As the ceremony continued below, the powerhouses discussed the opening of the Ancient Blessings, and what was required to do so. As they discussed the details, another person appeared on the spire balcony, walking towards Lilian.

Zuri smiled and greeted Lilian, the two having struck up quite a friendship in the last few weeks. They were both in their twenties, were both prodigious talents, and also had similar interests.

“Here, take this,” Zuri said as she opened her closed fist, revealing a spatial ring on the flat of her palm.

“What’s this?” Lilian asked curiously, picking up the ring and sending her divine sense into it. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the contents within, then she looked back at Zuri with a questioning expression.

Zuri smiled lightly, then explained. “When John and I entered this city, we placed a bet on at the largest auction house regarding his performance in the tournament. The spirit crystals within are John’s winnings.”

Even with her upbringing, Lilian couldn’t help but draw in a deep breath. The Nine-Dao World was richer than her homeworld, and so this number of spirit crystals was far more than she had ever seen or had in her life.

Mountains upon mountains of spirit crystals, many of them medium and high-quality crystals, covered almost every inch of the spatial realm within the ring. The value of crystals within was even greater than the worth of the entire Heavenly Lightning Sect, and by great deal as well.

“John is now one of the richest cultivators on the planet,” Zuri said with a smile, which saddened slightly. “When he wakes up to spend it, that is.”

The two of them conversed about matters while the powerhouses sorted out the Ancient Blessing details. After a long while, the matter was finally settled, allowing them to move on to the other pressing matters.

“So, with the Ancient Blessings restoring his foundation,” the Mage Sovereign said, “that still leaves the matter of his soul and body, both which need to be healed by means none of us possess. Does anyone have an idea of how to proceed?”

Silence filled the air for some time, until the Prime Shadow spoke up.

“While none of us possess such fantastic healing treasures, they do exist in this world,” he said, drawing looks of curiosity and doubt, while the Mage Sovereign looked at him as if he were crazy.

“If you are speaking of the Continent of War, it’s best you forget such a suggestion,” she said firmly. “The Continent is closed, and sneaking into it to steal from the Eternal Serpent is out of the question.”

“I’ve done it before,” the Prime Shadow said to the surprise of everyone. A wry smile appeared on his face as he shrugged lightly. “How do you think I possessed the Star of the Serpent Tree.”

“I see,” the Mage Sovereign said, finally understanding how that came to pass. “You’re lucky the Eternal Serpent didn’t chase you down and kill you.”

“That serpent is far too lazy to chase me all over this world,” the Prime Shadow grinned. “It may be far stronger than me, but it knows it won’t be able to catch me easily. For a being such as the Serpent, the Star was not worth the trouble of chasing me.”

“True,” the Mage Sovereign nodded lightly, a thoughtful look appearing on her face. “From what we know, the Eternal Serpent is very protective of the heart of the Continent of War. He never leaves the continent, as if refusing to leave something unguarded.”

She fell silent for a moment, then glanced at the Prime Shadow and shook her head dismissively. “Still, this suggestion won’t work. You were able to steal the Star because of your movement abilities, as well as the fact that you didn’t need to stay there long. I’m assuming the treasure you have in mind to heal his soul is the Sea of Effervescent Tranquility?”

The Prime Shadow nodded lightly, to which the Mage Sovereign sighed deeply.

“While I agree that the Sea of Effervescent Tranquility is the best chance for healing his soul, there’s one problem. For his soul to be healed, John will need to be bathed in its spiritual waters for days, maybe weeks, in order to purge the foul taint gripping his soul. That makes intruding on the continent without the Eternal Serpent’s knowledge or interference impossible.”

“Perhaps we could sneak it and steal some of this Sea of Effervescent Tranquility, and take it back with us to heal him?” Jaxus chimed in.

“Not possible,” the Mage Sovereign shook her head. “The Sea is Effervescent Tranquility is enclosed in a large man-made structure, one of ancient designs. The only way to access the ancient structure is to venture near the heart of the continent, where the Serpent’s gaze is strong and all-knowing. The Prime Shadow was able to steal the Star of the Serpent Tree due to its open location, but the Sea is another story.”

