A palpable tension gripped the celestial sphere of Luo Tian. In the northwest reaches, a formidable star-array, woven from four hundred and thirty-nine cultivation stars, pulsed with nascent power. Around its perimeter, countless cultivators scurried like ants, ceaselessly reinforcing the array’s might and etching arcane seals.

Farther out, trails of light streaked across the void as groups of cultivators, under the stern gaze of their leaders, dragged countless cultivation stars from the inky depths of the cosmos. These stellar bodies were forcibly torn from their ancient orbits, adding to the array’s already terrifying scale.

At the heart of this celestial fortress churned a vortex of mist, ethereal and thin enough to reveal the figure of an old man seated in meditation. The elder wore a simple Taoist robe, his countenance radiating an imposing authority, though tinged with a hint of pallor. With each breath, thunder echoed around him, as if a thousand bolts of heaven’s wrath simmered within his very being.

This was none other than Grandmaster Lu, a transcendent being of the Third Step, the initial stage of Empty Nirvana, within the Luo Tian Starfield. In this realm, such beings were akin to gods, their status unfathomable. To Lu, all other cultivators were but insignificant insects.

He was the protector of the Luo Tian Starfield, the architect of the ancient war against the Alliance. Only before the fearsome Tuo Sen had he known abject defeat, fleeing like a hunted animal. When Tuo Sen later appeared within Luo Tian, Lu had trembled in fear, employing arcane arts to conceal himself until the demon god had departed.

Years of arduous healing had followed. Though lacking in the vital incense offerings needed for swift recovery, Lu possessed unique methods. Slowly, the wounds inflicted by Tuo Sen began to mend.

Peace had reigned until this day. But the moment Wang Lin emerged from the Ancient Tomb and stepped into the Luo Tian Starfield, Grandmaster Lu’s eyes snapped open, a fierce light blazing within.

Before he could fully grasp what he sensed, a wave of immense pressure, emanating from Wang Lin, crashed over the Luo Tian Starfield. Lu’s expression contorted in shock. He rose swiftly, staring intently into the distance, his gaze seeming to pierce the very fabric of space to behold the newcomer.

Yet, before he could discern Wang Lin’s features, a surge of overwhelming force slammed into his consciousness, scattering his thoughts and clouding his vision.

Lu frowned, his brow furrowing with concern. “Who is this… I cannot make out his face, but there is something familiar about his spirit… He has not attained the Third Step, yet his presence fills me with a primal fear!”

Within the swirling heart of the star array, Lu was not alone. Four other elders sat in meditative postures, their eyes snapping open. Lu’s abrupt movements and disquieted expression sent a ripple of concern through them.

Should Wang Lin have been present, he would have recognized them as figures from his past!

Yan Leizi of the Thunder Immortal Hall, Lie Yunzi, once grievously wounded by Wang Wei, Yao Family Ancestor who had once hunted Wang Lin only to be thwarted by Qing Shui, and the Blood God Child, heavily injured in the Alliance after his encounter with Qing Shui.

The final figure was Xiang Yun Dong.

This was the very man who had led Wang Lin to the ancestral star of the Xiang Clan, subjecting him to the cruel “Seventh Evening” technique, and who had stood by as the Xiang Clan’s patriarch drained away his life force!

“Grandmaster, what troubles you?” Yan Leizi, having served Lu the longest, was the first to speak, his voice laced with deference and concern.

Lie Yunzi and the others wore equally grim expressions, a sense of foreboding gripping their hearts. In their eyes, Grandmaster Lu was an unfathomable force, a being beyond mortal comprehension. Rarely did anything in the cosmos cause him such visible distress.

But before Lu could respond, a wave of pressure, so immense that it threatened to shatter their very souls, swept over them from the distant stars.

It crashed into them like a physical blow, throwing their minds into turmoil. For a terrifying moment, they felt as though they teetered on the brink of annihilation.

The crushing pressure vanished as quickly as it had come, but its brief visit left them pale and shaken.

A chilling realization dawned in their hearts. They understood the reason for Lu’s distress.

Lu’s face was drawn, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of apprehension and resolve. Throughout his life, he had been cautious, averse to risk. Only once had he abandoned this prudence, and it had resulted in his humiliating defeat at the hands of Tuo Sen, forcing him to live like a fugitive.

Thus, he had become even more meticulous in his actions. The immense pressure he had just felt filled him with dread. Unwilling to blindly confront the unknown, he hesitated before speaking, “The four of you, activate the Luo Tian Illusion Mirror! I shall see who this intruder is, and why they dare tread upon the Luo Tian Starfield!”

The four elders responded with a chorus of respectful assent, their minds racing. Without hesitation, they seated themselves at the cardinal points—east, south, west, and north—of the array. Their hands moved in intricate patterns, weaving identical spells passed down by Lu himself, spells they had diligently practiced and now mastered.

