The lamentable shadow that was once Liu Jinbiao had vanished. He stood tall now, though his garments remained tattered, an inexplicable aura clinging to him like a second skin.

“This,” he declared, his voice resonating with an unfamiliar power, “is the Way of Deception. The second realm, fools, is not easily attained. To deceive oneself once is simple, but to live a lie, to breathe deception with every waking moment, that is the true art. It warps the very essence of your being, corrupts your spirit, and rewrites the tapestry of your memories, twisting them to suit the grand illusion!”

He paused, his gaze piercing. “Even the most powerful sorcerers, wielding the magic of divine extraction, would find their efforts fruitless against one who has mastered this second realm. They would find no truth to unearth, for the truth itself has crumbled into a million falsehoods!”

“In this second realm, we become the victims of our own lies. At its zenith, we are either consumed, transformed into the very fabrications we weave, or, like the phoenix from the ashes, we are reborn. We break free, achieving a clarity that allows us to step in and out of the illusion at will. Such beings are rare, but only they can hope to ascend to the third realm: that of unadulterated truth, of becoming as one with the lie itself!”

A flicker of bitterness crossed his face. “I, alas, relied too heavily upon the jade pendant. My resolve weakened, and my path was stunted. Had I relied solely on my own wit, even an immortal such as you would have found capturing me a far more arduous task!”

He swept his arm in a grand gesture. “Yet, in taking the jade, in shattering my crutch, you have inadvertently granted me a chance at rebirth. Within the confines of that storage realm, my deception reached its peak, and I took a tentative step toward the hallowed gates of the third realm!” Liu Jinbiao finished, his shoulders squared, his gaze unwavering.

“Intriguing…” Wang Lin murmured, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes.

Xu Liguo, chastened by Liu Jinbiao’s outburst, was uncharacteristically silent. He stared at Liu Jinbiao, a newfound respect blossoming in his gaze. He bowed slightly, his voice resonating with sincerity. “These words, Jinbiao, have illuminated my path. Of the three thousand Grand Ways, can there be a Way of Deception? I, Xu Liguo, will discover if my chosen path lies among them!”

A triumphant gleam ignited in Liu Jinbiao’s eyes, his previous austerity dissolving in an instant. He groveled, his posture shrinking, a hint of his former fear returning. “A mere…trick. Not worthy of mention. If only Master Xu would cease his torment, this humble servant would be content.”

His sudden transformation bewildered Xu Liguo, who could only stammer a few confused insults, utterly at a loss for words.

Wang Lin’s gaze held a spark of curiosity as he scrutinized Liu Jinbiao. “I will offer you an opportunity,” he said, his voice even. “Should you succeed, I will grant you your freedom and a boon beyond your wildest dreams.”

Liu Jinbiao’s entire being tensed, his eyes fixed upon Wang Lin.

“You have only deceived individuals and sects. Now, I command you to deceive an entire race. Dare you accept this challenge?” Wang Lin’s voice was calm, but the words struck Liu Jinbiao like a thunderbolt.

“Well… it matters little whom I deceive, but such a deception requires meticulous preparation…” Liu Jinbiao stammered, hesitant.

“You have three months to prepare. You spoke of the need to deceive oneself, to fully embrace the lie, to corrupt even memory and spirit. I will now grant you such a memory.” Wang Lin’s left eye flared with azure fire, unleashing a torrent of flames that engulfed Liu Jinbiao, forming a swirling inferno. Xu Liguo recoiled, a flicker of fear in his eyes.

“That fiend’s power… it has grown again!”

Time crept by, and a month had passed. Xu Liguo, longing for the pleasures of the outside world, found himself repeatedly hurled back by the cave’s wards. Cursing his misfortune, he could only stare longingly at the world beyond.

One day, as Xu Liguo languished in his boredom, a shift in the atmosphere caused him to whirl around. From the depths of the cave, where the azure sphere had burned for weeks, a deafening roar reverberated.

Then, with a cataclysmic burst, the flames surged skyward, coalescing into a colossal Vermillion Bird. The fiery avian soared and danced, its cry echoing through the cavern.

Within the heart of the flames, a figure began to materialize, blurred at first but slowly sharpening with each step forward.

Xu Liguo’s eyes widened, a strange familiarity tugging at his memory. As the figure emerged fully into the light, Xu Liguo’s jaw dropped.

The figure stepped out of the inferno, standing before Xu Liguo. His garments remained tattered, yet they could not diminish the aura of authority and power that now radiated from him.

The face was the same, but the feeling it evoked was utterly different. This Liu Jinbiao stood before him now like a master of grand destiny. A divine cultivator!

He commanded attention, his presence alone a weight upon the soul.

