The moment the man’s voice echoed, a thunderous roar erupted from the plaza. The earth cracked and splintered as eight ancient figures burst forth from the depths.

Each of these venerable elders bore the marks of countless seasons upon their faces, their gaze immediately locking onto Wang Lin. Without hesitation, they surged forward.

A fierce anger burned within Wang Lin’s eyes. He observed that a dark miasma clung to the space between their brows, yet within that darkness, a glimmering golden light stubbornly guarded their souls.

With a single stride, Wang Lin extended his right hand, unleashing eight streams of intertwining black and white energy. These ethereal tendrils hurtled towards the approaching elders, enveloping them in their embrace. As the energies touched, they plunged directly towards the elders’ brows, shattering the encroaching darkness with resounding cracks!

The eight elders reeled, their eyes clearing as the oppressive influence receded. Their gazes fell upon Wang Lin, wreathed in righteous fury, and a tremor of dread ran through them. One of them gasped, “Ancestor Wang Lin!”

The remaining seven echoed the sentiment, their faces lighting up with fervor.

This pronouncement sent a ripple of shock through the assembled crowd. The multitude of onlookers blanched, disbelief etched upon their faces.

The descendants of the Wang family, however, reacted with a strange unease, only a handful betraying any emotion at all.

In that instant, the dispersing tendrils of dark miasma, once emanating from the elders’ brows, coalesced in the air, forming a monstrous serpent, dozens of feet in length. With a furious hiss, it lunged towards Wang Lin.

But then, Ta Shan stepped forward, his mighty fist striking the air before him. A deafening boom echoed through the heavens, and the colossal serpent shattered into nothingness. Ta Shan retracted his hand, resuming his position behind Wang Lin, his expression cold and unwavering.

A killing intent flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes. He raised his right hand, pressing it downwards. The imperial palace trembled as a tremendous force slammed into the earth, sending a figure hurtling skyward from the depths of the palace grounds.

The man, bare-chested and with long, flowing hair, stared at Wang Lin in the sky, his pupils contracting almost imperceptibly.

“Daring to breed wraiths within my family’s descendants… you seek your own demise!” Wang Lin’s voice was like glacial ice. With a single step, he summoned crackling lightning to his right hand and charged towards the man.

The man’s face twisted in alarm. He had believed his presence to be shrouded in secrecy, but it was clear he had been discovered. He retreated swiftly, his cultivation far surpassing the other inhabitants of Vermillion Bird Star, reaching the realm of Yin Void. Yet, even with such power, terror gripped his heart. As he fled, his gaze darted towards a woman clad in vibrant silks standing beside a dragon-robed man within the palace hall.

Her eyes, like shards of ice, watched Wang Lin’s assault on the man. With a silent snarl, she raised her right hand, preparing to unleash her own power.

But as Wang Lin rushed towards the bare-chested man, a ripple distorted the very air around him, and he vanished in a blink of an eye.

His sudden disappearance stunned the man, but with a flicker of his gaze, he turned and fled with desperate speed. Ta Shan’s eyes gleamed with icy light as he prepared to pursue, but the infantile Great-Headed Boy beat him to it, chasing after the man with a senseless giggle.

The woman in silks faltered, her expression twisting into one of dread. She threw herself forward, but it was too late. Wang Lin had reappeared within the palace hall, right beside her, lightning dancing in his eyes. With furious intent, he extended two fingers, stabbing them forward. Instantly, the heavens roared with thunder, and countless lightning bolts converged upon Wang Lin’s fingertips in an impossible, intricate dance, as though weaving through the very fabric of reality.

Bearing the weight of celestial thunder, his fingers struck the woman in the center of her back!

She convulsed, spewing a mouthful of blood. Her entire body shimmered with multicolored light, and a black serpent writhed from her crown. Yet, the moment the serpent materialized, it shattered, unable to withstand the onslaught of lightning. Her face paling, the thunderous blow, having annihilated the serpent, threatened to consume her flesh and spirit. But from her crown emerged the cry of a phoenix, and a bird wreathed in vibrant hues materialized, shielding her from Wang Lin’s wrath.

Staggering backward, she attempted to unleash her own power, but Wang Lin was swifter. Once again, he appeared beside her, another lightning-charged finger descending.

Deafening thunder shook the hall as the woman vomited more blood. The phoenix above her trembled, struggling to maintain its form as she desperately retreated. Yet, her speed was nothing compared to Wang Lin’s. With uncanny agility, Wang Lin struck again and again, unleashing four rapid strikes!

The woman’s body buckled under the relentless assault, leaving her battered and helpless. Especially the final blow, shattered her spirit, upon its descent, caused the phoenix above to vanish in a final mournful cry!

“I am one of the Seven Phoenixes of Phoenix Plume Star! Dare you slay me?” she cried, her voice laced with terror.

But Wang Lin did not pause. In a flicker, he appeared behind her, a cold glint in his eyes. His right hand transformed into black and white energy, which he plunged into her right shoulder!

