"Let's begin." His whisper fell like a stone into water, sending quiet ripples through the tower's hush.Jared folded his legs, spine straight, and drew the first verse of the Chaotic Scripture across his mind.The chaotic force inside him rumbled in answer. He swallowed the three pills. Cool medicine burst open, streams of brightness threading into his meridians.The chill soothed his spirit, yet each ribbon also fused with the churning gray energy, making the flow smoother, rounder, more obedient to his will.Snippets of Clive's training lore surfaced—fragmented diagrams, half-understood mantras. Jared sifted them one by one, discarding vanity, keeping the bones of power.Every scrap he kept he measured against the chaos path, letting it sharpen what fit and grind away what did not.Time inside the tower stretched, silent and thick.Beyond the cavern walls only two hours crept by; within, several days drifted past Jared's closed lids.When the final draught of pill energy sank into his core, his aura drew tighter, darker, like a storm cloud packed with charge.No breakthrough, yet his foundation felt like tempered steel, every fracture line hammered flat."Next stop." The single thought rang clean.His eyes opened, light folding back behind the pupils.He dismissed the tower, peeled away the woven wards, and stepped into the frigid passageway.At the mouth Master Frostmere waited, breath pluming. "Did the envoy rest well? Anything else Valley can provide?"Jared offered the barest nod. "Acceptable. I depart for the Sunfire Sect now. Conduct yourselves wisely.""Safe travels, Envoy!" Frostmere bowed until his beard brushed the ice.The whole Profound Ice Valley spilled into the courtyard, heads lowered while the Jade Phoenix carriage climbed the sky. Once the speck vanished, collective shoulders loosened; invisible sweat was wiped from unseen brows.The next destination lay ahead: the Sunfire Sect.The landscape flipped from white to burning red. Rivers of magma pulsed beneath cracked stone, and heat shimmered over jagged peaks.Sect Master Blaze Redflame-a barrel-chested man with a face the color of hot coals-met Jared with a sheepish grin that trembled around the edges.Ceremony matched the valley's: trumpets, bows, forced smiles, fear hiding in every throat.Jared inspected the offerings. Upper-grade crystals, a ledger, and the B12-22 Soul Crystal, its molten aura licking at the jade seals.Then came the private tribute.Blaze presented three stalks of Earthfire Blood Coral and a jug of Flamefire Immortal Brew, heat rolling from both like breath from a furnace."I heard, Envoy, that you were troubled back at the Jade Immortal Manor..." Blaze's words tiptoed out while he pushed the gifts forward, sweat already beading along his hairline.Heat haze shimmers over the obsidian tiles as Master Redflame steps closer, both hands steady yet tense around a narrow jade tray.He keeps his eyes lowered while he whispers, "A few humble items, honored envoy. They might soothe your mind and anchor your spirit, strengthen your realm."Jared lets a cold snort scrape his throat, the sound sharp as iron on stone.He sweeps the tray into his sleeve without a glance, allowing his face to darken another shade, the look of a man recently ambushed and still seething.The sect master flinches, sweat blooming along his temples. "Please, Envoy, set your mind at ease. Sunfire Sect has never failed its tribute.""We have readied the safest chamber for your seclusion," he adds, voice dropping, "No outsider will come within ten walls."The offer of dancers hovers unsaid, floating like smoke in the heated hall.Catching Jared's grim expression, Master Redflame merely bows deeper, a faint gesture of invitation that promises women on a nod, yet holds the words behind clenched teeth.Jared ignores the signal; the only thing he needs is that locked room.Soon scorching winds give way to thick stone corridors. He follows a servant torch into the volcano's gut, arriving at a basalt door rimmed with molten cracks.Inside, heat pounds like drums, yet the spiritual seals hold the walls firm. Jared lays formations, then slips into the Pentacarna Tower.Crimson coral floats before him, veins of lava gleaming. He channels chaotic force; colors whirl, break, dissolve into clear motes that seep through his meridians, bathing each node with raw life and fire. He uncorks, the Flamefire Immortal Brew. One burning swallow rolls down, spreading a mellow blaze that rushes along bone and bloodtempering muscle like steel pulled from the forge. Time inside the tower stretches, day bleeding into unseen night as cultivation threads every breath.When he finally stills, his flesh hums—denser, tougher—each flex sending a quiet crackle through the air.Exiting the sect gates, Jared stepsonto the carriage. Below, MasterRedflame and thousands ofnoveldramadisciples kneel on scorchingflägstones, foreheads nearly kissingthe rock. Their silent plea is obvious-may this temperamental envoy leave without disaster.Jared points the Jade Phoenix carriage toward the endless green rising on the horizon. The towering canopy of Greenwood Gate calls like a cool breeze.Hours later, trunks the width of palaces loom around the landing platform; moss- sweet air carries birdsong and resin.Fairy Greenleaf glides forward, a mature grace in every gesture, dark hair pinned with jade leaves that quiver softly.After formalities, she lifts a slim wooden case and a crystal vial. Ten-Millennia Greenwood Spirit Marrow gleams pale gold; three Vitality Genesis Pills rest besideit."Envoy, your complexion surpasses even last year; your cultivation, truly splendid." Her voice rings gentle, admiration threading each syllable.Smiling, she continues, "A modest token from Greenwood Gate. We have prepared a Yinwood Spirit Grotto-quiet, secluded, perfect for regulating your breath." Though rumors of Jade Immortal Manor swirl, she never alludes to them; only serenity fills her lowered gaze.Jared accepts everything without protest. Guided through hollowed roots into the tree's heart, he arrays sigils, then vanishes into the Pentacarna Tower once more.Thick emerald liquid spirals above his palm; life energy pulses so rich it perfumes the air. He folds it into his core, following with the gentle glow of each pill. The nutrients stitch tiny fissures left by frantic cultivation, sharpening mind and marrow alike until spirit gleams like polished crystal.Chaos and vitality mesh, destruction and growth swirling in balanced tide.When he steps from the grotto, power steadies at Heavenly Immortal ninth grade, a breath away from the upper realm.His aura flows smooth as river glass, free of the hollowness that plagues rushedascents.Feeling that boundless calm, Fairy Greenleaf lowers her eyes, reverence softening every feature as she escorts him to the carriage.Thus Jared, masked as Clive, rides the skies city after city, the Jade Phoenix carriage blazing a royal path.Wherever he descends, sect masters line the forecourts, backs bent, voices trembling, gifts stacked like mountains.Spirit stones that sang, roots that bled starlight, even flawless cultivatrices wrapped in silk—all pushed forward with quivering hands.Jared's only price is solitude. A sealed chamber, always. Behind its barriers he slips into the tower, grinding every tribute into personal strength.One outside hour becomes several inside. Endless cycles of breath and stillness stretch beneath the tower's colored skies.Supply after supply pours in, and the chaotic force devours each flavor, weavingthem into an ever-thickening lattice of power.Eventually, pressure knots at his core, then releases—a silent bloom that lifts him tothe pinnacle of Heavenly Immortal ninth grade.One more push, he thinks, and the next realm will break like thin ice."Good. Time to greet the four venerables of Divine Punishment Hall." The silent words flare with anticipation.Strength floods his limbs, crisp and obedient, and his confidence surges to match.