Chapter 209: Jiang Die’s Escape (Third Watch)

"Ahh!"

A scream erupted from Jiang Die's mouth.

Jiang Die had finally broken free from the seal. No matter how powerful the seal was, it would weaken as its caster perished.

Moreover, Jiang Dingtian had not yet reached the level where his Dao would endure despite his death.

Covered in blood.

Exhausted.

Jiang Die knelt on the ground, her trembling hands barely supporting her body.

Recover—she needed to recover.

But she dared not do so here, for she had no idea when Jiang Dingtian might return.

If he came back before she escaped, she would lose all hope of ever leaving.

Forcing herself to gather her remaining strength, Jiang Die pressed her fingers against her battered body in several spots, unleashing every last ounce of her potential in that moment.

She felt no pain, and her combat power returned to its peak.

However, this method would undoubtedly have severe side effects afterward.

Yet Jiang Die could no longer afford to care about herself.

She fled the secret chamber, suppressing her aura to the bare minimum. The moment she emerged, she heard the piercing screams.

Shouts of alarm rose one after another.

"Elder!"

"Patriarch!"

The sound of wailing filled the air, thick with despair.

Jiang Die?

Originally intending to leave immediately, Jiang Die halted in her tracks, her expression shifting between uncertainty and unease.

What was happening?

Why were they crying out in such agony?

And aside from these voices, there wasn’t a trace of any powerful auras within the entire Jiang family.

Something was very wrong with the Jiang family right now.

Gritting her teeth, Jiang Die cautiously crept toward the source of the wailing.

The ancestral hall’s doors were open.

Jiang Die’s pupils constricted sharply.

All the younger generation of the Jiang family were kneeling before the ancestral hall, weeping uncontrollably, too overwhelmed by grief to notice Jiang Die’s presence.

The soul lamps… had gone out?

All extinguished?

Jiang Die's face instantly lit up with wild joy, but halfway through her elation, she suddenly remembered that these people seemed to have died at Lu Ye's hands, and her smile froze.

Never mind, no time to dwell on it.

First, raid the Jiang family's treasure vault and take everything!

Jiang Die slipped away silently and entered the Jiang family's treasure vault. Normally, it would be guarded by at least three Unity Realm experts, but now, not a soul was in sight.

Many treasures still had restrictions, but Jiang Die broke every seal she could and took everything within reach. Then, at top speed, she rushed into the alchemy pavilion, gathering all the resources she needed.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a deafening explosion rang out.

A Unity Realm expert shrouded in black mist had appeared and launched an attack on the Jiang family's grand formation.

His reaction was swift—learning of the Jiang family's fallen experts, he immediately sought to plunder everything.

But the formation was already activated.

The Jiang family's protective barrier wasn't so easily breached.

Even with a Unity Realm expert attacking at full force, it would take a long time to break through.

"Damn it, they reacted so quickly!"

The Unity Realm expert cursed in frustration.

Still, he continued bombarding the formation. With no strong defenders left in the Jiang family, he was determined to see how long the barrier could hold.

Hearing the explosions, the Jiang family's younger generation had no time to mourn. Wiping away their tears, they rushed to reinforce the formation's foundation, ensuring its stability.

They knew the real test for the Jiang family had just begun. Survival depended on how long the formation could last—the longer it held, the greater their chance of avoiding total annihilation.

The Jiang family had allies.

The Eternal Sect and the Wang family were both their allies. Though the Jiang family's strongest had perished in the Third Heaven, in the Fourth Heaven, Fifth Heaven, and beyond, the three factions stood united.

With the Jiang family of the Third Heaven in crisis, the other two powers wouldn't abandon them—doing so would be inexcusable in the Fourth Heaven.

Jiang Die's expression darkened.

A Unity Realm expert?

Her hopes of escaping might now be dashed.

Did the rest of the Jiang family even know she had been imprisoned by Jiang Dingtian?

Did it matter?

Whether they knew or not seemed irrelevant now—within the formation, she was the strongest.

And her understanding of formations far surpassed anyone else's. If she helped the Jiang family survive this calamity, the position of Patriarch would still be hers.

Then, all the Jiang family's resources would rightfully be at her disposal!

First—recover!

Jiang Die sat cross-legged, swallowing precious elixirs to begin recovering from her injuries.

Almost just two minutes later, a second Unity Realm expert clad in red arrived, his features obscured. The two Unity Realm experts exchanged glances.

Without a word, they tacitly refrained from attacking each other and instead continued their frenzied assault on the formation. With two Unity Realm experts striking simultaneously, the Jiang family's grand formation began to ripple under the strain.

This world had no shortage of clever individuals.

At this moment, Lu Ye was already on his way.

The attacks persisted.

Soon, a third Unity Realm expert appeared.

"How dare you attack the Jiang family now! Do you not fear retribution from the Jiang family in the Fourth Heaven?" Jiang Tianxin roared furiously.

No one paid her any heed.

They had already come here—did they not consider the possibility of retribution?

Retribution would require identifying the perpetrators first.

Once they breached the formation, would the Jiang family even have any survivors left?

Of course not!

Thus, the Jiang family must be eradicated today!

A fifth, then a sixth Unity Realm expert arrived.

They aimed to annihilate the Jiang family completely before the Eternal Sect and the Wang family could react.

Of course, it was also possible that among these six Unity Realm experts were members of the Eternal Sect and the Wang family.

Everyone concealed their identities—who could truly discern friend from foe?

Cracks began to spread across the formation's foundations.

The younger generation of the Jiang family had no idea what to do.

Despair weighed heavily on their hearts.

Was the Jiang family truly doomed to perish today?

"I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I could become a supreme expert in the future—I could even ascend as an Emperor!" someone wailed in despair.

Hmm... For someone who could say such things, the only way they’d ever become an Emperor was if Lu Ye carried them there.

"From this moment onward, everyone obeys my commands!" Jiang Die finally appeared, declaring loudly.

All eyes turned toward her.

"The first task now—replace the formation’s foundations! I’ve retrieved new formation cores from the Formation Pavilion. Fill them with spirit stones and swap them out immediately!"

"Now, everyone who doesn't want to die, move immediately!"

"The second task: contact the Fourth Heaven at once and have the Upper Realm notify the Eternal Sect and the Wang Family, ordering their forces in the Third Heaven to send reinforcements!"

"The third task: awaken the Ancestral Artifact!"

"Jiang Tianxin, take thirty elites with you immediately to replace the array foundations. You will oversee the entire replacement process—can you do it?" Jiang Die demanded with commanding authority, her voice ringing out.

Jiang Tianxin's lips trembled slightly.

She knew this was a moment of life and death.

"Yes!"

"Good!"

"Jiang Qingyun, you will contact the Upper Realm. Do you know how?"

"I don’t..."

"Go to the ancestral hall and burn the Heaven-Piercing Incense—three sticks will connect to the Upper Realm!"

"Everyone else, follow me to summon the Ancestral Artifact!"

It was all remarkably well-organized.