Death... and me

Rean didn't have a reason to stay any longer, so he told Triwe that he would be leaving straight away. Triwe, of course, finished his own business in the Drugo Organization building and obtained the time necessary to travel to the Azure Lilibel Race. Thanks to that, the two were already in front of the Traversal Tunnel that connected the humanoid and spirit races' territory by the end of that day.

At a building right in front of it, Rean passed his authorization badge to one of the attendants while Drugo simply showed his organization's badge. The attendant simply nodded in response before leaving for a moment. Not long after, he returned with Rean's badge and passed it back, telling them, "Alright, you're all set. A member of the Lapolis Spirit Race will be waiting for you at the tunnel entrance. He will guide you through the traversal."

Rean and Triwe nodded after hearing that. "Thanks."

At the entrance, it was possible to see spirits appear out of thin air every time someone needed to go through the tunnel. As mentioned before, spirits could keep themselves hidden from others unless they didn't want to. Well, it wasn't of much use against experts at the Void Tempering Realm and above, though.

*Swish!*

Suddenly, a spirit that seemed to look like a crab appeared in front of Rean and Triwe. "Are you Tian and Triwe? If so, let's get going as I have a quota to fulfill today."

"I'm fine here," Rean answered without thinking too much.

"Same goes for me." Naturally, Triwe was the same.

The crab then pointed at his back, telling them, "Hop on. The Gods' Dividing Barrier is safe for people at your cultivation level. I'll bring you through it."

With that, the two got on the crab's back before it jumped straight into the tunnel. There wasn't really a need for spirits to go together, but that was part of the agreement between the three powers and had been like this for a very long time.

As they passed through the Gods' Dividing Barrier, Rean took the opportunity to ask something that was bothering him. "Do any of you two know why this continental barrier is called the Gods' Dividing Barrier? If it was the normal continental barrier, being in such a place would be suicide for Triwe and me. That's why the name doesn't make much sense in my eyes since it's tons weaker than the others."

Triwe pondered over the question for a bit, eventually having to admit he didn't know the answer. "To be honest, I've never cared too much about it. But now that you say that, that is quite odd. I don't see how this barrier could hold gods back while the dangerous ones can't stop the top experts of our races."

"Oh! So you don't know, huh?" Surprisingly, the crab seemed to know a little about it. "I'm not that well-versed in it either. However, I heard that while the Gods' Dividing Barrier is harmless to lower cultivation beings like you, it can be quite nasty to higher-level ones."

Rean looked around and found it hard to believe. "Are you saying that such a calm barrier will become more dangerous the higher your cultivation gets? Then what about the normal barriers?"

"I know it's hard to believe," the crab answered. "However, I've seen it with my own eyes while living in this continental barrier. It may be rare, but sometimes the experts of our races have to make a trip to each other's side. I've seen high-level spirits, demon beasts, and humanoids stopping right in front of it before trying to go through."

Triwe didn't know that. "Is that so? I haven't been in Ransvite City for long, so I haven't had the chance to see such a thing yet."

The crab nodded, replying, "If you stay there, you'll eventually see it. That's because it turns into quite the show every time someone with very high cultivation needs to go through. The barrier will literally fight back against the expert's advance and create a lot of commotion."

That was one of the reasons Lanfia, the old female demon beast who captured Erithean, was in such bad shape on her way back. And that was after she used the secret passage, which was now gone. Of course, Rean's group had no idea about this event.

The crab continued, "If you stop and think about it, there's a rule for the traversal that makes it quite apparent."

Rean pondered over it for a bit and immediately remembered one of the rules of the traversal. "The Space Bending Realm limit, right?"

Triwe was surprised at first but quickly understood. "I see... Space Bending Realm is the limit of what the Gods' Dividing Barrier allows to pass through without fighting back."

"That's correct." The crab agreed with them. "Anyone above this realm will start to receive the opposing force of the barrier. Well, being one or two realms above the limit is still fine since the opposing force isn't that great. But if you're a top expert, then you're in for quite the experience."

Rean sighed in response. "No wonder the experts of each side of the territories rarely ever go out. Passing through the Gods' Dividing Barrier seems to be a pain they don't want to go through. They would rather send subordinates to do the talking since it's way easier."

The crab nodded. "I can guarantee that a lot of the spirits and humanoids passing through are not heading to the other side because of trade deals, but for other reasons like that. What about you? Trade or politics?"

"Trading," Rean and Triwe answered straight away.

"That's good." The crab was used to it. "Those who can pay to come and do the traversal to then return usually make a lot of Divine Stones. Just remember that if you reach the Elemental Space Realm or go beyond it, be careful with the Gods' Dividing Barrier. This calm thing can become pretty nasty against the things it doesn't like."

Rean couldn't help but remember his talk with Luan and Fluki. "You speak like the Gods' Dividing Barrier has some will of its own."

The crab nodded, saying, "Well, that's just a belief of the spirit races. We believe the continental barriers are somewhat alive, although no one has ever proved that."