“Ethereal! Ethereal!” Wang Lin staggered back, his face ashen. The scene that had unfolded seemed mundane, yet it was fraught with peril. The terrifying power of an Ethereal Grandmaster was now something Wang Lin truly understood.

Such Ethereal Grandmasters were far fewer than Void Nirvana cultivators. Their status was, of course, held in far greater esteem.

Retreating, Wang Lin coughed up more blood. His expression hardened, and he slammed his back into an Outer Realm elder. Before the elder could even utter a cry of pain, a mighty force surged into his body. He trembled, then collapsed, his flesh and blood dissolving into a raw essence of life, which was swiftly absorbed into Wang Lin.

Even his Nascent Soul could not escape, consumed in an instant!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Wang Lin’s retreat did not falter, and he plunged directly into the ranks of the Outer Realm cultivators. The force of his passage carved a straight line through their ranks, each cultivator he touched falling lifeless.

A murderous glint flickered in the eyes of Elder Nanzhao, and he moved to give chase, but a cold snort suddenly echoed through the stars. Red Cedar Child, the ancient terror, stepped forth. Elder Nanzhao saw only a flash of crimson before his eyes, and his expression twisted in fear. He abandoned his pursuit of Wang Lin, retreating with desperate haste.

“This old one has not drawn blood in tens of thousands of years,” Red Cedar Child intoned, his voice a chilling whisper. “Perhaps you have forgotten the origin of my true title!” He raised his right hand, and the void bloomed with an endless crimson light.

This light did not come from the distant reaches of the cosmos, but rather erupted from within the Outer Realm cultivators themselves, as if the very blood beneath their skin were now reflecting outwards.

From afar, thousands of cultivators appeared to be adorned in vibrant red robes, the bloody hue seeping through their flesh! Even Elder Nanzhao was not spared, a crimson garment manifesting upon his form.

These robes were *imperishable*!

And terrifying beyond measure!

With a deafening roar, the cultivators clad in these crimson garments emitted agonized screams. Their blood was being forced backwards, drawn from every vein and artery by some strange power, until it surfaced on their skin.

It poured from every pore, an excruciating expulsion that left them bathed in blood. Each cultivator was now truly wearing a crimson robe of his own life force!

The blood-soaked garments constricted as swiftly as they appeared, and the screaming abruptly ceased. The thousands of cultivators became desiccated husks, all of them dead.

Their Nascent Souls were trapped within their dying flesh, unable to flee, and were now being consumed by the encroaching death, turning them into living corpses.

But Red Cedar Child was not yet finished. With a flourish of his sleeve, the thousands of blood-robed corpses snapped their eyes open, revealing pools of crimson light. Like puppets under his control, they surged forth into the ranks of the Outer Realm army, unleashing a wave of bloodthirsty carnage!

“Return the blood to me!”

“I crave blood! I crave blood!”

“Give me your blood! My body aches, my body is dry! I need blood!”

The horrific moans emanating from the corpses carried unimaginable suffering, as the agony of their bloodless state was something no living being could truly comprehend.

Elder Nanzhao, too, was afflicted with the crimson robe. His face ashen, he spat out a mouthful of spiritual essence and his body shuddered violently. His flesh gave way, dissolving into nothingness, and his Nascent Soul erupted forth, filled with abject terror and dread. He dimly recalled a legend, a chilling tale whispered throughout the Outer Realm for tens of thousands of years concerning the Second Sealing War!

The legend spoke of only one being:

“Blood Robe Child! You are the Blood Robe Child!”

Red Cedar Child’s eyes gleamed with icy menace. He strode towards Elder Nanzhao, intent on ending his life. But as he did, two Third Step Grandmasters from the Outer Realm’s second wave of reinforcements appeared, their faces distorted with fear and determination, and rushed towards Red Cedar Child!

Dong Di Zi, having recognized the name from the old stories, also abandoned his original target and raced forth alongside the Grandmasters. They ignored Zhou Jin and Ling Dong, and even the Heaven Splitting Axe, focusing all their attention on Red Cedar Child!

Three Grandmasters!

Elder Nanzhao, in his panicked retreat, conjured a new body into which he infused his spirit. He hurled forth three fist-sized spheres of venom towards Red Cedar Child!

Four Grandmasters!

The Fire Sparrow Clan Patriarch gritted his teeth, abandoning his pursuit of Wang Lin and charging towards Red Cedar Child!

Five Grandmasters! Against the Blood Robe Child!

Nan Yun Zi, however, ignored Red Cedar Child and the vast Outer Realm army. He rushed towards the Sealing Array, his task paramount: to repair the shattered barrier and seal off the realm once more!

“The Inner Realm is not yet ready,” Nan Yun Zi muttered, his voice a panicked rasp. “We need more time! This Sealing Array must not remain open!” He arrived at the Array and, spotting Ling Dong and Zhou Jin, barked, “Wang Lin, lend me these two!”

Wang Lin, while retreating and healing, immediately dispatched his will to the pair, who then bowed before Nan Yun Zi.

