Wang Lin’s eyes blazed crimson, and he glanced down at the earth below. The Ascendant Fruit he had consumed was but a tenth of what lay here. With a flex of his will honed by the Ascendant Realm, his left hand descended, and the earth trembled! Countless Ascendant Fruit erupted from the soil, surging towards him in a chaotic dance.

Nearly a hundred thousand of the glistening jewels were swept into his storage pouch. At that moment, Wang Lin could no longer contain the battle-lust and bloodthirst that roiled within him. He threw back his head and roared, poised to depart when, from the very fabric of nothingness, a cold snort, laced with fury, echoed.

It struck directly at Wang Lin’s spirit!

His mind reeled, and he coughed a mouthful of blood as he plummeted from the sky. His feet hit the earth, and his head snapped up, his eyes blazing with a murderous intent and savage exhilaration.

Injury was inevitable. The chilling blast, in calmer times, would have shattered his resolve, forcing an immediate retreat. But now, madness gleamed in his eyes!

The pain did not diminish his battle-lust; it fueled it, driving him deeper into the abyss of frenzy.

He slapped his storage pouch and swallowed a handful of potent elixirs. With a thunderous step, he launched himself forward. Though consumed by madness, his senses remained. In the instant of the chilling snort, he had discerned the direction from whence it came. Now, in his maddened flight, he hurtled towards it.

“Kill!” That single word, a primal scream, was the only thought in Wang Lin’s mind.

The killing intent, suppressed during his transformation into a mortal, was now unleashed by the Ascendant Fruit, bursting forth in a tide of crimson rage.

The Fiend, the terror of the Cultivation Sea, the bane of Zhao, had awakened within Wang Lin, returning to the world!

Wang Lin transformed into a shooting star, a fiery comet blazing across the heavens, hurtling towards the direction he sensed with his maddened spirit.

From within a black tower in the distant Ancient Battlefield, another cold snort reverberated, this one laced with contempt and a murderous intent.

The sound slammed into Wang Lin mid-flight, causing him to spew another torrent of blood. But his eyes only burned brighter with madness. He struck his storage pouch, and nearly a hundred thousand Ascendant Fruit swirled around him.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin unleashed his will, and the fruits imploded one by one, their essence merging, their energy coalescing into a single drop of terrifying crimson liquid!

Staring at this concentrated essence of madness, Wang Lin swallowed it whole!

In that instant, he felt as though his very being would explode. The flow of blood within him reached a frenzied pace.

His battle-lust and madness reached an unprecedented crescendo!

His right hand slammed against his pouch, and he produced a gourd, the same one he had found within the cave, containing ten drops of immortal essence!

Without a moment’s hesitation, he raised the gourd and took a deep draught, consuming four drops in a single gulp!

The immortal essence surged through him like a thousand thunderbolts detonating within his meridians. Unimaginable power coursed through him, threatening to tear his very body apart. Only the strengthening of his meridians after achieving the Ascendant Realm and the ancient demon’s influence had made him capable of withstanding such forces.

Wang Lin was a maelstrom of power, his hair whipping around him as he shot forward, a whirlwind of raw fury.

Within the black tower, on the suit of armor, an eerie glow pulsed as a divine thought echoed.

“This man… has he gone mad?! If he actually reaches this place… If he damages the armor that I dwell in… He cannot pass!”

A wave of killing intent erupted from the tower, dissolving into the void.

It locked onto Wang Lin in an instant!

Immortal power raged within Wang Lin, and the killing intent struck him, causing him to stagger. But the battle-lust in his eyes burned even brighter, and with a savage roar, the immortal power within him exploded, granting him even greater speed!

He was a flame, and each time the one in the black tower tried to extinguish it, he would simply burn again.

Wang Lin was far from unscathed. The relentless attacks from within the black tower had inflicted grievous wounds. But his spirit was fueled by the Ascendant Fruit, a stimulus that would not fade until utter annihilation.

Under its influence, no matter the injury, he would not falter!

The immortal power within him, driven by the four drops of essence, raged even more fiercely!

At that moment, only one thought consumed Wang Lin: Kill!!

The divine sense within the black tower seethed with rage. Such continuous attacks would have killed anyone else, but this madman, fueled by the immortal power and the Ascendant Fruit, somehow persisted!

His physical body should have crumbled long ago, his very spirit shattered. Yet, under the influence of the Ascendant Fruit, his spirit refused to dissipate. Under the onslaught of immortal power, his flesh refused to break!

“Die!!” A flicker of dread wormed its way into the divine sense. Wang Lin’s current state, even to him, felt ominous.

In his eyes, Wang Lin was utterly, irrevocably mad!

“Had I known this would happen, I would have never tried to absorb him! ”

The intention of death surged from the divine sense, dissolving into the void and slamming into Wang Lin.

Wang Lin coughed up a torrent of blood, and his eyes dimmed momentarily before being reignited by the inferno of battle-lust and killing intent!

“Extinction…” As he flew, Wang Lin roared, a sound like a wounded beast.

