Wang Lin’s eyes, cold as glacial ice, tracked the four figures retreating with desperate haste before the might of his drawn bow. The white-robed man, who had so arrogantly attempted to freeze the crimson fire umbrella, was among them. Fear twisted their faces, a primal terror driving them backward.

Though each of the four were mighty cultivators in their own right, their cultivation far exceeding Wang Lin’s own, their power was shackled. Projecting themselves to this location, the ancient seal suppressed their strength, holding them to the threshold where their presence would not betray the seal to outside powers. They could only wield the power of the nascent Void Spirit stage.

Yet, these very four had brought Wang Lin to the precipice of death countless times. Had he not learned the art of sacrificing lifespan to fuel the Ancient Realm Umbrella in the Land of the Fallen, he would have perished in that first, brutal assault by the three.

Had he not received the boon gifted by the Madman, he would have been doomed at the hands of the two Immortal Consorts!

Likewise, without the bow in his grasp, without this single, precious arrow, he would be trapped in a fatal impasse, unable to break free no matter the price.

Staring at the fleeing figures, a tidal wave of killing intent surged within Wang Lin. This arrow, it was his last. Should it fail, and he be forced to draw the bow again, it would demand a sacrifice of vital essence he no longer possessed.

This arrow was meant for the Sovereign of the Palm, for that ultimate power who remained unseen, lurking in the shadows. His intention had been to lure forth all those who sought his demise and end this Sealing Sovereign Trial with a single, devastating shot!

But fate, as ever, refused to bow to Wang Lin’s desires. He was no Celestial Dao, unable to predict another’s movements, unable to control the thoughts of others.

As the four closed upon him, Wang Lin knew that if he did not unleash the bow and arrow now, he would never see the Sovereign of the Palm. He would simply fade from existence.

The Immortal Imperishable Body, still incomplete, could only deflect a portion of the damage. Even then, the strain upon Wang Lin was immense. He knew that should his body suffer such catastrophic damage again, he risked not only being possessed but the very annihilation of his soul in the endless cycle of collapse.

All that would remain was the Imperishable Body!

Imperishable in form, but devoid of spirit!

“Kill!” Wang Lin roared, his voice a guttural rasp. The bow, curved like a waning moon, released its pent-up power as he loosed his grip. The bowstring hummed with a celestial resonance, silencing all other sounds in that instant. It snapped inward, unleashing a surge of immense force that propelled the arrow forward!

The arrow, responding to the bow’s command, tore from the string, bursting forth!

Heaven and earth trembled!

A deafening shriek erupted as the arrow was released, rising to the very firmament. It was a deathly rainbow, racing forward with insane speed.

And with it went Wang Lin’s soul, his primordial spirit, all the power within him – the strength of the Dao Ancient, the power of his bloodline, everything he possessed!

All of it, in the instant the arrow left the string, coalesced into formless wisps of smoke, drawn into the arrow, leaving Wang Lin utterly drained.

He had but one arrow’s worth of strength to give!

The bow recoiled, slamming into Wang Lin with bone-jarring force. His body threatened to shatter. He stumbled backward dozens of paces, yet could not withstand the bow’s backlash. Blood spilled from his lips as he was flung backward, plunging toward the waters below.

But his eyes, burning with manic intensity, remained locked on his target, on the whistling arrow cleaving through the heavens!

As the arrow raced onward, the calm waters below began to churn, forming a deep trench in the water’s surface. This trench, mirroring the path of the arrow above, hurtled forward. From afar, it seemed as though two invisible hands were tearing the waters asunder.

Even in the sky above, a colossal rift appeared, expanding rapidly, as if to tear apart the formidable killing array woven by the Ancient Starry Sky for Wang Lin’s doom!

Terror drove the four fleeing figures to madness. The Void Spirit Heavenly Lord, swiftest of them all, took the lead, barely ahead of the rest. The two Immortal Consorts, faces ashen, their eyes wide with despair, struggled to keep pace.

The white-robed youth, the weakest of the four in both cultivation and status, lagged behind. He was the closest to the approaching arrow, his fate sealed.

The arrow roared closer, splitting the heavens, creating concentric rings that rippled outward. A boundless killing intent radiated from it. The runes etched upon the arrow flickered with an unearthly light.

It seemed that nothing in heaven or on earth could stand against the arrow. With a thunderous boom, it closed on the white-robed man.

His face deathly pale, the man desperately tried to shatter his escape jade, but to no avail. Even as the arrow approached, his brow throbbed with excruciating pain, and blood gushed forth.

He knew he could not escape. With a roar of defiance, he whirled, his hands forming a spell. But in the instant he turned, the arrow arrived, striking him between the eyes with unimaginable speed.

With a deafening blast, the white-robed man’s head exploded in a shower of gore. His body dissolved in layers. He was utterly annihilated by the passing of the arrow.

His mournful scream cut short as soon as it was uttered. His demise sent shivers down the spines of the three fleeing, causing their souls to shatter.

