“Xu Mu, you break your word!” thundered Lei Daozi, his voice a jagged shard of his former power.

Wang Lin’s gaze remained serene. The fallen Lei Daozi, burdened by grievous wounds and depleted of nearly all his vital essence, had bartered his servitude for survival. This desperate plea, however, presented Wang Lin with a golden opportunity: the chance to forge a celestial guardian.

The first and most critical tenet in crafting such a being was to secure the willing consent of the subject.

“I have not broken my word,” Wang Lin replied, his tone even and unyielding. “However, the second stage of the binding ritual necessitates a willing spirit. To prevent any unforeseen setbacks, the extraction of your nascent soul becomes…necessary.” With a subtle gesture, the celestial guardian, along with the crackling Lei Beast, encircled Lei Daozi’s spectral form, poised to strike down any flicker of dissent.

Ignoring the captive soul, Wang Lin seized Lei Daozi’s ethereal form and drew it before him. The fallen cultivator’s storage pouch was cast aside. Wang Lin then closed his eyes, exhaling a stream of vital spirit energy that enveloped the mortal shell.

Lei Daozi’s soul seethed with suppressed rage, his spectral eyes fixed upon Wang Lin. He yearned to discern the nature of the brand Xu Mu intended to imprint upon him.

Days bled into one another as Wang Lin tirelessly channeled his spirit energy, weaving strands of pure electric essence into Lei Daozi’s dormant flesh.

The physical form withered, skin clinging desperately to bone, yet crackling with internal lightning. A strange, coppery sheen began to coat the husk, a macabre spectacle of transformation.

Lei Daozi’s spectral gaze remained unbroken, his shock intensifying with each passing hour. Initially blinded to Wang Lin’s true intent, the truth dawned upon him with horrifying clarity: Xu Mu sought to forge him into a puppet!

The revelation transformed shock into stark terror. His gaze fell upon the silent celestial guardian, and a chilling dread permeated his spectral form.

“Could it be…was that construct forged in this very manner? What manner of being is this Xu Mu, to possess such a vile and forbidden art of puppetry?”

Wang Lin opened his eyes, a curious light dancing within them as he beheld the copper-clad, skeletal form.

“Indeed, the body of a Yin Void cultivator is exceptional. To attain a copper grade without the addition of metallic treasures…remarkable. With the proper materials, its potential could be further elevated.”

“Xu Mu, what do you intend? I agreed to servitude, not to becoming your puppet!” Lei Daozi’s soul erupted, his voice raw with desperation. He had pleaded countless times in the preceding days, yet Wang Lin had continued his dark ritual, heedless of his captive’s suffering. The sight of his body being desecrated fueled a burning hatred for the usurper.

However, defiance was a fool’s errand. The soul-sealing runes, the looming celestial guardian, and the ever-watchful Lei Beast formed an impenetrable cage. Lei Daozi knew that any act of rebellion would lead to his swift demise.

“Silence!” Wang Lin’s brow furrowed. With a flick of his wrist, two streaks of Ling Tianhou’s sword qi erupted into the chamber. The very air crackled with their domineering intent, silencing Lei Daozi’s protests in his throat. Fear gripped him as he beheld the devastating power of the blade energy.

With bitter resentment, he swept his gaze across his spectral prison. Depleted of his essence, he knew that even at his peak, he could not hope to breach the defenses before him, especially the two blades of pure energy.

With Lei Daozi silenced, Wang Lin extended his senses across the desolate world. After an eternity, his eyes narrowed, and he lifted a hand, pointing skyward. The very foundations of the cave trembled as, above, a river of yellow spring materialized across the desolate sky.

“Essence of the Yellow Springs, heed my call!” Wang Lin intoned, his voice resonating with power.

The celestial river responded, unleashing a tremendous suction that tore through the planet’s surface. The forgotten world shook, seized by a violent tremor that sent tremors of pure energy rolling throughout the land.

Veins of metallic ore erupted from the wounded earth, drawn into the heart of the Yellow Springs. As the tide of time surged, more and more of the planet’s metallic essence was ripped from its heart.

At length, the trembling ceased, and the Yellow Spring’s grasp loosened. Within the river, a trio of golden spheres, each the size of a clenched fist, coalesced and drifted down into the cave.

Wang Lin seized one and pressed it to the brow of Lei Daozi’s withered form, then exhaled more vital spirit energy to the earth. As the third sphere was absorbed, the coppery sheen faded, replaced by a shimmer of silver.

“A silver grade,” Wang Lin murmured, satisfaction etching itself onto his features. His eyes turned to Lei Daozi’s soul, which had remained in silent torment for days.

“Serve as my guardian for three millennia, and I shall grant you your freedom. What say you?”

Lei Daozi hesitated.

“Even if you possess some hidden, life-saving power, it will not outpace my sword qi,” Wang Lin declared flatly.

Lei Daozi faced a dire choice. First, he could risk a desperate rebellion, but the power of the blade energy was undeniable. He knew, with chilling certainty, that it would leave him with no escape.

The second option was to accept becoming a guardian for three millennia. To gain eventual freedom, he would need to trust Wang Lin’s word and survive for three thousand years. Lei Daozi cast a bitter glance at the silent, unmoving construct beside him.

“That guardian’s body is extraordinarily durable, able to withstand even a direct blow from enchanted arms. Surely it cannot meet its end on the battle field?”

Far away, on the planet of Cloudhaze, shrouded in impenetrable mists, a chilling aura permeated all who dared draw near. In the vast expanse of the Luo Tian Starfield, Cloudhaze was known as a place of death. Few who entered ever returned.

Suddenly, the mists roiled violently from within, as if something was on the verge of breaking free. The disturbance grew, consuming all.

A gaunt, ragged figure emerged from the churning mists, terror etched into every line of his face. He clutched a massive cauldron as he ran.

He was on the cusp of escape, and elation spread across his ravaged face. This was his eighth attempt to flee in the last seventy years. But, in that instant, a long, sinuous tentacle erupted from the planet, striking with blinding speed. It wrapped around his body and dragged him back into the churning darkness.

It was none other than Greed Wolf, his hope replaced by sheer despair as he was pulled back into the writhing mists.

“I spent my life in search of treasure, yet I meet this wretched end! Wang Lin, this is all your fault! If you hadn’t fled to this forsaken Luo Tian Starfield, I would never have been sent here! And if I hadn’t been sent here, I would never have stumbled upon this godforsaken planet!”