Chapter 199: Heavenly Tribulation (9000 Characters, Seeking Votes)

Wang Lin's expression was normal, but his heart stirred. The so-called 'Return to Rest' is essentially when a Nascent Soul Cultivator is invaded by an External Devil during cultivation, causing the devil to become entangled within the Nascent Soul, preventing the Nascent Soul from leaving the body while the Physical Body remains in a sleep-like Realm.

This is Return to Rest!

The only way to solve this problem is to place the Cultivator in an area isolated from spiritual power, allowing them to expel the External Devil themselves and wake up. If an outsider attempts to help, unless their cultivation is several times higher than the Return to Rest Cultivator, or even an entire major Realm higher, it will be useless.

If a Cultivator in the Return to Rest state cannot wake up on their own for a long time, the Nascent Soul will be completely permeated by the External Devil, causing it to instantly vanish into thin air, and the Physical Body will subsequently rot.

But generally speaking, most Cultivators in the Return to Rest state can wake up, though their cultivation will decrease, which is still better than losing their life.

This Return to Rest state is not very common in the Cultivation World. At least, Wang Lin has not yet heard of any Cultivators existing in the Return to Rest state.

After Qiu Siping finished speaking, he immediately stared closely at Wang Lin, hoping to discern a clue from his expression. Unfortunately, Wang Lin's demeanor remained unchanged, calm and composed from beginning to end.

Wang Lin pondered for a moment, the red light in his eyes fading slightly. He glanced at Qiu Siping and slowly asked, “How do you know that a Return to Rest Cultivator exists?”

Qiu Siping sighed internally in relief. As long as Wang Lin asked a question, it meant the previous Three-Sentence Agreement had been lifted. Qiu Siping had no doubt that if his three sentences had failed to move the other party, this person would have immediately killed him without hesitation.

Although both were at the Core Formation Late Stage, the gap was enormous. Qiu Siping smiled bitterly internally, feeling a hidden resentment. In his view, the opponent must possess some extremely powerful Magic Treasure; otherwise, it would be impossible to have such attack power, leaving him without even the strength to resist.

Hearing Wang Lin's question, he quickly said, “Fellow Daoist, this matter is a long story. Why don’t we sit down, and I will explain it to you slowly?”

Wang Lin glanced at him and nodded slightly.

Qiu Siping immediately flew forward. Strands of black mist appeared beneath his feet, carrying him to the Pavilion at the top of the mountain peak.

After Qiu Siping went first, Wang Lin propelled himself forward, lightly landing on the small pavilion on the mountain peak. With a flick of his sleeve, a gentle breeze swept across the stone stool, scattering the fine dust on it. He lifted his hem and sat down.

Although he moved later, he entered the pavilion simultaneously with Qiu Siping. Although Qiu Siping maintained a normal demeanor, his heart seized up, and his pupils contracted slightly before quickly returning to normal.

He knew this was definitely a warning from the opponent, intended to let him know that even if he tried some tricks to escape, he would certainly not be able to shake off the pursuit.

In fact, Wang Lin's intention was exactly that. He was quite attentive to what Qiu Siping had said. In reality, anything related to forming the Nascent Soul could now attract his attention.

After all, Wang Lin's current cultivation had already reached the Core Formation Late Stage, and forming the Nascent Soul was a major, imminent event that he had to consider.

Once he successfully forms the Nascent Soul, what awaits him is to kill his way back to the State of Zhao, turn the world upside down, cause blood to flow like rivers, make the sky of the State of Zhao turn blood-red, make the ground of the State of Zhao turn into red paste, ensure that all Cultivators in the State of Zhao can never forget that blood-red day, and make all his enemies in the State of Zhao use their fresh blood to worship the Wang Clan Ancestors!!

He wants the entire Teng Family, from the elders down to the descendants, and even everyone associated with them, to be completely… wiped out!

He wants to make Old Man Ji Mo die without a burial ground, and make all his Disciples wail tragically for months before dying.

He wants all those who secretly helped the Teng Family to be punished, and all of them must pay an unbearable price for this matter!

More importantly, he wants to extract Teng Huayuan's soul, peel his skin, remove his bones, melt his tendons, and slice his flesh! In short, he will use every method he can think of to repay the bitterness and hatred accumulated over these four hundred years!

