Under Jared''s gaze, a chill ran through Elder Cillian''s whole body.


    Something he had never known before wed 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 ughtered more than a dozen of his disciples, and the next had left him heavily wounded.


    What kind of monster was this?!


    "You... who the hell are you?!"


    Elder Cillian''s voice shook as the words came out.


    Jared didn''t answer.


    He only lifted the Dragonyer Sword, slow and steady, and leveled the tip at Elder Cillian''s throat.


    The ck de shed 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 the skull.


    At that point, he couldn''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 Ashcroft were left in the vale.


    Jared stood with his sword in hand, watching those fleeing figures.


    Not a ripple showed in his eyes.


    Evelyn Ashcroft 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 wille after us again very soon!"


    Jared said nothing.


    He only stood there in silence.


    Evelyn Ashcroft was just about to urge him again when Jared''s body suddenly swayed.


    The Dragonyer Sword slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a ng. "Young Lord!"


    Evelyn went white. She lunged forward and caught Jared before he could fall.


    His 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 sshed 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. "Thatst sword strike... was the final blow I could force out with everything I had... If Cillian hadn''t run, I... I wouldn''t havested three breaths..."


    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.


    She 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 ce isn''t safe. They coulde to their senses at any moment." Jared gave a weak nod.


    Evelyn bent down, picked up the Dragonyer Sword, and supported Jared as the two of them staggered deeper into the vale.


    Evelyn kept one arm around Jared and dragged him forward through the mountains, step by difficult step.


    His 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 woulde 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 2 hours before they finally found a hidden cave.


    The cave wasn''trge, 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''lle back and keep watch over you."


    Jared gave a weak nod, closed his eyes, and began circting his cultivation method to refine the medicine''s power.


    Evelyn stepped out of the cave, took several array gs from her Storage Ring, and set up a simple veiling ward around the entrance.


    It couldn''tpare 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.


    This man had crossed an immense distance just to save a friend and came all the way to the Lumino Sanctuary only to be deceived, hunted and nearly killed. Even so, he had neverined once, and he had never taken a single step back.


    She murmured softly, "Young Lord, you have to get better soon..."


    For the next 3 days, the two of them stayed hidden inside the cave.


    Each day, Jared took medicine, regted 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 3 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 regting 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 momentter, someone pushed the vines at the entrance aside, and several figures appeared outside the cave.