Seeing the resolve etched upon Wang Lin’s face, Xuan Luo’s gaze hardened, and he spoke no more. Instead, he watched as Wang Lin turned towards the two hundred and first step of the ancient path.

The oppressive force emanating from Mount Gu Dao, with the commencement of his ascent, crashed down upon Wang Lin with renewed ferocity. It was an indescribable weight, crushing against his very being.

The chasm in power between the two hundredth and two hundred and first steps was immense. Where before, the pressure was akin to a raging torrent, barely overcome by Wang Lin’s every effort and the burning of his Grand Empyrean Solar Wheel outline, now it was the full might of an entire tempestuous sea, crashing upon him.

With but a single step, Wang Lin’s face grew ashen, his body trembled violently, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. His very bones groaned under the strain, as if being crushed, his flesh tearing, his spirit cracking, his soul threatening to unravel.

He was a lone skiff upon the ocean’s wrath, fragile and vulnerable before its boundless power.

Yet, Wang Lin would not yield. Though peril lay with each stride, he refused to surrender. This was a chance he might never see again, a final opportunity to achieve the Immortal-Ancient integration that had eluded him before.

Moreover, to falter now would not only doom his integration, but also cast a shadow upon his heart of a champion – a shadow of Gu Dao Great Empyrean, of that overwhelming and unyielding presence. Such fear, if allowed to fester, would fester and cripple his very essence, his very Tao.

“Gu Dao Great Empyrean…these three hundred steps, I *will* conquer!” Wang Lin’s face contorted in agony. The pain searing through him both within and without screamed to be released, yet he choked it back, channeling that force into his very being, and took his second step!

As his foot landed, Wang Lin’s mind reeled, his body shuddered even more violently, yet he felt, with terrible clarity, the power of his Immortal lineage and the strength of the Ancient bloodline within him, being forcibly fused by the crushing pressure.

But within that fusion, a terrifying resistance arose. Were it not for the very weight of Mount Gu Dao upon him, Wang Lin would be helpless to quell that rebellion, and his Immortal-Ancient integration would fail once more.

Yet now, there was no need for Wang Lin to suppress it; the might of Gu Dao did the work for him.

He lurched forward, taking a third step, then a fourth, a fifth, a sixth!

Though his frame trembled, within that seemingly frail vessel resided an astonishing resilience. It was a resilience that stiffened his spine, that allowed him to look any foe in the eye and never falter.

A seventh step, an eighth! Wang Lin stood upon the two hundred and eighth step, veins bulging upon his brow, the creaking of his bones a chorus of agony!

Yet, within his eyes, the fires of defiance still burned, undiminished. He sensed the Immortal-Ancient forces within him swirling ever faster, merging in the face of such tremendous pressure. He sensed change.

“Ancient form as exterior, Source cultivation as interior, Ancient Immortal fusion, united within…” Wang Lin roared, lifting his foot, and took his ninth step, his tenth, arriving at the two hundred and tenth stair!

The moment his foot touched the stone, the Source and Ancient powers within him, forged by the incessant fusion, finally coalesced, granting him a sliver of unity!

That sliver was the embodiment of the Immortal-Ancient union, a power that was both Immortal and Ancient, yet uniquely Wang Lin’s!

At that instant, across the heavens, a sight appeared that stunned Xuan Luo and forced the shrouded figure upon the tower’s summit to open his eyes in shock!

The azure sky transformed instantly into a sea of gold, emanating boundless rays that blanketed the land and spread with breathtaking speed, until, within a hundred thousand leagues, the firmament was painted entirely in gold!

This celestial gold could be seen from afar, a spectacle of epic proportions!

This gold was no mere spell, no artifice. In all the history of the Ancient Clan, such a natural phenomenon had never been witnessed.

Xuan Luo gazed upward, his pupils reflecting the golden radiance.

Beneath that gilded sky, the lands of the Ancient Clan were as dark as midnight, but now, that darkness was magnified a thousandfold, the very earth, the mountains upon it, were plunged into an abyss of impenetrable black!

A blackness that chilled the very soul of any who dared to gaze upon it!

This was…

“Nine Bends, Three Forms… the First Form: Golden Sky, Obsidian Earth!” Xuan Luo breathed, a tremor in his voice.

The Nine Bends, Three Forms were the celestial omens foretelling the birth of the Immortal and Ancient progenitors. In all of existence, they had been witnessed only at the birth of those two.

Yet now, they appeared upon Mount Gu Dao, a testament to an inexplicable destiny, casting a veil of eerie stillness over the land.

