Upon the crimson fields of battle, where the clash of steel and the roar of sorcery were a tempest without cease, a silence fell, improbable as it was profound. Across a swathe of the war-torn land, where countless warriors of cultivation clashed in a symphony of destruction unseen for millennia, the din subsided. Even the legendary war between the Heavens and the Alliance paled in comparison to the carnage wrought in this fleeting moment.

Yet now, upon a single utterance from Wang Lin, a stillness descended, at least upon the area surrounding the lone figure. The sheer, indomitable might of Wang Lin’s physical form sent tremors of awe and dread through the ranks of the tens of thousands who had assailed him. In their eyes, terror bloomed.

They feared!

They could not comprehend the nature of this Wang Lin, this warrior who possessed such an unearthly physique. A body so resilient, so formidable, it defied belief. Under their relentless onslaught, he had not fallen!

The aged mage, his arm severed, stared with eyes wide with mortal fear, and without hesitation, he retreated. His flight became a contagion, and the thousands of warriors followed, breaking ranks in a frenzied rout.

Their retreat unleashed a torrent of exultation from the warriors of the Cloud Sea. It was a tonic, a draught of strength that surged through their hearts and invigorated their souls!

“Glory to the Cloud Sea! Glory to the Sealed Paragon!” they cried, their voices ringing through the heavens. Every single warrior of the Cloud Sea fixed their gaze upon Wang Lin as he emerged from the heart of the storm, before turning once more to the grim work of slaughter.

Wang Lin strode forth from the tempest, his eyes burning with righteous fury. With a sweep of his hand, the storm collapsed, its energies exploding outwards in a cataclysmic wave.

In that instant, Wang Lin advanced, wreathed in ethereal fire and crackling with the fury of the storm. He surged towards the enemy ranks!

Screams filled the air as the battle raged anew.

Yet, amidst the endless carnage, Wang Lin felt his strength wane. His wounds were far more grievous than his stoic exterior betrayed. The combined power of tens of thousands of spells had left him deeply wounded, and the regenerative powers of his Ancient God lineage seemed to falter, unable to keep pace with the relentless strain of war.

His vision blurred crimson, and he knew that this battle was far from over. He *could not* yield!

Inspired by Wang Lin’s defiance, the warriors of the Cloud Sea, despite their staggering losses, mounted a ferocious counterattack. The formations and battle tactics, drilled into them by the venerable Grand Emissary Red Cedar, were etched deep within their minds.

The remaining thirty thousand warriors of the Cloud Sea began to weave their formations.

But with unnerving prescience, the warriors from beyond the stars anticipated their every move, charging forth to disrupt the formations before they could take shape.

Once could be chance, twice coincidence, but thrice, four times, five, six times… It was undeniable! The Cloud Sea warriors could not bring their formations to bear.

The savage gaze of the warriors from beyond the stars, though shaken by Wang Lin’s emergence, burned with murderous intent. From beyond the Barrier Seal, they poured forth in an endless tide.

And all this was the doing of one person.

The Grand Strategist, Yun Luo.

Deep within the ranks of the enemy army, shielded by a phalanx of guards, Yun Luo’s slender fingers danced across the air in arcane gestures. Her eyes gleamed with calculating intelligence, and with a flick of her wrist, she directed the tide of battle.

Her edicts were swift and precise, dividing her forces and unleashing them upon the Cloud Sea warriors from four directions at once. Under her command, the enemy army seemed to possess a collective consciousness, a terrifying unity of purpose.

Yun Luo’s calculations were relentless, as if she could foresee every move, every strategy, before it was even conceived. She thwarted every attempt by the Cloud Sea warriors to form a battle array, and her very presence seemed to doom any hope of an organized defense.

Wang Lin’s gaze, sharp as a viper’s fang, swept across the carnage and locked on Yun Luo, protected within her fortress of soldiers. His eyes blazed with hatred!

Sharing Wang Lin’s murderous intent was Grand Emissary Red Cedar, locked in a titanic struggle with five powerful adversaries. His cultivation was now that of the mid-stage of the Void Profound realm. The grand emissary had pinned all five down, but at the cost of his own freedom.

It was Red Cedar’s sacrifice that ensured none of those great powers could interfere with Wang Lin. More importantly, none would interfere with Nan Yunzi, who was mending the Barrier Seal.

As he cast his gaze upon Yun Luo, a killing intent flickered in Red Cedar’s eyes. With a flick of his sleeve, a crimson cloud enveloped him, engulfing his struggling foes. He lunged towards Yun Luo!

“If she lives, this war will never end!”

With a thunderous roar, Red Cedar, dragging his five powerful opponents in his wake, tore through the fabric of space and appeared beside the Barrier Seal, intent on striking down Yun Luo.

Panic gripped the warriors surrounding the Grand Strategist, and they rushed to her defense. Only Yun Luo herself remained calm, a flicker of disdain dancing in her eyes.

Yun Luo held herself in high regard, and there were only a few individuals, within or without the starry sky, that she respected. Not even Red Cedar made that list.

