He had managed to melt the Immortal Ancestor’s head!

And the moment his Empyrean Sun emerged…” Jiu Di shuddered. He alone, among the Grand Empyreans of the Immortal Clan, knew the truth of the chaos that had engulfed the seventy-two continents. His mind drew an unnerving connection between that cataclysm and Wang Lin’s ascension.

“It should be…” Jiu Di muttered, his eyes filled with trepidation. “Impossible!”

Hai Zi, perched on the edge of the Emperor Mountain, watched the sky, a dawning realization in her complex expression.

Within the same ancestral city, in the underground palace beneath the Imperial Palace, Lian Dao Fei, now transformed into a mountain, remained motionless.

Across the ancient clan lands, Wang Lin’s ascension sparked a wave of upheaval. At the heart of this turmoil, on the Primal Mountain of the First Ancient lineage, Song Tian’s face was etched with bitterness. He had steeled himself after merging his divine sense with the Ancient Demon, but even so, his heart was shaken.

In the imperial city of the Dao Ancient lineage, Xuan Luo, in secluded meditation, sensed Wang Lin’s presence. A smile spread across his face, and he laughed with unrestrained joy.

Above the royal palace in Luo Mian Prefecture, Wang Lin lowered his hands. With a single gesture, his tri-colored Empyrean Sun slowly dissipated, its afterimage forever etched upon the heavens, a symbol of the Grand Empyrean for the Immortal-Astral Continent.

The world returned to normal. The powers of the laws of the world slowly dissipated. From within the royal palace, several streaks of light shot into the sky, led by Prince Jidu.

Suppressing his excitement, he approached Wang Lin and knelt upon one knee, his voice ringing out, “Congratulations, Godfather, on becoming a Grand Empyrean!”

“We pay respects to Lord Wang!” Behind Jidu, the young woman and her husband, the purple-robed youth, bowed on one knee, their faces betraying their astonishment.

With Jidu’s actions as precedent, they could not remain standing.

“We… pay respects to Lord Wang!” The voices of Jidu’s guards coalesced into a single wave of sound, echoing through the surrounding lands.

Wang Lin hovered in the air, surveying the crowd below, a gentle smile on his face. Nodding in acknowledgement, he fixed his gaze on the Ancient Demon, frozen in the distance, and took a single step forward.

Standing before the Ancient Demon, Wang Lin raised his right hand and touched its brow. As his finger descended, the Ancient Demon shuddered, its face contorted in pain. A wisp of black mist escaped its brow, dissipating into the wind. The pain vanished, and the Ancient Demon, now in its right mind, knelt before Wang Lin, its head bowed in fear.

“Jidu, I will take you to see Song Tian!” Wang Lin stepped onto the Ancient Demon’s head, glancing back at Jidu.

Jidu’s body trembled. He looked up, his eyes brimming with gratitude. “Thank you, Godfather, for granting my wish!” He took a deep breath, rising to stand behind Wang Lin on the Ancient Demon’s head. As he gazed at Wang Lin’s back, he felt an overwhelming sense of security, as if this figure could carry him to his ultimate goal – the throne of the First Ancient Emperor!

Without Wang Lin’s command, the massive Ancient Demon roared, turning to face the tear it had ripped in the sky upon its arrival. Once again, it tore the rift wider and plunged into the void, disappearing from sight.

As it vanished, the rift in the sky gradually closed, shrinking into a white line before fading away entirely.

Outside the imperial city of the First Ancient lineage, on Primal Mountain, Song Tian staggered as Wang Lin’s finger erased his divine sense from the Ancient Demon’s mind. His face paled, but quickly regained its color.

His expression grim, he clutched his massive battle-axe, gazing into the heavens. His breathing steadied. He knew Wang Lin would inevitably come.

“Even if I had not tested his strength, Wang Lin would have come to make Jidu the Emperor,” Song Tian thought with a sigh. He had no confidence in his chances of victory, but he could not bring himself to surrender without a fight.

The mountain thrummed with power, shrouded in a misty aura. Within the mist, phantom legions seemed to stir, exuding an aura of battle.

“With the Primal Array as support, and this battle-axe bestowed by the Ancient Dao Grand Empyrean, I should have a fighting chance, even against one who commands the forces of the heavens!” Song Tian inhaled deeply, steeling his gaze as he awaited Wang Lin’s arrival.

