From the churning depths of the sea, a humanoid form coalesced, as if slumbering in the ocean’s embrace. With each swirling tide, it gathered substance, and a faint stirring hinted at a nascent awakening.

The Wind Fiend, its face a mask of snarling fury, paid no heed to the oceanic transformation. Instead, with its right hand, it wove intricate gestures, and guttural incantations spilled from its lips. These were the forgotten words of the Ancient Ones, a tongue that, when uttered by the ancient Gods, resonated with epochs of wisdom and divine authority. From the Wind Fiend’s maw, however, they emerged as a piercing, unsettling symphony of darkness.

With a flick of its wrist, the Wind Fiend commanded. Before it, three diminutive pennants spun into a frenzied dance. Emerald mists billowed from the green silk, within which a colossal specter began to materialize. Towering thousands of feet into the sky, its form strained the very fabric of reality, threatening to shatter the confines of the mortal world. At the center of the being’s brow, six star-like points pulsed with an eternal, swirling light.

From the swirling emerald vapor flanking the towering apparition, two lesser, but equally monstrous, figures manifested. Though only a hundred feet in height, they radiated a palpable aura of primordial chaos, as if struggling to break free from the verdant bonds of the mist. Within the left eye of each demonic shade, six whirling stars blazed.

Wang Lin, his gaze unwavering, felt his pupils contract as he beheld the unholy trio.

The Wind Fiend, poised before its spectral legions, fixed its gaze upon Wang Lin and roared, “Whether you be God or mortal, today you shall become the vessel of my Ancient Fiend Clan’s sacred banner!” With a predatory gleam in its eyes, the Fiend extended a finger. The three phantoms roared in unison as the six-starred Ancient God strode forth, its colossal fist hurtling towards Wang Lin with earth-shattering force.

The Ancient Fiend shades, meanwhile, lunged from either side, their bloodlust a tangible presence, seeking to devour his very essence.

Among the Ancient Fiends, Bellows, though not of royal blood, was far from a common demon. The Demon-Locking Banner, bestowed upon him by the Fiend King, was not a royal artifact, but possessed immense, potent magic. In his full power, Bellows could unfurl the true Demon-Locking Banner, unleashing forty-nine pennants across the sky. The souls trapped within were not solely his victims, but those ensnared by the banner’s previous masters.

For Bellows was only the seventh master of this Ancient Fiend relic. Legend spoke of the first master, possessing celestial power, able to stand against even the ancient Gods. He was one of the rarest of beings: a Fourth Generation Ancient Fiend! In those ancient days, when the Ancient Clan defied the heavens, it splintered into three: Gods, Fiends, and Demons. The first generation of each bore the full weight of the Ancient blood and legacy.

The generations that followed, the Second Generation, carried a lesser, though still substantial, portion of the ancient inheritance. But as the ages drifted by, the blood thinned. By the time of the present, only a trace remained.

The royal families, they were the lineages that had retained the purest and largest quantity of the ancient blood. They were the direct descendants of the first generation of the three clans.

Bellows, in truth, was the seventy-ninth generation of Ancient Fiend. However, his inherited relic was of immense age and formidable origin.

But the Wind Fiend now renounced its Ancient Fiend lineage. Its own demonic form was long since shattered. It could not wield the true artifact. The three pennants were but ephemeral constructs of its demonic energies, bearing a resemblance to the way Wang Lin conjured the God-Slaying Spear.

As the Wind Fiend issued its command, the spectral Ancient God and Fiends lunged at Wang Lin. His eyes narrowed, discerning their true nature. Without hesitation, he reached out and tore a rift in the heavens.

It was as if a chasm had appeared in the sky, the edges crackling with electric energy and echoing with thunder.

From the abyssal tear, a tremendous pressure descended, causing the Wind Fiend to pale. A beam of black light flashed forth and landed in Wang Lin’s hand: the God-Slaying Spear!

“A Royal Ancient God’s Sacred Weapon!” Recognizing the weapon, the Wind Fiend’s eyes widened in horror.

