A shift from the norm would have instantly summoned the spirit of the warding array, but in that moment, a maddening, eternally enduring will surged from the bow with the arrow’s release. The array spirit recoiled, intimidated by this furious intent, as though daring not to manifest itself!

The quaking stillness halted the healing fifty-丈 gash, freezing it in place. The spectral white arrow pierced through, unhindered, and hurtled towards Wang Lin!

Wang Lin, gathering every fiber of his being, focused with such intensity that he forgot all else. His gaze locked solely upon the phantom white arrow, his form dissolving with each backward step.

A searing pain erupted in his brow, as if two invisible hands clamped onto his very blood, seeking to tear his skull asunder. The white arrow howled through the heavens, breaching the sealed border array and closing the distance to less than a hundred 丈!

The arrow’s shriek, echoing across the star-strewn expanse, was piercing in its extremity, a palpable aura of savage dread shaking the very souls of the cultivators within the ward. Their faces drained of color, one by one.

A hundred 丈 was naught to such a projectile. With a deafening roar, the ancient Dao head formed of the Seven Stars, guarding Wang Lin, twisted violently, as if struck by an immeasurable force!

This arrow sought to kill with the drawn string itself!

In an instant, the arrow struck, plunging into the ancient Dao head. A cataclysmic boom ripped through reality, the echo resounding as the arrow’s power overwhelmed Wang Lin’s guardian. The head’s brow shattered, the arrow burrowing through, poised to pierce Wang Lin himself!

Wang Lin’s form remained incomplete in its merging with the cosmos. As the white arrow closed, a sense of mortal peril surged, driving him to a decisive action. He raised his hands, slamming them forward!

His ancient god flesh arms, imbued with the divine essence of the Dao, pierced the ancient Dao head, clamping down, as if desperately seeking to grip the white phantom arrow, which contained earth-shattering power!

The moment his hands touched the arrow, Wang Lin felt a cataclysmic force surge through his arms, into his very being. His Seven Stars ancient god body struggled against the onslaught, his form quaking, a mouthful of blood spurting forth as he was irresistibly pulled back, forcibly ejected from his half-merged state, stumbling across the starry expanse!

Each step back covered several 丈, each footfall accompanied by a thunderous boom. Wang Lin’s face twisted in a grimace, eyes bloodshot as he desperately held onto the white arrow, retreating a thousand 丈!

Blood continued to flow, seven mouthfuls spilled over the thousand-丈 retreat, exacerbating his existing injuries.

With another roar, Wang Lin stumbled into the territory of the invaders, beyond the sealed border of Ancient Breath Leaf. Without hesitation, the darkness of despair erupted from his back, transforming into countless tentacles that snaked outwards. Any borderland invaders touched by these tendrils emitted chilling shrieks as their bodies withered into husks. All life force drained from them, rushing into Wang Lin’s form.

All of this happened in an instant. While Wang Lin was struggling with the first arrow, the white-robed man outside the sealed array, his expression darkening, drew his bow once more!

“It ends now,” the white-robed man said. As those four words left his lips, his youthful face aged rapidly, transforming him into an old man. The bow in his hands pulled back further, the string humming as he released a second white arrow, which roared forth!

Its piercing shriek echoed as it plunged through the breach in the sealed array, aiming directly at Wang Lin!

One arrow had already pushed Wang Lin to his limits, the second arrow now meant the difference between life and death!

Wang Lin’s pupils contracted. The flames in his left eye whirled madly, the lightning glyph in his right spun rapidly, and his primal power exploded within his core. He had no time to overthink; he knew that he must destroy the arrow in his grasp before the second arrived, or he would surely perish!

Just as the cacophony of destruction reverberated through the stars, a wave of maddening energy rushed from afar, in the vastness of the Cloud Sea Star Region. This aura, though distant, arrived instantly before Wang Lin, materializing into a barefooted middle-aged man, standing before him!

Wang Lin recognized the barefooted man as Tai Arluo, the peerless beast, sealed by Sealed Venerate.

For reasons unknown, he chose to face the second arrow, buying Wang Lin a precious moment of reprieve! As he appeared, Tai Arluo unleashed a earth-shattering roar, his hands forming a warding seal, heading directly toward the second arrow!

