The Great-Headed Child, his eyes wide with stark terror, coughed a crimson spray. His entire being was instantly veiled, yet in that fleeting moment, he transformed into a bloody wraith, retreating with impossible speed!

His Blood-Evasion was silent and unseen, yet swifter than any lightning. One step back, and he was poised to flee Suzaku Star.

But in that instant, Wang Lin stepped forth. Ripples of arcane energy echoed as his form vanished, becoming one with the very fabric of existence. Surpassing the speed of the bloody wraith, he materialized directly before his fleeing foe.

As Wang Lin reappeared, his right hand, swirling with the dual energies of Yin and Yang Fish, struck out without hesitation!

His palm landed upon the void, yet the very air thundered with sonic booms, imbued with Wang Lin’s Dao and primal force. It coalesced into a cataclysmic storm, shaking the heavens with a resounding crash.

The crimson aura shielding the Great-Headed Child shattered. His face ashen, he realized that although the strike had landed upon empty air, it had unleashed a bizarre separation of black and white energies. The white energy plunged into the void, yet miraculously manifested within the Child’s own body, a direct assault upon his very soul!

In all his years of cultivation, the Great-Headed Child had never encountered such a technique. Awestruck, he watched as the white energy collapsed within him, triggering the disintegration of his entire reservoir of immortal essence.

Yet that was but a prelude. What truly caused him to gasp in horror was the black energy. Enveloping his body, it weaved its malevolent path, causing his skin to wither and crease instantly. His life force drained away at a terrifying pace.

This transformation sent tremors through the Child. Wang Lin had shattered his defenses, and a surge of devastating force emanating from the void slammed into him. Like a meteor fallen from the sky, the Child was struck and hurled towards the surface below.

Upon Suzaku Star, those cultivators who still held clarity witnessed this event through their spiritual senses. A surge of excitement coursed through them. Those who had been previously stunned by the Child’s mental onslaught were beginning to awaken. As if by some unspoken agreement, streams of sword light erupted from various sects, converging towards the edges of the battlefield.

Gradually, more and more cultivators transformed into beams of light, joining the fray. Among them were Zhou Wu Tai,

and Yun Que Zi.

Nearby, yet far enough to be spared the immediate devastation of the battle between Wang Lin and the Great-Headed Child, stood the imperial city of mortals. Within its walls, an elderly man, his white hair in disarray, stared with glazed eyes, scarred by the Child’s psychic assault. Yet, he strained to gather his spiritual awareness, focusing upon the celestial clash above.

He stood within a secluded chamber. Before him hung a faded parchment depicting a benevolent old man. Below the painting rested a spirit tablet, bearing the inscription: “The Spirit of Wang Zhuo, Ancestor of the Wang Clan.”

Meanwhile, the Great-Headed Child felt the relentless onslaught of energy, causing his body to crackle and groan. Plunging towards the earth, terror gripping his heart, he desperately spun his immortal essence. With frantic precision, he stabbed at vital points upon his own body, managing, after falling several hundred zhang, to halt his descent. Screaming, he unleashed a torrent of immortal energy, channeling it through his hands into a complex seal. Before him, a vast net of pure energy materialized!

“Immortal Art, Celestial Net!” the Great-Headed Child roared. The net before him expanded rapidly, growing to a hundred zhang in an instant, and rushing to engulf the approaching Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s expression remained cold, his eyes piercing with icy resolve. Without pause, he strode forward. As the net of condensed immortal force drew near, his form shimmered, arcane ripples spreading from his feet. In a heartbeat, he vanished.

The Great-Headed Child’s face turned ashen, his eyes wide with stark terror. He had sensed something amiss earlier. His Blood-Evasion was the swiftest technique in his clan’s arsenal. Sacrificing his own cultivation, he could achieve speeds far surpassing teleportation.

It had saved him from countless life-or-death scenarios in his youth.

But before, this Xu Mu had employed a technique that inexplicably surpassed his own speed. That memory haunted him. Now, witnessing the same technique again, his hair stood on end. In frantic desperation, he unleashed every ounce of his immortal essence.

A vast cloud of white mist erupted from the Child’s body. The moment it left his flesh, it transformed into a raging tempest, creating a howling vortex of power around him.

As the tempest raged, Wang Lin materialized. His right hand transformed into a sword, and with a single strike, dozens of Severing Luo incantations merged into a single devastating blow, crashing into the swirling vortex of immortal energy.

