Wang Lin, cloaked in silence, settled cross-legged a short distance from the woman. Her words echoed in his mind, knowledge absent from his Third Soul, as he had not fully merged with it.

He swept his gaze across the surroundings. Endless ice reigned supreme, a frozen wasteland mirroring the woman’s description.

After a moment, as Wang Lin prepared to speak, his expression shifted. He looked towards the horizon, where faint ripples shimmered within the icy expanse, betraying the arrival of others who dared trespass upon this frozen domain.

“Thou art the first to enter,” the woman intoned. “Thou art now master of this place. Shouldst thou desire, this realm shall become a prison of ice, barring all others from passage. But if the interlopers possess too great a power, the barrier shall not hold for long.” She, too, had sensed the disturbances.

Seeing Wang Lin nod slightly, she raised her hand. A cacophony of cracks and groans erupted as sheets of ice manifested from the ether, emanating outward from their position, consuming all in its path. The very heavens trembled as the world itself became encased in a colossal, impenetrable block of ice, radiating an intense chill and casting a dim, translucent gloom.

The newly arrived figures were instantly entombed within the sudden ice, rendered motionless and silent.

Only the land upon which Wang Lin and the woman stood remained untouched by the glacial prison.

“The ice will not hold forever. Some amongst them are powerful, and bear the mark of a master,” the woman warned, her voice ethereal. She raised her hand, touching her brow. A vortex opened there, and a drop of crimson blood slowly coalesced within, then fell onto her fingertip.

Weakness washed over her as she manifested this essence. “Absorb this, the last blood of Ye Mo’s spirit,” she said. “Thy wounds shall be healed.” With a flick of her wrist, the blood transformed into a radiant streak of light, halting mere inches from Wang Lin, where it hovered, pulsing with red light.

Wang Lin observed the drop. He recognized the familiar aura of Ye Mo. It was the final remnant of Ye Mo’s soul-blood, and absorbing it would bring Wang Lin closer to a certain completeness.

Yet, he hesitated, regarding the weakened ancient goddess with furrowed brow. “Why do you offer me aid?” he asked slowly.

“Because you are the…” The woman began, a faint smile gracing her lips, but Wang Lin cut her off.

“Why!” he demanded, his gaze unwavering.

The ancient goddess paused, a shadow of longing flickering in her eyes. “I was born of Ye Mo’s blood, created to guard the Eastern Forest Sect for the Master, bestowed with the title of Divine Elder…” Her voice was soft, tinged with regret. “But time has stretched on, eons have passed. The demon and monster elders sleep, frozen in death. Others will follow, fading without the Master’s life-giving touch.

“You carry the Master’s soul. To have reached this place, the heart of the cavern-world, you must have traversed the labyrinth of transformations, seeking the true gate, yearning to escape this prison. If you unlock the gates of this cavern, I beg you, release me from this place.” She lowered her head in supplication, her dark hair cascading like a silken waterfall, a vision of tragic beauty.

Wang Lin remained silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“I will help you!” As he spoke, he reached out and seized the drop of blood. In truth, he had used their conversation as a diversion, meticulously examining the essence with his divine sense, searching for any trace of treachery. Finding none, he nodded, and plunged the blood into his forehead. Thunder rumbled in his mind as the essence entered, but a fraction of his divine sense remained vigilant, ever watchful for any sign of betrayal from the woman.

The blood of Ye Mo’s spirit spread through his body, merging with his very essence. It was, without a doubt, Ye Mo’s blood, welcomed without resistance. Its potency invigorated him.

As the boundless life force of Ye Mo’s blood surged, muffled explosions echoed within Wang Lin’s form. The demon, god, and monster star-points manifested on his brow and in his eyes, whirling and consuming the essence of the blood. In the distance, sealed within the ice, Xuan Luo smiled faintly, his gaze piercing beyond Wang Lin, towards the layers of ice.

