He rocketed toward Jade Immortal City, wind peeling at the edges of his torn cloak. Behind him, the pressure from the Eastern hall surged like a solid tsunami. The Grand Venerable’s roar ripped through heaven and earth, “Thief! You will not escape!”
The law-laden sound churned his organs, but Jared clenched his jaw. Chaotic force roared through his meridians, bracing every bone against the crushing echo. No turning back; facing the Grand Venerable now would equal suicide, and the clarity of that truth anchored his stride.
Jared measured his odds with cold precision; against a peak Level Eight Grand Venerable from the Central Region, his chance was barely a sliver.
He triggered Blazing Stride again and again. Each flash hurled him a hundred kilometers farther, until the pursuing auras dwindled to faint sparks on the horizon.
Inside the Eastern hall, a golden phantom, a hundred yards tall, hung midair. Its features blurred, yet the weight it shed made the surrounding space quake, pillars groaning under invisible hands. The apparition was the Grand Venerable himself, projected by some secret art.
His gaze swept the ruin: Redflame Hall, Greenwood Hall, Terrabold Hall, Celestial Metal Hall—all smashed. He paused over the scar before Frigid Silence Hall where wisps of chaotic breath still drifted.
“Glacier, Redflame, Greenwood, Terrabold, Celestial Metal…” he intoned. The words came cold, stripped of mercy, yet a wildfire of rage licked beneath them. “Five Venerables, dead on the same day… Who? Who possessed such skill to cut down five within my hall?!” he thundered.
He lifted a palm. Five shattered life-sigil fragments streaked up from the inner vaults and hovered above his hand. The lingering thread of will within each shard pointed unwaveringly toward Jade Immortal City.
“Jade Immortal City… Jade Lord…” His eyes flashed frost. Could it be him? No… Jade Lord sits at High Immortal Realm Level Seven; he could not fell five Venerables, certainly not with that eerie gray power…
From the fragments and the battlefield ashes, he discerned a strange, annihilating ripple of energy. “This force… Unheard of… It matches none of the laws known to level thirteen… Could it be… Primordial?” he murmured. A shiver of dread and murderous resolve crossed the phantom face. Whoever touches the roots of my celestial race must die!
He thrust his shadowy arm skyward. A lance of gold burst upward, breaking into countless runes that streaked to the horizons. “By my command!” the voice echoed, “All sects and powers of level thirteen will hunt the murderer at once! Any who provide a lead shall receive 1 million top-grade essence crystals and a complete celestial cultivation art! Any who capture or slay the culprit shall claim the title of celestial general!”
The edict split the heavens. “Anyone who dares shelter or hide the criminal… Every branch of the clan will be wiped out. Their souls will be dragged out and refined into crystals!”
Golden runes burst from the Grand Venerable’s projection and fanned across the sky like a storm of light. His thunderous words rode those symbols and, in the blink of a breath, rolled over every layer of level thirteen. Across level thirteen, mountains quaked, city walls rang, and every living thing felt the tremor echo through bone and soul.
*** In Jade Immortal City, Hall of Infinity, secret chamber, Julian reached the chamber first, his robe still swirling from hurried steps. Rania slipped in after him, worry tightening her shoulders. Moments later, Luther’s black silhouette melted from the passageway, sealing the door so the three stood alone.
The silence pressed hard. Torchlight failed to chase away the weight; moisture collected on the stone as though the tension itself had begun to sweat. Julian pinched a freshly delivered Messaging Jade Slip between his fingers. Veins stood out on his hand. The pale shard flickered, throwing sickly light across a face that had gone the color of iron.
Across from him, Rania could not stay still; her knees bobbed, fingers tangled, eyes darting between her father and the sealed door. Luther’s black robe breathed a chill into the room. Even his quiet exhale seemed to frost the air, and the look in his eyes carried the same grim weight.
“Father, what happened? Did Jared… Did he really march into the Divine Punishment Hall?” The question burst from Rania, the last syllable quivering. Her tone broke on the last word, a fine tremor skating across each syllable and stripping away the composure she had clung to.
Julian drew a long breath, then handed her the slip. When he spoke, dryness scraped every note, “Read it yourself…”
Rania accepted the shard with both hands. She lowered her gaze, spiritual sense pouring into the etched lines in a silent rush. In the next heartbeat, all color bled from her cheeks. Her body wavered, knees buckling so sharply that the wall seemed to lurch forward to catch her.
The slip held the Grand Venerable’s freshly minted Divine Punishment Warrant, its letters carved in relentless gold. It cataloged the traitor’s every feature, then dangled a reward and punishment so suffocating she felt her lungs refuse to fill.
“J-Jared… He… He killed all five Venerables of the Divine Punishment Hall?” Her voice fractured on disbelief. Eyes widening, she shook her head. “That’s impossible! He’s only at Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Nine!”
“Yet it is fact,” Julian answered, each syllable landing like stone. He let the words settle, then added, “The five life sigils broke together. That cannot be faked… The Grand Venerable is enraged and has issued the top-level Divine Punishment Warrant. Level thirteen holds no place for him now,” he finished, alarm mixing with something harder to name.
Luther’s voice surfaced from the hood’s shadow, thin yet biting. “Mr. Jared’s strength runs far deeper than his realm shows. That gray power… I have never seen an energy so strange and domineering. His feat, though shocking, is not impossible.”
“But where is he now? Is he safe?” Rania’s words tangled with a sob she refused to release. Tears rimmed her lashes. “The Grand Venerable’s warrant means every corner of level thirteen will hunt him. However strong he is, can he fight all the celestials?”
Silence lingered before Julian replied, “With his caution and skill, he should already be beyond the Divine Punishment Hall’s reach. My guess… He may try to return to Jade Immortal City.”
“Back to Jade Immortal City?” she echoed, hope flashing and fading within a heartbeat. The light vanished as quickly as it came. “But the celestial warrant is out. Even Jade Immortal City is exposed… Father, what are we supposed to do?”
Her gaze locked on Julian, a silent plea swelling between them. Love for Jared burned so fiercely in her chest she could have leapt into ash for him. Yet the thought of dragging her father and the entire Jade Immortal Manor into ruin twisted the flame into a knot of misery.
Julian met those desperate eyes and exhaled a breath that sounded like surrender. Of course he understood what churned behind them; no father could mistake it. Still, as Manor Lord, the weight of millions of lives pressed harder than paternal sympathy.
“Rania, I do understand,” he said, keeping his tone gentle. Then the gentleness cooled. “But with the celestial warrant issued, if Jade Immortal Manor openly shelters Jared, annihilation will follow. Not just you and me; Jade Immortal City itself would be scorched to dust.”
Rania’s lips quivered, yet no reply escaped; blood drained from her cheeks until they were almost translucent. Reason told her he was right, and the realization tasted like ice.
Luther broke the hush. “Manor Lord, perhaps covert aid is still possible… Jared carries a secret and a potential able to shatter celestial rule… The risk is vast,” he admitted, “Yet if it works, the reward would defy measure.”
