For a decade, within the tower’s stony embrace, Wang Lin relentlessly questioned Yao Xixue. Her hatred for him had festered, burrowing deep within her heart like a venomous serpent. Yet, mingled with her loathing was a chilling respect for his subtle manipulations.

His relentless prodding had finally cracked her defenses, a fissure through which the secrets of the Blood Soul Pill’s creation spilled forth.

Once breached, her will crumbled under Wang Lin’s persistent assault. Though she held back some truths, fragments of hidden lore escaped her lips.

“You speak of a hidden demesne, a relic of a fallen Immortal Emperor. You claim there are four such places. How came you by this knowledge?”

Yao Xixue bit her lip, a silent struggle raging within her. This question, above all others, she resisted answering.

“Twenty years you have languished under my hand,” Wang Lin said, his voice a low, silken threat. “Do you not yearn for freedom? Tell me all, and I swear upon my Dao, upon leaving this Demon Spirit Land, I shall release you.” A faint spark flickered within his eyes, a shadow of the dark arts he had gleaned from the Scattered Demons he’d relentlessly subjugated over the years.

“I will reveal everything,” Yao Xixue sighed, her voice a fragile whisper, “but only if you swear by your very soul, that you will grant me freedom once we depart this forsaken place!”

“You are in no position to bargain,” Wang Lin retorted, his voice now edged with steel. “What I promise, I deliver. Speak now, and you may yet taste liberty. Remain silent, and I shall bind you eternally!”

Yao Xixue idly twisted a strand of hair, gazing at Wang Lin with a haunting sadness. “My father warned me against crossing you,” she murmured, “but at the time, I could not fathom why. Back then, you were but a nameless speck, a trivial figure. Even your adoption by Sky-Fate was insignificant, in my father’s eyes. He would never notice you, yet he did!

“I did not heed his warning. Now, I begin to understand the reasons he would speak of you.”

Wang Lin’s face remained an unreadable mask, his eyes locked on her.

Yao Xixue sighed again, her voice soft, “There are indeed four demesnes here, my father told me so. In his youth, within this Demon Spirit Land, he, alongside Sky-Fate and Heavenly Might, discovered a secret.”

Wang Lin’s gaze sharpened, though his expression remained unchanged. “What secret?” he pressed.

“This Demon Spirit Land, you see, is not a land at all, but a vast demesne, a point I am sure you guessed. It is not one demesne, but five! Four are illusions, echoes of the true heart.”

“The demesne you led me to, then, was but one such illusion,” Wang Lin stated, his voice calm.

Yao Xixue nodded bitterly. “It was, alas, a false reflection.”

“And what prize did you seek within this illusory demesne?” Wang Lin inquired.

“My father told me that within the false demesnes lay treasures, powerful artifacts, and rare elixirs, gifts to greatly boost my cultivation,” Yao Xixue confessed, her voice faltering as she saw a flicker of cold amusement in Wang Lin’s eyes.

Wang Lin said nothing, but his gaze was a weight upon her soul. She hesitated, then spoke with a touch of desperation, “Everything I have told you thus far is the truth, the whole truth. Do not use this as an excuse to break your promise.”

Wang Lin’s voice turned dangerous. “Indeed, it might be the truth as you perceive it, but my questions seek something far deeper! What is the connection between these illusory demesnes and the final, true heart of the Demon Spirit Land?”

Yao Xixue hesitated again, then sighed. “Very well. The four illusory demesnes are, in truth, the keys to unlocking the gate to the true demesne.”

“I doubt the secret your father uncovered was quite so simple,” Wang Lin countered, his eyes narrowing.

“I only know this,” Yao Xixue said, “within that final demesne, my father believed, lay the path to the Third Step, to true transcendence. For that demesne was once the abode of Qinglin, the First Immortal Emperor of a forgotten age!

“Qinglin, the mightiest of all Immortals, was rumored to have survived the collapse of the Immortal Realm, fleeing wounded after a valiant stand.

“The secret my father uncovered, was that within that final demesne, the lingering aura of Qinglin, and the path he took, existed. I know not how they discerned this; ask me not.” Yao Xixue finished, and she watched Wang Lin closely. She was curious to see if this news would phase him.

But she saw no reaction. Wang Lin stood still, seemingly untouched, only his pupils showed any trace of surprise.

Within Wang Lin’s mind, though, the revelations surged like a storm.

He believed Yao Xixue, at least in part. It was not her silver tongue that convinced him, but rather the mention of Qinglin’s name.

Wang Lin would never forget the whispers in his ears during the opening to the first demesne: *I am Qinglin.*

*What manner of place is this?* he thought, *with its Ancient Demons and Scattered Fiends…The Ancient Demons have been split into nine, unable to truly reunite. And these scattered devils, subordinates of a greater devil. Is there an Ancient Devil residing within the Demon Spirit Land?*

The more he learned, the thicker the fog became. With an impassive stare, he turned back to Yao Xixue, and said “How were the four illusory demesnes divided amongst the interlopers?”