“You are a Royal Ancient God?!”

Wang Lin gripped the God-Slaying Spear and swung it in a sweeping arc. The six-starred Ancient God shuddered. Its dull eyes sparked with renewed awareness.

It was a common Ancient God and inferior even to Bellows. Upon seeing the Clan’s Sacred Weapon, it trembled, its advance faltering.

Had the true Demon-Locking Banner appeared, it might not have been so affected. But this was merely a phantom created by the Wind Fiend. Its power, and the power of the imprisoned Gods and Demons, was vastly diminished.

The Wind Fiend cursed inwardly, regretting Yao Xixue’s recklessness. Had he known she had provoked Wang Lin, he would never have chosen to merge with her.

“Damn it! Yao Xixue’s memories depicted him as a weakling, easily crushed. How could he be an Ancient God, a Royal one at that?!”

The Wind Fiend knew the Royal families of each clan were nearly extinct. Bellows had encountered a Royal Ancient Fiend only by chance.

In truth, if not for Wang Lin, the Wind Fiend would have been able to prevail against even Situ Nan by utilizing its myriad tricks and unparalleled speed.

But against Wang Lin, all its advantages were rendered null. Its speed, its powers, even its simulated treasures were no match for Wang Lin’s royal artifact.

As Wang Lin swung the God-Slaying Spear, the heavens trembled. The spear howled as it lunged at the two shuddering Ancient Fiends.

They were mere phantoms, lacking the full power of the Demon-Locking Banner. Against ordinary cultivators, they might have stood a chance, but against the God-Slaying Spear, a royal relic, they were utterly defenseless!

With unimaginable speed, the spear pierced one of the Fiends. Its form dissolved into wisps of demonic energy drawn along in the spear’s wake.

In an instant, the Fiend vanished.

The Wind Fiend’s pupils contracted. Facing imminent death, it spat forth a mouthful of blood and etched a strange symbol upon it. Then, pointing forth, it roared,

“Banner Break!”

The green pennants, from which the phantoms emerged, whirled violently and collapsed into a tidal wave of emerald power, a serpentine dragon racing toward the God-Slaying Spear.

As the pennants shattered, the remaining Ancient God and Fiend burst as well, merging with the spectral dragon, amplifying its destructive power.

The God-Slaying Spear and the green dragon collided with explosive force. A sphere of black and green energy erupted between them, swirling in chaos and emitting rings of light. The air crackled with energy.

A clash between two ancient clan artifacts. The Royal Ancient God’s God-Slaying Spear against an artifact used by one of the earliest Ancient Fiends!

Both were merely illusory, and the difference in power was immediately apparent. The black energy within the sphere raged with primal fury, determined to destroy all resistance. The green energy struggled, but its defeat was inevitable.

As the green energy retreated, the sphere filled with the all-consuming black. The sphere imploded! A cataclysmic explosion ripped through the world, shaking the heavens and stirring the seas below.

The green dragon dissolved and the God-Slaying Spear burst through the dissipating energy, hurtling towards the Wind Fiend.

The Wind Fiend coughed blood. The destruction of the artifact, though illusory, was linked to its energy, dealing it a grievous wound. As the God-Slaying Spear drew near, the Fiend retreated.

Wang Lin, his expression frigid, gave chase.

“I had no part in your feud with Yao Xixue! What karma is a wisp of memory like the Wind Fiend?!” the Fiend cried in fury.

“You were beyond the threads of fate, yet you chose to entangle yourself in this karma. If you leave Yao Xixue’s body, I will let you go.”

“Absurd! I am merely a memory. How can I leave?” the Wind Fiend spat, regretting his fusion with Yao Xixue.

Though he did not fully understand karma, he felt as if his fusion had woven him into a web from which there was no escape.

The God-Slaying Spear flew toward the Wind Fiend, but suddenly Wang Lin’s eyes flashed. Without hesitation, he teleported away. At that moment, a hand of seawater swiped through the space Wang Lin had occupied and seized the God-Slaying Spear.

It squeezed, and the God-Slaying Spear emitted black light.