the Fourteenth Firmament, Summit of the Sky.


    The Grand Basilica of the Celestial Pce floated above the sea of clouds high in the heavens.''


    It towered there like a celestial pce, giving off a kind of majesty that made all living things look up.


    This ce stood far away from the noise of the mortal world.''


    The astral wind there howled sharp as des. Ordinary cultivators couldn''t even think about setting foot here. If they got too close, the wind alone would tear their souls apart.


    Only the Celestial Pce''s powerhouses, backed by deep cultivation, could move freely through this ce.


    And this Grand Basilica was the most imposing structure in the entire Fourteenth Firmament.''


    It was the residence of Godric, the ruler of the Celestial Pce, and the true core of the Celestial Pce''s power.


    The wholeplex sprawled on a massive scale, stretching for miles, and every part of it was built from white skycrystal that had been nurtured for a thousand years.


    Every piece of skycrystal had been polished by countless master craftsmen until it was smooth as a mirror and soft with that warm, jade-like sheen.


    Its surface was carved all over with dense elder runes.''


    As the runes shifted, they gave off a faint golden glow and formed an invisible warding veil around the pce.


    That veil could keep out invading enemies, and it could also gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the cultivators inside.


    Under the noon sun, the skycrystal threw back a dazzling ze of light.''


    It shone against the sea of clouds until the whole ce looked like a heavenly pce forged from stars, sacred and untouchable.


    At the center of theplex stood an even grander great hall.


    This was the core of the Grand Basilica, the ce where Godric handled the affairs of his people and summoned the Elders.


    But at that moment, the air inside the Empyrean Hall had turned so heavy it almost seemed ready to drip.


    A crushing weight hung in the air, like a storm just about to break.


    The hall was silent.''


    Now and then, the howl of the gale outside slipped in from beyond the doors and made the whole ce feel even more grim.


    On the main seat of the Empyrean Hall, Hall Master Godric sat upright.


    He had a straight, imposing frame and wore a long robe embroidered in gold with dragons.''


    Across the robe, golden threads outlined lifelike Five-wed Golden Dragons, every scale sharp and clear. Under the spiritual light in the hall, they shed with a cold gleam that made his supreme status impossible to miss.


    Godric''s face was severe.''


    His swordlike brows were drawn tight, his nose stood high, and his thin lips looked sharp as a de. Around him spread the terrifying pressure of the True Immortal Realm, Second Order.


    That pressure pressed down on every person there like a towering mountain, so heavy that even breathing became difficult.


    Whenever his eyes opened and narrowed, a sharp light shed through them, as if he could see straight into a person''s heart and strip every thought bare before him.


    Below the main seat, more than a dozen Celestial Pce Elders stood in neat lines on either side beneath the jade steps.


    Every one of them had deep cultivation.''


    The weakest among them was at the Top Level High Immortal Realm, and more than a few were True Immortal experts who normally counted as major figures anywhere in the Fourteenth Firmament.


    But right then, everyst one of them stood with a grave look, brows knotted, heads lowered, silent as stone.


    They could all clearly feel the fury


    rolling off the Hall Master, so close to breaking loose that it seemed one wrong move would drag them straight into disaster.


    Just then, a rush of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.


    "Report..."


    Before the word had even fully fallen, a young cultivator in the robes of a Celestial


    Pce disciple rushed into the Empyrean Hall.


    His face had gone ck with rm.''


    ???


    His clothes were in disarray, and there was blood spattered across him. He had clearly raced here at full


    speed, without moment to it''


    vera


    straighten himself up.


    The moment he charged inside, his legs gave out.''


    He dropped to one knee, his body shaking uncontrobly, and his voice came out


    broken and unsteady. "Hall Master, i-it''s bad! Terribly bad!"


    "The Third Sacred Mountain and the Fifth Sacred Mountain... they''ve both been destroyed!"


    "The three True Immortal elders stationed at those two Sacred Mountains fought with everything they had, but in the end, all of them were killed!"


    "And the two Ghost n Sacred Paragons we were secretly raising, the ones that were about to revive werepletely in too! Their souls were scattered, and not even a trace of fermant soul was left behind!"


    "And also... also Grand Venerable Lucian and Envoy Lyria... they... they also fell!"


    By thest few lines, the disciple was nearly shouting through sobs, each word thick with despair.


    "What?!"


    The furious roar exploded through the Empyrean Hall like a p of thunder.


    Godric shot to his feet from the main seat.''


    The aura around him lost control in an instant, and a violently raging pressure swept through the entire hall like a tidal wave.


    That pressure was even more terrifying than before, carrying endless fury and killing intent.


    The Elders below the jade steps all nched at once and hurriedly pushed their cultivation to its limit to raise protective barriers.


    Even so, the pressure still drove them back again and again.''


    A thread of blood spilled from the corners of their mouths, and shock filled their


    eyes.


    As for the disciple who had brought the report, he was only at High Immortal Realm Level Seven.''


    There was no way he could withstand Godric''s out-of-control pressure.


    He was sted straight off the ground and mmed hard into one of the hall''s coiling dragon pirs.


    Crack!


    The stone on the dragon pir split apart.''


    The disciple coughed up blood, then crumpled to the floor in a limp heap, his breath


    turning faint.


    Godric''s eyes had gone bloodshot as he stared at the disciple on the floor.''


    Golden spiritual energy surged wildly around his body, as if it might erupt at any


    second.


    He ground his teeth so hard the words came out one by one, torn loose like a snarl. "Jared! It''s that Jared again!"


    That name clung to him like rot on the bone.''


    Again and again, it rang in his ears. Again and again, it ruined his ns. Again and


    again, it killed his people.