Mournful sighs whispered from Hai Zi’s lips, a silent witness to the unfolding battle. He stood motionless, eyes closed, for the path he had chosen was one of inaction. Seeing this, Jiu Di ground his teeth, his face a mask of dark fury. Words of persuasion were abandoned; instead, he plunged headlong into a titanic struggle against the Twin Sovereigns!

The ensuing cataclysm echoed across the realms, shaking the very heavens. As the echoes faded, Dao Yi descended upon Wang Lin, his crimson eyes burning with a murderous intent. He sought to spill Wang Lin’s blood, to cleanse his tarnished honor in the crimson tide.

Wang Lin remained impassive, yet within his dark orbs flickered a long-dormant ember of battle lust. A flame rekindled from his days in the Cave World, born of his comprehension of the very essence of war. It was the battle cry of a true cultivator: “What is there to fear in a single fight!”

“Dao Yi!” Wang Lin roared, standing upon the skull of the Immortal Ancestor. His raven hair billowed despite the absence of wind, and in his outstretched hand, a shard of gold appeared—the very fragment of the Immortal Extermination Sword that Jiu Di had bestowed upon him in the long street.

Little did Jiu Di suspect that Wang Lin would survive the schemes of the Mourning Clan. Had he known, he would never have gifted such a prize. Incorporating the shard into his being, a strange light suffused Wang Lin’s eyes. He took a single step forward and struck his own chest with a resounding blow.

“Five Elements True Body, emerge!”

“Three Grand Ethereal Origins, be unleashed!”

“Restriction, Primordial Dawn, go forth!”

With that strike, all but two of Wang Lin’s Origins were expelled from his body—only the twin powers of Slaughter and Annihilation remained, fueled by the crackling energy of Lightning. Wang Lin, transformed into a vessel of destruction, charged towards Dao Yi.

A tumultuous clash ensued in the heavens above. Dao Yi screamed, his Great Heavenly Venerate cultivation augmented by the power of the Primeval Sniper. With a unification of all magic and matter, he unleashed spell after spell, each imbued with the very essence of his will. Yet, against this onslaught, Wang Lin, now a being of pure black rage, was repeatedly shattered, only to reform again and again.

“Damn him! This black-haired Wang Lin is proving far too resilient!” Dao Yi cursed, enduring the excruciating pain of the curse within his body. Each attack was met with a counter-attack from Wang Lin, pushing Dao Yi back and exacerbating the effects of the dark magic.

With another earth-shattering explosion, Wang Lin’s body disintegrated into a cloud of black vapor. The vapor, as if alive and imbued with sentience, surged towards Dao Yi, rapidly coalescing around him. From that inky cloud, a spectral hand emerged, a single finger stabbing towards Dao Yi!

Dao Yi whirled around, his face now almost a skull, flesh sloughing off, blood trickling down. He countered with a fist that froze the very fabric of existence. Even the black vapor seemed to pause. Wang Lin’s finger shattered upon impact, the vapor recoiling. It re-formed into his figure just ten paces away. Yet, Dao Yi stumbled, retreating three steps, the inescapable essence of slaughter mingling with his cursed power, causing him to howl in agony. Unfazed, the black-haired Wang Lin lunged again!

Simultaneously, the Five Elements True Body, which had been forced out of Wang Lin, surged with power. The integration of the Immortal Extermination Sword shard had triggered the final stage of its evolution: the complete mastery of the Gold Element! This mastery, though it did not yet manifest as a true Origin Body, completed the cycle of the Five Elements. The elements flowed seamlessly, infinitely, as one perfect whole. Wang Lin’s Five Elements True Body erupted with a terrifying force, casting a glance at the black-haired Wang Lin’s battle with Dao Yi. The True Body took a step forward, a swirling aura of five colors cloaking its form, like a vibrant coat! Black, the color of Earth! Gold, the color of metal! Green, the color of life! Blue, the color of the water! Red, the color of flames!

The Five Elements True Body arrived, raising a hand, and the Five Elements surged into action. The black earth transformed into a vast, desolate land, imbued with the profound essence of earth. It roared to life, forming a gargantuan Earth Golem behind Dao Yi, and the golem delivered a thunderous blow!

The golden metal, erupting in blinding light, conjured countless phantom swords. Each blade, though ethereal, contained the essence of metal. Unleashed, they rained down as a storm of blades, all converging on Dao Yi!

The living wood coalesced into a colossal tree, hundreds of feet tall, manifesting from the heavens and crashing down upon Dao Yi. This tree threatened to sunder the very heavens, a single, devastating strike!

The water and fire coalesced into a raging inferno, a tidal wave of flames swirling around Dao Yi, engulfing him in their scorching embrace!

As this unfolded, the black-haired Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with intent. He charged forth, his body dissolving into countless bolts of black lightning, streaking towards Dao Yi! It was the combined might of the Slaughter Body and the Five Elements True Body, unleashed with unparalleled ferocity!

The heavens roared as Dao Yi let out a piercing scream. His robes were torn to shreds, and torrents of blood spewed from the cracks in his skeletal face. The hazy sun behind him shattered, unleashing a shockwave that obliterated the descending giant tree, tore the Earth Golem asunder, reversed the tides of water and fire, shattered the metal blades, and scattered the Five Elements. The energies reformed, coalescing once more into Wang Lin’s Five Elements True Body!

