From the Firefinch Clan emerged an ancient patriarch, a being of three steps towards divinity, though merely at the nascent stage of Void Nirvana. Yet, in this celestial expanse, his every gesture could shatter worlds, his arcane strides bridging vast distances. With a flick of his wrist, he whisked Liu Jinbiao away, back to the Firefinch Clan’s ancestral domain.

The Firefinch Stars unfolded before them. The patriarch, his eyes blazing with fervent glee, ripped through the fabric of space, each step a testament to his power, before plunging into the heart of the cultivation star, towards a realm wreathed in infernal flames.

His speed defied comprehension, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the gates of his eternal seclusion.

Here, the heat was a malevolent entity, a single spark capable of incinerating a mortal’s flesh and bone. Yet, the Firefinch patriarch remained unscathed, his grip firm on Liu Jinbiao as they approached the forbidden sanctuary.

Throughout their journey, Liu Jinbiao maintained a stony silence, his expression unreadable as he regarded the Firefinch patriarch. He had fully embraced his deception, erasing his past, convincing even himself that he was Liu Jinbiao, the Sixth Vermilion Bird!

Though betrayed and captured by the Firefinch Clan after his reign, he retained the dignity of his inherited title. Even in the face of death, he would not stoop to beg.

Before them lay the patriarch’s sanctuary, a spectral door shimmering within the sea of flames. Invisible to ordinary eyes, guarded by ancient wards and the patriarch’s own vigilance, it was impregnable.

Though he had been absent, the ethereal door remained imbued with a potent ward, far beyond his own crafting. A relic of its true master, its strength would even test a being of the Third Step.

Reaching the gate, the Firefinch patriarch suppressed his excitement and knelt before it with a resounding thud. This act pierced Liu Jinbiao’s stoic facade.

A Third Step deity, the Firefinch Clan’s progenitor, kneeling before a door!

“Master,” he intoned, “Your humble servant has brought forth the Sixth Vermilion Bird, a gift to aid your recovery!”

“Master?” Liu Jinbiao’s mind reeled, his eyes wide with shock. He stared at the shimmering gateway, his soul plunged into turmoil.

“The master of a Third Step powerhouse… this… this…”

Silence emanated from within. The Firefinch patriarch remained kneeling, unwavering in his reverence. The greater the patriarch’s reverence, the greater the turbulence within Liu Jinbiao. The lines of his carefully constructed deceit started to blur.

Terror was his wake-up call!

“The Sixth Vermilion Bird?” A spectral voice finally echoed from within the chamber.

The Firefinch patriarch trembled, his eyes now ablaze with ecstatic awe. “Your humble servant has investigated thoroughly. Devouring his blood and delving into his soul, there is no doubt! This one is indeed the Sixth Vermilion Bird!”

“Moreover, your servant captured him in the Lands of Fallen Stars…”

Silence descended once more. As it did, an invisible pressure intensified, causing Liu Jinbiao to shake uncontrollably. His fabricated arrogance crumbled, replaced by boundless dread.

He was utterly exposed!

“I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!! This is too much!!” Liu Jinbiao internally screamed, his throat dry, his eyes filled with terror. “To serve a Third Step deity… who in all the heavens is this being? Wang Lin sent me here, claiming he could save me, but even he would meet his end…”

After an eternity of silence, the ethereal voice spoke again.

“Bring him in.”

Liu Jinbiao shuddered, and before he could utter a word, the Firefinch patriarch seized him and lunged towards the spectral door!

The events unfolded at breakneck speed. Before Liu Jinbiao could protest, he felt a bone-jarring impact as the patriarch dragged him into the chamber.

The door’s wards, seemingly quelled, remained dormant, allowing the Firefinch patriarch entry.

Beyond the threshold, a sight unfolded that would forever be etched in Liu Jinbiao’s memory!

It was a realm of stars, devoid of sky or earth, dominated by a colossal inferno! The flames consumed seventy percent of the celestial expanse, roaring with destructive force.

Outside the fiery maelstrom, there were no celestial bodies, only lines like threads extending from nothingness, crisscrossing the sky like a vast spiderweb.

The flames resided at the web’s heart. These threads were like conduits, swollen with pulsing orbs that converged on the flames, as if consumed.

The flames were a vibrant kaleidoscope of seven colors, devoid of black or white. Within the heart of this inferno, he could faintly make out a figure seated in meditation!

The figure wore full armor, a seven-colored Vermilion Bird shimmering behind its back.

“You may leave…” The spectral voice reverberated through the eerie starscape. A fist-sized orb of seven-colored flame flew from the figure towards the Firefinch patriarch, merging with his brow.

The Firefinch patriarch shuddered, his eyes glowing with ecstasy.

“Meditate and absorb it…” With a respectful bow, the Firefinch patriarch retreated, vanishing from the strange starscape.

Now, only Liu Jinbiao and the armored figure remained within this surreal realm.

Liu Jinbiao trembled. From the flames, he felt an oppressive force, one that could snuff out his existence a thousand times over.

