Liè Yúnzǐ’s eyes bulged as if they would burst from their sockets, his gaze fixed in stunned disbelief upon the scene before him. It was as though the millennia he had walked the earth were forgotten, replaced by the memory of a mortal child’s first awestruck glimpse of a cultivating immortal.

Nay, the shock to his very soul was a thousandfold greater than that long-ago revelation!

He could scarcely fathom that a Third Step Ascendant, one who had transcended mortal limitations, could be bound as a mere thrall. It shattered the fevered reverence he held for those who had reached such heights.

More than that, this spectacle tore away the sacred veil that cloaked the Third Step cultivators, revealing them not as gods dwelling beyond reproach, but as beings who could be brought low.

This single, undeniable truth: that a Third Step Ascendant was still but a cultivator, and could be forced into servitude.

Yet, this forceful rending of the illusion struck Liè Yúnzǐ like a physical blow. His body trembled, and a mouthful of crimson blood erupted from his lips.

“Wang Lin… what manner of being *is* he? How… how has he accomplished this? How has he bent a Third Step Ascendant to his will?!”

“His own power already rivals that of an Ascendant. And now, with this thrall at his side, he… he stands at the pinnacle of power within the Four Great Star Domains!”

The Blood God Child was utterly dumbfounded. He dared not believe the evidence of his own eyes. Such was his age and experience that such childish notions should have been impossible, yet they now bloomed unbidden within his mind.

“A hallucination! It *must* be a hallucination! A Third Step Ascendant, a being revered by all cultivators, a titan standing at the very summit… how could they willingly become another’s slave?”

“Impossible!”

But his desperate denial crumbled beneath the weight of another, more terrifying possibility, triggering an upheaval within his soul.

“If it is not willingly… could Wang Lin have *forced* such a being to submit? No… it cannot be. Though his cultivation may approach the Third Step, how could he possibly subdue…”

“That is a Third Step Ascendant! In all of Luo Tian, I have only ever laid eyes upon Master Lu once!”

The three were transfixed by the arrival of the Spiritual Enlightenment Ascendant. Far off, the tens of thousands of cultivators, thrust back by the illusory winds of the Wind Immortal Realm, erupted from their stunned silence in a wave of chaos.

Those chosen to be part of the Thunder Immortal Temple, those deemed worthy to remain and strengthen the formation, were not weaklings. They could feel the earth-shattering presence emanating from the Spiritual Enlightenment Ascendant.

Beneath that overwhelming pressure, they could barely stand. Fear, a cold tide, rose within them, surging and twisting into terror!

“This… this is…”

“The Third Step? To make the Old Ancestor blanch, to halt his advance… could this truly be… a Third Step Ascendant?!”

“An aura identical to the Old Ancestor! This *must* be a cultivator of the Third Step!”

“Third Step cultivators… here in Luo Tian, three have appeared at once! It’s madness! Pure madness! For millennia, only the Old Ancestor stood alone. But now…”

“When Wang Lin departed, his cultivation was not so high. And yet, in but eight centuries, he has reached such terrifying heights… a Third Step cultivator as a slave… Unbelievable!”

A chorus of astonished cries echoed across the void, growing louder and wilder until it became a deafening roar.

This impossible scene defied belief, exceeding the limits of their minds. It was a nightmare they could never have imagined, even in their wildest dreams!

Lu Fuzi’s face was deathly pale, his expression growing stormy. A glint of madness sparked in his eyes as he flung out his sleeves and unleashed a mighty roar!

The bellowing sound overwhelmed the terrified clamor of the tens of thousands of cultivators, leaving only his voice to resonate through the stars!

“I underestimated you, Wang Lin. You have enslaved a Third Step Ascendant, one whose power rivals my own, whose incense far surpasses it. Against him alone, I would be defeated!”

His words echoed through the void, reaching the ears of every cultivator of Luo Tian.

“But! Even if I am overmatched, I will still fight! Millennia ago, my talent was unmatched. Had I not been constrained by incense, my cultivation would have reached the middle or even later stages of Void Nirvana!”

“Though incense has stunted my growth, I have used these millennia to forge mighty treasures with unwavering resolve! And with the power of this Star Formation, I will give you battle!” Lu Fuzi roared, throwing out his sleeves. The immense Star Formation beneath him pulsed with energy, its power magnified tenfold, becoming a swirling vortex that swept across the void.

A cacophony of booming sounds echoed through the stars, mingled with the renewed cries of the cultivators, their fear replaced by a frenzied zeal.

“Luo Tian Old Ancestor! The Old Ancestor of Luo Tian!”

“Luo Tian Old Ancestor! The Old Ancestor of Luo Tian!”

The voices swelled into a unified chant, the desperate cries of tens of thousands of cultivators rallying themselves and Luo Tian against the abyss of fear that threatened to consume them.

The roar of the masses, a tidal wave of sound, crashed against the thunderous storm, creating an overwhelming pressure. And from within that wave, a subtle, invisible force arose, a wisp of incense, drifting from the crown of each cultivator towards Lu Fuzi!

