“The Celestial Brush. This treasure holds within it the power of the Great Yin. Your father gathered the energies of twelve constellations, forging them into twelve runes of primordial force. With these, the brush was enspelled. Its might, though not without merit, is but adequate.”

“The Binding Net of Immortals. A simple tool of humble power, yet within dwells a nascent spirit, its consciousness just awakening. A curious thing, I think you shall find it amusing.”

“As for the third enchanted artifact, it is meant to complement your Rain Immortal Sword. It is named the ‘Shrine of the Spirit,’ a scabbard crafted to nurture and embolden the sword’s very soul when the blade is sheathed within. This I forged from the Shuo Immortal Gold found within the Washing Immortal Pool.”

“Regarding the Immortal Art, though deemed of lesser grade and unremarkable power, it possesses a peculiar and intriguing ability. It is named ‘Stasis,’ a spell to freeze one’s foe in place. I stumbled upon it amidst the ruins of a strange, ancient world. Though fragmented, I have managed, after much toil, to restore its stasis-inducing nature.”

“I suspect this art to be but a fragment of a more grand and composite spell. Alas, its true form eludes me, for I lack the means to fully restore its entirety.”

The flicker of exhilaration upon Wang Lin’s face began to subside. Within the jade slip, a threefold division lay bare. The first held the introductions and instructions for the three enchanted artifacts and the Immortal Art.

This portion bore no seals, its contents readily gleaned with but a sweep of divine sense. The remaining two, however, were veiled by swirling chaos, revealing only fleeting glimpses and tantalizing fragments, defying true comprehension.

Within the second portion lay the secrets of crafting Immortal Guardians. It was from these very fragments that the dwarfish elder gleaned his knowledge of these constructs.

“This jade slip bears a bloodline seal, forged by your father. Only your blood may break its bonds,” the slip declared.

Yet, time, that insatiable devourer, had eroded even the most potent of enchantments. The first portion had yielded entirely, and the second was largely undone. Only the third remained steadfast, its seals unbroken.

“Three enchanted artifacts… I see but two. The Shrine of the Spirit is absent… These items are intended for a maiden named Qing Shuang. Qing Shuang, daughter of…”

Wang Lin’s eyes flickered with understanding. He murmured, “Immortal Emperor Qing Lin!”

He scrutinized the jade slip once more, his gaze turning inward, lost in contemplation.

“The tone of the jade slip suggests Qing Shuang is a Celestial Lord of the Rain Immortal Realm, wielding a weapon known as the Rain Immortal Sword…” Wang Lin closed his eyes, then snapped them open, a spark of realization ignited within.

“Rain Immortal… Rain Immortal Sword… Can there truly be such shocking coincidence? Could Senior Zhou Yi’s beloved, the reanimated corpse, be none other than the daughter of Emperor Qing Lin?” He paused, then with a flick of his wrist, released a treasure pouch. From it, the beautiful, entrancing white-robed corpse, gifted by Zhou Yi, floated forth, its form yet unchanged.

Gazing upon the corpse, Wang Lin’s brow furrowed deeper. A glint of resolve flashed in his eyes. He formed his fingers into a sword and with a swift motion, unleashed a blade of wind. A crimson mark appeared upon the white-robed corpse’s right wrist.

But before blood could flow, the wound swiftly closed, vanishing without a trace.

Wang Lin’s expression remained unchanged, yet his gaze sharpened. He commanded the sword-ki of Ling Tianhou to coalesce within his fingers. With another strike, the red mark reappeared on the wrist, this time healing at a noticeably slower rate.

A single drop of crimson blood welled from the wound and fell.

Wang Lin withdrew the sword-ki and snatched the droplet of blood in mid-air. With a flourish of his sleeve, the corpse returned to the treasure pouch, now residing once more within his storage.

“Whether you are Qing Shuang or not, a single test shall reveal all!” Holding the blood, Wang Lin did not hesitate, pressing it firmly onto the jade slip.

The blood landed upon the jade slip, releasing a cloud of crimson mist that seeped into its depths. A series of cracks echoed as a layer of green fragments peeled away, revealing a lustrous jade, tinged with streaks of blood-red.

Wang Lin spared no time admiring its beauty. A sweep of his divine sense filled him with awe. The seals on the second and third portions of the jade slip had been shattered!

“She… it truly is Qing Shuang,” Wang Lin sighed, his divine sense delving into the newly accessible portions.

Time flowed like a river as Wang Lin immersed himself within the jade slip, oblivious to the passage of hours.

The dwarfish elder awoke on the second day, his body ensnared by the Three Talents Sword Formation. Icy tendrils of sword-ki pierced his skin, rendering him immobile.

With his cultivated power, he faintly perceived that the formation’s strength stemmed not from its material components, but from the strange power it contained.

