“This sliver of Celestial Essence is but a meager ward, a miniature gift to keep you safe. Combine it with the Rain-Summoning Crystal, and within the Alliance Starfield, save for battles with those Grand Adepts, you should find yourself well-protected!”

Wang Lin, even now, remained lost within the echoes of the Rain-Summoning and Bean-Soldier incantations, his mind swirling with their intricacies. He delved deeper, seeking understanding.

After a long silence, Clear Water gazed upon Wang Lin, a look of solemn farewell in his eyes. He spoke slowly, each word heavy with regret.

“Your life force is too diminished, a wound I cannot mend. My art is one of war, not healing. The only thing I can offer is the Devouring Art, taught to me by our Master. You witnessed it in the Realm of Thunderous Immortals. Now, I shall impart it to you!”

Clear Water reached out, his right hand once more touching Wang Lin’s brow. The secrets of the Devouring Art flooded into Wang Lin’s mind.

“This art bears a heavy price. Even Master hesitated to teach it to me. If you learn it, I implore you, use it only as a last resort!”

Clear Water sighed, his gaze lingering on Wang Lin’s aged face. He withdrew his hand, and biting his tongue, traced a sigil of profound strangeness. A sigil of blood and power so potent, its mere appearance caused the fabric of space to ripple, as if the very dust of the cosmos recoiled in terror.

“Your vitality has been grievously wounded. This rune offers a meager shield.” With a flick of his wrist, the crimson rune branded itself upon Wang Lin’s chest, vanishing beneath his robes.

Wang Lin shuddered. In an instant, the marks of age were swept away. Save for his silvered hair, his youthful appearance returned. The telltale signs of his depleted life force were concealed, masked by the power of the rune.

“This rune cannot restore what is lost, nor can it be applied to a Nascent Soul. If it could, you would not be in such straits.”

Clear Water turned and walked into the vastness of space, his figure fading into the starlight.

“Farewell, Brother. May fortune favor you… The path to restoring the Extreme State lies entwined with Heavenly Tribulation. But beware, do not pursue such matters until your cultivation reaches the Shattered Nirvana Realm! Remember this!”

Clear Water was gone.

Wang Lin blinked, awareness returning. The recent events echoed in his mind. He watched the direction of Clear Water’s departure, lost in thought for a long, long time.

“Thank you,” Wang Lin whispered, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. He turned and walked away.

He did not seek the Thunder Immortal Palace to cross the rift into the Alliance Starfield. Instead, he melded with the world around him, searching until he found an abandoned cultivation star. After ensuring its safety, he sat down in the cave he carved.

He spread his divine sense, and behind him, Ta Shan emerged from the void to guard the entrance. Wang Lin reached into his pouch, retrieving the sealed sphere containing Li Muwan, placing it carefully in his palm.

Looking at the sphere, a deep sorrow clouded his eyes. Gently, he caressed it, and the seals unfurled, revealing the nascent soul of Li Muwan, clinging to a single spark of life.

“Muwan… even if it costs me nearly all my life force, if it buys you this chance, I would gladly pay the price.” His voice, though calm, carried an undercurrent of heart-wrenching grief.

Li Muwan’s soul trembled. Too weak to awaken, two trails of tears nonetheless seeped from her form. Such tears cannot exist on a soul; they vanished as quickly as they appeared, leaving behind only a lingering sense of sorrow.

Wang Lin stared at Li Muwan, mesmerized. A glow emanated from his brow as the Heavenly Jewel slowly materialized. He placed Li Muwan’s soul within its protective embrace, but to his dismay, he realized that even within the Jewel, her life force continued to fade, however slowly.

A bitter smile touched Wang Lin’s lips. He steeled himself, reaching into his pouch to summon the Heaven-Avoiding Coffin. It materialized before him, its crystal surface shimmering with light.

He removed Li Muwan’s soul from the Heavenly Jewel, his hands trembling. He had thought himself resolute, but doubt once again crept in.

To release her, or not…?

Watching as Li Muwan’s soul faded more rapidly, Wang Lin’s hand trembled as he placed her soul within the Heaven-Avoiding Coffin. The instant she entered the Coffin, her soul shifted from a meditative pose to a supine one.

Wang Lin’s eyes remained fixed, oblivious to everything but Li Muwan.

