Wang Lin, his visage an icy mask, sheathed his aquatic armor. His ancient hand, a claw of grim purpose, lunged into the swirling vortex.

In that instant, the vortex erupted in a blinding cascade of golden light, each ray a searing blade. As Wang Lin’s hand encroached, these celestial shards clashed against his advancing limb.

The air crackled with deafening reverberations, echoes of the water array’s collapse that boomed and multiplied within its confines.

Wang Lin retreated three paces, his hand withdrawn. His expression remained unchanged, an impassive monument to the battle.

The vortex, shattered by the onslaught, splintered into a thousand shimmering fragments, scattering into the ether.

On the Five Elements Star, within the ninth floor of its towering spire, a patriarch sat in lotus position, bathed in golden radiance. He was clad in robes of gilded silk, upon whose breast was embroidered a vivid tapestry of the five elements.

The elder shuddered, spewing forth a torrent of crimson ichor. His right hand was a swollen, bruised mass, its blackened digits contorted in a grotesque parody of their former shape, clearly broken.

Copious amounts of blood trickled from his arm, each crimson droplet a mournful dirge upon the stone floor.

“A scion of the Ancient Clan! The power emanating from him… it resonates with the lineage of the Dao Ancient! He bears no resemblance to the descendants forged from the Three Thousand Bloods of Yemou. How could his progeny wield such strength, rivaling that of Yemou himself?! This being… he is no native of the Cave World, but a denizen of the Immortal Astral Continent! Damnation! Are there others besides the Returning Unity Sect who trespass upon this sacred ground?!” The elder’s pupils constricted in terror and agony. He gazed upon his mangled limb, his eyes haunted by fear and lingering shock.

“Such brutal force! Had my inner armor not absorbed the brunt of that blow, my arm would have been shattered to dust, and my very being torn asunder…”

His face a study in dark contemplation, the elder roared, his voice shattering the silence of the tower.

“Nado! Come before me!”

His command echoed throughout the spire, sending tremors of trepidation through every member of the Returning Unity Sect. Their collective murmur ceased, replaced by a unified obeisance toward the towering edifice.

Nado, his heart leaping, obeyed without hesitation, ascending towards the ninth floor. He bowed before the entrance, readying himself to speak, when a spectral hand seized him, dragging him into the elder’s presence.

Nado, not daring to resist, allowed the ethereal grip to whisk him away. As he materialized within the chamber, he prostrated himself, his voice filled with a rare humility.

“Grandson Nado greets the Ninth Ancestor.”

“Who is this man? How did you provoke his ire?!” the gold-robed elder demanded, his voice a menacing growl.

Nado raised his head, but his words died in his throat. He beheld the pool of crimson on the floor, the elder’s expelled lifeblood, and his spirit reeled. He then saw the state of the elder’s mangled arm, and the tides of terror crashed over him.

He knew then that the Ancestor had engaged in battle… and had been bested, wounded by Wang Lin. Shaking with fear, he poured forth a torrent of words, recounting every detail he knew of Wang Lin’s presence, withholding nothing.

Meanwhile, within the Five Elements Array, as the Water Array crumbled, Wang Lin could have chosen to flee. Yet, he did not. He surged forward, stepping through the shimmering barrier. The illusory light intensified, then dissipated, revealing a new world.

A gentle breeze carried the scent of a thousand blossoms, a symphony of fragrance that washed over him, invigorating his very soul. Before him lay an endless forest, ancient trees rising like emerald spears into the heavens, their canopies unfurling in a verdant tapestry of leaves.

The Wood Array.

Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed as he surveyed the landscape, a slow smile spreading across his face. This journey to the Five Elements Star, regardless of his original purpose, had already granted him a boon of unimaginable value.

He would not waste this opportunity. With a determined stride, he plunged deeper into the verdant labyrinth.

But the moment Wang Lin moved, the ancient trees shuddered. Countless leaves detached, swirling into a frenzied vortex, driven by an unseen force. With a chorus of piercing shrieks, the leaves became a deadly storm, hurtling towards Wang Lin from all directions.

The sheer number of leaves blotted out the sun, engulfing the sky and the earth in a suffocating whirlwind. They descended upon Wang Lin like a floral execution, each falling leaf a harbinger of death.

Wang Lin remained unmoved, taking three steps back. His right hand clenched into a fist, and a glacial fire ignited in his eyes. He raised his arm and unleashed a savage tear!

The Tear of Heaven!

As his hand ripped through the air, the very heavens groaned. With a thunderous crack, a colossal rift tore open before Wang Lin, cleaving the world in two. The chasm reached towards the firmament, an obscene gash that threatened to devour existence.

The fabric of reality, indeed, splintered into two. The rift unveiled a void of utter darkness, a gateway to oblivion that expanded with terrifying speed, like the night swallowing the day.

