The celestial wellspring, forged from the very essence of distant stars, struck the ancient seal like a moon reflected in a pool. As a crimson shadow, unleashed from the depths of the underworld, roared in defiance, the seal shattered, revealing a gaping maw.

With the opening of this chasm, the boundless heavens and earth trembled violently. Cracks spiderwebbed across the sky with deafening screeches, each fissure born from the edges of the breach and racing outward in all directions, a terrifying spectacle.

As these rents tore through the firmament above, their mirrored reflections appeared in the waters below, creating a world fractured and teetering on the brink of collapse.

A cacophony of laughter echoed from the breach in the sky. The Crimson Soul, paying no heed to the world beneath, surged through the opening, his laughter reverberating as he fled.

“Little whelp, you bear the scent of Ancient Divinity! I should smite you, but your aid in my release will suffice! Ha ha! I am free at last!” His voice boomed, and none could halt his escape. Even the Grand Master, his eyes narrowed with concern, could only watch as the Crimson Soul faded into the distance.

Wang Lin had foreseen the Crimson Soul’s untamable nature and anticipated his departure, yet a sense of regret still lingered. Despite this, the demon’s explosive arrival had disrupted the Grand Master’s attempt to seize the golden blood floating above Wang Lin’s crown.

Simultaneously, the tearing of the seal had shattered the restraints that had bound Wang Lin, allowing him to move freely once more amidst the cataclysm.

With swift action, Wang Lin snatched the droplet of blood from the air. This was the essence of his Immortal Undying Body, the purest distillation of his immortal bloodline. Unable to be contained within a storage rift, he clutched it tightly in his hand and soared towards the opening in the sky.

“To escape this place is to survive this trial by fire! The energies unleashed here will alert the great powers of the Realm within moments!” Madness gleamed in Wang Lin’s eyes as he surged upwards, heedless of the danger, towards the tear in the heavens.

The Grand Master’s primal force and the stolen celestial wellspring had sundered Wang Lin’s Ancient Divinity and Immortality, his true goal being to seize the immortal blood. Though Wang Lin had not willingly released it, he knew a way to claim what he desired.

However, the Crimson Soul’s emergence had forced the Grand Master back, a seemingly insignificant setback, yet in the halls of the Ancient Star Temple, his true form had coughed up a second mouthful of blood.

The first had come when he dared to grasp the cursed arrow.

This forced retreat had cost him the immortal blood, yet not all was lost for Wang Lin. The precarious balance between his Ancient Divinity and Immortality had always been a razor’s edge. The internal conflict had been tearing him apart, leaving him teetering on the brink of destruction.

But now, the Grand Master’s intervention, though intended to harm, had inadvertently dissolved the conflict, freeing Wang Lin from his agonizing fate.

Such is the nature of destiny, for every loss, there is a gain.

Though he had lost the Immortal Body and its essence, Wang Lin’s own Ancient Divine form had returned, the terrifying regenerative abilities flowing through him like a torrent. His missing organs began to materialize anew, and his wounds healed with unnatural speed.

Within his soul, his nascent spirit stirred. Though weak, the constant torment that had plagued him had vanished, leaving him feeling lighter than he had in eons.

And the droplet of golden blood had not been seized by the Grand Master but held firmly in Wang Lin’s grasp. If he survived this day, he would not attempt to merge it into himself. Such a union was doomed to failure, a deadly poison that could only lead to oblivion.

Instead, he would forge it into a weapon, an artifact of immortal power! By imbuing this weapon with his essence, he could harness its might without succumbing to the ravages of internal conflict.

Previously, Wang Lin had been forced to absorb and attempt to merge the bestowed power. If given a choice, he would never have attempted to unite Ancient Divinity and Immortality in his current state. Not even in the madman’s world had such a feat ever been accomplished.

Such ambition could only lead to death!

But now, the Grand Master’s attempt to extinguish him had unwittingly resolved the very crisis threatening his existence. Calamity was not merely destruction, but creation.

These thoughts flashed through Wang Lin’s mind as he shot towards the opening.

Simultaneously, in the instant of the breach, the energies of this hidden realm exploded outwards.

It was as if a lamp had been lit within a darkened room, illuminating every hidden corner and revealing every lurking shadow.

In that instant, this hidden, sealed-off domain, previously concealed from the great powers of the Realm, could no longer remain hidden. The energies released surged outwards, instantly sensed by countless cultivators throughout the Realm!

