As the crimson dragon lunged forth, the icy orb ceased its retreat. Empowered by the incantations of the Corpse Yin Sect’s Eight Kings, it surged with glacial might to meet the beast head-on. The distance closed, until in a thunderous clash, the ice met the dragon’s skull. With a force akin to a shattering star, the orb exploded into eight shards of frigid essence!

Yet, in that very instant, a surge of pure energy erupted from the heart of the shattered sphere, striking the dragon’s head with brutal force. A roar of agony and rage tore from the beast’s throat as its colossal form convulsed, recoiling in frantic retreat. The scarlet sea that composed its body was now laced with an ethereal azure light. Wherever this glow touched, the air crackled, as though the dragon was being entombed in an icy prison.

The tormented roars of the dragon echoed across the void as it fled. The eight shards of ice, scattered and melting, revealed the Corpse Yin Kings within. From the seventh shard, a middle-aged man emerged, coughing blood. A fissure split his brow, cleaving his body in two. With a sigh, his corporeal form collapsed, and a wisp of icy mist rose, coalescing into a humanoid form, gazing silently at the remaining seven Kings. “This vessel could not withstand the power…”

Before the echo of his words faded, one of the elders extended a hand, summoning a coffin adorned with violet runes from a tear in space. The icy figure shimmered, phasing into the coffin. A moment later, the lid blasted open, and from within arose a child, no older than eight. The boy stretched, nodding to the assembled Kings. “Pursue!” The elder who summoned the coffin commanded. Without hesitation, they transformed into streaks of light, chasing after the fleeing blood dragon.

Meanwhile, Wang Lin followed the faint trail of crimson energy, seeking the source of the disturbance. He arrived at a place where residual power thrummed in the air, a testament to a ferocious battle, but found nothing more. Sensing the lingering danger, he changed course. But he had not traveled far when a vast tremor shook the void itself. Wang Lin recognized it, the same vibration that heralded Laosen’s emergence from the Blood Sea.

Soon, the tremors ceased, leaving behind hundreds of powerful presences. Wang Lin’s scalp tingled. He hastened away from the growing maelstrom, but his escape was cut short as three crimson blurs emerged from the void ahead. They saw him instantly and gave chase.

These three were ancient Qi Refiners. Two were in the Early Stage of Purification Nirvana, but the third, an elder, had reached the Great Perfection of the Late Stage, one step away from Fragmentation Nirvana.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin summoned a yellow talisman from a spatial rift and affixed it to his chest. A whirlwind erupted around him, and he surged forward in a blur. The distance widened. Wang Lin’s face was grim. He knew the Blood Sea had opened, releasing a horde of ancient Qi Refiners. Their power far surpassed those he faced in the past, an absurdity he blamed on the enigmatic presence of Tuosen. “Laosen must be emerging soon…” Wang Lin thought, glancing behind him with his divine sense. The three pursuers, using some unknown method, had increased their speed, remaining in pursuit.

“Two Early Stage Purification Nirvana, one at the Great Perfection…” Wang Lin muttered. He stopped abruptly, his eyes gleaming with cold intent. He turned, forming incantations with his hands. In an instant, phantom volcanoes surged around him. As he wove his spell, the illusions became more solid, nearly real. With a flick of his sleeve, they vanished. “This place is dangerous. We must act quickly!” Wang Lin called out as the three pursuers streaked toward him in a triangular formation. The elder at the head.

The elder approached at great speed. Wang Lin narrowed his eyes and stepped back, raising a hand. “Freeze!”

The Word of Immobilization resonated with the laws of heaven and earth. Countless invisible threads ensnared the elder, halting his advance. Wang Lin recoiled from the backlash of the spell, which he suppressed, falling back. The elder remained frozen, but his two companions surged forward, their momentum carrying them past their leader. Wang Lin’s eyes blazed with killing intent. He thrust his hands forward, uttering a single word: “Mountain!”

Before the two approaching Qi Refiners, two colossal volcanoes erupted from the void. A wave of oppressive power washed over them. They tried to change course, but Wang Lin had anticipated this, weaving a trap. No matter where they moved within a hundred yards, they would be caught in the spell of Collapsing Mountains! “Break!” Wang Lin roared.

The volcanoes erupted, spewing forth molten rock and unleashing a cataclysmic force. The two elders were blasted back, coughing blood. Wang Lin saw his chance. Moving with impossible speed, he appeared behind one of the elders, piercing his brow with two finger-blades.

The elder, already wounded by the volcano blast, shattered into a mist of blood and bone. A serene smile played on his lips as he died. Wang Lin frowned, stepping back to finish the other. But a surge of unimaginable dread gripped him. His eyes widened, ignoring the chance at a second kill. He teleported away in a flash of light.

Where he had stood, the blood dragon swept past, its scales laced with blue ice. The gale force threatened to tear him apart. A crack appeared across the chest of Wang Lin’s stone doppelganger, revealing the damage he had sustained.

He glanced up as the dragon vanished into the distance. The elder, who had been frozen, and the wounded Early Stage Purification Nirvana Qi Refiner were gone. Ice water ran through Wang Lin’s veins. He knew the dragon was fleeing. Someone was chasing it. He had to leave.

Soon, eight streaks of light shot past, following the dragon’s trail. Among them was the arrogant middle-aged man from the Corpse Yin Sect. He cast a brief, curious glance at Wang Lin before disappearing into the void with the rest.

Wang Lin summoned a speed talisman and pressed it to his chest, surging forward to follow them from afar. A feeling pulsed within him. Tuosen was near.

The blood dragon roared and thrashed. Half of its body was encased in blue ice, and it sped to the center of the void. Coiling itself up, it began to chant. A sense of ancient history swirled around the area. The dragon opened its maw and screamed. With this scream, the power of ages erupted from the dragon’s throat, covering the world.