“The Imperial City of the Immortals… I *must* journey there,” Wang Lin declared, a fierce light kindling in his eyes. “Not for some paltry gratitude, but for the oath I swore to Lian Dao Fei! By all the spirits, I will restore his memories, repaying the debt of blood he freely gave me!”

Wang Lin held honor sacred.

The madman of yesteryear, the one who had shown him such grace, resided within that glistening city. Wang Lin needed to know if Dao Fei’s mind was whole once more. Should no fragments of his past remain, he could finally lay his heart to rest.

“Be his nature changed, be it as it was, even should suspicion bloom in his heart against me, I *must* see him with mine own eyes!” A heavy silence settled upon Wang Lin, yet in the depths of his gaze, a wistful sorrow stirred.

What had become of the madman? Did he still bellow and boast as he once did, his voice a chaotic symphony at Wang Lin’s side?

*”I tell you, *this* King is mighty indeed!”*

*”You… you… this King shall bite you to death! Bite you to death!”*

*”Grandmother’s beard! You dare play dead before this King?”*

*”It’s raining… er, Little Red, come rub my weary shoulders for your lord…”*

*”Go tell my brother, that today, this King is weary and shall not train! I shall venture out and play! Tell him not to seek me, for I shall return when I am sated! Should he drag me back as he has done before, I shall sever all ties!”*

*”This King’s blood… it is extraordinarily, fantastically, fly-ly…”* A pause, a flicker of remembrance. *”…ah, I remember now! There was some little fox spirit named Fei Fei who gave me something to eat…”*

The echoes of the madman’s voice danced in the air, and in the black heart of the abandoned Dao-Devil Sect, under the watchful gaze of the night, Wang Lin sighed. He recalled, during the tribulation of Suzaku Star, how the madman had appeared as a shield, absorbing the deadly blow meant for him.

He remembered, too, the third trial of mortal dreams, when he and the madman wandered through the void together. In that dream, he encountered Dao Fei, and they walked together as men of the mundane world for the span of a Jiazi cycle, sixty years.

“I hope he has not changed too much…” The wistfulness deepened in Wang Lin’s eyes. His friends were few, and scarce. This madman… he counted as one.

In truth, he had given the madman little, and no debt of gratitude was owed. It was the madman who had shown *him* immeasurable grace.

“The Imperial City it shall be. But danger surely lurks there. I must prepare myself before I venture forth…” Resolve hardened within Wang Lin’s heart, a silent vow forged in the darkness.

“The Five Celestial Sovereigns of the Immortal Clan…” With a flick of his wrist, Wang Lin summoned the shard of tortoise shell given to him by the Old Ancestor of the Great Soul Sect. Upon it lay not only a map but also descriptions of the Great Sovereigns. Xuan Luo, in the Cave World, had also shared whispers of these titans.

“The Immortal Emperor of the Central Continent, heir to the Eight Extremes Dao of the Immortal Ancestor, is known as the Eight Extremes Great Sovereign!”

“In the Eastern Continent, within the Purple Sun Sect, the strongest of the Nine Sects and Thirteen Schools, dwell the Twin Great Sovereigns!”

“The Southern Continent’s Dao-One Sect houses the Dao-One Great Sovereign!”

“And in the Northern Continent’s Qiankun Dao resides the Martial Seal Great Sovereign!”

“In the Central Continent, besides the Immortal Emperor, exists another Great Sovereign, the Everlasting Emperor Great Sovereign!”

This was the land of the Immortals. Within its seventy-two continents, five peerless beings held dominion, five suns whose light burned all others to ash. The Great Sovereigns.

Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed as he analyzed these five figures. With his current cultivation, should he be discovered by a Great Sovereign, he would undoubtedly be courted, drawn into their retinue.

Were he to gain the protection of a Great Sovereign, the dangers of his journey to the Immortal Imperial City would diminish greatly. For even the Immortal Emperor, the Eight Extremes Great Sovereign, would require a valid reason to slay a Sky Sovereign under another’s banner! Sky Sovereigns, after all, were beings who transcended even Gold Sovereigns, a rare and precious commodity upon the Immortal Astral Continent.

Each Great Sovereign commanded at most a hundred Sky Sovereigns. Throughout the entire Immortal Astral Continent, Sky Sovereigns numbered no more than a thousand.

To slay a common Sky Sovereign might be overlooked, but to kill one who had ascended to the rank of Transcendent Sky Sovereign was an act that no Great Sovereign would tolerate!

For Transcendent Sky Sovereigns were rarer still. Throughout the Immortal Astral Continent, only forty-eight such beings existed!

Most of these individuals remained secluded, hidden in distant corners of the world. Less than a third had sworn fealty to a Great Sovereign.

Such individuals commanded respect, even from the Great Sovereigns themselves, for they were the strongest beings in the Immortal Astral Continent, second only to the Sovereigns. If they desired not to serve, unless they dared to challenge the Great Sovereign as Luo Yunhai had done, they would not be pressured.

But should a Transcendent Sky Sovereign pledge allegiance, the Great Sovereign would thoroughly investigate their past and bestow upon them the utmost trust. For such beings were the finest guardians in times of reincarnation!

To see such a Transcendent Sky Sovereign slain by a rival Great Sovereign, especially if they were already under their protection, would not be tolerated.

It would be an insult to their honor, a blight upon their reputation, and a threat to future recruitment. No Great Sovereign would stand idly by while one of their Transcendent Sky Sovereigns met their end.

Transcendent Sky Sovereigns… they were far too rare.

“Were I within the Ancient Clan, such caution would be unnecessary, with my Master’s protection…” Wang Lin knew that even as Xuan Luo’s sole disciple, he could not reveal this truth in the Immortal Clan. Were he to do so, his current cultivation would be insufficient to withstand the wrath of a Great Sovereign.

