Death... and me

Opacli nodded, saying, "Same goes for me. So, we should be very close to the number of cultivators with complete marks now. Once the time comes, everyone's marks will interact with the altar in the center, and the passage to the Divine Plane will open. That's also the moment where you'll have to tell me the methods to form an agreement with the ancient beasts."

Rean and Roan nodded in response. "That's obvious. We definitely don't want to die here for nothing. In the end, whether you can form agreements with the ancient beasts or not isn't our problem. After all, we intend to go back from where we came after we're done with it. That's why we don't really care that much in telling you since we would have reaped the benefits already."

Opacli was satisfied to hear that. Of course, he wasn't concerned since Rean and Roan... or Zack and Zeck had signed the Soul Binding Contracts. That's something one shouldn't be able to escape from. "Oh, by the way..." Opacli remembered something else. "You told me you had some relationship with our Croste Clan. However, I couldn't find anyone there that knew people that looked like you."

Rean just smiled in response, telling him, "Of course, you didn't. After all, this isn't our real appearance, nor is it our real name. Senior Opacli should know that we wouldn't reveal our real identities that easily, right?"

Opacli wasn't the least bit surprised by Rean's words. "As I thought. Then, what kind of relationship do you have with our Croste Clan? Would you mind telling me who it may be that you know there? Perhaps it can make things easier for your group once you exit the Lost Star Realm. We do have quite some power in this continent, after all."

Rean thought that Opacli might have an idea already. After all, Rean made it simple for them. Two brothers? Connection with the Croste Clan? Wouldn't that mean these brothers with different features were the same duo that had a relationship with Tixa? But then again, the relationship with Tixa was kind of a scandal, so chances are that almost no one in the Croste Clan itself knew of it. It would definitely explain why the Croste Clan didn't connect the dots.

"Leaving that aside, did you bring the Divine Stones and the vials of Freezing Star Liquid?" Rean didn't answer Opacli's question and instead asked for the items.

Opacli wasn't surprised that 'Zack' didn't answer and nodded right after. "Yes, here you go." He then threw a spatial ring to Rean, which Rean quickly checked. Inside it were the vials and the twenty thousand Rank Two Divine Stones.

Roan also checked the contents of the ring and was very satisfied. In the end, he didn't have to go explore this place without any guarantees that he would find the liquid. 'Send the vials and Divine Stones into the Dimensional Realm. If there's any kind of tracker on them, it will be useless in the Dimensional Realm.'

Rean agreed with Roan on that. 'Sure thing.'

The vials and Divine Stones then fell into the Dimensional Realm, which Sister Orb immediately checked. [Hehe! You were right. It's very well hidden, but there's a tracker inside the Divine Stones. Oh well, it's useless as nothing can enter or leave the Dimensional Realm without our permission, including the signal it produces.]

Rean and Roan nodded after that. Right after, Rean looked at Opacli again and said, "Everything is okay. Well, we do have a Soul Binding Contract active for both sides, so I wasn't afraid of our deal going south to start with."

Opacli sighed in relief. "So, can you tell me how to form an agreement with the ancient beasts? We have already reached this point, and everyone is more or less ready to enter the second plane. It shouldn't take long for it to open."

Rean shook his head, telling Opacli, "Wait until the passage opens. I want to guarantee that nothing wrong will happen."

Opacli could only play along as the contract did state that Rean had to pass the information before entering the Divine Plane. Since it hadn't opened yet, he didn't have to say anything yet.

In the meantime, Hurio looked at how Rean's deal was concluded and how the contract didn't take any effect on him. By now, Hurio was really thinking that perhaps the twins had a way to avoid the contract. 'Oh well... I've already reached his place, so I can only move forward.'

Another day and a half passed in a flash until finally, one last cultivator, surprisingly someone who wasn't part of any of the top ten powers, appeared with a complete bear mark. His presence obviously caught the attention of the people from the top ten powers. After all, none of them had noticed that guy before. Of course, it was obvious that he had to kill members of the top ten powers to get his mark. As for which of the ten powers had the bear marks, it was the Forse Guild.

The members of the Forse Guild, including their Void Tempering Realm elder, narrowed their eyes when they saw that. However, now that everyone had reached the altar, they couldn't do anything with the guy anymore. A complete mark couldn't be robbed, even if the owner was killed. Besides, his mark was necessary to open the Divine Plane. In any case, the elder and the disciples marked his features and would definitely look for this guy once the event was over.

Roan looked at the man as well and couldn't help but comment, "That guy... isn't part of the humanoid races."

Surprisingly, Roan was right. The man was, in fact, a demon beast who reached the Transition Realm. As mentioned before, demon beasts could assume a humanoid form when they reached that level. Here, in the Realm of Gods, that's also when they acquired intelligence. He had several features of his demon beast race, even as a human. However, above all else, his demonic beast aura was clear as day for everyone present.

Then again, there wasn't much time to think about it. That's because the moment the guy appeared, all the third stage marks on everyone's foreheads activated and started to resonate with the altar in the center.