The woman’s raiment, once fine, now hung in tattered disarray, offering glimpses of skin beneath. Had Wang Lin not possessed a heart steeled against all weakness, even for a creature of such beguiling beauty, the sight might have stirred in him a flicker of earthly desire. But such thoughts were foreign to his purpose.

The crimson blade, dripping with vitality, pierced through Zixia’s breast, its passage marked by a blossoming of scarlet. A tremor ran through the steel, a subtle hum of primal satisfaction as it drank its fill. For the Blood Sword, once drawn, knew no retreat until sated.

As the lifeblood ebbed from her wound, Zixia coughed forth a crimson tide. Desperate, she reached for a treasured artifact to arrest her fall, but Wang Lin would grant her no respite.

In the very instant the Blood Sword found its mark, Wang Lin materialized before her, filling her shrinking vision entirely. His palm struck, guided by the raw power of his source, unleashing a thunderous force!

He allowed her no chance to regain her footing. The Essence of Fire roared to life, coalescing into a colossal Vermillion Bird, its screech echoing across the starscape. With unrestrained fury, it descended upon Zixia, engulfing her in an inferno of consuming flames.

The heat was unbearable, its intensity threatening to unravel the very fabric of existence.

Hot on the heels of the fiery avian, the Essence of Lightning manifested as a crackling dragon, its roars of defiance thundering behind the Vermillion Bird, striking at the heart of the flames and into Zixia herself.

Life, Death, Truth, and Illusion – all converged in that moment. Blood flooded Wang Lin’s eyes. With sickening snaps, scarlet threads wove themselves into existence around Zixia, a cage of crimson that sealed every avenue of escape. These silken strands, each infused with the essence of his very being, contracted swiftly, trapping her within their deadly embrace.

Finally, the Essence of Slaughter infused his outstretched hand, transforming it into an instrument of annihilation.

At its unveiling, a chilling dread fell upon the stars. Crimson snowflakes materialized from the void, swirling ominously. The events unfolded in a heartbeat, and as the six Essences roared forth, Zixia expelled three more torrents of blood. Her descent accelerated, her hands remained empty, her grasp on reality slipping away.

Time itself seemed to unravel before her as she witnessed a gargantuan hand cleaving through the elemental storm. A hand bearing down upon her very brow.

A thunderous impact sent another crimson geyser erupting from Zixia’s lips. Cracks, like fissures in a shattered vase, spiderwebbed across her body, threatening to tear her asunder.

Agony ripped through her mind, and even her nascent spirit was crippled by the force of the blow. Despair threatened to consume her, but in that desperate moment, her descent faltered. The arcane limits that held her aloft began to dissipate. Yet, this was a chess piece long since moved in Wang Lin’s strategy. As the binding magic began to fade, he pursued her with a deliberate step. He raised his right hand, extending a single, unwavering finger towards her.

“Bind!”

With this word, he bound her form, her spirit, her soul. He held sway over the Heavens and the Earth, the vastness of the cosmos.

Zixia, ensnared by the Binding Art, was helpless. Though the laws of the cosmos were lifted, she remained trapped, unable to summon her defenses, her very thoughts held captive within Wang Lin’s command.

Suppressing the backlash of his formidable magic, Wang Lin descended, closing the distance to Zixia. His right hand danced across her form, delivering nine swift blows. With each touch, Zixia shuddered as he infused her with potent seals.

As the ninth finger landed, the binding was complete.

An ethereal web of intricate restraints spread across Zixia, enveloping her entirely.

With a flick of his sleeve, as if to draw the heavens into his possession, Zixia vanished, swallowed by the glowing runes. She was now his prize. The battle was swift, decisive, lasting less than ten heartbeats.

Zixia lived, for Wang Lin found her more useful alive. He planned to drain her of secrets, of power, of whatever she could offer him. He could end her at any time.

The Blood Sword, gleaming with crimson light, returned to its master, circling Wang Lin as he strode forth. A vortex began to coalesce beneath his feet, a swirling abyss that would spirit him away. He entered the maw and disappeared.

“Three waves have already breached this realm. A fourth is unlikely. I will proceed with haste.”

Wang Lin knew these fractured worlds were connected, allowing passage between them, even without the secret seals.

Elsewhere in the three hundred shattered realms, a vortex ripped open the fabric of space, drawing the attention of those inhabiting this particular domain.

The White Tiger General stood suspended above a cultivation world. Beneath him, a million soldiers clashed in a brutal conflict.

The ground was slick with blood, the air thick with the scent of death. It was a vast, sprawling battlefield, the edges obscured by the immensity of the armies locked in mortal combat.

“To find such carnage here… Let them slaughter one another. The more they kill, the more potent the essence of slaughter becomes! I may not be able to carry it beyond this realm, but here, it shall be mine to command!”

“I was the first to set foot here! Let the universe obey my command! Save for the Seven-Colored Immortal and the old war hound, none can resist my will in this land!”

The White Tiger General knew the secrets of the fractured realms. Standing above the battle, his features contorted in a twisted grin.

