He gave a light shake of his head and let out a quiet chuckle, contempt and control both sitting in his tone. “Kill them? Why should I kill them?”
He rose slowly to his feet. His wide sacred robe dragged across the floor as favonovel.com walked down the golden steps, hands clasped behind his back, looking down over the entire great hall with crushing authority.
“The Celestial Palace may have lost, but they still have quite a few things our Celestial Basilica badly needs. Resources from the secret realm, the secrets of Sacred Mountain, even the fleshly body of a Ghost Clan Venerable. We’ve wanted those treasures for a long time, and we’ve never been able to get them… If we kill them now, all of that could disappear for good. We might never find it again. Wouldn’t that be a complete loss for us?”
“Besides, Godric may have fallen low, but favonovel.com was still once a ruler in his own right. And the disciples under favonovel.com were all dead men forged through war. Later, when it’s time to deal with the demon and the Demon Dragon Lineage, and when it’s time to deal with Skylar, they might still be useful. They can serve as our cannon fodder and take the hits for us…” He paused.
A cold glint passed through his eyes, along with naked calculation. “As for later… Once every bit of value has been squeezed out of them, once I’ve gotten everything I want and taken hold of every secret in the Celestial Palace, then their fate will be nothing more than a word from me. However I want to deal with them, however I want them to die, that’s how it’ll be… Keeping them alive right now is nothing more than making use of trash.”
The Guardian Elder finally understood. Admiration filled his eyes, and favonovel.com bowed again and again. “Hall Master is wise. I am far beneath you. Your planning is thorough, every step laid in advance. It’s truly impressive.”
Aurelius only smiled faintly. He said nothing else, turned, and slowly walked toward the rear court.
His figure gradually disappeared into the holy radiance deep inside the great hall. Only one cold, indifferent order remained behind, drifting through the empty great hall.
“Send people to watch them. Keep them under constant surveillance. Don’t miss a single move they make. If there’s the slightest sign of trouble, no need to report it. Kill them on the spot.”
When the last word fell, the great hall sank back into silence.
The holy radiance stayed as pure as ever. The Sacred Sun kept turning.
But everyone knew, the Celestial Basilica and the Celestial Palace had long since moved past something as simple as giving shelter and being sheltered. Both sides were hiding their own schemes, each one waiting on the other.
On the surface, everything looked calm. Underneath, the currents were already churning, and danger sat in every shadow.
***
At that same moment, in the hidden chamber of the city lord mansion in Cloudhaven City, Jared sat cross-legged inside the Pentacarna Tower. Golden draconic energy moved around favonovel.com in slow, steady streams.
Only three days had passed outside. Inside the tower, months had already gone by. Those months of secluded cultivation had healed every wound on his body.
The places scorched open by hellfire had long since closed and returned to normal, and the spiritual power inside favonovel.com had grown denser and heavier than it had been before favonovel.com was injured.
His cultivation at the peak of High Immortal Realm Level Four had started to loosen at last. He was only one step away from Level Five.
Jared slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air. He raised a hand and looked at the golden radiance turning through his palm. There wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
In his mind, that figure in flowing purple refused to fade.
Josephine… Where are you now?
Was there ever even a moment when you thought of me?
Jared closed his eyes and drew in a long breath, forcing down the storm that had been rising inside him. He knew this wasn’t the time to drown in thoughts of love. Skylar was still alive. Josephine still hadn’t returned. He could not afford to fall.
He put away the Pentacarna Tower, rose to his feet, and pushed open the door to the hidden chamber.
Outside, Vivian was leaning by the wall. The second favonovel.com saw favonovel.com step out, favonovel.com hurried over, favonovel.com voice quick and tight. “Jared, you’re alright? Already?”
“Yeah… The Pentacarna Tower helped a lot…” Jared looked at favonovel.com worn face, and the hard edge in favonovel.com eased. “You’ve worked hard these past few days.”