Wisps of fiery energy swirled around Liu Jinbiao, forming the fleeting image of the Vermillion Bird. His eyes were cold, their depths reflecting a tranquil yet chilling light. His face held a sternness, a natural authority that silenced all dissent. His gaze, like twin burning embers, swept over Xu Liguo, causing the man to gasp for breath.

Liu Jinbiao’s cultivation seemed to ebb and flow, fluctuating between immense power and utter normalcy. It was this very instability that lent him an aura of profound mystery. Though his gaze was cold, a hint of ancient weariness flickered within its depths.

This weariness was not that of ordinary mortals, but that of one who had witnessed countless millennia, who had glimpsed the very nature of existence, a weariness born from an impossibly long life.

Xu Liguo stood paralyzed, unable to reconcile this being with the groveling trickster he had tormented within the storage realm. Though they shared the same form, the sensation they evoked was beyond compare.
“Thou…you…” Xu Liguo began to stammer, but the chilling gaze of Liu Jinbiao swept across him, each glance a shard of ice. A prickling fear crawled across Xu Liguo’s scalp, and he instinctively retreated a few paces.

“I am… sixth generation Vermillion Bird of the Vermillion Bird Sacred Sect! I sought the fourth generation Vermillion Bird in the Ancient Star Domain, but was wounded by a treacherous array, and remain grievously injured!” Liu Jinbiao proclaimed, his words imbued with the undeniable aura of one who held dominion over thousands. It was a presence born only of long years upon a lofty throne, a life spent controlling the fates of a sect’s myriad souls.

In this moment, the charade was complete. He had forgotten his past as a mere con man. His memories had been reshaped, reforged. He believed himself to be the lord of the Vermillion Bird Sacred Sect, the sixth generation Vermillion Bird incarnate!

Even the most skilled of soul-searchers would find no flaw, no crack in the edifice of his reconstructed mind. All memories would ring true, echoes of a life he now believed was his own.

Liu Jinbiao, his countenance a mask of aloof grandeur, stepped forward.

From within the blue, incandescent orb that pulsed within the cavern, the voice of Wang Lin resonated.

“Xu Liguo, attend to the sixth generation Vermillion Bird. Obey his every command without fail. Should you disobey, heaven and earth shall conspire to erase you from existence!”

Xu Liguo trembled, prostrating himself in immediate obedience. He followed Liu Jinbiao out of the cavern, the protective seals dissolving before them, allowing the two to depart.

None save Liu Jinbiao knew what subtle enchantments Wang Lin had woven into his being over the past month.

As they vanished into the distance, the fiery sphere gradually shrunk, eventually collapsing into a raging inferno that was absorbed into Wang Lin’s left eye. Wang Lin remained seated in meditation, his expression serene, though a glint of cunning intelligence flickered within his eyes.

“The second lure is cast… Fire Vermillion Clan, do not disappoint me.”

A cold smile played upon Wang Lin’s lips. With a flick of his wrist, a storage dimension materialized before him, from which three statues emerged. These were treasures obtained from the avaricious Greed Wolf.

“Greed Wolf sent many treasures this time. I must brand them with my divine sense to understand their power, so that they may reach their apex in the battles to come. These statues are clearly his greatest possessions, for he offered them last.” Wang Lin mused. Not all could attain the second realm of deception like Liu Jinbiao, able to alter the very core of their memories. Greed Wolf, certainly, could not.

Wang Lin had plumbed Greed Wolf’s memories, finding much of what the wolf had said to be true. He gleaned two locations of particular interest.

The first: a vortex near the boundary of the Realm of Lightning, within the Roaming Heaven Starfield.

The second: within the Ancient Star Domain, the ancient tomb from which Greed Wolf himself had emerged!

“These two points should prove useful. The point within the Ancient Star Domain must be explored. Perhaps there will be a reward! As for the ancient tomb he visited, it is likely the fabled Tomb of the Ancients!” Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed in contemplation, his gaze drawn back to the statues.

“These statues…what are they? Why were they in that purported Tomb of the Ancients?” The enigma confounded him. After prolonged deliberation, Wang Lin extended his divine sense towards the statues.

But just as his consciousness brushed against their surface, his eyes flashed with sudden realization!

“Perhaps *she* would recognize them!” Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with renewed hope. He raised his right hand and sliced through reality, tearing open a second spatial rift before him.

This rift was one he had painstakingly created, for one soul alone!

Silvery light, like pale moonlight, spilled forth from the rift, bathing the cavern in an ethereal glow. A woman of surpassing beauty emerged from the tear in reality, her bare feet gliding across the ground. It was the silver-robed woman, her memories slowly returning!

“Do you know him?” Wang Lin asked, his voice grave.

The silver-robed woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her expression placid. She turned her gaze to the statues. But in that instant, her pupils dilated, and she froze, a look of stark terror flooding her face. A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek tore from her throat!!!