Qiu Siping flipped his right hand, and a Wine Pot and cups appeared. After personally pouring two cups, he picked up a cup, took a sip, and smiled, “Fellow Daoist, this is Fine Wine brewed from Remnant Cloud Fruit in the Devil cultivation Northern Sea. A sip leaves an endless aftertaste. Why don't you try some?”

Wang Lin did not urge the other party to answer the question. Instead, he looked at the wine cup, then picked it up and observed it carefully, as if there was something quite interesting and wonderful inside.

The Fine Wine inside this cup was emerald green, appearing crystal clear and quite beautiful.

Qiu Siping sipped for a long time, but found that Wang Lin seemed uninterested in the matter, so he smiled bitterly, put down the cup, and slowly said, “Fellow Daoist, if anyone else asked this, I would certainly not tell them. But you are different. Both of us are at the Core Formation Late Stage, and perhaps the greatest dream of this life is to form the Nascent Soul and become a lofty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

As for the Return to Rest Nascent Soul I mentioned before, one of them is actually my Master!”

After speaking, Qiu Siping fixed his gaze on Wang Lin.

Wang Lin looked at the cup for a moment more before putting it down, saying calmly, “Killing one's Master, huh? It's no big deal. I've done it myself back in the day.”

Qiu Siping laughed heartily and said, “To be honest, Fellow Daoist, my Master didn't have good intentions when he took me as a Disciple back then. Both he and my Senior Brother are Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. When they were in secluded cultivation, I secretly tampered with things. By now, they have been in the Return to Rest state for thirty years. I estimate that they are on the verge of being dissolved by the External Devil. This is the perfect time for us to seize their Nascent Souls. At that time, you and I, brother, will take one Nascent Soul each. Consuming them and then forming the Nascent Soul will definitely increase our chances greatly.”

Wang Lin raised an eyebrow slightly, pondered for a moment, looked at Qiu Siping, and slowly asked, “How is this matter related to the Ancient Restriction?”

Hearing this, Qiu Siping smiled bitterly, picked up the wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, and then sighed, “The place where my Master went into secluded cultivation is actually an Immortal Cave belonging to an Ancient Cultivator. After he accidentally obtained it back then, he claimed it for himself.

The reason I was able to tamper with things while they were in secluded cultivation was because I had been preparing for many years. I had studied some of the Restrictions in that Immortal Cave for a long time before I could successfully launch a sneak attack.

However, after the Immortal Cave was sealed, it became extremely troublesome for me to open it. There are too many Restrictions inside. I didn't expect that merely triggering a Restriction that summons External Devils would cause a series of chain reactions, resulting in me gaining nothing in the end, which was quite a loss.”

Wang Lin frowned slightly and fell into contemplation.

Qiu Siping slapped his Storage Pouch with his right hand, and immediately several Jade Slips appeared in his grasp. He placed these Jade Slips on the table and said, “These contain some symbols of the Ancient Restriction that I copied from that place. Fellow Daoist can take a look. With your Restriction technique, you can surely analyze their authenticity.”

Hearing this, Wang Lin picked up one of the Jade Slips and swept it with his Divine Sense. After a moment, he picked up another. After a long time, he had examined all the Jade Slips one by one. These Jade Slips recorded some Ancient Restrictions. Judging by these Restrictions, they belonged to a defensive type, likely set up to guard the Immortal Cave.

“Fellow Daoist, what do you think?” Qiu Siping asked from the side.

Wang Lin pondered for a moment, looked up at Qiu Siping, and asked, “What Realms are those two Nascent Soul Cultivators in, respectively?”

Qiu Siping immediately replied, “My Master is at the Nascent Soul Early Stage. As for my Senior Brother, he had only just formed his Nascent Soul. If Fellow Daoist can open the Restriction, then my Master's Nascent Soul will belong to you.”

Wang Lin was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “I cannot decide immediately on this matter. Wait for me to consider it for a few days, and then I will give you a final answer!”

Qiu Siping didn't mind, nodding and saying, “That is as it should be. I also need a few days to prepare some Magic Treasures. Fellow Daoist, you and I can now be considered to have turned enemies into friends. For all the previous misunderstandings, I sincerely apologize to Fellow Daoist here.” Saying this, the person stood up, took a few steps back, and bowed deeply to Wang Lin.

