He pressed down, and the ocean’s surface remained unchanged. Yet Zhi Lin, within the depths of the sea, had left a wisp of his divine sense. A cautious soul, this seemingly useless fragment might soon prove vital.

The divine sense merged seamlessly with the ocean, virtually undetectable.

Having done this, Wang Lin’s eyes instantly became laced with crimson threads, until his pupils were wholly consumed by a tapestry of blood-red veins, a terrifying sight.

With eyes imbued with the essence of the Forbidden, Wang Lin gazed skyward. His expression shifted as he looked upon the heavens!

The inky sky was veiled in layers of ethereal mist, invisible to the naked eye, beyond even the grasp of ordinary divine sense. Only Wang Lin, with the primal sight of his Forbidden essence, could perceive this hidden veil.

“One layer… three layers… seven layers…” Though thin, the mist stretched in seven distinct layers, shrouding the entire Dan Sea in an endless dome, as if a colossal bowl had been inverted to contain both sea and land.

Above these layers, a phantom compass spun slowly, radiating a pressure that intertwined with the seven layers of mist.

“This compass is but an illusion, not a true shackle…” Wang Lin’s gaze sharpened. He discerned a faint, stooped presence emanating from the compass, reaching out, connecting with the distant shores of the Dan Sea.

“The core of this formation must have manifested as something tangible, located there…” Wang Lin focused his attention on the depths of the Dan Sea, his eyes gleaming with newfound interest.

If his Forbidden essence were to undergo a transformation into a true form, it would require the absorption of countless different Forbidden techniques. This grand formation, encompassing the entire Dan Sea, was unlike anything Wang Lin had ever encountered, and the allure was undeniable.

Yet, he swiftly suppressed this desire, raising his right hand to sweep his sleeves before his eyes. Behind him, two enormous orbs manifested, colossal pupils born of illusion. A flicker of crimson from these eyes seemed to cleave through the darkness.

As these two illusory, bloodshot eyes appeared, Wang Lin sat cross-legged, fixing his gaze on the heavens, his own eyes shining with calculations. He sought to unravel the intricacies of the Forbidden formation as swiftly as possible.

As his eyes raced, the two colossal eyes behind him echoed the same calculations, staring intently at the sky, searching for a means to pierce the seven layers of mist.

Slowly, more crimson threads appeared in Wang Lin’s eyes, reflected in the massive pupils behind him.

Time slipped by, and half an hour passed. Bai Hu and his companions watched cautiously, their expressions grim, protecting Wang Lin. Their freedom hinged upon his ability to break the formation.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Lin’s eyes shone with inspiration. He raised his right hand abruptly, pointing three times towards the sky. With each strike, a crimson thread detached from the colossal pupils behind him, hurtling skyward with Wang Lin’s gesture.

Invisible to others, Wang Lin saw that each thread pierced the gaps in the first layer of mist, intersecting to form a circle.

This circle marked a rare absence of mist in the first layer, a small hole, yet large enough for a man to pass through!

“Seven layers of mist, each in constant flux… breaking this formation will be a trial…” Wang Lin mused, studying the sky. After a moment, he raised both hands simultaneously and flicked his fingers nine times, sending nine crimson threads spiraling upwards.

Wang Lin watched as the nine threads passed through the small circle he had created in the first layer. Upon reaching the second layer, four threads branched off, searching for a similar point of weakness, connecting to form a second circle!

At the same time, the remaining five threads pierced this second circle and, with the same method, created a similar opening in the third layer!

Thus, Wang Lin had found a way through the first three layers!

Bai Hu and his companions could not see this. They looked anxiously at Wang Lin, their expressions tense, for time was passing.

The continued absence of the Green Devil Continent’s cultivators was unsettling, like the calm before a storm, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Wang Lin remained calm, focusing his mind entirely on the seven layers of the Forbidden formation. The more he analyzed it, the more immense the formation felt. The sparse openings beyond the third layer were even harder to find.

But Wang Lin possessed the essence of the Forbidden. He relied not only on calculation but also on the primal sight of his essence. In his eyes, all Forbidden techniques were laid bare.

Another half hour passed. Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed, and he rapidly raised his hands, flicking his fingers seventeen times! Seventeen crimson threads hurtled skyward, piercing the openings he had created in the first three layers. In the fourth layer, six threads connected to form an even smaller circle within the dense mist.

The remaining threads continued onwards, connecting within the fifth layer, creating circles in all the first five layers.

But then, the Dan Sea roared, the ocean suddenly erupting in a deafening cacophony. The sea split in two, dividing along a long line, surging outwards on both sides.

