Chapter 1021: Yang-Sphere

John followed behind Zuri, who clearly knew where she was going. A main bridge led towards the sect below, sloping gradually downwards for a dozen miles before reaching the closest building. The bridges were several hundred yards wide, allowing for many cultivators to traverse it in both directions. While most were entering the sect, occasionally some walked opposite his direction to leave the sect.

The bridges were made of a smooth black stone of unknown origin, in which detailed carvings covered the walkway, forming a ceaseless image of battles, beasts, mountains, valleys, stars, and more across the entire bridge. The rails of the bridge were lined with ornate statues, each statue the same; an exquisite depiction of a nine-petalled lotus. Thousands of them lined each side of the bridge, which John could also spot in other, distant sections of the sect.

Clearly the Yang-Dao Sect paid homage to the Nine-Petal Yang Lotus in more ways than one. He and Zuri walked leisurely towards the sect below, the bridge leading to a large, open courtyard. The courtyard was half a mile wide on each side, and was filled with thousands of people.

Within the crowd was nearly a thousand Yang-Dao Sect members, wearing the fiery red, orange, and yellow robes of the sect with the image of a star on embroidered. Looking closer, John noticed the faint image of the nine-petal lotus within the star, something he had missed before. The Yang-Dao Sect members were mostly youths in their teens and early twenties, who were acting as guides for the newcomers, ushering them to the correct locations.

A youthful girl around fifteen or sixteen years of age stepped up to John and Zuri, wearing the clothing of the Yang-Dao Sect. She had long black hair, emerald eyes, and gave off a fiery, energetic aura despite having it withdrawn. She was rather pretty, although still immature in both facial and body features, making her more cute than pretty.

She had an early Heaven-Tribulation cultivation, and smiled at the two of them, eyeing them up and down for a moment, her eyes lingering on John's face for a moment, cheeks going rosy red, before nodding her head in a self-satisfied manner.

"No doubt at all," she said to them. "The descriptions match perfectly. You must be Zuri, and you John," she said, pointing to each of them.

"Uh huh," John nodded, wondering how the girl knew their names.

"Alright, I didn't screw this up," the girl said with passionate excitement, pumping her right fist up and down several times in celebration.

John and Zuri exchanged a bewildered glance before looking back at the girl, who finally realized she was acting strange. She rubbed the back of her head in an embarrassed manner while smiling wryly at them.

"Sorry," she apologized, waving her hands all about her. "I'm kinda forgetful all the time, so I tried extra hard to not screw this one up. I was sent here to guide you to your lodgings. Elder Truefire gave me this task personally, so I made sure to not screw it up."

"I see," John said, while Zuri stifled a small laugh. Clearly she was amused by this girl.

"No worries," Zuri said, taking the girl's hand in a friendly manner. "We're here now, so you can guide us to where we need to be now."

The girl's eyes lit up as she stared at Zuri.

"Wow, you're so pretty," she said to Zuri, eyes going wide as if bewitched by her beauty. "And also so strong. I had no idea you would be this amazing when I was assigned this task."

Zuri smiled and nodded her head several times, clearly satisfied by the praise.

"What's your name?" Zuri asked as she walked with the Yang-Dao Sect girl.

"Naelia," the girl replied.

"Naelia. I like that name," Zuri said with a nod. "Well you can call me big sister Zuri from now on."

Naelia's eyes lit up again, then she started rambling about Zuri again. Praising her several times more, before talking about herself, the Yang-Dao Sect, and everything in between. She talked fast and without pause, her words drowning out with the crowd around her and Zuri as John watched them walk into the distance, seemingly forgetting about him.

He sighed and shook his head, then quickly caught up, following the two through the sect. He stayed several paces behind, doing his best to ignore their endless conversations. Naelia glanced over her shoulder at John several times throughout their conversations, then spoke in a hushed whisper into Zuri's ears.

"He's so handsome. Is he your boyfriend?" he heard her ask Zuri.

John rolled his eyes at the girl's naivety. Cultivators had excellent hearing, and her whispers were easily audible. Zuri smiled and gave a quick response, which John ignored as he looked at the sect as they walked through it.

The sect was even more impressive up close, as was the atmosphere permeating through it. They walked over one of the bridges over the lake of lava, which he peered over the side down into. The lava roiled with explosive power, occasionally shooting up and slamming into a formation that flared to life.

"So that's how they keep the lava from burning everything and everyone," he mused. "Makes sense."

A formation barrier seemed to cover the entire lake of lava, which was powerful enough to gravely injure or even kill him should he fall into it. Without the formation barrier keeping the lava and its heat down there, no one other than World Expansion and Holy Manifestation cultivators would be able to walk through the sect without being killed by the heat. As he peered into the lava, he felt a faint aura of something far beneath the lake. The aura was almost imperceptible, but he was able to faintly feel its aura, profound and powerful.

'Is the Nine-Petal Yang Lotus down there?' he wondered for a moment, before turning to catch up with the two girls. He followed as they navigated through the sect, crowds of Yang-Dao Sect members and cultivators of other sects streaming by in both directions.

They eventually arrived near their destination according to Naelia, which was the massive obsidian sphere. The sphere was several miles wide, and was perfectly round and smooth. Not a single blemish could be seen, as if it was carved from the most flawless of material. It was a lustrous stone, or some unknown metal, although he couldn't tell which from looking alone.

The sphere hovered over the lake of lava, only connected to the rest of the sect by four bridges, one connecting to each quadrant of the sphere. The bridge before him climbed upwards for several hundred yards, then extended horizontally for several hundred yards more before reaching the massive sphere.

Thousands streamed over the bridge towards the sphere, their excited discussions drifting in the air. Naelia led them onto the bridge and towards the sphere. Upon arriving at the end of the bridge, an archway several hundred yards tall and wide greeted them. Swirling formation energy covered the arched entrance, obscuring vision into the sphere.

"The tournament arena is within the Yang-Sphere," Naelia said. "Follow me."