“This place is a boon for him,” Xuan Luo murmured. “I shall grant him the time he needs.” With a flick of his wrist, he infused the ice with a fragment of his own aura, hardening it a thousandfold, a millionfold.

“You shall have as much time as you require,” Xuan Luo chuckled softly, no longer watching Wang Lin, but instead regarding the ancient goddess.

“Regardless of her origins, she is born of my Dao-Ancient blood. Our race produces few females. She could be nurtured, perhaps become a concubine to my one and only disciple. That would be fitting,” Xuan Luo mused, stroking his chin.

As Wang Lin’s essence swelled, he rose, expanding into a colossal figure hundreds of feet tall.

The Dao-Ancient power within the blood was like ambrosia to him, especially in his weakened state. It coursed through his veins, strengthening every fiber of his being.

His bones, now infused with the blood, became many times stronger and more resilient, practically unbreakable.

His flesh pulsed with renewed power, exuding a palpable force that caused the ancient goddess to gasp.

Wang Lin remained serene, but within him, a tempest raged. The blood completed the spirit of Dao-Ancient Ye Mo within him, as if Ye Mo’s soul were whole within his being!

With each breath, an apparition began to form behind him, a spectral image of Ye Mo. It resembled the phantoms he summoned in battle, but its essence was profoundly different.

Those previous phantoms were mere projections, caused by the imperfect manifestation of his Dao-Ancient power.

This one was not an outward manifestation, but an emanation of his very spirit. This, precisely, was Ye Mo’s soul!

Made whole by the blood, it solidified over time, resembling a living being hovering behind Wang Lin – an eerie sight.

And from this nascent soul emanated the very essence of Ye Mo, an aura that commanded the reverence of all three tribes born from his blood.

The dual pressure on soul and spirit would compel them to tremble and prostrate themselves before him!

The ancient goddess herself, despite bestowing the blood, still possessed within her ordinary blood of Ye Mo!

She paled, and slowly, she collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Xuan Luo, watching the Ye Mo spirit behind Wang Lin, sighed with pity.

“Ye Mo, gifted as he was, scattered his blood in this cavern-world, giving rise to these three tribes, and by chance, Wang Lin emerged. Ye Mo has contributed!” His voice trailed off. “But if you seek to seize Wang Lin’s body, that you cannot do.” He closed his eyes. Had he not come for Wang Lin, he might have aided Ye Mo. But now, he had made his choice.

Ye Mo, in scattering his blood, left behind fragments of his very soul. Should those fragments be reunited, his spirit would reassemble, seeking to possess a descendant. And such possession was all but guaranteed.

But Wang Lin was different. He had received the recognition of the Ancient Ancestor, and possessed the Soul Blood. He was now a being more exalted than Ye Mo himself. Ye Mo could not succeed!

Just then, the Ye Mo spirit behind Wang Lin moved suddenly, transforming into seven wisps of smoke, which darted toward Wang Lin, entering his body through his seven orifices.

At that moment, Wang Lin opened his eyes, his gaze tranquil. He had sensed this phenomenon during the merging, but he knew Ye Mo could not overcome him.

As the spirit of Ye Mo seeped into him, time stretched on. Three hours later, Wang Lin exhaled deeply, and his massive form slowly shrank until he returned to his normal size.

His eyes now held the fathomless depths of the starry void. Within him, the spirit of Ye Mo had vanished, dissolved before the power of the Soul Blood, becoming a part of Wang Lin’s Dao-Ancient inheritance.

Wang Lin’s wounds were completely healed. The essence of the Soul Blood, coupled with the assembled spirit of Ye Mo, had been instrumental. Without it, he would have required months, perhaps longer, to recover.

Now, his Dao-Ancient inheritance was nearly complete. He lacked only a left eye, and the Dao-Ancient heart buried within the Ancient Tomb!

Or perhaps, a left hand, as well.

As he breathed, Wang Lin’s gaze swept, seemingly idly, across the icy surface, where Xuan Luo resided.