As a sliver of the ancient vault door creaked open, a chilling wind, redolent with the essence of the Celestial Continent, howled through the fissure. Behind Wang Lin, amidst the collapsing remnants of this world, War Ghost materialized, a figure of menacing power.

Cloaked in an ethereal shroud, his spectral eyes blazed with an unholy light, fixated on Wang Lin. The opening of the vault door had triggered within him a primal fear, a sense of imminent demise that thundered through his very soul.

Wang Lin stood sentinel at the portal, turning to face War Ghost. The breath of the Celestial Continent enveloped him, stirring within him the ancient blood of the Dao lineage. His veins pulsed with newfound vitality, seemingly absorbing the alien essence.

“Even with the door ajar, you dare not cross!” War Ghost boomed, his voice laced with desperation. “Though the master lacks the Third Soul’s memories, echoes of the Celestial Continent linger within him. A celestial barrier divides this realm, traversable only by those of the blood!

“And even if your bloodline grants you passage, know this: should you flee without surrendering the Third Soul, the master will extinguish every soul connected to you!” The dread within War Ghost intensified, halting his advance. He remained distant, his words echoing through the shattered realm.

“The gate is breached, and no true hatred festers between us. Grant me the Third Soul, and I shall depart, never again to darken the Tearful Realm,” War Ghost pleaded, his voice imbued with a strange, hypnotic power.

Wang Lin remained silent. The Third Soul was not to be relinquished, for within it resided not the Seven-Colored Immortal, but his own disciple, Xie Qing.

In the stillness, Wang Lin raised his right hand, revealing two luminous glyphs. Within their ethereal glow, crimson threads pulsed, the very lifeblood of Xie Qing.

Xie Qing, in his reincarnation as the Third Soul, had offered his demise as the price for these three seals. One he bore himself, the other two he entrusted to his master, a final act of devotion.

These two seals, when imbued with the breath of the Celestial Continent, held the power to bind the remaining souls of the Seven-Colored Immortal.

As the glyphs appeared, the essence of the Celestial Continent surged forth from the nascent portal, rushing toward Wang Lin’s hand, melding with the seals.

The glyphs flared with an incandescent light, twin suns of arcane energy blooming within his palm. Wang Lin’s form was obscured by the radiance, even the vault door behind him veiled in a ghostly luminescence.

Yet the sealing power was incomplete, still hungering for the essence of the Celestial Continent. And with the door only cracked, the process was agonizingly slow.

The moment War Ghost sensed the coalescing power, his eyes narrowed. He understood now the source of his impending doom: the combined force of Wang Lin’s seals and the Celestial Continent’s essence.

His eyes flashed with murderous intent. War Ghost surged forward, knowing retreat meant annihilation. Despite the gnawing fear, he must disrupt the ritual, lest the consequences be catastrophic.

He closed the distance, his hand conjuring a golden glyph of war, aimed directly at Wang Lin. Simultaneously, the Seven-Colored Soul manifested from War Ghost’s form, a rainbow-hued apparition of the Seven-Colored Daoist, launching itself at Wang Lin.

Finally, the veiled soul of the Seven-Colored Immortal stretched forth its arms, the cloak billowing outwards, seeking to engulf Wang Lin in its all-consuming embrace.

Wang Lin remained serene. His hands continued to absorb the essence of the Celestial Continent, even as War Ghost and the Seven-Colored Souls approached. With a sudden motion, he thrust forth his left hand.

In response, the eight Manifested True Forms of Wang Lin materialized, each an echo of his very being, each replicating his gesture.

A cataclysmic roar shook the heavens. The collapsing Fifth Flower World disintegrated, revealing the starry expanse beyond and the figures of Blue Dream Daoist, the Five Planets’ Elder Ma, Yun Yifeng, and the Third Consort Tang Shan.

The wounded Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird Generals also flickered into existence.

The appearance of the True Forms sent a jolt through War Ghost. Lacking the memories of the Third Soul, he had never witnessed such a power. Yet Elder Ma of the Five Planets recoiled in horror, disbelief etched across his face.

