The snow fell heavier now, a silken curtain veiling the twilight.

How long had passed, Wang Lin could not say, but he drew back his hand, then swept it towards the heavens. Countless snowflakes obeyed his unspoken command, coalescing in his palm into a sphere of white. With each passing moment, more snow flocked to the growing orb, compacting, solidifying.

Gazing upon the snowball, Wang Lin bit his tongue, unleashing a torrent of ancient god-blood. The crimson liquid hissed as it struck the snow, staining it a gruesome scarlet, yet imbuing it with a power far beyond the mortal realm.

More snowflakes arrived, their delicate forms succumbing to the transformative power of the blood, freezing into shards of crimson ice. With a strike of his palm, Wang Lin stretched the crystalline mass, coaxing it, shaping it, until it became a longsword, a blade of unholy red.

A blood-red longsword, radiating an aura of dread!

At that moment, the thunderous light within Wang Lin’s right eye flared. The Thunder Diagram, emblem of his dominion, flickered into existence within his iris. From among the nine attendant thunders, the lightning of uttermost extremity broke free, piercing the veil and plunging into the blood-soaked blade. The two forces merged, becoming one.

A wave of palpable malevolence erupted from the sword, an oppressive tide that washed over the land.

“No being below the Third Step can withstand the might of this blade!” Wang Lin declared. “Since you cannot bear to abandon your home, I grant you this sword for its defense. Should any dare to show disrespect, strike them down beneath its crimson edge!” With a flick of his wrist, the blood-red sword shot forth, a crimson blur speeding directly towards Xizi Feng. In an instant, it vanished, becoming one with her, her very lifeblood, her destiny.

“I…I will assist you in one final task,” Wang Lin continued, his voice heavy. “You have a senior brother upon Qing Ling Star. Should you require aid, bear this sword forth as proof of your lineage… Xizi Feng…” He met her gaze.

The woman bit her lip, her head rising slowly to meet his eyes. In their depths, a sentiment lay buried, a love eight centuries old, unspoken, untended.

Wang Lin remained silent for a long moment, his gaze lingering on the woman before him. With a sigh that stirred the snow, he turned, ascending into the sky. Each step carried him further away.

Xizi Feng watched his silhouette grow smaller against the heavens, her vision blurring with memories. She saw him once more, standing upon the shattered continent of the Lei Xian Realm, rending asunder the barriers of fate.

She saw him leading the myriad cultivators out of the decaying Lei Xian Realm, a beacon of hope in the face of annihilation.

She saw him at the Battle of the Sealed Immortal, a figure of indomitable power, standing defiant against the gathered legions.

She saw him, clad in white as pure as the snow, walking towards her through a blizzard, until the swirling flakes obscured him from her sight.

“Perhaps… perhaps this ending… is better… ” Xizi Feng whispered, bowing her head.

High above, in the celestial void, a cold light flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes. As he imbued Xizi Feng with the blood-red sword, his profound cultivation had allowed him to glean fragments of her memories.

He had not sought to violate her secrets, but the indignities she had suffered over the past eight centuries, the faces and spiritual signatures of those who had wronged her, were now etched into his mind with unforgiving clarity.

“I do not mind… I do not mind… the slaughter,” Wang Lin vowed, his voice a low, dangerous murmur. With a final step, he vanished into the infinite expanse.

On Cloud-Stirred Star, stood the Zhao Clan, second only to the true bloodline families. Yet within their corner of the cosmos, the Zhao Clan held considerable sway.

The current clan head, his cultivation already formidable, had further distinguished himself in the Alliance War. Rewarded with potent elixirs, his power had now reached the mid-stage of Nirvana Cleansing.

On Cloud-Stirred Star, his authority was absolute, revered by his clan, his arrogance notorious. Few, however, recalled that eight centuries past, he had been one of Xizi Feng’s suitors, and when the Xi Family had fallen from grace, he had attempted to abduct her for his own vile purposes.

Though thwarted in his aim, the attempt had dealt Xizi Feng, already reeling from the downfall of her family, a devastating blow.

Eight centuries had passed. The Clan Head had long forgotten his cruelty. Now, he sat in the Clan Hall, dispensing wisdom to his kin.

But as he spoke the third sentence, a chilling aura descended from the heavens, engulfing the hall in its icy grip. A collective gasp of fear swept through the assembled clansmen as a sword-strike materialized, moving at an impossible speed, its crimson light aimed directly at the Zhao Clan Head.

It happened too quickly. In a flash, the sword-strike pierced the Clan Head’s body, and with a thunderous roar, he was annihilated, body and spirit utterly extinguished.

On Skyveil Star stood the Dong Lai Family, whose Grand Elder was renowned for his benevolence. Having attained the pinnacle of Nirvana Cleansing three centuries prior, he spent his days tending exotic flora, cultivating his inner peace.

Few knew that eight centuries ago, he had, as an upstart, forced Xizi Feng to surrender the last treasure from her lineage, marring her own beauty in desperation.

Now, dressed in homespun, watering can in hand, he tended his flowers like a simple mortal, his back attended by three middle-aged men, standing respectfully.

