Chapter 2013: Lights Dim, Perfection!

The bond between Master and Disciple doesn't need to be spoken. Just like Wang Lin and Xuan Luo, even though they were no longer Master and Disciple in name, in Wang Lin's heart, Xuan Luo would always be his Master.

And in Xuan Luo's heart, his only Disciple was still this child whom he had brought out of the Immortal Cave Realm and into the Ancient Clan land.

Inside that Ancestral Temple, despite the severe pain in Wang Lin's body, his heart was enveloped in warmth. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and immersed himself wholeheartedly in the splitting of his Primordial Spirit.

With his Master present, he didn't need to consider anything else.

Time flowed, and in a blink, three days passed. During these three days, Wang Lin remained seated in meditation, but the pain from his Primordial Spirit splitting became increasingly clear and intense, as if a storm had erupted within his body, threatening to engulf him. Faintly, outside Wang Lin's cross-legged body, a light projection could be seen manifesting, connected to Wang Lin's heavenly spirit and floating above his head.

This light projection was covered in cracks, like those on a tortoise shell, and they were slowly increasing. Moreover, some areas seemed to have interconnected cracks, dense and numerous, appearing quite alarming.

This light projection was the external manifestation of Wang Lin's Primordial Spirit.

After three days, other Initial Ancient Clan members might have already been unable to bear the pain and chosen Fusion, but for Wang Lin, this was still just the beginning; the end was still far from sight.

Three days later, another three days passed. Gradually, the Initial Ancient Clan members in this Initial Ancient Imperial City also noticed something amiss. In their view, the halo on the Ancient Ancestor statue had lasted longer.

"It actually lasted for six full days, a few days more than usual. It seems that among those Undergoing Tribulation this time, there is someone with great perseverance!"

"Six days… I wonder who among this group of Tribulation Transcenders has persevered for so long. Back then, I couldn't bear it on the third day. This kind of pain is absolutely not something one can endure just by persevering."

"With Protector Song acting as Protector, this was already to be expected."

However, although it once again attracted attention, six days was not a very long time, and gradually, the anomaly here was overlooked.

Until the ninth day, the fifteenth day, the thirtieth day, and then after two months, the halo outside the Ancient Ancestor statue still emitted ripples, spreading over half of the Initial Ancient Imperial City.

By this time, more and more Initial Ancient Clan members looked towards the Ancient Ancestor statue with astonished gazes, for it seemed to them that those Undergoing Tribulation this time had persisted for far too long.

"Two months and no one has emerged from the Ancestral Temple. Could it be… could it be…"

"Could it be that there is only one person Undergoing Tribulation this time? Who is this person, to actually have Protector Song act as their Protector!"

"Two months, he actually persisted for two months. It seems he intends to choose a large degree of splitting."

Unknowingly, another six months passed. Including the previous two months, Wang Lin's first Divided Soul had lasted a full eight months!

During these eight months, almost all the clansmen in the Initial Ancient Imperial City made it their first order of business each day to check if the halo on the Ancient Ancestor statue was still there.

More and more discussions filled every corner of the Initial Ancient Imperial City. This had almost become a topic, transforming the Initial Ancient Clan members from shock to horror, then from horror to excitement, and now, it was at the Peak of excitement.

Because, only four months remained until the longest duration for the Initial Ancient's first Divided Soul, which was one year!

"Can he persist for a year? You know, in our Initial Ancient lineage, the longest duration for the first Divided Soul was one year! If that person hadn't died during the second Divided Soul, he might have also become a Great Heavenly Venerate!"

"Eight months, this person is truly insane; he can actually endure this kind of pain."

"It is said that Protector Song back then persisted for eleven months!"

Amidst the discussions of these Initial Ancient Clan members, deep within the Ancestral Temple, Wang Lin remained seated without moving, but the light projection outside his body was now shattered, its legs having dissipated, leaving only half a figure.

Moreover, this figure was also blurry, almost transparent, as if it could vanish at any moment. Although Wang Lin's main body had its eyes closed, the pain he was enduring at this moment was extremely intense. The pain of his Primordial Spirit gradually shattering and splitting made him feel as if he were being cut into a thousand pieces, yet he remained eternally conscious, unable to faint.

Eight months of enduring pain still couldn't make him give up. Wang Lin continued to endure; he wanted to wait until his Primordial Spirit was completely shattered before choosing Fusion!

In his mind, the roar from the Ancient Ancestor had almost become the only thing in his thoughts at this moment.

"If I make this heaven collapse, then heaven will collapse. If I make this earth shatter, then earth must shatter! If I make all living beings perish, then no one dares not perish. If I make this firmament without Immortals, who still dares to exist…"

As he endured with all his might, the ninth month arrived, and in a flash, the tenth and eleventh months passed.

Song Tian sat cross-legged in front of the Ancestral Temple, acting as Wang Lin's Protector, for eleven months now. He was not surprised that Wang Lin could persist until now; in his analysis, Wang Lin should be able to persist for about a year.

