Chapter 1164: Peak of the Cloud Sea, The Heavenly Dao’s Plan (Second Update)

What his right hand touched was not half of a skeletal remain, but rather a vortex filled with incredible power. His Divine Sense penetrated the depths of this vortex.

Completely beyond his control, an indescribably powerful suction force suddenly erupted within the vortex, pulling Wang Lin's Divine Sense directly into it, deeper and deeper.

Wang Lin was like a lone boat in a raging storm, continuously being drawn in by the vortex's suction, as if he had traversed time, heading toward an era he had never encountered!

The roaring sounds in his mind echoed incessantly, growing more and more intense. If anyone were to look from outside the Immortal Cave now, they would clearly see Wang Lin's body trembling violently. His eyes were tightly shut, his face pale and even distorted. His right hand trembled even more fiercely, yet it remained firmly stuck to the skeletal remains.

Suddenly, the skeletal remains emitted a golden light, but the instant this golden light flashed, the scriptures on the remains immediately emitted black light, attempting to overwhelm the golden light and engage in a fierce struggle against it!

This was a world filled with Chaos, where heaven and earth were indistinguishable, seemingly to exist yet not exist. In the distant Void Realm, a person slowly walked forth. This person wore white robes and looked like an old man, but his body was extremely blurry, making him difficult to see clearly.

He raised his head, looking at the sky, seemingly in contemplation. Just then, a seven-colored radiance suddenly burst forth from the chaotic sky. This seven-colored light was like a world-overturning wave, and as it rumbled down, it instantly tore apart heaven and earth, causing this chaotic region to collapse. The sky was no longer the sky, nor the earth the earth, but a Starry Sky!

But this Starry Sky was not dark; it was seven-colored!

Looking around, the entire world had become a Seven-Colored Realm!

The white-robed old man suddenly looked up, waved his right hand in front of him, and the Character 'Zhan' (War) materialized in an illusory form! It encircled his body, instantly emitting boundless golden light, forcefully pushing back the surrounding seven colors.

At this very instant, a vast voice suddenly echoed throughout heaven and earth.

“The opening of Heaven and Earth is the Supreme Beginning (Tai). Heaven transforms into the Initial (Chu), and Earth nurtures the End. What this old man Cultivates is the Supreme Beginning of this Heaven and Earth, the Rule of the Initial. Using the seven colors as a guide, Seal!”

With the single word “Seal,” all the seven-colored radiance in this seven-colored world rumbled into motion. As if controlled by a powerful force, the boundless seven-colored light frantically converged upon the white-robed old man.

In Wang Lin's eyes, this scene was like heaven and earth rolling backward, forming a seven-colored Seal that continuously condensed, completely sealing the white-robed old man within.

Seven-colored clouds surged across the sky; it seemed as if the entire world was collapsing. Roars emanated from within the seven colors, but they grew weaker and weaker, eventually dissipating.

“Zhan Xingye, if this old man had not given you the Character 'Zhan' Scroll back then, how could you have reached the Ethereal Void Realm today? Using your Battle Soul as a guide, this old man can find the burial site of Old Ghost Zhan during his Empty Tribulation, take his skeletal remains, force out the Dao Marrow of you two, master and disciple across generations! Destroy his Nirvana, and complete This Venerable One's Heavenly Dao's Plan!” The ancient voice revealed fatigue and gradually faded away.

At the same time, the world in Wang Lin's eyes also scattered, forming regions of collapse that threatened to pull his Primordial Spirit down into them, to be disintegrated along with the world.

At this moment, inside Sima Mo's Immortal Cave, the golden light on the skeletal remains touched by Wang Lin was completely overwhelmed by the black light, gradually being forced into a corner. The black light then shot directly toward Wang Lin's touching finger, attempting to enter his body.

At that instant, the Crystal Sword, where Wang Lin had left a trace of his mind, suddenly flashed with crystal light inside the Immortal Cave. It shot toward Wang Lin at extreme speed, flashing past his fingertip, separating Wang Lin's right hand from the skeletal remains just as the black light approached.