Cold sweat dripped from the Great-Headed Child’s brow. Staggering backward, he had come to truly fear Wang Lin’s spectral movements, especially since he had yet to unleash his terrifying Celestial Lightning.

Thinking of that celestial power, terror intensified in the Child’s eyes. Retreating, he cried out anxiously, “Xu Mu! I have slain no one here! Why do you pursue me so relentlessly?”

Wang Lin’s expression remained cold, and he halted his advance.

Hope flickered in the Child’s eyes. Instantly, he turned and bolted towards the heavens, crying out, “Friend Xu Mu, we are not enemies. I was reckless in this matter. I shall depart at once!” His heart pounded. This had been a true brush with death. He vowed that if he escaped this time, he would flee directly back to the Alliance headquarters in Luo Tian and expose this Xu Mu’s true identity.

“Xu Mu! I will remember this day. I shall ensure your ruin in Luo Tian. Then, venerable figures like the Blood God Child will hunt you down as a traitor. Let us see how you escape then! Even your Senior Brother Clear Water will be unable to protect you!” The Great-Headed Child gnashed his teeth, but dared not reveal any sign of his hatred. He fled toward the heavens, on the verge of reaching the stratospheric gales. If he could just pass beyond them, witnessed by hundreds of cultivators, Xu Mu would never dare attack!

Wang Lin smiled coldly. He knew the Great-Headed Child’s intentions perfectly. He raised his right hand, and a chorus of resonant chimes suddenly echoed from within his body.
The ethereal visage of the Ancient God Cauldron materialized around Wang Lin, its presence a silent decree of power. With deliberate calm, he uttered a single, potent word: “Transposition!”

Instantly, a spectral luminescence enveloped the fleeing Big-Headed Child. The suddenness of the ethereal glow startled him, but shock quickly morphed into abject terror as his form dissolved, his position in the world exchanged with Wang Lin’s in a dizzying inversion of reality.

“I told you,” Wang Lin intoned, his voice echoing across the void, “you cannot escape me.” He advanced towards the bewildered Big-Headed Child, chilling resolve hardening his gaze.

A bitter despair gripped the child’s heart. With each step Wang Lin took, an overwhelming sense of helplessness surged within him. The figure before him seemed to swell, becoming a towering titan, an unyielding force of nature. He gnashed his teeth, his eyes burning with savage desperation as he retreated.

With frantic haste, the Big-Headed Child wove arcane hand seals, chanting a guttural incantation. A wave of chilling energy swept across the heavens, permeating all that lay before him.

“Xu Mu, you forced my hand!” The final syllable of the incantation released a swarm of translucent runes into the air. Each glyph pulsed with sinister power, but instead of assaulting Wang Lin, they dove into the Big-Headed Child’s very being.

A strangled cry escaped his lips. He knew his treasures and spells were useless against Xu Mu. The chilling thought of the potent Heavenly Thunder spell yet to be unleashed filled him with dread.

It was as if Xu Mu was playing a game with him. A game he could never win.

His scalp prickled with unease, and he briefly considered surrendering, but pride and resentment held him back. With no time to spare, he gambled and unleashed his most powerful immortal art.

As the runes merged with his flesh, the Big-Headed Child’s body withered, as if every drop of essence was being drawn to his head. His already disproportionate form twisted into grotesque mockery.

His head, once merely large, now swelled to an impossible size, stretching his features into a monstrous mask. Veins bulged and writhed beneath the skin like a nest of venomous serpents. A sight that would drive any mortal to madness.

His sparse strands of hair fell away, leaving his scalp as smooth as a polished stone.

A piercing shriek tore through the air as the Big-Headed Child stabbed at his temples. His eyes bulged, locking onto Wang Lin, and he roared with savage intensity, “Immortal Demon Art, Tendon Surge!”

The monstrous call was the prelude to a visceral spectacle. The bulging veins on the child’s head erupted, tearing through the skin to become living crimson and blue serpents that intertwined and elongated, forming a pulsating column of flesh that hurtled towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin remained unfazed. He had withheld his own powerful arts, for the Big-Headed Child held a particular purpose for him. Unleashing his full power would be easy, but precision was key.

The child was one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, and Wang Lin was not ready to sever ties with Luo Tian. Killing an ordinary cultivator would be different, but slaying a Celestial General, especially within sight of hundreds of Luo Tian cultivators, would be foolish.

However, Wang Lin’s nature was unyielding. He would not let this transgression go unpunished. He held a plan that would benefit everyone.