Within the first chamber, Wang Lin opened his pouch. He beheld a hoard of spirit stones, a testament to Chen Tianjun’s diligent gathering. With a flick of his wrist, a cascade of the stones spilled forth, scattering upon the chamber’s intricate array of protective seals.

*Thump-thump-thump* echoed as the stones offered their essence, only to be drained and reduced to ash. In the instant of their demise, fresh stones took their place.

A torrent of raw power surged through the seals, flowing into the dormant mosquito-like beast. Slowly, life rekindled within it, its frailty fading. The purple hues receded, revealing a faint golden shimmer beneath. This golden glow, though subtle, emanated an aura of potent might.

A century of meticulous refinement, fueled by a wealth of spirit stones that would impoverish entire sects, combined with arcane arts, had finally brought about the beast’s metamorphosis.

As power continued to course through it, the mosquito-like beast grew more alert, its struggles intensified. Muffled roars reverberated as nearly seventy percent of the pouch’s spirit stones were consumed. Then, with a sky-rending shriek, it burst free of its cocoon, its razor-sharp proboscis plunging back into the husk, draining it dry.

A triumphant cry echoed through the chamber, as the newly-forged golden mosquito danced around Wang Lin, its grotesque form brushing against him in unrestrained delight.

Its size had shifted; it stood now at only three fathoms, but it radiated a power akin to a cleansed Nirvana cultivator.

Wang Lin smiled, a rare sight. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the beast. It was his trump card, not to be revealed until its swarm was complete.

Stepping from the chamber, Wang Lin gathered the remaining artifacts, including the massive alchemy furnace. The chambers that once held the lost souls and the marked were now empty. They had perished during his battle with the white-haired elder, their life force drawn away at his summons. Even the old man from the eighth chamber had vanished, leaving behind only a dusting of ash.

“Sima Mo found his brethren, but none awakened. All were lost,” Wang Lin mused, pausing before the sixth chamber. He pressed his hand against the stone door.

Runes of time-worn warding flared to life, rippling outward. But with a flash of resolve in Wang Lin’s eyes, he delivered a thunderous blow with his fist. A wave of immense force erupted from him, crashing against the ancient stone.

In that instant, the star-like point of essence in the center of Wang Lin’s brow blazed to life. A deafening roar shook the chamber as cracks spiderwebbed across the stone, which then crumbled.

Chen Tianjun, witnessing this from afar, gasped. His respect for Wang Lin deepened. Even Yun Hunzi, outside the valley, felt the tremor, a wave of unease washing over him.

As the stone shattered, Wang Lin felt the undeniable truth: he was far stronger than before. This realization filled him with profound satisfaction.

Entering the chamber, Wang Lin picked up a jade scroll from the floor. As he suspected, it contained the secrets of the Temporal Seal, one of the Four Forbidden Arts!

Repeating the process, he forced open the seventh chamber, claiming the second scroll. He memorized its contents, etching the intricacies of the Temporal Seal into his mind, then shattered the jade.

The Temporal Seal, one of the Four Forbidden Arts, demanded centuries to master. Its profound nature required careful study and deduction. Only Wang Lin, with his greatly enhanced cultivation, his mastery of the Shattering Seal, and innate affinity for forbidden arts, could hope to unravel its secrets. Moreover, Sima Mo’s understanding of the seal was incomplete, gained only through brief study.

Such knowledge was too dangerous in the hands of others. Wang Lin would not allow the secrets of the Temporal Seal to be learned from those scrolls. He would destroy them, ensuring that he alone held its power.

The ninth chamber, guarded by the most intricate and mysterious seals, drew him next. In his youth, Wang Lin had only glimpsed the swirling rainbow mist within, unable to discern its secrets.

He approached, placing his hand upon the stone. Instantly, ripples of energy flowed, the stone twisting and becoming translucent. Wang Lin’s gaze sharpened. He saw within the chamber a sight that defied time, rainbow mist that seemed to exist outside of the flow of existence. The rainbow light seeped out, illuminating the shadowy valley.

