The door to the flying ship opened, and John hopped out without hesitation. His eyes locked onto Zeras in the far distance, and his rage instantly boiled up once more. He felt the overwhelming desire to rush over and brutally beat Zeras to death. Without John realizing, his hatred for Zeras had already reached the level of his hatred for Asuros.
Having his two most hated enemies in the world standing in the same arena as him was almost too much for him to bear without taking action, but he barely managed to maintain his calm. He knew that even if he rushed over, he would be stopped by the artifact spirit.
Chime!
A soft chime sounded out within the arena, followed by the artifact spirit speaking.
"The allocated resting period is now over. Please gather by me for the explanation of the next trial," it said as a figure suddenly materialized in the center of the arena. It was a golem, made of silver-colored stone, without any features at all.
For such a powerful artifact spirit, it was very plain and unassuming. The eight cultivators all did as instructed, and quickly made their way towards the artifact spirit. John felt his rage grow as he neared both Asuros and Zeras, both who exchanged gazes with him.
As expected, Asuros' gaze was of equal hatred, while Zeras looked at John with an amused expression.
On their way towards the artifact spirit, Zeras veered towards them, and cut them off before they could reach the golem.
"It seems like you two exchanged some stories," Zeras said as John and Lilian stared at him. Based on John's gaze, it was easy for Zeras to discern that Lilian had told him about the events of the past.
Lilian frowned with disgusted displeasure as she stared at the one who had betrayed her, while John once more felt the urge to rush over and kill the man.
"Since you two shared a story, allow me to do so as well," Zeras said, the amused expression on his face persisting, as if he were thoroughly enjoying everything.
Both John and Lilian didn't wish to hear him speak, but could do nothing to stop him from doing so. Smiling at their silence, Zeras started speaking again.
"You see, my story is about a miraculous event that happened many years ago. A story of a miserable little ball of soul and life, that somehow clung to existence against all odds," Zeras said, causing the expressions on their faces to darken again. His story was no doubt about what happened after Lilian separated her soul in two halves.
"That miserable ball of life managed to defy heavenly law, and did not fade away," he continued. "Instead, it fought and fought and fought to survive. It fought long enough for father and I to take it back to the capital city, and fought long enough for us to learn how to make it…make her, grow anew."
Zeras paused for a moment, as if expecting an outburst from either John or Lilian, but raised an eyebrow when both remained silent. However, their murderous gazes were more than enough information for what they were feeling about Zeras at the moment. His smile widened for a moment again, and he continued.
"It took a small fortune to construct the formations needed to sustain the soul and help it grow, but grow it did," Zeras continued. "Of course, this was only possible in the first place due to the unique nature of that soul, but that's besides the point. The process took years, but eventually the soul was able to turn the nourishment we provided it into a new body…and you should know the rest," Zeras said, finishing his story.
"We thought you had killed yourself in a botched attempt to free yourself from your bindings, but to think you actually managed to succeed. You'll have to tell me how you did it someday," Zeras said before walking towards the artifact spirit again, as if John and Lilian no longer interested him.
Both of them stared at Zeras with gazes that could kill, and both did their best to control their urge to attack him.
"You better kill him in the most painful way imaginable," John growled softly, to which Lilian huffed and began walking towards the golem as well.
"I don't need you to tell me that," she said without looking back.
"Good," John said, and followed his master towards the golem as well.
They arrived by artifact spirit, who started speaking again now that all eight cultivators were gathered around it.
"The next trial shall begin shortly, and only one of you shall be allowed to proceed onwards once it is concluded," the artifact spirit said. The expressions of the eight cultivators changed, as this truly was the last trial. Of the eight of them, only one would be able to move onwards towards the real treasure contained within the realm.
…
In another place, far away from the Divine Source Monastery, two figures were standing next to each other within a regal throne room.
"To think you would request such a thing," the Astral Emperor said, his voice tinged with amusement. "I figured the happenings within the realm would be beneath you."
"Do not test my patience," the Asuraic creature growled, his deep voice shaking the throne room.
"Fine, fine," the Astral Emperor waved his hand flippantly, as if the Asura's presence did not scare him at all.
"I suppose I have taken an interest in the realm as well. After all, my precious daughter who I have not seen for over a decade is within," the Astral Emperor added, as his power began to climb and his hands began to move in a strange way in the air before him.
A thick aura of the spatial Dao, as well as other profound Dao's began to emanate from the Astral Emperor, and after some time, a circular void of spatial energy appeared before him and the Asura. The void grew larger and larger, and after a short while, grew to be five feet across.
The circular void shifted and changed, and then suddenly cleared up, revealing something on the other side; the martial arena within the Divine Source Monastery realm, and the eight cultivators within. A satisfied smile appeared on the Astral Emperor's face as he stared at the spatial screen before him, his eyes locked onto Lilian.
"That was harder than I thought it would be. The Divine Source Monastery truly deserves its reputation," the Astral Emperor said, shifting his gaze to the Asura next to him. "But this is as much as I can do. All we can do is peer into the realm. Entering physically is not possible."
A snort of acknowledgement boomed out of the Asuraic creature, whose narrowed and murderous gaze never left the screen for a second. A gaze that was firmly locked onto John.
