Wang Lin, though unfamiliar with the Gates of Ten Thousand Bones, felt a prickling unease at the sight of this bizarre construct. His eyes narrowed as the colossal gate solidified before him, a murderous glint igniting within their depths. No matter its strangeness, he deemed it but another empty gate of the Third Step.

He strode forward, raising his right hand. Instantly, the crimson snowflakes swirling through the void shuddered and swirled towards him. In a heartbeat, his hand blazed with scarlet light, transforming into a crimson claw. A chilling aura of death emanated from it, sending tremors through the dispersed cultivators who watched in horror, their limbs frozen with fear.

“The Source of Slaughter…” Wang Lin murmured. He lunged towards the skull-like gate. In an instant, he was upon it, his crimson claw radiating blinding light as it slammed against the bone.

*BOOM!*

A gargantuan, blood-red handprint materialized upon the Gate of Ten Thousand Bones, imbued with Wang Lin’s lifetime of carnage, a legacy borrowed from Qing Shui’s wrath. This slaughter had become a source, a fundamental essence. As the palm struck the bone, countless specters seemed to writhe into existence, their mournful cries echoing as they strained to escape the crimson prison. Yet they could not break free, instead being redirected towards the void gate itself.

The roar that followed was cataclysmic. Though remarkable, the Gate of Ten Thousand Bones merely shuddered under the onslaught of the slaughterous claw and the phantom screams. Cracks appeared, yet it remained intact. A force rippled outward, thrusting Wang Lin back.

A cold light flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes, his interest piqued by this resilient barrier. With a booming laugh, he retreated several paces, then pointed a finger towards the heavens, his determination blazing.

“Lightning!”

A deafening crackle tore through the heavens as bolts of lightning erupted, searing towards the gate.

“Fire!”

Infernos blazed forth, coalescing into raging cyclones that devoured bone with their crimson tongues.

“The Mark of Karma!” Wang Lin clenched his right hand, his grip tight.

“The Seal of Life and Death!” He raised his left hand, bringing them together.

“The Dao of Truth and Falsehood!” Wang Lin closed his eyes, then opened them again. A wave of righteous energy emanated from him, the aura of a great scholar mingled with the raw power of a nascent celestial. He took another step forward, clenching his right fist, and once more lunged toward the Sixth Gate, the bone barrier.

“Six Sources Combined, Open This Gate!” Wang Lin bellowed, transforming into a comet hurtling towards the gate. In a blink, his fist slammed into the Gate of Ten Thousand Bones. This strike embodied his two millennia of cultivation. This strike was the culmination of his perfected Six Sources. This strike held his unwavering resolve to resurrect Li Muwan and claim his rightful power. This strike was Wang Lin’s Third Step: the Gate-Shattering Blow!

The resulting cacophony was primordial, shaking the cosmos to its core. The massive Gate of Ten Thousand Bones shuddered violently, spiderwebs of cracks spreading across its surface. Then, it shattered completely!

The Sixth Gate had fallen!

Six celestial gates stood broken. Nothing now could stop Wang Lin from attaining the Third Step!

As the gate splintered, an infinitely vast vortex of stars materialized, unleashing a torrent of raw gate energy, a flood of power surging towards Wang Lin, engulfing him. His body throbbed with life, the Six Sources within him rapidly merging. His aura exploded, rocketing from nascent celestial to mid-stage.

As the gate energy fused with him, Wang Lin’s body hardened and refined. His mind reeled as he broke through the final threshold, transcending the Second Step and truly embracing the Third!

This step was the step of the great power, the step that cast aside the shackles of the Second Step, a step that catapulted him to the realm of the Third Step!

Henceforth, he, Wang Lin, would be a mighty being!

The thunder within him, the unending roar in his mind, and the blissful sensations coursing through his body all coalesced into an experience of rebirth.

The first step of cultivation, from Qi Refining to Ascension, was the process of separating a mortal body from its mundane constraints, culminating in the Nirvana Scrying stage, where the body undergoes its first metamorphosis, capable of absorbing the essence of the cosmos!

