At the edge of the Mountains and Seas, Wang Lin’s silhouette, sharp as a chiseled edge, materialized in a fleeting instant. With a single stride, he merged with the very essence of heaven and earth, vanishing without a trace.

Far beyond the borders of the Mountains and Seas Continent, in the verdant heart of the Mountain Sea Interim, amidst a sprawling expanse of ancient, evergreen pines, Wang Lin’s form coalesced. He stood atop one of these venerable trees, gazing back at the distant horizon, where the world met the sky.

Moments before, he had employed the arcane art of Remaining Dusk, shattering and weakening the spectral hand. Without hesitation, he had seized the opportunity to escape. As he burst forth from the sea’s surface, he faintly sensed three oppressive auras hanging in the heavens, each potent enough to crush the firmament. Combining this with his previous conjectures, identifying the source of these auras was no difficult task.

He settled into a meditative pose atop the pine, drawing in a deep breath. The vastness of the world around him was far more comforting than the confining barrier he had endured for years.

“That severed hand holds secrets untold. My journey to the Mountains and Seas has been fruitful. Beyond the Mountain Sea Tree Spirit, my greatest acquisition is a shard of the Immortal Extremity Sword!” Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed, and within his open palm, a flash of golden light flickered briefly.

“Within the Sea Child Celestial’s barrier, absorbing this fragment in their presence was impossible. Now that I am free, I must integrate it into my vision as swiftly as possible!” As Wang Lin pondered this, he also considered the Great Celestials. Yet, as they had allowed his departure without intervention, he surmised that he had passed their unspoken test.

With a subtle shift, Wang Lin’s form blurred, slowly merging with the ancient pine beneath him. He vanished into the heart of the tree. Within the gnarled embrace of the ancient wood, Wang Lin sat in lotus position, retrieving the final two Mountain Sea Tree Spirits.

“For years, I have absorbed the other Tree Spirits. The Wood Origin within me has reached a near-perfect state, granting me the ability to perceive the very essence of wood throughout creation. With these last two, I wonder if I can birth a true Origin Body!”

“Yet, this Wood Origin is peculiar. Its absorption slows with each passing moment. I know not when it will fully become one with my own!” With a resolute grip, Wang Lin crushed the two remaining Wood Spirits, immediately drawing them into his essence to commence their slow assimilation.

“There is no rush. This refinement requires time. The paramount task is to absorb the Immortal Extremity Sword shard. After this, I must contemplate the path I shall tread.” In silent contemplation, Wang Lin flipped his hand, revealing the Immortal Extremity Sword shard, which he had daringly seized from within the Mountain Sea Tree’s seal, now radiating a boundless golden light.

No larger than a palm, its edges were jagged and irregular, yet it emanated an aura of such keenness that it seemed capable of cleaving the heavens and earth themselves.

Gazing at the shard in his hand, Wang Lin’s eyes gradually filled with a similar golden light. Within the depths of his pupils, a faint image of an Immortal Extremity Sword shard flickered.

In that instant, the golden light within his eyes and the golden light of the shard seemed to intertwine, weaving together in harmony. A strange, magnetic pull emanated from Wang Lin’s very soul, echoing the familiar summons he had sensed beyond the Mountain Sea Tree.

As the summons and the magnetic force intensified, the Immortal Extremity Sword shard in Wang Lin’s hand transformed, as if melting into countless golden threads. These threads, akin to liquid gold, darted towards Wang Lin’s eyes.

The moment the last golden filament vanished into Wang Lin’s pupils, the golden light within the ancient pine abruptly extinguished, plunging the tree’s heart into utter darkness. Within this void, Wang Lin sat in meditation, his breath deep and even.

Time drifted by. The world outside cycled through darkness and light countless times, passing seven days. The ancient pine forest, now in the season of autumn, was swept with sounds like the clapping of countless hands, a melody of the leaves in the wind.

Leaves were lifted, swirling into the wind, scattered like wanderers in a strange land, never to find a home.

During those seven days, several cultivators passed through the ancient pine forest, oblivious to the fact that within the heart of one of those trees, a lone cultivator was in retreat.

For those seven days, Wang Lin remained unmoving, but within the darkness beneath his eyelids, his eyes blazed with an astonishing golden light. In his mind, these seven days were an eternity.

Within his mind’s eye, two Immortal Extremity Sword shards were merging, each no larger than a palm, each with irregular edges. In the span of seven days, an age, these two shards had become one.

As they joined, a small, golden sword, barely a foot in length, materialized in his mind. It radiated a terrifying sharpness, and an aura of immeasurable power filled his mind.

