A hesitation flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes as he recognized the iron sword, halting his retreat. He stared at the weapon, a conflict raging within.

His cultivation had revealed a truth: the memories he possessed were incomplete, a vital fragment missing. This fragment, held by Tosen, contained crucial knowledge, perhaps even the secret of this very sword. While Tosen had reveled in its presence, Wang Lin remained ignorant of its origins. Yet, a blade that could elicit such joy from Tosen was surely no ordinary thing. Though not identical to the one he had seen before, it bore an uncanny resemblance.

“To take it, or not?” Wang Lin’s gaze drifted from the sword to the crimson threads that ensnared it. A palpable dread emanated from these threads, a constant reminder of the lurking danger.

He knew not what these crimson lines were, but he sensed their power. To leave now would mean safety, avoiding their attention. But to claim the sword from their grasp would surely provoke their wrath.

Ordinarily, Wang Lin would not risk such an unknown peril. Yet, the allure of the iron sword was too potent to ignore.

A battle of wills raged within his mind, a tempest of indecision. Finally, resolve hardened his gaze. Fortune favors the bold! To flee would be to embrace safety, but it would also mean abandoning this treasured blade.

Furthermore, this was the Immortal Emperor’s domain. To pass up this opportunity might mean never returning. To leave a treasure trove empty-handed was a prospect Wang Lin could not bear.

Decision made, he glanced up at the pit’s mouth. From this vantage point, a maze of icy glaciers blocked all exits, leaving only twisting, treacherous gaps.

He mentally calculated the depth of his descent, a plan forming in his mind. With a sudden surge of determination, Wang Lin fixed his gaze on the iron sword, nestled deep within the ancient god’s skull, through the passage he had forced open.

With a resolute grit of his teeth, Wang Lin formed hand seals. Flames danced in his eyes as his cultivation surged, peaking at the very pinnacle of the Seer stage. His Ancient God star point blazed upon his brow, spinning wildly, as his very being thrummed with power.

Ancient God strength coursed through his limbs. He clenched his fist, reveling in the sensation of dominion. Doubt banished, Wang Lin extended his right hand.

In that instant, flames erupted from his eyes. Demonic Yuan energy roared within him, coalescing in his outstretched hand, unleashing a cataclysmic sea of fire before him.

With a swift change of hand signs, the fire sea hurtled towards the ancient god’s skull, engulfing it in flames. The ice melted rapidly, torrents of fire surging through the opening Wang Lin had created, toward the iron sword.

The crimson threads on the sword twitched violently, constricting and splitting into countless strands, spewing crimson mist towards the approaching inferno.

A deafening roar echoed through the cavern as the red mist met the fire sea, snuffing it out, driving it back. Wang Lin, unfazed, spat out a mouthful of Yuan Spirit essence.

The essence ignited the fire sea anew, an explosive burst of power that fractured the god’s skull.

Burning chunks of ice rained down, clattering against the pit walls. The ice vanished, leaving the god’s skull exposed.

Deprived of its icy shroud, the skull began to rot, its lifelike features twisted into decay.

A putrid stench filled the air as the skull decomposed, transforming into a colossal, ebony skeleton. Within its cranium, a swirling vortex of crimson mist pulsed, a nest of writhing red threads, some clinging tightly to the iron sword.

Without hesitation, as the ice collapsed, Wang Lin shot forward, a blur against the chaos. He seized the iron sword.

The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, demonic Yuan power flooded the blade, engulfing him in a protective ring of fire, extending to the threads that bound the sword.

Simultaneously, Wang Lin’s left hand formed a fist. Ancient God power coursed through him as he launched a devastating blow. The phantom of an Ancient God materialized behind him, its fist mirroring his own, unleashing a earth-shattering impact.

The combined force of the Ancient God’s blow and the fire sea severed several crimson threads, forcing the rest to recoil.

With a defiant roar, Wang Lin yanked the iron sword free, claiming it as his own.

The blade vanished in a flash of light, safely stored within his pouch. His movements were fluid, efficient, born of desperation. He soared upwards, seeking escape.

Wang Lin’s earlier assault of Ancient God power and fire struck the crimson mist, but it only expanded outwards in a deafening explosion.

The mist dissipated, revealing a humanoid figure, genderless, shrouded in countless crimson threads. It slowly opened emotionless eyes and fixed its gaze upon the fleeing Wang Lin, unleashing a furious roar, a command of absolute authority.

The roar echoed through the pit. The countless ice shards jutting from the wall began to crack and crumble, and the bodies within stirred to unlife, suffused with red light.

Pairs of crimson eyes flared to life, locking onto Wang Lin.

A bestial cry resounded through the cavern, a chorus of rage that echoed the humanoid figure’s command, sweeping upwards like a storm.

The cries grew deafening, shaking the very foundations of the pit. The awakened corpses lunged, their sights set on Wang Lin.

Wang Lin was suspended in midair, pursued from below by the humanoid figure, its threads writhing grotesquely.

The figure was nearly translucent, lacking any visible organs. A swirling vortex of red energy pulsed within it. It moved with impossible speed, closing in on Wang Lin.

Above, a horde of crimson-eyed corpses descended. Below, the humanoid abomination pursued. In the face of such peril, Wang Lin pressed on, unflinching.

The corpses were sluggish, their movements clumsy. Their cultivation was a mere shadow of their former power, little more than nascent shadows of reality.

Wang Lin’s Seer stage cultivation allowed him to discern thin red threads connecting the essence of each corpse to the humanoid.

With no time for hesitation, Wang Lin channeled his speed, hurtling past the vanguard of corpses.

As they brushed past, Wang Lin formed his fingers into a sword, striking each corpse between the eyes with deadly precision.

Explosions tore through the horde, engulfing the corpses in flames, obliterating the red threads that animated them.

Wang Lin surged forward, his Seer stage cultivation burning like a torch, fire engulfing his entire being. Every corpse that dared to approach met a fiery doom.

The humanoid figure, consumed with rage, unleashed a flurry of crimson threads, each hardened into a razor-sharp blade, hurtling towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin moved like water, weaving past the endless corpses. Yet with all that he destroyed, still an endless flow of figures emerged, and the humanoid was right on his tail. Desperate, Wang Lin’s right eye flashed, and at last, he summoned the Azure Shield to defend against the torrent of crimson razors.

Thunder rent the air. The shield strained under the onslaught, pushed ever closer to Wang Lin. The humanoid advanced relentlessly. Wang Lin, driven to the brink, threw caution to the winds. He raised his right hand, forming a hand seal, and bellowed, “Call the Wind!”

Black winds roared from his hand, no longer icy, but an inferno. The wind swirled, coalescing into five black dragons, each wreathed in scarlet flame, shrieking in defiance as they charged upwards.

Unimaginable heat flooded the pit, heat that meant nothing to Wang Lin. Flames danced in his eyes as he continued his desperate ascent.

The five fiery black dragons smashed through all opposition, tearing the corpses apart. The walls of ice melted under their touch, dissolving into plumes of vapor.

Corpses that sought to stop Wang Lin were pulverized, their bodies collapsing into ash. Within the fiery maelstrom, Wang Lin surged upwards, his speed pushed beyond all limits.

His Seer stage cultivation, coupled with his Ancient God flesh, was unleashed with reckless abandon. The star-marked ermine clung to his cloak, its teeth gnawing on his hair, its bright eyes wide with terror.

The inferno rose faster and faster, a pillar of fire that shot through the pit.

With a resounding boom, the flames erupted from the pit, soaring high above. Wang Lin, surrounded by his dragons, cast one last glance downwards.