What happens when three desperate ancestors try to trap a cultivator in their deadly mess, only to receive mercy and a frozen fate instead? In the animated series Renegade Immortal (仙逆), the planet Ran Yunxing (冉云星) becomes the stage for betrayal, survival, and an unexpected gift. After killing cultivators from the Huan (幻) Family, the three ancestors—Ran Xuefeng (冉学风), Sun Xi (孙析), and Zhao Chuanwen (赵传文)—face annihilation.
They lure Wang Lin (王林) with an Eighth-Grade Demigod Pill, hoping he’ll take the blame. But Wang Lin, already paid in immortal jade, does not seek revenge. Instead, he protects their descendants for a century and offers Sun Xi a shocking choice: rise to the Yuan Ying (元婴) stage and keep growing, or jump to Ying Bian (婴变) and stop forever. Sun Xi picks the second, and Wang Lin uses his Dao (道) Transformation Yellow Springs to push him to mid-Ying Bian. Yet this mercy leaves Sun Xi frozen at that level, unable to climb higher. Wang Lin then sets his eyes on Qianhuan Xing (千幻星) to destroy the Huan Family for good.
The Trap
Four years ago, the three ancestors of Ran Yunxing killed several Huan Family cultivators. It was a fatal mistake. The Huan Family sent Huan Dong (幻东), but Wang Lin killed him. Then came Huan Mei (幻眉), a far more dangerous enemy. She nearly destroyed the entire planet. Each ancestor suffered massive damage to their cultivation base. Ran Xuefeng had a clone, but it had already left Ran Yunxing long ago, so he survived elsewhere. Sun Xi also had a clone, but his original body dropped from the Wen Ding (问鼎) stage to a mere Jie Dan (结丹) level. Zhao Chuanwen possessed a strange ability to separate his primordial spirit, so he lived too. Yet all three saw their power crash.
Desperate and weak, they schemed. They offered Wang Lin a tempting pill—the Eighth-Grade Demigod Pill—to drag him into their war. He would become their scapegoat against the Huan Family. But Wang Lin did not get angry. He had already taken their immortal jade as payment for a different task. In his eyes, accepting their money meant accepting a certain duty. So instead of abandoning them, he made a promise: protect the descendants of Ran and Zhao for one hundred years. And for Sun Xi, he decided to do something far more personal.
Sun Xi was the most broken among them. His original body had once reached the early Wen Ding stage, but his clone had fallen to Jie Dan (结丹). He could not even match his own descendant, Sun Ling, anymore. Wang Lin saw his misery and did not turn away. The three ancestors had tried to use him, but he chose to repay their trick with a lifeline. That is the contradiction at the heart of this story—a betrayed man who gives instead of takes.
Two Paths
Wang Lin laid out two clear choices for Sun Xi. The first path led back to the Yuan Ying late stage. With Wang Lin’s help, Sun Xi could rebuild his cultivation from Jie Dan to Yuan Ying late. From there, he could continue normal training. One day, he might even reach Wen Ding again. He already had the insights from his previous breakthrough. The road would be hard, but it was open. Many cultivators would grab this chance without hesitation. It offered hope, growth, and a future without a ceiling.
But Sun Xi refused. He knew what it took to reach Wen Ding the first time. The pain, the risk, the near-death trials—they still haunted him. For a cultivator, breaking into Wen Ding means surviving nine deaths out of ten. He had barely made it once. He could not bear to try again. Fear paralyzed him. So he looked at the second path instead. This route would push him directly to the Ying Bian stage using the Eighth-Grade Demigod Pill and Wang Lin’s Dao power. However, it came with a terrible limit: once he reached Ying Bian, he could never advance further. No more breakthroughs. No higher realms. He would stay at that level for his entire life.
Sun Xi did not hesitate. He chose the second path immediately. To him, just being alive was already a miracle. Huan Mei would have killed him if not for Wang Lin. Returning to Ying Bian felt like a gift he never deserved. He wept with gratitude. Compared to Ran Xuefeng and Zhao Chuanwen, Sun Xi had played fewer tricks on Wang Lin. He had less cunning and more honesty. That small difference might explain why Wang Lin decided to help him at all. Mercy, in this brutal world of cultivation, often goes to those who do not scheme too much.
Frozen Destiny
Raising Sun Xi to Ying Bian was no simple task. Wang Lin had to use his own Dao thought and channel the power of Dao Transformation Yellow Springs. This force could rapidly elevate another person’s cultivation stage, but it required Sun Xi to enter the Yellow Springs himself. For three days, Sun Xi sat inside that dark, dangerous energy, breathing and absorbing. Wang Lin guided every step. On the third day, Sun Xi’s power climbed to mid-Ying Bian. That was the absolute limit. His body and spirit could take no more. He had reached the peak of his frozen destiny.
From that moment on, Sun Xi would never improve. No matter how long he trained, no matter what pills he took, his cultivation would stay at mid-Ying Bian forever. He traded future potential for present survival. Many cultivators would call this a tragedy. But Sun Xi saw it differently. He had been reduced to Jie Dan—a level so low that even his descendant surpassed him. Now he stood at Ying Bian again. He could protect his family. He could live without constant fear. Tears of joy rolled down his face as he thanked Wang Lin again and again.
Wang Lin finished his business on Ran Yunxing. He had protected the descendants, raised Sun Xi, and shown mercy where none was expected. But his heart held no warmth for the Huan Family. They had caused all of this—the deaths, the schemes, the destruction. He hated them to the bone. So he turned his gaze toward Qianhuan Xing, the home planet of the Huan Family. He would go there next. Not to negotiate. Not to forgive. To destroy. And Sun Xi, frozen forever at mid-Ying Bian, would remain on Ran Yunxing as a living reminder of what happens when a desperate man meets a merciful one.
