A cerulean expanse replaced the star-scattered void beyond the Vermilion Bird Star, transforming the night sky into a boundless, azure firmament. It was as if the heavens themselves had descended, enveloping the celestial sphere outside the star.

An impossibility made manifest! Where once lay the starfields, now stretched an immense azure sky, a wondrous and terrible thaumaturgy that had seemingly yanked the Vermilion Bird Star from its place in the realms and cast it into a vast, unknowable domain.

Within this azure expanse, there was only emptiness, save for a single cultivation star adrift in the void – the Vermilion Bird Star itself.

Wang Lin’s face contorted in shock and fury. His divine sense swept across the star, only to reveal a chilling truth: every living being had vanished. Not merely the cultivators, but the mortals, even the beasts and the very plants, were gone, as if spirited away. The Vermilion Bird Star seemed to hold only Wang Lin.

Yet, it was not the creatures that were lost, but Wang Lin himself.

The true Vermilion Bird Star remained within the starfields, its inhabitants continuing their lives unaware. Zhou Wutai still sat upon the Vermilion Bird statue, sipping his wine. The cultivators still celebrated the return of the Sealed Lord.

On the peak where Wang Lin had stood moments before, there was only empty air. Before the precipice, the sky was a calm and cloudless blue.

The Vermilion Bird Star had been split as if by a mirror. One half remained untouched, thriving within the realms. The other was a desolate echo, inhabited only by Wang Lin, trapped within that boundless, ethereal domain.

The same peak, bathed in gentle sunlight. The same peak, where Wang Lin now stood amidst swirling storm clouds, lashed by torrential rain and deafened by thunder.

“Such sorcery borders upon divine creation!” Wang Lin muttered, his face a mask of grim determination. He strode forward, piercing the heart of the storm clouds like a blade, and stepped beyond this divided Vermilion Bird Star.

As he emerged, blinding blue light surged from the heavens beyond, a radiance that seemed to pierce the very fabric of existence. Behind him lay the desolate Vermilion Bird Star. Before him stretched a limitless horizon, an immeasurable expanse that dwarfed even his divine sense: a true and boundless world.

The ground was not of earth, but of a still, unrippled water that perfectly mirrored the azure sky above. Looking out across this realm, Wang Lin felt as if he stood at the bottom of an endless well.

“Wang… Lin…” a faint, disembodied voice echoed from the heavens above.

Wang Lin stilled, gazing upward, his pupils contracting. He inhaled deeply, and a palpable aura of power crackled within him. Golden light flickered as he channeled his full cultivation.

In the azure sky, a figure slowly coalesced from the swirling blue radiance. It was a middle-aged man clad in azure robes, gazing at Wang Lin with complex emotion. With a sigh, Wang Lin clasped his hands in respect, stating, “Wang Lin greets Dao Lord.”

Dao Lord Lan Meng regarded Wang Lin in silence. After an age, the confusion faded from his eyes, replaced by a steely resolve. “I had no part in the fall of the previous Sealed Lord,” he said. “Nor will I raise my hand against you. This realm was crafted by the combined power of all the Empyrean Exalt experts of the Ancient Star System, and blessed by the hand of an ancient Immortal Consort. It can tear a hole in the void, imprisoning you here, all without alerting anyone in the realms…”

“This realm shall endure for three *shichen* [roughly six hours]. During that time… your death is assured.”

“I bear you no ill will, thus I have revealed myself to you. Blame not me, but your title… Sealed Lord! For the Sealed Lord must die.” Dao Lord Lan Meng turned, his form dissolving into motes of blue light, merging with the azure sky.

The moment he vanished, a ripple tore through the heavens, revealing another figure, a wizened elder cloaked in gray. His eyes burned with a cold, murderous intent. He descended with unnatural speed, raising his right hand and pointing a finger at Wang Lin.

“Though I cannot unleash my full power within this prison, even with only the strength of a mid-stage Empyrean Tribulant, you shall meet the same end as the last Sealed Lord!”

As his finger descended, the very heavens shifted. The finger’s wind manifested as a monstrous gray dragon, roaring with terrifying fury as it hurtled towards Wang Lin. More terrifying still, the dragon was suffused with potent power of faith, which gave it an unnerving, mournful howl.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed, his face set with grim determination. He would not surrender to despair. Whether he lived or died, he would meet his fate head-on.