Wang Lin's expression was normal, but his heart remained cautious. In his view, this person's performance showed a commendable ability to both take action and let go.

However, with Wang Lin's shrewdness, how could he be deceived by these superficial displays? He smiled slightly as an acknowledgment, stood up, cupped his fist, and said, “Fellow Daoist, since that is the case, let's set the time for seven days from now, at this place, when I will give you my reply.”

Qiu Siping smiled warmly, nodded, and also cupped his fist.

Wang Lin instantly leaped, transforming into a long rainbow, and vanished into the horizon.

After Wang Lin left, Qiu Siping's smile immediately vanished. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. After a few flickers, his body suddenly moved, speeding away in the opposite direction from Wang Lin.

However, he did not notice at all that beside the mountain Pavilion, there was a completely transparent object that had clearly observed his expression just now, and when he left, this object silently followed closely behind him.

Before long, Wang Lin returned to Qilin City. Through the Devil Head Xu Ligou, he could closely monitor Qiu Siping's actions. Wang Lin didn't care whether Qiu Siping's claim that the Return to Rest Nascent Soul was his Master was true or false; as long as he could confirm that a Return to Rest Nascent Soul truly existed within that Ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave, that would be enough.

The reason he delayed for seven days was precisely because he planned to arrange for Xu Ligou to secretly monitor the situation and see if the matter of the Return to Rest Nascent Soul was actually true.

After returning to the Immortal Cave inside the Qilin Beast Scale, Wang Lin immediately sat down cross-legged. He swept his right hand across his Storage Pouch, and two items instantly appeared.

One of them was Yun Fei's Storage Pouch, and the other was that rather mysterious Pill Furnace.

Wang Lin first swept his Divine Sense over it. Yun Fei's Storage Pouch contained many miscellaneous items. Wang Lin merely glanced at them, then ignored them, instead taking out several Jade Slips from within and examining them one by one.

After reading for a while, Wang Lin's expression shifted slightly. These Jade Slips contained a detailed series of introductions regarding Alchemy, which could be called a General Outline of Alchemy.

When he picked up a white Jade Slip and his Divine Sense probed inside, his expression froze. This Jade Slip actually contained a Restriction within it, preventing outsiders from probing.

A trace of interest rose in Wang Lin's heart. He picked up the Jade Slip, and the Divine Sense Eye capable of seeing through Restrictions immediately activated. His eyes instantly flashed with strange light, his pupils forming vertical ellipses, and countless Restriction symbols flashed across his vision.

After a long time, Wang Lin moved his right hand, pointing his index finger in the Void Realm, and then quickly tapped several times nearby. Immediately afterward, a thin line suddenly appeared between these points, connecting them all together, forming a pattern resembling two intersecting triangles.

The instant this pattern appeared, he grabbed with his right hand, grasping the diagram across the air, and instantly pressed it onto the Jade Slip.

Immediately, bright light flashed within the Jade Slip. This light grew brighter and brighter, and after reaching its peak, it suddenly dimmed. The color of the Jade Slip also changed from white jade to black.

Wang Lin swept his Divine Sense over it. This time, he easily saw the contents of the Jade Slip. After reading for a while, Wang Lin sneered internally, thinking that Yun Fei truly deserved to be killed. When she first met him, she had tried to offer him a Jade Slip containing a Pill Formula copy, as the price for sparing her life.

Wang Lin hadn't paid much attention to that Jade Slip after reading it. Although some Medicinal Pills tempted him, if this had been before he obtained the Ancient God Art, he might have acted on it. But after obtaining the Ancient God Art, Wang Lin believed that instead of using the Spiritual Plants needed for Alchemy, he might as well swallow them raw and refine them using the Ancient God Art; the effect should be similar.

But now, after reading the Genuine Jade Slip, he immediately discovered the difference between the two. Firstly, although the Materials in the Pill Formula were the same, the proportions were slightly different.

This small change could become a fatal point that determines the life or death of the consumer.

In addition, besides the Pill Formula, this Genuine Jade Slip also contained some descriptions of Medicinal Pills. Through these descriptions, Wang Lin was stunned to realize that Alchemy was clearly different from direct consumption.

His previous idea was completely wrong. Even if the same Materials were placed before him, swallowing them raw was fundamentally different from refining them into a pill.

