The King Of Warriors novel (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6456

By evening on the third day, the setting sun had slanted low, and dusk gathered from every side.

"Jared held onto the last thread of strength he had and descended onto the hillock.

He meant to rest there for a short while, to gather whatever little power remained, even if it was only for a moment."

"His mind had gone hazy.

His sight blurred at the edges. He had already reached the end of the line."

"Just as that last road seemed to vanish beneath him, clear footsteps suddenly reached his ears.

They came steady and orderly, moving straight toward the hillock."

Someone was there.

A living, breathing cultivator.

"Jared's soul gave a slight jolt.

His awareness sharpened by a few degrees at once. A faint chance lit in the dark, and he hurried to lift his gaze."

"On a winding path in the distance, a young cultivator in a plain gray daoist robe walked slowly toward him.

His features were clean and gentle, his age a little over twenty, and there was something steady and unclouded about him."

"His cultivation held firmly at the peak of True Immortal Realm Level Nine.

He stood only one step from Golden Immortal. His foundation was solid, and his aura carried the clean weight of a righteous path."

"The cultivator held the weathered Brazen Soulglass in both hands.

Faint spiritual light flowed over the mirror's surface, its dim glow sweeping across the four directions as he searched along the way for strange signs in the world and traces of spirit fluctuations. He was clearly a disciple sent out by an order for duty, training, and patrol through the Wastelands."

"As the young cultivator drew closer, the spiritual light on the mirror suddenly flared hard.

The glow surged, locked precisely onto Jared's violet soul atop the hillock, and showed an unmistakable reaction."

"The cultivator's steps stopped cold.

His face shifted as he followed the mirror's guidance and quickly came forward. His gaze landed on the floating violet light, and doubt crowded his expression as he murmured under his breath, ""In the depths of the Wastelands, where there isn't a soul around, a whole True Immortal soul appears out of nowhere?"""

"The laws of the Seventeenth Firmament were violent enough to erode and scatter an ordinary spirit in moments. How could this soul survive here on its own? Strange. Truly strange."

"Curiosity pulled him in.

He crouched down and studied the violet soul closely, then reached out as if to touch it and probe what lay behind it."

"But the instant his fingertips came near, the Aureate Codex's protective golden radiance lit on its own.

A soft yet forceful rebound burst outward and knocked his fingers away, cutting off his probe and allowing no contact."

"The surprise in the young cultivator's eyes deepened.

Then a trace of delight flashed through them. Protected by divine arms, this spirit was no ordinary thing. It was absolutely not some common wandering cultivator's remnant soul. Most likely, it carried a great opportunity. If he brought it back to the order, there would surely be merit in it."

"He did not try to touch it recklessly again.

Instead, he quickly took a Messaging Jade Slip from inside his robe and lowered his head, reporting the strange encounter in the Wastelands in a fast, quiet voice. The jade slip flashed with spiritual light, turned into a streak of radiance, and tore through the air, carrying an urgent message to the Sect Master."

"Once that was done, he crouched down again.

His voice softened as he spoke to the spirit. ""I don't know whether Senior can hear my words clearly, but I mean no harm. I am a disciple of the Wellspring Order of the North. My surname is Ashford, and my given name is Julian."""

"Senior's spirit is extraordinary, and you carry the relic. My Sect Master is widely learned and deeply cultivated. He will surely be able to protect Senior's spirit and help nourish and heal you."

"Senior, please wait here in peace. I will return at once to report to the Sect Master. Within half an hour, I will certainly be back. There will be no delay."

"When he finished speaking, Julian turned and left at a quick pace.

His shadowing figure soon disappeared into the dusk over the Wastelands."

"Jared remained suspended where he was.

The thoughts inside him would not settle, and under the strain of uncertainty, a strong chance still caught fire at last."

"The Wellspring Order was a righteous order.

Perhaps this place truly could save his life. Perhaps it truly could help him rebuild his body."

Less than half an hour later, footsteps came again.

"Julian had returned.

"Master Wellspring put the soul-restoring phial away and tucked it close against himself.

Then he turned with his disciple and set off at once, moving quickly toward the gatehouse of Wellspring Order."

"Wellspring Order stood in the northern heartland of the Seventeenth Firmament.

Mountains ringed it on every side, spiritual essence gathered there naturally, and a Dragon Vein stretched through the land beneath it."

"The order was not large.

It claimed only 100 miles of land. It had none of the celestials' golden splendor, and none of Pole Star Hall's crushing grandeur."

"Its mountain gate was built from flagstone, simple and old-fashioned.

The buildings inside were plain and clean. Everywhere carried the same restrained steadiness, the foundation of an order that sought the Way in quiet, stayed apart from worldly struggle, and cultivated in peace."

"Master Wellspring returned with the spirit and did not stop for even a moment.

He avoided the eyes of the order's disciples and went straight into the forbidden rear precinct, all the way into the deepest closed inner chamber."

"The walls of the hidden chamber were covered in high-order soulwarding sigils.

They sealed sound, locked away aura, blocked probing senses, and kept the place hidden, stable, and absolutely safe."

"At the center of the hidden chamber stood a natural warm-jade dais.

On it, a green aetherstone shone without fading. Gentle spiritual essence poured through the room in an endless stream, nourishing the spirit and stabilizing the surrounding aura."

"Master Wellspring set the soul-restoring phial gently on the stone dais.

Then he sat cross-legged, gathered his focus, quieted himself, and sent a mild thread of spirit sense into the phial with great care."

His tone was calm, steady, and courteous. "Fellow Daoist, you are now inside the sealed chamber of Wellspring Order. There is no danger here. You may answer in peace. Can you hear this old man's voice?"

The violet soul brightened faintly and answered in a low voice, "Yes."

"May this old man ask your name? What realm do you come from? And why have you drifted alone into the Seventeenth Firmament with only a wisp of soul remaining?" Master Wellspring asked slowly, his manner modest, without the slightest airs of a Golden Immortal adept.

"My name is Jared. I came from the Sixteenth Firmament. Enemies hunted me down, destroyed my body, and left me with only this wisp of soul drifting here." Jared's voice stayed level, rising and falling without a ripple. After life and death, honor, disgrace, wounds, and pain had all been worn down to something distant.

"The Sixteenth Firmament? The borderlands of the Lower Realm." Master Wellspring's brows drew together slightly, and a low weight entered his voice. "For a cultivator from the Lower Realm to cross into a higher firmament and fall into such a dead end is no easy thing. May this old man ask which power sent the adept who hunted you and destroyed your body?"