The sound erupted from the depths, a phantom cry woven from the sea itself. As its echoes rippled, the waters stirred into churning currents, spiraling outwards with unnatural speed.

From the heart of this tempest, Wang Lin emerged, his expression serene. His white robes, defying the brine, remained immaculate, and his silver hair, untouched by the sea’s embrace, cascaded over his shoulders. He fixed a glacial gaze upon the two Green Devil Continent cultivators who stood before Bai Hu.

“Wang Lin!” Bai Hu exclaimed, his surprise mirrored on the faces of Zhu Que and Xuan Wu. Never could they have imagined encountering him in this desolate place.

Wang Lin offered a curt nod to his acquaintances, then turned his attention back to the Green Devil pair.

The cultivator named Qian harbored no fear, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. In his estimation, Wang Lin’s cultivation, merely a peak of the Emptiness Elegy realm, posed little threat. The only concern was the man’s skill at concealment.

“He must be a master of stealth, to have appeared before me without my notice!” Qian sneered, abandoning all caution. He surged forward like a meteor, hurtling directly towards Wang Lin. “Since you are known to each other, then today you shall both perish! Perhaps you’ll find solace in companionship on the road to the Yellow Springs!”

In stark contrast, his jade-faced companion recoiled. The moment Wang Lin materialized, his pupils contracted in alarm, halting his advance and sending him scrambling backwards.

“He appears ordinary, yet he reeks of unseen bloodshed!” The youth’s cultivation focused on the sensing of vital essence, and as he looked upon Wang Lin, the stench of death washed over him, nearly suffocating in its intensity. “He must have slaughtered countless souls within this Pill Sea!”

Without warning his comrade, he raised a hand to cover his right eye, leaving only his left exposed. Within that single eye, the pupil spun with unnatural speed. Through that eye he saw the form of Wang Lin being surrounded by thousands of tormented spirits. All of them slain by him within the depths of the sea.

The vision sent a shudder through the jade-faced youth. He didn’t waste another second and bolted back towards the Green Devil lands.

“A fool’s errand,” Wang Lin said with a contemptuous smile, and he watched Qian approaching him without fear. As the brash cultivator drew near, Wang Lin raised his right hand and unleashed a torrent of dark energy. From this abyssal tide arose a monstrous figure, a puppet of the damned. With a guttural roar, Ji Si, its crimson tongue darting out, materialized, its malevolent grin promising a brutal end. It lunged towards Qian with savage delight.

The cultivator, despite his power, was but a candle flame against Ji Si’s infernal might.

As Ji Si appeared, Qian’s eyes widened in abject terror. Every hair on his body stood on end as a wave of mortal peril crashed down upon him. With a desperate twist of his body, he abandoned his attack and desperately backpedaled, seeking to evade the demon puppet’s wrath.

“Accursed! How does he command such a powerful puppet?!” Qian cursed, his voice laced with fear. “Who is this man? To possess a puppet of the Initial Void Tribulant stage!” But his speed was no match for Ji Si. The puppet descended upon him, shrouding him in a swirling vortex of darkness. The muffled sounds of agony and the eruption of blood were the only testament to the swift and brutal demise of the foolish warrior.

Meanwhile, the youth, still fleeing at full speed, had managed to put a good distance between himself and Wang Lin. He prepared to merge with the ancient sealing array, seeking to teleport away.

Wang Lin, unmoved, simply raised his hand and grasped at the air. At his command, the currents surged, coalescing into a colossal hand that reached out to seize the fleeing Green Devil.

With a resonant snap, the youth unfurled a fan of lacquered wood. Its face depicted a thousand warhorses thundering across a battlefield. As the fan opened, the sound of their hooves echoed through the water, and spectral steeds coalesced, forming a wall of equine fury behind the jade-faced youth.

The waves churned as the phantom horses surged forward, colliding with Wang Lin’s ethereal hand.

The clash resounded through the depths, creating a monstrous vortex of spiraling water.

With a final burst of energy, Wang Lin’s spectral hand dissipated, along with the ghostly horses. The youth, momentarily freed, vanished into the array, his escape complete.

Far away, at the Green Devil barricade guarded by three large flags, the jade-faced youth reappeared beside the woman wielding the compass. Coughing up blood, his face pale with terror, he gasped, “We met with disaster. Qian… Qian is likely dead. A cultivator has appeared, called Wang Lin! He is from the Tianniu Continent and we must warn our masters.” He wiped the blood from his lips and spoke with a grave tone.

The woman, her gaze fixed on the compass, focused on the white blip that represented Wang Lin.

