Wang Lin gazed upon the esteemed Meng Dao Zun, lifting the wine gourd Red Butterfly had gifted him. He took a deep draught, then closed his eyes, lost in thought.

Lan Meng Dao Zun, patient and unhurried, sat nearby, watching the celestial tapestry beyond the realm as he awaited Wang Lin’s reply. Li Qianmei remained silent for a long while, before slowly settling into a cross-legged position. Her placement was subtle yet deliberate, close to Wang Lin, as if to subtly guard him from her own father.

Lan Meng Dao Zun could not have missed his daughter’s actions. A flicker of sadness, so faint as to be nearly imperceptible, crossed his eyes, unseen even by Li Qianmei.

Time flowed like a river, and soon the final three months of the second year had slipped away. It had been a year of peace, devoid of strife and bloodshed.

On the last day of that second year, Red Butterfly rose. She looked at Wang Lin, the year having passed quickly for her.

As if sensing her imminent departure, Wang Lin opened his eyes. “Leaving so soon?” he asked calmly.

“I’ve already taken up a year of your time. I must return, for Sister Mu awaits,” Red Butterfly replied with a gentle smile and nod.

“Farewell,” Wang Lin said, gazing at her. The proud air that had once surrounded this woman was now nowhere to be seen.

Red Butterfly smiled, casting a deep, lingering look at Wang Lin. She turned to leave, then paused, turning back with hesitation in her eyes. “My master once spoke of encountering a great scholar named Wang in her youth. At that time, I was not meant to survive, but this scholar guided my master, instructing her to leave behind a formation… and he bestowed upon me the name Red Butterfly…”

Upon hearing these words, Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with an uncanny light. His body tensed, his expression one of disbelief and shock. “What did you say?!”

Red Butterfly observed Wang Lin’s reaction and repeated her words after a pause.

Wang Lin remained silent for a long moment, a tempest raging within him. He could not understand it. It was all meant to be a dream woven by his own hand, a deception crafted with the art of lies to bring him solace. It was all meant to be false, a fulfillment of his own making.

Yet Red Butterfly’s words shattered that illusion, leaving Wang Lin unable to discern truth from falsehood.

“How could this be? What is real? What is not? Why…why is this happening?” Wang Lin had believed himself to have grasped the essence of things, but now, he was lost in confusion. Had he truly understood?

Red Butterfly turned and began to walk away, but after a few steps, she paused again, turning back with a trace of uncertainty. “Qing Shui is your senior brother. Do you…do you know him well?” she asked.

“What is it you wish to know?” Wang Lin asked slowly, forcing his mind to recover from the shock.

“Does he…does he have any kin?” Red Butterfly bit her lip, a sudden resolution blooming in her eyes.

Wang Lin frowned, studying her intently. An image flashed through his mind: Qing Shui standing before Red Butterfly in the Luo Tian Starfield, shielding her from harm. “My senior brother is a man who has suffered much. His entire clan was wiped out in his youth. After entering the Immortal Realm, his wife passed away… He had a daughter, but through countless reincarnations, she has likely forgotten her past. If he has any kin at all, it is that daughter alone.”

Red Butterfly trembled as his words reached her, and she closed her eyes.

After a long silence, she opened them once more, revealing the confusion within. “His daughter…has a red birthmark upon her left shoulder. A mark that transcends reincarnation…” Wang Lin fixed her with a meaningful look.

Red Butterfly staggered backward, her face draining of color. “Thank…thank you,” she whispered, the words barely audible even to herself. Then, she transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Luo Tian with the greatest speed her cultivation could allow, determined to return to Luo Tian and meet Qing Shui.

Red Butterfly was gone.

On the final day of the second year, Mu Bingmei came to Wang Lin’s side. She said nothing, simply sitting quietly and nodding to Li Qianmei before closing her eyes to meditate.

Li Qianmei recognized Mu Bingmei; they had met in the Cloud Sea and knew each other’s identities.

Wang Lin had yet to give Lan Meng Dao Zun his answer. He too was deep in thought, pondering the Dao Zun’s words.

It was not until six months into the third year that Wang Lin opened his eyes from his meditation and turned to Lan Meng Dao Zun. “I have a wife,” he stated. It was the first thing he had said to the Dao Zun.

Li Qianmei lowered her head, concealing the sadness in her eyes from Wang Lin’s view.

“You may have a second,” Lan Meng Dao Zun replied with a smile, glancing at his daughter. “But there is no urgency. Since I have brought my daughter here, I have no intention of leaving. You alone cannot defeat the Seven-Colored Immortal and Zhan Laogui, can you?” Lan Meng Dao Zun’s gaze fell upon Wang Lin.

