The sands of time flowed like a river, and five years were etched upon the face of Qingling Star. Every cultivator, regardless of their meager or soaring power, found themselves consumed by a task. Zhang Xinhai, after long deliberation, chose not to conceal Wang Lin’s request. Instead, he broadcast it far and wide, making it known to every cultivation family.

However, it was the Zhang family who served as Wang Lin’s emissaries, their name preceding them like a royal decree.

For five long years, these cultivators traversed the bustling marketplaces and quiet hamlets, ceaselessly gathering resentment from the hearts of mortals. This dark energy resided within almost every mortal soul, though its strength varied from the faintest flicker to a raging inferno.

The mortal populace of Qingling Star was vast beyond measure, and after five years, barely four tenths of the required resentment had been collected. Zhang Xinhai grew anxious, for half their allotted time had passed, yet he knew there was naught more to be done, for they were already working at a feverish pace.

Even he himself ventured forth, joining the search among the mortals. His own kin, the Niezhu clan, those who had ascended past the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, were also dispatched to the task.

Throughout these five years, Wang Lin remained seated, cross-legged atop the windswept peak of Hengyun Mountain, engaged in the arcane art of treasure refinement.

He focused his energies upon the Mountain and River Screen, a treasure housed within his very soul. Its damage was severe, and within the depths of Wang Lin’s being, it pulsed with crackling lightning, mending the shattered fragments.

Besides this, he attended to the mountain fragment from the Immortal Realm. A fissure marred its surface, rendering it unstable during the extraction of souls. Wang Lin nourished it with the very essence of his soul, coaxing it back to wholeness with painstaking care.

As for the crown forged from Hongdie’s crimson bloom and the sapphire rose, he pondered its mysteries for ages, yet its secrets remained stubbornly veiled.

These three artifacts were newly acquired, and during their refinement, Wang Lin seized moments to contemplate the path leading to the Third Step, and drew forth a seemingly unremarkable treasure from his storage sack.

It was the Kun Ji Whip! This weapon had been Wang Lin’s companion for a long time, its strengths and weaknesses well-known. In the past, he had not held it in particularly high esteem, but now, he regarded it with keen interest.

“Of all my treasures,” Wang Lin mused, “this one lacks the cutting edge of my Immortal Sword and Curved Blade, the defensive prowess of the Soul-Devouring Banner and the Mountain and River Screen, the supernatural power of the Immortal Realm Mountain and the God-Slaying Chariot. Yet, it is unique, the only one imbued with a glimmer of the Third Step I have glimpsed! A most curious circumstance indeed!” Wang Lin gazed at the Kun Ji Whip, a low murmur escaping his lips.

The whip appeared unremarkable, save for the fact that the Heavenly Ghost, upon seeing it long ago, had recoiled in terror, as if recognizing some hidden truth.

“The extraction of the nascent soul subtly aligns with the Dao of Origin,” Wang Lin pondered. “If I were to force an interpretation of karma, it could be said that the true form is the cause, and the nascent soul the effect. This whip, then, is an object forged from the latter in the Dao of Karma!” His eyes shone with understanding as he lost himself in contemplation.

His understanding of the universe was gradually shifting away from the Dao of Life and Death Reincarnation and towards the Dao of Karma. This path was vast, and Wang Lin had only touched the tip of the iceberg, yet even this fleeting glimpse filled him with a sense of boundless potential.

“My current comprehension of the Dao of Karma is insufficient to manifest it into a tangible form, as I did with the illusory scroll of Life and Death Reincarnation,” he thought. “However, having glimpsed the Third Step, I can still draw inspiration…”

Wang Lin’s right hand caressed the Kun Ji Whip, his eyes blazing brighter with each passing thought.

He conceived of a way to briefly evoke a semblance of the essence before it fully materialized, granting him the power for his journey into the Lightning Immortal Realm.

“By using the Kun Ji Whip as a vessel for the nascent manifestation of the Dao of Karma, success should be within reach!” he declared in his mind. Had anyone else been in his place, they would have hesitated for a long time, unsure of whether such an action was correct, fearful of disturbing the delicate balance of their understanding of the Dao.

But Wang Lin was different. Having seen the path ahead, he knew that while this course of action might affect his understanding of the Dao to some degree, the repercussions would be minimal.

After a period of contemplation, his eyes shone with resolve. He lifted the Kun Ji Whip, and with a flick of his wrist, it cracked and popped with a sound that reverberated in the air, striking at the very core of one’s being.

“You, then, shall be the vessel for my spiritual Dao!” Wang Lin said, his eyes burning with a strange light. He placed the whip across his knees, closed his eyes, and commenced the refinement.

Merging a Dao with a treasure required a delicate connection of mind and spirit, a gradual infusion of essence.

Time slipped by unnoticed, seasons turned, and three more years were added to the count.

Wang Lin had resided on Qingling Star for eight years now. In all that time, he had never once descended from the mountain. Other than Zhang Xinhai, no other cultivator on the entire star had laid eyes upon him.

Yet, the title of Lord of Hengyun Peak, Ancestor of Qingling Star, resounded louder and louder within the hearts of every cultivator on the star.

The dense, impenetrable black mist surrounding Hengyun Peak inspired a sense of icy dread within them. A few foolhardy cultivators, their minds addled perhaps by faulty cultivation, dared to venture into the black mist, seeking to challenge the might of the self-proclaimed Ancestor of Qingling Star.

