The four remained silent for some time, heads bowed with pain. Thunderzen breathed in deeply, the others staring at him for guidance of what to do next.
"Our goal was achieved," Thunderzen said, his words heavy with emotion. "Now we will lie low here, until they return. We have done all we can."
The others nodded, Thunderzen's gaze shifting upwards through the ocean and towards the stars above. Somewhere out there, a world was about to experience the arrival of a pinnacle genius, one that would no doubt throw the world into turmoil.
…
In the Divine Source Monastery, the Grand Abbot stared forward into nothingness, his gaze grim and tense. His grim gaze finally relaxed, a deep sigh escaping his lips, his eyes closing for a moment. He opened them a short while later and glanced to the side.
To his side was a face scrunched up with nervous worry, beautiful yet concerned. Laia's hands, clasped together tightly, rested on her chest, her gaze locked onto the Grand Abbot. The Grand Abbot smiled softly.
"He escaped, child," he said to her warmly. "Both of them did. They are safe."
A sigh of relief escaped Laia's lips, a mountainous weight on her shoulders vanishing. A radiant smile appeared on her face, her eyes closing a moment later.
'Be safe,' she prayed internally. 'I will wait for you until you return, regardless of how long that takes.'
…
A blinding light enveloped John, who then felt his body yanked forward, the force far greater than he had been expecting. He groaned with pain, his body already exhausted and damaged nearly to his limits.
The blinding light faded away instantly, his eyes going wide as he saw what was all around him. A tunnel of multicolored light enveloped him in all directions, the tunnel several dozen yards wide. The multicolored lights streaked past him in a blur, the speed at which they were traveling incomprehensible to him. He was pushed forward through the tunnel not by his own power, but by the power of the tunnel itself.
His gaze shifted forward and saw the tunnel of light stretch out as far as he could see, becoming a pinpoint in the far distance. Next to him, Lilian gripped his arm, her narrowed gaze staring forward as well.
Whenever he had taken a transportation formation in the past, this tunnel of light had appeared in his vision, but had faded almost instantly every time. Even the formations that had taken him the farthest distance lasted no more than an instant before he arrived at his destination, his destinations sometimes being tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of miles away.
And yet, they had been speeding through the tunnel for long enough for him to take note of his surroundings with a clarity he had never expected. Seconds turned into minutes, the two of them shot through the tunnel of light at a speed he couldn't grasp, his mind going numb with the realization of what was going on.
If they were traveling to another part of the world, they would have arrived in a mere instant. There was only one explanation for what was happening. The formation was not heading to some place on their world, but to another world entirely. Who knew such a profound formation existed in his world, hiding in the ancient city the entire time.
John shifted his gaze back to Lilian, the multicolored tunnel lighting her face with an ethereal light. Her narrowed gaze stared forward, wary yet firm. There was no surprise on her face at all.
'She knew it would take us to another world!' John realized.
He wanted to ask her about this portal to another world, where they were going, what was happening, yet he couldn't muster the strength to ask at the moment. His body was near collapse, his mind near the brink, exhaustion overwhelming him. He felt like a dying candle, almost spend, the smallest breeze capable of snuffing him out.
He thought of taking the orb of vibrant essence Laia had given him, but decided against it. It was too valuable to waste, and although he was spent and out of power, the tunnel did not pose them any danger as they sped through it.
'I also have master to rely on, so using it would be nothing but a waste,' John thought, pushing the idea aside.
The minutes dragged on; the flow of time obscured in this bizarre tunnel of light. It could have been a minute or a day, and John was sure he wouldn't know which was the correct answer.
Lilian still gripping his arm, John relaxed slightly, his mind withdrawing to focus on healing his exhausted body. A high-grade spirit crystal appeared in his hand, the Qi within sucked into his body to start restoring his spent Qi. This was not a fast process, but it was better than nothing.
Spirit crystal after spirit crystal appeared and then vanished, its Qi sucked dry. John felt his dantian slowly but surely fill with Qi, giving him a sliver of strength once more.
"Watch out!" Lilian suddenly cried out, his eyes snapping open from the sudden cry.
Boom!
A wave of power blasted over them unexpectedly, slamming into John with such power that he felt as though he would be ripped apart in an instant. Lilian's power flared outwards, her Dao of Space permeating the suddenly chaotic tunnel they were in.
Boom!
Another wave of power slammed into them before he could react, and John finally saw what was happening. The tunnel ahead of them, which had been bright and firm, showed signs of weakness. The bright, multicolored light had patches of nothingness, like cracks in the tunnel.
Some of those cracks gave way, a storm of spatial chaos surging in through the cracks without warning and blasting into them. Despite Lilian's power, the second wave blasted onto both of them, a groan of pain escaping her lips, the blast instantly knocking the exhausted and gravely injured John unconscious.
Darkness enveloped him, the last images of consciousness being that of Lilian bursting with power, protecting them from the ruinous storms.
