A feral grin twisted the Water General’s face, a mad ecstasy shining in his eyes as he channeled the power of the Five Elements, channeling his golden might. High above, in the tower’s tenth tier, Nado watched, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

His spirit had been a constant observer of this battle, and now, his satisfaction bloomed. He believed Wang Lin could never emerge from that watery prison, for within that sphere pulsed a raw, untamed source of Water Essence so potent, even Nado felt a tremor of awe.

This Essence was not conjured by the Water General, but rather emanated from his very armor. Knowing this, Nado’s certainty hardened.

“I wondered what miraculous skills he possessed, but it seems his tricks are but shallow illusions. Had he the power to escape, he would have done so the moment the sphere began to coalesce. The fact that he has remained trapped for so long speaks volumes. He must now be drowning in despair within!”

Nado paused, his smile deepening. “Wang Lin, we have no personal quarrel, and I confess I bear you no ill will. But you are a denizen of this forsaken Rǎn Fǔ Realm… and that makes you an obstacle. We are not the same. You would not have come here without some hidden purpose. Why arrive now, when this Domain teeters on the brink of chaos, when factions clash and vie for the Third Soul? Your motives are painfully clear.”

Within the tower, the Black-Robed Elder and his three companions were glued to the central mirror, their gazes unblinking. Excitement crackled in the Elder’s eyes, erupting in a triumphant roar.

“This Wang Lin dared to flaunt his arrogance! Now, the Water General has intervened, and we shall see how he escapes this watery tomb! Qian Kun Yi Jiang – a divine art of our Gui Yi Sect! He is as good as dead!”

The Middle-Aged Woman wore a mask of cruel delight, her eyes fixed on the watery sphere within the mirror, hatred burning within their depths.

“Die! Let your death wound Sītú Nán. The more grief and rage he feels, the more I shall be sated! Sītú Nán, you are next!” Her voice was a piercing shriek, grating on the ears.

Even the two more level-headed cultivators beside her could not resist the slow creep of a satisfied smile.

“He will not escape.”

Outside the tower, a chorus of ecstatic cheers thundered through the air. The disciples of the Gui Yi Sect gazed at the heavens, their eyes shining with triumphant fervor. They watched the water sphere shrink, imagining Wang Lin’s agony, hearing the phantom echo of his desperate cries.

Most consumed by ecstasy was the Water General himself. His hands moved in a frenzy, compressing the sphere with ruthless efficiency. It had dwindled to a mere ten thousand *zhang*, and the compression quickened. Within the sphere, murky and swirling, the roar of churning waters echoed – a sound of pressure so intense it was a symphony of devastation to the Water General’s ears.

“Too slow! I must hasten this, lest unforeseen troubles arise!” The Water General felt a sudden prickle of unease, a nameless dread that defied his triumphant joy. The sensation grew stronger as the sphere shrank, a nagging anxiety that he could not dismiss.

Driven by this inexplicable fear, he redoubled his efforts, desperate to accelerate the sphere’s collapse.

With a muttered incantation, the Water General spewed forth a mouthful of vital blood. The loss left him weakened and pale, but as his ichor struck the surface of the sphere, it instantly shrunk from ten thousand *zhang* to a mere seven thousand!

Inside the watery prison, Wang Lin felt the world explode around him. His body contorted and buckled, but a spark of wild excitement ignited within his eyes.

He was on the cusp of deciphering the mysteries of the Water Essence, but his progress had slowed, as if an invisible barrier had arisen. It was as if he had been granted a glimpse into a forbidden realm, only to be denied the final revelation.

This maddening near-completion was agony, but just as frustration threatened to overwhelm him, the Water General’s desperate sacrifice reignited the sphere’s furious churning.

Wang Lin could barely restrain a laugh. The Water General’s benevolence would never be forgotten. How could he bear to slay one who so readily provided him with what he needed?

But even more exhilarating were the words that now echoed from the Water General’s lips.

“Nado! All disciples of the Gui Yi Sect! Focus your minds and lend me your strength! In three breaths, we shall reduce him to a single drop!”

Without hesitation, Nado began the incantation. Golden light erupted around him, coalescing into a gleaming suit of armor. Clad in this celestial panoply, he strode from the tenth tier of the tower, appearing in the open sky.

“Spirits united! Today, our Gui Yi Sect shall cleanse the heavens and earth of this demon, achieving eternal glory!” Nado bellowed, his hands moving in a complex series of gestures. A wave of spiritual energy surged from his body, hurtling towards the swirling vortex where the mirror resided.

The grain feeds the masses, the essence of life nourishes all things, yet some are compelled to place themselves upon a pedestal of righteousness, resorting to slander and falsehoods to condemn their adversaries. As if by doing so, they could not fully unleash their cultivational power.