This was the Sealed Lord’s tribulation! The last Sealed Lord had fallen to the combined might of the Ancient Star System’s greatest experts. Now, like a grim echo of fate, the ordeal was being renewed, brought down upon Wang Lin.

Three *shichen*!

The gray dragon lunged. Without hesitation, Wang Lin stepped forward, raising his right hand and invoking the Spirit Summoning Arts. Instantly, the azure world was filled with the wailing wind. It was shaped into thirteen immense black dragons, each exhaling gusts of annihilation that were tinged with streaks of gold, rushing towards the gray dragon.

“Gold?!” the gray-robed elder snarled.

The forces collided in a deafening cataclysm, the shockwaves shaking the realm. The gray dragon writhed as it locked in a violent struggle with the thirteen black dragons, their roars shaking the heavens.

In the face of this force, Wang Lin’s hair whipped about his face, his body was forced back several paces, his face ashen. He raised his head with a shout and swung a fist, not forward, but around to meet an unseen foe.

The moment he turned, ripples echoed in the air behind him, revealing another figure, a gnarled hag cloaked in black. Her eyes were cold and cruel. She lifted her withered right hand, aiming a fatal strike at Wang Lin’s back.

But she met not his back, but the full force of Wang Lin’s turning fist!

Fist met finger in a flash. Wang Lin’s body convulsed, and a mouthful of blood erupted from his lips as he spun aside. The hag faltered, the tip of her forefinger shattering into dust. Her eyes glittered with rage, and she closed in on Wang Lin.

“You possess some skill…” she hissed.

Wang Lin wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes betraying no fear. He knew that this trial would be arduous, that those three *shichen* loomed like a chasm before him. But he would not surrender.

“No one dictates my destiny, not even tribulation of life and death!”

As he retreated, he raised his right hand, pointing to the sky. Instantly, the blue radiance of the heavens was swept aside by a golden light as a massive palm imprint descended with devastating force.

“More gold?!” the gray-robed elder gasped, his pupils shrinking. Even the black-clad hag narrowed her eyes.

As the palm imprint materialized, a blade of icy energy exploded to life behind Wang Lin. It materialized as a spear of pure ice!

The ice spear manifested from the void itself, the air frosting over as it raced towards Wang Lin. Leading its charge was a blue shortsword!

The shortsword was fast, appearing precisely as Wang Lin was casting the Spirit Summoning Arts. Now it unleashed an icy gale, hurtling towards Wang Lin!

A light shield manifested itself around Wang Lin’s form, but even as the sword approached, it was instantly frozen over, leaving Wang Lin vulnerable!

The shortsword plunged through the ice shield, bringing a murderous intent with it as it lunged towards Wang Lin.

The sword pierced through his technique, the force of the blow making him cough up even more blood. He stumbled. Behind him, the ice spear gained ground.

Wang Lin’s face was a picture of rage. He slashed his palm, spilling a torrent of blood that was instantly shaped into a crimson blade.

In the face of these attacks, the struggle of blood and ice, and the clashing of wills was devastating! The swords met with an earth-shattering clang! The sword howled as the shortsword was broken in two.

As the crimson blade vanished, a man in white robes stepped forth, his eyes cold and merciless, looking directly at Wang Lin.

“End this quickly!” the man said, his voice as cold as his gaze. From the two directions the other had come from, the grey robed elder and black clad hag were closing in on Wang Lin!

Wang Lin retreated, even though these three were constrained by the nature of this pocket realm, they still possessed a mastery of the Empyrean Arts. There was no possible way that Wang Lin could win this fight alone.

As he moved back, Wang Lin pointed to the sky, again beginning the Spirit Summoning Arts as gold began to fill the area.

“If it’s a fight that you want, then you will have one!” Wang Lin said. The more danger he was in, the more wild he became. It was a habit that he had grown into over the last two thousand years.

And with a wave, golden light filled the air. The palm imprint appeared, this time more terrifying than before! As it fell, a terrible pressure began to descend.

The Spirit Summoning Arts were nothing to take lightly! In each grove of the palm were clear patterns, each one of them like a mountain coming straight down!

“What is this gold! I begin to feel dread from seeing it!” the grey robed man said as he gazed upon the Spirit Summoning Arts.