Wang Lin faltered, but with newfound urgency, he urged his stolen power to accelerate his flight. After what seemed an eternity, he dared to hope. The looming presence of Wang Yue, the colossal beast that had relentlessly pursued him, seemed to recede into the inky void.

A sigh escaped Wang Lin’s lips, his eyes reflecting lingering apprehension. “That Wang Yue… its strength is monstrous! Were it not for my superior speed, I fear my soul would be forfeit this day! The memories I plundered from Tu Si paint a creature, in appearance the same, but in essence utterly different. How has Wang Yue become so formidable?”

He cast a glance back towards the Northern Domain of Luo Tian, his brow furrowed in thought. “With such power at its command, why did it hesitate to encroach further? Does this place harbor some entity, some presence that inspires fear even in such a titan?”

Unable to fathom the answer, Wang Lin suppressed a sigh. He considered his current state, his ethereal form severed from its corporeal anchor, and a bitter smile touched his face. “To break free of the mortal coil, to transcend the boundaries of flesh – a boon indeed. But to forge a new body, to once more walk the physical realm… the time and resources required are staggering. To seize another’s form is fraught with peril. To claim a vessel unworthy is a bargain with regret.”

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Lin shook off his hesitation and pressed onward. “First, I must find a sanctuary, a hidden place where I can meditate and assimilate this sliver of Wang Yue’s bone. Perhaps, through it, I can bring Tian Ni to its full potential. Only then can I turn my thoughts towards the matter of a new flesh.”

His eyes gleamed with determination as he plunged deeper into the boundless expanse of the cosmos.

Far behind him, Wang Yue paused, its immense eyes clouded with indecision. For a long moment, its gargantuan form wavered. Then, with agonizing slowness, it began to retreat. A forgotten echo, a warning buried deep within its ancient memory, stirred to life. *Do not trespass beyond this point.*

The memory was blurred, a whisper lost in the labyrinth of ages. Yet, the primal sense of impending doom, the crushing weight of a long-past threat, lingered with chilling clarity, guiding its instinct even now.

Retreating with gathering haste, its myriad tentacles swayed in a terrifying display of raw power. Any mortal who had dared to witness this spectacle would have felt their very life essence recoil in dread, their hair standing on end as they fled with a desperate, self-preserving haste.

Within the five principal stars of the Northern Domain, Wang Yue finally halted. Its ovoid body contracted, drawing inward until it formed a protective sphere around the colossal cauldron it held within. The tentacles, once thrashing with potent energy, retreated, merging seamlessly back into the behemoth’s core.

A dense fog began to emanate from Wang Yue’s form, spreading outward, shrouding the surrounding space in an eerie, ethereal mist. The beast had once more entered its dormant state, seeking refuge in slumber.

But this time, its choice of resting place sent shivers down the spines of every cultivator in the Northern Domain. It was too close, far too close, to the Five Main Stars.

Meanwhile, on a lesser, more primal planet within the Luo Tian Domain, an object descended from the heavens, bathed in shifting, iridescent light. With a thunderous impact, it crashed into a desolate plain in the northern reaches of the world.

Tan Lang, his bones shattered, his flesh torn asunder, his very essence bruised and battered, yet lived!

Not only had he survived, but his eyes burned with maniacal glee.

Before his ill-fated journey into the Luo Tian Starfield, he had been burdened with countless mystical seals. Each seal possessed the power to crush him, to erase him from existence. But the devastating strike of the Ancient God’s finger, in a bizarre twist of fate, had caused these seals to shatter simultaneously!

Only one remained – the brand of Tian Yunzi.

“Give me time,” Tan Lang rasped, drawing in a shuddering breath, “and I will rise again!” He slowly sank into the ground, vanishing beneath the scarred surface of the plain.

From that day forward, the simple folk of that unremarkable world would be plagued by an intermittent, noxious stench. Though they searched diligently, they could never uncover the source of the repugnant odor.

It was as if the stench arose from the very heart of the earth itself.

Elsewhere, Wang Lin traversed the Southern Domain of Luo Tian. He bypassed the established cultivation planets, those glittering bastions of mortal ambition, choosing instead to seek refuge among the desolate, forgotten worlds.

An intuition, a faint but persistent pull, guided his ethereal form. There was a place within this domain that resonated with his very being, a place that soothed his tattered soul. He drifted towards it, drawn by an invisible thread, and as he drew nearer, even the wounds within his spirit seemed to begin to mend.

Slowly, he approached his destination. In the distance, Wang Lin beheld a sight that sparked a surge of anticipation within him.

Before him lay a vast expanse of jagged rock, a chaotic jumble of asteroids and debris of all shapes and sizes. They swirled in a complex, mesmerizing pattern, held together by some unknown force, forming a natural barrier against the outside world.

Wang Lin sensed that the source of his inner calm, the destination he so keenly sought, lay hidden deep within this chaotic realm of shattered stone. He paused, hesitant, his ethereal form immobile. Instead, he conjured a phantom from his Star Compass, a celestial guardian, to bear the shard of Wang Yue bone. With a thought, the puppet flickered into existence, threading its way through the jagged labyrinth.

The field of debris was immense. The puppet traveled for a seemingly endless period, yet failed to penetrate the heart of the asteroid field. Then, it came upon a peculiar sight.

It was a desolate world, a planetoid of insignificant size, even smaller than Ran Yun Star.

