Hestia gestured toward the chamber's entrance, where Elder Torvain waited beyond. "Torvain will guide you to the expedition staging area," she said. "Your people may remain aboard your vessel or within designated guest quarters. That choice is yours."
"Okay," Adrian replied.
Hestia studied him for a brief moment longer before adding, "One more thing. The Everlasting Pill Sect's expedition leader will likely be Casmir. He is one of their strongest High Rule Stage cultivators, holding roughly sixty percent authority. He is far stronger than any elder we currently possess. If you encounter him, I hope you can deal with him."
Adrian felt a subtle tightening in his chest.
Things were slipping beyond the range he could comfortably control. He had never fought a High Rule Stage cultivator before, and now, after presenting himself as someone strong enough to stand against the sect leader, he was expected to face one head-on. If he truly had to fight Casmir, then he would have no choice but to use his Source.
Even then, victory was uncertain. A High Rule Stage opponent could easily possess far greater mana reserves than Adrian. Erasing such a being outright was not possible for him, and even suppressing him the way Adrian had suppressed Varkas might prove extremely difficult. The thing is, Adrian just didn't know how it would be. The battle could unfold in countless ways, and Adrian had no way of predicting the outcome. Worse still, revealing his Source would almost certainly expose it as an ultimate-tier concept.
That revelation alone could draw consequences far beyond this expedition. Yet Adrian had already crossed the point of retreat. After the incident at the UNI-Hub, he had seen how strength is the only law, so why not use what he has? Maybe he could suppress some to not show his 100% authority, but still, walking this path meant accepting every challenge that came with it.
Adrian did not reveal any of his doubts. His expression remained calm as he answered, "I will."
"Good," Hestia replied. "Then go."
Adrian turned and walked toward the exit without another word.
Hestia watched his retreating figure, her expression unreadable. She truly hoped Adrian's intentions were genuine. If they were, then once she herself recovered fully, the balance of this war could shift decisively in the Crimson Vital Sect's favor.
But if this was a scheme, then the odds of her sect's complete annihilation had just multiplied.
With a faint exhale, she returned to her meditation posture. The damaged Rule Core within her required constant stabilization. If she let her concentration slip even briefly, it could fracture completely.
...
Adrian exited the chamber.
Outside, Elder Torvain stood near the doors, his attention fixed on a hovering projection. The moment Adrian approached, Torvain dismissed it with a flick of his fingers. The sect leader had already issued her orders. Torvain was to observe Adrian closely during the relic expedition. This was, without question, a test meant to reveal Adrian's true intentions.
"The sect leader's orders have been transmitted," Torvain said. "Follow me."
Adrian nodded and followed without comment.
As they walked, he activated his UNI-OS node and sent a message to his people, informing them of the situation. Replies came back almost immediately, reassuring him not to worry about them. Focus on surviving. We're not children.
Adrian allowed himself a faint smile at that. They had all walked through enough battles to understand what needed to be done. Still, he knew the risks he was taking. He also knew there was no other path forward.
Torvain spoke again as they moved through the spire, breaking the silence. "You should know how important this relic expedition is to us. This is the life of our sect leader. I hope you will act with it in mind."
His tone was not quite threatening, but close enough to make the warning clear.
Adrian glanced at him, "I agreed to retrieve the lotus. That hasn't changed."
Torvain's expression shifted slightly, though whether it was approval or continued suspicion, Adrian couldn't tell. The elder simply continued walking.
They descended several levels via lift, the interior of the Crimson Spire blurring past them. When the lift finally halted, the doors opened onto a wide corridor lined with disciples moving purposefully in both directions. Most were Rule Stage cultivators, their divine essence restrained but palpable. A few glanced toward Adrian as he passed, their gazes lingering with obvious curiosity.
They soon entered a vast hall carved directly into the Crimson Spire itself. At its center stood two figures who were already waiting.
Both looked like humanoid women. One stood tall, her silver-crimson hair tied neatly behind her back, posture rigid and disciplined. Her robes bore elder markings similar to Torvain's.
The other leaned casually against a console, her dark crimson hair flowing freely. Her aura felt calmer, but carried an unmistakable edge of danger.
Torvain addressed them, his voice formal, "You should have received the sect leader's message by now."
Both women turned their attention toward Adrian.
"Yes," the silver-haired elder said first, "We know who he is."
The second woman merely smiled faintly, her gaze lingering on Adrian with open curiosity. "So this is the mysterious cultivator who killed Varkas."
Her voice carried a playful lilt.
Torvain gestured toward each of them in turn. "This is Elder Lara, who will lead the expedition." He indicated the silver-haired woman, "And this is Elder Maelis, who will accompany us."
Lara inclined her head slightly. Maelis, by contrast, continued to study Adrian with an expression somewhere between amusement and genuine intrigue, her dark crimson hair shifting as she tilted her head.
Lara stepped forward and raised her hand. A projection expanded between them, filling the space with shimmering light. The image coalesced into a planet, its surface obscured by chaotic layers of green and violet mana storms that twisted and folded endlessly around it. Spatial currents distorted the atmosphere, creating fractures in the visual field itself.
