It was this pang of pity that further moistened the eyes of the madman, until at last a great sob escaped him, and he wept.

This sudden weeping stirred a sense of guilt within Wang Lin. He felt as though he were a grown man, swindling a child out of his dearest toy.

“Alas,” he thought, “Karmic debt is Karmic debt. I met this man within the belly of the Nether Beast, he gifted me Immortal Blood, a creation of fortune, and now I have gained a Divine Ability in this manner. Such debts must be repaid. A cultivator rarely succumbs to madness. Some great sorrow must weigh upon this man. I, Wang Lin, have always repaid my debts. I swear anew that his troubles shall become my own!” Wang Lin gazed upon the madman, a hidden gentleness within the depths of his eyes.

“This King lies not! This King performed the same Divine Ability, called the Spirit Imprisonment Seal! My brother stole it from the Twin Immortal Sovereigns and taught it to me!” The madman, who seemed to have long forgotten the touch of water upon his face, wept tears that carved dark trails through the grime. He wiped his eyes, a look of wounded pride upon his face, and roared at Wang Lin.

“If thou dost not believe, I shall tell thee the incantation! This King has never lied! My brother said he would strike me should I utter a falsehood!” The madman, his grievance overflowing, spoke without hesitation, reciting every word of the Spirit Imprisonment Seal’s incantation.

“See! See! It is this incantation! Practice it thyself! Cast it thyself! See if I have deceived thee! I won by honest means! Thou dost cheat! I will not play with thee!” The madman’s fury rekindled, tinged with the sting of unfairness. He sat abruptly, turning his back to Wang Lin in a childish sulk.

Wang Lin’s heart pounded within his chest. He had committed the incantation to memory. A silent recitation unveiled all that was previously unclear. He raised his right hand, pointing towards the heavens. With a resounding boom, a true and proper Spirit Imprisonment Seal materialized, though it did not descend. Instead, a wave of immense pressure washed over the heavens and earth.

Gazing at the Spirit Imprisonment Seal, Wang Lin’s pupils constricted. He felt a surge of exhilaration. With his cultivation, he could clearly perceive that this true Spirit Imprisonment Seal was not merely a Divine Ability, but a Dao Art!

A Dao Art of immense power, capable of shattering heavens and destroying lands!

With but a single strike, Wang Lin’s strength could be amplified beyond measure, through the Seal’s strange manipulations. And most importantly, the Spirit Imprisonment Seal was not merely a single strike. It contained three distinct energies. If fully unleashed, and coupled with sufficient cultivation, it could manifest as three simultaneous strikes, crushing the body, the spirit, and the soul!

“The Water Daoist only wielded the power to crush the body. Now, I have learned the true Spirit Imprisonment Seal!” Wang Lin inhaled deeply, engraving the Spirit Imprisonment Seal firmly in his mind, before turning his gaze upon the madman.

In his eyes, the madman had become a treasure trove, capable of yielding untold riches at any moment.

“Enough, cease thy weeping. I confess thy Divine Ability is indeed potent. I was wrong to doubt thee.” Wang Lin, with a contrite heart and gentle gaze, rose and offered the madman a cupped-fist salute.

The madman merely scoffed, averting his eyes.

Wang Lin chuckled ruefully. After a moment’s consideration, he raised his right hand and seized several medicinal pills from his storage. He had chosen pills known for their potent aroma. The moment they appeared, a rich fragrance filled the air.

The madman’s nose twitched, drawing in several involuntary sniffs. He licked his lips, fighting the urge to look, yet his eyes darted furtively towards the pills.

“Hmph! These paltry pills are nothing! The worst pill I fed Little Red in my day was far better than these!”

A knowing smile played upon Wang Lin’s lips. He held one of the pills, crushing it gently between his fingers. With a soft snap, the pill crumbled, releasing an even more intense fragrance.

The madman struggled to resist, but his stomach betrayed him with a loud rumble. It had been long since he had tasted a medicinal pill, and his resolve began to crumble.

“These pills are yours, a recompense for my earlier misjudgment. Will this suffice?” Wang Lin spoke softly, waving his hand. The pills floated towards the madman, hovering before him.

The madman swallowed hard, turning to stare directly at the pills. “These things,” he said with feigned disdain, “I would not have given them a second glance in my day! Too base! Utterly base! But… since thou art so eager to please this King, I shall, with great reluctance, accept.”

As he spoke, his right hand shot out with blinding speed, snatching the pills. With a glint in his eyes, he tossed them all into his mouth, crunching down upon them before swallowing them whole.

A smile bloomed upon Wang Lin’s face. He clasped his hands and bowed slightly. “Your Excellency’s Divine Abilities are truly astonishing. May I inquire if this is the extent of your repertoire?”

The madman, basking in his moment of triumph, suddenly grew wary, turning to fix Wang Lin with a suspicious gaze.

“I recall hearing these words before… Who said them? Little Red, who was it that spoke such words? Uh… I forget… But I do recall that their purpose was to trick me out of my Divine Abilities! Hmph! This King is too clever to fall for such a ploy! Thou shalt not steal my Dao Arts!”

