Yasenia reached into her bosom and took out the key. "It's glowing and pouring out light in a specific direction."
Her gaze gained a touch of anticipation; she knew that this extra reward was crucial for gaining an advantage over the others. Therefore, she planned to follow the guide straight away.
Of course, there was some hesitation at first.
"This deviates from my plans a bit." Yasenia thought, questioning whether to follow the light straight away. "I wanted to find the others in this place and kill them. But it's clearly not as important as the extra rewards."
Encouraging herself, Yasenia smiled. "Let's go. Either way, there must be other chances in the future to deal with them. The advantage I'll gain with this key is more important than getting rid of them."
So, after a few moments, Yasenia used [Fairy Moon Steps], and her figure accelerated and vanished in the distance. With this movement technique, her figure seemed to float and glide over the terrain. 'Hm… Compared to Pegasus Gallop, it is slower by a whole level. Nevertheless, the maneuverability is leagues ahead of Pegasus Gallop. I guess I can use this movement technique while fighting instead to close the distance.'
When she learned the techniques, she didn't really plan to use them. Her own techniques were very strong and hand-crafted to fit with her strengths. However, while using them, she changed her mind.
"I'll need to see the effectiveness of the other skills, so I won't jump to conclusions. Despite that, this movement skill is good enough to use beyond the Secret Realm."
After running in a straight line for five hours, Yasenia finally arrived at the place where the key pointed. During her journey, Yasenia spotted several temples in the distance. Clearly, one had to choose a good temple during the third trial. 'Thankfully, I have the key.'
When she arrived, what she saw left her breathless. The temple the key pointed at was gigantic, much larger than the others. It had towering buildings, some reaching the clouds floating above. Its surface was eroded by time, yet it still retained hints of its past glory.
Once she stopped in front of it, Yasenia saw a giant golden gate. Unlike the rest of the temple, this gate had withstood the erosion of time, looking pristine and imposing. When Yasenia approached, she heard a voice coming from behind her.
"Hey! Stop right there. I saw this temple first."
Yasenia turned around, and once she saw who it was, her gaze changed from annoyed to interested. "Oh. It's one of you charmed people."
The person was part of the [Shore Shift Sect]—the senior brother of the woman controlled by the male Charm Snake Demon.
"Don't insult my lover, dragon!" The man's handsome face became stern, clearly displeased that Yasenia had insulted the female demon.
Yasenia laughed, not offended at all. Instead, she stopped suppressing her own beauty and smiled seductively at him. "I really dislike those two, so I'll do you a favor~."
The man was momentarily stunned when Yasenia revealed her beauty. It was as if Yasenia's skin was moisturized and glowing, drawing one in to touch and leave a mark. Her gaze spilled sensuality, the naturally raised eye corners hooking the souls of those who looked into her golden orbs.
As Yasenia approached, her body swayed from side to side and created heart-stirring tremors all around. The sheer sensuality and charm Yasenia emitted had already aroused the immortal cultivator far beyond normal bounds. If he didn't have a sturdy will, the man would've already jumped at Yasenia, trying to mix and explode together.
Halfway through her soul-stealing walk, the man's facial expression twisted. Clearly, this situation was abnormal, and he needed to attack Yasenia. Yet, he couldn't.
'Now, for the killing move~.'
Energy enveloped her soul as she changed clothes. A sensual red dress that barely covered her breasts with two strings and cinched at the waist draped over her. The side-opening slit on the skirt revealed her fair and long legs, while her breasts, now held by nothing but hopes and dreams, swayed temptingly.
Yasenia, who had not only unleashed her beauty but also changed clothes to a revealing red dress, was like a freshly watered rose, ready to pluck.
The man's eyes turned red, wanting to possess the woman with such carnal attraction. With his muscles bulging and blood flowing, the man grunted and lunged forward. "MINE!"
"Good~. Now that you are awake…" Yasenia's seductive face and gait completely changed, returning to a calm and indifferent expression. "Snap out of it."
BANG!
Before the man's hand could reach out to touch Yasenia's tender skin, her tail bashed his head down into the soil. With a wave of her hand, the dragoness changed back to her elegant purple-gold dress, her hands retouching her updo.
Then, she placed the veil over her face and looked at the person buried in the floor below her. Her tail moved again. "Hey, wake up."
BANG!
"GAH!" Startled, he jumped up and looked around, confused. "Where…"
"Where are you?" Yasenia crossed her arms under her prominent bust and snorted. "You are in a trial. Now, be a man and go rescue the beauty. Your memory should clear up shortly, so you should know what to do."
Then, she turned around and walked toward the large golden gates, her hips and tail swaying temptingly.
"Wait!" The man shouted, his heart feeling reluctant as the dragoness walked away. "Y-Your name! Please, tell me your name!"
