Asher's bleeding had stopped, but his face was still white as paper.
The wound across his abdomen had been temporarily suppressed by Jared's pills, yet the blood loss had left him visibly weak.
He sat on a blue-gray rock in the wilderness, gasping heavily as he looked over his equally battered clansmen, then back at Jared. Complicated emotion filled his eyes.
"Benefactor... I know a place where Demonic Cultivators gather. Neither the celestials nor human cultivators dare enter casually.
"If you don't mind, we can take shelter there for a while."
Weakness roughened Asher's voice, though the sincerity behind it was unmistakable.
Jared agreed at once. "Take us there."
Asher struggled to his feet. Mara and Della moved to either side and supported him.
After checking the direction, he pointed toward a range of mountains to the southeast.
"Beyond those mountains is a place called Black Abyss Valley. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend. Natural barriers of demonic energy surround the area, and celestial cultivators are heavily suppressed once they enter.
"Demonic Cultivators have operated there for centuries. It isn't a large settlement, but it's enough for us to shelter from the storm for now."
"Then let's go." Jared asked no further questions and followed Asher with the others.
Long before Jared's party reached Black Abyss Valley, tension had already settled over the place like a weight.
Several black-robed Demonic Cultivators stood before a dark hall in the center of the valley, their expressions grave as they discussed something in hushed voices.
Above the entrance hung a black banner. A dark-gold flame had been stitched across it, marking the place as territory of the Inferno Devil Descent.
This was the demon council hall.
The council chamber beyond the open doors held seven or eight people already waiting in their seats.
Their robes varied in color. Black baleful energy curled around some of them, blood-red light glowed in others' eyes, and demonic markings covered several faces. Every one of them carried an aura around Level Eight Golden Immortal.
They were leaders of the different Demonic Cultivator factions in the Twentieth Firmament. Normally, each ruled their own territory. The celestial declaration of war had now forced them to gather in the same room.
At the center sat a white-haired elder. His face was aged, but his eyes flashed like lightning. He was a Level Nine Golden Immortal and wore a black robe embroidered with the same dark-gold flame emblem, making his high standing among the Demonic Cultivators obvious.
The elder swept his gaze around the hall before speaking slowly.
"The celestials suddenly declared war, and their bounty order has already spread throughout the Twentieth Firmament. Every one of you leads a faction. Tell me what you think."
The hall was silent for a moment.
Then a middle-aged woman in a blood-red robe spoke, a tremor in her voice.
"The celestials are too strong. Aureon Suncrest is at the peak of Level Nine Golden Immortal and could break through to Grand Zenith Immortal at any time.
"We Demonic Cultivators were already weak in the Twentieth Firmament. Now that the celestials are mobilizing in full force, we can't possibly defeat them..."
A hard-faced man narrowed his eyes. "So what's your proposal?"
"I mean..." The woman gritted her teeth. "Could we send someone to negotiate peace? If they're willing to stop the war, we can pay a price..."
"Negotiate?"
The sinister man slammed a hand against his armrest.
"They want us dead! What exactly are you planning to negotiate with? Your own head?"
"Then what do you suggest?" the woman shot back, her voice rising. "Fight them head-on? With what?
"There are only two or three hundred thousand Demonic Cultivators in the entire Twentieth Firmament, and we can count our Level Nine Golden Immortals on one hand. The celestials alone have dozens of Level Nine elders, and that isn't even counting Aureon Suncrest!"
"We still can't surrender!"
"And if we refuse, we all die!"
"Have you all finished arguing?!"
The white-haired elder slammed the table.
The dull impact rolled through the hall and silenced everyone at once.
His icy gaze swept over them.

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Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance)
Dropping of 4 new chapters a day is too small, please increase it to 10. Thanks...
Josephine's first time seeing Jared kill isn't with Leyton but with Falcon. Pay attention to your work....
You need to correct yourself,dear author. Josephine was in the City of Herbs when she was a kid, so why is the city's smell surprising to her?...
I need more chapters...
When can I get the next chapter...