Jared left with Jemima and the others, in truth, there was little more could do to help with Bloodbane Palace’s restoration.
The successive possessions had severely damaged his body, so still needed to recuperate inside the Pentacarna Tower.
Fortunately, time flowed differently in the tower-an entire year of healing within would amount to only a handful of days outside.
Upon returning to the Eighth Hall, stepped straight into the Pentacarna Tower and began his convalescence. Yet while Jared rested, Second Heaven descended into chaos, with Bloodbane Palace destroyed and Radmus dead, the balance of power was completely thrown.
The two titans that once held everything in check had collapsed overnight, and every faction bared its fangs like sharks scenting blood.
The Murray family, and even the Eighth Hall itself, were dragged into the struggle; to survive in Second Heaven now required fierce resistance.
The realm grew ever more disorderly. Alliances of wandering cultivators, dormant for years, surfaced in hopes of carving out their own share of spoils.
Competition for resources intensified; once-prosperous cities became battlefields, and wails of misery echoed through every corner of Second Heaven.
***
Outside the Pentacarna Tower, Jemima and Jhaelyn kept vigil each day, hearts heavy with worry.
With the entire realm in upheaval, neither woman knew what fate awaited family, or when Jared would emerge fully healed.
Flaxseed, meanwhile, took advantage of the turmoil, periodically venturing out to “rescue” female cultivators. He called it gallant heroism, though in truth sought a bit of amusement.
The grateful women assisted, swept up in relief and gratitude, readily offered their bodies to him.
Three days later, the Pentacarna Tower quaked violently, radiant beams bursting from within.
A dazzling bloom of light unfurled at its summit and coalesced into a pillar that pierced the clouds.
Jemima and the others hastily backed away as a single figure, wrapped in overwhelming pressure, stepped calmly from the tower.
Jared emerged in plain robes, his hair lifting in the breeze while a faint celestial energy wreathed his form. His gaze had grown deeper, more inscrutable, every subtle motion emanated a breath-stealing power.
He had reached the Wandering Immortal Realm Level Five, his strength already eclipsing Top Level Wandering immortal Realm cultivators.
With a casual wave, the Pentacarna Tower shrank into a streak of light and slipped into his storage ring.
Jared had advanced yet another realm, his cultivation speed was nothing short of rocket-like!
“Jared!”
Jhaelyn reacted first, racing toward him. Jemima, equally delighted, maintained customary grace as followed at a brisk pace.
“I’m all right…” Jared smiled at them, his voice gentle yet resonant with power.
He turned and stared at the smoke-choked sky in the distance. His eyes turned icy. “What on earth has happened to Second Heaven?”
Jemima quickly explained the situation, and only then did Jared grasp how completely the realm had fallen into chaos.
The simultaneous collapse of Heavenfall Pavilion and Bloodbane Palace had stirred countless factions that had long chafed at restraint.
“Then it’s time Second Heaven knew peace again…” Jared spoke in a level, almost detached voice.
***
At the same time, Braxton had been leading the men and women of the Eighth Hall in a bloody battle that had raged for two straight days around their compound.
Countless factions were circling like vultures, determined to seize the Eighth Hall’s resources and lay claim to its territory.
“Braxton, I’ve long known you betrayed the Celestial Palace. The Palace has washed its hands of you now! So be obedient, hand over the land, surrender the resources, and get out of our sight!” 3 black-clad elder at the Wandering Immortal Realm Level Six addressed Braxton with a self-satisfied smirk.
Behind stood more than ten thousand cultivators, every one of them gripping a weapon, the collective aura rolling forward like a tidal wave.
Braxton, by contrast, had only a few dozen Eighth Hall disciples at his back, the disparity in strength could not have been clearer. Yet knew Jared was still inside the tower recuperating, if these interlopers forced their way in, Jared might suffer a catastrophic deviation in his cultivation.
“Unless you slaughter every last member of the Eighth Hall, we will never concede!” Braxton declared with uncompromising resolve etched across his features.
