Time ebbed with a somber cadence. Before Wang Lin, the crimson ichor from the Dao Ancient’s left eye had diminished, its essence thinned by the relentless passage of ages. Yet, this was no ordinary blood; it was drawn from the very essence of a Dao Ancient’s left eye, an eye forged from the convergence of nine celestial stars of the Ancient Fiend lineage. Thus, even in its weakened state, it held a potency that could revitalize Wang Lin.

He alchemized the latent Ancient Fiend power from the blood, guiding it through his right hand, circulating it within, and then directing it towards the Ancient Fiend statue beneath his left hand. The statue pulsed with an uncanny, crimson light, as if awakening from a long slumber, ravenously absorbing the offered power.

One day turned to two, then three… until the tenth day dawned.

Perhaps time flowed differently in this realm, but Wang Lin perceived a full ten days had passed. The Dao Ancient blood before him grew ever more desiccated, while the Ancient Fiend statue underwent a transformation of epic proportions.

Within its left eye, constellations of Fiend Stars began to appear!

First one, then two… until five Fiend Stars blazed, their crimson radiance casting an otherworldly glow upon the chamber.

On the eleventh day, the last vestiges of the Dao Ancient blood on the arrowhead crumbled into a heap of dark crimson dust, separating from the arrow and swirling before Wang Lin.

His eyes flashed with resolve. Without hesitation, he swept the crimson dust into his palm, transforming it into a dark, earthen-hued gauntlet. He turned, his gaze fixed upon the Ancient Fiend statue, and with a resounding impact, slammed his hand upon its crown!

A deafening boom echoed as the dry blood dust merged with the statue, unleashing a torrent of raw, untamed fiendish energy.

At that instant, the five Fiend Stars within the statue’s left eye blazed with renewed intensity, and the nascent form of a sixth Fiend Star began to coalesce, drawing itself into existence with astonishing speed.

“The Dao Ancient’s blood was insufficient… and thinned by time… but I possess another source of Ancient Fiend power!” Wang Lin’s eyes glinted with determination. With a swift hand gesture, he tore open a spatial rift within his storage treasure, seizing the captured Ancient Fiend from the Blood God Child!

This fiend, sealed in slumber, was ripped from its confinement. The moment it stirred awake, Wang Lin struck, his palm a thunderclap against its form.

The fiend’s left eye erupted, its Fiend Stars collapsing into a tempest of raw fiendish power. Wang Lin channeled this torrent toward the Ancient Fiend statue.

Infused with this new surge of power, the statue glowed with an almost sanguine intensity. The sixth Fiend Star within its left eye solidified, and the ghostly outline of a seventh star began to take shape. With the final remnants of the Dao Ancient blood and the nearly complete essence of the Blood God Child’s Ancient Fiend poured in, the seventh Fiend Star in Wang Lin’s Ancient Fiend statue burst into being!

As promised, Wang Lin did not extinguish the Blood God Child’s Ancient Fiend’s essence. Instead, he preserved its spirit, sealing it within his storage treasure, intending to release it upon his departure.

“Since I cannot find a Dao Ancient’s left eye, then I shall cultivate my own!” Wang Lin gazed upon the Ancient Fiend statue, a profound sense of kinship welling within him. With a flick of his sleeve, he stored the crimson statue within his dimensional space.

Having completed this task, Wang Lin turned his gaze downward, toward the immense arrow beneath him. His eyes gleamed with newfound power.

“From this day forward, this arrow shall be my treasure, Wang Lin’s! Coupled with Li Guang’s bow, what devastating power will it wield?” Wang Lin slowly placed his right hand upon the arrow’s shaft.

He endured the internal resistance, circulating his bloodline-infused immortal energy. As it surged, Wang Lin’s tendons vibrated, his very essence scintillating with golden light. For a fleeting moment, his body became translucent, revealing a bow within his very being!

This bow was like the sinew of Wang Lin himself, radiating golden light from within. He *was* the bow!

The instant the bow manifested, the colossal arrow beneath him shuddered, as if sensing its presence. A surge of immense arrow-energy emanated from the arrow, surging toward Wang Lin’s body.

In that instant, Wang Lin sensed an ancient soul, the very spirit of the arrow, awakening from its slumber. It plunged into his body, making contact with the bow within.

“Shrink!” Wang Lin intoned, his voice calm and resolute.

As the word left his lips, the massive arrow shuddered, instantly diminishing in size. As it shrank, it slid downward, crashing thousands of feet before halting, still partially lodged within the hole above.