But upon its surface, lightning danced, celestial fire snaked across the landscape. It was as if the sphere was caged within a living net of pure electrical energy. The lightning was unrelenting, an endless storm, striking the planetoid in ceaseless barrages.

The sphere was nameless, isolated in the remote reaches of the Southern Domain. Obscured by the surrounding debris, it was easily overlooked, an insignificant speck in the vast canvas of space.

A fragment of Wang Lin’s consciousness resided within the celestial puppet, and thus he, too, beheld the lightning-scarred world. The soothing presence grew stronger, yet he knew the true destination, the origin of the inner calm that had drawn him across the cosmos, still lay hidden within the heart of the asteroid field. Here, the world was shrouded by an unknown force that hindered all attempts at divination, rendering its true nature impossible to fully comprehend.

And yet, even this glimpse of the electric world ignited a spark within Wang Lin’s soul, a faint echo of the harmony he sought. It was a shadow, a whisper, compared to the promise held within the hidden core of the asteroid field.

“This place… this would make a superb hidden sanctuary!” Wang Lin’s eyes blazed with newfound purpose. Clutching the sliver of Wang Yue bone, he plunged into the heart of the asteroid field, finally merging with his celestial puppet, and witnessing firsthand the storm-wracked surface of the electric world.
Here, guided by a mystic resonance, a divine intuition had led him. In this place, the spirit, the essence of divinity, healed with incredible speed! Wang Lin pondered, then, with his Celestial Guard clearing the path ahead, he journeyed directly towards the small, lightning-wreathed planet.

“I shall dwell here awhile,” he murmured, “until my essence is restored and my physical form solidifies. Then, I will venture into the depths of this shattered stone.”

Wang Lin understood that his nascent soul, having consumed half of an Ancient Thunder Dragon, had undergone a profound transformation. All forms of thunderous power now held no sway over him, unless that power surpassed, in its very essence, the ancient dragon that once served the Heavens, wielding its thunderous authority.

His mortal shell had crumbled, rent asunder by a single, decelerated strike from the Ancient God, freeing his nascent soul. Yet, the soul bore wounds from that event, exacerbated by the desperate flight that followed. Thus, his divine essence was gravely weakened.

Unknown even to Jade Forest beneath the platform of intimate reflection, his soul had sought out this place of its own accord.

Now, the truth dawned upon him. Should an Ancient Thunder Dragon be injured, it would invariably seek a place steeped in raw, untamed lightning. Only in such an environment could it recover swiftly, find solace, and even a semblance of security.

With his mortal form destroyed, his nascent soul freed, Wang Lin’s essence now resonated with the very being of an Ancient Thunder Dragon. This was what had drawn him here.

Understanding the causality, peace settled upon Wang Lin’s heart. Gazing upon the lightning-infused planet before him, he felt a strange affection, as if returning to a long-lost home.

As he advanced, the thunder rumbled incessantly in his ears, its mystical cadence growing stronger. The essence of profound wonders permeated his being, causing a surge of ineffable comfort to wash over him.

This sensation focused directly within his nascent soul, as though gentle hands were soothing and caressing it.

At that moment, Wang Lin’s soul emanated a soft, azure light. Rivulets of lightning danced within, tracing paths throughout its ethereal form. A portion of this power extended towards the Bone of the Ascendant Moon, causing the colossal mountain to crackle with barely contained energy.

But the Celestial Guard, his puppet sentinels, halted abruptly. Within their usually impassive, luminous eyes, a flicker of hesitation, even fear, was briefly visible, stemming from the intensity of the lightning.

Wang Lin turned, a thoughtful expression clouding his face.

His Celestial Guards knew no fear of lightning. When he had imbued them with life, the very breath of his divine essence had contained potent lightning. Moreover, they had encountered countless lightning-based powers in battle over the years, yet never had they displayed such reluctance.

“Could it be,” Wang Lin murmured, “that the lightning here possesses a unique quality?” He focused intently on the bolts of energy dancing around him, and after a long moment, realization bloomed in his eyes.

The lightning here was born of nature itself, not conjured by any spell or divine art. Its very nature echoed that of the thunder residing within his own soul.

“No wonder the Celestial Guards show hesitation.” Lightning was divided between primal and crafted. The latter was born of spells and techniques, while the former stemmed from the raw power of the cosmos. This lightning had formed naturally within the very fabric of creation.

With a mental command, the Celestial Guards retreated, settling cross-legged upon a massive, jagged rock some distance away, entering a meditative state.

Wang Lin turned, sheathing his astral compass. He hoisted the Bone of the Ascendant Moon onto his shoulder and steadily flew towards the interior of the lightning-infused planet.

The closer he drew, the denser the lightning became. Eventually, it reached a terrifying intensity. Any other being would have retreated, succumbing to the relentless assault. The lightning here surpassed the endurance of flesh and spirit.

But for Wang Lin, especially in his soul-formed state, this place held no threat. On the contrary, the closer he came, the more intense and soothing the sensation grew.

Had Wang Lin’s physical body remained, it would have been a hindrance, even to reach this place would have been impossible, as his flesh would not be able to endure. Now, by some twist of fate, he moved quickly, drawing ever closer, and at last, he entered the heart of the lightning planet.

Everywhere he looked, lightning crackled across the landscape. The entire planet, both within and without, was saturated with this volatile energy, as if entering a living, breathing thunderstorm.