Upon the Ninth Step of the Cloud Sea Barrens, within the Divine Sect, the Grand Elder, Suidaozi, sat in lotus position atop the highest peak of the outer cultivation star. Clad in azure robes, with the visage of a youthful sprite, he gazed skyward, a chilling glint in his eyes.

Around him, four other peaks stood sentinel. From the heavens above, these five mountains resembled the fingers of a colossal hand, claiming the majority of the cultivation star’s land, piercing the very firmament!

Like the hand of a titan, reaching from the world below, yearning to crush the heavens and earth.

Suidaozi’s expression was grim, shadowed by an unsettling unease. The moment he had sensed Wang Lin’s aura, a foreboding feeling had taken root in his heart. The echoes of Wang Lin’s primal essences, encountered long ago, had shaken him to his core. Now, knowing of the man’s return, Suidaozi trembled inwardly.

The presences of Lingdong Shangren and Zhou Jin only amplified his trepidation. Though the precise truth eluded him, a disturbing suspicion began to form. Yet, this notion seemed so outrageous, that he dared not believe it, refused to give it credence.

“Curse him, the man is resilient! I shared his existence with the Outer Realm’s Miao Yin Daozun, yet he lives…” Suidaozi’s face contorted in fury. In silent contemplation, he performed a hand seal, causing the heavens to shift and the winds to howl. From this chaos, tendrils of cloud-smoke coalesced, manifesting as three ethereal cranes before him.

These cloud-cranes were radiant with life, their cries echoing across the cultivation star. Beating their wings, they circled Suidaozi.

Suidaozi, clenching his jaw, spat forth three portions of his own vital blood, sending each droplet towards a crane. As blood and crane became one, they streaked away in three different directions.

Their cries split the skies, shattering through the boundaries of the world, merging seamlessly with the star-strewn void, leaving no trace but fading echoes.

Watching them vanish, Suidaozi, still restless, raised his hand, summoning another wisp of heavenly cloud-smoke. It solidified into seven jade slips, suspended in the air before him.

Clutching one, Suidaozi’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

“By the authority vested in me, as Grand Elder of the Divine Sect, I summon all cultivators of the Cloud Sea to arms! Prepare for war! Encircle my Divine Sect with the Nine Extinction Li-Tian Array!” With a flick of his wrist, the jade slip shot into the skies and disappeared.

Seizing a second slip, Suidaozi’s face twisted with malice as he imbued it with his divine will.

“In the name of the Divine Sect, the Seventh Tier branch shall hasten to the Guiyuan Sect! Seize all within, deliver them to the Divine Sect. Upon my word, the Guiyuan Sect will face complete extermination, no soul shall be spared!”

The jade slip, pulsating with murderous intent, sped away into the firmament. Without pause, Suidaozi grasped the third slip.

“Mu Bingmei, I healed your wounds, restored your cultivation, and propelled you further upon your path. This debt must now be repaid. I command you to immediately consume that pill, emerge from your seclusion, and come to my aid!”

A flick of his wrist sent the third jade slip hurtling through the shattered void.

“Sovereign of the Shattered Sky Sect, by my command, you are to hasten to the Divine Sect, where you shall meet your end at my hand. Fail to comply, and the Shattered Sky Sect shall be utterly annihilated!”

The fourth jade slip merged with the fabric of reality.

“Tai A Luo, you, the beast-king, who have assumed a humanoid form. Ages past, I, Suidaozi, sealed you. I can release you from the seals placed by the Honored Sealer of the Realm, allowing you to return to your homeland. In exchange, you must slay one man!”

The fifth jade slip shattered into fragments, containing a shred of Suidaozi’s will, melding into the emptiness.

Having unleashed five decrees, the unease within Suidaozi’s heart lessened, yet he remained unsettled. Gripping the sixth jade slip, he paused, and his eyes blazed with fierce determination.

“Cloud Sea, Zhao He, Alliance, Luo Tian! I, Suidaozi of the Divine Sect, once served as a page to the Honored Sealer of the Realm. For eons, I have stood as the guardian of the Divine Sect. In the Second Great War against the Outer Realm, I performed deeds of valor!

Today, I possess precise knowledge: within the Semi-Alliance Starfield dwells a cultivator named Wang Lin. This man is a pawn of the Outer Realm’s Palm Sovereign! He is a master of deceit and has gained possession of my master’s treasure from the Ancient Immortal Realm – the Heavenly Inverse! With it, he has beguiled the Demon Sect, but he cannot deceive me!

He has returned from the Outer Realm with the intent to sow chaos in my Realm Sealer and serve as a traitor of the upcoming Ancient Star Army invasion!

Today, in my master’s stead, I issue a Realm Sealing Edict! I call upon all cultivators within the Realm Sealer to slay this man!

Whoever slays this man shall claim the Heavenly Inverse!

Whoever slays this man shall be hailed as a hero of our Realm!

Whoever slays this man shall become the next Sovereign of the Divine Sect!

Whoever slays this man, I shall serve as their slave for a thousand years!!!”

Suidaozi’s expression was savage as he hurled the jade slip, imbued with his maddened divine will, directly into the void, where it was lost to sight!

“You wish to slay me, you little vermin? We shall see how you intend to!” Suidaozi seized the seventh jade slip, and in a voice twisted with fury, he released his final decree.

