Chapter 550: Master, I’m back!
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
A bizarre kaleidoscopic vortex, as wide as a beast's gaping mouth, blanketed the skies for several hundred miles and was crashing straight down for Wang Lin's head!
Aside from Wang Lin, there were a few other cultivators who were also in the immediate vicinity of the space storm but were not swept away. They endured the pounding pressure and struggled to stabilize themselves, never once expecting that they would also be right below the giant vortex along with Wang Lin.
As the vortex swirled, it extracted the souls of over ten cultivators straight from their physical bodies!
These cultivators were no ordinary people; they were not in the Qi Training Stage with highly unstable souls, neither were they in the Foundation Establishment Stage, nor the Aurous Core Stage. They were all grand cultivators who have formed their Nascent Souls. There was even an Advanced Nascent Soul Grandmaster amongst them, but at this point, all their souls had been forcefully sucked out from their bodies by the rainbow-colored vortex above them.
The moment the multicolored vortex appeared above the crowd, it immediately produced a massive suction force that affected everyone present. All their minds went blank and they could neither see, hear, nor feel anything.
After vibrating vigorously, their souls departed their bodies and flew up towards the vortex! This monstrous vortex could seize the souls straight from its victims' bodies, suck them out and abduct them! This was akin to the urban legends of otherworldly spirits luring people's souls away. If the Lord of the Underworld wanted you dead at midnight, could you survive till dawn? You would just taken away at the stipulated time with no room for negotiation.
Only the Advanced Nascent Soul Grandmaster let out a furious bellow and charged out with his Cosmic Form, withstanding the suction force and repressing his dislodged soul strenuously back into his body. But before he could even catch his breath, a ray of light flashed across and punctured a huge hole right in the chest of his Cosmic Form!
"An Immortal Soul powerhouse ..." This was the final thought surfacing in the Advanced Nascent Soul cultivator's mind before he slipped into deep despair. His soul was quickly drawn out from his body once again by the giant vortex.
The instant the enormous multicolored vortex appeared, Wang Lin's eyes shot out a piercing, cold gaze. His opponent and him could already be considered old acquaintances.
Back then, Wang Lin engaged in a bloody battle with a Satanic cultivator in the Advanced Nascent Soul Stage for the sake of his parents' clan, and was dragged into the Void Battleground. Even though he had successfully overcome the Tribulations of the Yin Fire and ascended to the Middle Aurous Core Stage, it was nonetheless an uphill battle against the Advanced Nascent Soul cultivator's Cosmic Form.
Both sides exchanged multiple blows and dodged the other's attacks, but in the final showdown, Wang Lin destroyed his opponent's Cosmic Form and inflicted a great deal of damage on his foe. However, the injuries he sustained were even more serious. His physical body had been completely wrecked, and even his Aurous Core was nearly shattered. His damaged soul and mana entered the Pearl of Styx for protection, but his injuries were so severe that he almost had to transform himself into an Unholy Marionette.
The Dual Polarity Circle, his Aurous Core Stage magic item, had shattered. The Cloud Elephant Seal, his Nascent Soul Stage magic item, was also destroyed.
After the titanic clash, both sides seemingly perished together. But at this point, Wang Lin had acquired the mantra of the Ancient Satanic Avīci Scripture and cultivated the Avīci Undying Body in order to remould his physical body.
Before he sculpted his body back, his injuries were so severe that his damaged soul floated about the Void Battleground inside the Pearl of Styx.
During his cultivation process within the Pearl of Styx, his soul gradually strengthened over time after continuous cleansing by the River Styx Primordial Water until finally, he managed to emerge from the Pearl of Styx. He was then blessed with more fortuitous encounters within the Void Battleground which enhanced his soul even further and eventually, he could obliterate Aurous Core cultivators with his soul alone.
But Wang Lin was met with trouble again - the Satanic cultivator that he crossed swords with had alerted an Immortal Soul powerhouse. He originally intended to slaughter Wang Lin but did not expect Wang Lin's soul to be so extraordinarily formidable and hence he changed his plan, wanting to capture and imprison Wang Lin's soul instead. Wang Lin leveraged the chaotic flow of space-time that suddenly erupted within the Void Battleground to pull off a narrow escape.
Unfortunately to his surprise, he was now pit against his old enemy right after his duel with Shi Tianyi! The Soul-Sucking Whirlpool before his eyes was released by the same Immortal Soul cultivator who previously wanted to capture Wang Lin alive and imprison his soul.
This person had been watching from a side for a long time and was already salivating when he noticed the immense strength of both Wang Lin and Shi Tianyi's souls. Shi Tianyi was too close to the black hole when the space storm erupted and was rapidly swept away, with his current whereabouts unknown. Even Immortal Soul powerhouses could barely endure a space storm of this magnitude, and could even face imminent danger if they were not cautious.
With Shi Tianyi gone, he now set his sights on Wang Lin, the target he has been chasing after all this while.
The terrifying Soul-Sucking Whirlpool was about to detach Wang Lin's soul from his body. Even though Wang Lin managed to blind one of Shi Tianyi's Polycoria eyes during their battle, he also sustained heavy injuries himself after Shi Tianyi's final counterattack. If he were at the peak of his condition, he could attempt to struggle free with his formidable soul, but now, he was completely powerless against his opponent.
Wang Lin maintained his cold disposition. Despite knowing too well that he was no match for his opponent, he would definitely not just resign to his fate without putting up a fight. He wielded the Pearl of Styx to help stabilize his soul and prepared to leap into the black hole inside the space storm, about to pull off another grand escape.
