“Ahhh!”
A shrill scream burst from Jiang Die’s mouth.
Jiang Die had finally broken free from the seal. No matter how powerful a seal was, it would weaken once its caster perished.
Besides, Jiang Dingtian had yet to reach the level where the person may die, but their Dao still persists.
She was covered in blood.
Utterly exhausted.
Jiang Die collapsed to her knees, both hands propping up her trembling body.
She had to recover. She needed to recover.
But she didn’t dare do it here—because she didn’t know when Jiang Dingtian might return.
If Jiang Dingtian came back before she escaped, she would never have another chance to flee again.
Forcing herself to remain conscious, Jiang Die tapped several points across her battered and bloodied body. At that moment, all her dormant potential erupted.
She could no longer feel pain, and her combat power instantly returned to peak state.
Of course, this kind of method would definitely come with severe consequences later.
But Jiang Die no longer had the luxury of caring about that.
She fled from the secret chamber, suppressing her aura to the absolute minimum. Just as she emerged—she heard those piercing screams.
One shout after another rang through the air.
“Elder!”
“Clan Head!”
Wails of grief resounded endlessly, filled with despair.
Jiang Die?
Originally, Jiang Die had planned to escape immediately—but she halted mid-step. Her expression turned dark and conflicted.
What was going on?
Why were they screaming like that?
And aside from those cries, she didn’t sense a single powerful aura anywhere in the Jiang Clan.
The current Jiang Clan—was abnormally quiet.
Jiang Die gritted her teeth and cautiously crept toward the source of the wailing.
The ancestral hall doors were open.
Jiang Die’s pupils constricted violently.
All of the Jiang Clan’s younger generation were kneeling and weeping before the ancestral hall, unable to accept the truth—so much so that none of them even noticed her.
The soul-lamps... were extinguished?
All extinguished?
Jiang Die’s face immediately twisted into a look of uncontrollable ecstasy. But halfway into that smile, she suddenly remembered that all those people had likely died at Lu Ye’s hands—and the smile froze on her lips.
Forget it. That can wait.
First, she needed to raid the Jiang Clan’s treasury—empty it completely.
Jiang Die slipped away silently and entered the treasury. Where once there had been at least three Unity Realm cultivators guarding the vault, now there wasn’t a single soul.
Many of the treasures were protected by restrictions. Jiang Die broke every one she could, looted everything she could carry, and then rushed into the Pill Pavilion at top speed, collecting every resource she needed.
Boom!
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rang out.
A figure cloaked in black mist—another Unity Realm cultivator—had arrived and was already launching an attack on the Jiang Clan’s protective formation.
His reaction speed was impressive. Upon hearing that all the Jiang Clan’s powerhouses had fallen, he immediately decided to come loot them clean.
But the grand formation had already been activated.
And the Jiang Clan’s guardian formation—how could it «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» be broken so easily?
Even with a Unity Realm cultivator going all-out, it would take quite some time to break through.
“Damn it! You people react this fast?” the Unity Realm cultivator cursed furiously.
Still, it didn’t stop him from pounding away at the formation. With the Jiang Clan defenseless, he wanted to see just how long the barrier could hold.
The Jiang juniors, hearing the booming outside, had no time left for grief. Wiping away their tears, they rushed toward the formation base, doing everything they could to maintain the array’s integrity.
They all knew—this was the true test for the Jiang Clan. Whether they survived or perished would depend entirely on how long the formation could hold.
The Jiang Clan had allies.
The Eternal Teachings Sect and the Wang Clan were their sworn allies. Even if all the Jiang experts in the Third Heaven had been wiped out, the three families still stood together in the Fourth and Fifth Heavens and beyond.
The Jiang Clan’s fall in the Third Heaven—those other two forces would act. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to justify it in the Fourth Heaven.
—
Jiang Die’s expression darkened.
A Unity Realm expert?
Then her plan to flee might already be ruined.
Did the rest of the Jiang Clan even know that she’d been imprisoned by Jiang Dingtian?
Did they?
Whether they did or not didn’t really matter—because right now, she was the strongest one inside the formation.
And her understanding of the formation absolutely surpassed the others. If she helped the Jiang Clan survive this calamity, the position of Clan Head would naturally fall to her.
At that point, all of the Jiang Clan’s resources would be hers—legitimately.
First, recover.
Jiang Die sat down cross-legged. Precious recovery pills went straight into her mouth as she began to heal her wounds.
Barely two minutes later, a second Unity Realm cultivator arrived, clad in red, his face obscured. The two Unity Realm experts exchanged glances.
No words were spoken—but they silently agreed not to fight one another. They continued attacking the formation in perfect sync. With both of them bombarding it, the Jiang Clan’s protective formation began to visibly ripple.
In this world, there were plenty of clever people.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was already on his way back.
The assault continued.
Soon, a third Unity Realm expert appeared.
“You dare attack the Jiang Clan now? Aren’t you afraid of being hunted down in the Fourth Heaven when the Jiang Clan comes to settle accounts with you!?” Jiang Tianxin shouted furiously.
No one responded.
They’d already made their move—did she really think they hadn’t considered the consequences?
Even if there was a reckoning, they’d first have to figure out who did it.
And once the formation broke—would there even be any survivors in the Jiang Clan?
Of course not!
Therefore, the Jiang Clan must perish today.
A fifth... a sixth Unity Realm cultivator appeared.
They had to act before the Eternal Teachings Sect or the Wang Clan could respond—now was the time to exterminate the Jiang Clan utterly.
Of course, it was also possible that some of these six Unity Realm cultivators were from the Eternal Teachings Sect or the Wang Clan.
Everyone concealed their identities. Who could say what kind of monsters or demons hid beneath the surface?
One after another, cracks began appearing in the formation nodes.
The younger generation of the Jiang Clan had no idea what to do.
Despair gripped their hearts.
Was the Jiang Clan truly doomed to complete destruction today?
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I could’ve become a top-tier powerhouse! I could’ve ascended to become a Dao Emperor in the future!”
Someone broke down, wailing.
Mmm... honestly, anyone who said something like that out loud—well, becoming a Dao Emperor was only possible if Lu Ye dragged you there himself.
“From this moment on, everyone follows my orders!”
Jiang Die finally appeared, shouting loudly.
One by one, heads turned toward her.
“First! Replace the formation bases! I’ve already retrieved new ones from the Formation Pavilion. Fill them with spirit stones and swap them out immediately!
“Right now! If you don’t want to die, move!
“Second! Contact the Fourth Heaven. Tell the upper realm to alert the Eternal Teachings Sect and the Wang Clan—force their Third Heaven branches to send reinforcements!”
“Third! Awaken the Ancestor Weapon!”
“Jiang Tianxin, take thirty elite disciples and handle the replacement of all formation bases. Every single one of them is your responsibility. Can you do it?” Jiang Die commanded with natural authority.
Jiang Tianxin’s lips trembled.
She knew—this was life or death.
“I can!”
“Good!”
“Jiang Qingyun, you go contact the upper realm. You know how, right?”
“...No...”
“Then go to the ancestral hall and burn the Heaven-Linking Incense. Three sticks can connect to the upper realm.”
“Everyone else, come with me to awaken the Ancestor Weapon!”
It was all moving in a clear, orderly rhythm.