On the eighth day, as Wang Lin opened his eyes, a cataclysmic wave of golden light erupted from his pupils. This light possessed a suppressive force far exceeding anything Wang Lin had previously commanded, solidifying into a tangible force. As the power of the light expanded, it echoed with the sound of breaking earth and collapsing skies.

However, the torrent of golden light quickly began to contract and focus, and after many hours, the power was concentrated in the pools of light in his eyes. Nothing was visible.

Yet, beneath the surface, the light concealed an immeasurable sharpness and a profound authority, as though a single glance could cause the soul to shatter and retreat.

It was the power of suppression, the Immortal Extremity Sword of the Immortal Ancestor, holding sway over all living things.

Wang Lin drew a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, even the subtle sharpness and suppressive force were gone, replaced by a quality of simplicity.

“The Immortal Extremity Sword… the pinnacle of all metallic essence. I did not expect that by seizing the second fragment and merging it with my own, I would birth the final origin of the Five Elements within me: the Gold Origin!” Wang Lin spoke quietly. Although the event was unexpected, the seven days of refinement had given him clarity.

“A single fragment is equivalent to absorbing the Mountain Sea Tree Spirits for many years…” Wang Lin raised his right hand and waved it forward, conjuring ninety-eight afterimages that merged into his hand. He clenched his fist.

A series of sharp cracks echoed from his palm, sounds that were both crisp and imbued with a sense of destruction. Within his fist, nine black vortices swirled, each containing the power of a body fusion divine ability.

Before leaving for the Mountains and Seas, Wang Lin had dared to enter the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana’s Land. There, he could imbue nine divine abilities into a single fist or finger. Now, as he stared at his right hand, his gaze flickered, and the swirling black vortices of nine abilities rotated around his fist, and now, in a cacophony, the tenth vortex appeared!

“There should be more than ten!” Wang Lin released his grip, and as he clenched his fist again, a muffled rumble came from within. Then, the eleventh vortex appeared!

These eleven vortices represented the maximum number of divine abilities that Wang Lin could unleash in a single fist or finger in his base state, without deploying his true body or origins. Should he unleash his true body and origins, his power would be even greater, with forty-four divine abilities from one finger or fist.

After all, his Five Elements True Body, like his base body, could unleash twice as many divine abilities. And with the addition of the Thunder True Body, the power would soar. Finally, there was the Void Origin. Although the Void Origin had not yet coalesced into a true body, it was inherently more mysterious than the solid origins, especially now that Wang Lin’s three Void Origins had merged into one.

This stacking was a way for him to combine and control his strength.

“There should be more…” Wang Lin murmured. He raised his left hand and pressed it against his right, and with a jolt that pulsed through his entire being, he emitted a low growl.

As the sound echoed, and the eleventh vortex swirled around his right hand, a twelfth vortex appeared. As the twelfth vortex formed, the thirteenth vortex appeared!

Wang Lin’s breathing became strained. He could feel his limit approaching.

“Thirteen divine abilities… If I deploy my true body and origins, the combined power should allow me to contend with a Celestial Venerate who wields fifty-two divine abilities, even without the Soul Piercing Armor!

“I wonder, with my current power, if I were to enter the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana’s Land again, could I pass the fifth level? It seems that I would!” A smile spread across Wang Lin’s face.

He had no plans to challenge the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana’s Land again immediately. The time was not yet right. Wang Lin had resolved to make a great impact.

“Attracting the attention of all the Great Celestials hinges on my second attempt at the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana. For now, I need not continue challenging the Celestials. What I must do is return to Eastern Continent, to the Eastern Immersia Sect’s Eastern Immersia Pool, and see how it compares to the illusion I experienced within the Cave World!” Wang Lin rose to his feet, his eyes alight with purpose.

“I must enter the Eastern Immersia Sect and afterwards make my second attempt at the Heavenly Venerate Nirvana. Which will then lead me to selecting a Great Celestial, and then to make my last stop on the Immortal Continent: The Imperial City of the Central Continent!

“Once I resolve the unresolved matters within the Imperial City, I shall depart from the Immortal Continent and journey to the thirty-six prefectures of the Ancient Clan to meet my teacher, Xuan Luo, and fulfill my promise!” Wang Lin drew a deep breath, shifted his form, vanished from within the ancient pine, coalesced into a radiant rainbow, and sped towards the distant Eastern Continent.

“I can feel myself growing stronger. Wan’er, the day I become a Great Celestial will be the day I personally resurrect you, my wife!

“That day is not far off. It is near, very near… Wan’er, it is very near.” As Wang Lin sped on, his eyes revealed a rare tenderness, one that held memories of a love not always of gentle moments, but a devotion unyielding over millennia.