The air stilled, silence descending like a shroud as Wang Lin appeared, his movements precise, his words echoing with an unyielding force.

Great Lord Jiu Di’s face was a mask of thunderous fury. Within his core, a searing, tearing agony threatened to consume him, yet he suppressed it with the sheer force of his formidable cultivation. His eyes, fixed upon Wang Lin, burned with a murderous intent.

He had foreseen every twist and turn, accounted for every variable, save for one catastrophic miscalculation: the Immortal Emperor’s abandonment of the Great Lord’s vessel at the critical moment, choosing instead the path of self-annihilation. It defied all he knew of the Emperor’s nature.

Even so, the Emperor’s demise might have been manageable. Though the ancestral head had indeed been breached, the fragmented curse, while debilitating, was not yet fatal. And with no reason to turn upon each other, its effects could be contained, mitigated, and eventually purged within the sanctuaries of their respective abodes.

But Wang Lin, defying death itself, had become the thorn in Jiu Di’s side.

He had not only survived, but emerged seemingly invigorated, seizing the initiative with a single, audacious stroke. The curse, now amplified, left them vulnerable and weakened.

Nearby, Great Lord Wu Feng withered before their eyes, his face etched with the marks of rapid aging, his gaze upon Wang Lin laden with a complex mixture of emotions.

Great Lord Dao Yi, wreathed in a suffocating darkness, writhed in agonizing pain as the ancestral curse threatened to dissolve his very flesh and spirit. The arrival of Wang Lin only served to ignite his rage.

It was the incandescent fury of a lion scorned by an ant, daring to bare its fangs in defiance.

“Insolent whelp! You seek your own demise!” Dao Yi roared, his reason clouded by the curse’s torment. In his perception, Wang Lin, even hailed as the supreme amongst the Sky Lords, remained a mere insect.

With a furious snarl, Dao Yi lunged, his speed blurring the line between motion and reality. His right hand, shimmering with a malignant darkness, clawed at the air.

With a single, sweeping gesture, the world seemed to compress, the fabric of reality itself coalescing into a single point, hurtling toward Wang Lin.

Wang Lin met the assault with a chilling, unwavering gaze. Placing the unconscious Madman gently aside, he unleashed a wave of cataclysmic energy, a black tempest of murderous lightning that coalesced into a shimmering net before him.

As the tempestuous barrier materialized, Wang Lin’s raven hair danced around his face, his countenance radiating an aura of slaughter and obliteration. In that moment, he was the embodiment of deadly force, a Herald of Destruction.

Where murder strides, the end of worlds begins.

The lightning net, crackling with raw, destructive energy, met Dao Yi’s attack in a deafening explosion.

The net shattered, and Wang Lin’s body dispersed into wisps of black energy, only to reform an instant later, his gaze still cold and unflinching.

Murder cannot be undone.

Dao Yi, despite his status as a Great Lord, found his powers diminished by the curse, unable to muster even half of his former strength. The impact of Wang Lin’s lightning flung him back, his eyes wide with disbelief. An alien force, emanating from the heart of the lightning, tore at his flesh, proving utterly unyielding. For the first time since his ascension, Dao Yi had been repelled by one beneath his station.

This ignominious sensation, long forgotten, now returned with a vengeance, driving the curse into a frenzied state. Putrid flesh sloughed from his face, leaving behind a gruesome testament to the curse’s growing power.

“You…you…” Dao Yi gasped, the words lost in a wave of searing pain. A Sky Lord would already be extinguished.

“Dao Yi, if you persist, I, unburdened by this curse, will gladly witness your final demise!” Wang Lin said, his voice as sharp as the edge of a blade.

Dao Yi’s face contorted, his eyes burning with a hatred he could barely contain. For the first time, he felt a twinge of dread, a seed of doubt that he himself could not understand. More putrid flesh fell from his face, leaving behind nothing of the beauty he once bore.

Great Lord Jiu Di, his expression still darkened, fixed his gaze upon Wang Lin and spoke.

“Wang Lin, I concede that I have once again underestimated you. Your patience and opportune arrival have granted you the initiative, a feat that even I must admire.

But do not assume that you can simply seize the ancestral head while we are crippled by the curse.

Wang Lin, you are a cunning man. I am loath to ignite the curse further with open conflict, but do not push me. Return the head, and I swear to allow you safe passage from this place. I will even pledge to aid you in your own ascension to Great Lord. But if you cling to your greed, this place will become your grave. Even the twins are near exhaustion. While they may challenge me, I hold the advantage. And Wu Feng and Dao Yi, though weakened, can still contain them long enough for me to act. And there is Hai Zi, the Royal Preceptor of the Mourning Clan. Do not tempt fate, Wang Lin. Any one of us could incinerate you with a fraction of our true power.”

