Within the hallowed halls of the Grotto Heavens, be they the Inner Sanctum or the Outer Domains, and even amidst the star-piercing rifts of the cosmos, rarely had such a maelstrom of arcane seals been witnessed.

These wards, once simple glyphs of potent magic, now numbered beyond reckoning. Layered and intertwined, their forms were lost to the eye, replaced by a shimmering haze of ethereal light. With each echoing gust, the luminous veils contorted and danced, a mesmerizing tempest of immeasurable scale.

This spectacle was granted to the sight of Wang Lin alone, for even the monstrous denizens of this Cloud Sea Rift sought refuge from the storm of binding. Fear gripped their hearts as they fled in a desperate surge from the chasm’s depths, a monstrous tide unleashed upon the outside world.

In a matter of days, countless beasts swarmed the Cloud Sea Rift, yet none dared stray far. Trembling, they kept their gaze fixed upon the shifting aperture, their eyes wide with ancient terror.

This bestial upheaval drew the attention of many, and some, emboldened by curiosity or greed, sought to pierce the veil. Yet, the raging tempest of seals at the rift’s mouth drove them back in stark terror.

Within the churning vortex, a mournful dirge echoed, a cacophony of lamentations that shook the very air. Deep within the heart of this prison of power, Wang Lin sat in meditative repose, his eyes sealed, yet behind those closed lids, calculations danced.

The Ghostly Veil, cleaved asunder by his hand, had birthed this arcane storm. Yet Wang Lin felt no fear, for this was a trial foreseen. With a tranquil mind, he sought to unravel the essence of these seals, to grasp their fundamental nature.

For seals are but intricate arrays of power, and to decipher their truth, one must possess a spirit of boundless reach. Wang Lin, having ascended to the Middle Stage of the Voidspirit realm, possessed a spiritual essence mighty enough to undertake this task. He cast forth his consciousness, enveloping the Rift, seeking to distill the seals into their purest form.

As he delved deeper, the number of distinct seals within his mind’s eye began to diminish. Not through annihilation, but through fusion. Each pairing gave birth to a singular, more potent ward.

As time ebbed away, the pace of this merging accelerated. Soon, countless seals vanished in a single breath, replaced by newly forged powers.

“The essence of a seal is naught but calculated force, a tapestry woven of the threads of creation! It is a method to foresee the future, to reshape one’s very destiny! This requires a spirit of unimaginable strength…” Wang Lin opened his eyes, a flash of cold insight piercing the air. “The Celestial Sovereign sought to expunge this art, and in my ignorance, I failed to comprehend his motives. Now I see that he concealed an unparalleled mastery of seals!”

He had always regarded the Celestial Sovereign with trepidation, feeling the phantom gaze of the ancient being upon his back. It was a presence elusive, impossible to grasp.

Seven days passed. The storm of seals began to shrink. Nearly half the initial number had been consumed, forged into greater unity.

But Wang Lin knew he could not falter, for even as they merged, their potential for infinite division remained. Should he fail to bind them into a single entity, they would multiply once more, undoing his progress.

Even now, the diminished number of seals showed signs of fracturing, ready to explode into a myriad of lesser powers.

His spiritual sense, a vast and invisible net, encompassed them all. He forced his consciousness to contract, to crush and refine them.

As he progressed, the task became increasingly arduous. His spirit felt as if it had been divided into a thousand shards, each dedicated to the endless work of fusion.

Ten more days passed, and Wang Lin’s sphere of influence shrank yet again, as did the remaining seals. Yet, the force of division within grew stronger, nearing its apex.

Immobile, his face a mask of grim concentration, Wang Lin mustered all his spiritual might, seeking the key to a third and final union.

After yet another ten days, as the seals trembled on the verge of fragmentation, Wang Lin’s eyes snapped open.

“A seal is but a formation, and a formation is the Grand Dao itself! The Heavens possess formations, the very fabric of rules and laws! Mortals possess formations, be they destiny or the trajectories of fate! These formations, these seals, are nothing more than the self-imposed rules of a cultivator!

With these personal rules, one can manipulate the very essence of existence! Seals, merge!” With a sudden flash of enlightenment, Wang Lin roared the command, and the seals within his grasp shattered in a third, final union!

A mere few thousand seals remained, but each was whole, without flaw, and radiating an immense aura.

They were nearly impossible to merge further.

Wang Lin’s face was pale, drained. Three unions were the limits of his abilities. The task of fusing them into a singular power proved far more difficult than he had ever imagined.

