“Trespassers of the Forbidden Lands shall meet their doom!” The white-robed elder, his voice a raspy whisper, retreated swiftly, joining three others to form a square encirclement around Wang Lin. Simultaneously, his right hand plunged into his storage pouch, emerging with a jade slip. He prepared to crush it.

A chilling glint sparked in Wang Lin’s eyes. He took a single step forward, and the air shimmered around him. In the blink of an eye, he stood behind the elder. His right index finger, swift as lightning, aimed for the space between the elder’s brows. For Wang Lin, slaying a Peeking Nirvana cultivator was a matter of ease.

The elder’s eyes widened in shock, his pupils shrinking. He tried to recoil, but before Wang Lin, he had no hope of escape. The finger of lightning caught him, striking his forehead.

The elder coughed up blood. A series of muffled explosions echoed from within his body as his flesh disintegrated. His nascent soul, desperate to flee, was snatched away by Wang Lin’s crimson sleeve. The jade slip, uncrushed, fell into Wang Lin’s hand.

All this occurred in the space between breaths, shocking the remaining three elders to their core. But they were veterans of countless battles. After a moment of stunned silence, they scattered. One of the elders roared, “Form the array!”

At his command, the three channeled their power, drawing upon the energy of the heavens and earth. It coalesced before them into a colossal axe, which swept towards Wang Lin.

At the same time, they reached into their storage pouches. Two elders produced a whisk and a string of jade beads, respectively. The whisk, entirely black, unfurled at its master’s command, its strands stretching like fine, ethereal swords, raining down upon Wang Lin. As they fell, they stirred the very fabric of the heavens and earth.

The elder with the jade beads levitated seven fist-sized orbs around him, each shimmering with crystalline light. With a wave of his hand, the air filled with the deafening wails of infants.

Each bead revealed the anguished face of a newborn soul on its surface. Then, with a series of pops, they burst apart, transforming into seven newborn wraiths, trailing black mist and emitting piercing shrieks as they descended upon Wang Lin from all sides.

The final elder, instead of a weapon, produced another jade slip. While his companions launched their attacks, he prepared to shatter it, hoping to relay their plight to the Kun Xu Realm.

The three moved with a practiced synchronicity, their attacks becoming one. Against an ordinary Pure Nirvana cultivator, such an assault from three Great Perfection Peeking Nirvana cultivators would be difficult to withstand. But they faced Wang Lin.

Wang Lin ignored the onslaught of spells and artifacts. With a wave of his sleeve, a sea of fire surged from the sky, forming a raging vortex that consumed the black whisk. Simultaneously, he pointed a finger forward, uttering softly, “Freeze.”

The word unleashed the laws of the heavens and earth. All attacks halted, frozen in place. The three elders, their faces ashen, were rendered immobile.

Helpless, they watched as Wang Lin approached. He plucked the jade slip from the third elder’s hand. With a casual flick of his wrist, the elder exploded in a shower of blood. His nascent soul was seized from the void and captured.

“I had no desire to intervene, but you have forced my hand!” Wang Lin declared. He pointed his finger again, and another elder’s body imploded, his soul claimed.

His gaze turned to the final elder, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

“To craft treasures from infant souls is an unforgivable sin!” The remaining elder, the one who had wielded the seven jade beads, was consumed by terror. Wang Lin’s power surpassed his understanding of a Pure Nirvana cultivator. Had they known, they would never have dared to provoke him.

But as Wang Lin approached, the elder could see within Wang Lin’s eyes a rage and judgement that transcended anything that he had ever seen before. He had never imagined that they were trifling with such a terrifying being.

He watched Wang Lin step closer, his hand reaching for his forehead, blocking out the light. Then, agony exploded through his body as a white flame erupted from Wang Lin’s fingertips, engulfing him.

There was no scream, only a swift and silent incineration. The elder’s flesh turned to ash, and his soul was consumed.

In a matter of moments, four Peeking Nirvana cultivators had fallen: three captured, one dead. They had never had a chance to activate the communication jade slips. Without their masters, the axe dissipated into the ether, and the whisk was consumed by flames.