Each and every one of them was instantly consumed by the darkness upon entering the mist. Only their piercing screams echoed across the sky, serving as a grim warning to all who dared to tread there.

Mortals, however, knew better. At the sight of the black mist, they sensed the imminent danger and avoided the area altogether.

Even if the lost and the foolish did stumble into the mist, Wang Lin, despite his immense power, would not commit a senseless act of murder. The Soul-Devouring Banner contained a fragment of Wang Lin’s divine sense, and these lost souls would simply fall unconscious and be carried back to the edge of the mist, unharmed.

During these three years, Wang Lin dedicated himself to refining his treasures, the only annoyance being Xu Liguo, who had somehow managed to circumvent the seal on Wang Lin’s storage sack. Though he could not escape, he ceaselessly shouted and protested from within.

On this particular day, the Kun Ji Whip resting upon Wang Lin’s knees had begun to resonate with his spiritual understanding. Under his control, it became even more obedient than it had been under the guidance of his divine sense. Merged with the essence of Karma, its power reached heights unseen.

But at that moment, the familiar discordant voice echoed again.
“Little Lin, dare you unleash Master Xu from his prison? Now that I, Xu Liguo, am empowered, you cower in fear! Fear not, for I shall not harm you. I have envisioned our future: you shall serve me, and our roles shall be reversed. I shall be the master!” Xu Liguo’s voice boomed, each word dripping with arrogance.

Wang Lin’s brow furrowed. Were time not of the essence, he would have already taught Xu Liguo a lesson. Yet, the fool remained oblivious to the peril he courted, his audacity growing with each passing moment.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Lin’s eyes. He struck his storage pouch and uttered a chilling command: “Emerge!”

“Hmph, daring to address your esteemed Grandfather Xu with such insolence! Little Lin, you misunderstand the situation. I am no longer the Xu Liguo of yesteryear!” As his words echoed, a swirling cloud of black mist arose from the pouch. The mist crackled with a fierce sword aura, surging forth to coalesce into a spectral image of Xu Liguo.

Upon his manifestation, Xu Liguo erupted in maniacal laughter. “I, Xu Liguo, have finally reached this day! By the heavens, I have endured to triumph!”

Wang Lin regarded Xu Liguo with an icy stare, offering no response.

Xu Liguo, his mirth subsided, cast a malevolent gaze upon Wang Lin. The overbearing demeanor of his past returned in full force. With a surge of power, his form rapidly contracted, transforming mid-air into a colossal sword! It mirrored the legendary Immortal Sword in appearance, and as it hurtled forward, a torrent of sword energy roared, imbued with the ancient wisdom of countless ages.

The sword seemed capable of rending the very fabric of space as it aimed at Wang Lin, closing the distance in an instant! But Wang Lin remained still, his expression unchanged. As Xu Liguo drew near, the Kunji Whip, coiled upon his knees, shimmered and shot skyward. An eerie aura emanated from it, instantly engulfing the surrounding hundred feet of the mountain in an invisible shroud.

This aura pulsed with unfathomable power, as if this area had been forcibly severed from reality, filled with a crushing weight of authority.

Xu Liguo felt the effect most keenly. He cried out in alarm as his sword form faltered, but he doubled down, unleashing an even greater surge of sword energy in defiance.

At that moment, Wang Lin’s voice reverberated, resonating with the weight of ages.

“The threads of causality bind all things. Where there is cause, there shall always be consequence…” The Kunji Whip flickered, and with a thunderous roar, seemed to unlock the very gates of fate.

The Kunji Whip twisted and turned, its tip and tail uniting to form a perfect circle. Xu Liguo, in his sword form, was helplessly drawn into the circle, and began to rapidly unravel.

“Consequence is the foundation of all that is immutable!” Wang Lin declared once more, his voice echoing with ancient power.

The disintegration of the sword was swift and absolute, transforming in an instant into a thick cloud of black mist. Within the mist, Xu Liguo’s visage materialized, now etched with terror and a glimmer of stark fear.

“Master, Master! I was wrong, Little Xu was mistaken! Forgive me this one time, I beg of you!” Xu Liguo pleaded, his voice steeped in agonizing despair.

Wang Lin’s gaze remained cold as he watched Xu Liguo’s fading mist within the confines of the Kunji Whip’s circle. He spoke with a chilling calm, “The ancient sword intent you possess was granted by my hand. Therefore, its consequence belongs to me as well.”

Horror seized Xu Liguo as he realized his spectral essence was dissipating even faster. A primal fear gripped him, and he desperately cried, “Master, I understand! I will never dare again! Besides… besides, it was you who forged me into a demonic being all those years ago! Isn’t that right, Master? Isn’t that a matter of causality itself?” Xu Liguo’s voice was frantic, knowing he was on the verge of complete obliteration.

Regret consumed his very being.

‘To provoke this star of calamity was my greatest error! Never, in all these ages, have I succeeded against him. Oh, Xu Liguo, why is your memory so poor? This man is the Devil Wang himself, a demon far greater than I!’ Xu Liguo cursed his own folly.

A faint smile played on Wang Lin’s lips. He spoke softly, “That is your consequence, not mine.”