Alchemy focuses on harmonizing various Materials together to create a change, thereby triggering a different kind of efficacy.

Actually, it's no wonder Wang Lin didn't understand. Ancient Gods rarely performed Alchemy; even when they did, they just mixed various Materials together and swallowed them whole.

Furthermore, in all his previous experiences, he had never encountered Alchemy. Only Li Muwan had discussed the Art of Alchemy with him when they interacted years ago. However, Wang Lin at that time was focused on achieving Core Formation, so he didn't inquire too deeply about the matter.

Carefully putting away the Jade Slip, Wang Lin's eyes flickered. He had decided that he absolutely must Master Alchemy!

He took a deep breath and looked at the Pill Furnace again. He took out a Storage Pouch and tried to place it inside, but found that no matter what, the Pill Furnace could not enter the Storage Pouch. This piqued Wang Lin's interest.

After observing for a moment, Wang Lin did not act rashly. Instead, he put the Pill Furnace in his embrace. He slapped his Storage Pouch with his right hand, and a Small Banner instantly appeared in his hand.

He summoned this banner and continued refining the Restriction Banner while closely observing Qiu Siping's movements through Xu Ligou.

Xu Ligou was quite excited at this moment. He believed that his importance in his Master's eyes now far surpassed Second Brother, which made him extremely smug.

One must know that the appearance of Second Brother gave him a sense of crisis. Even he was sometimes quite wary of Second Brother's ferocity. However, he considered himself the first Devil Head to follow his Master and absolutely could not be surpassed by Second Brother.

Otherwise, he genuinely worried that one day there might be Devil Heads like Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, and even Ninetieth Brother appearing. If they all surpassed him one by one, that would be more unbearable than killing him.

Xu Ligou secretly decided that he absolutely could not let this happen. He was Big Brother, and this position must be maintained permanently. With such a grand ambition, this devil was much more obedient than before. He would complete almost everything Wang Lin instructed him to do with grinding teeth and desperate effort.

Secretly, this devil also swept away his previous laziness and became extremely diligent. He was no longer picky about food; as long as it was Divine Sense, he would rush up and snatch a meal.

At the same time, the fixed share he had to hand over to Wang Lin after every successful snatch of Divine Sense made him even more anxious, as if his flesh and blood were being forcibly dug out.

But overall, this devil was definitely several times more obedient than before.

He was now closely following Qiu Siping. No matter how fast the opponent was, he could easily catch up. As he chased, he secretly savored the delicious taste of the black-clothed man from earlier.

That black-clothed man was a Core Formation Middle Stage Cultivator. It took him some effort to swallow him. Since his Master hadn't asked about the Golden Core, he secretly hid it away and ate it in secret.

Staring at Qiu Siping ahead, a trace of greed involuntarily rose in his heart. He secretly thought, if only his Master could beat this Core Formation Late Stage Cultivator half to death and then bestow him upon himself, that would be wonderful.

In his opinion, this person was quite cunning, almost never flying in a straight line, but circling around and even stopping occasionally to stare intently behind him. This made it easy for him to follow. Watching the way the opponent moved, Xu Ligou slowly gained some insight. He secretly thought, so flying can have so many tricks; I've learned something new. I'll use this when I compete with Second Brother later.

Just then, Qiu Siping, who was ahead, suddenly paused, and his speed immediately slowed down. He landed on the ground and looked around. The area was a wasteland, with nothing but the mist inherent to the Cultivation Devil Sea.

After landing, he immediately sneered and shouted, "Fellow Daoist, you've been hiding for so long, it's time to come out!"

The Devil Head Xu Ligou was stunned. He was standing right behind Qiu Siping at the moment, and the latter's loud shout startled him. He secretly thought, 'This is bad, he discovered me.'

He was about to retreat, but then he stopped, because at this moment, Qiu Siping had already turned around, his gaze fixed on him.

Xu Ligou's face showed a fierce expression, and he thought, 'I'll fight you to the death! If I can swallow your Golden Core, I'll definitely become stronger. And even if Master asks, I have an excuse: he forced me, I couldn't help but swallow him, he made the first move.'

He was about to act when he suddenly paused again. At this moment, Qiu Siping actually turned around and looked elsewhere, still shouting, "Fellow Daoist, if you don't show yourself, this Qiu will make a move."