“Shrink further,” Wang Lin commanded, his voice edged with ice. The arrow shuddered once more, shrinking significantly. As it diminished, the arrow completely detached from the hole above, its tip plunging toward the earth.

A deafening roar rent the air as the arrow struck the ground, its tip burying itself deep within the earth. Wang Lin leapt backward as it fell, landing upon the nine feathers at the arrow’s tail.

The feathers were soft and pliant, and Wang Lin’s body rose and fell with the arrow’s vibrations. Even after two shrinkings, the arrow remained thousands of feet long and hundreds of feet wide. To a distant observer, it would appear as a colossal pillar, embedded diagonally into the earth.

Standing upon the feathers, Wang Lin gazed up at the gaping hole in the sky. Beyond it lay an abyss of absolute darkness, its destination unknown. Under his gaze, the edges of the hole slowly writhed, gradually beginning to heal.

“A peculiar place indeed…” Wang Lin murmured. He lowered his gaze and directed a hand gesture toward the arrow.

“Shrink, shrink, shrink!”

The immense arrow quivered once more, rapidly shrinking before his eyes. Finally, a flash of light erupted from it. As Wang Lin landed, the arrow had returned to a manageable size. With a swift grab, he seized it, and it fell into his hand.

Grasping the arrow, Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed. He saw four runes inscribed upon its shaft, elongated symbols that pulsed with a faint, ethereal light.

“These four runes… they contain a spirit, a connection. Strengthening them should enhance the arrow’s power. What kind of spirit did Li Guang use to fell a Dao Ancient’s left eye?” Wang Lin pondered. He touched his forehead with his left hand, causing the Ancient God stars to appear. The Heaven Punishing Furnace materialized.

The enormous furnace slowly rotated, and Wang Lin saw two trapped souls within!

“Nan Zhao Shangren and Tian Zhao Shangshi!”

Wang Lin had imprisoned these two souls within the Heaven Punishing Furnace!

“I shall use their souls to enhance this arrow!” Wang Lin’s expression hardened. With a gesture, he opened the furnace, and the two souls flew out. Before they could escape, Wang Lin seized them, and despite their desperate screams, he slammed them onto the arrow’s shaft.

The runes flared with blinding light. The screams of Nan Zhao and Tian Zhao abruptly ceased as their essence merged with two of the four runes. An earth-shattering aura erupted from the arrow!

Even Wang Lin was taken aback by the sheer power.

“Two runes remain… As for a sealed spirit…” Wang Lin mused. He waved his left hand, opening a storage rift. From within, a massive pavilion emerged!

This was the Dao Ancient Ye Mo’s Netherworld Earth Palace, found within the Ancient God’s Land!

The pavilion contained many windows, and Wang Lin had seen three powerful spirits sealed within. He was loath to release them unless absolutely necessary. He stared at the pavilion, gazing at the three sealed spirits, and paused for a long moment, before storing it away.

“Those three spirits are far too powerful, enemies sealed away by Dao Ancient in his homeland. If I were to release them in my current state, I would be consumed.”

Wang Lin turned his gaze to the arrow’s tip, to the circular ring. This was the focal point where the Dao Ancient and Immortal energies within the arrow clashed, creating resistance.

For hours, Wang Lin studied the ring, but he could not decipher its structure or unique properties. He sighed and ceased his observation. He waved his right hand, and the arrow dissolved into golden light, separating into seven strands of energy. They entered his seven orifices, vanishing without a trace.

Having retrieved the arrow, Wang Lin glanced around the realm. He stepped forward, his body sinking into the earth. Following the rings, he headed towards the stone door at the end.

He moved with great speed. He soon arrived at the last ring before the stone door. With a final swipe, the stone door opened, and he stepped through, arriving back in the Runed Clan’s 18th layer.

Wang Lin looked at the stone door and waved his sleeve. It slammed shut. He cast several seals and prepared to leave.

“To refine the Dao Fruit… to bring my Life and Death, Karma, and Truth and Falsehood essences to Great Completion…” Wang Lin turned to leave but halted and peered at the wall where he had broken through the stone door seal.

The wall was cracked, with many stones fallen. A deep fissure seemed to have penetrated the entire wall, revealing a scene beyond.

Wang Lin had not noticed it before but now saw it.

He saw a vast darkness. He recognized the aura coming from the crack.

“Extraterritorial Battlefield,” he murmured.