The black lightning, scattered by the blast, retreated, reforming into the black-haired Wang Lin.

Dao Yi screamed, his face a skull, but within the sockets, his eyes still burned. They glowed with a terrified light!

He feared Wang Lin, but more than that, he feared the curse that now raged within him. He could feel it consuming his very soul. If he did not retreat immediately to seclusion and healing, if he continued this battle, he would surely… perish!

“I am not reconciled!” Dao Yi roared to the heavens, and with a flicker, he ascended, determined to escape. He dared not continue the fight, for he sensed the shadow of death rapidly closing in!

“Origin of Restriction, Seal the Heavens!”

“Origin of Primordial Dawn, Power of the Lingering Night!”
“Life and Death, Cause and Consequence, Truth and Illusion – all dissolve into nothingness, a boundless shroud descends!” Black-haired Wang Lin and his Five Elements True Body unleashed their power as one!

Above the fleeing figure of Dao Yi, where moments before oblivion reigned, a tapestry of shimmering runes materialized. This was Wang Lin’s Primal Source of Restriction, its power of confinement awakened!

Behind this web of binding, a blazing sun, a nascent dawn, bloomed into existence. Its light, a blinding cascade of celestial fire, poured into the Primal Source, forging chains of light that locked down heaven and earth!

Then, the Three Essences of Emptiness coalesced, swirling around the battlefield like a miasma. Within this mist resided Wang Lin’s very Dao, spreading across the firmament, a suffocating presence that imprisoned Dao Yi’s escape!

“You think to leave?” Black-haired Wang Lin and his Five Elements True Body, like twin specters of vengeance, surged towards Dao Yi. In the distance, the Eternal Emperor, locked in battle with the Twin Guardians, recoiled in shock. He stumbled back from the clash of white and violet energies, turning to intercept Wang Lin. The Twin Guardians, their faces ashen, grit their teeth and barred his way!

“Twin Guardians, enough!” bellowed the Eternal Emperor. “The Immortal Emperor is fallen. Would you see Dao Yi consumed by curse-magic as well?” The Twin Guardians hesitated. Blood of the Immortal Clan ran through their veins!

Dao Yi’s body began to slough off, piece by piece, a grotesque shedding of flesh. His eyes, burning with desperate madness, fueled by agony, roared as he hammered a fist into the heavens!

With a thunderous roar, the constraints of Restriction, the essence of Primordial Origin, and the Three Essences of Emptiness shattered under the fury of Dao Yi’s self-immolation. He broke free! Just as Dao Yi thought to escape, the eyes of Black-haired Wang Lin and his Five Elements True Body flickered with dark purpose!

“You may flee,” spoke Black-haired Wang Lin, his voice laced with chilling certainty, “but the Dao Yi Sect shall not!” A promise of ruin and annihilation hung heavy in the air.

“You think you can wage war at your whim, then flee at your leisure?” The Five Elements True Body’s words were sharp and unforgiving.

Madness consumed Dao Yi. He had sacrificed his very being for this escape, for a chance to retreat and heal. Sect and clan were now meaningless to him. He surged forward, his form blurring with desperate speed.

Simultaneously, the Eternal Emperor, having breached the Twin Guardians’ blockade, advanced with deceptive intent. He feigned to stop Wang Lin, but his true goal was laced with lethal ambition!

Black-haired Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed. Without hesitation, as Dao Yi sought his escape and the Eternal Emperor advanced, he dissolved into a tempest of black mist, rushing towards the Five Elements True Body. In an instant, they became one, forming a shifting, spectral figure.

“Primal Source of Restriction, return!”

“Primal Source of Primordial Origin, return!”

“Life and Death, Cause and Consequence, Truth and Illusion, return!”

“Five Elements True Body, coalesce! Slaughterous Lightning True Body, coalesce! Essence of Emptiness, solidify!”

From within the formless figure, a voice resonated. It shifted, reforming into Wang Lin’s true body. His hair was no longer purely black, nor entirely white, but a tapestry of opposing hues. Raising his head, a presence, causing the Eternal Emperor’s pupils to contract, erupted from him!

This was Wang Lin’s mightiest form, save for his Avatar of Nothingness. The culmination of absorbed Immortal Ancestor’s cultivation, the complete Five Elements Kingdom, and the fusion with Slaughter, birthed this apex of power!

Behind him, a vast, spectral sun, divided by the same duality of black and white, abruptly appeared. Though indistinct, merely an outline, its arrival sent tremors through the very souls of the Sea Child, the Eternal Emperor, the Twin Guardians, and the fleeing Dao Yi!

“This… this is…”

“This is no mere illusion! This… this is the Sun of a Great Celestial!”

“Impossible! He has never ventured to the Divine Domain of the Ancients! How could he possess the Sun of a Great Celestial? It is blurry, but without a doubt, this is the nascent form of the Sun of a Great Celestial!”

“He… he has forged the Sun of a Great Celestial through his own power! This man… this man…”