“You two, guard me!” Nan Yun Zi instructed, and stepped into the Array. With a flash of his eyes and a flurry of hand seals, he launched a torrent of arcane formations towards the shattered Seal.

Within the ranks of the Outer Realm’s hundred thousand soldiers, Yun Luo Da Si, protected by a dense shield of cultivators, watched with narrowed eyes. Even she had not foreseen such devastation upon entering the Inner Realm, all because of the unexpected breach in the Seal!

Especially the Heaven Splitting Axe, now that no one moved to stop it. It fell with a thunderous crash, the colossal blade visible even from afar. Five thousand cultivators were sliced in half in an instant, their screams echoing through the void!

“In this short time, the Outer Realm has already lost nearly twenty thousand soldiers…” Yun Luo Da Si raised a jade hand, pointing it towards the Heaven Splitting Axe.

“Heaven Punishing Temple, the Sword Wielding Clan, Soul Shattering Sword, stop that axe!” As her words rang out, thousands of black-clad monks from the Heaven Punishing Temple snapped their heads up. Without hesitation, they transformed into strands of gossamer and rushed into the Inner Realm, towards the Heaven Splitting Axe!
As the axe descended once more, a silent unity fell upon the thousands of cultivators. As one, their right hands ascended, spectral black swords materializing in their grasp. Then, with a single, coordinated sweep, they unleashed their blades.

Thousands of sword-winds howled, coalescing into a celestial arc of pure energy that hurtled toward the descending axe.

With a thunderous roar, the axe faltered. The sword-winds shattered, and the thousands of cultivators coughed forth crimson, yet they did not pause. Their left hands flashed, transforming the expelled blood into sanguine light. Again, they raised their blood-soaked swords and unleashed another wave of energy.

Yun Luo, the Grand Preceptor, her eyes flashing with intent, turned her gaze upon Wang Lin. In silent motion, her jade hands weaved a sigil, and she pointed a slender finger towards him.

“Elders of the Sealed Extinction Clan,” she declared, “This whelp is your burden. Spare no effort. He must be sealed or slain!” As her words echoed, three spectral figures flickered into existence behind her, twisting from shadow into three forms shrouded in violet robes.

Like the Lord of the Palm, these figures were entirely concealed, their faces hidden within the depths of their purple raiment. Wordlessly, they strode forth, dissolving into ethereal light as they sped towards the distant Wang Lin.

At that very moment, the cultivators of the Cloud Sea arrived with a deafening roar. Under the banner of “Glory to the Cloud Sea,” tens of thousands charged into battle, clashing with the endless tide of invaders from beyond the stars in a war of unparalleled brutality.

From the very first clash, the conflict was devastating.

Mad cries echoed through the void, as the sky became a swirling canvas of carnage. The air crackled with malevolent energy. One Cloud Sea cultivator, invoking an arcane shield with a hand gesture, felled an outsider with a furious strike. Before he could even raise his head, a flying blade pierced his heart. He found himself impaled by the sword held by the contorted face of an invader.

“Cloud Sea… Glory…” With his last breath, the Cloud Sea warrior strained to gaze towards his distant homeland. With blurred vision, he succumbed and chose self-destruction.

Better to die gloriously than to live in subjugation!

With a sudden burst of light, the warrior’s body exploded, unleashing a wave of devastation.

Further off, a middle-aged man from the Cloud Sea stood riddled with wounds, spraying blood that mingled with the cosmic dust. Four blades were plunged into his flesh, threatening to rend his very being.

But he seemed oblivious to the pain, roaring with laughter as he charged forward. Locking his gaze upon a single outsider, he detonated his physical form in a final, sacrificial act. His shattered essence surged outwards, consuming his foe in a torrent of annihilation.

In another sector of the battlefield, a powerful outsider, a master of the third Heavenly Mortal stage, moved with lightning speed, leaving a trail of fallen Cloud Sea warriors in his wake.

Amidst the chaotic battle, none could stand against him. He darted forward, plunging his right hand into the chest of a Cloud Sea warrior and ripping out his still-beating heart. A cruel gleam shone in his eyes.

As he crushed the heart in his fist, obliterating the warrior’s spirit, the outsider frowned. The Cloud Sea warrior, in his final moment, had embraced his enemy, clinging to his body with desperate strength.

“The strength of an ant!” the outsider sneered, shaking the body free. The warrior’s broken form was hurled aside, shattered in an instant.

His severed head tumbled away, eyes still burning with hatred, fixed upon the alien conqueror.

He watched as, due to the brief delay, hordes of Cloud Sea cultivators, eyes blazing with fury, descended upon the outsider. They did not seek to fight; instead, they uttered the sacred phrase, “Glory to the Cloud Sea!” before detonating themselves in a series of cataclysmic explosions.

If ten self-sacrifices cannot kill you, then a hundred will! If a hundred fail, then three hundred!

In the deafening symphony of explosions, the outsider was torn apart. Until his very end, the four words echoed in his soul.

“Glory to the Cloud Sea!”

The severed head, now silenced and still, slowly closed its eyes and was vaporized by a stray energy blast.