The moment he heard that, the Guardian Elder froze. Still on his knees, he shook all over like he was being sifted through a screen. Cold sweat rolled off his forehead, mixing with dust and dragging several black streaks down his face.
He was the Guardian Elder of the Celestial Basilica for 3,000 years. His cultivation had only barely touched the threshold of the True Immortal Realm, but in the Celestial Basilica, he had always counted as somebody with status. But right then, he didn’t even have the nerve to lift his head and look Jared in the eye. He swallowed hard before he could stop himself.
The Celestial Basilica really did have such a secret art. It was one of the core inheritances the Celestial Basilica had guarded for tens of thousands of years: the Rite of Returning Souls. With special methods, it could release the remnant souls sealed inside a soul crystal. Then, using the celestials’ unique bloodline power, it could rebuild a physical body for them. But the secret art was incredibly complicated. It required a specific ritual array, rare materials, and at least three Elders above the True Immortal Realm working together to perform it. And even then, the success rate wasn’t high.
Still, he didn’t dare deny it. Jared’s eyes made one thing plain: if Cedric Vale said no, then in the very next breath, his head would part ways with his body.
“Y-Yes… We do…” Cedric nodded over and over, his voice shaking. “The Celestial Basilica does have this secret art. It’s called the Rite of Returning Souls. It’s just… It’s just that the ritual can only be performed in a specific place…”
“What place?” Jared pressed.
Cedric hesitated for a beat, then forced the words out through clenched teeth. “In the forbidden grounds on the rear mountain. There’s an ancient soul-returning array there, passed down from long ago. It’s the only place in the entire Luminous Sanctuary where the remnant souls inside a soul crystal can be released safely. If you try to force them out with an ordinary ritual array, the remnant souls will scatter the instant they’re released. Only that array can keep them whole…”
Jared tucked the soul crystal back into his robes and said coldly, “Lead the way.”
Cedric’s whole body jolted. Something flashed through his eyes, so buried it could’ve been missed, but the panic on his face swallowed it up again a moment later.
“Yes, yes, yes… This way…” He turned and headed toward the rear mountain behind Saintlight Peak. His steps stumbled, and his back looked wretched.
Lydia moved up beside Jared and lowered her voice. “There’s something off about him.”
Jared gave a slight nod. “I know.”
Of course he knew. Cedric had agreed too fast. And he had acted far too obedient. A man who had served as an Elder in the Celestial Basilica for thousands of years shouldn’t have sold out the sect’s core secret that easily, no matter how badly he wanted to stay alive—unless he had something else in mind.
“Then why are you still following him?” Lydia asked, her brows drawing tight.
Jared watched Cedric’s back and said, flat as ever, “He has his plan. I have my methods. My friends’ remnant souls can’t hold on much longer. I can’t wait.”
Lydia said nothing after that. She only tightened her grip on her sword, and the watch in her eyes sharpened another step. Luther walked at the very back with Grace’s hand in his, the wraithblade already half an inch out of its sheath. If anything happened, he was ready for it.
Evelyn stayed tight behind Jared. Her small face had gone paper-white, but she bit down on her lip and didn’t let a single sound out.
Six figures moved through the ruined buildings of Saintlight Peak and headed for the rear mountain. The whole way there, collapsed palaces lay scattered everywhere, and Celestial Basilica disciples were running in all directions. The moment those disciples saw Jared’s group, they reacted like they’d seen ghosts. They screamed and scattered, fleeing every which way. Not one of them dared step forward to block the path.
Aurelius, the Hall Master of the Celestial Basilica, was dead. The Mountain-Guarding Grand Array had already been broken. The Elders were either dead or gone. This holy sanctuary had once shaken the whole Luminous Sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of years. Now it was nothing more than an old tiger with no teeth, all appearance and no bite.
Cedric led them across a stretch of wreckage, then through a dark tunnel cut into the mountain. At the end of it, he brought them to the mouth of a vale wrapped in thick fog.
“It’s here…” Cedric stopped and pointed into the vale. “The soul-returning array is deep inside. But this place stays covered by wards all year round. Outsiders can’t get in. It takes my elder’s token to open it…”
He pulled out a palm-sized golden token from his robe. Dense runes were carved across its surface, and a faint glow leaked from it.
“Just wait a moment, sir. I’ll open the ward right now…” Cedric raised the token in front of himself and began muttering under his breath. The runes on the token started to light up. The golden radiance grew brighter and brighter, until it finally turned into a pillar of flame that shot into the thick fog.
The thick fog started to churn. Then it slowly split to either side, opening a narrow passage. At the far end of the passage, an ancient stone dais came faintly into view. Its surface was carved all over with dense, complicated patterns, and a dim blue glow seeped off it.
“That’s the soul-returning array…” Cedric pointed at the stone dais, his face piled high with a fawning smile. “Grandpa, this way. The ritual will need a little time, but it will definitely work…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he stepped into the passage first. Jared moved after him. But the instant he stepped into the passage, his brows pulled tight.
Something is wrong… The aura inside this passage… It isn’t right! A deeply strange presence spread out from the depths of the vale. Inside it was both the celestials’ holy light and the demon race’s demonic malice. Two powers that should never have belonged together had been forced into one, and what came out of that was warped, chaotic, and foul enough to turn the stomach.
The pressure of it sat heavy in the air. It was like forcing oil and water together. On the surface, they looked fused into one thing. In truth, every drop was pushing against the next, tearing at the next.
“Jared…” Lydia’s voice came from behind him, with plain caution in it. “There’s something wrong with this place.”
“I know.” Jared stopped where he was. His gaze cut forward and swept toward the thick fog at the end of the passage. That twisted aura was getting thicker and heavier, as if something down there was starting to wake from a long sleep.
Cedric had already made it halfway down the passage when he suddenly stopped and turned around. His face had changed. That cringing, servile look was gone. In its place sat something close to madness, thick with satisfaction and spite.
“Jared, Jared… You really dared to follow me in here.” Cedric’s voice didn’t shake anymore. It came out with the release of something that had been bottled up for far too long. “What did you think the Celestial Basilica was? You thought I’d honestly help you? Hahaha…”
He threw his head back and laughed. The sound bounced through the narrow passage, sharp enough to grate against the ears. Jared only looked at him in silence.
Cedric suddenly raised the token in his hand and slammed it hard against the wall.
Boom! The entire passage lurched in a violent tremor. Thick fog rushed in from every direction and sealed the way back completely. At the far end of the passage, the intricate markings on the ancient stone dais flared into a blinding red glow, like blood running across the surface. And the thing that hit hardest was the heartbeat coming from beneath the stone dais.
Thump! Thump! Thump! That heartbeat came low and heavy. Every thud made the ground tremble underfoot, and every thud landed against a person’s chest like a brutal hammer blow.
Cedric retreated to the side of the stone dais. The smile on his face pulled wider and uglier. “Come out, my people’s most perfect creation!”
The instant the words left his mouth, the stone dais exploded.
