Chapter 1263: The Inspection
The avatar that departed for the domain near the central region of heaven had already passed through several domains and was getting closer to the central region of heaven from the north.
However, before they could get any closer to the central region of heaven, they were stopped in one of the cities by a long line of people and carriages.
Not long after they came out of the teleportation gate and moved toward another gate that served as their departure point, they saw the long lines of people waiting to enter the teleportation gates.
The coachman of the avatar’s carriage spoke to the avatar through voice transmission.
"Sir, it looks like we have a problem. There seems to be an inspection. They appear to be denying entry to people who do not meet their criteria. They are checking each person’s energy and only allowing certain people to pass through."
The avatar could see the inspection from his position. There were many temple members guarding the gates, with the strongest among them being at Middle Immortal Saint stage.
Each person who wanted to enter the gates had their energy checked using a spherical artifact. The artifact was more or less similar to what he had seen in the First Heaven when someone wanted to examine another person’s energy.
"My apologies, sir. We did not know there would be this kind of development. Our information network is truly weak in this region," the coachman said again.
After observing for a moment, the avatar got down from the carriage.
"It’s okay. I will proceed on my own from now on. You can go back," the avatar sent through voice transmission.
The coachman widened his eyes.
"Are you sure, sir?"
The avatar nodded. "I’m sure. I can pass the inspection by myself. Thank you for bringing me this far."
The coachman released a sigh.
"Alright, be careful, sir. May you succeed in whatever you do out there."
The avatar nodded, and the carriage turned around to return to Purple Lotus City. The avatar joined the line and waited for his turn.
From his observation, the ones who had a chance to enter the gates were those whose energy had a connection to Avergis, or more specifically, originated from his universe. The denizens who still possessed energy originating from this universe were prohibited from entering the gate.
After their energy was checked, there would be some questioning before they could step through the gates.
Now, how did the avatar know how to differentiate whether the energy originated from this universe or not?
It was because he could sense the difference in each person’s energy from where he stood. The moment the artifact activated and displayed the result of the inspection, it undoubtedly exuded an aura corresponding to that person’s energy.
The aura of the denizens of this universe felt more comfortable and more connected to him. On the other hand, the aura of those whose origins lay in another universe gave him a foreign sensation.
It was not to the point where he felt irritated or disgusted, unlike what he felt toward the true followers of Avergis or Tarius. All of them cultivated techniques that came directly from those two, or at least had been blessed by them.
’It looks like Avergis did not only bring his true followers here. He brought just about anyone from his universe as well,’ the avatar thought.
He thought that because of the recent incident in Su City and the war against Tarius’ followers, Avergis’ followers would have tightened security in this place.
In fact, from the information he received from the coachman, security in this region had already been strict even before the incident occurred because they were getting closer to the domains surrounding the central region of heaven.
This region was directly under the temple’s rule, which was different from places like the Purple Lotus Sect’s domain.
The security was strict enough that the resistance groups treated this region carefully to the point that they could not simply enter and leave, even if they disguised themselves as people from another universe.
With such tight security, the resistance groups had no way of obtaining updated information from this region, let alone from the regions closest to the central region of heaven.
However, the avatar did not seem worried. Looking at the inspection process, he was confident that he could pass it, and he had already prepared a plan.
After waiting for another thirty minutes, it finally came to the avatar’s turn.
"Inject your energy here," a man from the temple said while gesturing toward the artifact.
The avatar did exactly as ordered. He injected his energy into the artifact, and at that moment, the artifact shone with a white light. The aura it exuded caused the people nearby to widen their eyes in shock before the light slowly dimmed and then—
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crash!
The artifact crumbled apart, which further shocked everyone who witnessed it.
The temple members were the most affected, as they could feel what kind of energy the avatar had released.
All of them immediately stood up and assumed respectful postures before bowing to the avatar.
"Your Excellency, why did you stay in the line? You could have stepped directly into the gate," the man from earlier said.
The avatar’s expression did not change.
"I simply wanted to inspect the security of this place under my lord’s orders. With those savages causing trouble and the incident in the Purple Lotus Sect’s domain, we cannot afford to lower our guard. I can see that you are already doing a good job here," he said.
The temple members felt proud and bowed once more.
"Thank you for your compliment, Your Excellency. We will continue to maintain our readiness and vigilance," the man in front of him said.
The avatar nodded.
"Now, I want to go to Berian City."
One of the temple members quickly handed him a token containing the city’s coordinates.
After receiving the token, the avatar continued walking toward the gate. But before he could step inside—
"Wait, Your Excellency."
Another man’s voice came from the avatar’s side. The one who called out was actually the strongest temple member here, a man with Middle Immortal Saint cultivation.
The man approached the avatar before cupping his hands and bowing.
"My apologies for disturbing your journey, Your Excellency. However, may I know which group brought you to the Second Heaven?"
The avatar’s expression did not change, but inwardly he was impressed by this man’s intuition. For the man to dare stop him, he must have sensed that something was strange about him. The fact that the man questioned him was proof enough that he was suspicious.
Although the man already seemed suspicious of him, he did not panic. Instead, he showed a slight frown as if displeased.
"I am with Lord Zervias. Why are you asking that?"
The man looked slightly stunned before smiling.
"It is nothing, Your Excellency. I merely wanted to make sure. The last time I saw His Excellency Zervias’s group, I did not sense anyone with Immortal Overlord cultivation. My apologies if my curiosity has offended Your Excellency. If Your Excellency finds me presumptuous, then you may punish me."
He bowed once more.
The avatar continued looking at the man.
"I see. If that is the case, then I will not punish you. I have my own reasons for showing myself as an Immortal Overlord cultivator. I am satisfied with your initiative and vigilance. Continue working in this manner."
"Yes, Your Excellency," the man answered.
The avatar no longer paid attention to the man and simply stepped into the gate.
After the avatar’s figure disappeared, the man looked at the gate and sighed.
’It looks like it was only my own suspicion,’ he thought.
He then looked at the destroyed artifact that had been used to check the energy.
’To think that even his energy could break an artifact like that,’ he thought.
Ironically, the artifact breaking was what made him suspicious in the first place. The fact that it broke meant the man must have come from the higher heavens.
But strangely, he did not remember anyone with Immortal Overlord cultivation in the group that came from the higher heavens.
That contradiction made him question the avatar, but he could not continue pressing further, as he feared offending cultivators from the higher heavens. Moreover, they were an envoy of their god with a mission.
He did not want to become a hindrance to them.
As the avatar passed the inspection, he had already arrived at the next city. The city was located within the nearest domain to the central region of heaven, the Heavenly Temple Domain.
However, he was still at the northern edge of the domain. He needed to travel south through the domain before he could see the central region of heaven.
Already knowing where he needed to go from Ronald’s briefing, he walked toward the other departure gates after giving his token to the people tasked with receiving it.
As he continued walking toward the other gates, he saw another inspection ahead.
’It looks like I will have to pass through several more inspections before I reach the closest city to the central region of heaven.’