The instant his eyes snapped open, the nine-hued flames within Wang Lin’s left eye seemed to dissipate into nothingness, only to swirl with ferocious speed, lending him an otherworldly, unsettling air. As his gaze cleared, a phantom fire erupted from his very core, a cataclysmic burst of energy that shook the heavens and earth, radiating outwards in earth-shattering waves.

His hair danced wildly, unbidden by any breeze, and his robes billowed around him. Slowly, he withdrew the hand that had rested upon the first incense stick. He turned, his gaze sweeping the assembled throng. Yun Luo, the Grand Astrologer, had been watching him with unwavering intensity. The moment his eyes opened, she had glimpsed the swirling chaos within his left eye. Her own widened in stark terror, pupils contracting, as a wave of abject fear washed over her.

Her body trembled, retreating involuntarily. Her mind reeled, as if struck by a thousand thunderbolts, leaving her utterly powerless. Her face drained of color, ashen as a corpse. “That gaze… that…” Yun Luo could never forget the instant of her demise within that vision, the blurred figure turning towards her, the gaze piercing her soul. The face was indistinct, yet the left eye, a swirling vortex of nine colors, was unforgettable. Si Mozi, silent and unmoving, watched Wang Lin with unwavering intensity.

Likewise, Miao Yin, the Dao Sovereign, regarded him with a glimmer of peculiar light in his eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The Old Vermillion Bird roared with laughter, his face alight with gratification. Yet, underlying that joy was the clear shock from witnessing the events unfold. Beyond the matter of the five elemental origins, Wang Lin had, yet again, bestowed upon him a profound delight. “Karmic Reincarnation manifests as nine hues! He ignited the Flames of Awakening four times! Solidified the Fire into a Realm of Illusion! Excellent, excellent!”

The Old Vermillion Bird’s laughter echoed across the heavens.

The leather-clad elder, seated upon his lizard mount, regarded Wang Lin with newfound interest. He had clashed with the Old Vermillion Bird countless times, and understood the terrifying power of Illusory Fire. To witness Wang Lin’s ascension to that realm demanded his attention.

Behind Blue Dream Dao Sovereign, the woman watched Wang Lin in silence. Blue Dream saw her expression and sighed inwardly.

*If only I hadn’t erased Yue’er’s memories back then… If only I had kept Wang Lin, and dedicated myself to his training, instead of merely teaching him three supernatural abilities…*” Blue Dream was lost in thought, a pang of regret resonating within him for the first time.

Wang Lin’s gaze swept over the gathered throng, taking in the subtle ebb and flow of their emotions. If he desired, he could distill those emotions into phantom fire.

As his eyes settled upon Yun Luo, the Grand Astrologer immediately bowed her head, retreating slowly. Yet, even in her retreat, Wang Lin could sense the emotions within her, far more potent than any others present.

Breaking his gaze, Wang Lin clasped his fist in a respectful bow towards the Old Vermillion Bird. “I have not failed in my task, I have awakened!”

The Old Vermillion Bird’s smile widened. With a wave of his hand, he flung the flaming dragon he had been clutching into the distance, booming with laughter. “Little dragon, you are free!”

The flame dragon was weak and near death, almost all of its blood drained away. Yet, upon hearing the words of freedom, its eyes flashed with renewed vitality. With a roar, it struggled to fly away, disappearing rapidly into the horizon.

“The trial is not yet complete. One final Tianfang incense awaits you, within which someone awaits. Go forth!” The Old Vermillion Bird glanced meaningfully at Wang Lin.

“The Renfang incense is extinguished, the Difang incense is broken, but the Tianfang incense will never falter or break. It is guarded by our clan’s oldest ancestor, the Fallen Emperor himself, and tests the limits of potential! The longer it burns, the greater the potential… I lasted twelve breaths, the Fourth Generation lasted fourteen… I wish to know how many you shall endure! If you can surprise me once more, I shall bestow upon you the seals that bind the foolish dragon. With those seals, once the dragon escapes the lands of the Fallen, you may find him easily.”

“With the dragon guarding you, I can rest easy leaving this place.” The Old Vermillion Bird spoke, his words only resonating within Wang Lin’s mind, unheard by the others.

Wang Lin nodded, his gaze drifting towards the vanishing point in the heavens, where the flame dragon had fled from the Grand Emperor Star, his face ecstatic.

“Freedom! At last, freedom! ROAR! I, Old Dragon, am free from their clutches! For how many years, how many years!” The flame dragon roared, his eyes filled with misty tears, his emotions surging. Yet, he was utterly unaware that, after being tricked by the First Generation Vermillion Bird, he had been gifted to another by the Second Generation.

Reclaiming his composure, Wang Lin did not look at the others. Instead, he walked slowly towards the final Tianfang incense. After a moment of silent contemplation, he took a deep breath and placed his right hand beneath the incense stick.

“The First Generation Vermillion Bird Ancestor… My Vermillion Clan’s ancestor… One of the four great generals under the Ancient Immortal… Such a figure must hold an endless number of secrets…”

“If the Vermillion Clan resided in the Ancient Star System, why is there also a Fire Vermillion Clan?”

“If the Vermillion Clan survived to the present, surely the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger clans also endure. Where might they be…?”

“The Ancient Immortal and the Ancient Immortal Emperor mentioned by the Sealed Realm Venerable… are they the same being? And if not, what is the relationship between them…?”

Wang Lin fell silent, closing his eyes.

The Tianfang Realm was unlike any other. It was a realm filled with swirling white clouds. Apart from those clouds, only a single object existed: an enormous statue. The statue was impossibly vast, seemingly filling half the heavens. It depicted an elder resembling a Vermillion Bird, with a beak-like nose and Vermillion Bird wings upon his back. His eyes were closed, and at the center of his brow blazed a swirling, nine-hued flame.

The statue’s right hand was outstretched, palm upwards. Within a flash of light, Wang Lin materialized upon that open palm.

Within the Ancient Star System, in a quiet region of the heavens, ripples of energy resonated. These waves, like the tide, spread slowly outwards, dissipating into the distance. Moments before, a faint glimmer of light had emerged from the void and flashed past this very location.

Before that glimmer arrived, an ancient desolate star had existed. It held no life, no spiritual energy, utterly forsaken.

Even passing cultivators would not spare it a glance. However, this desolate star’s position was unfortunately directly within the glimmer’s trajectory. The instant the light passed through, the desolate star disintegrated silently into ash, leaving only those ripples of energy spreading out in all directions.

Yet, at the very spot of that disintegrated star, within those ripples, a fissure ten zhang in size appeared. That fissure radiated an aura of death, spreading outwards, causing the rift to grow ever larger.

Peering through the fissure, one could vaguely discern another realm, filled with countless floating shards of rock. Upon each shard was a gigantic head… some of Ancient Gods, others of Ancient Devils, still others of Ancient Demons… The fissure ceased expanding at a hundred zhang in size, and floated silently, motionless, like a gaping, toothy maw awaiting its prey. Its emergence within the Ancient Star System would soon unleash a storm that would shock countless cultivators. The Ancient Graveyard… opens.