**Recent Scrolls & Decrees:**

* The most recent twenty verses of the saga can be found transcribed here: [tieba.baidu/p/]
* A hundred verses, newly revealed: [tieba.baidu/p/]

========HARK! A MAGNIFICENT DIVIDE========

**[LET IT BE KNOWN: The scroll of the latest twenty verses is sealed against reply, lest you be cast into the Shadow Realm without recourse!]**

Behold, in the celestial void, nine stellar orbs, their courses strangely altered by an unseen force! From disparate points they converged, hurtling toward Wang Lin like celestial hounds unleashed upon their prey.

These nine astral fortresses, vast beyond reckoning, thundered as they approached, threatening to engulf Wang Lin in a cataclysm of stellar fury.

The sudden upheaval caused Wang Lin to falter. He attempted to evade the onslaught, but the nine colossal stars shifted their trajectory, relentlessly pursuing him.

“Can this be the first trial of the Heavenly Venerate’s design?” Wang Lin mused, his gaze hardening. Abandoning evasion, he strode forth, meeting the onrushing star head-on. Raising his hand, he unleashed a fist of power directly against the approaching behemoth!

“Summon the Winds!” With the force of ninefold incantations, Wang Lin’s fist manifested a tempestuous vortex, a monstrous black dragon that devoured the very stars. It collided with the celestial body in a resounding, earth-shattering explosion.

The star shattered into cosmic debris. In the instant of its demise, Wang Lin pivoted, his foot a blur of motion, striking the second star with thunderous force.

A mere echo of his true form, Wang Lin danced between the third, fourth, and all the way to the ninth star, each receiving the crushing force of his blows.

The firmament trembled, and all nine stars succumbed to obliteration. Yet, even as they crumbled, a great force erupted from the depths of the cosmos, seizing Wang Lin and flinging him backward, ejecting him from the starry arena.

Dazed, Wang Lin found himself outside the towering palace of the first trial, stumbling back several hundred paces before regaining his footing.

“A failure, then?” He lifted his gaze, his eyes reflecting a storm of contemplation.

The palace remained silent, its golden aura unsheathed, a clear indication of Wang Lin’s defeat.

The surrounding Heavenly Venerates witnessed his setback with a mixture of astonishment and disdain. Those who had previously clashed with Wang Lin were particularly incredulous.

“He could not even conquer the first trial…this man…”

“It is rare indeed for one of the Celestial Tribe to fail so early. We have witnessed a novelty today.”

“It is unfathomable. Wang Lin possesses great strength, yet he is humbled by the first trial.”

All eyes turned to Wang Lin, a tapestry of surprise, scorn, and indifference woven together.

Each of those present had traversed the first trial with relative ease, and Wang Lin’s failure fueled a subtle undercurrent of contempt, veiled though it was.

The Bamboo Forest Heavenly Venerate cast a cursory glance at Wang Lin before resuming his meditation, dismissing him from his thoughts.

Wang Lin remained silent, then raised his head, his gaze fixed on the obsidian palace. A cold light flickered in his eyes as he launched himself forward, a celestial arrow aimed once more at the daunting edifice.

His renewed assault drew further scrutiny from the Heavenly Venerates, most of whom shook their heads in disapproval.

“Rarely does one succeed on the second attempt after initial failure. Better to depart and hone one’s skills.”

“It seems he clings to the hope of fortune’s favor. Perhaps he will stumble through the first trial.”

With blinding speed, Wang Lin breached the palace threshold, finding himself once more in the starry arena.

Composed and unyielding, he bore no trace of the shame of his earlier failure. He stood resolute, his eyes scanning the void. The eerie wail of the approaching stars echoed once more, and the nine astral fortresses shifted course, guided by unseen hands, bearing down upon Wang Lin from all sides.

Unyielding, Wang Lin unleashed his spiritual sense, engulfing the surrounding space. As the stars drew near, looming mere hundreds of feet away, and their crushing weight threatened to overwhelm him, he raised his right hand. Ninefold was the strength of the winds and unleashing it, his punch struck into the nothingness of the void.

Under the force of this strike, the celestial void was in a state of chaos and the nine stellar bodies shuddered together! As Wang Lin’s form distorted, it became a nine-headed black dragon. The dragon bore nine heads and as they came together, they swallowed the stars.