Jaxus fell silent upon hearing this, a brooding expression on his face. Like many of the premier geniuses of the world, he had been to the Continent of War before. However, due to his strength when he had visited, he had only ventured through the perimeter lands of the continent, and not deeper into the heart of that land.

“As you are well aware,” the Mage-Sovereign continued. “The Continent of War grows in both danger and opportunity as one ventures deeper into its lands. The continent was the central powerhouse of this world during the ancient war, and after its conclusion, the Eternal Serpent claimed it as payment for its service in defending this world. The perimeter lands where you have explored are safer but offer less opportunities. The treasures that can aid John are deeper into the continent, where the Serpent is able to see all and know all. Only if the Serpent opens the Continent once more may we have an opportunity to seize these much-needed opportunities.” .

Another, heavier silence descended upon the group. The Eternal Serpent was the most famous creature in the entire world, one that every single person knew of. Its indifferent temperament was also well known, a creature so stubborn that almost none could entice it to do something it didn’t want to do.

If the creature wanted to open the lands of its continent, it would. If it didn’t, it was almost impossible to convince it to do so. As such, their only hope was that the Serpent did decide to open the continent soon, which had last been opened over three years ago.

“Perhaps I could-” the Prime Shadow started, then stopped as a marvelous wave of multicolored clouds surged through the sky above, like a wave of sparkling clouds. All eyes widened as the clouds surged overhead, followed shortly after by a low and deep gong-like sound, one that chimed throughout the entire world over and over.

Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong!

Seven times the sound washed over the lands, its deep and permeating resonance fading away a while later. The sparkling clouds above also passed beyond the lands, surging towards more distant places of the world to announce the message for all to hear.

“Speak and you shall receive,” the Mage Sovereign muttered, then glanced at the Prime Shadow. “The Eternal Serpent has opened its lands once more, with the seven chimes indicating seven cultivation realms. In one month’s time, all the world shall surge once more towards the lands of war and death.”

“All in the World Expansion Realm and below may enter,” the Prime Shadow said softly, a conflicted expression on his face. “This timing is far too convenient to be coincidental. If I had to guess, the Beasts have requested its opening, giving them a land to seek revenge against us for the Yang-Sovereign’s actions.”

“That is my assessment as well,” the Mage-Sovereign nodded, as did the Sword-Saint.

“World Expansion, huh?” The Sword-Saint mused softly, then glanced at Ji’Han, who was now in the Early World Expansion Realm, then Lilian, whose cultivation was in the Middle World Expansion Realm, and was almost ready to step into the Late World Expansion Realm.

He glanced at the other powerhouses once more, then nodded in agreement to their silent but obvious intentions.

“Then it is settled,” the Sword-Saint said, his gaze returning to Ji’Han at his side. “After John is out of the Temple of the Ancients, you, my son, shall lead a coalition towards the Continent of War. Once there, your purpose shall be simple; lead the coalition towards the Sea of Effervescent Tranquility, and heal John’s soul. Shall you discover opportunities to heal his body as well, you may use your judgment to proceed if the risk is worth the reward. Do you understand?”

Ji’Han raised an eyebrow at his father, a surprised look on his face. He knew his father had changed his opinion of John after fighting side by side with him, but did not realize his opinion had changed to this level. After a moment of silence, a resolved expression appeared on Ji’Han’s face, followed by a firm nod.

“As for you,” the Sword-Saint said, shifting his gaze to Lilian. “Well, I see no better person to be charged with the personal protection of John. I assume you plan on joining the mission as well? I must warn you, the Continent of War is a land of unimaginable dangers, both from the dangers there, as well as the Beasts and Devils that will be searching the lands. If you go, you may not return.”

“The only danger will be for those who dare to stand in my way,” Lilian replied calmly, to which the Sword-Saint smiled and nodded.

“Then it is settled,” he said, his voice surging with newfound hope. “We will bathe John in the blessings of the ancients, and then, we shall set out for the Continent of War!”

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