Within the heart of the swirling mist, a vision appeared – a skeleton rested on the floor.

It was the skeleton of a small deer. Embedded in its bones was a short sword. Wang Lin’s eyes widened. He remembered a similar sight from his journey in the Rainbow Realm. He did not know what it meant. After a moment of pondering, Wang Lin’s fist met the stone once again. The stone cracked.

Frowning, Wang Lin struck again with his fist. The whole valley shook and rumbled, and the stone door shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.

The rainbow mists within the chamber were unaffected by the stone crumbling. They still emanated in a swirling mass. Wang Lin stepped into the chamber and halted right before the misty mass, and carefully examined it with his divine sense.

After a long while, Wang Lin showed a tinge of surprise. These mists are not naturally occurring, but they seem to… originate from the deer skeleton!

“Intriguing…” Wang Lin pondered and raised his hand. Just as he was about to delve into the rainbow mists, his face suddenly changed. He stopped as he felt the heaven defying aura he sealed within his soul struggle and try to escape.

This was the first time that the aura which was sealed within his soul was showing any signs of wanting to break free.

Wang Lin quickly entered his soul and swept through the 18 levels of hell and stopped at the level where the aura was sealed, and unhesitantly started to merge his essence with it.

Wang Lin’s aura suddenly and dramatically changed. He no longer felt like Wang Lin but as if he had become a part of the heaven itself. His expression became calm, as if everything in this universe was within his grasp, and nothing could make him flinch.

Feeling the aura from within, Wang Lin could distinctly sense its longing for the rainbow mists before him. The desire was so strong that it was trying to break free of its confines! “Longing eh… I’ll see what you need these mists for!” Wang Lin curiously exclaimed, and reached into the rainbow mists.

As Wang Lin did so, the rainbow mists immediately churned and disappeared into Wang Lin’s right hand, and immediately vanished. However, as the mists disappeared, the deer skeleton began to emanate more rainbow mists, which also started flowing into Wang Lin’s right hand.

These mists merged with Wang Lin’s soul and entered the heavenly aura. The heavenly aura frantically absorbed the mists and began to materialize into a physical being.

As time slowly passed, the deer skeleton stopped producing rainbow mists. The mists that entered Wang Lin’s body were all absorbed by the heavenly aura. Its essence crystallized into a cross-legged position, and started to breathe and absorb the new mist. A bad feeling that Wang Lin did not like began to form. “How interesting…” Wang Lin muttered, and retrieved his senses. His eyes looked at the short sword within the deer skeleton.

He retrieved the sword and carefully looked over it. There were seals over it, and it was almost identical to the sword he had found. As the sword was pulled out, the deer skeleton suddenly vibrated and collapsed into dust. Wang Lin knew that it wasn’t time to break the seals, so he stored the sword. He turned around and exited the chamber.

Staring into the darkened sky, Wang Lin quietly said, “Let us leave this place!” He then rushed out, grabbing Chen Tianjun, and leaving the valley. Yun Hunzi quickly followed behind and traveled towards the borders of the Rainbow Realm.

The three, headed by Wang Lin, rushed out, and suddenly an aura shot up. The middle-aged lady had finally arrived. She hesitated to come any closer and remained in the distance.

The group gradually arrived to the area where the altar to exit the realm used to be, but it was now in ruins.

Standing there, Wang Lin began to form seals, recalling the methods from Chang Songzi’s memory to exit this realm. He quickly formed seals as a hidden rift began to form.

But in that instant, Wang Lin suddenly changed his expression, stopped his seal formations, and lifted his head! In that dark sky, a giant vortex began to rumble and materialize. The vortex suddenly appeared and stirred up the heavens, causing the skies to crumble and shatter into countless pieces and became part of the vortex. Two emotionless eyes containing eons of time shot down towards Wang Lin. “You desire to leave so soon after consuming my Dao fruit?”