With a long, defiant cry, Lu Fuzi pointed his right hand down towards the Star Formation. As it spun, a spear, a thousand feet long, materialized from the vortex!

Behind it, a black butcher’s cleaver appeared, its blade glinting ominously.

And behind the cleaver, a string of nine prayer beads flickered with an unholy light!

In the blink of an eye, eighteen magical artifacts had manifested within the storm, each unleashing a surge of power.

Gradually, an indescribable force coalesced within the vortex, bearing down upon Wang Lin and the Spiritual Enlightenment Ascendant!

And ringing in Wang Lin’s ears, the impassioned roar of the tens of thousands of cultivators of Luo Tian, pierced his very soul.

“Luo Tian Old Ancestor! The Old Ancestor of Luo Tian!”
A tempest of power, long dormant within Master Lu, reached its crescendo in that instant. His body, frozen in place mere moments before, snapped to life. With a single, resolute stride, he lunged toward Wang Lin!

Simultaneously, from the ethereal Wind Immortal Realm shimmering behind him, a legion of celestial phantoms erupted forth. A cascade of shimmering light, they formed a celestial torrent, a silver river plunging from the heavens to engulf Wang Lin!

And the shattered blade, a relic of ages past, hurtled forward, closing the distance to less than ten paces. Its aura, a piercing gale of lethal intent, aimed unerringly for the space between Wang Lin’s brows!

Yet, as Master Lu, having finally mustered his courage, suppressed the shock brought on by Ling Dong’s arrival, and with a warrior’s resolve closing upon Wang Lin, a sudden and unforeseen alteration ripped through the tapestry of events!

“Zhou Jin, my Ancient Slave!” Wang Lin spoke, his gaze calm and unwavering as he regarded the rapidly approaching Master Lu. A subtle furrow creased his brow as he uttered these words.

An earth-shattering howl, primal and untamed, erupted from within the Emperor Furnace, echoing through the void. As thunderous reverberations shook the very stars, the figure of Zhou Jin strode forth from the fiery depths!

The moment he appeared, an aura of a Transcendent of the Third Step unleashed itself, a wave of power that could move mountains.

This raw, untamed energy throbbed with a savage ferocity, a bloody appetite that resonated with Zhou Jin’s bare-chested, muscular physique. It conjured a vision of a barbarian lord, a savage beast unleashed. Behind Zhou Jin, a colossal blood-wolf, ten thousand feet in length, manifested itself, its crimson eyes fixated upon Master Lu with predatory hunger!

Master Lu had believed himself to have already experienced the zenith of shock, the pinnacle of surprise. But he now knew, compared to what he was now seeing, that his previous emotions were nothing!

A tidal wave of disbelief crashed over him, stealing his breath. He recoiled instinctively, fear driving him backward, until he stood once more a hundred paces distant. His eyes reflected the utter, unbridled terror that consumed him.

The shattered blade, nearest to Wang Lin, shuddered as it neared its target. At the instant of impact, a deafening groan ripped through the air, as if the weapon were being crushed by an unseen force. Held in place, unable to advance, cracks began to spiderweb across its surface, followed by a retreat that could not have been fast enough!

The shattered blade had no choice but to fall back!

It might pierce the flesh of Tuo Sen, but it possessed no power to confront the presence of three Transcendent beings simultaneously. Sharp as it may be, it was still only a broken relic, and it could only retreat!

A mournful cry, filled with agony, echoed as the spirit residing within the blade seemed to have been grievously wounded. Instantly, the blade returned to Master Lu’s side, trembling violently, as a mortal might tremble in the face of overwhelming dread!

At the same moment, the countless celestial phantoms from the Wind Immortal Realm rushed towards Wang Lin, Zhou Jin, alongside Ling Dong, strode forward with a step. The aura of the Transcendent surged once more, an immeasurable tide of faith power crashing against the oncoming surge of divine beings.

An invisible collision, a thousand conflicts unfolding in the blink of an eye, sent violent tremors through the illusory Wind Immortal Realm. The phantoms, reduced to mere dust in the face of such overwhelming power, were swept away by the gale of pressure, vanishing without a trace!

Even the Wind Immortal Realm itself buckled and shattered under the combined weight of Zhou Jin and Ling Dong’s awe-inspiring presence!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Wind Immortal Realm splintered and dissolved, leaving behind only Master Lu, his face ashen, his eyes wide with a terror that far surpassed anything he had known before!

“Not one Third Step servant…but two!” Just as Yan Lei Zi and others had been, Master Lu was frozen in disbelief. His eyes widened in disbelief. Cold water seemed to be poured on him, and all thoughts of battling disappeared. He couldn’t battle and didn’t dare to battle!!

Especially the blood wolf behind Zhou Jin reminded Lu Fu of a rumor!

Master Lu’s mind shattered under the sudden surge of power. The transformation caught him utterly unprepared, a nightmare he could never have envisioned in his wildest dreams.

Three Transcendents! He has no power to continue the battle!! Even with the help of the Star Array, it is still incomplete. How can he fight against three Transcendent beings!