Arden flushed crimson and bowed low. "You''re amazing! I''m utterly convinced!"


    Jared smiled lightly. "That was only a warm-up. Next, let''s pay their herb garden a visit."


    The triumph at ckme Gorge had done more than wound the enemy. It had ignited a fierce confidence that zed through the Myriad Beast Sect, turning every patrol into a spear and every scout into wildfire.


    After a brief pause to regroup and sift through fresh intelligence, Jared chose his next target: the Wraith Herb Garden, a critical supply hub buried deep in the Blood- scar ins and guarded by three Heavenly-Immortal elders.


    Unlike ordinary greenhouses, this shadowed nursery cultivated sinister flora- demonic herbs that sprouted only when nourished by swirling miasmas of resentment and the chill of unquiet souls.


    Those herbs were the lifeblood of the Myriad Souls Demon Sect, distilled into pills that amplified soul-force and refined dark arts—a resource even more vital than the items Jared had stolen at ckme Gorge.


    Determined to sever that artery, Jared drafted a n with the precision of a surgeon. First, he ordered the Myriad Beast Sect to intensify raids on the ins opposite the garden, faking preparations for a massive assault. The ruse worked; nervousmanders of the Infinite Soul Demon Sect pulled eyes and strength eastward, leaving the garden''s western nk thinner than it had been in decades.


    Next, Jared chose the night of a full moon. Moonlight, at its zenith, poured silver pressure that muted the corrosive aura clinging to the garden''s nts—and its silvery re would cloak his own movements.


    Deep within a gorge forever drowned in ashen fog, cold winds wailed like orphaned choirs. Spectral silhouettes drifted between warped trees, their translucent fingers brushing cages of iron where rarer seedlings pulsed with malignant light.


    A grand array nketed the valley, runes shimmering like chains beneath the haze. Patrol squads each stronger than any Jared had met at ckme Gorge— threaded the mist while hidden sentries watched from jagged cliffs. Worst of all, the three resident elders stretched their spiritual senses across the garden like a spider''s web, touching every leaf and pebble, poised to twitch at the faintest disturbance.


    Hidden among ck-barked pines outside the gorge, Jaredy motionless, observing. He knew that simply smashing through or sowing random chaos— would be unwise.


    The formation is sturdier, the watch tighter, their senses ovepping-no blind spots at all...


    A slight frown creased his brow, but then he brushed a hand over the tiny fire- unicorn perched on his shoulder, and mischief lit his eyes. "Little one, tonight''s stage belongs to you."


    The unicorn chirred, nuzzling Jared''s cheek, its coat flickering with molten gold. A low, eager growl rumbled


    from its throat; beads of sacred et


    me rolled across its scales like yful sparks begging to beo unleashed Jared''s strategy was audaciously simple. Distraction.


    He began by carving a small spiritual energy collection array and an explosive array into a remote cliff


    face far from the garden gate,


    anchoring each rune with puret


    immortal stones and a single droplet of unicorn heart-me. When the trap was set, he and the unicorn ghosted south, cling to the garden''s lightly guarded western ridge without stirring even a pebble.


    At the appointed breath-precisely when the moon crowned the valley-Jared sent


    a pulse through his jade talisman. Runes red on the distant cliff, and the night split open.


    Boom!


    Pure positive energy collided with Unicorn Sacred me, birthing a gale of white- gold fire that zed against the gloom like dawn made weapon. Its shockwave rippled across the valley, impossible to ignore.


    "Enemy attack! East cliff!"


    "What a strong surge of positive energy! There''s also Unicorn me from the Myriad Beast Sect!"


    "Hurry! Reinforce the east nk!"


    Within moments, the gorge dissolved into chaos. Patrol squads stampeded eastward, and even the three elders snapped their attention toward the zing beacon.


    The instant that web of awareness shifted, Jared moved swift as a thought, silent as a falling petal.


    He and the unicorn became tws, streaking through shadow toward the garden''s weakened western ward, des of moonlight skimming over their shoulders.


    Roar!


    The small fire unicorn erupted first. In a blink, the creature swelled from foal-sizedpanion to a zing hill of muscle and scale, its mane of molten gold whipping like sr res. One titanic exhale followed-a river of Unicorn Sacred me that hammered against the array encasing the valley.


    The sacred fire, forged of pure positive energy and absolute strength, was born to


    scour all that was ghostly or foul.