Wang Lin, having discerned the sigil, turned, the Mark of Life already faded. His expression betrayed nothing, revealing no hint of the knowledge gained.

Yao Xixue had already distanced herself. Wang Lin followed, his pace measured and unhurried.

The sigil lingered in his mind, its design echoing the three strokes he had seen in Yao Xixue’s eyes, and even the golden runes within his own.

As he walked, he raised his right hand, his gaze fixed upon his palm. There, etched upon his skin, the six runes reappeared.

“Intriguing,” he murmured. “This single stroke appears to be a foundation. Whether it be Yao Xixue’s three runes, or the six within my eyes, all contain this essential mark!”

With a flick of his wrist, he idly sketched the rune in the air. Though his fingers channeled celestial power, its drawing elicited no reaction within him.

Wang Lin pondered for a moment, committing the rune to memory before turning his keen gaze toward the distant figure of Yao Xixue.

“That woman possesses a Blood Soul Pill. Even if I were to strike from the shadows, she could be resurrected. To slay her will be no simple task.”

Seven days hence, a platform mirrored the previous two in size and design, appearing before them on the Dragon’s Path. At its heart stood another stone effigy.

This statue, too, bore a striking resemblance to its predecessors. However, a half-lidded third eye was set into its brow.

At the path’s edge, Yao Xixue glanced back at Wang Lin. Though unspoken, her intention was clear.

Wang Lin was not one for hesitation. He knew that this was not the time for open conflict, at least, not until the mysteries before them were unraveled.

He strode forward, bypassing Yao Xixue and stepping onto the platform. The moment his foot touched the stone, his eyes snapped shut. Simultaneously, the Mark of Life coalesced, forming a seal to bar his sight.

With the Mark of Life now imprisoning his vision, Wang Lin embarked on an experiment. He sought to discover if, in this state, the golden runes would pierce through the barrier.

The golden runes remained contained. However, as Wang Lin landed, the stone statue shuddered, its eyes snapping open, revealing a ferocious glare. With a guttural roar, it lurched forward.

The Mark of Life instantly dispersed from Wang Lin’s eyes, spreading to reinforce his entire being. He retreated, his movements fluid and serpentine.

The statue bellowed, giving chase.

Wang Lin, his countenance serene, drew in the air with his right hand. Emerald light flickered as a rudimentary seal materialized. He spun, flinging the seal behind him. It swelled, becoming a shimmering barrier to obstruct the pursuing statue.

The statue crashed into the seal without pause. The barrier shattered like glass, scattering into countless fragments.

A spark of interest flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes. His earlier seal was merely a probe, yet it had shattered as if encountering another of its kind.

“This statue must be encased in layers of seals. Brute force is not the path!” Wang Lin’s hands moved, weaving a complex web of emerald light. Seals, growing more intricate with each passing moment, flowed from his fingertips, converging on the statue.

The statue roared, lunging forward. Its right fist lashed out, shattering countless seals. A wave of raw power surged through the void, hurtling towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin reached into his storage pouch, drawing forth the Banner of Restriction. With a flick of his wrist, the power subsided, absorbed into the depths of the banner.

The Banner of Restriction had been honed over centuries, now containing nine hundred and ninety-nine seals. Yet, strangely, the Heavenly Tribulation had never descended upon it.

Each seal was a unique and potent force, making the banner a formidable weapon.

However, as Wang Lin’s cultivation grew, its power began to wane. He now considered elevating the banner, increasing its capacity to nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine seals.

However, such a tenfold increase required a mastery of far too many individual seals, knowledge that currently eluded him.

Countless seals flashed through his mind, constantly shifting and reforming. He quickened his pace, preventing the statue from drawing too close.

Each time the statue threatened to overtake him, Wang Lin would brandish the Banner of Restriction, unleashing a torrent of seals that formed shimmering walls, halting the statue’s advance.

Frustrated, the statue unleashed a deafening roar. Abandoning the chase, it slammed a massive foot against the platform. The platform trembled violently, and from the ground surrounding Wang Lin rose a forest of stone spikes.

Having anticipated the statue’s power, Wang Lin wove a quick incantation, sidestepping the rising spikes.

But the spikes erupted relentlessly, like weeds after a rain. Within moments, the entire platform, save for the very center, was consumed by the rising stone.