She had been waiting for this moment, anticipating the arrival of Red Cedar or perhaps Nan Yunzi. As Red Cedar drew near, the Barrier Seal shuddered, and a frigid wave of frost surged outwards.

From the ice-bound planets within the Ancient Star Domain, the child-like entities smiled. Their bodies did not move, but the massive blocks of ice around them did.

With a shuddering groan, the ice blocks vanished, and the moment they did, they reappeared beside the Barrier Seal and rushed towards the breach. As Red Cedar prepared to strike down Yun Luo, the arctic breath from beyond the Barrier Seal burst forth. With a bone-jarring crash, the massive ice blocks smashed through the breach in the Barrier Seal and plummeted into the heart of the Cloud Sea territory!

The ice shattered into a million fragments, unleashing a raging blizzard upon the thirty thousand warriors of the Cloud Sea.

From the heart of the collapsing ice, the demonic child revealed a sneer of triumph and lunged toward Red Cedar!
The Crimson Child, once a mirror of the Ice Child in youthful form, now faced him across the ravaged battlefield. “Our previous clashes, mere skirmishes between babes! Today, we settle the score. Reveal your true form, wretch! This paltry avatar is beneath my blade!” The Ice Child’s voice, cold as the void between stars, echoed as he drew closer to the crimson-clad warrior.

Red Cedar, his face grim, did not reply. Instead, he strode towards the icy tempest tearing through the ranks of the Cloud Sea warriors. With a flick of his crimson sleeve, he scattered the frozen maelstrom.

But in that very moment, as the ice dissipated, Red Cedar’s face twisted in sudden horror.

From within the heart of the shattered storm emerged a scarlet phantom, a sinuous, alluring shape. With impossible speed, it closed the distance between itself and Red Cedar, striking before he could react.

A fleeting touch, followed by a mocking laugh, and the phantom solidified into a crimson-clad woman – one of the仙妃 (Fairy Consorts), whose essence was bound to three infernal shades.

Red Cedar staggered back, his face ashen. Upon his chest, a ghastly wound bloomed, etched in the shape of a snarling demon head, its tendrils spreading like a creeping curse.

“You remain as craven as ever,” Red Cedar spat, his gaze fixed on the Ice Child and the crimson woman.

The remnants of the icy tempest, though shattered, were not entirely undone. Its dying fury swept across the Cloud Sea ranks, each blast of frigid air leaving a deadly kiss.

One by one, the Cloud Sea warriors were encased in frost, transformed into glittering statues before shattering into a thousand icy fragments.

Nearly ten thousand souls perished in the blink of an eye!

This massacre ignited terror within the hearts of the Cloud Sea warriors. Faced with such swift and utter annihilation, their vaunted honor faltered, their resolve crumbled.

And then, with the crimson woman’s words, this tremor of doubt became a cataclysmic collapse.

“Yun Luo foresaw all! This war is waged for one purpose – to slay you and Nan Yunzi! The Ice Child knew you would seek to save these Cloud Sea insects from his storm. Yun Luo predicted your haste would blind you, allowing me to strike a crippling blow!”

Her words plunged the remaining Cloud Sea warriors into despair. They were pawns in a grand scheme, their sacrifices predetermined. What value was their honor, their glory, if they were merely puppets on a string?

Even Red Cedar, their stalwart protector, had been ensnared. What could they possibly do to uphold their shattered honor, to justify their continued struggle and inevitable demise?

As their resolve crumbled, the Grand Overseer Yun Luo’s cruel smile deepened. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed the full fury of the invading forces.

The ranks of the界外 (Outer Realm) warriors surged forward, their faces contorted in savage glee, eager to slaughter the demoralized Cloud Sea army.

Death reigned supreme, a crimson tide washing over the battlefield.

The crimson woman, her laughter echoing through the carnage, moved with uncanny grace, ignoring the stricken Red Cedar. Her sights were set on Nan Yunzi, the somber guardian of the 修棄封界大陣 (Abandoned Sealing Array).

His face etched with resignation, Nan Yunzi abandoned his desperate attempts to repair the weakening barrier. Turning to face the approaching danger, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the agile Zhou Jin, prepared to face the Fairy Consort’s wrath.

The Ice Child, his face an impassive mask, granted Red Cedar no respite. He lunged forward, a living embodiment of eternal winter, joining forces with five other powerful figures to assail the wounded warrior.

The tide of battle had turned, casting a pall of despair over the Cloud Sea. With no sign of reinforcements, it seemed certain that defeat was at hand.

From the vast expanse of the 太古星辰 (Ancient Starry Sky) outside the borders of the Cloud Sea, the third wave of invaders, a legion of sixty thousand warriors from more than a dozen warring tribes, marched inexorably towards the ravaged Sealing Array.

Wang Lin, witnessing the unfolding tragedy, retreated slowly, his eyes filled with a smoldering fire. He stopped before the remnants of the Cloud Sea army, his voice echoing with a thunderous roar that shook the very heavens, shattering the silence of despair.

“We are cultivators! What is death but a fleeting moment! Fear not, and fight on!” The ancient power of the Immortal Vanquisher coursed through him, a beacon of hope in the face of annihilation!