“My brother,” Situ Bai chuckled, his voice laced with a lascivious mirth, “holds little regard for beauty. I doubt greatly that you would know him.” As he spoke, his large hand stealthily moved to the alluring woman’s waist, gripping it with possessive force.

The woman protested, a playful resistance in her eyes, but before she could truly object, Situ Nan swept her into his arms with a hearty laugh. He surged forward, intent on the celestial sphere of Tian Yun Star. “Patience, little blossom! I’ve indulged you a thousand times on this journey. You speak of sisters aplenty within your Red Powder Palace. Let us see if their allure matches your boast!”

The woman covered her mouth, a beguiling smile playing on her lips. “You shall not be disappointed, esteemed Situ. Just remember the sisters of the Red Powder Palace when you are sated.”

Situ Nan’s heart quickened at her words, his mind wandering to the captivating beauties of Phoenix Plume Star. He mused on a day when he might reign supreme there, alongside his brother Wang Lin, each with an armful of enchanting women – truly a delight for the ages. “Alas, that Wang Lin is a block of wood! All my centuries of guidance, wasted!”

While Situ Nan indulged in his worldly pleasures, far away on Water Spirit Star, Wang Lin’s right eye flashed with a cerulean light. With a flick of his sleeve, he returned to his secluded palace, resuming his meditation. His entourage dispersed, leaving Water Spirit Star to its nocturnal tranquility once more.

That night, countless souls found slumber elusive, even meditation failing to bring peace. The Three Dust disciples were afflicted thus, as was Floating Wind, and the maiden named Ling’er likewise suffered.

She could not banish the image of the towering figure, whose mere half-crouch seemed to dwarf the heavens and the earth. She found no serenity in meditation, tossing and turning in her bed, a disquiet forever present.

“Why does the sight of that immense form evoke a sense of cyclical existence, as though I have entered a dream of reincarnation? Why does it inspire a reverence unknown before?” Ling’er pondered, her thoughts circling endlessly until the first light of dawn coaxed her into a fitful slumber. Though brief, her sleep was an odyssey through a lifetime.

In her dream, she was a stranger, adorned in unfamiliar garments, standing upon a towering altar in a world both known and unknown. Above, the sky was a canvas of azure, beautiful to the point of blinding.

Below, throngs of men and women, clad in strange attire, knelt on the earth, chanting arcane words that echoed through the heavens.

She stretched forth her arms, a look of devout reverence upon her face, gazing upward as though calling to the heavens, seeking communion with the cosmos.

After long moments, the sky above convulsed, roiling with storm clouds that swallowed the azure canvas. The chanting from below intensified, their faces alight with fervor.

She knelt, her hands held in a mudra before her breast, her head tilted back, revealing her slender neck. She performed an ancient gesture, and a voice, not entirely her own, escaped her lips.

At that instant, the storm clouds writhed and buckled, as two shafts of blinding light pierced through, striking the earth.

The clouds parted, revealing a colossal form that dominated the very fabric of existence: An Ancient God!

Only his torso was visible, yet it filled the sky, and upon his brow, eight swirling star points pulsed with cosmic power.

A collective cheer erupted from those below as the Ancient God manifested, their faces radiating zealous devotion. The dream then abruptly ended.

Ling’er awoke, staring blankly at the ceiling. This dream was not new, but an echo from the dawn of her consciousness.

It was a secret she guarded jealously, unable to explain her reluctance to share it with another soul. Not even Zhao Xue, her closest confidante, nor her forefather Dust One, knew of it.

Ling’er had always dismissed it as a fanciful illusion, repeating countless times, yet always veiled in a haze.

It was on the night she encountered the Wang surname cultivator that the mists cleared. Though chaos had erupted around them, she remained lost in slumber, witnessing the spectacle with newfound clarity. She found herself strangely drawn to him, an inexplicable sense of affinity pulling at her heart.

Still, she dismissed it as mere fancy, but now, the foundation of her belief shattered!

She had witnessed the towering form in the heavens, and though not the same as the giant of her dreams, the celestial stars upon its brow evoked the same primal feeling within her soul!