The seven infant wraiths, now freed, wandered aimlessly. Wang Lin, a flicker of memory in his eyes, waved his sleeve, creating a vortex that swallowed the lost souls. His expression remained calm as he approached the teleportation array on the ground. He bent down, adjusted the runes, and the array flared with light. An overwhelming surge of power enveloped Wang Lin, and with a final burst, he vanished, leaving behind only an empty array.

The Kun Xu Realm was nestled within a created space, a haven of birdsong and blossoming trees, not unlike the Immortal World. But unlike that realm, it was filled with rich primal energy.

Mountains pierced the sky, rivers snaked through the land, and creatures frolicked in a scene of idyllic harmony.

In the northern plains of Kun Xu, a vast array marked the gateway to the realm. Before it sat a child disciple in meditation.

Despite his youthful appearance, there was an ancient quality about him. It was evident that some powerful technique caused him to maintain the appearance of a child. He opened his eyes, muttered a few words, and fixed his gaze on the array.

The array pulsed, its light growing intense, reaching a blinding peak. Spatial distortions writhed around it.

Then, the light faded, the humming quieted, and within the array, a figure emerged.

The child, initially relaxed, tensed, leaping to his feet and staring intently at the approaching figure. “You reek of blood!” he hissed.

Wang Lin had visited the Kun Xu Realm in his mind during his youth. As he stepped out of the array, he glanced at the child and said, “My apologies, but could you deliver a message? I am Wang Lin, here to deliver a jade slip from the Vermillion Bird Saint Sect.”

The child frowned, his eyes hardening. “You are bold indeed. It has been long since someone dared to force their way into Kun Xu.”

Ignoring the child, Wang Lin unleashed his divine sense, sweeping across the entire Kun Xu Realm. “I am Wang Lin, here to deliver a jade slip for the Vermillion Bird Sect!”

The child’s eyes flickered, but he refrained from attacking, instead studying Wang Lin. As Wang Lin’s message echoed, several divine senses, some belonging to Soul Rend cultivators, emerged. Many of them were powerful enough to destroy Wang Lin.

Wang Lin had considered the potential dangers when traveling to the Kun Xu Realm. The old Saint Emperor would not betray him, and the contents of the jade slip would not pose any threat.

Wang Lin had not tried to examine the jade slip. Some things, he knew, were best left unknown.

Besides the old Saint Emperor, the runes given to him by Qing Lin were also a reassurance. At any moment, Wang Lin could activate them and return to New Rain World.

On a mountain peak within the Kun Xu Realm, Zhou Ru sat in meditation. Little White, her pet spirit beast, was sprawled beside her, lazily watching the clouds drift by.

Then, Wang Lin’s message washed over them. Zhou Ru trembled, her eyes snapping open. “Uncle!!!” Even Little White shuddered, leaping to its feet and staring into the distance.

Zhou Ru’s face flushed with excitement. She had searched for Wang Lin for a long time. Hearing his voice filled her with joy.

Without hesitation, she transformed into a streak of light, racing towards the source of the voice. Little White followed close behind, its head darting around, wary of the cultivator who once frightened it.

After Zhou Ru left, a woman of captivating beauty stepped out of the void on the mountain peak. She watched Zhou Ru leave, her expression a mix of longing and anguish. Then, she stepped forward.

Wang Lin, his message sent, waited patiently. Soon, streaks of light arrived, coalescing into figures. They were all cultivators, ranging from early Awakening Nirvana to later stages. They glared at Wang Lin with disdain.

The old man who had accompanied Mu Bingmei to the Demon Spirit Land was absent. Instead, a middle-aged man in purple and gold stepped out of the void before Wang Lin.

The middle-aged man radiated authority. The assembled cultivators bowed to him with respect. “The Vermillion Bird Saint Emperor graces Kun Xu with his presence. A rare sight indeed!” The man’s eyes scanned Wang Lin, and he spoke slowly.