The shadow was at first a blur, but in a heartbeat, it solidified, taking the form of an ancient fiend. Within the left eye of this being, six star-points flickered with feverish haste.

Its colossal form, nearing a hundred fathoms in height, emanated an eerie, ethereal glow. Together with the Blood God Spawn, it unleashed a sky-rending shriek, fueled by its wicked aura.

Wang Lin’s expression remained unperturbed, his gaze piercing through the Blood God Spawn, locking onto the ancient fiend with icy resolve.

“Before Wang Lin, you dare defy me?”

A swirling vortex of ancient god starlight erupted from Wang Lin’s brow, the very essence of Daoist antiquity surging forth. Behind him, the spectral visage of a Daoist head materialized, regarding the fiend with the disdainful authority of an elder to a wayward child.

The Blood God Spawn reeled, his senses assaulted by the fusion of Wang Lin’s gaze and the ethereal stare of the Daoist head. He felt as if his eyes were being pierced, ready to burst from their sockets. The gaze was a blade, cleaving through his very being, plunging directly into his nascent soul.

A deafening ring filled his ears, and with a wretched cry, the Blood God Spawn spat forth a mouthful of blood. His body shuddered violently, his retreating steps halting abruptly, frozen in place by the sheer force of the gaze.

He felt his skin being peeled away, layer by agonizing layer, revealing the crimson flesh beneath. The flesh itself blurred, threatened to separate from his being, exposing the stark, white bone within.

Even his bones echoed with sickening cracks, crumbling under the oppressive power, baring the fragile nascent soul trapped within its fleshy cage.

“Slaying you, I shall sever two karmic threads!” The first, of course, was the chase of ages past! The second, the promise made to the Yao Clan maiden, a pledge to Dream Wang Lin!

“I will aid you…” The simple words echoed, faintly, as if carried on the winds of eight hundred years.

The Blood God Spawn’s cries intensified, within his rent flesh, a line of crimson traced its way down his terrified nascent soul. Beginning at his brow, it bisected his neck, cleaved through his chest, ending at his very core.

In a flash, the line blazed with unholy light, and the Blood God Spawn’s soul was cleft in twain!

At the instant of the soul’s sundering, his physical form imploded in a burst of gore, scattering into the swirling vortex, rent into a thousand pieces a hundred fathoms from Wang Lin!

But the death of the Blood God Spawn was not the end of this affair!

As his flesh and soul were torn asunder, a dense wave of fiendish energy roared from the remnants of the Blood God Spawn, merging with the phantom that had emerged before.

A colossal ancient fiend, a hundred fathoms tall, manifested within the vortex. Six star-points in its left eye blazed with frantic light. Beyond the raging demonic aura, a thick miasma of bloodshed and decay clung to its form.

A piercing screech tore from its throat, and the hundred-fathom body retreated hastily. Its features twisted in a mask of terror. It had long ago fused with the Blood God Spawn, using it as a vessel to heal its wounds. Years past, it had clearly sensed the ancient god aura within Wang Lin.

Though Wang Lin was but an avatar at the time, his true self dwelling far in the Alliance, it had been enough to pique the fiend’s interest. It directed the Blood God Spawn to use the Yao Clan as bait to ensnare Wang Lin, hoping to drain the ancient god’s essence from his very soul!

The energies of the ancient three races, though distinct and difficult to convert, could still prove beneficial in small doses, shortening the fiend’s arduous healing process.

But never could it have foreseen that its actions then would bear such bitter fruit now!

As it retreated, the hundred-fathom fiend frantically waved its hands, ancient utterances forming arcane incantations. These coalesced into a storm of divine power, a kaleidoscope of color fueled by potent demonic energy, hurtling toward Wang Lin.

Nine demonic dragons manifested, roaring towards the heavens, before diving towards Wang Lin! Behind the dragons, ninety-nine massive demonic banners flickered into existence. As they swept across the void, a chilling aura enshrouded all, accompanied by a chorus of shrieks. From each banner, a grotesque demonic shade emerged, intent on devouring Wang Lin.

Beyond the demonic banners, ninety-nine and nine dark crimson drops of blood formed into blood-arrows, hurtling forward. Within each drop of blood echoed the shrill cries of countless souls – all of the Yao Clan’s lineage across millennia, including those connected by blood.

After the blood-arrows, ninety-nine and nine hundred and ninety-nine ebony needles appeared, each suffused with fiendish energy and virulent poison. They surged forth, closing in on Wang Lin with frantic speed!

The ancient fiend was now wagering everything, knowing that this battle likely meant its demise, yet unwilling to accept defeat!

“Pathetic!” Wang Lin did not allow Ling Dong or Zhou Jin to intervene, fixing his gaze upon the retreating fiend with chilling disdain. His right fist lashed out!

This was the first fist he had thrown within the bounds of the Starry Array, before tens of thousands of cultivators, before the very eyes of Lu Fuzi!

A fist like the ancient times, encompassing all creation!