"No." Yasenia didn't turn around. "I only snapped you out because I dislike those two. If you want to thank me, make sure you get your revenge and don't die pathetically."
Her key floated up, entering the keyhole of the gates. Then, with a deep rumble, they opened and allowed Yasenia inside.
The man stood in the same spot, blankly staring at Yasenia's disappearing back as if his soul had left his body. Only when Yasenia's dancing tail and fluttering long black hair vanished from his sight did he snap out of it.
'Who was that beautiful goddess? Also… Why am I here?'
He was confused, but as Yasenia said, he started remembering everything a few seconds later. After his memories came back, his facial expression twisted, killing intent bursting out of his body. "THOSE TWO! HOW DARE THEY!?" Taking a deep breath, his eyes flashed with malice and cunning. "Since you dare mess with us and take my junior sister as hostage, I'll show you that the [Shore Shift Sect] is not someone you can easily mess with."
After taking one last look at the giant temple, the man sped into the distance.
Meanwhile, the dragoness had already reached inside the temple. "Who thought that I could snap charm techniques, brute forcing them by using my beauty to override their manipulated thoughts?" Her gleaming and soft lips arched in an amused smile. "I wonder what face that demon woman will make when she realizes. Will her pride be hurt? How humiliating must it be that her charm techniques are not even strong enough to resist my natural beauty~."
The temple suddenly started trembling, attracting Yasenia's attention. Then, a voice reached her. "Congratulations! You've obtained the Big Dipper Temple. Your forces will be 16,807 people. These forces are divided into six groups of 2,801 people. The 16,807th soldier will be the general of your army."
Yasenia looked at those numbers and quickly linked them according to what she had seen. "16,807 people are enough to fill one five-layer Big Dipper Battle Formation. They are divided into six, probably because I've learned six skills. The last one is a general, which I guess will have all the skills I've learned…"
After waiting for a moment, all sixteen thousand people appeared right before her. Looking at them, each of them had different uniforms and temperaments. She ordered aloud, her voice echoing full of deterrence. "One person from each group, step forward. The general must step forward as well."
Seven coordinated steps echoed in the large temple. Yasenia nodded, satisfied by their discipline. Then, she ordered. "Each of you, use your preferred skill."
As she expected, each person from the groups used one of the six skills she learned. Looking at the general, she saw that he had not used anything. "General, do you not have a preferred skill?"
"Immortal Commander, I pride myself on having mastered all six of our army's abilities. I do not have a preferred skill, for I am proficient in all of them."
The dragoness nodded, a smile etched on her lips. "Show the six skills for me to see."
The general then proceeded to use [Scorching Sword], [Moon Ice Torment], [Star Pierce], [Star Dome], [Crystalline Moon Dress], and [Fairy Moon Steps]. All of them were used at the same level Yasenia could use.
"Interesting…" Then, she asked the general. "Do you know the enemy army numbers, general?"
"Yes, Immortal Commander! Each temple comes with a trial. Small temples will have 2,401 soldiers. Medium Temples will have double that. 4,802 soldiers. Large Temples will have double that, 9,604 soldiers. The Big Dipper Temple will have 16,807 soldiers, one general among them."
The dragoness hummed with interest. "Can you know the temple the others have chosen to enter?"
The general shook his head. "That's impossible, Immortal Commander. Only when everyone has chosen will the results be available to know."
A bit disappointed, Yasenia muttered. "That's a shame." Then, she asked. "Either way, do you all know how to create the Big Dipper Battle Formation?"
The general answered. "Not yet, Immortal Commander. The current strength of each soldier is identical, with only the skill changing from one to another. For us to learn the exalted Battle Formation, Immortal Commander needs to earn it in future trials."
The dragoness's eyes shone with interest. "That's intriguing. Small temples can create one four-layered Battle Formation, medium ones can create two, and large ones can create three. Only I can create a five-layered one… I guess my advantage is overwhelming compared to the others."
'This is confusing,' Yasenia thought. 'Isn't the reward for defeating that general a bit too high? It basically guarantees my victory straight away, right?'
What Yasenia didn't take into account was that, to defeat that general, one must have incredible personal strength and army-wiping capabilities. If you could beat the general, whatever advantage you had after that would only be logical and deserved.
And so, everyone chose their temple, and the results were announced.
"You've chosen your temple. There is one Small Temple, two Medium Temples, four Large Temples, and one Big Dipper Temple among the selections. With the Lost Temple Trial completed, you will pass to the next one: The Shattered Mirror Trial."
The dragoness blinked. "There were names? What are the previous two, then?"
The general by her side spoke. "Trial of the Endless Army and Trial of the Nascent Force."
"Oh." The dragoness nodded. "Solid names."