Moreover, Xu Liguo hovered nearby, flitting around the elder with a sinister grin, brandishing his small black blade.

Days later, Wang Lin withdrew his divine sense from the jade slip, exhaling a long breath.

“These Immortals… they are more callous than cultivators. The second portion of the jade slip details a method for creating Immortal Guardians, not for Immortals themselves, but for cultivators. Capture cultivators and forge them into puppets! If successful, the Guardian’s power is immense!”

“In the eyes of this Immortal, Guardians are not people, but mere enchanted artifacts, graded as High, Medium, or Low. He states that a Low-grade Guardian would possess power equivalent to a cultivator in the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, the very apex of the first step on the path.”

“As for Medium-grade and High-grade Guardians, my current power is insufficient to gauge their strength relative to the three realms of Tribulation Transcendence.”

“The third portion of the jade slip… it is a map… a map of a grotto, it seems.” Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with interest. He pocketed the jade slip and turned towards the dwarfish elder.

“Bring it to me!” Wang Lin commanded, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
The wizened gnome, his face etched with bitterness, croaked, “My coin purse is already in your grasp. What more do you demand?” Inwardly, he cursed, “This Wang is far more ruthless than that wretched Daoist pair! They only pilfered one pouch, but this fiend seeks to leave me destitute, sparing not even a pebble!”

Wang Lin, his gaze as cold as the winter wind, flicked his wrist, sending forth ten fragments of jade. These slivers, once embedded within the bodies of the gnome’s ten loyal guardians, now floated before him.

The gnome’s complexion turned ashen at the sight of the jade.

With a snap of Wang Lin’s fingers, the fragments coalesced, forming a single, whole gem.

He then seized the gnome, his hand clamping down upon the old one’s crown. A single strike unleashed, and the gnome’s very spirit was wrenched from its mortal coil.

As the ethereal form struggled, Wang Lin exhaled a breath of primordial essence, enveloping the spirit. Through a swift and cruel alchemy, streaks of celestial energy twisted within, solidifying into a finger-sized shard of jade.

Pocketing the prize, Wang Lin flung the gnome’s spirit into the swirling darkness of the Soul-Devouring Banner. There, it joined the tormented chorus of the damned.

The gnome’s husk, a mere vessel now devoid of purpose, was not even worthy of a glance. A flick of Wang Lin’s sleeve reduced it to ashes, scattered upon the wind.

He kept the spirit within the banner, partly from a miserly disdain for waste – it was, after all, a nascent soul of considerable power. But more than that, Wang Lin harbored a keen interest in the hidden grotto the gnome had stumbled upon.

Yet, now was not the time for exploration. The most pressing matter was to hone his skills and strengthen his artifacts in preparation for the promised duel with the Ancient Demon, a contest now less than a century away.

Especially the two newly acquired treasures, and the Lesser Celestial Art!

The very thought of the Celestial Art sent a thrill through Wang Lin. True Celestial Art! His entire cultivation, save for the Killing Immortal Arts, had been built upon mere derivatives of such power. Celestial Arts were rare indeed, coveted even by beings like Tian Yunzi.

Celestial Arts were true magic, leagues beyond the power of any mundane spell!

For countless years, the Demon Spirit Land had drawn cultivators, willing to kill, willing to debase themselves before the Demon clans, all in the hope of merging with an Ancient Demon and being granted a single Celestial Art.

Within the Tian Yun Sect, only those who consistently held the title of the Seven Stars for an eternity were gifted a Celestial Art. But even then, Tian Yunzi would only bestow a lesser, more commonplace art.

“Body-Fixing Art!” Wang Lin inhaled deeply, the ancient incantations flooding his mind. He closed his eyes, immersing himself in the intricacies of the art.

Time flowed onward, silent and relentless. Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.

The war between the Sky Demon Prefecture and the Fire Demon Prefecture raged unabated, escalating in its ferocity. The other prefectures, no longer able to restrain themselves, prepared to join the fray.

Before the war with the Fire Demon Prefecture, the Ancient Demon of Sky Demon had anticipated this. As the other prefectures stirred, he sealed the Sky Demon City with his own immense power.

He abandoned all other cities within the Sky Demon Prefecture, save for the capital and Dragon Lake, awaiting Wang Lin’s arrival. He did not fear betrayal. If Wang Lin were to break his word, he would scour the heavens and the earth to hunt him down. He believed Wang Lin was not so short-sighted.

The Soul Refinement Tribe, sensing opportunity, expanded aggressively, growing ever stronger.

On the battlefields of the Fire Demon Prefecture, strange figures clad in black began to appear. Their presence was noted by both sides. These shadowy individuals would emerge amidst the carnage, consuming the souls of the fallen and drawing away their life force.

Simultaneously, warriors who displayed exceptional prowess on the battlefield, whose power bloomed exponentially, were elevated to the rank of general, filling the ranks of the slain.