The Third Step, then, was the cultivator’s second rebirth, expanding the body infinitely until it became one with the universe, indistinguishable from the fabric of existence itself. This step transcended talent. For those who had attained the Third Step, aptitude mattered not, only comprehension! As the Six Sources continued to meld, lightning fused with fire, propelling Wang Lin from the initial Nirvana Void to the intermediate stage!

When the Source of Karma joined the union, his cultivation surged once more, reaching the late Nirvana Void!

When Life and Death followed suit, when Truth and Falsehood fully integrated, Wang Lin’s cultivation shattered the boundaries of Nirvana Void, and he ascended to the stage of Astral Ethereal!

The ever-increasing power radiating from Wang Lin cascaded outwards, a wave of pressure that washed over everything. In the midst of it, the killing intent in the eyes of the False God Sky Sovereign was no longer restrained. He roared, and lunged forward.

While the gate remained, he had hesitated. But with its destruction, he *must* slay Wang Lin. He knew, with chilling certainty, that if he failed today, he would never be able to defeat Wang Lin. The appearance of the Gate of Ten Thousand Bones had instilled a primal dread in the Sky Sovereign. He risked everything, even the collapse of his avatar. The hatred between him and Wang Lin was a matter of life and death. If Wang Lin lived, the False God Sky Sovereign was doomed!

“He is merging his sources, now is the time to kill him! Once he fully integrates them, even the initial Sky Profound cultivators will be no match for him! He cannot be allowed to live!”

The teal-robed man shared the same thought. Though he had retreated, he now gritted his teeth, his eyes burning red. A wave of chilling ice emanated from his body as he charged towards Wang Lin. Zhou Jin, too, was shaken to his core, but he was still a Third Step cultivator, the patriarch of the Celestial Wolf clan. With a desperate look, he roared and charged forward, a monstrous blood wolf trailing behind him.

The actions of the three elite cultivators alarmed Nan Yunzi and the other members of the alliance. Ignoring their wounds, they rushed to intervene, but a gentle voice stopped them.

“Do not interfere.”

Despite its calm tone, the voice resonated with undeniable authority, halting Nan Yunzi and his comrades. They watched in horror as the False God Sky Sovereign and the others converged on Wang Lin, who was still absorbing gate energy within the shattered vortex.

As the three cultivators approached, Wang Lin, who was fusing his fifth source, raised his right hand and pointed.

*THWACK!*

That single gesture, performed by an Astral Ethereal cultivator, a Third Step elite, during the fusion of his sources, altered the very fabric of the cosmos. It was as if the stars had ceased their dance, the flow of time ground to a halt.

In this strike, Wang Lin released the discarded remnants of the Daoist concepts he had swallowed during his dreamwalking.

Zhou Jin trembled and ceased his advance. The teal-robed man felt as if countless spiritual concepts had him shackled, and he could not move. Only the False God Sky Sovereign managed to continue his advance, but his speed drastically diminished. It was then that Wang Lin moved. He had known slaughter all his life, and thus feared no battle. He strode forward, standing before the teal-robed man. As Wang Lin opened and closed his eyes, a flicker of confusion rippled in the man’s mind. While his consciousness was clouded, and his body frozen, Wang Lin’s right hand shot out and seized the teal-robed man.

“The Mark of Karma!”

The teal-robed man convulsed, spraying blood as he fell backward. Although he was an early Sky Profound cultivator, his years of battle had taken their toll, and his injuries had never fully healed. Now, he could only draw on his peak Astral Ethereal power. Under the grip of Wang Lin’s binding technique, he was helpless.

In an instant, Wang Lin’s palm emanated with wisps of illusionary energy, a mist that no one could name. Yet, the moment this mist emerged, the teal-robed man writhed and his body contorted. This was no ordinary energy, but a twisted fate, a trace of existence, a whisper of his very being. In short, this mist was the source of the teal-robed man’s power.

This power twisted and swirled in Wang Lin’s hand. The air crackled and flashed as it fought with the confines that bound it. The resistance grew exponentially, yet Wang Lin remained calm. In the end, the essence came to heel.

Karma, after all, was king. The Source itself was but a facet of fate. The deeds of the past lead to the present, but the present leads to the future, and the future is born in the past. And Wang Lin was a master of karma.