The Immortal Clan would never permit such a being, born of the Ancient Clan, to live.
The Master’s affairs were shrouded in a mystery so deep, even madness could not fathom it. Only the sect of Gui Yi held knowledge of the truth. Yet, as Master dared to reveal himself to them, choosing not to extinguish their existence within the Realm of the Caves, surely he possessed the assurance that their lips would remain sealed. Though the specific reasons eluded me, I trusted in Master’s wisdom.

For the Great Celestial Sovereign, knowledge of my possession of the Ancient bloodline, my dual cultivation of Immortal and Ancient arts, would be of little consequence, so long as my connection to Master Xuan Luo remained concealed!

Wang Lin, having spent a considerable time upon the Immortal Astral Continent, began to discern the currents beneath the surface. Over countless years, the Immortal and Ancient races had witnessed a merging of their blood, birthing a lineage of Immortal cultivators who possessed the physique of the Ancient, yet were denied recognition by the Ancient ancestral temples.

*Continued on the next page…*

*Please continue to support Renegade Immortal!*

Thus, Wang Lin’s Ancient form, though startling to ordinary cultivators, would hold little significance in the eyes of a Great Celestial Sovereign.

Furthermore, Wang Lin understood a fundamental truth: some things were best left unhidden. His origins from the Realm of the Caves, a secret to be guarded from most, need not be concealed from the Great Celestial Sovereigns. Indeed, they possessed the means to uncover it, and to them, such knowledge would be advantageous, offering them a clear understanding of Wang Lin’s provenance.

Though the emergence of a cultivator from the Realm of the Caves would undoubtedly cause a tremor, given Wang Lin’s current cultivation, the significance lay not in his origin, but in his choices.

“To garner the attention of a Great Celestial Sovereign, I must reveal the power I wield! The power to slay a Celestial Sovereign! In doing so, I shall earn renown throughout the Immortal race! And with renown, the Great Celestial Sovereigns will seek me out!” Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with resolute determination.

“Of the Five Great Celestial Sovereigns, the Immortal Emperor is beyond consideration. As for the remaining four… I possess little familiarity with the Great Celestial Sovereign of Dao Yi, the Great Celestial Sovereign of Wu Feng, or the Great Celestial Sovereign of Jiu Di. Only the Twin Great Celestial Sovereigns of Zi Yang Sect, hailing from the Eastern Continent, bear a connection to me, stemming from a chance encounter within the Realm of the Caves…” Wang Lin’s mind conjured the image of the two endearing young girls, known as Wa Wa and Han Han, whom he had encountered with Greed Wolf within the Realm of the Caves.

“To attract the attention of a Great Celestial Sovereign, and have them seek me out—this is the most favorable path!” With a flash in his eyes, Wang Lin closed his own, patiently awaiting the arrival of the Celestial Sovereign Ancestor of the Dao Demon Sect. He would maintain himself at his peak, ready to engage a Celestial Sovereign in battle, to ascertain the true extent of his power.

A Gold Exalt was no longer sufficient to gauge Wang Lin’s strength. Only a Celestial Sovereign could accurately determine the heights he had reached!

As he waited, Wang Lin relentlessly absorbed and refined the suppressed primordial spirit of the Dao Demon Sect Master within his being. Yet, he did not immediately condense a second Divine Meridian of the Speed Incantation. Instead, he retrieved the scores of primordial spirits he had acquired from the powerful cultivators of Ran, selecting those below the fifth level of Xuan Calamity to serve as nourishment for the second Divine Meridian.

Time trickled by. As the sky began to brighten, Wang Lin, having consumed nine primordial spirits below the fifth level of Xuan Calamity, felt a thunderous roar erupt within his being. The second Divine Meridian, a swirling vortex, materialized with sudden force!

The moment the second Divine Meridian appeared, Wang Lin’s eyes snapped open. He felt the speed of his spellcasting had surged dramatically!

“The third Divine Meridian must follow!” With a flick of his sleeve, Wang Lin selected seven primordial spirits of cultivators above the fifth level of Xuan Calamity from the remaining collection, devouring them whole. As he lacked a sufficient number of Xuan Calamity primordial spirits, he consumed one of the Initial Void Calamity level. Amidst the roaring within his body, the third Divine Meridian emerged!

With three Divine Meridians in place, the three swirling vortices within Wang Lin’s being spun with unparalleled speed. He could now cast countless mystical arts in an instant, and even the speed of his Dao Ancient body had noticeably increased!

This was unlike the cultivator from whom Wang Lin had obtained the Speed Incantation. That cultivator could only enhance their spellcasting speed, but could not influence their physical form. The crucial difference lay in the fact that the cultivator’s first Divine Meridian had been formed by devouring a Void Nirvana cultivator, while Wang Lin had consumed a Void Profound!

The remaining primordial spirits, a motley collection, were now mostly depleted. Wang Lin stored them away, intending to use them for other purposes.

“I wonder how many Divine Meridians the primordial spirit of the Dao Demon Sect Master will allow me to condense for the Speed Incantation…” Wang Lin closed his eyes once more, and began to use the primordial spirit of the Dao Demon Sect Master to forge further Divine Meridians.

As the sun rose high in the sky, casting its light upon the land, a streak of light, carrying an earth-shattering momentum, hurtled from the border between the Continent of Meng and the Continent of Green Devil. It swiftly crossed the border of the Continent of Meng and entered the Continent of Green Devil. All cultivators within the Continent of Meng, facing the roaring passage of this light, were shaken to their very core, daring not to raise their heads.

The borders between continents held no meaning for a Celestial Sovereign!