Death... and me

As the twins' group entered the sect, they could not help but notice that the insides were well-lit. Nevertheless, the walls, the ceiling, and the floor looked a bit rough around the edges. However, that's what one would normally expect from an underground facility.

'Their sect here is as big as our Dalamu Sect back in Sunkan,' Rean could not help but comment through Divine Sense.

Roan agreed with him, saying, 'Yes, but it also explains why they say they're just a small sect. After all, a sect of Dalamu's size shouldn't count for anything in the Realm of Gods.'

'I don't mind,' Kentucky said as he looked at all the female disciples along the way. Sure enough, Kentucky's appearance caught their eyes, and some wanted to come close to pet him as if Kentucky was a magnet. They just didn't do that because Cynthia was there while accompanying the group.

Celis, on the other hand, shook his head as he told them, 'I hate underground places. It makes me remember my time in the Soul Rulers headquarters..'

Rean then asked Cynthia along the way. "How many elders and disciples do you have in the sect?"

Cynthia pondered over it for a bit before saying, "I believe something around five to six thousand."

Rean nodded in response before using his Divine Sense to continue talking to Roan, Kentucky, and Celis. 'No wonder the number of disciples seems quite sparse. This place seems to be more or less around Dalamu's size, but it doesn't have even half of the number Dalamu Sect had in Sunkan.'

Celis also added, 'That's not all. We're talking about the Realm of Gods. Just a few hundred kilometers ahead, and you have a city with over two hundred million people. For this sect to have only five to six thousand proves how small they are in comparison to other sects.'

In any case, Rean's group wasn't dissatisfied. A small sect was a lot easier to manage, and considering the financial struggle, keeping a lower number was the right way to go.

Suddenly, a Nascent Soul Realm elder approached Cynthia, greeting her, "Lady Cynthia, it's good to have you back."

Cynthia smiled in response as she passed a bag to that elder. Well, 'elder' was basically the guy's title. As a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he was quite young. "Hey there, Carl. Take these Divine Stones to the sect's Management Office for me, will you? There are twenty Divine Stones in there."

Carl nodded as he replied, "Sure thing. Me and most of the elders have also returned after taking a few missions, so we should have a good amount of Divine Stones for now. By the way, the Sect Master is waiting for you inside." Carl looked at Rean's group for a moment but didn't pay much attention. Since Cynthia was the one guiding them, it shouldn't be a problem.

"I hope we gathered at least a thousand or so Divine Stones when putting all elders and disciples' missions together," Cynthia could not help but say as she entered one of the residences. It had several rooms inside, but Cynthia headed straight to the meeting hall. There, the twins were finally able to see the so-called Sect Master of Lukimira. 

'Not a human,' their group thought as soon as their eyes met the woman sitting in the middle of the room. There were also quite a few more cultivators from different races, humans included, who sat on chairs around the room.

"Welcome back, Cynthia." The woman, who seemed older than Cynthia, looked at her with a smile. "I can see that you've reached the peak of the Soul Transformation Realm, congratulations." The other elders in the room also congratulated Cynthia and seemed genuinely happy about that.

Cynthia nodded in response, saying, "I was lucky. The caravan I protected on the way back just so happened to bump into a Divine Stream Lake. Naturally, I couldn't let the opportunity pass up."

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard that. However, they knew that the Divine Stream Lake was definitely gone by now, so they sighed soon after.

"Truly lucky..."

"The last time I saw one was over twenty years ago."

"That soon? The last time I saw one was when I was a kid..."

"You at least saw one. Look at me! I've never seen a Divine Stream Lake in my life."

The Sect Master then raised her hand, silencing everyone else as she told them, "Alright, everyone. That's enough." The Sect Master then looked at Rean's group, obviously curious about them. She was especially surprised that the demon bird and tree were at Stage Six but seemed well tamed as they were not showing any signs of restlessness. "So, who are these friends?"

Cynthia nodded before introducing Rean's group to everyone else. "These are a few friends I made during my time in the Divine Stream Lake. The white-haired one is Rean, and the black-haired one is Roan. They are twins."

The Sect Master then introduced herself in response to the two. "I'm Kayla Xiantian, the Sect Master of the Lukimira Sect."

"Are you forgetting about us?" Kentucky asked soon after with an annoyed expression. Cynthia did say that he didn't need to pretend to not be able to talk here, after all.

Celis sighed in response. "Couldn't you at least wait for Cynthia to explain things first?"

Sure enough, all the elders and the Sect Master looked at those two with wide eyes. Well, Cynthia already expected as much since she had the same reaction. "Hahaha! It's impressive, isn't it? Let me explain..."

Cynthia then used her Divine Sense to give everyone in the room a quick explanation.

Eventually, Kayla and the other elders understood. "I see...so they came from some other part of the Realm of Gods." Kayla then looked at the twins' group before saying,' Cynthia wasn't lying. No one here has ever seen a place where demon beasts or trees gain sentience before the Transition Realm. There's no doubt that your Turin Region is really far away. Otherwise, we would have at least heard something about it. That teleport formation you were forced into definitely was of a very high level."

Rean nodded in response, saying, "I know. I'm a Formation Master at Silver Middle-level, and I couldn't identify the formation's level at all." Rean then changed the topic as he continued, "By the way, we would like to know if we can join your sect."