As they chanted and gestured, beams of white light erupted from them, converging in the center. Within moments, the light solidified into a shimmering, mirror-like surface.

The surface of the white mirror rippled with distorted waves, making its reflections hazy. Lu’s eyes flashed. With a precise hand gesture, he directed the power of his will into the illusionary mirror.

The ripples on the mirror’s surface stilled, and the haze cleared. Slowly, an image formed within the depths of the mirror: a star-strewn void, and a figure in white robes and white hair walking through space.

Wang Lin advanced at a steady pace, the celestial tapestry of Luo Tian unfolding before him. The realm was familiar to him, though not his home. Yet, here, he had left indelible marks.

“I wonder if those I knew are still here…” Wang Lin murmured, his brow furrowing as he glanced at the glittering stars above. In his right eye, the lightning sigil pulsed with silent energy.

“Akui!”
The words were scarcely uttered when the thunder sigil etched within Wang Lin’s right eye erupted, a roaring tempest born from his very gaze. The starry sky itself trembled as the sigil materialized, ripping through the fabric of reality and vanishing into the infinite void with a deafening boom!

Meanwhile, Lu Fuzi, standing before the illusionary mirror woven by the four炎雷zi warriors, had glimpsed the figure cloaked in white, hair like spun moonlight. He had heard Wang Lin’s pronouncement with chilling clarity.

A thunderous roar ripped through the air as the mirror, once pristine, unleashed a cataclysm of crackling energy. Bolts of lightning, each a thousand feet long, erupted from its surface, lashing out across the heavens.

With a final, earth-shattering explosion, the mirror shattered into a million pieces, sending a shockwave of raw power careening outwards. Lu Fuzi, his face grim, swept his sleeve forward, gathering the destructive force and hurling it skyward.

The unleashed lightning surged upwards, coalescing into a continuous, deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the cosmos. Every cultivator who dared to look up saw the star-strewn sky consumed by thunder, a celestial storm of unimaginable scale!

炎雷zi spat blood, staggering backwards, his eyes wide with disbelief. A voice screamed within his soul, a maddened, desperate cry.

“Wang Lin!!! It’s Wang Lin!!!” He had seen the white-clad figure, and its image was forever burned into his memory.

烈雲zi mirrored his comrade’s plight, coughing up blood as he retreated. Horror and stark terror etched themselves onto his face. He had encountered Wang Lin many times, most notably in the Vermillion Bird Sect, where the man had humiliated and oppressed him. The memory was still fresh.

Now, to see the figure, so unmistakably Wang Lin, left him speechless and paralyzed.

“Wang Lin!! It can’t be!” 血神zi’s face drained of all color as he stumbled backwards, his heart hammering against his ribs. He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. How could the insignificant insect he had once hunted, the wretch who would have died by his hand had 清水 not intervened, now exude such an overwhelming, terrifying aura?

Even 向雲東, of the 向 clan, paled to a ghostly white. Weakest of them all, he was assaulted by the primal power emanating from Wang Lin, a pressure that cracked his very Dao heart, leaving a fissure that would never truly heal.

“Wang Lin!!” Terror filled 向雲東’s eyes. The first thought that seized him was the memory of his clan’s ancestor forcibly stealing Wang Lin’s life force, a deed masked as treatment for his dying wife. A debt of vengeance, impossibly vast, had been forged that day.

The 向 clan had never considered the matter of any real consequence. Even if Wang Lin rose in power, he would be as a fly against a mountain when facing the full might of the 向 clan. Their ancestor had secluded himself for tens of thousands of years. No one dared to cross the clan with such a being in existence.

“Esteemed Lu Fuzi, this person’s cultivation…” 向雲東 suppressed his fear, turning to Lu Fuzi.

Lu Fuzi’s face was a mask of grim contemplation. He gazed into the void at the expanding ripples of thunderous energy. After a long silence, he spoke. “Wang 持… I remember now. I saw him in the Ancient God’s land, within the Alliance…”

A flicker of complex emotion crossed his face. He turned away from the cosmic spectacle and towards the swirling vortex.

“His cultivation has not yet reached the Third Step… But… I am not confident I could defeat him. Whatever transpired between you, I will not involve myself. Stay here, and you may find safety!”

The pronouncement hung in the air, plunging the four warriors into stunned silence.

炎雷zi’s eyes darted about, but then gradually settled. He believed he had never truly wronged Wang Lin, and might have even shown him some small kindness. He calmed slowly, though a sliver of fear remained.

The战 clan’s elder, 烈雲zi, cycled through emotions, before finally sighing.

The most disturbed by Lu Fuzi’s words were 血神zi and 向雲東.

After a moment, 向雲東 gave a respectful bow toward the departing Lu Fuzi, glanced at the remaining three warriors, and fled. He would bring this news to his clan to prepare for the worst. An enemy even Lu Fuzi could not guarantee victory against… What could they hope to do? His fear grew.

血神zi hesitated, then sat down cross-legged. He dared not leave.