## The Eleventh Scroll: Ancient Riddles, Chapter 1788 – A Vow Unbroken, ‘Neath Heaven’s Gaze

Wang Lin lowered his head, gazing upon the familiar starscape beyond the Golden Gate. Silence enveloped him, heavy with thought.

The words of Xuan Luo echoed in his mind, lingering like the chime of distant bells. All that had been spoken of preparation, of the consequence of entering the Immortal-Astral Continent, was now clear to him.

“Reincarnation…” Wang Lin murmured, his voice barely audible above the cosmic hum.

“Perhaps years, perhaps millennia…for all those who would leave the Cave Dwelling Realm, those without the blood of the Immortals, such a span of time must pass before they appear, scattered across the Immortal-Astral Continent…”

“And when a thousand years have turned, I must go and awaken their slumbering memories…” After a long silence, Wang Lin raised his head, looking upon Xuan Luo and offering him a deep bow.

He understood, with dawning clarity, that such blatant defiance of the Immortal-Astral Laws would demand a heavy price from Xuan Luo.

“This junior knows not who will choose to depart the Cave Dwelling Realm, nor how many will follow. But regardless, I shall never forget the kindness you have shown!”

As Wang Lin bowed before Xuan Luo amidst the stars, a connection, faint yet undeniable, blossomed between them. It was something beyond words, beyond understanding, yet it was there.

“As for Wan’er,” Wang Lin continued, his voice ringing with conviction, “if we cannot share life, then let us share death at the gates of the Cave Dwelling Realm! I shall have no regrets!” The word “regrets” resonated through the quiet starscape like a peal of thunder, echoing back from the void.

Regrets!

Regrets!!

Regrets!!!

One word, distilled from two millennia of cultivation, revealed the unwavering heart of Wang Lin. One word, reversing the tides of time, brought him back to that fateful encounter on the Sea of Devils.

One word, a roar of emotion, laid bare the love, the yearning, the guilt he bore for Li Muwan!

Of all the women in existence, none but his mother held a place in Wang Lin’s heart that could rival that of Li Muwan. Though life presented him with countless beauties, none could compare to her.

Though the years spun by, a dance of fleeting shadows, none could match the memory of her, her presence woven into the melody of her qin.

This love, two thousand years in the making, would remain with him until his dying breath. This was a vow of eternal devotion: to live together, or to die together, without regrets!

The weight of these words fell upon Blue Dream Daoist Lord, his eyes dimming with a melancholic understanding as he gazed toward the Immortal Realm.

Xuan Luo’s eyes gleamed with newfound intensity. He met Wang Lin’s gaze, hearing the unwavering vow, and nodded slowly.

“Reincarnation, and defiance of the Immortal-Astral Laws, will require time for me to prepare. In one month, bring all who seek to leave to this place, and I shall weave the spell!”

“As for you…this is your own choice…” Xuan Luo offered no further words of persuasion. His observations over the past days had revealed much about Wang Lin’s character. He knew that the man before him was decisive, and once his mind was made, nothing could sway him.

*This Wang Lin,* Xuan Luo mused, *fits my needs perfectly. He is willing to wait a thousand years to awaken the slumbering memories of his friends, that speaks of loyalty. He refuses to leave alone, but desires all who wish to depart the Cave Dwelling Realm to escape as well, that speaks of compassion.*

*He will not abandon his love, even unto death, that speaks of affection!*

*A man of loyalty, compassion, and affection! If the Dao Ancient lineage does not abandon him, but rather, remains forever in his debt, then surely he will protect us without regret, until the end of days!* A flicker of resolve passed through Xuan Luo’s eyes, a decision made in the depths of his heart.

Wang Lin offered Xuan Luo a deep, third bow, then turned and departed, Blue Dream Daoist Lord following silently in his wake.

As for Tuosen, after his farewell to Wang Lin, he wandered towards the edges of the starscape, lost in contemplation. He needed to carefully consider whether to choose reincarnation and leave the Cave Dwelling Realm, or remain.

The starscape stretched out, vast and endless, its nebulae a shimmering tapestry of light. A beautiful sight, yet to Wang Lin’s eyes, it seemed blurred, its reality uncertain.

After a long while, he turned away from the stars and soared through the void, a streak of vibrant light. He did not leave the Luo Tian Starfield, but instead headed towards the remains of what was once Eastern Bloom Star.

Eastern Bloom Star had shattered long ago, leaving behind only a rift. It was a passage to the frozen world where the Second Bloom resided.

Before leaving, Wang Lin had promises to keep. The Ancient God girl, Yuna, he had pledged to lead her from her frozen prison.

Far across the Luo Tian Starfield from the Golden Gate lay the wreckage of Eastern Bloom Star. Despite the distance, the light of the Golden Gate still reached here, bathing the starscape in a faint golden glow.

The rift to the frozen world hung in the void like a scar, barely visible, occasionally emitting bursts of frigid air, now tinged with gold from the distant light.