“Cultivation,” he intoned, “is like tending to flowers. One must attune to the natural order, feel the shifting balance of the world. I have not retreated into seclusion for three centuries, nor have I concerned myself with my cultivation, but it is through this detachment that one may truly grasp the Dao.”

The three men nodded deferentially. “Your wisdom is profound, Grand Elder.”

The elder smiled, discerning their lack of comprehension. But as he was about to elaborate, the entire planet shuddered, the sky shifting. A sword-strike tore through the fabric of the heavens, hurtling towards them.

It was too swift. Even as the Elder raised his head, the sword-strike arrived, piercing him with a thunderous impact. His body was obliterated, his existence erased.

Only the watering can, unscathed, clattered to the ground.

On Azure Dusk Star, home of the Lu Family, one of the four great houses of the Southern Sky, their young master was known for his prowess and protected by the might of his lineage. Few dared to cross him.

Now, in his private chamber, the Young Master engaged in a lewd act, his body pumping against a captive woman. Savage moans punctuated the silence.
The jade faced maiden beneath him, though possessing a beauty that could stir a thousand hearts, was now ashen. Her fair visage underwent a grotesque transformation, aging rapidly before one’s very eyes, turning to withered bone.

A moment later, a final, desperate shriek tore from her throat as blood poured from her seven orifices, and she met a wretched end.

“Next!” The man rose, casting not a single glance at the discarded husk. Eager attendants whisked away the corpse and presented another, a young woman with vacant eyes, her mind lost in a fog.

The man seized her roughly, his face a mask of dark intent, ready to use her as a vessel for his foul rituals. But then, a deafening roar echoed across the heavens of Zi Miao Star, beginning as a distant whisper and swelling instantly into a thunderous cacophony. The very canopy of his secluded chamber exploded, sending shards of stone scattering. The man, terror etched upon his features, looked up in stark disbelief, instinctively shoving the bewildered woman before him. A blade of pure, blinding light descended, piercing through the woman’s form without so much as a scratch, and then continuing, unerringly, to strike the man behind her, entering him directly between the brows.

With a final, wide-eyed gasp, his flesh crumbled into nothingness. The woman, drenched in his blood, felt the mist in her mind dissipate, clarity returning to her eyes.

Water Luo Star’s Qian Clan. Breaking Sky Star’s Sun Clan.

Spirit Seeking Star’s Li Clan.

Across countless worlds, at that very instant, blades of light descended, tearing through the protective wards of cultivation planets, seeking out those who had dared to wrong the woman known as Xi Zifeng.

In the vast expanse of the cosmos, a procession of nearly a hundred cultivators strained to pull two entire planets through the void. At their head strode an aged man, his face radiating authority. His followers gazed upon him with reverence and respect.

But as they journeyed onward, a blade of light hurtled towards them, piercing through their ranks. Before any could react, the searing radiance crashed into the aged leader, reducing him to dust in a blinding flash!

A succession of similar events unfolded across the sprawling Luotian Star Region!

Every soul who had dared to offend Xi Zifeng in the past eight centuries met their demise in a storm of celestial blades!

At the Thunder Immortal Hall’s war-preparations sector, a gargantuan array composed of hundreds of cultivation planets buzzed with activity. Countless Thunder Immortal Hall cultivators scurried about, connecting the planets with intricate arrays.

Suddenly, eleven beams of sword light materialized amidst the stars, diverging into eleven separate paths, cleaving the air with thunderous booms. A grim-faced man, engrossed in weaving the array’s energies, felt a blade of pure force plunge into his body. He had no time to comprehend what had befallen him before collapsing, a mere husk of his former self.

Within moments, ten more lay slain, scattered across the vast, interconnected array.

The final, devastating blade tore through the array’s intricate defenses, heading straight to the heart of the celestial formation. There, nestled amidst the swirling energies, an elder sat in meditative stillness, reinforcing the array with his own power. The blade struck, and with a shuddering cough of blood, his flesh exploded, scattering like crimson rain.

This sudden and terrifying onslaught sent shockwaves rippling through the entire array, filling every warrior of the Thunder Immortal Hall with dread.

No one was spared, not a single offense forgotten. Guided by his powerful divine sense, Wang Lin unleashed nearly a hundred blades of light, scourging the Luotian Star Region clean. This was his final gift to Xi Zifeng, the vengeance he promised to deliver.

With a stride, Wang Lin stepped beyond the Thunder Immortal Hall’s formidable star array!

He gazed across the expanse, at the swirling vortex deep within the formation of hundreds of cultivation planets, at the countless Thunder Immortal Hall warriors arrayed before him. Without a word, he began to walk forward.

His pace was unhurried, yet with each step, the cosmos thundered in response, a reverberating boom that echoed through the stars. The sound intensified with each stride, growing into a terrifying wave of sound that washed over the heavens!

The countless warriors of the Thunder Immortal Hall paled, retreating as one. They were not like the mind-controlled soldiers of the Eastern Lands, compelled to fight to the death. As they fled, they resembled nothing more than a vast, terrified tide, rolling back before an unstoppable force!

As Wang Lin continued his advance, a furious roar ripped through the air, issuing from the lips of Master Lufu, deep within the heart of the star array!