"I let you get away the last time. How can I spare you again this time?" A man in black robes appeared amidst the space, shrouded in clouds of black fog which concealed his true identity.
He pushed his hands downwards, and masses of dark aura morphed into giant claws that charged towards Wang Lin. Wang Lin's soul and body shuddered incessantly as the looming claw closed in on him.
The man in black robes taunted cunningly, "Once inside the Void Battleground, even that impressive master of yours can't save you anymore. Even if he did enter the battleground, he would be helpless against a space storm this dangerous."
Then, Wang Lin, whom the man in black robes had assumed was a sheep quietly awaiting slaughter, suddenly cracked a smile.
Ever since he emerged, Wang Lin had been cold and ruthless, yet this was the first time he showed a smile. However faint it may be, this was a genuine joyful smile, as if the rain clouds had parted to reveal the warm sun.
The man in black robes quickly noticed that something was amiss as his vision blurred into a swirling mess. The next moment, he was rendered completely immobile as if all his mana had been suppressed. This invisible force was so powerful that the man in black robes could not even summon his Immortal Soul Avatar no matter how hard he tried.
Then, a voice as soft as the wind resounded through the space. "Did you say that I would be helpless here?"
The man in black robes instantly felt his heart turn numb and realized that he was now trapped in a miniature world painted entirely in purple.
Both Lin Feng and the Elegant Cloud Holy Woman surpassed him in terms of mastery, and he was completely oblivious to the previous confrontation between the two. He assumed that he could seize Wang Lin and Shi Tianyi himself, but just as the mantis captured the cicada, the oriole was already waiting behind to pounce.
All of his actions were nothing but a plain joke.
Without the control of the man in black robes, the Soul-Sucking Whirlpool that overcast the heavens for a circumference of hundreds of miles vanished instantly, and the souls of the cultivators that were sucked into the vortex managed to escape its grasp. These abducted souls returned to their respective hosts and they glanced at Lin Feng in trepidation.
Lin Feng's purple robes drifted in the wind as he stood in the middle of the raging space storm. Multiple space-distorting black holes surged around him, but none were remotely able to approach his body.
He fiddled with a ball of purple clouds in his palm. It was a Celestial Small World created from his mana, and inside the world, one could vaguely make out the man in black robes, frustrated and crestfallen.
"Did that man in black robes summon that peculiar vortex spell to seize our souls just now?"
"It seems so. We only escaped because that cultivator in purple captured him and broke his spell."
"Just who exactly is he? The man in black robes is undoubtedly a powerhouse in the Immortal Soul Stage, and yet he was captured so easily!"
Just as the crowd was clouded in bewilderment, they suddenly noticed Wang Lin bow down respectfully before the cultivator in purple.
Ever since Wang Lin showed himself, he was like a monstrous devil descending upon the world, slaughtering foes just by lifting his fingers. Anyone with the gall to attack him would meet a gory end. The five Beginner Nascent Soul cultivators all died when he pointed at him five times with his finger, as if he were flattening mere ants. The Advanced Nascent Soul cultivator was also utterly pulverized and nearly killed by that horrifying spell.
Even the god-like Man with Polycoria Shi Tianyi, universally recognized as the greatest genius and strongest prodigy of the Divine Lands' younger generation in recent years, supposedly unbeatable among his peers, had one of his precious eyes blinded instantly by Wang Lin.
Despite being only in the Advanced Aurous Core Stage, no one dared to underestimate Wang Lin's sheer ferocity.
He was cold and taciturn, brutal and bloodthirsty, garnering people's respect from a distance with no one daring to provoke him. Whoever saw Wang Lin would immediately realize that he was an unbending, extremely determined man whose cold exterior concealed his immense pride. No matter how strong his opponents were, how lofty their status was, or how extensive their experience was, this white-haired young man remained completely indifferent and unbothered.
But now, this supposed Grim Reaper was bowing ever so respectfully before the man in purple, without a trace of unjustness or reluctance, even carrying a hint of joy. Even Wang Lin's monotonous and inexpressive voice trembled a little.
"Master, I'm back."
The onlookers gazed at Lin Feng clad in purple robes as a huge commotion rippled through the crowd. Everyone found this hard to believe but finally understood what was going on.
There was only one person under the heavens whom Wang Lin would willingly bow before, and that was his master - the Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
"If that really is the Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, then it's no wonder he possessed such powerful Abhijina and mana capable of suppressing an Immortal Soul cultivator so effortlessly."
"True, I never thought that I would meet him here."
"They say seeing is believing. No wonder he stirred up raging tides and caused a massive upheaval throughout the lands."
The crowd was abuzz with adulation. Those cultivators who had spent a long time in the Void Battleground, and were previously skeptical of the Celestial Sect's true strength, were now completely in awe.
Lin Feng did not pay any attention to the ongoing commotion, instead focusing entirely on Wang Lin grovelling before him.
His disciple has returned!
Wang Lin's trembling voice exposed his restless state of mind, and why wouldn't Lin Feng be the same too?
Ever since Wang Lin entered the Void Battleground, Lin Feng kept convincing himself that Wang Lin was a son of the Heaven's Destiny Sect and hence possessed great fortune to reverse calamities into blessings, that he would be fine and would receive several opportunities to heighten his mastery ...
But despite all this, how could he possibly not worry about his disciple whom he had cherished for so many years?
He kept deploying his Avatar of Ares into the Void Battleground to search for Wang Lin, and came rushing here once he received a clue of Wang Lin's whereabouts.
And now, the clouds have finally cleared after the storm!
Lin Feng looked at Wang Lin's silky snow-white hair and gently exhaled. He spoke faintly, "I always believed that you would return!"