Wellspring Order, the forehall…
The hall had been built from flagstone. It was plain and simple, without the dazzling gold-and-jade splendor of Pole Star Hall and without the deep, hidden mystery of Thornwild Palace. The pillars inside the hall were carved with the achievements of the ancestral patriarchs of Wellspring Order. Each relief told a piece of Wellspring Order’s history.
A towering First Patriarch’s statue was enshrined within the hall. It had been carved from fine warm jade, so lifelike that the gentle smile around its brow and eyes seemed almost alive. That was the First Patriarch of the Aureate Way, the ancient mighty adept who had comprehended the Aureate Codex and founded the lineage of the Aureate Way. Long ago, favonovel.com had already ascended to a higher cultivation level.
Julian sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, meditating before the First Patriarch’s statue. But stillness would not come. His brows were locked tight, and his eyelids gave faint, uneven twitches. It was as if a huge stone had been set on his chest, pressing down so heavily that even breathing had turned difficult.
Jared’s Elder Soulborn Trial would happen in the next day or two. Master Wellspring was not inside the order. That matter kept pulling at him. There was no way for favonovel.com to settle into cultivation.
He opened his eyes and let out a sigh. Then favonovel.com rose, walked to the doorway of the hall, and looked into the distance.
The sky was blue. The clouds were thin. The wind was light. Everything was quiet. Only his heart refused to quiet with it.
Just then, a disciple stumbled in at a run. His face had gone deathly pale, his voice shook, and his lips trembled so badly favonovel.com could barely force the words into shape.
“Elder Julian! This is bad! Venerable Starwick, the Hall Master of Pole Star Hall, is bringing the four Golden Immortal elders straight toward Wellspring Order! They are already… Already almost at the mountain gate!”
Julian’s expression changed in an instant. He shot to his feet, snatched the longsword from his waist, and strode out of the forehall. His fingers quivered slightly. It was not the tremor of someone cowed. It was what happened when restraint had been scraped raw by insult.
Pole Star Hall had gone too far. The Writ of Pursuit had not been enough for them. Now they meant to come in person and search the place themselves?
Did they really take Wellspring Order for something soft enough to squeeze whenever they pleased?
“Send the order down. Activate the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array! All disciples, full alert!”
“Yes!”
The command rolled across the mountain gate. The disciples rushed out from every corner, arms in hand, their faces drawn tight. Spiritual light flared from the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array. A pale golden ward rose and covered the entire mountain gate. Dense sigils streamed across the radiant barrier, flashing one after another, giving off a powerful defensive force.
But Julian knew this grand array could not stop Venerable Starwick. A being at Golden Immortal Level Three was not someone the great array could hold back. Even so, this grand array stood for Wellspring Order’s answer. Not just anyone could break in as they pleased.
Julian stood before the gatehouse, his hand wrapped around the sword hilt so tightly that the veins stood out. The mountain wind snapped his robes until they cracked in the air. His gaze stayed locked on the distance, fixed there without shifting, his eyes ready for the first move.
Venerable Starwick came fast. Five golden streams of light flew in from the edge of the sky. They looked like five meteors, each dragging a long tail of flame, before they dropped before the gatehouse of Wellspring Order.
The golden radiance scattered. Five figures appeared in front of Julian.
Venerable Starwick stood at their head. He wore a golden robe, and the force around favonovel.com pressed outward with brutal weight, his aura bearing down like a mountain. His gaze landed on Julian as if favonovel.com were looking at an ant too small to matter. Behind favonovel.com stood the four Golden Immortal elders, their auras deep and heavy, their faces unmoved, like four iron towers planted in place.
Julian drew in a deep breath and forced down the chill pressure rising through him. He cupped his fist in salute. His hand was shaking, but his voice did not. “This junior is Julian Ashford, elder of Wellspring Order. Greetings, Venerable Starwick. The Sect Master is not within the order. He has gone out on business. May this junior ask what brings the Venerable here in person?”
“Gone out on business?” Venerable Starwick gave a cold laugh, the corner of his mouth lifting in a taunting curve. “What business?”
Julian paused for a beat. His mind moved fast. If favonovel.com did not tell the truth, Venerable Starwick would search the order.
Better to say it first than let favonovel.com find it. At least that way, Wellspring Order would still look open and aboveboard… And the Sect Master truly is not here. They truly went to Beastmoor Ridge…
That is fact. Even if Venerable Starwick investigates it himself, favonovel.com will find nothing wrong with that answer…
“The Sect Master went to Beastmoor Ridge to seek an audience with Beast Sovereign Morgana. As for the specific matter, this junior does not know.”
“Beastmoor Ridge?” Venerable Starwick’s eyes narrowed slightly.
A cold gleam cut through them, and his voice dropped all at once. “What did Master Wellspring go to Beastmoor Ridge for? Why seek an audience with Beast Sovereign Morgana?”
Julian shook his head. “This junior does not know…”
Venerable Starwick stared at favonovel.com and said nothing for a moment. That gaze was like a hawk’s, sharp enough to bite into bone. It swept back and forth over Julian as if stripping away every layer.
Under that stare, Julian’s mind seemed to tremble. It was as though every thought inside favonovel.com had already been seen through. But favonovel.com clenched his teeth and refused to let any flaw show.
