A hush fell upon the vast expanse of the Moro Continent. Wang Lin, secluded in the Southern Enclave of the Returning Origin Sect, devoted himself to the alchemical arts. Alarming detonations echoed from within the forbidden zone, yet none dared trespass, their gazes laden with reverence as they passed its boundary.

The ancient beast bone inscription, a chronicle of potent elixirs, consumed Wang Lin’s focus. Yet, its secrets were veiled in ambiguity. The purported effects were astounding, if true. More troubling, the ingredients listed were largely unknown, whispered only in forgotten lore.

Through painstaking study of the Sect’s most ancient tomes, he gleaned a thread of understanding. Three ingredients, the Star-Shift Wood, the Dragon-Scented Grass, and the Shattered Bloom, were mentioned, all relics of an age tens of thousands of years past. Even then, they were rare, bordering on mythical. Now, they were presumed extinct. Yet, the Sect’s records hinted at a fragment of Star-Shift Wood held within the J-Rank Main Sect. Even more daunting, the creation of the Void-Piercing Pill required the souls of nine Rank Thirteen apex beasts, melded together before the alchemy could even begin.

Such challenges might be overcome, were it not for the abysmal success rate. The beast bone itself served as a catalyst, dissolving into the mixture as the elixir was forged. With each failure, the bone’s color would darken. Once it became a pitch-black void, the pill’s creation would be forever beyond reach. But should success grace his efforts, the bone would vanish, its essence becoming one with the potent brew.

Wang Lin gazed at the bone in his hand, its color already tinged with shadow. It had been tested before, and not found worthy. “This bone has endured countless failed attempts. Had it succeeded, the recipe would have vanished along with it. These rare herbs and powerful souls, while precious, are eclipsed by the bone’s inherent strangeness!”

“What beast did this belong to? It matters not. If there is but a sliver of truth to the elixir’s power, I must attempt its creation!” He clutched the bone, studying its surface before storing it within his dimensional space.

He drew forth the jade slip found with the inscription, and his expression shifted. A grim silence settled upon him. He reached into the dimensional rift, and the tortured soul of the Poison Hag emerged.

With cold detachment, Wang Lin tapped the Hag’s soul repeatedly. Each touch caused it to convulse, growing ever fainter.

Finally, his hand rested upon the Hag’s crown, and his divine sense surged forth, delving into the depths of her being. The flow of memories washed over him – the Five Poisons Sect’s methods of toxin creation, the events of her life – until he unearthed the knowledge he sought: the origins of the bone and jade slip.

As night descended, Wang Lin withdrew his hand, storing the weakened, yet undead, soul once more. His gaze fixed on the jade slip, a contemplative look upon his face.

From the Hag’s memories, he learned of the cataclysmic events that had befallen the Heaven-Cleaving Sect in the Cloud Sea Starfield, one hundred and eight thousand years prior. He also grasped the slip’s true purpose.

It held no spells, no techniques, but was instead a token of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect, imbued with the mark of Sima Mo, the eldest disciple of the Sect’s Master. Had fate not intervened, Sima Mo would have become the Sect’s leader millennia ago. Instead, he had taken the beast bone inscription and a portion of the Sect’s members, splitting away from Heaven-Cleaving, and vanished into the starry void.

In the wake of this schism, the Heaven-Cleaving Sect, now ascending to the Ninth-Rank Starfield, felt a mixture of emotions toward their departed brethren. When word reached them of their devastating losses and eventual disappearance, the Sect Master, Sima Mo’s own teacher, proclaimed a decree that would echo through the ages: “Whosoever bears the mark of Sima Mo and returns to the Heaven-Cleaving Sect shall be received as a disciple by the current Sect Master!”

This proclamation spread across the Cloud Sea, igniting a frenzy. Many sought to uncover any trace of the lost Sect members, hoping to grasp this opportunity for advancement. But as the ages passed, without a single discovery, the fervor waned.

Until, that is, when spies within the Huaqing Sect reported Shiluoxing’s actions and speculations. The Five Poisons Sect initially dismissed it, but the Poison Hag was chosen to lead a small group of investigators. None could have foreseen that this lead, however improbable, would prove true. Wang Lin stared at the slip, then stored it away. “This may yet serve a purpose.” He banished all thought of the jade and the elixir and returned to his alchemy.

His journey to the Barren Lands had yielded not only a bounty of herbs but also a multitude of beast souls, primarily of the Fifth Rank, well-suited for his current cultivation level.