Wang Lin's body shook, and he instantly woke up. He retreated several steps without hesitation, staring at the skeletal remains, his mind churning violently.

“The Zhan Family's Old Ancestor, Zhan Xingye!”

Wang Lin's expression was grim. While he was in Luotian, he learned that the Zhan Family's ancestor had departed, shattering the Starry Sky, and had never been heard from again, his whereabouts unknown. This Zhan Xingye possessed extremely high talent. In his early years, he accidentally obtained the Character 'Zhan' Scroll, pondered it himself, gained insight into the Concept of Battle, and eventually left to pursue a higher Realm.

No matter how hard his descendants searched, they were never able to find any clues regarding Zhan Xingye.

“I never expected that he… is actually Zhan Xingye!”

“The person who killed Zhan Xingye called himself This Venerable One and possessed the power of the Supreme Initial. Could it be the Venerable Master?” Wang Lin's expression grew even gloomier. Recalling the scene he had just witnessed, he felt a chill in his heart. That seven-colored Divine Ability was similar to Fading Night, but clearly far surpassed the power of Fading Night. A single move of that Divine Ability left Zhan Xingye powerless to resist!

Wang Lin's mouth felt dry. Amidst his silence, he frowned, and his eyes flickered.

“Wait! If Zhan Xingye was killed just like that, why would such a clear will remain within his bones? If he had completely died, this will should have dissipated, and even if it remained, it wouldn't be this clear… Furthermore, the voice of the person suspected to be the Venerable Master clearly showed fatigue in the end…” Hundreds of thoughts spun in Wang Lin's mind, but he couldn't find a single thread of insight.

“Ethereal Void and Empty Tribulation! Could these be two Realms within the Third Step? When I previously gained insight from the Character 'Zhan' Scroll, I saw an old man—the scroll was drawn by him. He once said his cultivation had reached the Realm of Emptiness and he wanted to break the boundary. Could it be… could he be Old Ghost Zhan, whose bones were buried during the Empty Tribulation, as mentioned by the person suspected to be the Venerable Master? Judging by the way he addressed him, the person suspected to be the Venerable Master holds some apprehension toward this Old Ghost Zhan. In order to find Old Ghost Zhan's burial site, he sought out Zhan Kongye, gave him the Character 'Zhan' Diagram, allowed Zhan Kongye to Cultivate, and finally killed him to extract his soul. Everything was for his Heavenly Dao's Plan. What exactly is this Heavenly Dao's Plan?” Wang Lin's mind became clearer and clearer. Although there were still things he couldn't grasp, some thoughts were becoming lucid.

“Four stone steles, two complete skeletal remains. If the first skeletal remains belong to Zhan Xingye, then could the second skeletal remains be Zhan Xingye's master across generations, Old Ghost Zhan!” Wang Lin gasped.

“That Character 'Zhan' Diagram is the Dao Lineage left behind by Old Ghost Zhan!” Wang Lin looked at the skeletal remains with a complicated expression, especially after seeing the faint golden light appearing on them. After a moment of silence, he realized he had three Character 'Zhan' Diagrams inside his Storage Space!

He had opened the first two, but the third one, which he obtained from the Zhan Family descendants, had never been activated. As he silently gazed at the skeletal remains, he grabbed into the Void Realm with his right hand. Immediately, his Storage Space appeared, and three light clusters flew out from within.

Inside these three light clusters were precisely the three Character 'Zhan' Scrolls!

The instant the Character 'Zhan' Scrolls appeared, the golden light that had been forced into a corner on the skeletal remains suddenly began to flash violently. It actually separated from the remains and shot toward the Character 'Zhan' Scrolls, instantly merging into them. With the golden light flashing, the three Character 'Zhan' Scrolls immediately began to undergo Fusion.

This strange change did not surprise Wang Lin. His gaze was solemn as he stared at the three Character 'Zhan' Scrolls undergoing Fusion. Moments later, the Fusion ended. The golden light illuminated the entire Immortal Cave, and a massive, golden, illusory character “Zhan” appeared before Wang Lin.

