The moment Wang Lin’s body plunged onto the Vermilion Bird planet, a deafening roar erupted. The entire celestial body shuddered as he descended like a meteor, crashing into a mountain peak.

The mountain shattered, scattering debris in all directions as Wang Lin impacted the ground. The earth trembled, fissures spider-webbing outwards, propelling him deeper into the planet’s embrace.

With a cacophony of booms, Wang Lin’s form relentlessly broke apart and reformed as he tunneled deep beneath the Vermilion Bird’s surface, intersecting with the caverns of the Rune Clan.

Though lifted from its rightful place by the Palm Sovereign’s ‘Moon in the Well’ technique, it remained the Vermilion Bird planet, devoid of life save for echoes of what once was.

The Rune Clan’s subterranean domain remained untouched.

Wang Lin’s descent was merciless, his body tearing through the earth to emerge in the Rune Clan’s eighteenth level.

All lay as he had left it, the hundred-foot stone chamber marred by a collapsed wall and a yawning breach – the gateway to the Outer Battlefield.

The ‘Moon in the Well’ was a peculiar art, capable of conjuring the Outer Battlefield as a phantasm, yet the countless wandering souls and skeletal remains within possessed an undeniable substance.

With a final earth-shaking thud, Wang Lin landed within the Rune Clan’s eighteenth level, spitting forth crimson. Golden light enveloped him, yet the pain threatened to overwhelm his senses. He clenched his jaw, bearing the agony of his repeated destruction.

The Ancient Five尊, Celestial虛神, had struck a devastating blow, imbuing his palm with a domineering energy that disrupted Wang Lin’s Immortal Body.

Already imperfect, the Immortal Body struggled to mend itself, and Wang Lin wrestled himself to his feet.

But as he rose, a raspy chuckle echoed through the chamber. From the gaping hole above, the ethereal figure of Celestial虛神 descended.

His form composed of swirling mist, his eyes burned with avarice. With a swift motion, he reached out to grasp Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s resistance faltered as his body crumbled once more. With a cruel grin, Celestial虛神 halted his advance, his misty form shifting as he plunged into Wang Lin’s disintegrating flesh, now bathed in golden light.

“A gift from the heavens! Even fate conspires to let me seize your immortal form!” Celestial虛神 roared, the mists melding with Wang Lin’s ravaged flesh. As Wang Lin’s Immortal Body reformed, a cry of anguish, unmatched since the battle began, escaped his lips.

A blackness festered beneath the golden radiance, spreading across his form, invading his mind, carrying with it the sound of manic laughter.

“This body is mine, mortal! Struggle as you may, savor the taste of impending possession! A privilege you shall only experience once!”

Wang Lin’s vision swam with red as the agony of usurpation washed over him. He lost control, and the encroaching darkness robbed him of the use of his legs.

Swiftly, his right arm and torso succumbed, leaving only his left hand with the power of movement. As Celestial虛神’s influence deepened, Wang Lin’s memories began to crumble, a malevolent consciousness poised to invade his mind, to learn all that he was, and then erase him from existence.

A guttural roar of despair escaped Wang Lin’s lips. He struggled, but his resistance waned as the golden light faded, as his body rose without his command, drifting upwards.

“With this vessel, I shall reign supreme! And once the final refinement is complete, even the Heaven Defying Pearl shall be mine!” The aged voice boomed from Wang Lin’s lips, his expression contorted in a manic grin as he sailed from the Vermilion Bird planet, out into the vast expanse of the heavens.

Yet, even as he ascended, Wang Lin’s fading consciousness guided his left hand. He formed a seal, a finger pointing down to the Outer Battlefield within the Rune Clan’s eighteenth level.

At that gesture, the countless wandering souls of the Outer Battlefield stirred. Wang Lin, once a Devourer of Souls, held an innate dominion over these spectral beings.

