Chapter 5724

When Jared’s legions darkened the skies above their valley, the sect defense formation ignited from peak to peak. Countless disciples stood upon the walls, faces taut, spell-sigils swirling like constellations around their clenched fists.

At their head strode the white-haired sect master-a man whose cultivation teetered at the pinnacle of Heavenly Immortal Level Three. Behind him, the elder council fanned out like a living phalanx.

“Jared Chance!”

The old master clasped his hands, voice steady yet edged with iron. “Your deeds have reached even our quiet halls. That statue embodies our lineage and the very luck of our gates. We cannot surrender it. Should you press the matter, every soul beneath this roof will fight until neither jade nor bone remains intact.”

A roar answered him-thousands of disciples in flawless unison. Magecraft speared upward, weaving their defiance into a single, unbroken banner of will. Ancient they were, proud, and here they would make their stand.

Jared regarded the tableau-ranks set, shields humming, hearts ablaze—with an expression as calm as moonlit glass. He lifted one palm. From it drifted the Bloodsoul Orb, now swirling with crimson so dense it looked molten.

Within, the Vermilion Demon Lord’s soulfire had swollen to a knife-edge threshold. All it lacked was one final draught- the pure, founder-forged soul energy sealed inside that alabaster statue-to trigger the rebirth of an ancient body waiting to claw its way back into the world.