Apotheosis

As Zen and Dorothy cautiously approached the stronghold, they noticed it wasn't as guarded as the temples.

Even by the entrance, there wasn't a guard in sight. Zen and Dorothy exchanged uncertain glances, but proceeded anyway. There, they were greeted by a lone figure.

"Dorothy, so glad to meet you," the figure bowed to Dorothy. Then, turning to Zen, he cupped his hands courteously. "Nice to meet you as well, Zen."

Dorothy and Jermain had arranged to meet by the entrance beforehand. He had been waiting for them there expectantly.

Immediately recognizing the man's voice, Zen smiled. "Nice to meet you, too, Jermain."

Back in the Seven Mountains Meeting, Jermain had also performed well and eventually led the Origin Mountain in winning second place.

Zen secretly thought Jermain's talent was slightly inferior to that of Elvinia and Milo.

Nevertheless, even he agreed that Jermain must have something extraordinary about him; after all, he was a leader of the disciples of the Origin Mountain.

Zen squinted. He could sense that Jermain had a unique Soul of Light, which was also an Indigo Soul, thus his aura glowed a deep purple. However, what piqued Zen's curiosity was the three palm-sized souls that hovered behind Jermain. Upon a closer look, Zen noticed that the three little souls looked exactly like Jermain.

Meanwhile, Jermain felt Zen's curious stare. Then, the three souls approached Zen, flitting about him almost playfully.

"Zen, are you curious about us?" one palm-sized soul asked.

"We are separate fractal souls," another explained.

"Each of us is a separate individual," the third continued.

The three souls circled Zen as they explained. Each one sounded exactly like Jermain, which made Zen feel somewhat unsettled.

"Jermain," Dorothy giggled, "your separate souls are so funny!"

She had known prior that Jermain had separated three souls from his main soul, but this was the first time she had met them.

"Why did you split your soul?" Zen asked curiously.

Before Jermain could even open his mouth to respond, Dorothy answered for him. "Because his Other Shore Token is 'four in one', and belongs to the descending type."

The Other Shore Token Dorothy was talking about was Jermain's four clay figurines. Each one could transform into any shape in the Source Wor

y were in the Lust Word. Only after reaching the Chaotic Source Realm would they choose to cultivate the second Truth of Godly Way for greater power.

Zen smiled. He didn't tell Jermain that he was cultivating three ways, not two only.

"You can try exploring the temples," Jermain suggested. "Or, buy one in the rats' auction."

"The rats' auction?" Zen asked. "Are you referring to the Ear Mouse race?"

"Yes," Jermain replied.

The Ear Mice were notoriously greedy. Even though they already held great power and dominated the trade on the Other Shore, other races still despised them as rats.

Zen had heard before that the Ear Mouse race monopolized trade on the Other Shore. But he had yet to come across them, since he had chosen to explore only temples in the previous stages.

Jermain's words piqued his interest.

Zen reflected on his assets. He had obtained 100 finger-size chunks of soul crystal that were worth a hundred million soul pills from the Separate Abyss race. Additionally, he had a considerable amount of loot from the Bearing race.

If the Ear Mouse race auctioned some extremely precious Other Shore Tokens, then he'd definitely opt to just buy one, rather than waste time and energy exploring.

"Please take us to the auction," Dorothy spoke his thoughts.

Jermain sighed at Dorothy's enthusiasm for Zen. She was, after all, considered a brilliant talent in the Oneness Sky Palace-- many disciples of the Origin Mountain sought her attention. Anyone who saw how devoted she was to Zen would feel heartbroken.