The Immortal Consort, cloaked in the power of the Yin Moon, wore a visage of hideous terror, yet her eyes betrayed utter hopelessness. The arrow drew ever closer, unlocking all restraints on her mortal coil. She whirled, her face a mask of contorted emotion, and struck out, with a wave of her hand. Luminescent barriers manifested, only to be swept aside in the arrow’s wake. The arrow drew ever closer.

On the brink of death, the Immortal Consort sprayed forth a stream of blood, which congealed into a bloody effigy. The effigy was a grotesque mimicry of herself. It was instantly swept aside, a momentary diversion to the approaching arrow. The arrow passed through the effigy and was aimed at the other, with a sense of utter hopelessness.

All transpired in the blink of an eye, time collapsing in upon itself. The Immortal Consort, her face contorted with terror, desperately pulled forth an ancient zither, gifted to her by the Immortal Sovereign himself. It was her most powerful treasure, a last, desperate defense.
But as the ancient zither materialized to intercept the projectile, it shattered in a thunderous cacophony, its pieces swirling back like a tormented storm. The celestial concubine shrieked, recoiling in horror, but before she could retreat two paces, the murderous arrow, unimpeded by the zither’s fragmented demise, pierced her brow with ruthless precision.

With a sickening boom, the concubine’s head erupted as did the white-robed man before her, her delicate form unraveling into motes of iridescent dust scattered upon the winds. The heavens-rending arrow, its force diminished but still carrying the fury of a thousand storms, thundered onward, now aimed at the regal figure, the soothsayer who had dared to foresee its path!

She had witnessed the demise of the white-robed warrior, the annihilation of her sister. Her painted face paled, etched with despair. Though her form was but a projection, a mere echo of her true self, death by this arrow was no ordinary severance. It was a wound that would cleave deep into her very essence, a torment to her true form. For this arrow was not born of this realm. It was a relic of her homeland, a treasured weapon of the Li family, a name whispered in awe and fear across the celestial plains of the Immortal Astral Continent!

Lost to despair, the concubine abandoned all thought of escape. She turned to face the incoming doom, that swiftly approaching darkness that grew until it consumed her vision, blotting out all else. With a final breath, she closed her eyes.

In that very instant, as the arrow hurtled towards her, a radiant, seven-hued light burst forth from her chest. Upon her neck hung a pendant, an ebony stone of oval shape, the source of the cascading spectrum.

Bathed in the vibrant glow, as the terrifying arrow drew near, the pendant detached itself from her silken robes. A flash of light erupted, and the seven colors enveloped her entirely, a shield of celestial grace.

The arrow struck, a deafening thunderclap as it pierced through the woman’s forehead. When the arrow had passed and silence returned, she opened her eyes, unharmed. Yet the ebony stone of the pendant, now adrift in the air, bore a cruel mark, a hairline fracture spiderwebbing across its polished surface.

“My dearest concubine, I gift you this Tearstone. It shall safeguard you… even when I am no more, it shall be your guardian and companion…” The words of the Immortal Venerate echoed faintly in her mind.

The arrow, having passed through the concubine unscathed, continued its deadly trajectory towards the vanguard of the invaders, the formless Xushen Heavenly Venerate, a being of pure mist. With a roar of desperate alarm, the arrow plunged into the swirling vapor, the echoing blast reverberating across the shattered landscape.

The mist recoiled, convulsing as it desperately attempted to reconstitute. A withered elder in black robes materialized, his face ashen and drawn. But as he stumbled backward, his form dissolved once more.

A harrowing shriek filled the air as the Heavenly Venerate crumbled again and again, each demise a torment of the soul. Finally, with a desperate effort, his form coalesced for a final time, only to have his brow split asunder, the arrow ripping through his essence. The ancient Xushen Heavenly Venerate, one of the five primordial sentinels, laughed in despair as his body exploded into wisps of vapor, vanishing into the ether.

“Exalted One! I have held this arrow for you, paying the ultimate price! You owe me an explanation!” His agonized cry lingered in the air, a testament to his sacrifice even as he faded from existence.

The arrow’s power could only be described as earth-shattering.

Having claimed three victims, the arrow, now weakened but far from spent, soared towards the heavens. It sought to breach the firmament, shatter the seal, and tear a rift in reality, thus freeing Wang Lin from his tribulation of the Sealers’ Bane!

But as it neared the celestial vault, causing the azure barrier to shimmer, a figure emerged from the blue light, cloaked and masked in a black robe. A crushing aura emanated from his being, an oppressive weight far exceeding the power of a mere Empyrean Middle Stage cultivator trapped by the seal.

He extended a gaunt, skeletal hand and seized the arrow in mid-flight!

He shuddered, and slowly raised his head, fixing his gaze upon Wang Lin below. His voice, a gravelly rasp, broke the silence.

“The borrowed power of the Dao Ancient Tomb’s roar… obstruction of my Ancient army in the battle of Cloud Sea… Wang Lin, we meet again. I am the Exalted One…”