Chapter 954: Beginning Realm. | Renegade Immortal
Renegade Immortal - Updated on February 24, 2025
Here’s a rewrite of the provided content in a fantasy style, focusing on atmosphere and evocative language:
Five star-points blazed into existence upon Wang Lin’s brow, a sudden and rare emergence of his ancient god lineage, swirling with uncanny speed.
A tremor ran through Wang Lin. His mind roared, as if a primal force long dormant within his soul awakened. The memories of the ancient god Tusi, gained in ages past, surged before his inner eye.
Ling’er, never breaking her gaze, watched as the god-stars appeared. A mist of confusion veiled her eyes, a fleeting dream rolling through her gaze. A shiver shook her, and a buried memory deep within her soul began to stir.
Visions filled her mind, scenes only glimpsed in slumber. She knelt once more upon the altar, bathed in moonlight. Below, a sea of faces chanted in a tongue forgotten by time.
Upon the altar, she mirrored her dream, hands cradling an unseen vessel. A strange, soft sound escaped her lips. “Kun!” Above, the clouds churned, mimicking a tempestuous ocean, and parted to reveal a cobalt sky and a colossal form. Five stars burned on its brow, but a power unlike any other god radiated from it, the unmistakable aura of kings.
A face of utter impassivity, untouched by the tides of fate, turned its icy gaze upon Ling’er.
It was Wang Lin, in the form of a god!
“Moon Clan, servant of the ancient god, by blood and bond, calls for your descent! Grant us the power to wage war against the Tower Clan!” In the heart of the vision, Ling’er’s voice was a hushed prayer, overflowing with fervent devotion.
Below, the countless faces echoed her plea. The sigils of the moon upon their foreheads glowed with increasing intensity.
“The Moon Clan offers the energies of the world, a gift worthy of a god,” Ling’er intoned, raising the unseen vessel. A surge of voices filled the air, reaching a fever pitch. From each lunar mark, torrents of raw energy burst forth, rushing toward the altar like a river of starlight.
The energies flowed into Ling’er’s hands, solidifying into a gleaming vessel. As she knelt and raised it above her head, the vessel transformed into a whirling vortex of power, ascending towards the god-form of Wang Lin.
At first slow, the vortex accelerated, drawn upward by an unseen force, hurtling toward the god’s brow and vanishing into the star-points.
The god-Wang Lin raised a hand and, with a single gesture, unleashed a flood of ancient power, pouring into Ling’er’s body, and then divided into a thousand streams flowing into the bodies of those below. Ling’er gasped, the world spinning as she collapsed into unconsciousness. The vision dissolved, leaving behind the familiar peaks of Water Spirit Star, the crash of waves still audible.
Nothing had changed, save for Ling’er, lying prone upon the peak, just as she had in the vision.
Wang Lin stood nearby, a flicker of bewilderment in his eyes.
“A god’s servant…” He murmured, gazing at the heavens, a new memory surfacing, freed from an eon-long imprisonment when Ling’er’s actions matched those of the vision. Long ago, the ancient gods had relied on the devotion of god-servants to gather and provide energy.
“The threads of fate are ever spun anew. Each god-servant bears the mark of their master, its strength mirroring the god’s own power.”
“Yet, the mark upon Ling’er is ancient, impossibly strong. Through countless lifetimes, its echoes still linger within her soul… Without it, she could never have glimpsed these echoes of the past.”
Wang Lin touched his brow. He, too, had witnessed the vision, feeling the surge of power as the Moon Clan’s offering merged with his being. A single, unyielding strand of energy had infused his blood, becoming a part of his god-power. And upon Ling’er’s forehead, a new mark flickered, its rhythm mirroring the beat of Wang Lin’s heart. If his heart were to cease, so too would the mark fade, taking with it Ling’er’s life and destiny.
“To shatter the soul is to erase all traces, to sever the wheel of rebirth. A dying god spells doom for their servant! Only one answer rings true.” Wang Lin’s eyes sharpened. “The god who etched this mark upon her is not dead!”
He understood now why he had felt an inexplicable kinship with Ling’er, far beyond the simple resonance of her water-spirit. It was the faint echo of the ancient bond, the memory of a servant etched upon her soul.
“The memories of Tusi, I thought I had claimed them all, but it seems a part remains sealed. Perhaps it lies within that missing memory crystal from the ancient god’s land on Vermillion Bird Star… Were I to obtain it, the inheritance of Tusi would at last be complete.”
Wang Lin glanced at the unconscious Ling’er, then turned away, settling upon a stone to meditate, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
Time passed, and the setting sun painted the sky in hues of fire before surrendering to the night. Once more, Wang Lin found himself drifting into the strange realm of the Chen Hour, the world outside fading away.
His mind was still, his burdens lifted, his awareness bathed in the intermingling echoes of sunset and sunrise.
A subtle pattern danced at the edge of his perception, just beyond his grasp. He did not know what it was, what he sought to capture. Yet, his centuries of cultivation whispered of a rare opportunity, a chance to grasp something of immense power.
Unbeknownst to Wang Lin, he stood upon the precipice of the Realm of Beginnings, one of the most elusive and profound states in the cultivation world.
The Realm of Beginnings was not as domineering as the Realm of Extremes, nor as mysterious as the Realm of the Way, yet its enigma surpassed all others.
None could say how one entered the Realm of Beginnings, nor how it could be understood. Throughout the history of cultivation, only a handful had achieved it, even in ancient times. Those few could not explain how they had arrived there, and their time within it was fleeting.
The world spoke of three realms – Extremes, Way, and Beginnings – as variations of spiritual power, forever binding those who entered them. Only the Realm of Extremes had been recorded with certainty. The other two were spoken of in hushed tones, even those who had experienced them being unable to fully describe them. It was believed that each realm encompassed both spirit and essence. Wang Lin’s initial experience in the Realm of Extremes was an infusion of spirit energy that morphed into divine sense. Many believed the same was true for the Realms of Way and Beginnings – spirit and essence realms.
It appeared it was easier to touch the spirit realms. The essence realms were too ethereal, eluding capture. All who had trod upon the Realm of Beginnings had only briefly entered the spirit realm, where their spiritual energy was transformed, fleeting and with little to be gained.
In the ancient times, this occurrence was first chronicled for the cultivator Liu Wen.