Never had she imagined that the giant of her dreams could be real! Her heart roiled with turmoil, her mind unable to find purchase.

As dawn approached, a gentle knock echoed outside Ling’er’s chamber. Receiving no answer, Zhao Xue, standing outside the door, entered only to find the room empty. “Where did that child wander off to so early?” she murmured, her brow furrowed in concern, as she turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Wang Lin sat in his palace, his right eye once more calm. “To unlock the Ancient God’s life-saving abilities, I require vast celestial power. The scraps gleaned from battle are insufficient…” he mused, resolving his course.

He exhaled softly before striking his storage bag, a glimmer of crystalline light appearing in his palm. As the radiance faded, a crown of magnificent splendor rested in his hand!

Within the crown, a crimson shadow flickered, hinting at an untamed pride! And around the crimson specter coiled a wisp of golden thread, which, upon closer inspection, revealed itself to be the shrunken soul of a golden dragon! The golden thread was a slave to the shadow of crimson within the crown, as if afraid and following the red shadow! Wang Lin gazed upon the crown, his pupils reflecting the once-familiar crimson visage. “Red Butterfly…”

As Red Butterfly drew her last breath, she bid Wang Lin seek her homeland. There, he discovered a blue rose, its pride mirroring that of the fallen beauty.

When Wang Lin obtained the crown, the two merged, though he knew not its purpose, only that something felt changed within it.

Later, within the Void, the golden dragon roared, unleashing its most potent magic, which conjured a crown. Seeing the crown, Wang Lin’s mind was flooded with insight.

He could never forget what had occurred when he produced the true crown. The radiant crown created a red specter, which was so similar to the original Red Butterfly that Wang Lin questioned everything he had ever known.

“Red Butterfly, is that really you…?” Wang Lin whispered.

Of all the people he had ever met, Red Butterfly, the Sky’s Proud Daughter, had moved him the most, and had even caused the Vermillion Bird to make an exception to accept her and increase the rank of Snowfield. She was also the one to cause a war between two countries which had swept in ordinary families, like his parents-in-law.

His voice faded in the air, with the shadow shifting momentarily before fading away like it had never existed.

Wang Lin sighed, but the crown away before his eyes landed on his next item with grim determination.

“If I am to succeed in the mastery of this item, my hopes of surviving the Demon Spirit Lands will increase.” Wang Lin inhaled sharply before striking his bag to release a burst of yin energy, followed by a silver corpse slowly materializing.

During the grand battle between the Alliance and the Heavenly Daos, the Alliance had released reanimated dead. This woman was the highest class amongst them, and Wang Lin had stolen her away in the chaos when she was wounded.

Clad in a silver robe, the woman’s features were well-preserved and well-endowed, though her skin was pale as death. Yin energy rolled off her as it spread through the palace.

Two black chains bound her, with one stuck to her collarbone, while the other was hooked around her pelvis. Those chains reeked of poison strong enough to instantly kill any mortal that smelled it!

Even cultivators of high cultivation would be poisoned and collapse to the floor, or be killed for taking too many breaths. “If I can control this reanimated dead, I will have a peak Ascendant cultivator as my ally.” Wang Lin’s eyes shimmered, as he saw a chance to reap what he had tried so hard to get.

As he was observing her, he felt someone standing outside, as he quickly waved to hide the body away, and banish the yin energy and poison to nothing. A small voice soon broke the silence in the palace. “Wang… Wang senior, this is Ling’er.”

It was early dawn, with the winds carrying the coldness of the water spirit star and the biting wind. Even if it meant nothing to someone as strong as Ling’er, she could not help but feel a chill.

She timidly stared at the giant who was sitting down in front of the palace. She had seen him follow senior Wang around a few days ago, and she could not help but feel scared at his frozen stare.

She bit her lip, before stating softly, “I.. I want to see Wang senior, can… can you let me in.”

Ta Shan remained silent, his eyes staring at the girl in front. If she took one step further, he would act against her.