Jared sat down cross-legged and began to heal.
Most of the power in his bloodline had been drained away, and his strength had fallen hard. Still, his foundation was there. As long as he spent some time recovering, he would be able to return to form.
He took several healing elixirs from his Storage Ring and swallowed them, then began circting his cultivation method and guided the medicine through his body as it dissolved.
Evelyn forced herself up again, walked over to Jared, and stayed by his side to stand guard for him.
The worry in her eyes still hadn''t left, but seeing Jared safe and alive let some of the pressure ease off her.
A momentter, the sharp sound of something cutting through the air came from far away.
Dozens of white streaks shot in and stopped above the vale.
At the front was Elder Cillian.
He looked down at the three people in the vale and let out a coldugh. "Go on, run. Why''d you stop? Did you really think hiding out in these barren mountains would let you escape the Celestial Basilica''s hunt?"
Behind him stood dozens of Basilica disciples, every one of them gripping a weapon, their killing intent rolling off them.
Jared opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and looked at him with a cold, steady gaze.
Something in that look made Elder Cillian tighten for a split second, but the sneer came right back. "Jared, most of your bloodline has been drained away. Your cultivation''s dropped. And you still want to fight back? If you know what''s good for you, surrender ande back with me. Maybe I''ll even leave you a whole corpse. Otherwise, don''t me me for being ruthless!"
Jared looked at him, and then he smiled.
That smile was cold enough to make a person''s chest tighten, like something that had climbed out of the Ninefold Hells.
"Elder Cillian."
He spoke slowly, his voice rough but still carrying force. "You know what I hate most? Being lied to."
Elder Cillian gave a sharp snort. "So what? The winner takes all, and the loser gets buried. You lost, so you lost. If you want to me something, me yourself for being naive enough to think our Celestial Basilica would help you save anyone. Righteous path? Hah. What real righteous path is there in this world? There''s only profit."
Jared gave him no answer.
He only lifted one hand. In his palm, the Dragonyer Sword appeared in an instant.
The sword''s body was ck as night, with golden dragon patterns running across it. Under the sunlight, they shed with a strange gleam.
The de trembled slightly and let out a low dragon''s cry, as if answering the fury running through its wielder.
Elder Cillian''s face shifted, then he sneered again. "High Immortal Realm Level Three, and you still dare draw a sword in front of me? You''re asking to die! Attack! Kill him, and I''ll reward you with one thousand bottles of spiritual water!"
Under a heavy reward, there were always people willing to risk their lives.
Dozens of Basilica disciples attacked at once, unleashing all kinds of techniques that crashed down on Jared from every direction.
There was towering fire, piercing cold, thunder with crushing force, and des ripping through the air.
In an instant, the whole vale was swallowed by waves of shing light.
Evelyn cried out and tried to rush forward to help, but Jared stopped her with a raised hand.
"Stay behind me," he said.
Evelyn froze and looked at Jared.
Jared held the sword and stepped forward.
That single step seemed to crush the space beneath it, carrying the kind of force that only moved one way-straight ahead.
"Get lost!"
The shout hit like a st, and a sheet of golden sword light exploded out with it, flooding the entire vale in an instant.
Jared swept his sword across.
The strike looked simple.
But inside it sat endless sword intent.
It was the swordsmanship Jared had grasped with one foot in death.
It was the fire in his chest, all of it pouring out through that one swing.
Pfft pfft pfft!
More than a dozen Celestial Basilica disciples burst apart at the same ming into a cloud of blood that sprayed across the air.
The protective aura around them crumpled in front of that sword like paper.
It couldn''t stop anything at all.
Elder Cillian''s face changed on the spot.
What... what kind of strength was that?
nět
High Immortal Realm Level Three, and he killed more than a dozen cultivators at High Immortal Realm Level ?even and Lever Eight with a single sword strike?
How was that even possible?
Even with a divine weapon in hand, it shouldn''t have been that easy.
And Jared''s strength had already dropped that much?
Jared didn''t give him any time to react.
His figure shed.
In the next instant, he was right in front of Elder Cillian, so fast it looked like he had
teleported.
The Dragonyer Sword came down straight at his head.
Elder Cillian threw up a hand to block.
Golden light surged out of his palm and condensed into a golden shield.
"Aegis of Radiance!"
Boom!
A thunderous crash ripped through the vale.
The golden shield shattered at once into countless
and brot
light that scattered through
of
air
Gontent
Elder Cillian flew backward and mmed hard into the mountain wall.
Blood spilled from his mouth, and his eyes stayed locked wide on Jared. "You... you..."
A huge section of his chest had caved in.
His bones were shattered, and his organs had taken brutal damage.
Jared stood there with the sword in hand, looking down at him from above.
There wasn''t a trace of warmth in his eyes.
"True Immortal Realm Level One?" he repeated softly.
"That''s all?"
Jared''s eyes narrowed, and the killing intent in them turned sharp enough to cut.
Even with his strength reduced, Elder Cillian still wasn''t enough to make him flinch.
If Jared had been at his peak, thatst sword strike would have taken Elder Cillian''s life on the spot.