A suffocating miasma clung to the air, hindering the spread of divine sense like a prisoner’s chains. As he plunged deeper, the Thunder Beast, a creature of crackling energy, emitted a low growl. A tempest of lightning erupted from its very core, a rolling thunder that echoed through the ethereal veil.

Bolts of pure energy danced and weaved, dissolving the clinging fog in swathes. Upon the beast’s back sat Wang Lin, eyes gleaming with determination. With a gesture, he unleashed the Seven-Star Sword Formation from his pouch. The celestial blades spun with furious speed, carving a path through the clinging mist.

Learned from his previous foray, Wang Lin possessed a newfound understanding of the Cloud Haze Star. He moderated his pace, even softened it. Whenever the Thunder Beast threatened to unleash a deafening roar and summon forth a devastating storm, Wang Lin swiftly silenced it.

Though their progress was measured, it was relentless. Guided by the Seven-Star Sword Formation, they advanced like a spear through parchment, drawing ever closer to the surface below.

Calculating the distance of his previous descent, Wang Lin noted that they were less than a hundred lengths from breaking free of the fog. But in that very moment, a primal sense of dread washed over him, a chilling premonition that resonated deep within his soul.

The Thunder Beast, ever sensitive to the currents of power, sensed the danger an instant before its master. Without a command, it abruptly halted and veered sharply aside.

A slender tentacle, moving with impossible speed, lashed through the space Wang Lin had occupied only moments before, leaving a fleeting, needle-thin hole in the oppressive mist.

The Thunder Beast’s evasion had been swift, yet the tentacle, upon its return, snagged the Seven-Star Sword Formation. With a dreadful, irresistible pull, it drew the blades downward into the depths.

Wang Lin’s face hardened. Had he charged heedlessly onward, he would have been caught in that deadly snare. The slower pace, guided by the Thunder Beast’s instinct, had spared him. He realized with growing unease that the tentacle possessed a power that disrupted his connection to the Seven-Star Sword Formation, rendering it beyond his control.

“This tentacle…it seems familiar,” Wang Lin muttered, a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

“This…this bears an uncanny resemblance to the third form of the Moon-Devourer!” He inhaled sharply, a chilling realization dawning.

The Moon-Devourer, a creature of terrifying power, possessed three distinct states. The first, a passive, drifting form, posed no immediate threat. Wang Lin had encountered one such entity drifting idly in the sky during his first visit.

The second form was one of slumber, its countless tendrils retracted, the creature resembling a vast, amorphous shape. The very Cloud Haze Star itself was, he now suspected, a dormant Moon-Devourer in this state.

The third, and most terrifying form, was that of attack. In this state, the Moon-Devourer’s countless tendrils extended to an unbelievable length, reaching even beyond the length of its body. Encountering a Moon-Devourer in such a state was a death sentence; only swift flight offered any hope of survival.

The implications were chilling. Wang Lin’s gaze pierced the fog-bound distance, measuring the scant hundred lengths that separated them from the clear air beyond. Hesitation gripped him.

“When I first came here, both Moon-Devourers were in their passive or dormant states. Why has this changed now? And which of the beasts released that tentacle?” Wang Lin pondered. Retreating now would mean the loss of the Ascension Fruit he had gathered, not to mention the Seven-Star Sword Formation.

“To lose everything before even reaching my goal!” A fierce resolve ignited within him. He would not be deterred. With a slap to the Thunder Beast’s broad head, he commanded the creature onward. Without a growl, the beast surged forward, crossing the remaining distance in a single bound, bursting through the edge of the fog.

Emerging from the oppressive mist, Wang Lin’s divine sense expanded, unobstructed. The vista that greeted him was a stark contrast to the one he remembered. The swaying, tendril-like plants that had once carpeted the surface were gone, replaced by a writhing mass of crimson tentacles, each a thousand lengths long. An alien power radiated from them, raising gooseflesh on Wang Lin’s skin.

He cautiously scanned the surroundings with his enhanced senses, a slight easing of tension upon finding no immediate threat.

“Only a thousand lengths…it appears this creature is transitioning to its third form, but has not yet fully awakened. But what could have triggered this transformation? Could someone have come here in the last century?” Wang Lin furrowed his brow.

“Even so, it seems unlikely that anyone could incite a Moon-Devourer to such a point. Something is amiss.” Wang Lin dismounted the Thunder Beast, pausing to address it as though it were a sentient being. “This place is fraught with danger, as even you can likely sense. Transform into the Arrow God Chariot and return to my pouch. Otherwise, you will only increase the peril for us both!”

The Thunder Beast shook its massive head, its eyes revealing a flicker of defiance. It cast a disdainful glance at the writhing tendrils below.

Wang Lin frowned, abandoning his attempt to convince the beast. He stepped forward, moving with deliberate slowness toward the surface. He was acutely aware of the potential danger of each twitching tentacle.

As he descended, one of the tentacles before him lashed out with lightning speed, aiming directly for Wang Lin. The air shimmered with the force of the blow.

