Chapter 808: A Late Arrival
Of the eleven gathered at the base of the steps, nine had cultivations in the Early World Expansion Realm, much to be expected. The Divine Source Monastery allowed anyone under one hundred years of age to enter, and each power would no doubt send their most powerful cultivator under that age in order to maximize the potential of victory within.
Only two were in the Dao Transformation Realm, a fact that sparked much conversation.
"Dao Transformation Realm? What can they hope to do against the others?" one person said.
"Not only that, but one is in the Middle of the Dao Transformation Realm! Unless the realm within normalizes cultivation, he won't be able to do anything! Just keeping his life might be more than he can handle!" another commented.
Thousands of similar opinions drifted through the crowd, who eagerly waited for the Divine Wall to be opened. The men of the monastery stood in silence for a short while, gazing down upon the crowd and seal holders with expressionless faces.
"Eleven? We sold twelve seals," one of the monks chimed up.
"It seems as though the last is still on their way," the Grand Abbot mused, thinking back to the Divine Seal aura that he had detected. Its location was still quite far away at the time, and it was most likely that the holder of the seal was still on their way...hopefully.
"Could one of these eleven be the holder of the first Divine Seal?" one of the other monks asked curiously.
The Grand Abbot calmly inspected the eleven, and his gaze lingered on two. First was the Middle Dao Transformation youth, who stood there with a perpetual frown on his face. The Grand frowned slightly as he inspected the youth, who seemed to notice his gaze. The youth raised his head to stare at the Grand Abbot, and his cold eyes narrowed, as if he found the Grand Abbot's gaze annoying.
The two locked gazes for a short while, before the Grand Abbot shifted his gaze to the side and stared at the hooded figure. He inspected the figure for a short while, and raised an eyebrow.
"This one is quite talented, perhaps even talented enough to be the one we seek," the Grand Abbot mused, but then shook his head lightly.
Such praise was rare from the Grand Abbot, which caused the other monks to inspect the hooded person closely as well. They nodded their heads in approval as well, as just a casual glance was able to tell them that the hooded person was indeed very talented.
"I suppose it's time to commence. You may continue, Prior Hishen," the Grand Abbot said.
"Present your seals!" Prior Hishen commanded, speaking to the eleven who had gathered at the base of the stairs. The eleven did as instructed, and presented their seals, holding it out before them.
Prior Hishen waved his hand, sending out a wave of Qi that wrapped up the seals and brought them to him. He confirmed the authenticity of each one, and then gestured for the eleven to climb the stairs.
The eleven did as instructed, and calmly made their way up the stairs. They reached the top of the stairs where the monks stood, and waited for further instruction. The Grand Abbot nodded again, and ten of the monks moved about to either side of the group, five on either side. They started to perform a series of complicated hand seals, each movement infused with a profound surge of Qi.
It was almost like a slow dance, although the profundities behind the movements eluded all who spectated. It was quite mesmerizing to look at though, and all couldn't help but become enraptured by the movements, as if the Heavenly Dao's themselves were contained within each movement.
A unique aura began to grow at the top of the stairs, almost like something was being summoned and approaching. The crowd watched as a point of light appeared in the air before the eleven who were to enter the realm. The point of light slowly but surely grew, expanding outwards in all directions until it formed a circle of light twenty yards wide.
The circle was hazy, but revealed a foggy glimpse of something on the other side. It was glowing golden, and appeared like an ethereal paradise. A land of verdurous plains blooming with flowers and snow capped mountains in the distance.
"The land beyond the Divine Wall!" many exclaimed, beyond excited to catch a glimpse of the land within.
The movements of the monks eventually ceased, and the screen of light seemed to finally stabilize.
"Only the truly worthy can reach the center of this land," Prior Hishen spoke, his words giving a small yet specific hint of what was the ultimate goal of entering the land. Each participant narrowed their eyes as they heard this, steeling their hearts for the trials, and potentially tribulations to come.
"The realm will close when one manages to achieve this, or all have failed in this endeavor. You may enter!"
The eleven participants all moved towards the circle of light, some with hastened steps, and others with a more laid back approach. The Monster Race cultivator, Barbarian cultivator, and two Forbidden Alliance cultivators entered first, their steps quick and sure.
After them was the Beast Race cultivator and Faerie, who entered calmly at their own pace several seconds later. Three more humans of neutral powers and a Monster Race cultivator entered. They were not as famous as the others, but were foremost geniuses in their own right, each having reached the World Expansion Realm before their one hundredth birthday.
The sinister looking youth, the youngest of the bunch, entered afterwards, his expression perpetually dark as if it was the only expression he knew.
Zeras Celestria calmly watched them enter, and then glanced sideways to the last remaining participant; the hooded person.
"After you!" Zeras gestured in a formal manner to the mysterious person with a smile on his face, as if he were trying to be as courteous as possible to the mysterious female. The hooded figure only stared at him in silence, not saying a word. She didn't move a step, causing Zeras to raise an eyebrow.
"As you wish. Good luck within, my lady," he said in a friendly tone as he stepped forward, his body vanishing within the screen of light. The hooded figure watched him enter and waited for a brief moment, and then stepped forward herself, entering within and disappearing from sight.
With that, all eleven cultivators had entered, leaving the excited crowd to speculate of what was happening within.
"Should we close the entrance and summon the stele?" one of the monks asked the Grand Abbot, who turned his head and gazed into the far distance, a thoughtful expression on his face.
All of a sudden, a flying ship burst into the Divine Source Monastery lands and came to an immediate halt above the crowd, the sudden stop sending a shockwave of air that blasted over the crowd, kicking up dust and dirt over all of them.