Upon the battlefield, commanders led their armies. One of these men, garbed in white armor, rode a dappled steed. A tiger skin cloak billowed behind him and he wore a tiger’s head helmet. His eyes, burning with cold, shone with lust for battle.

An unseen link appeared to connect him to the White Tiger General above.

Above the battlefield stood a man shrouded in darkness. His form flickered as if at risk of being blown away in a slight breeze. His face was pallid and drawn, with beads of sweat marking his brow.

Like the White Tiger General, he was an illusion, unseen by the world below. Only the pair could see each other in this strange place.
Upon the ravaged plains, amidst a legion locked in mortal combat against the White Tiger General’s forces, stood a lone soldier, clad in battered iron. His visage was etched with terror, his ragged breaths misting in the air as he brandished a spear, engaging the foe with desperate ferocity. Yet, his limbs trembled, and his eyes darted skyward with a potent mix of fury and dread.

He was the mirror image of the spectral figure seated in meditative pose above – a middle-aged man whose ethereal form hung suspended in the heavens.

Had Wang Lin been present, he would have recognized the man instantly: the inhabitant of the seventh level of the ancient tower on the Five Planets!

This land was the dominion of the White Tiger, and its laws were his decree.

At that very moment, the illusory White Tiger General lifted his head, his eyes blazing with an otherworldly light. Simultaneously, amidst the sprawling battlefield below, a commander astride a white tiger-striped steed, his armor gleaming under the dim sky, also turned his gaze upward. A cruel smile played upon his lips.

“Another one arrives…” he murmured, his voice a silken thread of malice. “I wonder who it will be…”

The middle-aged man, locked in eternal defiance against the White Tiger General, likewise raised his gaze. He felt the nascent vortex of energy ripping open the fabric of this star domain, and a glint of cruel anticipation sparked in his eyes.

“Come,” he snarled, a desperate hope coloring his tone. “Bring forth more! Perhaps, just perhaps, you can slay this White Tiger and break free from this damnable dominion!”

Within the star domain, the swirling vortex pulsed with growing power. A nebulous form began to coalesce within its heart, slowly gaining definition as the swirling energies subsided.

In the instant the vortex vanished entirely, a crimson flash erupted, and a blood-soaked blade sang through the heavens. It carved a path of carnage, unleashing waves of crimson energy that spread outwards, encompassing a thousand leagues in a miasma of primal bloodlust.

There, amidst the carnage, stood Wang Lin, his expression serene, his eyes fixed upon the scene before him.

His divine sense unfurled like an unseen tide, sweeping outwards across the star domain. The instant his senses expanded, the very moment his presence manifested, both the White Tiger General and the middle-aged man upon the distant cultivation star felt a chilling shift.

The White Tiger General’s eyes shone with an almost manic glee. He stared into the heavens, his laughter echoing across the plains.

“He has come here! Truly, the heavens favor me!”

The middle-aged man, momentarily stunned, fell into a sullen silence, yet a subtle smirk of malevolent satisfaction crept across his lips.

Wang Lin’s divine sense washed over the star domain.

This realm was significantly larger than his own fragmented creation, comparable in scope to the union of Kun Xu and Luo Tian. Yet, it still possessed only nine cultivation stars.

In that initial sweep, upon the third star, Wang Lin sensed the auras of both the White Tiger and the middle-aged man. Yet, he could not discern their physical forms upon that world.

A frown furrowed his brow, and he intensified his scrutiny of the star domain.

“This place is already bound by a governing law… I wonder of what nature it is…” he mused, his thoughts a silent whisper amidst the cosmic tapestry. “And why are the figures of the White Tiger and his foe so elusive…?”

Wang Lin focused his divine sense upon the third star, honing in on the million-strong armies locked in brutal combat upon the plains.

Suddenly, his expression tightened, and after a long moment, comprehension dawned within his eyes.

“So that is the nature of it!”

Wang Lin remained rooted to the spot, refusing to take even a single step, content to observe the rules of this dominion from beyond its grasp. Only after fully comprehending its nature would he decide whether to enter or depart.

“Who decreed these rules? Who do they favor? Seeing is not enough, I must test them!”

His face remained impassive, his right hand raised in a swift gesture, and behind him, the dissipating vortex roared back into existence!

To any observer, his actions appeared to signal a desire to flee.

“Wang Daoyou, why the haste to depart?” The White Tiger General’s voice boomed across the star domain, resonating within Wang Lin’s very soul. “I have decreed the rules of this land. Should you dare to enter, let us wager!”

Wang Lin remained outwardly unmoved, though a cold smile played across his lips. His initial probe had yielded its answer.

“What is the wager?”

“That you shall be vanquished within my domain!”

“Oh? And what is at stake?” Wang Lin’s divine will responded, his tone measured.

“Should you fall, your third soul shall be mine! But if you prevail, I shall swear a binding oath upon the very blood of the Immortals, to serve you faithfully, a slave to your command for ten thousand years! I, White Tiger, swear this upon my very bloodline!” The General’s words echoed with earth-shattering force, causing the very fabric of the star domain to ripple.

Wang Lin’s expression remained serene, though a subtle, almost imperceptible smile flickered across his face.

**(To be continued…)**