The Devil Head Xu Ligou was greatly puzzled, thinking, 'I'm right here! Didn't you just see me? Why are you still saying I haven't shown myself?'

Annoyed, he moved his body and floated in front of Qiu Siping again, less than a zhang away. Xu Ligou thought to himself, "Make a move! As long as you make a move, I'll swallow you. Even if I can't swallow all of you, I'll swallow half. Hurry up and make a move!"

However, after Qiu Siping waited for a while, he actually turned around again.

This time, the slow-witted Xu Ligou finally realized something was wrong. He floated in front of the other party again, and after observing for a moment, he immediately cursed internally, thinking, 'You son of a bitch, you didn't even notice me, you're playing tricks!'

After waiting for a short while, Qiu Siping finally confirmed that there was no one around and no one was following him. But he still wasn't at ease, so he sat down cross-legged, waiting for time to pass.

Xu Ligou floated angrily nearby, glaring fiercely at Qiu Siping, struggling internally, wondering whether he should disregard his Master's reprimand and fight this person.

This person was too detestable, daring to toy with the great Xu Ligou, which made him almost intolerable.

But after much deliberation, he finally suppressed his anger, thinking, 'This is a crucial moment. If I make a mistake, I'll definitely be surpassed by the second brother. I'll wait. Once my position is secure, I absolutely won't tolerate such indignities.'

Two days passed in a flash. During these two days, Wang Lin did not leave his Immortal Cave for half a step. He had been continuously refining the Restriction Banner, imprinting countless Restrictions upon it. At this moment, the banner floating before him had countless dense black dots on its white surface.

Roughly counting, there were probably no less than two to three hundred.

Within it, every nine Restrictions formed a group, and there was absolutely no similarity between each group. Their effects were even more varied and unpredictable. In fact, the creation of this Restriction Banner, apart from the rarity of the Materials, was not very difficult.

Even any Cultivator who knew how to use Restrictions could make one.

However, the knowledge involved was immense. If an ordinary Cultivator were to make it, the Restrictions placed on the banner would certainly not be very powerful. In that case, even if it was ultimately made, this Restriction Banner would not be too strong.

Furthermore, to put it plainly, this Restriction Banner was like a Formation. Its effectiveness depended on the caster's own design. If the caster continuously set up ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine offensive Restrictions, with no similarities between each group, then if successful, this Restriction Banner could be considered a Magic Treasure that would terrify everyone. The attacks it contained were unimaginably powerful.

Conversely, if ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine defensive Restrictions were continuously set up, then using this banner for defense would have the same effect, reaching an astonishing level.

Similarly, if the single attribute chosen was to trap enemies, then upon reaching the highest quality of ninety-nine thousand, its power in that aspect would be terrifying.

Therefore, the final power of the Restriction Banner depended entirely on the will of the creator. Of course, this sounds simple, but in actual creation, the difficulty is almost as great as ascending to the heavens.

For example, nine hundred and ninety-nine Restrictions are considered Minor Achievement. Each group consists of nine Restrictions, meaning ninety-nine completely different groups of Restrictions are needed.

However, if one wants to take the extreme single path and arrange ninety-nine completely different offensive or defensive Restrictions, this itself presents a certain difficulty, though it's not impossible for someone with deep research into Restrictions.

But what about the second quality? Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Restrictions, requiring nine hundred and ninety-nine groups, which increases the difficulty tenfold. Those who can create a single offensive or defensive type immediately become as rare as Phoenix feathers.

Not to mention the third quality, ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, which is a hundred times more difficult than the first quality. As a result, it is almost rare for anyone in the world to Master so many completely different single-attribute Restrictions.

As for the ultimate ninety-nine thousand, with a thousandfold increase in difficulty, this is almost a legendary Magic Treasure. At least in the ancient god memories Wang Lin obtained, the highest quality Restriction Banners were not unheard of, but highest quality Restriction Banners with single defense or attack attributes had never appeared.

Restriction Banners with single attack or defense attributes, at most, were only of the third quality. Even at the third quality, their power was almost on par with ordinary highest quality ones reaching ninety-nine thousand, and in some aspects, even superior.

Therefore, while Restriction Banner creation is simple, achieving great power is extremely difficult.

The Restriction Banner Wang Lin was making did not follow an extreme path; it mixed most Restrictions, including attack, defense, guardianship, item searching, and enemy trapping.