Wang Lin saw none of this, for his sole focus was the three hundred steps, and within that climb, the consummation of his Immortal-Ancient integration!

As the Golden Sky, Obsidian Earth descended, Wang Lin raised his right foot and placed it upon the two hundred and eleventh step. The force from Mount Gu Dao crashed upon him, as if his very bones had become iron, yet he pushed on, taking another step!

An eleventh step, a twelfth, a thirteenth, a fourteenth… all the way to the nineteenth!

With each stride, Wang Lin’s body convulsed, his strength waning, his spirit and soul quaking beneath the onslaught, threatening to shatter.

And as he set foot upon the two hundred and nineteenth step, Wang Lin’s body erupted, dissolving into countless strands of black silk. The silk dispersed, yet swiftly coalesced once more, reforming Wang Lin’s figure!
He was now willing to unleash the power of slaughter, forcing his body to coalesce. So long as his nascent soul remained unbroken, his spirit undying, such fusion he could endure many times!

Yet, beneath this crushing pressure, such fusion, even a thousand or ten thousand times over, would prove but a fleeting remedy with each stride he took, for his nascent soul, his very spirit, would perish in the oppressive weight!

But this life-threatening pressure served as the ultimate crucible for the Immortal-Ancient fusion. In this relentless merging, Wang Lin unleashed a heaven-rending roar. He raised his foot and resolutely planted it upon the two hundred and twentieth step!

Deafening booms echoed across the heavens and earth. The instant his foot landed, his body shattered dozens of times, transforming into wisps of black vapor before reforming once more. At last, he stood firmly upon the step, his balance secured!

In the very moment he stood firm, a sound arose in the golden sky and black earth, a sound that, though faint at first, quickly resonated throughout the realms.

Upon closer listening, it was the sound of wind, yet eerily, no wind existed here. No breeze stirred, yet the sound of wind howled and echoed, like a celestial wind song!

The instant this celestial wind song swept across the land, Xuan Luo’s expression shifted!

The four grey-robed figures, seated cross-legged upon the pillars surrounding the towering peak, simultaneously opened their eyes. Their eternally unchanging countenances flickered as they looked towards the sky.

As for the figure enshrouded in mist atop the tower, the one who had briefly opened his eyes when the golden sky and black earth appeared, he remained silent for a moment before murmuring to himself.

“Celestial Wind Song…the first note of the Nine Harmonies…”

Within Wang Lin’s body, the merged Immortal-Ancient power grew by a thread. This thread of power did not circulate within him, but lay dormant, slowly growing in strength as the Immortal-Ancient fusion continued.

Yet, Wang Lin could feel it. This power contained something he could not fathom, something that clearly surpassed the Immortal-Ancient.

This was the power he yearned to fuse with, the regret of his past failures!

He heard the wind’s song, a song that echoed across the heavens and earth, a song of praise, a song of sorrow. Yet the words within that wind’s voice remained unintelligible, just as he could not decipher the whispers from within the depths of the Heavenly Jewel.

Silent, and utterly weary, Wang Lin nevertheless planted his foot and, gritting his teeth, continued towards the seemingly distant Ancient Dao Mountain. From this two hundred and twentieth step onwards, his body could barely endure two steps before shattering, reforming from wisps of black silk. His nascent soul, his spirit, was failing, nearing its limit.

Step…step…step…The instant Wang Lin stepped upon the two hundred and thirtieth step, he coughed forth a mouthful of blood, the crimson stain stark upon the stone.

But in that very moment the blood fell, a second sound joined the Celestial Wind Song!

It was the sound of thunder, a deafening roar that reverberated through all directions. This thunder was a low growl, imbued with an indescribable韵味, a rhythm of the heavens.

The thunderous roar mingled with the wind song, a cacophony of wind and thunder as if ten thousand warhorses thundered across the golden sky and black earth!

“When an Ancient Ancestor is born, the Nine Harmonies accompany him. If all Nine Harmonies appear, they will merge into the Melody of Creation…Legend has it that when the Nine Harmonies and Three Appearances manifest simultaneously on the Immortal Gang Continent, the inheritors of the Ancient Ancestor and the Immortal Ancestor will arise…” Xuan Luo gazed at Wang Lin, his disciple, with a newfound uncertainty.

“On him, I even saw within the Realm of the Caves…silver eyes…”

“It is but a legend, whispered across the Immortal Joy Continent…could it be him…” Xuan Luo’s mind reeled. The events of this day defied belief.