The countless, swirling souls within the Outer Battlefield’s projection churned, coalescing into a vortex of spectral energy. More souls answered the call, drawn into the tempest, joined even by other entities who had devoured souls in their time. They consumed the countless bones, adding to the tempest.

With a thunderous roar, the hurricane of souls erupted from the Rune Clan’s eighteenth level!

For the first time, they surged from the Outer Battlefield, unimpeded by the strange laws that had bound them. Though this place had been conjured, the Palm Sovereign could not recreate those arcane strictures within it.

Free from constraint, the souls howled with fervor, their exultant cries shaking the Vermilion Bird planet to its core. It quaked, as if a thousand demons had broken free, and the force caused it to begin to crumble.

Celestial虛神, now inhabiting Wang Lin’s body, fought to maintain control, yet he could not suppress its constant breaking and reforming.

His vastly superior cultivation served only to minimize the destruction.

“This carnage ends here…” The weary voice of Celestial虛神 echoed from Wang Lin’s lips as his eyes settled on the two stunned仙妃 and the white-robed figure who had emerged from the ice.

But before his words could fully form, the Vermilion Bird planet shuddered violently and exploded. The shockwave rippled across the heavens, a torrent of blackness erupting from the shattered world, engulfing all in its path.

Celestial虛神’s expression contorted as he whirled around, his eyes widening in disbelief. But he could not escape. The black storm of souls, released from the Vermilion Bird, hurtled towards him.

From within his host, a voice beckoned, a call resonating deep within the released souls. It was the voice of their king!

In an instant, the black tempest enveloped Celestial虛神, the spectral mass flooding into his newly-acquired vessel. In what seemed like a blink, the raging storm vanished, entirely consumed by Wang Lin’s form.

Wang Lin’s body convulsed, shattering once more, this time within a radius of thousands of feet. The ravenous souls crashed against the invader, and with Wang Lin’s own power added to their assault, the invader was ejected from the collapsing flesh!

A wisp of mist escaped the torrent of souls, scattering into nothing, leaving Celestial虛神’s ghostly form barely visible in the air.

His eyes burned with unwilling defeat, he roared, and took a step as if to return. But before he could, the仙妃, the one almost entirely consumed by陰耳, attacked. Following close behind was the white-robed figure who had stepped from the ice.

But even as they prepared to strike, Wang Lin’s body coalesced once more, temporarily ceasing its destruction. He opened his eyes, unleashing a blaze of golden light as he locked eyes with Celestial虛神.

“You seek death!” he roared, nearly consumed by death only moments before. No longer caring whether the Palm Sovereign remained hidden, he stretched out his left hand. In an instant, a golden bow materialized, humming with power.

His right hand followed, grasping the bowstring and pulling it back with a thunderous twang. The bow bent back, his body stiffening, his eyes burning with a murderous intensity.

As the bow reached its limit, an arrow with a ringed tip materialized upon the string. The arrow’s shaft was covered in intricate runes, containing the faint and tortured wails of Nan Zhao and Tian Zhao souls.

A wave of destructive energy radiated from the bow. Ancient power filled the air, and the moment this scene unfolded, Celestial虛神’s ethereal form trembled with fear.

“The Li Guang Bow! You… you have found it!” The Ancient Celestial’s voice was twisted by dread. He could no longer advance, for he knew the power this weapon contained. Memories assailed him, and with eyes wide he tried to flee.

“Curse the Palm Sovereign, now I know why he does not appear! I am done with you!” he screamed as he reached into his robes and grabbed a jade talisman to transport him to safety. But nothing happened.

Only those closest to the bow knew how dangerous it was. The female who was now covered by the Yin’er trembled in fear and tried to flee, her face paling at the very thought of the destruction this bow was capable of.

Her companion and co-worker reached into her robes and pulled the same talisman as if to transport herself to safety, but to no avail.

As the bow was pulled to the maximum, the heaven and earth changed colors!

When the arrow appeared, the world shifted, and the wind reversed!