As the black and white energies surged into her, the woman shuddered violently, and her physical form imploded, transforming to dust. Her spiritual form shot out, desperate to flee.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin slammed his right hand upon the escaping soul, unleashing the Soul-Searching Art. With a harrowing scream, memories were ripped from the woman’s mind, brutally plundered by Wang Lin.

The deeper he delved, the darker Wang Lin’s expression became. A chilling frost filled his eyes as he clenched his hand into a fist. The woman’s soul shattered like glass, its essence dispersing into the air, which Wang Lin promptly inhaled.

He had sensed something amiss with this woman from the start. Though she hid her true strength, Wang Lin saw her true cultivation of Yang Completion as plain as day. If not for the protective aura of the phoenix spirit, a single strike of lightning would have been enough to destroy her.

If not for the fact that numerous members of the Wang clan surrounded him, and that Wang Lin noticed that the dark miasma between their brows were subtly linked to the woman’s right hand, clearly placing their lives in her grasp, Wang Lin would have killed her immediately.

Instead, he had lured out the man from the depths of the palace grounds, dividing her attention and creating the perfect opportunity to strike.
In the instant that the maiden faced her demise, a curse lifted and a vengeance was born. Within the grand hall, nearly half of the royal family erupted in crimson fountains, their eyes dimming as they collapsed into the cold embrace of death.

Those who remained felt the dark blight upon their brows vanish like mist, their eyes clearing as understanding dawned. They beheld Wang Lin, and a wave of reverence washed over them. Shamefaced, they prostrated themselves before him.

From their earliest years, the scions of the Wang family were taught to recognize the visage of their ancestor in ancient portraits. Wang Lin’s likeness was etched into their very souls. Now, with their minds unclouded, they knew him instantly.

They were no strangers to the legends of Wang Lin, tales whispered throughout the Grand Dynasty. It was said that the aid offered by so many cultivators was a testament to the Wang family and its illustrious son, Wang Lin!

“Ancestor, we have erred…” the eight elders groaned, their faces etched with sorrow as they knelt upon the stone floor.

Wang Lin’s gaze swept across the hall, landing upon the middle-aged man garbed in royal robes. “Indeed, you have erred,” he said, his voice like the bite of winter. “You could not even discern a true descendant of the Wang family.”

The man’s face paled, and a moment later a thunderous sound echoed through the hall as Wang Lin’s cold voice was inflicted upon the man’s ears, rendering him unconscious.

The surrounding Wang family members exchanged bewildered glances, their faces darkening as suspicion fell upon the fallen monarch.

With a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of ages, Wang Lin turned towards the cultivators who had gathered to observe the spectacle. He bowed deeply. “Esteemed friends,” he intoned, “I thank your sects for their care of the Wang family these long years.”

The cultivators responded with deferential nods, their eyes filled with respect.

Having made his acknowledgements, Wang Lin extended his divine sense, ensuring that no other agents of Fengluan Star remained within the city walls. Then, turning to an aged Wang family member kneeling nearby, he spoke, “Resolve the matters here as you see fit. I shall return in a few days.” A chilling glint flashed in Wang Lin’s eyes. The memories gleaned from the slain Fengluan maiden revealed treachery that could not go unpunished.

“Fengluan Star, Corpse Yin Sect, to prey upon my Wang family… you shall know Wang Lin’s wrath!” he vowed, his gaze hardening with righteous fury.

From the Fengluan maiden’s recollections, Wang Lin had discovered that she was indeed one of the Seven Phoenixes of Fengluan Star. More alarmingly, she was also a member of the Corpse Yin Sect, a Grand Elder dispatched to Vermillion Bird Star. Her position was akin to that of Sun Tai in years past, but her power far surpassed his.

The Corpse Yin Sect was a name that stirred old memories. Wang Lin remembered Sun Tai, in his final moments, whispering of dark secrets – the collection of resentment and the breeding of vengeful spirits, a task assigned to every branch of the Sect.

Through the Fengluan maiden’s eyes, Wang Lin had seen the insidious web spun by the Corpse Yin Sect, stretching across the Grand Dynasty, its agents lurking in every city, stoking resentment and harvesting it to feed their dark rituals.

Now, Wang Lin’s purpose was clear: to purge this corruption, to tear the Corpse Yin Sect from the face of Vermillion Bird Star! Even without the attack on his descendants, Wang Lin had intended to seek out the Corpse Yin Sect. Deep beneath their stronghold lay the gargantuan corpse of a giant demon, and within it, a flicker of ancient consciousness that called to him.

He wondered if, after centuries, the Titan Demon’s body would remain intact.

From the horizon, Big-Head Child returned, dragging a captive behind him. A vacant smile stretched across his face as he presented his prize to Wang Lin.

“Kill him! Bring me his nascent soul!” Wang Lin commanded, his voice like ice. He turned and strode towards the heavens.

Ta Shan followed close behind, his massive form a silent promise of destruction.

Big-Head licked his lips with anticipation. With a brutal squeeze of his hand, the prisoner was reduced to nothing, his nascent soul caught in Big-Head’s grasp, ready to be consumed.

Thus began a cataclysm, set in motion by Wang Lin’s return to Vermillion Bird Star.