As the Character 'Zhan' flashed with golden light, a vast aura of Qi also emanated from it. It flashed and shot toward Wang Lin, who waved his right hand and stored it into his Storage Space.

“You obtained the Character 'Zhan' Scroll and, invisibly, became Old Ghost Zhan's successor across generations. Because of you, the burial site of Old Ghost Zhan was discovered by the person suspected to be the Venerable Master… Countless years later, I, Wang, obtained the Character 'Zhan' Scroll from your descendants… and today, I have seen your skeletal remains…” Wang Lin's eyes showed complexity. He sighed deeply, turned, and left the Immortal Cave, sealing it shut with rocks.

Wang Lin did not open the ninth Immortal Cave. He could not break the Restriction on it, but he could see that the inside was filled with seven-colored mist, making it impossible to discern what was truly inside.

Inside the valley, Wang Lin looked at Sima Mo's skeletal remains and fell silent. After a long time, Wang Lin left. Before departing, he went to the first Immortal Cave where the Mosquito Beast resided and left behind more Essence Crystals.

Walking out of the valley, Wang Lin's eyes flickered. He planned to visit the location of the stone stele he had seen earlier in his mind, to look at Zhan Xingye's upper skeletal remains.

After searching the memories of Pang Decai and Cang Songzi, Wang Lin was no longer unfamiliar with this Seven-Colored Realm. The various routes were deeply imprinted in his mind. At this moment, his figure transformed into a long arc, not rising into the air, but speeding along the ground.

Traversing outside various valleys, he gradually arrived at the Formation that had sealed the Blue-Robed Old Woman. The Formation had already been opened, and the Blue-Robed Old Woman was gone.

After a brief glance, Wang Lin did not stop, heading straight for the mountain range. He crossed the range and entered the mist. Inside the mist, Wang Lin sped along with extreme familiarity. The murmuring voices of the Marked Will Practitioners sounded in his ears, and he even encountered several Marked Will Practitioners floating past him.

The more he knew, the better Wang Lin understood these Marked Will Practitioners. They were all Cultivators from ancient times until now, yet here, they had become tools for others to Nurture the Dao.

Wang Lin could even imagine that all these Marked Will Practitioners must have been individuals of exceptional talent during their lives, and their comprehension of the Dao must have reached a certain height, which is why they were trapped by the Dao Scripture and became Marked Will Practitioners for Nurturing the Dao.

Sighing internally, Wang Lin did not stop, heading straight forward. Gradually, he saw a massive stone statue within the mist. Wang Lin stopped beneath this statue.

His eyes flickered, and he leaped up, landing on the head of the stone statue.

In Cang Songzi's memories, the Cultivation Technique he Cultivated was called the Hundred Generations Blood Essence Nascent Soul Transformation Art. The Seventh Spirit of the Sealing Realm he summoned was comprehended within this stone statue.

This Blood Essence Nascent Soul Transformation Divine Ability allowed him to Cultivate nine objects similar to Nascent Souls, but their power far exceeded that of a Nascent Soul. More importantly, these nine were Nascent Soul-like objects, not Primordial Spirits, which allowed Cang Songzi to increase the speed of Cultivating Divine Abilities ninefold.

Even more astonishing was that each Nascent Soul could condense one Divine Ability. Often, for Cultivators, certain Divine Abilities could not be Cultivated simultaneously, requiring a choice no matter how good they were—the Blue-Robed Old Woman's Art of Extracting Yang, Gathering Yin, and Returning to the Ancestor was one such example.

But none of this mattered to Cang Songzi. His nine Blood Nascent Souls could Cultivate separately.

However, before his battle with Wang Lin, one of his Blood Nascent Souls was first taken away by the Blue-Robed Old Woman, and then, under Wang Lin's continuous barrage of Divine Abilities, both men were severely injured, which is why he couldn't fully unleash all of them.

Currently writing the third update! Almost finished.