Only in this way could he quickly create the Restriction Banner. Wang Lin knew that he might encounter life-and-death crises at any time in this Cultivation Devil Sea, so he had to create a Restriction Banner as quickly as possible, test its power, and then decide whether he should spend a lot of time creating a single-attribute Restriction Banner.

After all, he had three pieces of Inkstone in his Storage Pouch, which could be used to make three Restriction Banners!

Wang Lin composed himself, his hands changing, and he struck out another Restriction. At this moment, his Divine Thought moved slightly, and through the Devil Head Xu Ligou, he detected Qiu Siping's actions.

After sitting quietly for two days, Qiu Siping suddenly moved, disappearing into thin air from his spot. Xu Ligou was startled and immediately burrowed underground, eventually finding Qiu Siping's figure deep beneath the earth.

Beneath this wasteland, there was an Immortal Cave. The Immortal Cave wasn't large, but it was extremely well-hidden. Xu Ligou easily burrowed into the Immortal Cave; the external Restrictions had no effect on him.

Upon entering the Immortal Cave, he immediately saw Qiu Siping flipping through ancient texts in a stone chamber. This stone chamber was practically a sea of books, with countless ancient texts densely arranged all around, most of which were quite old and not even in the form of Jade Slips, but carved on bamboo.

Qiu Siping's expression was quite solemn. He carefully flipped through the ancient texts, handling them gently. After a while, his face lit up with joy. He took a large roll of bamboo slips to a stone table nearby, slowly unrolled them, and immediately concentrated on examining them.

Xu Ligou was about to step forward, but just then, a soft light suddenly appeared in the stone chamber, blocking him. As the light flashed, Qiu Siping immediately looked up, sweeping his Divine Sense around. Finding nothing, a suspicious look appeared on his face, and his gaze flickered around, constantly looking.

After a long time, he lowered his head again and continued to examine the bamboo slips, but his right hand remained forming a Hand Seal, ready to attack at any moment.

With the soft light blocking him, Xu Ligou couldn't go forward, so he peered in from the outside. From his position, he could only see a few small characters written on the bamboo slips: "Ancient Restrictions…"

After three incense sticks' worth of time, Qiu Siping frowned slightly, closed the bamboo slips, and showed a contemplative expression. Then he put the bamboo slips back on the bookshelf, searched for a long time, and finally walked out of the stone chamber with two gray Jade Slips.

In the adjacent stone chamber, he sat down cross-legged, picked up a Jade Slip, placed it on his forehead, and closed his eyes in contemplation.

Time flew by, and five of the seven days had passed. At noon that day, Qiu Siping suddenly opened his eyes, placed the Jade Slip in his Storage Pouch, then formed a Hand Seal with his right hand and sent out a spiritual light that landed on the nearby wall. Instantly, the entire wall made creaking sounds and moved aside, revealing a concave platform within.

On the platform, there were three wax figures. The one in the middle had flowing white hair, wide-open eyes, and an air of majesty.

On either side of him stood a man and a woman. The man had dark, anciently handsome eyes and appeared to be in his twenties. The woman had bright teeth and a graceful figure, her eyes subtly revealing a hint of sadness, making her appear remarkably lifelike.

Qiu Siping gazed silently at the three wax figures. When his eyes fell upon the woman, a trace of tenderness appeared, but when he looked at the old man and the young man, his eyes revealed deep hatred.

"You old bastard, Senior Brother, I finally found someone skilled in Ancient Restrictions! Didn't expect it, did you? So many years have passed, and I can finally enter that place again to reunite with you. This time, that treasure is mine!"

After Qiu Siping finished speaking, he burst into maniacal laughter, a hint of madness in his cackle. Finally, he extended his right hand and slowly caressed the woman's face, murmuring, "I will bring you back to life, even if the price is the entire Cultivation Devil Sea, I will do it willingly!"

He took a deep breath, withdrew his right hand, stepped back a few paces, and sent out another spiritual light. Instantly, the surrounding walls slowly merged back together with creaking sounds.

Wang Lin sat cross-legged in his Immortal Cave, clearly seeing all of this through Xu Ligou. He pondered for a moment, his eyes flashing, and made a decision.