Yet, this was not the full extent of the Tear’s power. The countless leaves were caught in its destructive wake. Each and every one was rent asunder, their delicate veins exposed in a macabre dissection.

All leaves, from all directions, suffered the same fate.

As Wang Lin’s hand descended, a cataclysmic roar shook the heavens. The Five Elements Wood Array shuddered, on the verge of utter collapse.

The leaves, each and every one of them, that had so swiftly approached Wang Lin were cleaved in twain before him, streaking past his body, colliding with their counterparts in a cacophony of destruction.

From afar, Wang Lin’s form was obscured in a vortex of roaring, chaotic energy. After a time, through the swirling gloom, Wang Lin emerged, his white hair flowing, as he slowly strode forth. Behind him, the tear in the fabric of reality continued to widen, a black, devouring maw.

Behind him, the shattered remains of the trees formed a ruinous, somber landscape, an apocalyptic vista.
The moment Wang Lin stepped forth, upon the earthen expanse of the Five Elements Wood Array, the trees, stripped bare of their verdant leaves, began a grotesque writhing. Before his very eyes, the trees stretched and contorted like monstrous apparitions, their limbs intertwining in a macabre embrace. As they elongated, a colossal face of gnarled wood formed above, woven from the writhing mass.

“Submit, or be undone,” Wang Lin declared, his white hair dancing behind him, his white robes billowing. His gaze, calm and unwavering, met the ancient, woody pupils of the earthen visage.

The face of trees remained silent, then slowly closed its eyes, eyes that held the weathered wisdom of countless rings. As they sealed shut, a vibrant emerald light gathered at the center of its brow, coalescing into a crystalline shard that sped towards Wang Lin.

It hovered before him, and with a swift motion, Wang Lin’s right hand seized the crystal, claiming it as his own. As he did, the trees below shuddered once more, gradually returning to their previous, still forms.

Wang Lin did not glance down again. Instead, he took a single stride forward, and the world before him twisted and shattered. Shards of golden light burst forth from the collapsing Wood Array, swiftly enveloping the surroundings, and as the Wood Array vanished, it transformed into the final trial of the Five Elements: the Metal Array!

The Metal Array was a realm of pure, unyielding metal, its air thick with a chilling aura of death. No earth existed here; instead, the ground was replaced by a legion of gleaming golden swords, each one radiating a deadly stillness.

The sky held no clouds, no sun, only an endless cascade of inverted blades, their razor-sharp tips pointing downwards. The moment Wang Lin appeared, the swords erupted in a unified, resonating hum.

It was a chorus of steel! Every blade in this domain sang in unison!

Metal was unlike wood. Wood yielded to strength, bending but not breaking, and so Wang Lin had offered the sentient wood spirit a choice. But metal was resolute, unyielding, forever striving forward, never bowing.

As the chorus of swords echoed around him, the blades launched themselves forward, a torrential storm of steel aimed at Wang Lin’s heart.

The thunderous roar of their passage became the sole sound in this realm, echoing endlessly.

Within the Five Planets, upon the ninth level of the high tower, Nado had recounted all he knew of Wang Lin. The elder’s face grew darker with each word, struggling to accept that Wang Lin was not a native of the Immortal-Astral Continent.

He was about to speak when he abruptly looked towards the outside of the tower, his face hardening.

“The Metal Array…he has broken it! He will enter the Nine Revolutions!” he declared, rising to his feet, his eyes flashing with cold fury.

“Ancestor, our Five Planets’ most powerful formation, the Nine Revolutions Heart Wheel, can it stop him?” Nado asked hesitantly.

“The Nine Revolutions Heart Wheel…nine breaths per revolution, the faster the heart beats, the faster it turns… This one… it is difficult to say. The formation is both simple and complex, it is one of the Immortal-Astral Ascendancy Sect’s guarding formations.

Even now, this formation only holds four-tenths of the power of the true Immortal-Astral Ascendancy Sect array, but if he cannot perceive the truth from the start, if the Heart Wheel gains even the slightest turn, then he will surely fail to break it!

Everything depends on his heart… whether it moves or remains still!” the elder muttered, his words cryptic and difficult to grasp. Nado, understanding little, did not press for further explanation. Instead, he looked out towards the sky beyond the tower.

Outside the Five Planets, amidst the collapsing Metal Array, Wang Lin emerged, his form now clearly visible against the backdrop of the Five Planets themselves.

It seemed that with a single step, he could tread upon the celestial body that hung in the starry void.

Behind him lay the shattered remains of the Five Elements Array.

Fixing his gaze on the Five Planets, Wang Lin was about to move forward when he paused, a soft murmur escaping his lips, and his eyes flared with sudden understanding.

Before him, the Five Planets were shifting!