“Ancient Immortal, my master’s remnant consciousness foretells the imminent invasion of the Outer Realm. Our Realm Sealer’s strength is insufficient… We fear we cannot withstand it. In this time of crisis, I beseech the Ancient Immortal to descend!” Clutching the seventh jade slip, Suidaozi spat forth a mouthful of blood, which he smeared upon the slip, forming a crimson rune.

As the rune appeared, the jade slip emitted waves of bloody light, reaching towards the heavens. In a flash, the entire sky was cloaked in blood.

Even the ground was obscured, stained in the same crimson hue!

Within the bloody sky, a massive vortex began to materialize, rumbling and churning, appearing to be a gateway to another realm!

Suidaozi rose and knelt, looking upward, his right hand reached out, grasping a hidden dimension before him. With a flash of light, a fragment of tortoise shell manifested in his grasp!

This tortoise shell exuded an aura of vast antiquity, faintly laced with an extreme Immortal energy!

“This shell signifies my identity. I am a page to the Honored Sealer of the Realm. I beg the Ancient Immortal to descend. I beg the Ancient Immortal to grant us a treasure!!!” Suidaozi raised the tortoise shell aloft, prostrating himself upon the ground.

The crimson sky echoed with roaring sounds. Slowly, a gaze descended from the swirling vortex, fixing itself upon the raised tortoise shell.
From the Lower Realm he came, bearing with him a sacred Turtle Shell, token of his Fealty to the Ascended Ones. “Mortal,” boomed a voice from the crimson skies, where a swirling vortex churned like a wounded beast. “I am sent to bestow upon thee a relic of immense power. Wield it wisely, weaving it into the very fabric of the Seal of Binding. Thus shall the encroaching darkness from beyond be held at bay for a century of mortal years. This respite shall allow the ancient Lords to awaken, and the realm shall know safety.” As the words faded, a gleaming artifact descended, bathed in celestial gold.

It was a Bell-Diamond, a golden chime of power!

As it fell, a chorus of ethereal armor resonated, a symphony of protection rippling outward, filling the very heavens.

“Remember well,” the voice echoed, now laced with urgency. “This artifact *must* be joined to the Seal. This century of grace is paramount, for the Ancients shall offer no further aid. The gates shall be sealed utterly!”

The Bell-Diamond drifted down, hovering before the cultivator Suidaozi. He looked up, his eyes wide with avarice as the golden treasure settled into his outstretched hand. A surge of raw power coursed through him, an instant bond forged with the ancient relic.

The blood-red skies receded, the normal azure slowly returning. A cruel smile twisted Suidaozi’s lips. He rose, his face contorted with a covetous rage, and muttered to himself, “The old fool’s legacy proves useful after all! With this gift from the ancient Immortal Realm, how can Wang Lin possibly hope to stand against me?”

“Once Wang Lin is slain,” he continued, his voice dripping with venom, “I shall offer this Bell-Diamond as a prize. The Venerable One will shower me with endless favor!” The thought of reinforcing the Seal, of delaying the invasion, never even crossed his mind.

Far beyond the Shimmering Gates, in the heart of Zhaohe, lay a colossal vortex, an ancient and treacherous maelstrom. Any cultivator foolish enough to approach was doomed, their essence drawn out, their very souls trapped within its swirling depths.

Deep within this vortex, a solitary cultivation star drifted, small and obsidian black.

A miasma of noxious vapors and stagnant mire choked the planet. In the heart of this fetid bog, an elder swathed in black robes sat in meditation.

His face was a grotesque mask of scars and boils, and as he meditated, tendrils of black smoke rose from the surrounding mire, drawn into his orifices.

Suddenly, the elder’s eyes snapped open, revealing a chilling emptiness. As his lids parted, a wisp of vapor materialized from the mud before him, taking the form of a cloud crane.

“Friend Zhou Deda of Zhaohe,” the crane croaked, Suidaozi’s voice echoing within, “I offer a Grade Six Dao Spirit in exchange for your assistance but once!” The voice reverberated through the core of the cultivation star.

The black-robed elder’s eyes gleamed. He reached out and grasped the cloud crane, a calculating glint in his gaze.

“Suidaozi is known for his stinginess and treachery. If he offers a Dao Spirit of such value, he must face a formidable foe. Perhaps… perhaps a single intervention would be worthwhile!”

Meanwhile, on a dilapidated cultivation star within the Zhaohe domain, in a decaying city, stood a humble pawnshop. Its owner was a mild-mannered man, yet well-known throughout the city for his ruthless bargaining.

He sat hunched within his shop, scrutinizing a jade pendant, his gaze flitting back and forth between the object and the one who sought to pawn it.

“This… this jade is not of the highest quality,” he said, feigning reluctance.

“But, esteemed shopkeeper…”

The pawnbroker furrowed his brow, about to interrupt, when suddenly, his expression changed. He glanced towards the door.

“Ten silver taels!” he blurted, offering the coins to the bewildered pawner. As the man departed, he raised a hand.

Instantly, a cloud crane coalesced before him.

“Friend Yunfengzi of Zhaohe,” Suidaozi’s voice echoed within the man’s mind, “I offer the Divine Binding Technique, a secret passed down from an ancient Seal Lord, in exchange for your aid but once!”

The man’s eyes widened. He stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“The Divine Binding Technique… intriguing. Very intriguing indeed.”