Wang Lin’s face turned ashen, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks as he beheld the elder’s lightning-forged chain. A primal dread seized him, for even with his mastery of the thunderous essence and his own flesh imbued with lightning, he could not wield such a weapon with such careless ease.

For even the errant sparks that danced upon the chain hinted at the power of celestial thunder, far surpassing anything he had encountered.

The elder’s cultivation was veiled from him, a mystery he could not pierce, yet he knew, with a certainty that chilled his very marrow, that the old man possessed strength beyond comprehension. Furthermore, a whisper of ancient, primordial energy seemed to cling to him, almost imperceptible.

Wang Lin instinctively retreated, for he knew not this ancient one. Surely, he reasoned, this ‘fated one’ the elder spoke of was not he. His gaze swept over to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was equally bewildered. Seeing Wang Lin’s reaction, he surmised that Wang Lin did not recognize the elder. It seemed, therefore, that he was the ‘fated one’ the elder sought. He studied the ancient man with a perplexed gaze, bowing respectfully, he inquired, “Venerable elder, do you speak of… me?”

The elder strode forth, emerging from the swirling mists, and leveled a disapproving glare at Li Yuan. Pointing a gnarled finger at Wang Lin, he retorted with irritation, “You simpering fool, feign no ignorance! He is the fated one I seek! Come hither!”

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. “I, Xu, have never met you, venerable elder. How then, can I be he whom you seek?”

The elder examined Wang Lin with a piercing gaze, a smile playing on his lips. “So soon forgotten? To emerge from my imprisoned passage within seven days marks you as the one!”

Understanding dawned on Wang Lin’s face, his countenance shifting as he stared at the elder. After a moment of silent contemplation, he spoke slowly, “So it was you, venerable elder, who orchestrated… this. But I do not understand, why?”

The elder, his patience wearing thin, stepped forward, extending a massive hand towards Wang Lin. “Enough with these pointless questions! I say you are the chosen one, and so you are!”

Wang Lin’s face darkened. He could not discern the elder’s power and knew he could not engage him. Flight was his only option.

The elder chuckled, his hand descending. Instantly, the ethereal void surrounding them, for ten leagues in every direction, was engulfed in a tempestuous power. This force was overwhelming, laden with an incomprehensible, ancient might.

Under this crushing weight, Wang Lin’s face drained of color. He found himself paralyzed, unable to move, as if bound by an unbreakable enchantment. He watched, helpless, as the elder’s hand reached for him.

But a spark of defiance ignited in his eyes. As the hand closed, he bit his tongue, swallowing the blood rather than spitting it out. Using the life force within the blood, drawing upon the techniques he had learned from the masters of escape in the Land of the Demon Spirit, he formed a self-contained cycle within his own body.

As this inner vortex spun, his body momentarily loosened its bonds to the elder’s power. In a flicker of movement, he vanished in a short teleport, reappearing some distance away, fleeing with desperate haste.

The elder let out a soft hum of surprise, a hint of amusement returning to his eyes. “Not bad, not bad at all, for the one I have chosen! To know the art of fleeting at the expense of your own essence!” He retracted his hand, then struck out at the void!

With his previous grab, he had exerted a mere tenth of his strength. But this strike held a degree of seriousness, unleashing two-tenths of his power. At its impact, the very fabric of the void twisted and contorted as if on the verge of being torn asunder, rippling with unseen forces.

“Reversal!” The elder murmured.

In an instant, the ethereal nothingness shifted. It felt as if every direction had changed. Wang Lin’s flight path faltered. His body retreated with unnatural speed, mimicking his previous flight but in reverse.

Almost instantly, as his vision cleared, he found himself standing a mere three lengths from the elder. Cold sweat beaded on his brow. Such power transcended anything he had imagined.

“Why do you not run?” the elder asked, smiling at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin paused, then bowed respectfully. “I know not what you wish of me, venerable elder. My meager strength is unlikely to meet your demands.”

The elder’s gaze settled on Wang Lin’s storage pouch. “It matters not that you cannot aid me. For within your pouch lies a thunderous beast that can. Allow me its use for a time, and I shall return it to you.”

Wang Lin sighed inwardly. He could not fathom how the elder knew of his thunder beast. He tapped his storage pouch, releasing the creature. No sooner had the beast emerged than the elder’s hand shot out, seizing it in the air, and chuckled. “Excellent! A silver-horned thunder beast! Quite satisfactory! I seek not only this beast, but all the thunder beasts possessed by the Thunder Celestial Hall’s emissaries who have entered this Thunderous Celestial Realm. For a time, they shall all belong to me!”

The thunder beast, finally regaining its senses, trembled with fear, a state never before seen within the animal.

As the elder turned to depart, Wang Lin gritted his teeth. “With such power, do you merely seize what you desire?”

The elder paused, turning back to regard Wang Lin, then laughed, a spark of admiration in his eyes. “You demand recompense? Amusing! I suppose I cannot simply take your thunder beast without offering something in return!” He examined Wang Lin intently. “You cultivate in a chaotic manner. A thunderous essence and a thunderous body are mere playthings. Allow me to amend this!”

With that, the elder reached out into the void, gathering motes of dust that coalesced in his hand, forming a sphere of pure light the size of a fist. The elder then breathed upon the orb, before releasing it toward Wang Lin with a casual flick of his wrist.

The light was too fast to be avoided. It merged directly into his chest.

With that, the elder waved his sleeve. “You cannot pass through this place. I shall deliver you hence!” The force of the sleeve swept Wang Lin, Li Yuan, and the Ge-named woman, disappearing.

“That sword looked familiar, oh well. Right now, I am the most important thing, so no more thoughts.” The elder looked at the hand-held thunder beast, the more he looked at it, the more he liked it, and laughed: “If it is not bad, this thunder beast should be able to pull the iron chain after the old man slightly casts the spell.”

The thunder beast looked at the old man cautiously, but dared not speak.

The old man disappeared with a shake, but almost instantly, he appeared again, looked back at the direction Wang Lin disappeared, and murmured to himself: “How many of the breaths did I breathe just now? Uh… it seems like a little too much… The little guy should be fine… Never mind, if he is not dead, then he is really the fated person for me.”

The old man took a step forward and disappeared.

Wang Lin and the other two were directly penetrated the thick fog by the old man, and their ears were full of whistling sounds. This kind of speed cannot be described by magic powers. This is almost a turning over.