Within his dimensional space were the souls of spiritual beasts, harvested by the Silver-Clad Woman after the Huaqing Sect disciples fell in battle.

There also coiled a venomous serpent, the Poison Hag’s own Rank Six apex familiar. Highest of all in rank was the soul of the Eight Formidable Beasts, which he had swiftly vanquished. He had preserved it, instead retrieving the pill from the Returning Origin Sect’s Daoist temple. After three failures, he had finally melded the beast’s soul with the pill, creating an Eight-Rank Soul-Separating Elixir!

Furthermore, within the Poison Hag’s memories, he had unearthed a bizarre method of spirit-beast refinement that piqued his interest.

This unique technique, conceived by a prodigy of the Five Poisons Sect, involved a prison woven from formations and restrictions. Within this prison, a multitude of beast souls were subjected to potent toxins, forcing them to consume one another, birthing a mutated, higher-ranked soul.

However, there was a critical flaw. The mutated soul could only devour other mutated souls, hindering the Five Poisons Sect’s progress.

The success rate was low, especially at higher ranks. To create a mutated Rank Nine soul, one needed many Rank Eight mutated souls, and each of those required countless Rank Seven souls, and so on.

Even when a high-ranked soul was created, it required vast quantities of rare treasures to nourish it before it could be used in alchemy. Yet even then, failure was still possible, weakening the soul with each failed attempt.

Wang Lin realized that his first attempt at creating the beast soul pill had failed more than ten times before succeeding, but the beast soul contained within the pill was severely weakened and the pill’s overall effectiveness had been greatly reduced.

Even the Five Poisons Sect had been forced to abandon this method. The strain was simply too great. And other sects, even seventh or eighth rank, could rarely afford the massive cost. Even if they could, it would be easier to just capture the beast instead of undergoing the alchemy.

After reviewing this technique, Wang Lin calculated the costs, recoiling at the thought of the resources needed. But, after considering things carefully, he decided he would conduct a small experiment. Using the Poison Hag’s memories, he barely managed to create several portions of the necessary toxin.

He chose a secluded mountain range outside the Returning Origin Sect, carved out a cave, layered it with protective restrictions, and placed a selection of Rank Five beast souls within. He released the toxins, then watched for several days. When he saw that the souls had begun to devour one another, he reinforced the restrictions and returned to the Sect.

After sitting quietly for several days, he retrieved the pills he had created and began swallowing them. He started with the Fifth-Rank pills.

The beast soul was devoured by his Primordial Spirit without resistance, dissolving into his consciousness and ushering him into a strange, transcendent state.

As Wang Lin continued to consume the Fifth-Rank pills, he witnessed a succession of beasts, worshiping the heavens, absorbing the essence of the world, and comprehending the shifting rules of nature.

The Fifth-Rank beast souls offered little direct aid, but these pills allowed him to familiarize himself with the method of using beast souls to comprehend the Dao.

After the Fifth-Rank pills, Wang Lin moved on to the Sixth-Rank pills. Their souls, nearly equal in strength to a peak Transcendent Mortality cultivator, immediately stirred his Intent.

He became each beast in turn, slowly realizing the rules of the world. Wang Lin immersed himself in the tapestry of visions, seeking his own Dao within the chaotic sensations, searching for the intersection between reality and illusion, existence and eternity.

How much time passed he could not say. When only the Eight-Rank pill remained, he awoke from his reverie, gazing into the distance, a sense of bewilderment weighing on him.

“To prove the Dao with one’s own power is a point. To prove the Dao with the power of the masses is a plane… The pills of the Cloud Sea do not bestow creation, but instead, they offer countless opportunities to pursue the Dao… To use beast souls, to use another path, to grasp the rules of the world… However, compared to the Rain and Thunder Realms, the Cloud Sea has shortened the process of enlightenment through this method…”

“However, a beast is still just a beast. It’s understanding of the Dao is incomplete and unclear in its origins. Unless… one could use a human soul to create pills, or perhaps a creature that has transcended the very definition of ‘beast’. Only then could Dao be understood with clarity. Otherwise, one must devour countless pills to find the resonance within one’s own Intent.”

“This Dao is like a thought. Each person’s thought is unique. To make your thought complete and perfect, you need the thoughts of others to verify it. The Cloud Sea cultivator, like Tian Yunzi using his many disciples, chose the beast souls…”

As Wang Lin wrestled with these thoughts, a streak of light tore across the sky beyond the Moro Continent. A band of Sixth-Rank Starfield cultivators, in their relentless search, breached the Continent’s defenses!