Under Jared’s gaze, a chill ran through Elder Cillian’s whole body. Something he had never known before clawed up from the bottom of him. He had cultivated for a thousand years and stepped into True Immortal Realm Level One.
In his own eyes, that made him one of the strong ones even in the Fourteenth Firmament. But the young man in front of him had already lost more than half his bloodline, and his strength had dropped hard. Even so, one sword strike had slaughtered more than a dozen of his disciples, and the next had left him heavily wounded.
What kind of monster is this?! “Y-You… who the hell are you?!” Elder Cillian’s voice shook as the words came out.
Jared didn’t answer. He only lifted the Dragonslayer Sword, slow and steady, and leveled the tip at Elder Cillian’s throat. The black blade flashed with that strange light under the sun. The golden dragon patterns looked almost alive, and somewhere inside the steel, a low dragon’s cry seemed to hum.
A cold rush shot from the soles of Elder Cillian’s feet straight to the crown of his skull. At that point, he couldnd’t care less about pride, the mission, or the Celestial Basilica’s dignity.
“Retreat! Move!” He shouted the order, then struggled to his feet and staggered away into the distance. The remaining Celestial Basilica disciples had already been scared out of their wits.
The second they heard the order, they turned and ran like they had just been pardoned, scrambling for the distance as fast as they could. The arrogance they had been showing a moment ago had vanished without a trace. In the blink of an eye, only Jared and Evelyn were left in the vale.
Jared stood with his sword in hand, watching those fleeing figures. Not a ripple showed in his eyes. Evelyn finally snapped out of it and ran to his side. “Young Lord, why didn’t you chase them? You can’t leave the roots alive. If they get back and report this, people from the Celestial Basilica will come after us again very soon!”
Jared said nothing. He only stood there in silence. Evelyn was just about to urge him again when Jared’s body suddenly swayed. The Dragonslayer Sword slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a clang.
“Young Lord!”
Evelyn went white. She lunged forward and caught Jared before he could fall. Jared’s face had turned paper-pale, and thick beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead. His lips parted like he was about to say something, but a mouthful of blood burst out instead.
Pfft! Blood splashed across the front of his robe, bright and shocking against the cloth. Evelyn nearly lost her footing as she held him up and eased him down. “Young Lord! Young Lord, what happened to you?!”
Jared sagged against her, dragging in rough breaths. It took a long while before he finally forced the words out. “That last sword strike… it was the final blow I could force out with everything I had… if Cillian hadn’t run, I… I wouldn’t have lasted three breaths…”
Hearing this, Evelyn froze. So the Jared from a moment ago—the one who had stood there like nothing in the world could touch him, with killing intent pouring off him—had only been holding himself together by sheer force while bluffing to the end. S
he remembered the way he had looked at everyone just now, like he stood above the whole world. She remembered that crushing pressure. Something tangled and hard to name rose in her chest.
“Young Lord, you…”
Jared gave a worn, crooked smile and shook his head. “There was no other way… if I didn’t scare him, we both would’ve died here…”
Heat rushed into Evelyn’s eyes, and she nodded hard. She helped Jared back up and lowered her voice. “Young Lord, we need to move. This place isn’t safe. They could come to their senses at any moment.”
Jared gave a weak nod. Evelyn bent down, picked up the Dragonslayer Sword, and supported Jared as the two of them staggered deeper into the vale. She kept one arm around Jared and dragged him forward through the mountains, step by difficult step.
Jared’s condition was worse than she had thought. Most of his bloodline power had been drained away, and after forcing out a sword strike far beyond what his body could bear, his meridians had been badly damaged.
His spiritual power was nearly dry. Every few steps, he had to stop and fight for breath for a long stretch. Evelyn couldn’t afford to slow down, even with the pressure building in her chest. She knew Cillian and the others had only been scared off. The second they calmed down and thought it through, they would come back.
“Young Lord, just hold on a little longer…” Her voice dropped as she kept supporting him forward. “I remember there’s a cave up ahead. We’ll hide there first.”
Jared didn’t speak. He only gave the faintest nod. They walked for a full two hours before they finally found a hidden cave. The cave wasn’t large, but it was enough for two people. Thick vines covered the entrance, and unless someone searched carefully, it would be hard to spot.
Evelyn helped Jared inside and let him lean back against the stone wall to rest. Then she took out a healing elixir and fed it to him. “Young Lord, get some rest first. I’m going outside to set up a simple veiling ward, then I’ll come back and keep watch over you.”
Jared gave a weak nod, closed his eyes, and began circulating his cultivation method to refine the medicine’s power. Evelyn stepped out of the cave, took several array flags from her Storage Ring, and set up a simple veiling ward around the entrance. It couldn’t compare to the great formations of the major sects, but it was at least enough to fool ordinary pursuers.
After setting the ward, she stayed by the entrance for a long while. Only after she confirmed no one had followed them did she turn and go back into the cave. Jared had already fallen into a deep sleep. His face was still pale, but his breathing had steadied a lot.
Evelyn sat down beside him and looked at the weariness on his face. Again, that same hard-to-name feeling stirred inside her. The man had crossed an immense distance just to save a friend and came all the way to the Luminous Sanctuary only to be deceived, hunted, and nearly killed. Even so, he had never complained once, and he had never taken a single step back.
She murmured softly, “Young Lord, you have to get better soon…”
For the next three days, the two of them stayed hidden inside the cave. Each day, Jared took medicine, regulated his breathing, refined spiritual power, and slowly repaired his damaged meridians. Evelyn handled the watch.
From time to time, she went out to scout for news and gathered spirit herbs on the way back to help treat Jared’s injuries. By the end of those three days, Jared’s injuries had improved quite a bit. He still hadn’t fully recovered, but at least he could move normally again.
On this day, Jared was inside the cave regulating his breath when he suddenly caught the faint sound of footsteps outside. His eyes opened, and his gaze sharpened.
Evelyn heard it too. She got to her feet at once and took a guarded stance. A moment later, someone pushed the vines at the entrance aside, and several figures appeared outside the cave.
