"A low profile?" A mocking curve pulled at Skr''s mouth. "That''s not keeping a low profile. They''ve been staying quiet while they do something big."
He turned and faced Darian. "The Celestial Basilica has been secretly capturing demonic cultivators and wandering cultivators for bloodline fusion experiments.
They want to fuse celestial and demon bloodlines together and create super cultivators who carry the power of both races."
"The reason my senior sister and I stayed in the Fourteenth Firmament was because of this. These celestials have gotten far too arrogant. They never took the demons seriously at all.
They actually dared to go against the Heavenly Law..."
Darian''s face changed on the spot. "What?! How could they dare?!"
The celestials had always ced bloodlines above everything else. To have that bloodline taken and fused with someone else''s was the worst kind of disgrace.
On top of that, the celestials had always looked down on the demon race. In their eyes, demon blood was filthy and beneath them.
And now they were secretly taking celestial and demon blood, forcing them together, trying to manufacture powerful super cultivators by human hands.
"There is nothing these celestials wouldn''t dare do."
A cold edge passed through Skr''s eyes.
"I''m a demonic cultivator now too. I''ll make them pay for this."
That one sentence was enough to make Darian go still.
He understood.
Skr had started as a human cultivator, but what he cultivated were demonic arts, and what he used was demonic aura. At his core, he was no different from any other demonic cultivator.
So when the Celestial Basilica captured demonic cultivators for bloodline experiments, Skr took it as a challenge thrown straight at him.
"Sir, what are you nning to do?" Darian asked carefully.
Skr turned back around.
His gaze settled on the marked location of the Luminous Sanctuary on the map, and
a cruel curve pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"What am I nning to do?"
He repeated it softly. His voice stayed calm, but the killing intent underneath it made the room feel colder.
"Simple. I''ll wipe them out."
Darian''s chest tightened, but he didn''t dare say another word.
Skr stood with his hands sped behind his back, staring out into the distance. His gaze ran deep and still.
"Celestial Basilica, Celestial Pce... all these so-called righteous sects deserved to die."
He said it in an even tone, like he was talking about something too small to matter. "The Celestial Pce is already gone. Now it''s the Celestial Basilica''s turn."
Darian jolted and bent at once.
"I''ll gather the Demon Dragon host right now!"
"No." Skr lifted a hand and stopped him. "This time, I''m going alone."
The reason Skr wasn''t taking Josephine with him was simple. Lately, her state of mind had been unstable.
If she ran into Jared and got her memories back, that would turn into real trouble. Darian froze. "You''re going alone, Senior? The Mountain-Guarding Grand Array of the Celestial Basilica isn''t something ordinary, and their Hall Master Aurelius is a True Immortal Realm expert too..."
Skr looked at him once. The look stayed calm, and Darian''s mouth shut on the spot.
"The array?" A trace of disdain pulled at Skr''s mouth. "You think that thing can stop me?"
Darian parted his lips, but in the end, nothing came out.
Skr turned and headed for the door of the hidden chamber.
When he reached the doorway, he stopped without warning.
He looked back at Darian. "While I''m gone, watch my senior sister. If she loses so
much as a single hair, you know what happens next."
Darian shuddered again and bowed lower.
"Rest easy, Senior! I''ll protect Miss Sullivan with my life!"
Skr said nothing else.
He turned and left.
His figure disappeared fast into the dark red light outside the Demon Dragon Hall. Darian stayed where he was, watching Skr''s back fade into the distance.
Too many things sat tangled on his face to sort through.
He knew the skies over the Luminous Sanctuary were about to change.
At that same moment, at the summit of Saintlight Peak in the Luminous Sanctuary—
Aurelius stood by the window in the great hall, looking down at the golden warding array spread across the mountainside below.
His brow stayed pulled tight.
He didn''t know why, but for the past few days, something had been pressing at him without letup, as if something terrible was just about to happen.
"Hall Master."
A Guardian Elder hurried in and bowed. "Word that the Hallowmere Order was wiped out has already spread through the entire Luminous Sanctuary Every major and minor force is on edge. A few lesser sects have already shut their gates and run."
Aurelius let out a cold snort. "Monks may run, but their temples don''t. Let them go. Once this blows over, they''lle back on their own."
The Guardian Elder hesitated, then added, "There''s one more thing. That Jared with the Golden Dragon Bloodline seems to have appeared somewhere near Saintlight Peak."
Aurelius frowned. "Jared? What''s he doing near Saintlight Peak?"
"I don''t know, But this man''s strength really is terrifying. At High Immortal Realm Level Four, he killed Order Master Vale, a True Immortal Realm Level Two cultivator with a Single palm strike if he''s here to make trouble for the Celestial Basilica..."
Aurelius lifted a hand and cut him off. "He''s just a whelp. There''s no need to make such a fuss. If he darese, I''ll make him understand that the Celestial Basilica
isn''t something trash like the Hallowmere Order can bepared to."
The Guardian Elder nodded and was about to withdraw when Aurelius suddenly spoke again.
"How are things on the experiment side?"
The Guardian Elder froze for a
second, then lowered his voice. "Everything is going smoothly. The first finished product has already stabilized, and its strength is
extremely high. Based on our
estimates, once it fully matures, it''s
power will reach at least True
Immortal Realm Level Three, maybe
even..."
"Possibly what?"
"It may even break past True Immortal Realm Level Three and reach an even higher
level."
A flicker ran through Aurelius''s eyes.
Then he forced it back down.
"Keep watching it. There can''t be a single mistake. This is Celestial Basilica''s
biggest trump card if we''re going to turn this around."
"Yes!"
After the Guardian Elder withdrew, Aurelius stayed alone by the window.
He looked at the golden barrier spread over the mountainside below, and something
hard to read passed through his eyes.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
They were capturing demonic cultivators and celestial wandering cultivators, then
using them in bloodline fusion experiments.
If word of that ever got out, Celestial Basilica''s name would be ruined beyond repair.
Those so-called righteous forces woulde at them all at once.
They would treat Celestial Basilica as something even more dangerous than the
demon race.
On top of that, what he was doing was forbidden by the celestials themselves.
It also ran against the Heavenly Law.
But he had no other choice.
His Majesty of Celestial Basilica wanted control of the entire Fourteenth Firmament.
And the fall of Celestial Pce had already shown him how close the danger was.
The rise of the Demon Dragon Lineage, and Skr''s monstrous strength, kept pressing the same warning in front of him.
If Celestial Basilica did not grow stronger fast, it would end up following Celestial Pce into destruction.
For Celestial Basilica''s future, for Celestial Basilica''s glory, he was willing to do anything.
Even make a deal with the devil.
Aurelius drew in a long breath and forced down the pressure sitting in his chest.
Then he turned and walked back to the throne.
At that same time, in the market town 100 miles from Saintlight Peak, Jared stood
by a window, looking out toward the distant mountain.
"The storm''s about to break," he said quietly.
Lydia Wraithmoor stood behind him.
"You noticed it too?" she said.
Jared nodded.
"The Celestial Basilica can''t keep its dirty business buried forever. And the demonic
cultivators they took... sooner orter, someone was going toe make them pay
for that."
He paused.
A faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"I just didn''t expect it toe this fast."
Lydia Wraithmoor paused. "What do you mean?"
Jared didn''t answer.
He only kept looking at the far edge of the sky.
Out there, the dark figure was tearing toward the Luminous Sanctuary at a shocking
speed.
Demonic aura rolled off him so thick it looked solid, and everywhere he passed,
even the sky changed color.
Skr hade.
Even with a thousand miles between them, Jared could still catch the auraing
off Skr.
He knew that aura too well.