“Mr. Jared!” Luther’s cry quivered in the shaking fog. Inside the Ravenousor Wraith remnant, Jared sat cross-legged and let the raging suction tear at his flesh like floodwater through clay. Yet the Chaos Genesis Seed inside him became a bottomless gulf, siphoning the remnant’s power back the other way.
Inside the seething dark, Jared tasted an older, wider truth: Chaos had always been the beginning of all things, big enough to swallow even the Law of Devouring and grind it into something new.
The soul remnant let out a knife-edged scream. Its towering shadow body shook, then burst apart, chunks of darkness breaking away like splintered glass. Every scrap of its power funneled straight into the Chaos Genesis Seed, which devoured without pause.
The stolen strength condensed into the purest energy and rushed through Jared’s meridians like liquid lightning.
His cultivation flared. The numbers behind each realm marker flipped upward faster than he could track. Jared blasted past the Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Nine Pinnacle, a spot that had once looked unreachable.
The boundary called Half-Step High Immortal Realm cracked in front of him like a thin shell. The bottleneck that had held him for so long loosened with an audible creak.
“Now!” The single word tore out of his throat, sharper than a sword strike. Jared threw his head back and let out a long, wild howl as he pulled the remnant’s last shred of power into himself.
Boom! The space around him trembled as the sound ripped through flesh and fog alike. A deafening crash burst inside his body, as though an invisible wall had shattered from end to end. Down in his energy center, the gray seed finally locked into its complete shape—no cracks, no loose edges.
It looked like a pocket-sized chaotic world: life and death spinning, yin and yang trading places, every instant birthing and erasing all things. His aura surged again, each breath heavier and brighter than the one before.
High Immortal Realm Level One, achieved…
The title flashed across his mind like a brand. Early stage lasted no longer than a heartbeat before power piled higher. Middle stage followed, dense and roaring, yet it too fell behind almost instantly. Peak stage slammed into place, filling every corner of his being with balanced, ringing strength.
Only at the Top Level of High Immortal Realm Level One did the rise slow and finally halt. Gray mist from the secret realm poured toward him in thick waves, welding the new realm solid in his core.
When Jared opened his eyes again, swirling star-rivers and the first crack of newborn chaos seemed to dance inside them. He curled his fingers into a casual fist. The surrounding space groaned under the pressure, brittle sounds snapping out like ice under heavy boots.
“So this is the power of the High Immortal Realm…” The whisper carried more awe than volume. The chaos force inside him rolled and thundered, easily a hundred times stronger than before. Jared glanced at the place where the soul remnant of the Ravenousor Wraith had vanished. Without that ancient beast, this leap would have stayed a distant dream.
Reaching the peak of High Immortal Realm Level One left Jared thoroughly satisfied.
“Mr. Jared! Are you all right?” Luther raced toward him, worry scrawled across every line of his face.
Jared answered with a small, steady smile. “Not only fine, but blessed by the disaster.” He studied Luther and found the other man’s aura thicker and steadier; Luther now sat at High Immortal Realm Level Six. Clearly, the secret realm had treated him well.
“You broke through too?” Jared asked.
Luther nodded. “I found Nether Origin Qi. It repaired my foundation and pushed me to Level Six. Mr. Jared, what about you?”
“High Immortal Realm Level One peak,” Jared said.
Luther sucked in a hard breath. “You broke past the Heavenly Immortal Realm? That’s ridiculous! That’s an entire major realm climb,” he added, his voice still tight.
Jared let out a brief laugh. “Pure luck… Without the ancient beast’s remnant, the advance would have taken ages.” His gaze swung toward the mist-filled depths. “How long until the exit opens?”
“Probably about twenty days,” Luther said (correcting for the 30-day total).
Chaos sparks flickered around Jared as he lowered his arms. He met Luther’s gaze and nodded. “Good… We have time… Let’s settle our realm and digest what we’ve gained.”
***
In Nether City, at the Altar Front, Elder Gloam stood with the other high elders. This was the thirtieth day since the secret realm opened—the day Jared and Luther were due to emerge.
Morvane lowered her voice, tugging at her sleeve. “Grand Elder, do you think they’ve run into danger?”
Elder Gloam kept his tone calm. “The realm is perilous, yet with young Jared’s strength, he should manage.”
His words barely settled when ghostly light flared across the altar slabs. Within the pillar of brilliance, two silhouettes slowly rose. When the glare faded, Jared and Luther stood tall upon the platform. The instant they appeared, the city’s native nether energy roared, surging toward them in worshipful currents.
One elder gasped, voice cracking. “That aura… High Immortal Realm?!”
Elder Gloam’s pupils constricted. “High Immortal Realm Level One peak… And Luther is already at Level Six? Impossible!”
Thirty days ago, Jared lay wounded at Heavenly Immortal Level Nine; now he stood a full realm higher. Jared descended the stone stairs and clasped his fists toward Elder Gloam. “Thank you, Grand Elder, for granting us this chance… I have broken into the High Immortal Realm.”
Elder Gloam suddenly laughed three booming times. “Good! Good! Good! Heaven blesses the Ghost Clan and the Thirteen Heavens today!” He studied Jared with bright expectation. “Young friend Jared, what do you intend to do next?”
Frost returned to Jared’s eyes. “Return to the surface, free the beastfolk remnants, and then settle accounts with the celestials.”
Luther stepped forward, voice firm. “Count me in!”
Morvane lifted a hand of black mist. “And me!”
“Nether City will back you with everything we have,” Elder Gloam said, his tone grave. “But the celestials are vast. First, rescue the beastfolk remnants, build strength, then plan carefully.”