“If I wished, I could have entered the Xuan Tribulation realm long ago, to undergo the tribulations. If one can endure nine tribulations, then one can reach the Emptiness Tribulation realm…but I have no assurance of success. Still, even if the Seven-Colored Immortal and Zhan Laogui are powerful, and even if there is a third presence, with my help, we might yet prevail!” Lan Meng Dao Zun spoke slowly. Li Qianmei and Mu Bingmei did not understand his words, but Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed.

“So you know of that as well,” Wang Lin said, his gaze meeting Lan Meng Dao Zun’s.

“I am likely the second person born within the realm after Zhan Laogui to learn of it…” Lan Meng Dao Zun sighed. “When I first heard of it, it seemed so absurd that I would not have believed it. But the one who told me was my wife, who now resides sealed within the furnace behind you, Fifth Concubine… I cannot disbelieve her words!” Lan Meng Dao Zun shook his head with a bitter smile.
Lord Azure Dream, one of the Eight Immortals, descended from beyond the veil of stars. The Fifth Immortal Consort amongst them, alas, lost her mortal coil, remaining but a spirit. By cruel fate, her ethereal essence intertwined perfectly with that of my beloved wife, a possession of sorts, though she spared my wife’s own soul. Instead, she used it as a bridge, a tether to bind me, compelling me to fulfill her enigmatic desires.

The Killing Tribulation within the Illusionary Truth Array… I would have remained aloof, had she not threatened my wife’s very soul. To slay the Fifth Immortal Consort, I possess the strength, yet I am powerless to act…

The Hand of the Heavens sought me out two years past, offering to excise the Fifth Consort’s spirit from my wife’s form. Indeed, many who know of this plight believe that, could they but accomplish this feat, Azure Dream would be forever bound to their will, fulfilling their every whim.

But they err!

None knows my love for my wife as I do. Her soul and that of the Consort are intertwined, inseparable. To destroy one is to doom the other to oblivion.

I cannot bear to act, clinging to the faintest sliver of hope. I endure this torment alone… Your sealing of her offers a release, a solace of sorts.

Azure Dream spoke these words with heavy heart, his gaze distant and fraught with pain.

“She is gone, leaving only sorrow in her wake. My actions have bred suspicion and resentment in my own daughter’s heart. Therefore, I shall not lift a hand against you again. Furthermore, this war has long since lost all meaning. We are all, in the end, but creatures of the same cave!” With a flourish of his sleeves, Azure Dream arose, his eyes blazing with a bright blue light as he gazed upon the primordial stars beyond the array.

At the same moment, Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed, a cold light emanating from their depths as he too turned his gaze toward the starlit expanse.

There, three streaks of light screamed through the void, carrying with them a terrifying aura of hatred and malice.

Within these streaks flew three faces familiar to Wang Lin: the Daoist of Melodies, the Nine Heavens Demon Lord, and the Great Wilderness Ascendant!

Once imprisoned within Wang Lin’s Ancient Tomb, they should not have been freed. Yet the Hand of the Heavens had intervened, releasing them. Their hatred for Wang Lin burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, and they came now with the singular intent of his utter annihilation!

This day was the sixth month of the second year, half a year before Wang Lin’s appointed meeting with the Four Generals.

“Wang Lin, I know you harbor distrust towards me, even my own daughter cannot trust her father when you meditate… today, I shall prove myself as a father, doing what a father should!” Azure Dream spoke these words to Wang Lin, yet his gaze, filled with paternal tenderness, rested upon Li Qianmei.

With a wave of his hand, Azure Dream stepped beyond the boundaries of the array, his form dissolving into a streak of blue light that shot into the distance.

“Melody, Nine Heavens, Wilderness, back, I command you!” Azure Dream roared, his voice echoing like crashing waves through the star-strewn void, creating an infinite resonance and stirring up a raging tempest that halted the three figures in their tracks!

“Azure Dream! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Lord Azure Dream, why do you block our path?!”

“No reasons shall be given. Within three breaths, leave, or face Azure Dream’s wrath!” Azure Dream’s long hair flowed wild, he stood there as a towering mountain, his back against the Transmigration Array, his face against the three individuals!

His form, however, was like an unscalable peak, that stood in place, not letting even one cross!

His Sky Profound Peak cultivation erupted in that instant, unleashing a terrifyingly oppressive aura that caused the very stars to tremble.

It seemed as if the entire cosmos bowed before his might!

The Daoist of Melodies and the Nine Heavens Demon Lord exchanged wary glances with the Great Wilderness Ascendant, each recognizing the danger they faced.

Of the Five Primordial Lords, the Hand of the Heavens was considered the most dangerous, but Azure Dream, when unleashing his full power, was a fearsome presence. If not for his wife, who had left a scar on his Heart of the Dao, he would have ascended to the higher realms a long time ago, leaving the Hand of the Heavens incapable of controlling him!

All three knew this truth well!