With a sound that was louder than stars, the dragons and stars collided. At the same time, each of the stars collapsed.

Golden light swept throughout the astral domain. It rushed through the first-level palace to the land outside of the palace.

The Heavenly Venerates, who sat cross-legged outside of the palace, were drawn to this light, giving expressions of surprise. Within the light, a white-haired man emerged from the top of the palace to ascend to the second!

“He actually was given success?”

“This white-haired Heavenly Venerate is quite interesting.”

“The first was failure and the second was a fluke. However, the second palace can not be cheated. Strength is the only thing that can help you.”

As the Heavenly Venerates discussed Wang Lin, the second palace exploded with golden light!

It was so bright that the first palace’s golden light had not dissipated! The land was filled with light!

This caused the arrogant Heavenly Venerates to freeze.

“Hm?”

“He finished the second so fast!”

“How long was it? The first was a failure, yet he was able to get through the second in a single try!”
From the second tier of the Celestial Nirvana, bathed in radiant gold, Wang Lin ascended with unmatched speed. Without pause, he streaked towards the third palace above, his passage heralded by a roaring wind.

His ascent did not go unnoticed. Celestial cultivators, particularly those stalled at the third tier, watched with bated breath. His earlier failure had sown doubt; they questioned if he possessed the strength to overcome this trial.

“The third tier demands more than the fusion of twenty-seven arcane arts,” one murmured. “Among the twenty-seven celestial bodies, one is golden, and it is this star that holds the true challenge!”

“I have mastered thirty arts, yet I failed at this tier,” another confided. “The golden star is equivalent to all the others combined!”

“This one will find the third tier insurmountable,” a third declared.

Yet, amidst their hushed speculations, a cry of astonishment erupted.

Scarcely had Wang Lin entered the third palace when it, too, erupted in blinding gold!

The golden radiance of the first two palaces still lingered, and as the third joined their glow, it seemed as if three separate streams of light were merging, weaving together to form the nascent body of a celestial dragon.

The golden tide washed over all, and even the most seasoned Celestial cultivators below were struck by its power.

“He has passed!”

“He has cleared three tiers at once! How could one of such power have faltered at the first hurdle?”

“Such swift passage speaks of immense strength. Let us see how many more palace lights he can ignite.”

From the heart of the third golden palace, Wang Lin emerged, his gaze fixed on the fourth tier above. Without hesitation, he dashed upwards, disappearing into the next palace as all eyes watched.

*“The Celestial Nirvana trials demand destruction in unison, not a piecemeal dismantling as I attempted the first time,”* he mused, his expression serene. The first three tiers posed little challenge.

His form vanished within the fourth palace.

Below, even the Bamboo Grove Celestial opened his eyes, his gaze piercing the golden light to focus on the fourth tier.

Indeed, nearly all present were now captivated.

The fourth tier of the Celestial Nirvana was a watershed. Of the thousand Celestials within the Immortal Clan, fewer than two hundred could conquer it. Most were forever halted at this stage.

Therefore, Wang Lin’s attempt drew their attention. To reach the fourth tier was to be counted among the strong.

Time passed, marked by each heartbeat.

The conjoined streams of golden light emanating from the first three palaces began to wane, most noticeably the light from the first palace, which threatened to fade completely.

Wang Lin had spent longer within the fourth palace than he had in the third.

But in the instant before the golden light of the first palace extinguished, a gasp rippled through the crowd. Dozens of Celestials rose from their meditation, staring at the heavens as the fourth palace unleashed a golden radiance that dwarfed all that had come before!

With this surge, the four palace lights merged perfectly, creating the distinct impression of a nascent dragon’s tail. The sight was magnificent.

“He has passed the fourth tier!”

“He has conquered the fourth tier! Such a cultivator is a force to be reckoned with among Celestials!”

The Bamboo Grove Celestial’s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the figure emerging from the golden light of the fourth palace. He felt a sense of unease, a hint of threat.

High above, Wang Lin stood bathed in golden light, his gaze fixed on the fifth tier.

*”Two golden celestial bodies resided within the thirty-six stars of the fourth tier. I deployed all my avatars. This tier is my limit without the Soul Armor, but with it… how many more tiers could I conquer? Alas, I must first journey to the Mountains and Seas for the divine tree; now is not the time to reveal my full strength. But once that task is complete, I shall return to conquer these trials!”*