Wang Lin soared into the air, his mind racing, his gaze unwavering. A sudden realization dawned upon him; the statue transformed before his eyes.

In his eyes, the statue was no longer a simple carving. It was a construct of interlocking seals, each meticulously placed to create this being. From head to toe, it was a construct entirely composed of seals!
The moment Wang Lin deciphered the true nature of the stone effigy, the wicked barbs that adorned the platform erupted. With a thunderous stomp of the statue’s gargantuan foot, they shattered at their base, becoming a bristling thicket of rootless thorns, a stinging rain of stone shards launched towards Wang Lin in the air, a thousand javelins unleashed at once.

A cultivator of Wang Lin’s stature could have shattered the effigy with a treasured artifact or one of his signature killing techniques, saving considerable time. But Wang Lin’s ambition was not mere destruction; he sought a complete and utter understanding.

In his eyes, the onrushing thorns were nothing more than manifestations of arcane restrictions. And against restrictions, Wang Lin held no fear. From the moment of his Core Formation, he had devoted himself to the study of such constructs. Save for the ancient monsters of millennia past, none could rival his knowledge of the intricate weave of forbidden power.

With an unperturbed expression, he brandished his Restriction Banner. Instantly, a torrent of seals and runes surged forth, arranged in a pattern known only to Wang Lin’s keen mind. They swept over the platform, engulfing the ten thousand stone shards, ruthlessly dissecting them and absorbing them into their own structure.

The Restriction Banner pulsed with newfound power, nourished by the consumed energy.

Wang Lin’s gaze sharpened, and he descended, his hand extending in a beckoning gesture. The restrictions within the banner, now a swirling vortex of arcane might, coiled around the stone effigy.

Before his feet touched the ground, Wang Lin transformed into a wisp of emerald smoke, orbiting the statue in opposition to the swirling restrictions. As he danced, his hands moved in a blur, weaving new seals and runes into the existing tapestry.

From afar, the scene resembled a storm of pure arcane energy. The stone statue was besieged by countless restrictions, its struggles and roars futile against the relentless assault. The seals wormed their way into every crevice, pressing against the very core of its being.

“Break! Break! Break! Break!” Wang Lin’s dance halted abruptly as four sonorous cries shattered the air.

With each utterance, the swirling restrictions intensified their assault. Before the very eyes, the statue crumbled, its form collapsing inward.

The statue was, in essence, a construct of interwoven restrictions. Now, those very restrictions were unraveling, dissolving its essence. The statue shrank, layer by layer, as its fundamental components were torn asunder.

In its final throes, the effigy emitted a deafening roar. The third eye on its brow snapped open, unleashing a blinding beam of golden light.

The golden radiance swept outwards, violently repelling the restrictions Wang Lin had conjured, dissolving them in its incandescent wake.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with intrigue. In the instant the golden light bloomed, he perceived a golden glyph within the statue’s third eye.

The glyph was formed of two simple strokes.

“Restrict!” Wang Lin roared, spitting forth a mouthful of vital essence onto the advancing restrictions. Empowered by his blood, they surged forward, engaging the golden light in a furious dance of dissolution and creation.

After two measured breaths, the golden light from the statue’s third eye flickered and died. In that instant, the effigy was consumed by the endless tide of restrictions. Its form trembled, and the vacant stare vanished from its eyes, replaced by a dull, ashen emptiness.

Then, with a final shudder, it disintegrated. From its collapsing form erupted a torrent of restrictions, manifesting as black mist that swirled in a frenzy, engulfing the platform.

Within the swirling darkness, the golden glyph pulsed, poised to vanish into the void. But at that moment, intuition surged through Wang Lin’s mind. His right hand rose instinctively, his index finger tracing a glyph in the air, the very glyph that adorned the stone statue of the first layer.

Without pause, he added a second stroke, intersecting the first. In that instant, the golden glyph seen within the statue’s third eye materialized before him!

As it coalesced, the departing glyph reversed its course, drawn to Wang Lin’s creation like a moth to a flame. With the speed of lightning, it merged with the glyph he had formed, becoming one.

A strange light filled Wang Lin’s eyes. His index finger did not falter. Again, he traced a stroke in the air, forming the three-stroke glyph that resided within Yao Xixue’s eyes!