As he cast his spell, a dense layer of scales instantly materialized over Tai Arluo’s body. These scales were a dark, dull color and covered every inch of Tai Arluo’s form.

“I can only delay for three breaths!” His hands, extended outwards, made contact with the second arrow as a shocking force surged into Tai Arluo’s body, shaking him violently. Blood flowed from his lips, and the arms bracing the arrow twisted as if they could no longer bear the onslaught.

With a final, defiant roar, the newly formed scales on Tai Arluo’s body detached and hurtled forward, forming a shield!

At the very center of this scaled shield were three bizarre, golden scales. As the shield flew forth, Tai Arluo’s arms crumbled, leaving only bloodied flesh. The second arrow roared closer, colliding with the scaled shield!

The scales around the edge broke off into dust as the deafening roar rang in the heavens. A moment passed and just the three golden scales remained.

One breath, two breaths!

The three golden scales shattered into dust during the second breath. Tai Arluo retreated while smiling wryly.

As the second arrow was not targeting him, he could retreat after being defeated.

Tai Arluo did indeed manage to stall for three breaths as he said he would. These three breaths were very valuable to Wang Lin. In the first breath, Wang Lin bit the tip of his tongue, and sprayed mist of blood in front of him.
In the second breath, the world-scorching flames, descended from the Ancient Umbrella of Starrending from the cosmos above, engulfed him. They surged from every direction, forming a fiery vortex around him, and then converged upon the blood that had sprayed from his lips. The blood, imbued with the essence of annihilation, coalesced into a force of world-ending power, slamming against the first arrow trapped between his hands!

By the third breath, a ravenous miasma erupted from behind Wang Lin, a tide of darkness sweeping over the host of extraplanar cultivators. As the third breath concluded, the first arrow, imbued with the ancient god’s ichor and the annihilating flames, shattered and crumbled. Yet, even in its destruction, the arrow’s momentum remained a terrible force.

Amidst its continuous decay, a mere sliver, reduced to a fifth of its original size, burst free of Wang Lin’s grasp. It hurtled towards his brow, dwindling further with each moment, until only a tenth of its original form remained as it neared his forehead.

Then, with a thunderous roar, the diminished shard collided with Wang Lin’s brow.

A horrifying scream, a sound of pure agony, echoed through the heavens and earth. But it was not Wang Lin who cried out, but the extraplanar cultivators ensnared by the dark miasma! Each of them withered, their bodies desiccating into mere husks.

With a final snap, the remaining arrow fragment disintegrated. Wang Lin, drenched in sweat, knew the ordeal was far from over. The second arrow was already bearing down upon him!

With no time to evade, a wild madness seized Wang Lin. He roared and pointed his right hand at the heavens. In this moment of direst need, abandoning all caution, he clenched his hand, seizing the descending Ancient Umbrella of Starrending. As it fell, the umbrella shrunk until Wang Lin gripped its handle.

Holding the ancient artifact, Wang Lin felt his life force drain away, rushing into the umbrella in torrents. His ancient god’s form, usually brimming with vitality, began to wither under the strain. In this crisis, he dared not hesitate, his life force poured in until his divine flesh showed signs of decay!

The Ancient Umbrella, previously opened only a fraction, now blazed with inner fire as Wang Lin’s life force surged within. As the second arrow closed within ten lengths, Wang Lin roared and thrust the umbrella upwards with his left hand.

Two-tenths opened!

Driven by Wang Lin’s reckless expenditure of life, the Ancient Umbrella burst open to a fifth of its potential.

A fire of cosmic annihilation erupted, carrying the searing heat of collapsing stars. It erupted outwards, centered on Wang Lin, creating a sea of flame. Space itself warped and crumbled under the inferno, leaving an empty void.

The second arrow struck the unleashed flames. An echoing boom resounded as the arrow trembled, seeming to melt. Yet, the power of the bow imbued within forced the arrow onward. It plunged into the sea of fire, struggling against the flames as it advanced toward Wang Lin!

Though it seems an age, it was but a fleeting moment. The distance of ten lengths was nothing to an arrow, nor a cultivator. Wang Lin, already weakened and withering, was forced to sacrifice more of his life force. His body deteriorated, resembling an ancient god at the brink of oblivion. His strong physique was reduced to bone and sinew!