Upon the Cloud Sea Battlefield, Crimson Fir was refining the outsider he had obtained from the Rainbow Realm of Summoning Rivers. He had sensed an anomaly within the soul and was investigating when his expression suddenly changed. He looked up into the distance, his face contorted in shock.

“Not good!” Without hesitation, Crimson Fir dismissed the puppet he had been refining and strode forward, his steps rippling through the air as he vanished in a burst of speed.

At the same moment, the master of the Heavy Profound, too, awoke from his meditation, his pupils shrinking as he vanished into the fabric of reality.

In the Rain Immortal Realm within the Kun Xu Starfield, Azure Frost, wounded and secluded, rested in a hidden chamber shrouded in swirling mists and dark light. His eyes snapped open in shock.
“Venerable Master!!” he roared, his face a mask of grim determination. With a swiftness that belied his age, his right hand shot up, tearing through the very fabric of reality before him. A rift shimmered into existence, a gaping maw into the unknown, and with a blink, he was gone.

Across the Kun Xu Starfield, in the shadowy domain of the Corpse Yin Sect, Nan Yunzi labored intently over a set of array flags. These were no mere trinkets, but potent artifacts forged for the coming conflict. Yet, in the midst of his arcane work, Nan Yunzi’s head snapped up, his expression twisting in alarm. He sensed the suffocating aura of the Ancient Star’s confinement, and without a moment’s hesitation, he strode forth.

He was not alone. Throughout the Zhaohe Galaxy, other powerful beings felt the ripple of disrupted magic, and each sprang into action, their movements urgent and swift.

Far away, in the vast expanse of the Luo Tian Starfield, a lone figure clad in azure robes wandered the star-strewn void. This was Qing Shui, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon, his face etched with sorrow. He sought something lost, something vanished without a trace. But just as he was about to continue his forlorn journey, he whirled around, his eyes blazing with newfound intensity, fixed upon the Kun Xu Starfield.

“Wang Lin!!” he breathed, the name a mixture of dread and fierce resolve. Casting aside all personal concerns, Qing Shui banished his grief and with eyes burning with a cold, murderous light, he launched himself toward Kun Xu.

Within the Zhaohe Galaxy, the youth who had emerged from Wang Lin’s tribulation still searched in vain. Baffled, he chose to meditate in the region he suspected held the answer, hoping for clarity. Suddenly, his golden eyes flared, and he too turned his gaze towards Kun Xu.

“Interesting…” he murmured, rising in a single, fluid motion. Ripples spread across the void as he vanished in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, in the Thunder Immortal Realm of Luo Tian, a thunderous boom shook the heavens. The enigmatic Zhan Laogui, Master of the War Soul, emerged from the Realm and hurtled toward Kun Xu with incredible speed.

Each of these powerful beings, sensing the tear that the Red Soul had ripped in the veil of reality, converged on Kun Xu from every corner of the cosmos.

The winds of fate howled, and the stars themselves seemed to shift in response.

All of this unfolded in a fleeting instant, as Wang Lin prepared to surge through the rift. The Venerable Master, his eyes gleaming with an unnatural light, refused to let his grand design crumble. Despite the unforeseen events, despite the crumbling seal, despite the lurking presence of Zhan Laogui and the mysterious figure of old who could shatter the stars with a single roar, he would not yield.

“Lan Meng! Remember our bargain. I will return your wife’s form to you.” The Venerable Master’s voice was devoid of emotion as he raised his withered right hand towards the heavens.

In response, a sigh echoed from the sky above, and a torrent of azure light erupted from the ruptured seal just as Wang Lin sought to pass through. The light coalesced into a massive, luminous face that slammed into Wang Lin, throwing him back into the world from which he sought to escape.

He who had sworn to remain uninvolved had intervened…

With that single act, with that denial of Wang Lin’s freedom, any semblance of honor between them was shattered, cut as cleanly as a honed blade.

Wang Lin’s eyes reflected a storm of conflicting emotions. As he was thrown back, the Venerable Master, his right hand still raised, summoned forth a crimson glow that spread across the heavens. In its wake, a flash of orange, and then, in the blink of an eye, the sky was awash in a dazzling spectrum of seven colors.

These countless rays of light intertwined and converged, and with a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of existence, a colossal spear of pure, iridescent energy materialized above the Venerable Master.

His withered hand gripped the weapon with grim resolve. He cast a cold, contemptuous glance at Wang Lin, and then hurled the spear with all his might.

A thunderous shriek tore through the heavens as the seven-colored spear, imbued with the power to obliterate worlds and a force utterly beyond Wang Lin’s comprehension, hurtled toward him with impossible speed.

This was the Spear of Annihilation.