The gust of wind ripped through the air, whipping Wang Lin’s hair back and stinging his face like a thousand cuts. But Wang Lin remained vigilant, focusing on the base of each tentacle. An instant before the strike, he had observed a subtle shift in the tendril’s color.

With an explosion of speed, Wang Lin teleported, leaving behind an afterimage. The tentacle struck the phantom, then slowly retracted, returning to its languid swaying.

Wang Lin reappeared in the air, his gaze fixed on the mass of tendrils below, his brow drawn tighter still.

“To induce the Moon-Devourer to produce the Ascension Fruit, one must target its excitation points. But with these tentacles everywhere, that task becomes exceedingly difficult.”

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Lin reached into his pouch, drawing forth a deluge of Ascension Fruit. The glistening orbs floated around him in a dense cloud. With a focused gaze, he manipulated the surrounding energy, and spoke a single word: “Refine!”

With a series of muffled pops, the Ascension Fruit burst open, releasing their crimson ichor which rapidly merged, forming a viscous, luminescent mass.
Wang Lin wove arcane gestures with nimble fingers, exhaling a breath of primordial spirit upon the crimson ichor. The essence of his being ignited into ethereal flames, consuming the liquid and birthing forth swirling mists of red.

A glint of steel flashed in Wang Lin’s eyes. He seized the crimson cloud with an ethereal grasp, his form blurring as he sped toward the grasping tendrils below. With a downward thrust of his hand, a tide of crimson vapor surged forth, engulfing the writhing limbs in a hundred-foot radius. Within the swirling haze pulsed the strange power of the Ascendant Fruit, now in a state readily absorbed by the monstrous appendages.

Gradually, the scores of thick tentacles within the mist-wreathed area slowed their frantic dance, their movements akin to a mortal drunk on potent wine. Their dark crimson hues swiftly bled into shades of vibrant red.

Cautiously, Wang Lin descended, weaving amongst the colossal limbs. As if blind to his presence, they ignored him entirely. With a subtle sigh of relief, he at last touched the ground.

The ancient lore of the God Tusi contained fragmented knowledge of Wangyue, revealing that the root of its tendrils was a nexus of stimulation, a point of influence that could sway the entirety of the colossal beast.

With utmost caution, Wang Lin retrieved Ascendant Fruits from his pouch, carefully merging ten into a single drop of ruby liquid. Upon each, he inscribed protective seals before imbuing them into the root of each writhing tendril.

He performed this delicate task with meticulous care, his divine sense spread wide as a vigilant guardian.

Within the span of a breath, the hundred-foot radius of crimson mist began to dissipate with alarming speed. Knowing his time dwindled, Wang Lin poured the final essence into the last tendril and launched himself skyward.

No sooner had he escaped than the crimson haze vanished. The tentacles, once vibrant, reverted to their dark crimson, yet now pulsed with strange bulges surging down their length, descending into the depths of the earth.

Wang Lin observed the bizarre display, recognizing it as Wangyue purging the Ascendant Fruit’s potency, akin to a mortal’s unpleasant bodily function.

Above, the Thunder Beast had watched Wang Lin’s actions with mounting impatience. With a contemptuous gaze upon the tendrils, it plunged earthward, its body crackling with lightning, unleashing a thunderous roar that echoed across the entirety of Yunxia Star.

Wang Lin whirled, bellowing, “Foolish beast, return!”

The earth trembled in that instant, as if awakening from slumber. The countless tendrils ceased their swaying, elongating at impossible speeds, hurtling towards the Thunder Beast with a fearsome shriek.

The sheer number of tendrils was overwhelming. Initially, the Thunder Beast scoffed, unleashing a torrent of electricity along their extending forms, channeling it into the very ground.

But then, an odd energy pulsed through the tendrils, causing them to erupt in a blinding crimson glow that momentarily bathed all of Yunxia Star in red.

The tendrils sped on, a ravenous, hair-like mass, engulfing the Thunder Beast in the blink of an eye. Its struggles were futile, its jaws unable to rend, its mighty magic utterly useless against the swarm. Not a single tendril snapped!

Wang Lin watched from afar, his face a mask of grim concern. Wangyue, in its third state, possessed a heightened sensitivity to sound. The Thunder Beast’s roars only tightened the crushing embrace of the tendrils. Panic began to flicker in the beast’s eyes.

“Cease your bellowing!” Wang Lin telepathed, his expression cold as he swiftly retrieved Ascendant Fruit from his pouch.

Meanwhile, deep within Yunxia Star, within a vast cavern, a gaunt figure sat in meditation before a colossal cauldron.

Thick tendrils, each as thick as a man’s arm, coiled around the cauldron, writhing as if drinking from its very essence.

The elder, none other than Greed Wolf, opened his eyes, his countenance darkened. The cavern walls shuddered, releasing noxious fumes and crimson mists. Within this foul concoction, traces of electricity crackled, intensifying the acrid stench.

The very spot where Greed Wolf sat was the location where Wangyue performed its absorption and excretion.