The madman lifted his head, a regal air about him, and sighed theatrically. “Alas, knowing too many Dao Arts is a burden. But what can I do? My talent is simply too great! However, since thou art so respectful, I shall deign to display one for thee, though do not expect me to teach thee! Never!”

With that, the madman rose to his feet, stretching his arms wide. He lifted his right hand with a flourish, and suddenly, the heavens dimmed. A crimson sea of fire surged forth, conjuring a colossal umbrella!

The sky itself became the umbrella’s canopy, while the endless fire coalesced into a gargantuan umbrella handle! A destructive inferno filled all directions, and from it emerged nine flame-like projections resembling miniature umbrellas. Each flame pulsed with an indescribable, terrifying aura.
Wang Lin’s pupils constricted, for he recognized in this spectacle a technique bearing kinship with his own treasured Burning Realm Umbrella. Yet, a critical divergence lay in its execution. While his own arcane art demanded the deliberate unfurling of the parasol, this madman’s conjuration sprang forth fully deployed!

Superficially similar, the gulf between them was a chasm of cosmic proportions.

“How’s that, eh? Impressed, are you?” crowed the madman. “When this brolly’s closed, the power… hoo boy, you wouldn’t believe!” With a flick of his wrist, the spectral umbrella vanished into the heavens without a sound.

“Hmph, I won’t teach ya! You can watch, but you’ll never grasp it! I’ve got plenty more tricks up my sleeve, just you wait and see!” Puffing with pride, the madman raised his hands, fingers weaving through complex incantations before his chest. He mimicked the drawing of a bow and arrow, a pose eerily reminiscent of the legendary Daoist Li Guang as Wang Lin had once witnessed him.

A surge of terrifying arrow-qi erupted from the madman’s hands, potent enough to sunder the very fabric of reality should he release it.

“This is nothing! I’m a veritable cornucopia of wonders!” The madman, fueled by Wang Lin’s deepening frown, howled with glee. He unclenched his grip, the devastating arrow-qi dissipating as he flung his hands skyward once more, fingers a blur of arcane gestures.

The heavens above pulsed as seven colors—crimson, orange, yellow, green, azure, indigo, and violet—exploded into existence. These vibrant hues coalesced with impossible speed, forming a titanic, seven-hued spear!

The spear dominated the heavens, its very presence sending tremors through the land. The tip traced arcs of raw power, threatening to cleave the sky itself asunder. An unnerving, kaleidoscopic light emanated from the spearhead, chilling Wang Lin to the bone.

The seven-hued light pulsed with the strength of raw emotion, capable of influencing the very heart of any who beheld it. A kinship existed with Tang Huo’s ethereal flame, yet in Wang Lin’s estimation, this far surpassed it in sheer potency!

With a wild laugh, the madman released his hold, the sky returning to its somber gray. His face flushed with exhilaration, he chuckled, “Well? Well? Aren’t I a marvel? Do you want to learn? Do you, do you?”

“Let me tell you,” he continued, “throngs have sought my teachings, but I see through them all! I’ve met charlatans of every stripe, and not a single one can deceive me. I’d sooner die than impart my secrets!”

“So there you have it,” he concluded, a smirk playing upon his lips. “You can want it all you like, but alas, it’s beyond my power to grant! Oh, the pity…” The madman shook his head, reveling in his imagined superiority.

“Let me guess… how will you respond?” He chuckled again, more frantic this time. “I recall one fellow feigning disinterest, striving to appear aloof in the hopes of piquing my curiosity. And you know what happened? Haha, you’ll never guess! It was utterly hilarious!” The madman clutched his stomach, erupting in a fit of laughter.

“If you profess desire, I shall rebuff you with the utmost severity! I am, after all, a vault of secrets. Not even the wiles of a seductive sorceress could persuade me!” He rambled on, his excitement mounting.

Watching the madman’s antics, Wang Lin slowly allowed a smile to grace his lips.

“According to the memories of the Nether Beast, this man knows not the creature. In fact, he was terrified by it, positively quaking with fear…” Wang Lin’s smile widened.

The madman, under Wang Lin’s gaze, felt a sudden prickle of unease. He vaguely remembered that this particular smile had preceded his relentless deployment of the Spirit Servitude Seal, a feat that had left him breathless and drained for hours on end.

Suddenly, the entire cultivation star shuddered. The ashen sky roiled, as if a cosmic storm were brewing. With a deafening roar, the heavens seemed to tear asunder, revealing a colossal, spectral form.

The apparition was massive, like some gargantuan whale, its face adorned with two long, swaying barbels.

It was the Nether Beast! Responding to Wang Lin’s summons, its spectral essence manifested within this realm!

The moment it appeared, the madman’s haughty demeanor crumbled. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and his body trembled violently as a shrill scream tore from his throat.

“Aaaah! You… you… you followed me here?!” he shrieked. “You relentless fiend! You still won’t leave me be?! I don’t taste good, I swear I don’t!”