As Wang Lin arrived, space rippled around him, and he materialized before the rift. His eyes blazed with determination as he plunged forward, his hands glowing with ethereal light. Channeling the power of the Dao Ancient within him, he focused his strength into a tear of unimaginable force, and ripped at the rift.

The starscape shook with a deafening roar as the rift widened under Wang Lin’s might. The interior of the frozen world was revealed, releasing a torrent of icy air.

This Second Bloom’s frozen land remained untouched by the collapse. The entire world was encased in ice, and though Xuan Luo’s power had diminished, the ice still held firm.

“Yuna! I have come to take you away!” Wang Lin stood outside the rift, his divine sense booming through the frozen world.

Deep within the heart of the ice, on a vast stone platform, Yuna opened her eyes, looking towards the distant ice wall. A smile graced her lips.

“He has come…” She closed her eyes once more, and a wisp of ethereal smoke emanated from her brow, vanishing into the ice.
Her essence, a wisp of smoke within the frozen prison, drifted ethereally towards the source of Wang Lin’s call, arriving swiftly at the threshold of the celestial Gate of Luo!

She beheld Wang Lin!

Yet, an icy barrier separated them.

“I was born of my master’s creation, bound to protect the Eastern Spirit Sect, this is my debt. I leave behind my ancient god flesh, its vitality to nurture this land, thus repaying my obligation… Henceforth, I sever all ties, burdened by no further attachments…” Yun Na’s spectral whisper echoed.

Gazing upon Yun Na’s soul entombed within the ice, Wang Lin understood her heart. Before, when he entered the Second Bloom, she had merely presented a request, hesitant to cleave her soul in haste.

Only now, after Wang Lin had truly navigated the labyrinthine Five Blooms and opened the gates of the Immortal’s Cave, did she release her soul from its mortal coil.

Such prudence was understandable, for the severing of her soul was a weighty matter for Yun Na, demanding utmost caution.

Wang Lin, bound by his word, did not dwell on this matter. He rent the fissure wider, and with a sudden breath, exhaled a wisp of his ancient Dao cultivation, fused with the essence of his very being, towards the frozen barrier.

The breath was unseen, yet upon touching the ice, a cacophony of cracks resonated across the starry expanse. A web of fine fissures spread across the frozen surface, rending it asunder inch by inch.

As the ice shattered, Yun Na’s soul, piece by piece, emerged from the icy fragments. Finally, as the ice succumbed to utter devastation, her soul coalesced into the ethereal form of Yun Na, darting through the rift Wang Lin had created, to float amidst the vast cosmos.

She gazed upon the stars, her countenance serene, untouched by the slightest tremor of emotion. Long she stared, then turned to bow deeply before Wang Lin.

“I thank you, noble one, for your kindness.”

“This is the fulfillment of my vow, the exchange for that single drop of blood. No thanks are needed. But consider well your path. Will you remain here, dwelling within the realms of this Immortal’s Cave? Or will you depart, to journey to the land of Xian罡, where the Eastern Spirit Sect resides, the homeland of your master, the Seven-Colored Immortal?”

Wang Lin’s gaze rested upon Yun Na’s soul. “Should you choose to remain, then be gone… but should you desire Xian罡, you must endure the thousand-year cycle of reincarnation!”

Yun Na listened with tranquil resolve, pondering Wang Lin’s words. She gazed upon the star-strewn heavens before her and spoke softly.

“Reincarnation it shall be… a thousand years… is but a short span…”

Wang Lin saw reflected in Yun Na the bitterness of ages, and the uncertainty of a future unknown. Perhaps, he mused, the path of reincarnation was indeed the kindest choice.

Wang Lin spoke no more. He raised his right hand, palm upward. Yun Na’s form drifted gently towards him, until it had become a sphere of light, no larger than a fist, floating within his open palm.

Wang Lin closed his fist, and stowed the sphere within his storage ring. He glanced once more at the fractured ice world in the sky, then turned and departed.

The cosmos of the Immortal’s Cave felt familiar to him. With measured pace, Wang Lin walked, gazing at the surrounding stars as if savoring one last, lingering farewell.

His vows to others remained. Beside Yun Na, he had also pledged himself to another woman. A woman named Fan Shanlu, dwelling within the depths of the Cloud Sea Star Region.

Fan Shanlu was a woman of sorrow, the First Concubine of the Seven-Colored Immortal, sister to Fan Shanmeng. But in this Immortal’s Cave, she had existed for countless ages, until at last, she was ensnared by her sister in the illusion, used to extract Wang Lin’s Vow Blood.

“She is of Xian罡, and needs not the cycle of reincarnation to depart…” As Wang Lin walked, he crossed Luo Tian, arriving at the Cloud Sea, towards the rift where Fan Shanlu resided.

Besides taking Fan Shanlu with him, there was one more task. He had almost forgotten, but now, in the last month before his departure, as the gates of the Immortal’s Cave stood open, he remembered.

He had once promised a small man, to gift him a body, and grant him a modicum of cultivation. The soul of that insignificant man still resided within his storage ring, after a great, long while.