"Actually, a year's time is only enough to make the Primordial Spirit collapse into fragments. Apart from a madman tens of thousands of years ago in the Extreme Ancient era who persisted for twenty-eight months, very few can avoid Fusion after collapsing into fragments, choosing instead to let those fragments become dust!" Song Tian did not turn back to look at the Ancestral Temple. He calculated the time, remaining seated.

When the twelfth month passed, when a full year arrived, and when two more months passed after that year, all the clansmen of the Initial Ancient lineage erupted in excitement. They gazed at the halo on the Ancient Ancestor statue, all speculating who this Tribulation Transcender was, and how much longer this person could persist!

"Fourteen months… worthy of being Venerate Wang!" In the Imperial Palace, the elderly Initial Ancient Imperial Venerate sighed softly.

On this day of the fourteenth month, inside the Ancestral Temple, the light projection on Wang Lin's body was reduced to only a head. That head was covered in cracks, and bursts of light emanated from within it, suddenly collapsing with a rumble.

As the light projection's head collapsed, to the naked eye, there was no longer any light projection around Wang Lin. But if one were to sweep with Divine Sense, one could vaguely discern a large number of tiny fragments floating around, and those fragments were still continuously shattering.

At this moment, Wang Lin's body was devoid of all life, like a corpse. The blood within his body no longer circulated, becoming ice-cold, and he had also lost all consciousness, as if truly dead.

His only remaining presence was a single will, and this will was to continue persisting, to persist until the very last moment, then to merge. If he succeeded, it would be like returning from the dead, but if he failed, he would vanish like smoke.

"Will I fail? No! I will never fail!" His will also contained the Ancient Ancestor's battle Immortal roar.

As those invisible fragments outside his body slowly shattered, another four months passed. Wang Lin had been Undergoing Tribulation for this second tribulation of the Three Damages, his first Divided Soul, for a total of eighteen months.

This time, even Song Tian was moved, turning from facing away from the Ancestral Temple to looking directly at it.

If he was like this, there was no need to mention the Initial Ancient Clan members in the Initial Ancient Imperial City. Eighteen months of persistence made these Initial Ancient Clan members seem to have grown accustomed to the halo and ripples always being present on the Ancient Ancestor statue, but deep in their hearts, they could not get used to this matter; instead, they were filled with disbelief.

The nineteenth month, the twentieth month… until the twenty-seventh month! More than two years passed, and Wang Lin was still persisting. Around his body in the Ancestral Temple, nearly eighty percent of those invisible fragments had now completely shattered, scattering like dust.

Only a few fragments were still continuously splitting.

When the thirtieth month arrived, and two and a half years had passed, if Song Tian had not been able to sense a will's presence within the Ancestral Temple, he would have even thought Wang Lin had died.

"Madman! His ability to reach such cultivation is greatly related to this madness. Does he not know that complete splitting can lead to death?!" Song Tian had already risen from his cross-legged position and stood outside the Ancestral Temple, his expression constantly changing.

As the thirtieth month approached, in the Initial Ancient Imperial Palace, the elderly Initial Ancient Imperial Venerate felt a stir. His usual practice of frequently summoning Ji Du remained, but the flicker hidden in his eyes seemed to be known only to himself.

However, what the Imperial Venerate didn't know was that Ji Du had also sensed all of this, but at this moment, he couldn't concern himself with this matter. Instead, his heart was filled with anxiety, not for his position as Imperial Venerate, but for his foster father's safety.

When the thirty-fifth month passed, even Xuan Luo, who was sitting cross-legged in the sky protecting Wang Lin, showed anxiety. He wanted to remind Wang Lin but was worried about an accident.

The thirty-sixth month arrived abruptly amidst Xuan Luo's hesitation. On this night, the nine halos outside the Ancient Ancestor statue suddenly erupted with extremely bright light. As the light swept through in layers, pervading all directions, it rendered the entire Initial Ancient Imperial City almost completely silent. All the clansmen immediately put down everything they were doing, their gazes fixed on the Ancient Ancestor statue.

Xuan Luo stood up, looking on with excitement.

Song Tian took a deep breath, retreated a thousand zhang away, and watched intently.

In the Imperial Palace, the Initial Ancient Imperial Venerate was tense, standing by the window of his grand hall's pavilion, staring fixedly in the direction of the Ancestral Temple.

Ji Du even personally came a thousand zhang away from the Ancestral Temple, looking on anxiously.

Inside the Ancestral Temple, Wang Lin's motionless body radiated light. Countless light spots appeared out of thin air and condensed, gradually forming a complete light projection. This light projection was several times larger than the previous one, with light flowing within it, exuding astonishing pressure.

The moment this light projection condensed, the nine halos outside the Ancient Ancestor statue merged into one with a roar, then erupted with a dazzling light that blinded all the Initial Ancient Clan members, making this night seem like day!

Furthermore, at this very instant, the unified halo suddenly separated, transforming into eighteen halos circulating around the Ancient Ancestor statue!

"The first Divided Soul is complete!"

"Thirty-six months, a full three years!"

"Complete pulverization, perfect Fusion…" Song Tian muttered to himself as he watched this scene.