The suddenness of this event caught Bai Hu and his companions by surprise. Before they could react, Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he leaped to his feet, the two massive illusory eyes behind him dissolving. With a wave of his sleeve, he swept up Bai Hu and his companions, transforming into a streak of light that shot towards the heavens.
As Wang Lin, clutching the White Tiger and his companions, shot skyward, an indescribable dread – a palpable aura of sword-might – erupted from the sea. What had seemed a mere hairline upon the waves, dividing the waters as cleanly as a blade through silk, now pulsed with terrifying power.

It was no simple line, but a cleaved wound upon the very ocean – a blow struck from the seabed itself, splitting the waters in a display of earth-shattering force!

The sea roared in protest. As the spectral blade fully emerged, the surface boomed, rent asunder into two colossal halves. A chasm of impossible depth opened, revealing the black, abyssal floor beneath the waves.

This phantom blade, tens of thousands of feet in length, clawed its way up from the depths, an ethereal sword reaching for the heavens. It hurtled towards Wang Lin and his charges with deafening speed. The instant the White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise felt its intent, their faces drained of color. The Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise, already grievously wounded, coughed up blood, their eyes wide with stark terror.

“The Way of the Sword!” cried the Black Tortoise, his voice hoarse with disbelief. “One who forsakes all worldly intentions, all celestial designs, to dedicate themselves wholly to the blade! He who melts his spirit into the steel, relinquishes all trace of humanity, becoming nothing more than a living sword!”

“Heart… Heart…” The Black Tortoise, with his vast knowledge, drew a ragged breath. “That such an extreme master could exist in the Green Devil Continent!”

The blade-phantom was upon them in a heartbeat. But Wang Lin, ever vigilant, had anticipated the strike. Moments before impact, he transmuted himself, the White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise into a streak of light, plunging directly into the tiny aperture in the first layer of mist. Without hesitation, they pierced the second, the third, the fourth, and finally the fifth!

Behind them, the sword-phantom slammed into the forbidden formation, its impact echoing across the heavens. The first three layers of mist were pulverized by the blade’s furious passage, their magical essence scattered. The aftershock, carrying the sword’s indomitable will, slammed into the fourth layer, dissolving it into nothingness as well!

One strike, four layers of protection shattered! Even Wang Lin could not help but draw a sharp breath at the sheer potency of such a blow. Even within the fifth layer, he could feel a tremor, a distant but palpable echo of the blade’s arrogant will, a declaration of dominance that reverberated in his very soul.

Wang Lin steeled himself. The force was but a lingering echo, yet its unwavering supremacy was unmistakable.

“Regardless of his cultivation, this single stroke marks him as a titan of the Green Devil Continent!” Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. He seized the White Tiger and the others, who were still reeling from the attack. His own eyes now burned with crimson light, laced with frantic threads of red, and he transformed once more into a streak of light, hurtling towards the sixth layer.

The mist of the sixth layer was dense and impenetrable, showing no sign of the previous breaches. But as Wang Lin surged forward, his hands danced in a complex series of hand seals. Threads of forbidden blood-magic erupted before him, weaving themselves into an intricate web. Within moments, this crimson mesh collided with the sixth layer.

With a thunderous boom, Wang Lin and his companions forced their way through!

“Yun Kong is but a humble traveler, venturing from afar. Why must you, friend, depart in such haste?” A deep, resonant voice echoed across the sea. Where the sword-phantom had destroyed the four layers of mist, a figure materialized – a young man clad in simple green robes.

The cultivator appeared youthful, even plain, his only adornment his long, flowing hair. His features were strikingly handsome, yet held an icy, merciless edge. In his hand, he gripped a seven-foot long sword, which even in the pitch-black night, seemed to shimmer with an inner light, radiating an aura of frigid power.

This was not Yun Kong’s true form, but a manifestation of his sword-intent, a shard of his very being. Yet even as a mere echo, it possessed nearly sixty percent of his original power!

As he spoke, Yun Kong raised his head and stepped lightly forward, making directly for the fifth layer of mist. With a casual flick of his right hand, he swung his sword in a single, devastating arc towards the heavens.

A crescent of sword-light boomed as it slashed through the air, striking the invisible barrier of the fifth layer. The mist shattered like glass, revealing Wang Lin, just now bursting into the sixth layer, his eyes meeting Yun Kong’s with a cold, defiant glare!

**(Author’s Note: A promotion for another reader’s support of the author is omitted as per the request.)**