A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6494

Silas dropped to his knees and lowered his head, his voice rough. "Chapter master, your servant was useless."

"He stopped for a moment, as if weighing each word.

In the end, he told the truth. ""There was a Warden inside the Primordial Sanctuary. His cultivation was at least peak Golden Immortal Level Three. Even after Master Wellspring used everything he had, he still was not that Warden's match. Your servant and Luna... did not make a move either."""

His forehead stayed pressed to the cold floor, and he did not dare lift his head.

"The floor of the hidden chamber had been laid with obsidian tiles.

The cold bit hard, sinking through his knees and seeping all the way into his bones."

"But that was not the coldest thing in the room.

The coldest thing was that Osric made no sound at all. That silence pressed harder than any scolding could have."

Luna knelt as well, her voice carrying a faint tremor. "Chapter master, that Warden's aura was too dreadful. Your servant knew she was no match for him. If we had acted rashly, we would only have thrown our lives away for nothing. Your servant... your servant withdrew with Silas. Please punish us, chapter master."

"Osric's fingers paused slightly.

He set down the old tome in his hand, then lifted his head and looked at Silas."

"His gaze was very calm.

There was no blame in it, no heat of rebuke, only a thin thread of scrutiny."

"Osric had lived for tens of thousands of years.

He had seen more cultivators like Silas than anyone could count. They were loyal, but not blindly so. They knew when a fight had to be taken, and they knew when survival meant turning and leaving."

"He did not hold it against them.

The Abyssal Exchange did not keep reckless fools on its payroll."

"What happened to Master Wellspring?" Osric asked.

"Master Wellspring was wounded, but he escaped the secret realm too," Silas said. "After that, Venerable Starwick brought people to block his way. Master Wellspring nearly died there."

Luna quickly followed with her own report. "But later, the Beast Sovereign of Beastmoor Ridge stepped in and saved Master Wellspring."

"""Beastmoor Ridge. Pole Star Hall."" Osric let out a cold laugh. ""Interesting. The Seventeenth Firmament is about to come apart.""

Then he asked, ""What did that warden look like? What stood out about him?"""

Silas took a moment, pulling the image of that old man in white back into focus.

"He wore a white robe. A faint spiritual light moved across the fabric, like moonlight spread over snow. He held a white-jade fly-whisk in his hand. The white strands were fine, but tough, and every single one seemed almost alive, drifting lightly in the mist. His face was aged, but his features were proper and well-cut. In his younger years, he must have been a striking man. His eyes were very calm. There was no killing intent in them, but they made it impossible to look straight at him for long. As for his aura... your servant cannot describe it clearly. It seemed peaceful on the surface, but it was bottomless, like a ten-thousand-foot abyss hidden beneath a calm sea."

Luna added from beside him, "That warden—Master Wellspring called him 'Ancestor.' And Wellspring Order's sacred sigils were carved on his fly-whisk. Your servant saw them with her own eyes. Those sigils were exactly the same as the ones on the fly-whisk in the portrait of Wellspring Order's Founding Patriarch. There is absolutely no mistake."

Osric's eyes narrowed.

"He set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and walked to the wall with his hands behind his back.

His gaze settled on the landscape painting upon the wall."

"Within the painting stood a towering mountain peak.

On that peak sat an ancient, plain Taoist temple. Before the temple stood a white-haired elder, holding a fly-whisk as he lifted his head toward the sky."

It was the portrait of Wellspring Order's Founding Patriarch, painted by special order at Osric's command.

The Patriarch of Wellspring Order had already ascended tens of thousands of years ago.

How could he have appeared inside the Primordial Sanctuary and become its Warden?

"It did not fit reason.

It did not fit Heavenly Law."

"A mighty adept who had ascended could not remain in the Lower Realm.

He was even less likely to lower his own cultivation just to guard a secret realm."

"Are you certain you did not see wrong?"

"Osric turned around.

His gaze sharpened until it seemed ready to pierce through Luna's eyes and search the depths behind them."

Luna shook her head, and her voice did not waver. "Your servant has cultivated for several thousand years. I know Wellspring Order's sacred sigils inside and out. I absolutely would not mistake them. The fly-whisk in that warden's hand was the Founding Patriarch's relic. And the spiritual light on that fly-whisk was exactly the same as the Founding Patriarch's aura recorded in Wellspring Order's codex."

Osric remained silent for a while before he nodded. "I will look into this matter until it is clear. The intelligence web of the Abyssal Exchange spreads across the heavens. In the Seventeenth Firmament, there is no secret that can stay hidden from us. You two will have to make another trip. Stay near the Primordial Sanctuary and watch the entrance. If there is any unusual movement, report back at once. Do not go near it. Do not alert that warden."

Silas lifted his head and looked at Osric. "Chapter Master, that sanctuary warden's cultivation is too high. Your servant..."

"I am not sending you into the secret realm."

Osric cut him off. "I am only telling you to watch it. See whether anyone else enters the secret realm, especially people of Wellspring Order. If they go there again, report it immediately. All you need to do is watch from far away. Even if you see only a solitary figure, send word at once."

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