“He is trapped within the array, he cannot escape. I have already sent word to the sect. Three ancestors have dispatched Grandmaster Yunkong. And in his wake, the armies of the Three Sect Alliance are marching. Once Grandmaster Yunkong has refined the Pill Sea into the Half-Immortal Elixir and shattered the barrier of the Tianniu Continent, this will all be over.” A cruel glint flashed in her eyes as she spoke the last words.

“Grandmaster Yunkong!” The youth whispered the name with a mix of awe and reverence. Yunkong’s name was legendary within the Green Devil Continent, a beacon of power and prestige throughout the Eastern Region!

Yunkong had no one master, but was considered a prodigy of the entire Green Devil Continent. All of the top sects were his patrons and mentors, and he was the senior disciple of every sect.
“It is whispered that Grand Apprentice Yun Kong journeyed to the Northern Wastes many years past, seeking tutelage under the venerable Wu Feng, Heavenly Grandmaster, in pursuit of immortality. His cultivation now surpasses mortal comprehension! With him at hand, Wang Lin’s demise is assured!” A flicker of hope ignited within the fair youth’s jade-like countenance.

Meanwhile, Wang Lin faced a grim scene. The Qian surname cultivator was no match for the fiend Yi Si. The clash ended swiftly with a wretched scream, Qian’s mortal coil collapsing as Yi Si greedily drained his lifeblood, leaving only his nascent soul intact, spared only by Wang Lin’s prior decree.

Before the watchful eyes of White Tiger, Xuanwu, and Vermillion Bird, Wang Lin delved into the depths of Qian’s spirit. His gaze remained calm and impassive as he extracted every memory, every secret. Only then did he release his grip. Yi Si’s tongue flicked out, eager to devour the soul, but Wang Lin moved with uncanny speed, sealing it away.

Yi Si paused, its eyes flaring with feral fury. It fixed Wang Lin with a baleful stare, a guttural growl rumbling in its throat.

“This one serves a purpose,” Wang Lin said, his voice a low thrum. Beneath his placid gaze, a chilling, heaven-rending aura seemed to simmer. The fiend’s roar dwindled, its head bowing in reluctant submission.

With Wang Lin’s growing power, the mark he’d etched upon Yi Si’s soul deepened. Only when pushed beyond its limits would the fiend dare defy its master’s command.

“My old friends,” Wang Lin said, turning to the three. “After so long, to find you here…” He clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, a faint smile playing on his lips.

White Tiger, Xuanwu, and Vermillion Bird exchanged somber glances, a sigh of mingled relief and despair escaping their lips.

“Wang Lin,” Xuanwu began, his voice heavy with dread, “The Green Devil Continent strikes with ruthless force. Already, I fear most of the Tianniu cultivators within this Dan Sea have been slaughtered. How shall we escape this abyss?”

Vermillion Bird’s brow furrowed in thought. “This is not the first invasion by the Green Devils. I recall others, long past, each thwarted by the barrier-wards woven by the Grand Soul Sect and the Returning Unity Sect. But this time, their aim is the wholesale butchery of scattered cultivators. Their motive must be far greater than mere conquest!”

White Tiger added grimly, “The natural order of this realm is obscured by the Green Devils’ sorcery. The Grand Soul Sect and Returning Unity Sect likely remain ignorant of this carnage. If we can escape, we must carry this dire warning to the mainland.”

“This is no time for lengthy discourse! First, we flee this place!” Wang Lin declared. With a flourish of his sleeve, he stirred the seabed, creating unseen currents that swept his companions towards the horizon.

They raced through the darkened depths, occasionally encountering Green Devil warriors. At each clash, Wang Lin unleashed his phantom flames, dispatching them in a swift, blinding burst.

But soon, the encounters grew less frequent. Then, they ceased altogether, as if the Green Devils had vanished into the abyss.

“Something is amiss,” Wang Lin muttered, his gaze sharpening. His location had always been close to the Tianniu Continent’s edge. As they sped onward, the seabed began to rise, and in a sudden surge, the four of them burst from the ocean’s embrace.

The sky above was a canvas of deepest black. The moon offered no solace this night.

Darkness clung to the world, blurring even the ocean’s surface. Only the wind’s mournful howl and the crash of the waves upon the shore pierced the silence. A faint, unsettling odor of decay hung in the air.

Ascending above the waves, the four stood suspended in the air, a desolate expanse stretching in every direction.

White Tiger, Xuanwu, and Vermillion Bird also sensed the unnatural stillness. Their eyes darted about, seeking answers in the encroaching shadows. The silhouette of the Tianniu Continent loomed distantly, a jagged line against the void.

“You three, guard me!” Wang Lin commanded, his expression hardening. “I shall test the strength of this seal, to fathom its binding power!” He paused, then raised his right hand, pressing it down towards the churning sea below.