Behind him, Huang Man stood in silent despair.
The sands of time trickled away, an incense stick’s worth, before the heavens above the primordial mountain groaned and split asunder. A colossal rift tore through the firmament, spewing forth an inky darkness. From the abyss emerged an ancient demon of immense power, its roar shaking the very foundations of the world.

Perched atop the monstrous being stood two figures: Wang Lin and Ji Du.

Song Tian’s gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto Wang Lin in that very instant. Simultaneously, Huang Man’s eyes met the unwavering stare of Ji Du.

“Wang Lin!” Song Tian boomed, his voice a chilling wind as he swept his sleeve.

“Wang pays respects to Venerable Song,” Wang Lin replied with a faint smile, offering a slow, deliberate bow.

“Spare me the pleasantries. I know well the purpose of your visit. We shall settle this with battle. If you prevail, Song swears to name Ji Du as the Imperial Sovereign in a century’s time!” Song Tian inwardly lamented, the unspoken implication hanging heavy in the air. With a swift gesture of his left hand, the countless phantom warriors of the primordial mountain, held within its mystical aura, unleashed a chorus of piercing cries and dissolved into a swirling mist, hurtling towards Wang Lin.

At the same moment, Song Tian raised his right hand, gripping a battle-axe, and with a mighty heave, brought it down upon Wang Lin in a devastating arc.

Song Tian, a Grand Celestial Sovereign, possessed a cultivation stronger than that of Dao Yi, rivaling that of Wu Feng. A century ago, Wang Lin would have faced such a foe with an uncertain outcome, requiring the full deployment of his power, beyond even the Void Doppelganger. But now…

Wang Lin remained serene. Unfazed by the spectral armies rushing forth, unmoved by the axe poised to cleave the sky, he raised his right hand and gently tapped three times downwards.

With the first tap, the onrushing spectral army met an invisible barrier, a hundred feet from Wang Lin, erupting in thunderous crashes. The phantom warriors, like fragile bubbles, shattered and dissolved without hesitation, as if striking an impassable wall.

From the perspective of Ji Du and Huang Man, this was the scene. But to Song Tian’s eyes, Wang Lin’s touch had summoned a power far greater, a force woven into the very fabric of creation. The rules of the cosmos themselves manifested before the spectral armies, their advance utterly nullified.

As the phantom legions vanished, Wang Lin’s second touch rent the veils of the primordial mountain’s protective array asunder. The mystical aura, ripped and torn into countless fragments, dissipated into nothingness. The primordial mountain shuddered, and the numerous strong of the primeval bloodline, who had maintained the barrier, coughed up blood, their faces ashen with defeat.

A cold dread crept into Song Tian’s heart, yet he bore it down. His eyes gleamed with fierce resolve as he maintained his position in the air, the battle-axe clutched tightly in his hand, prepared to strike.

At that moment, Wang Lin delivered his third tap.

A phantom fist, born from nothingness, materialized before Song Tian. Woven from countless strands of cosmic energy, it pulsed with the very essence of the universe’s laws. This fist descended, colliding with Song Tian’s axe in a cataclysmic clash.

The earth roared as the axe shattered, splintering into a myriad of fragments that cascaded across the landscape. The fist of cosmic law, though equally diminished, split into two as it discharged its power.

Song Tian spat a mouthful of blood, stumbling back a hundred paces. He slammed his feet against the primordial mountain, the impact sending cracks racing across its ancient surface.

Wang Lin’s fingertip pulsed, revealing a faint white mark, a testament to the power unleashed, but his skin remained unbroken.

“A battle-axe infused with cosmic law…” Wang Lin observed, glancing at the shattered pieces of the weapon. He raised his right hand and with a gesture, summoned the fragments to his side. There, they coalesced and reformed, until a complete battle-axe, as perfect as the original, materialized once more.

“Will you continue this fight?” Wang Lin’s calm gaze settled upon Song Tian.

“Why would I not!” Song Tian roared, his form blurring as he ascended into the heavens. There, he stood between the sky and the earth, raising his right hand and reaching down towards the primordial mountain.

The entire mountain trembled violently, rising from its foundations as if Song Tian was attempting to tear it from the earth.

Countless figures soared forth from the mountain, including Huang Man and many others, their faces etched with terror as they witnessed the impossible.

From the Imperial Palace of the Ancient Sovereign City, numerous streaks of light shot out towards the battlefield, a desperate plea for aid in the face of impending doom.