Nado was one such individual, and in truth, so were most within the Gui Yi Sect.

Simultaneously, hundreds of Gui Yi Sect disciples seated themselves cross-legged, abandoning all hesitation as their spiritual essences detached from their physical forms, ascending towards the heavens.

These wisps of spectral energy twisted the sky. As they poured into the vortex within the mirrored surface, they entered the Five Elements Water Formation.

Without a moment’s delay, these hundreds of souls unleashed their combined spiritual strength, striking the periphery of the shrinking sphere in a relentless assault of compression.

Nado, empowered by his armor, unleashed his augmented strength. The Black-Robed Elder and his three companions did the same, all unleashing the full force of their spiritual powers.

The sphere resisted with a roaring defiance, but under the combined assault, it shrunk to a mere three thousand *zhang*!

Within the swirling vortex, Wang Lin reveled in the Water Essence, his eyes lit with excitement as the Gui Yi Sect’s desperate assault caused its transformations to accelerate, granting him an almost complete understanding of its hidden secrets.
A glimmer of understanding flickered within Wang Lin. “Almost… almost there…” His hands, guided by an unconscious will, mimicked the arcane gestures he’d witnessed, seeking to unravel the primal essence.

Just then, the second wave of the Returning Unity Sect’s assault slammed against the water sphere. The orb, once three thousand fathoms across, shrunk violently: two thousand, then one… five hundred… until it was a mere two hundred fathoms.

And still, it contracted!

Insight bloomed in Wang Lin’s eyes. His left hand continued its unconscious dance, while his right rose, summoning the drop of water Tian Yunzi had gifted him—a droplet infused with a trace of true essence.

“I understand!” Wang Lin cried, head snapping up. The droplet in his right hand erupted in crystalline light, spinning like a miniature galaxy. It shone like a shard of pure ice.

A spark ignited in Wang Lin’s eyes. In a hushed voice, he spoke the incantation.

“The Origin of Water: Three hundred and eighty million transformations, coalesce…”

The moment the words left his lips, the two-hundred-fathom sphere shuddered with unprecedented ferocity, as if on the verge of imploding. A potent aura of the Water Origin burst forth, filling the space.

Simultaneously, outside the sphere, the Water General and the gathered consciousness of Nado and every disciple of the Returning Unity Sect launched their final, crushing assault.

“Two hundred fathoms! His body must be crushed! Let us shatter his spirit!”

“Condense him into oblivion, refine him into a droplet of nothingness!”

The unified consciousness roared towards the water sphere, intent on obliteration. But as it neared, before any pressure could be applied, the sphere began to shrink at an impossible rate, baffling all who watched.

Nado gaped. The Water General froze. Every consciousness present was struck dumb.

Two hundred fathoms became fifty in an instant, then plummeted to a mere five! Within, they saw Wang Lin, seated cross-legged, his face alight with triumphant joy.

The sight detonated within their minds like a thunderclap, leaving them utterly blank. Such an event defied comprehension, unimaginable to any being.

They watched helplessly as the five-fathom sphere dissolved into a radiant liquid, flowing into Wang Lin’s right palm. The crystalline droplet vanished without a trace.

They saw Wang Lin rise slowly, a smile gracing his lips. He bowed deeply to the shattered consciousnesses and the utterly stupefied Water General.

“For such a generous gift, accept Wang Lin’s gratitude!” He straightened, his sleeve flicking forward with explosive force. The very fabric of reality seemed to warp as a gale of impossible power swept through the array, tearing every invading consciousness from its confines, even that of Nado.

Only the Water General and Wang Lin remained within the water formation.

“You… You…” The Water General staggered back, coughing blood, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.

On Five Planets, every disciple outside the towering pagoda jolted awake, their eyes wide with disbelief and horror. A silent terror, like a suffocating storm, enveloped them.

There were no cries of outrage, only a deathly stillness. The disciples of the Returning Unity Sect were paralyzed with shock.

“How… how could this be?” Nado’s gaze was lost and confused, unable to reconcile the reality he’d witnessed.

“He claimed the Earth Spirit, forced the Fire Spirit to kneel, and now he has stolen the essence of the Water Origin… He…”

Silence shattered as comprehension slowly dawned. A cacophony of voices erupted, each filled with bewildered disbelief.

“How did he do it?!”

“This is preposterous! It is simply impossible!”

“Did he… did he somehow comprehend it within the droplet? The calculation, the understanding… it would require power beyond measure!”

The black-robed elder and the middle-aged woman were overwhelmed. The elder in particular was speechless, his eyes filled with a terror that threatened to consume him.