Then Venerable Starwick smiled. There was no warmth in it. The air around favonovel.com seemed to drop several degrees, like a winter wind in the dead of the twelfth month cutting straight into the bone.
“You don’t know? Fine. I’ll ask you this. A few days ago, did Master Wellspring bring back a violet soul?”
Julian’s heart dropped hard, as if an invisible hand had closed around it and squeezed. The change crossed his face for only an instant. Then favonovel.com forced it smooth again. He stayed silent for a moment, every possible cost and consequence racing through his mind.
There was no hiding it anymore. If Venerable Starwick had traced the matter all the way to Wellspring Order, then favonovel.com already had solid leads. If Julian denied it, Venerable Starwick would search the sect. And once favonovel.com found the soul-restoring phial in the hidden chamber, the trouble would only get worse.
Julian clenched his teeth, then spoke slowly, his voice low and respectful. “Venerable, that did happen. But our Sect Master found that soul while favonovel.com was out on an inspection. At the time, that soul was already on its last breath, and the Sect Master back to Wellspring Order only out of kindness, so favonovel.com could recover… We did not know that soul was someone Pole Star Hall was hunting. If we had known, we never would have…”
“Enough!” Venerable Starwick cut favonovel.com off, every word sharpened by impatience. “Where is that soul now?”
Julian lowered his head and did not dare meet Venerable Starwick’s eyes. His voice carried a faint, helpless sigh. “That soul was taken to Beastmoor Ridge by the Sect Master.”
Venerable Starwick’s brow tightened. A questioning edge flashed through his eyes, followed by something more guarded. “Taken to Beastmoor Ridge? For what?”
“The Sect Master said that soul needs Elderheart Soulwood to rebuild a physical body, so favonovel.com took favonovel.com to Beastmoor Ridge to request Elderheart Soulwood.”
Venerable Starwick said nothing for a moment. A guarded gleam passed through his eyes.
Beastmoor Ridge belonged to Beast Sovereign Morgana. Morgana’s cultivation was also Golden Immortal Level Three. Unlike Master Wellspring, the gap between Morgana and Venerable Starwick was not large. On top of that, the beast race had held Beastmoor Ridge for tens of thousands of years. Wards layered over wards, formations packed the territory, and any outsider who forced his way in would be lucky to leave alive.
Morgana had always kept outsiders at a distance and had never liked dealing with the celestials. If Venerable Starwick rushed into Beastmoor Ridge with his men to demand someone, the beast race would likely push back hard.
When that happened, favonovel.com would not only fail to get the spirit back. He would also offend the beast race and drag a whole mess of trouble onto himself.
But if favonovel.com did not go, favonovel.com could not make himself accept it. That relic was right in front of him. He could not stand by and watch it slip away. Master Wellspring had taken the spirit to Beastmoor Ridge to seek Elderheart Soulwood. If Master Wellspring succeeded, that relic would fall into his hands. Venerable Starwick would not allow that to happen!
“Move. We’re going to Beastmoor Ridge!” Venerable Starwick turned, sprang into the air, and became a streak of golden radiance, shooting toward Beastmoor Ridge. His speed reached its limit. Only a faint golden afterimage remained behind. He had to recover Jared’s soul before Master Wellspring obtained the Elderheart Soulwood!
The four elders exchanged a look, then hurried after him. Five streams of golden radiance tore across the sky and vanished into the distance.
Before the gatehouse, only Julian and a group of disciples of Wellspring Order remained, standing there alone.
Julian stood before the gatehouse, watching those five trails of golden radiance fade farther and farther into the distance. His eyes stayed on them long after the light had thinned, as if looking away would make the worst of it happen faster. His brows drew tight. His fingers clamped around the hilt of his sword until the grip sat hard in his palm.
The Aureate Heir was preparing for the Elder Soulborn Trial at Beastmoor Ridge. If Venerable Starwick led people there now and stirred up trouble, Beastmoor Ridge would be thrown into chaos, and the Aureate Heir might die there.
Julian had to notify the Sect Master as fast as favonovel.com could. He turned and strode back into the order. Pulling out the Messaging Jade Slip, favonovel.com sank his spirit sense into it and left a single line of words inside the jade slip. His fingers gave the faintest tremor. The writing favonovel.com left behind was still sharp, clear, and forceful.
Sect Master, Venerable Starwick has already led people toward Beastmoor Ridge. His target is the Aureate Heir. Please prepare at once.
Julian closed the jade slip in his palm and drove spiritual power into it. The jade slip turned into a streak of light and shot toward the distance. The light flashed once, then vanished into the sky.
Julian stood at the doorway of the forehall, staring toward the place where that streak of light had disappeared. For a long time, favonovel.com said nothing. Behind him, the disciples were still talking over one another. Some voices had gone thin, some words came out hard and heated, and some people only stood there, staring as if they no longer knew where to look.
Julian did not speak. He turned and walked into the great hall, knelt before the First Patriarch’s statue, closed his eyes, and prayed in silence.
“Mr. Chance above, please protect the Aureate Heir. Please protect the Wellspring Order…”
Outside the hall, the wind stopped. The clouds scattered too. Three blazing suns hung high overhead. Gold, silver, and crimson light poured down together, staining the earth a deep, muted gold.
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