Late on the second night, Wang Lin struck the last set of Restrictions into the banner. Instantly, the entire small banner moved abruptly, its black dots gradually expanding until they completely enveloped the front of the banner. At this moment, the small banner, which was originally white, had completely turned black.

A trace of ancient aura emanated from this banner. Restrictions continuously flashed on its surface, finally transforming into faint golden symbols that sparkled from the banner, rotating and climbing around the banner pole. Soon, the entire Restriction Banner was completely covered with countless symbols.

At this moment, countless symbols were still flashing out from within the banner's surface, forming a line of symbols that extended in a circle around the Restriction Banner.

At the same time, above Qilin City in the inner Cultivation Devil Sea, through the dense mist, extending tens of thousands of meters above the mist, was a starry sky.

At this moment, countless red clouds suddenly condensed in the starry sky. These red clouds expanded, growing larger and larger, finally reaching almost a hundred li.

Within the red clouds, faint wisps of turbid Qi slowly dispersed. The dense mist of the Cultivation Devil Sea below, upon touching this turbid Qi, immediately emitted rustling sounds, as if a red-hot iron had touched snow.

At this moment, in the eastern part of the inner Cultivation Devil Sea, from a mountain piled with skeletons, a figure suddenly emerged. This person was shrouded in a pall of Death Qi, their appearance unclear.

He raised his head, staring at the thick mist above. His gaze seemed to penetrate the mist, seeing the red clouds above it. He muttered to himself, "Heavenly Tribulation? Impossible. Since the ancient Cultivation World was destroyed in a great catastrophe, there have been no Heavenly Tribulations. Current Cultivators are all Heaven Defying Cultivators, how can they trigger a Heavenly Tribulation? Could it be that an ancient Cultivator didn't die? If that's true, that would be an excellent tonic!" After speaking, his body suddenly moved, and he instantly teleported towards the source of the red clouds.

At the westernmost point of the Cultivation Devil Sea, there was a huge basin, and surprisingly, seawater existed within it. One must know that it was not the season for mist to turn into sea, yet seawater appeared in this place, which was extremely incredible.

The seawater was now violently churning, and from its very center, waves suddenly surged. A man in a blue robe, stepping on the waves, slowly rose. He stared at the sky, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and whispered, "Heavenly Tribulation? Since when did such a lively event happen in the Cultivation Devil Sea? The appearance of this Heavenly Tribulation will likely draw out all those deeply hidden Old Monsters." A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. After his body floated up from the sea surface, he grabbed downwards with his right hand, and instantly, the seawater in the basin began to rumble, slowly rising.

This scene was extremely shocking. After the seawater in the basin floated up, the man immediately merged into the seawater. He pointed forward with his right hand from within, and instantly, the seawater suddenly moved, rushing forward with immense force.

In terms of speed, it was several times faster than the teleportation of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and its speed was increasing. With bursts of thunderous roars, it vanished without a trace in a blink of an eye.

In the southernmost part of the Cultivation Devil Sea, on the third floor of an Artifact Refining Sect shop in an ordinary city, an old man with white hair and a wrinkled face was holding a beast bone, endlessly boasting to a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

"Brother, this item is truly a treasure. Let me tell you about its seventy-fourth use. Please listen carefully as I explain…"

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator's face was livid at this moment. If it weren't for the rule against fighting in the Artifact Refining Pavilion, he would have long since sliced this old man, who had been pestering him from the first floor to the third, with a sword. In his opinion, this old man was only around the seventh or eighth layer of the Qi Condensation stage.

What made him especially intolerable was that when the old man spoke, his saliva sprayed, which almost made him lose control and pull out his Magic Treasure.

Finally, he was truly exasperated. He flicked his sleeve and hurriedly left the Artifact Refining Pavilion, but the old man still pestered him. Seeing many people around looking at them, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator threw out a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, picked up the beast bone, and left with a cold sneer, without looking back.

He had already made up his mind that he would definitely make this old man pay tonight!

The white-haired old man picked up the Spirit Stone with a smile, blew on it, and carefully put it into his bosom. But just then, his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly looked up at the clouds.

——

I admit, today's 9,000 characters were forcibly churned out by reader "Sustained Roast Duck's" thirty Divine Artifact催更票 (催更票 -催更 means to urge for updates, 票 means ticket). If it were 12,000, I would have given up. I struggled for a long time today but still couldn't resist this temptation.