“Sky-Fate and Heavenly Might each claimed one for themselves,” Yao Xixue said, “and a third was taken by the Cloud Immortal couple. My father was not strong enough to contest them, and discovered the location of the final fourth. The others were too weak to sense it.”

“Cloud Immortal couple?” Wang Lin frowned, the name unfamiliar.
The two Unclouded Daoists, legends whispered to be figures from tens of thousands of years past, chose not to follow the Celestial Fortune Child and his ilk when they departed this realm. Instead, they sought seclusion within a hidden grotto, their existence fading into obscurity, known only to a precious few. “It was from my father that I first heard of this devoted pair,” Yao Xixue murmured, a wistful longing flickering in her eyes. The tale had stirred within her a nascent bloom of youthful affection, leaving behind a lingering, ethereal dream, the memory of which now tinged her with melancholy.

Wang Lin, lost in contemplation for a moment, suddenly fixed his gaze upon Yao Xixue, his eyes gleaming with a sharp intelligence. “Your father, the Blood Ancestor, must be arriving soon, wouldn’t you agree?”

His words struck Yao Xixue like a thunderbolt, though she masked her shock with a facade of innocent bewilderment. “I understand not what you speak of!” she protested, her expression betraying not the slightest hint of deception.

“For millennia upon millennia, the Demon Spirit Land has opened its gates countless times. I know not if you have ventured here before, but surely your Blood Ancestor possesses the power to extend your lifespan with ease. Yet, you choose now, risking the revelation of this grotto’s secret to outsiders, to brave its depths. Surely, there must be a hidden purpose driving your urgency!”

“These countless years, your father, the Blood Ancestor, has likely been prevented from entering for reasons unknown. This time, you come, driven by a frantic need to secure the grotto’s authority, preparing the way for your father’s imminent arrival.”

Wang Lin spoke with a measured tone, his gaze piercing.

Yao Xixue met his steady gaze for what seemed an eternity before finally breaking into a wry smile. She nodded in reluctant acknowledgement. “You are astute. Indeed, my father draws near! And he is not alone. Your own master, the Celestial Fortune Child, the Great Luo Sword Sect’s Ling Tianhou, and other ancient horrors of the Celestial Fortune Star will soon descend upon this place!”

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed to mere slits. “Because of the golden token, lost within the tide’s depths!”

A flicker of genuine surprise, bordering on alarm, crossed Yao Xixue’s face. It was in that moment that she truly grasped the depths of Wang Lin’s formidable nature.

*This man’s cunning runs deep. His questions seemed simple enough, but with each answer, I was drawn further into his web of calculation. Step by step, I unwittingly relinquished crucial information, allowing him to discern any falsehood from a tapestry of tangled threads. This man is truly dangerous!*

Little did Yao Xixue know, Wang Lin’s mastery of restrictive arts granted him the ability to weave mental tapestries far more intricate than this simple exchange. His mental calculations dwarfed her own by a factor of ten, perhaps even a hundred.

Wang Lin did not fear her words, for with each utterance, he found a thread to unravel, a path to the truth. It was her silence, her guarded reticence, that he truly dreaded.

Yao Xixue lowered her head, instinctively averting her gaze from Wang Lin’s penetrating stare. “That token… It is known as the Azure Rain Celestial Seal, the key to unlocking the true heart of the grotto, a doorway beyond the illusionary facade. Only by possessing it can one gain entry.”

“However, four such tokens are needed to fully unlock the true grotto. All four illusory gates must open simultaneously, for none can be left wanting!”

“…So, as you say, the Celestial Fortune Child and his allies believe that three tokens are all that exist. Only your father, the Blood Ancestor, understands that these three are insufficient to open the true gate. Is this correct?” Wang Lin pressed.

Yao Xixue hesitated briefly before offering a nod.

“The Blood Ancestor is a master manipulator. With the illusory grotto within his grasp, even without a token of his own, he controls the flow of fate. With cunning patience, he can ensure that when the fourth token appears, he will naturally seize the right to enter the true heart of the grotto.” Wang Lin’s gaze flickered with calculation. “Where will this token appear, now that it has been swallowed by this land?”

“The Abyss of Tides. Its entrance lies within the Fire Demon Prefecture,” Yao Xixue reluctantly revealed.

Wang Lin offered no further questions. With a swift gesture, he re-sealed Yao Xixue, returning her to his storage pouch. Now alone within the tower, his eyes glowed with an unnatural light as he muttered, “So many secrets hidden within this Demon Spirit Land… My cultivation is still so far removed from these ancient beings, yet why did the Celestial Fortune Child choose me to enter this place?”