Closer and closer.
Closer and closer.
The Fragrance of Attaining the Dao was entirely unaffected by the formation arrays. Its aroma spread just as richly as ever.
The five men were still discussing among themselves—
When suddenly, one of the elders twitched his nose.
Fragrance?
What fragrance?
In the next moment, all five of them caught a whiff of that scent. Their eyes were instantly dyed with a blood-red hue of greed.
So fragrant.
So fragrant. So fragrant. So fragrant!
It seemed to be the scent coming off Lu Ye’s body. If they could obtain the source of that fragrance, they would attain the Dao. They would become the most exalted beings in existence.
“Heh... heh... the formation still isn’t broken!”
Jiang Benchuo's willpower was slightly stronger than the rest. He managed to maintain a sliver of self-control.
But the others—were already too far gone.
A terrifying urgency rose unbidden in their minds—an urge so intense, they would abandon everything, even their lives, to obey it.
“I’m coming!”
In a flash, one of the Three-Life Realm cultivators charged straight into the formation.
Hot on his heels—the second. Then the third.
Even Jiang Jiu couldn’t hold himself back and dove in.
Jiang Benchuo’s eyes filled with despair. He tried to flee—but a boundless will surged within him, screaming: Go after him. Find him. Devour him!
Devour him!
Devour him!
Devour him!
“AAARGHHH!!”
Jiang Benchuo let out a furious roar and hurtled into the formation in madness.
Until his figure completely disappeared into the array.
All three formations lit up at once in dazzling brilliance. The originally broken formations erupted with renewed power.
Yes—Lu Ye had repaired all three formation arrays.
While it was impossible to restore them to full capacity, he’d managed to recover seventy percent of the Three-Valley Forbidden Formation’s power.
Seventy percent...
No one in the Third Heaven could possibly withstand that.
In just moments—before they even caught sight of Lu Ye—the two Unity Realm cultivators and the three Three-Life Realm experts were all refined to death.
See? It really was easy.
Killing and fighting were often two very different things.
Fighting depended on one's personal strength.
Killing depended on everything.
Jiang Clan.
Five soul-lamps went out at the same time.
“Thud!”
The Jiang clansman responsible for watching the soul-lamps collapsed on the spot in fright, his face full of disbelief.
No!
No!
What—what is this?
“The Fourth Elder has fallen! The Eighth Elder too! This is a catastrophe! A disaster!”
His cry echoed throughout the entire Jiang Clan.
In an instant, formidable auras stirred across the clan as cultivators rapidly awakened, their faces marked with stunned disbelief.
What kind of insane news was this?
It had to be fake—right?
The Fourth Elder was Unity Realm, Fifth Layer, top-tier even ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ in the Third Heaven. And now you're telling us... he’s dead?
Not just the Fourth Elder—he and the Eighth Elder had gone out together, along with three peak Three-Life Realm cultivators—and all five of them died?
One figure after another appeared.
They stared at the five extinguished soul-lamps... and the names beneath each one.
Many people felt a chill in their hearts.
It really felt like... something catastrophic was about to happen.
How could this be?
Why did this happen?
That Lu Ye was only in the Destiny Realm—even if he pushed himself to the absolute limit, it shouldn’t be possible for him to kill a single Three-Life Realm cultivator—let alone someone in Unity Realm!
“Did all five soul-lamps go out at the same time?”
The Second Elder asked loudly.
“Y-yes... they all went out together...”
All at once?
There was no one in the Third Heaven who could kill so many elites in a single strike.
Then how had he done it?
“What do we do?”
“It looks like... we’ll have to inform the Patriarch. This has already gone beyond what we can handle,” the First Elder sighed heavily.
“The Patriarch’s been in secluded cultivation lately—why did it have to be now of all times...”
“Watch your tongue! The Patriarch’s affairs are not for you to criticize!”
Everyone spoke over each other in anxious discussion.
In the end, they decided they had no choice but to inform the Patriarch.
The Sky Bell rang again.
This time, the bell’s toll was urgent—waking Jiang Dingtian from his enlightenment state.
Incredible.
Jiang Dingtian felt as though he’d opened a new door to the universe.
Simply by studying cultivation techniques, he’d fallen into deep enlightenment. Every word of scripture was imbued with the true laws of Heaven and Earth.
Even if the scriptures weren’t suited to his path, he could still glean insight from them—drawing connections, triggering epiphanies.
His Dao was growing steadily.
His aura grew denser and denser.
Sometimes, Jiang Dingtian even felt it was a disgrace that such divine scriptures had been stored in Jiang Die’s brain.
To think her mind contained so much profound knowledge—yet her results were so pathetic. Absolutely shameful!
Jiang Dingtian truly didn’t want to end his closed-door cultivation.
But the Sky Bell kept ringing—urgently.
He was, after all, the head of the Jiang Clan. After checking once more to ensure the seals on Jiang Die remained intact, Jiang Dingtian finally left her side for the first time and stepped out of his chamber.
“What is it? Why the panic?” Jiang Dingtian asked irritably.
“Patriarch, the Fourth Elder and the Eighth Elder, along with three peak Three-Life Realm experts... have perished!” the First Elder said with helpless gravity.
Even though Jiang Dingtian already guessed the Sky Bell meant something serious—upon hearing the full report, his eyelid still twitched.
Two Unity Realm cultivators. Three Three-Life Realm cultivators.
Dead?
He hadn’t even been in seclusion that long...
“What was the cause?” Jiang Dingtian asked coldly.
No matter how many died, he couldn’t allow himself to panic.
“They were pursuing Lu Ye. He lured them into the Three-Valley Forbidden Grounds, where they were killed by the array formations.”
That the cause could be discovered so quickly showed just how terrifyingly efficient the Jiang Clan was across the heavens.
“Pursuing Lu Ye...”
Jiang Dingtian let out a long sigh.
This was the terror of a Heaven’s Chosen. With grand destiny on his side, you never knew how, or where, death would come.
“Did Lu Ye appear after the killings?” he asked.
“No.”
“Seems there’s no room left for negotiation, then. If that’s the case—go all out. Summon the Ancestral Artifact!”
“Yes!”
The crowd’s morale surged.
With the clan's Ancestral Artifact in hand—and the Jiang Clan going all in—Lu Ye was as good as dead!
Suddenly, one person twitched his nose.
Huh?
Where was that fragrance coming from?
It wasn’t just him. Nearly everyone present caught a whiff of it.
So fragrant!
So fragrant. So fragrant. So fragrant!
All eyes turned toward the direction of the scent.
There stood a tall young man in dark robes, long black hair draped over his shoulders.
That overwhelmingly enticing fragrance was clearly coming from him.
It was the first time any of them had seen him in person—
But his face had long since been burned into their memories.
It was on too many wanted posters to count.
Lu Ye.
Dozens of eyes turned blood-red.
As they inhaled that scent, an infinite, overwhelming greed and madness flooded their hearts.
Lu Ye gave a faint smile.
“Come on—come die.”