The Extinction Finger, which absorbs the life force of all beings, turning all to decay and using it as power!

Now, in his maddened state, Wang Lin unleashed the power of extinction. A wave of decay emanated from his body, merging with the very fabric of the heavens.

Below him, on the earth, all flora withered and died. As Wang Lin flew, the decay spread rapidly. Plants, trees, birds, beasts, all perished.

It was a scene of hellish devastation! A spectacle of horror tinged with macabre beauty!

Their deaths transformed into streams of white energy that chased after Wang Lin, merging with his body, rapidly repairing his decaying spirit and flesh.
In the blighted fiefdom of Cinderfell, Rat, one of the Twelve Sword Saints of the Great Luo Sword Sect, sat astride a warhorse. Dressed in simple blue linen, a massive greatsword was strapped to his back. His gaze, cold and calculating, scanned the horizon. Behind him, three myriads of goblin warriors stood in disciplined ranks. Rat, a master of the nascent soul realm, had been granted the title of Warmaster within Cinderfell. He now led his goblin horde to rendezvous with his esteemed senior brother.

As they marched, Rat’s senses twitched. Far in the distance, a fiery comet streaked across the sky. His eyes narrowed, focusing on the celestial anomaly, and his face paled.

“A Transcendent cultivator!”

He quickly lowered his head, retreating into the ranks of his goblin warriors, unwilling to provoke such power. Moreover, he sensed a wild, almost deranged energy emanating from the celestial figure.

What truly chilled Rat’s soul was the desolation left in the stranger’s wake. The very earth withered and crumbled, its life essence devoured. Had their paths aligned, Rat would have undoubtedly turned tail and fled.

Wang Lin, lost in his tormented haze, paid no heed to the ground-bound goblins. His vision was consumed by battle and slaughter.

Once more, a chilling snarl, laced with murderous intent, echoed from the heavens. This time, it was even more potent than before. Wang Lin shuddered, spewing forth another mouthful of blood.

His body teetered on the brink of collapse, his very soul threatened with annihilation. Each step of the way, he had absorbed the life force of the withered lands, nurturing his tattered spirit and flesh, desperately clinging to existence.

From below, Rat of the Great Luo Sword Sect watched the aerial spectacle, his gaze fixed on Wang Lin. When he saw the Transcendent cultivator cough up blood, his eyes gleamed with a sudden, avaricious light!

“He is gravely wounded! Though his aura remains formidable, the fact that he bleeds even while flying betrays his desperate state! One who has reached the Transcendent realm must possess untold treasures, perhaps even forbidden scriptures. More importantly, if I were to subjugate him, harvest his Transcendent soul to nourish my sword spirit, its power would be amplified tenfold!”

A murderous glint flickered in Rat’s eyes, but quickly dimmed. “He is, after all, a Transcendent…” he muttered. “But to squander such an opportunity! When will I ever encounter another Transcendent so weakened? I must gamble!”

The light in Rat’s eyes intensified, burning with newfound resolve.

“Attack!” Rat roared, his body blurring into a phantom image as he shot towards the wounded Wang Lin. His goblin warriors, now driven by his command, surged forward, forming a battle array.

A wave of killing intent washed over Wang Lin.

Ever sensitive to such malice, Wang Lin turned his head, his gaze locking onto the three myriads of goblin warriors and the rapidly approaching Rat.

A sinister smile crept across his lips. Changing his trajectory, he plunged towards Rat with impossible speed, closing the distance in a heartbeat.

Rat’s face contorted in surprise. He had not expected the wounded Transcendent to charge him instead of fleeing. With a guttural snarl, he weaved a hand seal, and the greatsword on his back erupted from its scabbard.

But even as the sword left its sheath, Wang Lin materialized before him. Snatching the greatsword from the air, he flung it aside, and with a flick of his wrist, passed directly through Rat, touching his shoulder in passing.

Rat shuddered as his body rapidly withered, his very soul shrinking and decaying. In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to a mere brand of essence, drifting towards Wang Lin.

Without slowing, Wang Lin plunged into the ranks of the goblin army. A massacre ensued. Blood painted the earth crimson, souls ascended to the heavens, and with each slain foe, the ground released countless essence marks which Wang Lin greedily absorbed. By the time the moon had moved half its course, the earth was a gruesome tableau. Wang Lin’s form shot towards the horizon, his body renewed.

The countless essence marks that he absorbed created a surge of life force in his body, repairing the damage he had sustained.

Within the ancient battlefield’s obsidian tower, the residing divine sense seethed with fury.

“This wretch has consumed vast quantities of Ascension Fruit! Numbed to the point of fearing not even death!

My attacks should have slain him multiple times, but his mad will perseveres! His battle intent only grows stronger!

As if that were not enough, he possesses the power to drain the life essence of all things! At this rate, he will continue to heal! And in this moment, he is growing stronger. If he continues on this path, he will reach me….”

For the first time, the armored being, whose thoughts filled the tower, felt a pang of regret.