Wang Lin’s gaze swept over them all.

Just then, the Twin Great Lords, who had remained at a distance, swayed. Their faces were ashen, and their bodies shimmered with a violet light, as if they were melting before the eyes of the beholders. Before them were two young girls, wan and frail. Clearly, the act of fusion had come at a terrible price.
Wang Lin, without hesitation, as the twin maidens materialized beside him, lifted his right foot and brought it down with savage force upon the Immortal Ancestor’s skull. The head convulsed, its eyes seemingly exploding, ejecting two orbs stained with fading golden ichor!

The Immortal Ancestor’s skull pulsed with a death curse, but this affliction had already been sundered, its burden shared by the likes of Immortal Emperor and the other three Great Venerates. Wang Lin, having absorbed the Immortal Emperor’s spirit, had sensed this transference and thus held no fear of the curse’s tendrils ensnaring him.

The Ancestor’s eyes, once a unified whole, now free, were swiftly claimed by the twin maidens.

“These treasures, vital to the Dual Sovereigns, are yours! Accept them with our gratitude for your aid!” As Wang Lin spoke, Great Venerate Jiu Di’s face twisted in fury. With a thunderous roar, he lunged toward Wang Lin.

Even Dao Yi, eyes bloodshot, became a wraithlike presence, a miasma of dark energy closing in once more!

“Wu Feng, Hai Zi, join me!” Jiu Di’s inner turmoil was a tempest. A Great Venerate, aged beyond reckoning, he was now forced to summon aid, a humiliation that gnawed at his very being.

“This one must not survive!” Jiu Di’s intent was as tangible as the air, a choking presence. Just as he reached Wang Lin, the Dual Sovereigns, each clutching an Immortal Ancestor’s eye, though pale, acted with grim resolve. They merged once again, transforming into the true Dual Sovereign, and intercepted Jiu Di and Dao Yi!

The air crackled with the clash of immense power. Nearby, Wu Feng hesitated, while Great Venerate Hai Zi gnawed at her lip, a visible struggle within her.

As the Dual Sovereigns engaged Jiu Di and Dao Yi, Wang Lin’s eyes flashed. With a flick of his wrist, two streaks of darkness severed the Immortal Ancestor’s ears from the skull!

Golden ichor sprayed, and the severed ears transformed into golden beams, which Wang Lin sent hurtling toward Wu Feng!

“Great Venerate Wu Feng, these are yours! A gift!” Wu Feng caught them, his face impassive. He silently stowed the Immortal Ancestor’s ears, then stepped back. He had no further part to play, especially with the curse-laden atmosphere. He needed to retreat to his sanctuary and begin the arduous task of exorcism!

Wu Feng departed without a word, but not before casting a deep, knowing glance at Wang Lin. He vanished in an instant, leaving only the lingering scent of ancient magic.

Jiu Di, entangled by the Dual Sovereigns, witnessed this exchange and his rage intensified. Teeth bared, he roared, and a blinding white light erupted from his body, transforming his aura into that of a colossal white sun!

From within that radiant corona, a monstrous white wolf howled, its head tearing through Jiu Di’s form as it lunged toward the Dual Sovereigns!

“Dao Yi, Hai Zi, seize the skull!” Jiu Di, heedless of the growing curse within him, unleashed his solar power, revealing his truest and most potent form. He bore the brunt of the Dual Sovereigns’ fury, allowing Dao Yi to slip past. Behind Dao Yi, a sun of his own appeared, but the Great Venerate, now suffering acutely from the encroaching curse, expended every ounce of his will.

Yet, Dao Yi was the weakest of the Great Venerates, and the curse gnawed at him mercilessly. The sun behind him flickered, dim and fragile, threatening to wink out at any moment. His remaining power was limited.

It was enough to challenge a mere Celestial, but insufficient to extinguish the encroaching black-haired Wang Lin in short order! He needed Hai Zi’s aid, a joint assault with the powers of the Mournful Clan to secure victory!

Wang Lin, remaining calm, watched as Dao Yi approached. He urged the Immortal Ancestor’s skull away from his pursuer, and turned his gaze towards the conflicted Hai Zi.

“I know not whether to address you as Great Venerate Hai Zi, or National Preceptor Hai Zi… Your Mournful Clan used me to unlock your seals. If you join Jiu Di, I will simply abandon this skull. But if you seek my death, you will be disappointed!”

“Furthermore, your involvement will bring no benefit to the Mournful Clan. Should you choose to abstain, Wang Lin will forgive your past manipulation! I shall treat it as if it never occurred!”