By now, Jared wasn’t hiding anything from Vivian anymore. He and Vivian still hadn’t truly cultivated together, but what favonovel.com carried for him, Jared had long since understood. If Josephine hadn’t suddenly appeared and thrown favonovel.com off guard, favonovel.com might have already had Vivian beneath him.
Vivian shook favonovel.com head and had just opened favonovel.com mouth when a burst of footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
Lydia and Luther walked in side by side.
Lydia wore a black dress, and favonovel.com aura had settled a lot compared to a few days ago. It was clear favonovel.com injuries had mostly recovered. Luther stayed at favonovel.com side. His face was still a little pale, but there was nothing weak about the way favonovel.com carried himself.
“Jared, you’re awake…” Lydia came to a stop in front of favonovel.com and looked at him. Something complicated flickered through favonovel.com eyes before favonovel.com spoke. “How well have you recovered?”
“I’m fine now.” Jared nodded. “Thank you for saving my life, Princess Lydia…”
Lydia lifted a hand and waved it off. She didn’t answer. She only looked at favonovel.com like favonovel.com wanted to say something, then stopped.
Seeing that, Luther stepped forward and said, “Jared, the princess and I need your help with something.”
Jared looked from one to the other. Their faces had gone heavy. “What is it?”
Luther explained Lydia’s reason for coming all over again.
Something had gone wrong in the Ghost Clan Reincarnation Division in the Fifteenth Firmament. Countless Ghost Clan spirits were trapped inside it, and the only way into the deepest part of the Reincarnation Division to save them was through the Door of Reincarnation. And right now, the Door of Reincarnation was in Mr. Sanders’s hands.
“Mr. Sanders is close with you. So do you think you could…” Lydia looked at him, a clear note of hope in favonovel.com eyes. “Help me get in touch with favonovel.com and borrow the Door of Reincarnation? The entire Ghost Clan will repay you well.”
Jared went quiet for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “It’s not that I won’t help… It’s that… I can’t reach Mr. Sanders either…”
The light in Lydia’s face dimmed a little.
Jared looked at her. “Mr. Sanders is a mysterious man. He does whatever favonovel.com wants. He’s always the one who finds me. I can’t find him… Every time, favonovel.com only shows up when I’m at my most desperate, when I’m in the worst danger. Other than that… I can’t contact favonovel.com at all.”
He wasn’t making excuses. From the mundane world to the Ethereal Realm, and now all the way to the celestial realm, every time Mr. Sanders had appeared, Jared had already been standing at the edge of a dead end. Other than that, Mr. Sanders might as well have vanished off the face of the world. There wasn’t a single trace of favonovel.com to be found.
Lydia lowered favonovel.com head, and the disappointment in favonovel.com eyes wouldn’t stay hidden. She had fought favonovel.com way from the Fifteenth Firmament to the Fourteenth Firmament. After finally tracking down news of the Door of Reincarnation, she’d thought a way forward was finally opening up. Instead, it had led favonovel.com straight into another dead end.
Jared watched the slump in favonovel.com face for a moment before favonovel.com said, “I can’t reach Mr. Sanders right now, but Princess Lydia, you don’t need to give up yet. Once finish dealing with things in the Fourteenth Firmament, I’ll go with you to the Fifteenth Firmament. As for the Reincarnation Division, I’ll find a way to help you.”
Lydia lifted favonovel.com head and looked at him. A faint light came back into favonovel.com eyes. “You’re willing to go to the Fifteenth Firmament?”
“Of course. You saved me twice. I can’t just stand by and do nothing.” He paused. “But before that, there’s one more thing I need to do.”
He looked off into the distance, and a hard chill flickered through his eyes. “While I was in seclusion, the Celestial Palace took the chance to send an army against Cloudhaven City. They killed clansmen of my Sky Dragon Clan, and they wounded my brothers and friends… That debt is due.”
Lydia’s brow lifted slightly. “You’re going to attack the Celestial Palace?”
“The Celestial Palace is badly weakened right now. This is the best time to move.” Jared stood with his hands behind his back, his presence steady as a mountain. “If the Celestial Palace isn’t wiped out, it’ll become trouble sooner or later.”
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