He could not falter, not even for a moment. The unseen pressure was immense, forcing him to devote a portion of his consciousness to constant vigilance. This only increased his exhaustion.

“Seals, merge!!” Wang Lin howled. His spiritual sense amplified tenfold, imploding from every direction. The echoes of this forceful compression reverberated through the remaining seals, an earth-shattering symphony of power. One by one, the wards collapsed upon one another, violently fused into one.

But this fusion was barely underway when several seals began to break down, not into nothingness, but into a myriad of new forms. This fragmentation rippled outward, causing even more seals to burst apart.

Within mere moments, the few remaining thousands had multiplied beyond measure, their number threatening to overwhelm Wang Lin’s spiritual grasp.
A glint of fierce determination sparked in Wang Lin’s eyes. Failure to quell this disruption now would doom his arduous alchemical fusion. With a shift of will, his true form strode forth from his mortal coil, leaving behind only a meditative echo.

The instant his true self emerged, the ancient essence of the Dao swept through the cosmos. Wang Lin’s true form blurred, becoming the embodiment of an Ancient Demon, his aura a dark storm unleashed. Simultaneously, the spirit of an Ancient Stag manifested in a deluge of iridescent mist, staking its claim upon another quadrant of the celestial sphere.

Lastly, the power of the Ancient God materialized, anchoring itself behind him. The three ancient forms encircled Wang Lin’s mortal shell in a triangular bastion of primal might.

“Bonds… MERGE!” The echo of Wang Lin’s true self roared, a sound laced with desperate strain. The very essence of his spirit was compressed, forced into ever-smaller confines. As one, the three ancient forms of his true self unleashed their power, channeling it into the confines of his mortal shell, bolstering the crushing fusion.

A cataclysmic surge of energy tore through the void. The rebellious bonds, caught between destruction and rebirth, yielded to the combined might of Wang Lin’s mortal will and his ancient trinity. In a single heartbeat, they were violently forged anew.

The chaotic web of restrictions diminished, until merely five million remained, swirling around Wang Lin’s mortal form.

This marked the fourth convergence!

The remaining five million bonds writhed like untamed steeds, each radiating blinding light, desperate to break free. Were it not for Wang Lin’s unwavering grip and the anchoring presence of his ancient trinity, they would have shattered into shards of raw energy, scattering across the stars.

Wang Lin’s eyes burned crimson, a tapestry of veins spreading across his pupils. These tangled threads spoke of exhaustion, the visible scars of his relentless mental forays, and the pathways that guided his creation of these forbidden bonds.

“Bonds… fifth convergence!” With a flourish of his hand, six decrees, birthed from his very soul, erupted forth. The cosmos trembled as they took the form of six shimmering lances, piercing the heavens before plunging back to earth. They descended, each pair flanking one of the three ancient forms, encircling the vulnerable mortal shell at the epicenter.

As the lances struck, the five million remaining bonds were forced into yet another brutal fusion. Explosions echoed through the void as the bonds were forced through sixth, seventh, and eighth convergences.

With each fusion, the numbers dwindled, and the laws of creation themselves shifted. Some bonds merged in pairs, others in trios, quartets, or even greater assemblies.

After the eighth convergence, a mere handful of these entities remained, hovering near Wang Lin.

These remaining bonds, numbering in the thousands, each housed the essence of four ancient prohibitions, along with remnants from realms unknown. Each floated there, now dozens of yards in size, exuding a palpable, primordial power.

Wang Lin’s eyes now pulsed with an even deeper shade of red as he observed these magnificent creations.

“Three thousand one hundred and seventy-two… enough!” With great effort, Wang Lin rose and struck his chest with his right hand, expelling a mouthful of blood.

He flung his blood into the void, dividing it into three thousand one hundred and seventy-two parts, each directed toward a separate bond.

“Bloodbind… NINTH CONVERGENCE!” Wang Lin roared. Using his blood as a catalyst, he forced these final vestiges into a grand union. Crimson energy cascaded as the bonds crashed together, each explosion reverberating through the cosmos. Finally, only nine bonds remained, hovering before Wang Lin.

Nine behemoths, each the size of a small mountain, radiated an aura of unimaginable age, standing as testaments to his immense power.

But, as these nine final bonds emerged, one shattered, splitting into a million fragments. The ensuing chain reaction caused the others to explode in brilliant displays. Wang Lin reacted without hesitation, stabbing a finger directly into his right eye.

A cloud of blood burst forth from his eye, revealing a massive, phantasmal pupil, writhing with countless veins of blood, a testament to his endurance.