“You are not the Sixth Vermilion Bird…” The ethereal voice echoed, striking Liu Jinbiao’s very soul. His heart plummeted, his scalp tingled, his soul splintered.

With a thud, Liu Jinbiao fell to his knees, his eyes wide with terror. Without hesitation, he pleaded for his life. “Mercy, great immortal, mercy… I am Liu Jinbiao, a mere cultivator, coerced by wicked men to come here. If I had refused, they would have taken my life! Please, great immortal, have mercy! I am willing to serve you, to offer my loyalty…”
“Yet within you, I sense something of interest to the Primordial…” The ethereal voice sliced through Liu Jinbiao’s words like a shard of ice. Instantly, the countless, thread-like conduits that laced the space around him writhed. Some surged upwards, snaking around Liu Jinbiao, tearing through flesh and bone to burrow deep within his very core. With a hungry sigh, they began to draw him in. Liu Jinbiao screamed, a sound of unimaginable agony.

His flesh withered before their eyes, a gruesome bloom of decay. A torrent of blood was ripped from his veins, swelling the conduits into pulsing, crimson sacs that strained towards the infernal flame.

But it was not merely blood that was stolen. Life itself was being devoured. In a moment of desperate clarity, Liu Jinbiao unleashed a searing shriek, expelling a blast of vital essence!

The instant it left his lips, a tempest of sword-light erupted! Xu Liguo, taking the form of a colossal blade, materialized. Yet instead of striking the fiery apparition, he spun with furious speed, becoming a vortex of sharpened steel!

“Master, the path is open!” Xu Liguo, his spectral form near shattered, howled in terror. “It is that cursed star who did this! He sought the Source of Flame in this forsaken place, but never imagined a living soul resided here, a soul enslaved by a being of the Third Step!”

“Interesting…” The voice echoed, a hint of amusement swirling within its chilling tones.

Far away, upon the Emperor Star in the Shattered Lands, Wang Lin sat in meditation within the teleportation array. His consciousness was entwined with the Rain-Calling Realm, searching for the remnant soul of Tian Yunzi. He plunged into it, seeking to discern the tapestry of future events… and in that instant, his eyes snapped open, ablaze with a savage light!

That someone was healing within the Fire Sparrow Clan’s sacred ground was a secret unknown to Wang Lin before his arrival on the Emperor Star. But after his discourse with the First Generation Vermillion Bird, a stark truth became clear: someone indeed resided there!

He could have abandoned his plans then, recalled Liu Jinbiao and the others. Yet a seed of madness had taken root in Wang Lin’s heart.

The First Ancestor had spoken of the healer, hinting that it was likely the Third Generation Scourge, a being for whom he held only the deepest loathing. Were he not bound to the Heavenspan Realm, he would have descended upon the Fire Sparrow Clan and extinguished the Scourge himself!

Though unspoken, the Ancestor had made it clear during their conversation that he would aid Wang Lin in perfecting his scheme, allowing him to infiltrate the Fire Sparrow Clan’s sacred ground. He had even gifted him a plume of sacred sparrow feathers.

All these things pointed to a single, undeniable truth!

Moreover, this Third Generation Scourge held another identity within the Ancient Starry Sky. An identity Wang Lin had pondered. In truth, he was already seventy percent certain of the answer! Nay, perhaps even ninety!

That seventy percent was enough to spur him to action, to commit to a deed of monumental consequence! And with ninety percent certainty? The die was cast! Once done, he would leave the Ancient Starry Sky, returning to the Sealed Realm!

“Wounded by the First Generation Vermillion Bird, then ravaged by a mysterious cultivator’s sonic blast, he was forced into seclusion for millennia, yet even in hiding, he orchestrated a web of deceit across the Ancient Starry Sky! His daughter infiltrated the Sealed Realm, seducing Qing Shuang, shattering the incense of the Four Great Immortal Realms, and conspiring to bring about the near-death of the Sealed Realm Sovereign’s physical form.

Those within the Realm who caught his eye were relentlessly courted, twisted to his will, like Sima Mo, Qing Shuang, and even… if his suspicions were correct… the madness of Qing Shui was tied to this being! And the vilest scheme of all: the sowing of…”

“All these things are his handiwork… and now, wounded and secluded, he offers me an unparalleled opportunity!” A mad glint shone in Wang Lin’s eyes. The path he now walked was paved with lunacy!

The array flared with sudden light, then roared to life. It spun with increasing speed, transforming into a swirling vortex. With a thunderous boom, it vanished from the Emperor Star, and with it, the form of Wang Lin!

The Old Vermillion Bird, seated by the lake, opened his eyes and gazed silently at the spot where Wang Lin had disappeared. After a long silence, he whispered, “First Ancestor, you never believed him to be one of us… even after he passed the trials… but I believe he is. I disobeyed your command, presumptuously bestowing upon him the most potent of Vermillion Bird techniques… for it was his by right, earned through the trials…”