"Since we're all here, let's not waste time," Lara said, "This is the relic site."
"This is the ancient sect's main planet," Lara continued, adjusting the projection. Layers of data flickered past, coordinates, energy readings, preliminary scans. "The ruin discovered by the Nine-Vault Commerce Network. It lies within a star system too distant for conventional starship travel, but the relic key allows instantaneous access."
She paused, her expression tightening. "When I entered with an advance party earlier, I couldn't extend my perception to scan the planet from orbit. Even our satellites and other devices failed."
Torvain crossed his arms, his expression darkening. "The mana interference?"
"Yes." Lara nodded. "I went in for a quick check, but my perception was limited to only a few kilometres. The cause is that the environment has been unmanaged for nearly a million years. Without regulation or formation control, mana density has reached extreme levels. Ancient divine formations scattered across the planet have gone chaotic, and travel across the surface is severely restricted."
Adrian absorbed the information silently. Some of these things were new to him. Divine formations, if left to decay and mutate without maintenance, could turn into lethal traps.
Lara's fingers moved again, and the projection zoomed inward, revealing fragmented glimpses of the planet's surface, "I couldn't even locate the alchemy garden or any other critical sites. All we know for certain is that this is the main sect planet, and the Core-Reforging Lotus must exist somewhere within it."
She glanced briefly at Adrian before continuing, "The Everlasting Pill Sect will face the same difficulties."
"How many of them are we expecting?" Torvain asked.
"Unknown," Lara admitted. "But they are inside the relic before us. They've had time to scout and prepare. We must assume they've already established a foothold."
"I have left our people to establish a base inside," Lara went on. "Once operational, we will divide into multiple parties and sweep outward. In terms of numbers, I'm sure we will be weaker than the Everlasting Pill Sect, but even in the worst case, retrieving a single lotus remains possible."
The projection shifted again. A lotus appeared, its layered crystalline petals glowing with faint gold and crimson hues.
"This is our target," Lara said, "The Core-Reforging Lotus. It is said to be capable of healing a damaged Rule Core."
Adrian studied the image, curiosity stirring within him. He could not help wondering what kind of plant could heal a Rule Core, a construct formed from fused essence seeds and reinforced by authority itself.
Lara dismissed the lotus projection with a swipe, "The four of us are the strongest members of this expedition. Everyone else is Mid Rule Stage or below. We need clarity before finalising assignments. State your authority percentages. Mine is fifty-seven percent."
Maelis followed, smiling faintly. "The recent battle helped me. I'm now at fifty-five percent."
Torvain followed calmly, "Fifty-five."
Adrian absorbed everything. This again showed that authority was everything in the universe. And he was also surprised by how strong they were. According to the information he'd received from the Guardian Spirit, a mid-tier divine concept only granted seventy percent maximum authority. Only at the High Rule Stage could one unlock seventy-five percent of that, wielding roughly fifty-two percent authority, and the remaining would be hoarded by reality itself.
And all these elders' authority was above fifty-two percent, meaning they were all at the High Rule Stage and even slowly progressing higher. A lesser minor sect was considered such because it supposedly possessed only a single High Rule Stage cultivator. Yet here stood several, and its sect leader was at the Peak Rule Stage.
He now understood why the Everlasting Pill Sect had moved against them. The sect leader's ascension had not been the only factor. The Crimson Vital Sect was on the verge of becoming an upper minor sect, and the Everlasting Pill Sect had struck to prevent that shift in power.
Adrian spoke last, "Seventy percent."
He stated the authority a Peak Rule Stage cultivator would wield with a mid-tier divine concept. He simply declared it as seventy percent because he didn't want to show himself as someone overtly powerful. It could only cause issues. If in the future, any decisions are made based on his authority levels, and if he couldn't do it due to his energy fuel being low, it would just become a mess. So he thought it would be better to stay in a conservative range.
Silence followed his declaration. The elders saw each other, doubts, confusions, and questions ran through their minds.
Torvain initially thought of Adrian as a peak rule stage being since he could suppress his divine concept. He didn't know his concept tier at that time, but after the meeting, he received the sect leader's message stating that Adrian's divine concept was of a higher tier than their sect's.
With that information, he assumed Adrian was a peak rule stage being wielding a high-tier divine concept. And such a person would have eighty percent authority at the peak stage, not seventy percent. So why was Adrian understating his authority now?
This confused them and made them more cautious towards Adrian.
Finally, Lara nodded once, "The plan remains unchanged, but party formations and assignments will be adjusted."
She gestured, and a new projection appeared, a tactical overlay dividing the expedition into three groups with 5 members in each. Names and roles flickered into place.
Adrian noted his own name assigned to Torvain's group. They did not place him in command of a party. Instead, he would serve as a member.
Adrian understood their caution and did not object. But he was not sure why only 5 members were in each party? The Crimson Vital sect was not that weak as to not even get more cultivators to go, so there should be something else going on here.
"We depart in 1 hour," Lara said. "Prepare yourselves."
The projection vanished, and the hall fell silent.