**The Shadowscourge Star**

For a time unmeasured, the Shadowscourge Star had been veiled in a miasma of pure, malevolent magic, its presence a disturbing anomaly in the vast cosmos. Even its native creatures, those beings of chitin and claw, stirred with a primal rage born of the encroaching darkness.

On the sixth day before the Fated Gathering of the Fallen, a day etched in the annals of prophecy, the unnatural fog swathing the Shadowscourge Star underwent a dramatic transformation. From afar, it appeared as if the very planet was exhaling a tempestuous, eldritch energy. Then, with a ground-shaking roar, the darkness began to contract, spiraling inward toward the heart of the world.

The Shadowscorpions and Cloudrunners, races who had long contested for dominion over the star, immediately felt the shift. They spread their senses, seeking the cause. What they discovered sent shivers of dread down their spines: the swirling magic was converging upon the hidden grotto where the wanderer Wang Lin secluded himself!

It was as if the grotto had become a bottomless abyss, an insatiable maw drawing in the ambient darkness of the cosmos. In mere moments, the malevolent fog had vanished from the sky, consumed entirely by Wang Lin’s retreat. From the heavens above, it would have appeared as a monstrous vortex of swirling shadows, with Wang Lin’s grotto at its epicenter, the storm whirling and contracting at a maddening pace, leaving onlookers stunned by the abruptness.

Deep within the grotto, where the oppressive darkness defied even the most skilled diviners, Wang Lin sat in lotus pose. Before him floated a shadowy effigy, no larger than a man’s hand, with a hazy and amorphous form, resembling both a nascent soul and a spectral husk. It was Wang Lin’s reflection, yet twisted by cruelty and insanity, its features contorted in a feral sneer.

The shadowy form opened its maw, ravenously consuming the inrushing darkness. When at last the grotto was purged of its supernatural fog, the effigy had gained a modicum of substance, yet its hunger remained unsatisfied. Its gaze, burning with malice, turned toward Wang Lin. With a piercing shriek, it lunged, seeking to devour even its creator. But as it struck, Wang Lin’s eyes flashed open, burning with cold judgement, and their gazes clashed.

“Be gone!” he bellowed, and without any visible gesture, the shadowy figure howled in agony, flung backward as if struck by a divine hand. “I birthed you, and I can unmake you just as easily!” Wang Lin rose, and with a flick of his wrist, reached to grasp the spectral form.

Terror sparked in the effigy’s eyes. As Wang Lin’s fingers closed, it dissolved in a burst of mist, scattering in all directions, avoiding his touch and coalescing outside the grotto, where it fled, becoming a dark fog, seeking to disappear.

Wang Lin smiled faintly and performed a swift hand sign, before exhaling. From afar, a piercing scream resounded. The fleeing shadowy form returned, hovering before Wang Lin, trembling, its substance flickering.

“A single breath from me can obliterate you,” Wang Lin said, his voice laced with arctic chill. The dark soul quivered more violently, abjectly pleading. Wang Lin stretched out his hand, and from nothingness, the Mistfiend Spear materialized. He pointed the spear to the form of the Shadowsoul, which flickered with indecision. Wang Lin scoffed. The Shadowsoul hesitated no longer. It became a ribbon of darkness and surged into the Mistfiend Spear. The weapon seemed to ignite with a newfound sentience and released a great aura. It contorted into a great dark serpent, and burst from the grotto, coiling in the sky, and it released a deafening roar!

The Shadowscorpions stared, mouths agape, at the black serpent that radiated eldritch power, their minds reeling. The Cloudrunners looked on with equal terror, a primal dread gripping their hearts. The serpent embodied an unimaginable wrath, a bloodlust that saw all of creation as its prey.

Zhong Dahong, loyal to the bitter end, swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming with zeal. Unlike Xu Liguo, Zhong Dahong reveled in Wang Lin’s power. He flung himself to his knees, bellowing, “My Lord’s weapon is complete! His power is unmatched!”

The black serpent in the sky unwound, becoming a beam of darkness and surging into Wang Lin, vanishing. Now by the side of Wang Lin’s primordial spirit existed the Shadowsoul, its eyes shut, its will suppressed by Wang Lin. Wang Lin was satisfied. The shadow clone was in its infancy, and with time it could become a true body double. “If I unite the God, Demon, and Spirit bodies, will I return to the Ancient times as predicted?” Wang Lin licked his lips and summoned two relics.

One was a withered leaf. The other, a sealed treant.

**The Grand Emperor Star**

In the Fallen Land, the time for the Elder Selection of the Fallen Assembly was at hand. All those who sought the position ground their teeth with ambition!

The Grand Emperor Star was their venue, a place of mystery and danger.

In the starry sea it was a well-known place. Its legend was known across all of the stars. Above all, it was the focus of the Long Revered Assembly. The Fallen were in awe of what could be found there. Most stars were spherical, or nearly so, a fact which was known in the universe. But this star was different.

The Grand Emperor Star did not have that shape. From the stars, the planet looked like the needle of a compass. The Fallen had tried to understand its composition. The Long Revered Assembly announced a law that all stars would rotate into roundness eventually. But the law could not describe the Grand Emperor Star.

The Grand Emperor Star was sacred to the Fallen. It was the home of the Grand Emperor, who had lived long ago. In any other time, the planet’s outer atmosphere could tear apart any object and was filled with strange energy that could drain the power of the strongest cultivators.

But during the election for the Eldest, the storm outside would subside and form paths to the interior. Three hundred clans would attend the assembly, and many observers from beyond the Land would also arrive. The Grand Emperor had never cared about any of this, which was taken as his blessing. However, none from beyond the Land could become Eldest or they would face death. The Long Revered Assembly also sent a delegate to show their respect for the Grand Emperor.

Some invitations would also be sent to powerful cultivators from across the starry sea. But the Grand Emperor paid it no mind, and viewed the election as simple entertainment.

In the starry sea, Wang Lin and his retinue of Shadowscorpions and Cloudrunners journeyed to the Grand Emperor Star.

Outside the Fallen Land, in the starry sea, a woman stood on an octagonal disc and looked ahead, lost in thought. At her side was a man who frowned.

“High Minister Yunluo, the Grand Emperor killed my clone. Does the Long Revered Assembly have a response?”

“There will be compensation,” she responded. Looking at the Fallen Land, she mused, *He must be special if the Grand Emperor would protect him… is he the one described by the prophecy of our ancestor?*

In another place in the starry sea, the Honorable Blue Dream walked with his hands behind his back. Beside him, Li Qianmei followed in silence.

Far from them, a beast of great size moved through the stars. Its form was spherical and trailed many tentacles.

It was Wangyue!

On its back was an old man with a face split black and white, as if half of him was in shadow. Three men stood behind him. Wang Lin would have recognized them. They were Yimu Zi, Wu Dongchan, and Ji Xiantian.

“Yes, yes, yes! You are worthy to be the Clan Chief. Send your clansmen to search for the source of that blood on the Grand Emperor Star.”

The Fire Sparrow Clan Chief gave his assent and turned to leave, but the man stopped him. “I will remain in the area to search for it. You must remain watchful for a conspiracy.”