The wine, though unheated, burned with icy fire as it touched Wang Lin’s lips, exploding into a furnace within his belly. He threw back his head and laughed, a sound that echoed through the void. With a flick of his wrist, the flagon returned to its simmering bath, and he lifted a hand, a single finger aimed at the ancient stars beyond the array.

“Wang Lin stands here! For three years, none shall pass into this realm, save they walk over my corpse!”

A surge of defiance, a wellspring of heroic fervor, emanated from Wang Lin. As his finger pointed, a colossal spear, woven from ten thousand fathoms of shimmering, seven-hued energy, materialized beyond the array and roared with celestial power.

The vibrant spear shot skyward, aimed directly at the heart of the swirling vortex formed by ten million nascent souls. It sought the ancient light that poured forth from that unholy place.

As the spear lunged, the very fabric of space trembled, encircled by its blinding, kaleidoscopic aura. The raw power emanating from the weapon was alien, foreign to this cave-heaven. It belonged to the realm of the Immortal-Astral Continent, a divine technique, the art of the Seven Dao Sect’s Rainbow Immortal!

This was the Rainbow Immortal’s most guarded secret, a spell impossible for outsiders to master. Only a madman, leveraging his status in the Immortal-Astral lands, could have seized such power through what bordered on sheer theft.

In the instant the rainbow spear appeared, the hand of the Supreme, far away in the Ancient Starry Sky, clenched. His gaze sharpened with a complex brew of hatred and recognition. He had witnessed this technique firsthand, learned from his own master, and had been witness to its devastating potency during the battles within the cave-heaven.

“Master,” he muttered, his voice laced with bitterness. “Since my youth, I have been at your side. You have never bestowed such power upon me, yet you grant it to a mere insect of this cave-heaven… Your heart is cold, your temperament fickle, ruled by whims. Through countless ages, I have served you without reservation, only to be met with such blatant indifference!”

Outside the Reincarnation Array, the rainbow spear became a blur of vibrant light, a streak of pure energy aimed at the vortex woven of souls. It collided with the ancient light at the vortex’s core in a cataclysmic impact.

The clash reverberated across the cosmos, unleashing waves of energy that spread outward with the force of tidal fury, threatening to shatter the very heavens.

Stars shook and buckled under the strain of the impact. The force of the collision gnawed at the very foundations of the cave-heaven.

The ancient light, spewing forth from the vortex’s depths, seemed to tear apart, collapsing in on itself. At the same time, the rainbow spear, too, fractured and dissolved. The opposing energies annihilated each other in a blinding flash, leaving behind only dissipating fragments of light.

In the aftermath of the destruction, the Ancient Umbral Parasol, a grotesque artifact of annihilation, began to slowly spin. Flames of world-consuming darkness surged from its edges, expanding with each rotation, until the massive canopy was encircled by a swirling vortex of destruction, and the parasol began to ascend towards the lightless vortex above.

Though the ancient light had been extinguished, the vortex’s depths still pulsed with a darkness akin to a black hole, and from within, a new radiance threatened to emerge.

The rainbow spear had only briefly stemmed the tide. It had not banished the darkness entirely. After all, Wang Lin was but one man; he was not the Rainbow Immortal.

But he could sever light with his spear, and shroud the heavens with his parasol!

With a deafening shriek, the Ancient Umbral Parasol hurtled towards the vortex, its massive canopy blotting out the void at its heart.

As it covered the dark heart of the vortex, the monstrous parasol thundered with an unearthly sound and ascended with a purpose into the vortex, forever sealing the source of the darkness.

At the moment of sealing, a sea of fire erupted, consuming the vortex of ten million souls!

The echoes of the fire reverberated ceaselessly. The vortex, formed by the ten million nascent souls, buckled and broke under the force of the inferno. The souls were forced to eject the heart of their energy, while others were consumed by the all consuming flames.

As the vortex collapsed, the souls that survived the fire began to return to their bodies, while five great powers of souls returned to their physical forms. In the instant they returned, the five powers all spat blood.

Not just them, but tens of thousands of other cultivators opened their eyes, the color drained from their faces as they spat out blood.

Wang Lin stood within the Reincarnation Array. Casting the rainbow spear and Ancient Umbral Parasol, he may have only been at the mid-stage of the Empyrean Exalted realm, but the techniques were strenuous. His exterior appearance was still normal, but the truth was that his insides churned with turbulent energy and he felt the sting of pain within his soul.

“Again!” Wang Lin called out, his sleeves sweeping with power, calling out to the astrologists of the Ancient Starry Sky beyond the array.

The five great powers paled, their eyes were hollow, and they couldn’t take another step back. They received word from the High Revered Order: retreat and their entire family would be erased from existence.

They had no choice but to fight!

The five of them roared, and the white-haired elder shouted, “War chariots, fire!”

At his command, dozens of jagged war chariots, covered in strange hides, surged forward, propelled by the gathered cultivators. With a heave, the hides were torn away, unleashing an aura of ancient power from the chariots.

They resembled the ancient catapult that Wang Lin encountered in the Sealed Realm, except they had no fire. But their ferocious auras were undiminished.

These chariots were the treasures of the High Revered Order. Each required countless materials to construct. And, the most important part, each chariot was guarded by the soul of an ancient, fierce beast.

These ancient beasts were born within this cave-heaven, but their ancestors were brought from the Immortal Astral Continent by the Rainbow Daoist. And although these beasts did not belong to the continent, they had the aura of that realm. These fierce beasts were ranked as Immortal Beasts!

Their souls contained the memories of their ancestors. Winding around the chariots were dragons, strange beasts and even a Qiongqi like the one Wang Lin had encountered.

The ancient souls roared and within the catapults, the cultivators who manned them looked into the distance and prepared for their end.

These cultivators casted aside their fears and their bodies were launched and they became meteors headed towards the array.

They would be blown to smithereens as they used their most precious energy to attack the Reincarnation Array.

If one was to consider the array as water, then the cultivators were the rocks. With a splash, they disrupted the water.

Wang Lin watched as the chariots launched countless cultivators, who exchanged their lives for the sake of destroying the array.

Their cultivation was only enough to warp the array, not destroy it, but the expression on Wang Lin’s face grew solemn and a strange glint appeared in his eyes.

“Something’s not right!”

The sounds of death rang in his ears. Each corpse that struck the array left behind the energy of its soul.

As the energy gathered, the cultivators formed a cursed rune on the array. At that moment, the long dragon devoured the cultivator and crashed into the array!

It appeared that the runes had an allure for the beasts. The dragon casted aside its hesitation and went straight towards the array.

In the wake of the dragon, there was a round beast that rolled towards the array.

At that moment, all of the beasts came alive and went towards the array.

With a bang, the dragon became the first to strike the array. The array warped and countless vengeful souls cried out as their bodies collapsed.

Then the round beast slammed into the array.

Sounds of destruction echoed outwards.

As all the ancient beastly souls crashed into the array at the same time, the Reincarnation Array trembled.

Wang Lin sensed the trembling and his eyes grew cold.

“Ancient, fierce beasts, I too possess them!” Wang Lin moved his hand to his brow.

As he touched it, a portal appeared. An aura of ancient power emanated from within as a ghostly light flashed.