The Ancient Umbrella absorbed more of Wang Lin’s life force. With another desperate roar, he forced it open a fraction more, falling just short of opening it to three-tenths of its full potential!

With each opening, the torrent of unleashed flames intensified. The second arrow, within a single length of Wang Lin, shattered! Yet, even in its destruction, a trace of the bow’s essence pierced the fire and struck Wang Lin’s chest.

With a thunderous boom, Wang Lin coughed blood. A tearing sensation exploded across his chest, the searing pain forcing him to stumble backwards!

But even as he retreated, a murderous glint ignited in Wang Lin’s eyes. He had not been so grievously wounded in ages. The pain fueled a surge of lethal intent. As he stepped back, he waved his right hand. The blood-red sword materialized, a weapon of great power. It could sunder and destroy all things physical, but was useless against ephemeral, life-force constructs like the arrows.

With a hungry howl, the blood sword was poised to strike the gap in the sealing array, when Wang Lin seized it, suppressing his murderous rage.

*Something is amiss here.*

*We failed to slay him, and we failed to draw him out…* The white-robed cultivator, now aged and decrepit, wore a grim expression. Disbelief marred his features. Two arrows fired, and he still hadn’t slain the target! His life force was fading quickly, and with a sigh he cast one final, cold glance at Wang Lin through the sealing array, then turned and began to retreat.

But the instant he stepped back, a wave of demonic energy erupted from within the Cloud Sea Starfield. It shot towards the gap in the array like an arrow loosed from a bow!

In a flurry of fiendish power, the Ghost Sect Demon Saint appeared outside the barrier. His left eye, a vortex of nine stars, gleamed with predatory avarice as he fixed his gaze upon the old man’s bow. Yet, his form was illusory, a mere projection of his true self. Although his left eye possessed nine stars, they were not real, but spectral emanations.

With a gruesome sneer, he swooped towards the white-robed cultivator, extending a clawed hand!

He had waited for this opportunity for some time. In truth, the Nine-Star Ancient Demon had been present since the white-robed cultivator first appeared. But he feared the power of the bow, and waited until it had been drawn twice. Only when his prey was retreating did he unleash his demonic form.

As the Nine-Star Ancient Demon closed on the white-robed cultivator, the old man whirled around, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

“A small fish didn’t come… instead, a whale appeared!”

An invisible force, a raw power descended from the Ancient Starry Sky, materialized in the form of a gigantic hand, silently reaching down from the heavens.

The Nine-Star Ancient Demon’s face twisted in terror. His avarice collapsed, replaced by fear. Screaming, he scrambled backwards, trying to evade the descending hand. But even at his best speed, he was too slow. Before he could reach the safety of the sealing array, the hand clamped down, crushing him in its grip.
With a crushing grip that echoed across the void, the Nine-Star Ancient Demon’s avatar shattered, dissolving into a swirling vortex of demonic energy. A spectral hand, wreathed in starlight, absorbed the essence before fading back into the celestial tapestry.

“I am Feng Bi, first disciple of the esteemed Palm Sovereign! By my master’s decree, I bring tidings and a gift to the worthy souls within this realm!” A figure clad in pristine white announced, his voice resonating with power. “Behold, the Bow! Its might has already been demonstrated with the two arrows you witnessed. To those among you who possess the strength and courage, come forth and claim it!” He offered a courteous bow towards the sealed boundary, then with a flick of his wrist, cast the bow forward. It spun gracefully through the air, hovering just beyond the shimmering barrier.

A gentle, alluring light emanated from the weapon, radiating a captivating power that stirred desire and madness in equal measure.

“My master bids me offer you three opportunities to claim this prize. Each attempt, however, demands a price: the safe return of thirty percent of our surviving brethren from beyond this barrier. Will you accept the terms? Shall this bow be yours, or shall it remain unclaimed?”

Within the besieged realm, Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of murderous intent igniting within them. Only the bond he shared with the Netherbeast, bound to his very life force, had spared him utter ruin. The opening of the Ancient Umbrella had drained him of nearly nine-tenths of his lifespan. Yet, even with the Netherbeast’s potent life energy, such reckless use could not be sustained for long.

“What is the Palm Sovereign’s true aim in all this?” Wang Lin mused, his brow furrowed in thought. “He seems…afraid. As though he seeks to lure someone out, using this bow as bait…”