“Manifested True Forms! It…this is a Manifested True Form! Most would deem it a miracle to possess even one, yet he…he commands eight!

“Legends speak of a path to the Great Celestial Realm, aside from the unlocking of the Divine Realm. A connection with the Manifested True Forms! This path has never been proven, yet it speaks to their rarity!”

As the eight Manifested True Forms mirrored Wang Lin’s strike, colliding with War Ghost, the Seven-Colored Soul, and the Cloaked Soul, all were thrown back by the force of the impact.

For the first time, Wang Lin had faced War Ghost head-on and forced him to retreat.

Wang Lin’s body shuddered, as a wave of force slammed into him, reverberating through his Manifested True Forms.

Seizing the opportunity, he arced his left hand, pushing against the vault door behind him.

The portal groaned as Wang Lin and his eight Manifested True Forms leaned against it.

With a deafening rumble, the door yielded further, the initial crack widening into a substantial opening, finally revealing nearly a third of its form!

No longer did the door need to be forced, the influx of the Celestial Continent’s essence causing it to expand on its own, opening wider with each passing moment.

As more essence flowed into the world, it rushed to merge with the seals in Wang Lin’s hand. War Ghost’s face contorted in fear as Wang Lin raised his hand.

Terror flashed in War Ghost’s eyes. He could no longer hesitate. He retreated with haste. Wang Lin, gazing at the seals in his hand, saw within them the faint image of Xie Qing, and sorrow filled his eyes.

“Xie Qing…you are my disciple, and my sin,” Wang Lin whispered, before releasing the glyphs. Bathed in ethereal light, they shot towards the fleeing War Ghost.

Like a predetermined fate, War Ghost could not escape the seals.

The luminous glyphs sped towards him, one ahead of the other. The first struck War Ghost directly in the forehead.

War Ghost roared, weaving arcane sigils. His Cloaked Soul, eyes wide with fear, frantically swatted at the approaching glyph, tearing at the void.

But all sorcery, all colorful displays of power, were useless. The glyph, ghostlike, pierced through all barriers, making contact with the Cloaked Soul’s forehead.

At the moment of impact, the Cloaked Soul emitted a piercing shriek, its form dissolving into a cascade of rainbow hues. The glyph impacted instead with the Seven-Colored Soul, embedding itself in its forehead.

With a resounding boom, the glyph shattered, enveloping the Seven-Colored Soul in a web of ethereal light. Quickly, the Seven-Colored Soul shrunk, diminished to the size of a fist, its light fading.

War Ghost retreated, the wave pattern rippling beneath his feet. The Cloaked Soul watched in abject terror as the second glyph approached, unable to avert its fate. It collided with its forehead, consuming it in ethereal light.

Blue Dream Daoist and the others watched, their hearts pounding. They had not anticipated this powerful counter-measure. Elder Ma and Yun Yifeng gazed at Wang Lin with profound respect.

They had expected Lady Xuan Luo to intervene, but Wang Lin had faced everything alone.

The Cloaked Soul, the vestige of the Seven-Colored Immortal, was imprisoned by the ethereal net. The connection between it and War Ghost severed, and they were reduced to a fragment.

With the severing of this bond, War Ghost’s eyes glazed over, black blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, but awareness returned to them.

He surveyed his surroundings, his gaze settling on Wang Lin, then on the vault door behind him. A smile crept across War Ghost’s face.

“You are remarkable… My life’s ambition was to open this gate, but alas… I failed in my quest, corrupted by the master,” War Ghost’s body began to decompose.

“I should have perished long ago. You fulfilled my desires, freeing me from my prison…Wang Lin, I thank you…” War Ghost’s voice faded as his body rapidly dissolved.

His remaining half surged toward the portal, driven by a final spark of life, determined to catch one last glimpse of the Celestial Continent.

Wang Lin did not attempt to stop him. He watched as War Ghost’s remaining form entered the gate and vanished.