At the moment the fist erupted, the spectral Daoist head behind Wang Lin warped, passing through him and merging into Wang Lin’s right arm, concentrating at his fist.

An earth-shattering rumble echoed through the starry sky, stopping its celestial dance for a brief moment. Before the eyes of tens of thousands of cultivators, as Lu Fuzi turned to witness, as Yan Leizi and Lie Yunzi recoiled in alarm, this mighty fist was unleashed!

The ancient fiend screeched, its painstakingly wrought spells and incantations collapsing beneath the force of the blow!

The nine demonic dragons were the first to shatter, the great wind that struck them like a blade, and the dragons vanished swiftly, leaving only the echoes of their roars. But Wang Lin’s fist obliterated even the echoes themselves!

After the dragons, the ninety-nine demonic banners, spewing forth their vile spirits, met their fate. Their screams were cut short by the fist. From afar, it appeared that Wang Lin’s right hand remained motionless before him, yet a colossal, illusory fist emerged from his own, extending outwards to crush his enemies.

After shattering the dragons, the fist crashed into the ninety-nine demonic shades. They shuddered violently, then collapsed!

Close behind them, the nine hundred and ninety-nine drops of blood, unleashed like crimson arrows, rained down upon the illusory fist. But like raindrops striking stone, they burst upon contact, utterly failing to impede the fist’s advance!
As peals of thunder echoed, Wang Lin’s fist, a force unstoppable, shattered all before it. It neared the nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine obsidian needles, yet before contact, a shockwave erupted, sending the dark projectiles spiraling backwards, a counter-assault aimed at the ancient fiend!

All transpired in a heartbeat. The ancient fiend shrieked, retreating in terror, hands clasped, and raised high, unleashing a piercing cry that shook the very heavens!

“Royal Artifact! Demon Blade! Soil of Graves!”

As the words reverberated, a violet aura materialized above the fiend’s clasped hands, a miasma of demonic energy that swiftly coalesced into a gargantuan scythe!

The scythe pulsed with violet light, a howl of demonic power emanating from its form, a testament to its unparalleled sharpness. Within the blade itself, starlight of the ancient fiends flickered, a sight to behold!

This ethereal essence residing within the weapon proved its exceptional nature!

With a savage downward stroke, the fiend unleashed a piercing cry, and the demonic blade erupted with violet light, transforming into a vast crescent that descended upon Wang Lin’s spectral fist!

Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with newfound interest!

He had not anticipated that this lowly ancient fiend possessed such a formidable treasure of the ancient fiend royalty!

With a booming laugh, Wang Lin spread the fingers of his attacking fist, and as the demonic scythe arrived, he seized it in his grasp!

In an instant, the violet blade collided with Wang Lin’s palm, unleashing a cataclysmic surge of power that swept outwards.

Wang Lin’s spectral hand ensnared the demonic scythe, holding it in an unbreakable grip, no matter how it struggled. Only a mournful wail echoed forth from the imprisoned blade.

The ancient fiend, howling in agony, spat forth its life essence, recoiling in horror. The force of the impact shook the vortex violently, yet Wang Lin stood unyielding, his expression unchanged, save for the billowing of his white hair and the flapping of his robes!

Behind him, Ling Dong Shangren and Zhou Jin stood in silent vigil. Ling Dong, personally refined by Wang Lin, was incapable of betrayal, his face placid.

Zhou Jin, however, forced into servitude by the power of the Dao Ancient, wore a complex expression. The greater Wang Lin’s power, the deeper Zhou Jin’s conflict grew, but the ancient slave mark upon his brow suppressed his spirit. The aura of the Dao Ancient weighed upon him like a mountain, reducing Zhou Jin to the insignificance of an ant.

“A fine blade… but wielded by a weakling,” Wang Lin declared, and with a flick of his wrist, the demonic scythe flew to him, landing firmly in his grasp.

Simultaneously, the Six-Star Ancient Fiend trembled violently under Wang Lin’s touch, as if a colossal, irresistible force drew it near. Against its will, the fiend was pulled towards Wang Lin, and after he claimed the demonic blade, he seized the ancient fiend by its throat!

Though towering at a hundred feet, the ancient fiend shrunk under Wang Lin’s grasp, until it was reduced to the size of a man, held fast by Wang Lin’s crushing grip.

“Do not slay me! I possess a secret!! A secret of earth-shattering magnitude!! It concerns the Yao Clan, and if you travel there, you could attain a divine art – the Three-Life Art!” The ancient fiend shrieked in terror, fearing for its life.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed, but he ignored the fiend, instead turning to face Lu Fuzi, whose face was ashen after witnessing Wang Lin’s fist.

“So, this is the reason you sought to prevent Wang from settling this debt.”

Lu Fuzi remained silent for a long moment before replying gravely, “Indeed. Now that you have captured the fiend, I must continue to prepare for battle. I shall not see you off!”

Though Wang Lin possessed two Third Step cultivators as his slaves, Lu Fuzi, a Third Step cultivator himself, retained his pride. Despite his shock, he would not lower himself.