As she lay within, a strange power surged through the Coffin, engulfing her soul. The energy rippled, threatening to shatter her entirely.

But then, the single spark of life within Li Muwan’s soul ignited, surging to meet the force of the coffin. The destruction stalled and then transformed into a radiant, multi-colored glow.

Wang Lin’s heart lurched. His wisdom understood instantly: had Li Muwan not possessed that single spark, the Heaven-Avoiding Coffin would have destroyed her!

“It seems this coffin only works on those with a trace of life, however faint.” As Wang Lin watched, strands of crimson light emerged from Li Muwan’s soul, weaving into the shape of a body.

Then, in a dazzling display of light, countless crystal shards coalesced along the crimson framework, creating a skeletal form.

Before his very eyes, Li Muwan’s flesh and bone reformed. She lay still within the coffin, as if in a deep slumber, and with a gasp, began to breathe again. Tears streamed down Wang Lin’s face.

Muwan…

For this single sight, all that he had sacrificed was worth it.

Three days later, Wang Lin, carrying Li Muwan, left the abandoned cultivation star, heading straight toward the Thunder Immortal Palace.

“Muwan, we are going home!”
From the star-strewn void, the lament of Wang Lin echoed, a sorrow so profound it clung like the shroud of night.

Across the Alliance Starfield, a tempest of blood and iron had been unleashed in a mere fortnight. From the western reaches, the armies of Luo Tian surged forth, a relentless tide of conquest. One by one, cultivation stars fell before their onslaught, their inhabitants scattered like leaves before a gale.

The realm trembled, teetering upon the precipice of apocalypse. Yet, strangely, the Cultivation Alliance remained silent, impassive as spectators at a grim play, devoid of alarm or action.

This unnerved even the warriors of Luo Tian. They could not decipher the Alliance’s enigmatic stance. Even the formidable Yan Lei Zi and his cohorts were plagued by doubt.

Had such an invasion befallen Luo Tian, the Thunder Immortal Palace would have rallied their forces without hesitation, denying the enemy any chance to establish a foothold.

But not only the Cultivation Alliance was inert, not a single star-lord of a Grade Seven cultivation world had appeared, as if swallowed by the void. The worlds seized by Luo Tian were all of Grade Six or lower.

This eerie stillness sowed unease within the hearts of Luo Tian’s seasoned warriors. Though victory seemed assured, the prospect of facing an inscrutable foe, whose motives remained veiled in shadow, filled them with dread.

Even more alarming was the unexpected ferocity displayed by the Grade Six cultivation worlds. Their inhabitants fought with a desperate cunning, their eyes blazing with a thirst for blood. They wielded ingenious artifacts, making them difficult to vanquish. This led to significant losses for Luo Tian, and a grim realization: were warriors of equal cultivation to clash, Luo Tian would surely be defeated!

Many among the invaders were aghast at the Alliance’s cultivators. Each one was a hardened killer, their martial experience exceeding that of Luo Tian’s finest. It seemed as if every warrior from the Alliance Starfield was forged in the crucible of Dong Lin Star itself!

Meanwhile, upon a desolate sphere in the western reaches of the Alliance Starfield, a primal energy erupted. A cataclysmic roar echoed across the barren landscape, shaking the very foundations of the world.

The planet was uninhabited, spared of any civilization, which made its residents unable to survive the brutal sounds and tremble. The planet was at the edge of death’s door.

From the heart of the ravaged world, a triumphant peal of laughter burst forth, followed by an even greater symphony of destruction.

“I AM FREE!” a booming voice bellowed, “Those vixens of the Phoenix Orb, you will regret forcing me to hide in such a forsaken land! You have not seen the last of me!” The insolent proclamation shook the heavens, and from the bowels of the planet, a figure emerged.

The man was clad in tattered rags, his skin weathered and dark. Grime coated his body, yet his eyes shone with an unnatural brilliance.

He tore through the atmosphere with a sonic boom, unleashing such force that the planet began to crumble beneath him.

“I’ve been trapped for an eternity! My concubines must all be long dead! Phoenix Orb, prepare yourselves for my wrath!” The figure howled at the sky, as if desperate to unleash years of pent-up rage. “I have finally reached the Initial stage of Nirvana! I will return and claim my rightful place!”