"Why is this happening!? These five defensive layers should be enough to block people at the high levels of the Transcendence Realm!"
As Yasenia's energy surged wildly through her meridians, Sui Xing spoke with a thoughtful tone. "I admit that these barriers are strong. However, in the end, they are peak-level Transcendence-ranked formations. Your ring, [Five Realm Spatial Ring], is a Supreme treasure—quite a good one at that. Meanwhile, the [Five Time Rivers Garden] is a 9-Star Supreme Ranked Treasure."
Yasenia's heart felt stifled. "Can you not speak as if this is none of your business!? Help me suppress it! I'll be discovered at this pace, and we are dead if that happens!"
Sui Xing chuckled. "We can't do anything. Do you think that bossy star of yours wouldn't have moved already if we were able to do something?"
The dragoness felt an urge to summon all her treasures and beat their bums until they were red! Still, she knew that she was at a critical juncture.
'Alright, focus. The three cultivation paths will now move forward, so I must steer the energy in their respective directions.'
Yasenia spoke to herself, clearing her mind. "First, the Spiritual Path. To step out of [Mortal Shackles] and enter the [Spiritual Awakening] step, I must focus on controlling my spiritual sense and strengthening my spiritual energy in the process. Of course, I must finish purifying my body of any remnant mortal trace, which is basically done."
With that in mind, Yasenia's spiritual energy got to work. Her pure energy continuously refined the few mortal traces and slowly poured out in the form of grayish impurities. As she began sweating out these impurities profusely, her mind focused on the second path.
"Second, the Soul Path. Thanks to my [Temple] already having emerged, the first path, [Soul Palace Surfacing], had long been completed. What I needed was enough Soul Energy to shatter the barrier between levels and reach the [Soul Expansion] level. This step is self-explanatory. I must stretch my soul as much as I can without losing my solid foundation."
Therefore, Soul Energy enveloped her soul and nourished it. The process was smooth, requiring minimal focus from Yasenia. That didn't mean that it wasn't something flashy, as there were constant waves of soul aura blasting out and clashing against the defensive formations.
"Thirdly, the Body Path. I must advance from [Skin Shedding] into [Bone Carving]. The process of shedding my skin and transforming it with Body Energy was done a while ago, so I must now focus all the Body Energy into my bones to start the strengthening… This step will hurt, but it is nothing new, so there is nothing to fear."
With her thoughts, the Body Energy that came from the depths of her cells stimulated her limits and began drilling into her bones. The feeling was similar to that of a thousand ants gnawing on them, but Yasenia clenched her jaw and resisted.
"Finally, my Beast Path. The only thing I must do here is enhance my Beast Core and make it larger and purer. After changing the core, the body will follow naturally without any need for my attention."
Her energies flowed into the Beast Core and nourished it, slowly cracking its surface as it molted to become larger and stronger.
All those four breakthroughs were occurring at once. Yet, Yasenia could not relax. After all, there were two top-tier Supreme Ranked treasures fighting for dominance with each other that she needed to control!
"You two… I swear that if you don't come to an agreement, I will destroy you both and throw you into deep space so that no one can find you ever again!"
Her roar of anger startled the two semi-sentient treasures. They looked at each other and then reluctantly started cooperating.
Yasenia's influence on her spatial ring was natural, so it listened to her. The garden, on the other side, had felt an energy so pure and rich that it could probably nourish it to become stronger inside Yasenia. This essence was so tempting that the treasure didn't dare contradict its new master.
Now that they were cooperating, the violent energy clashes were not as monstrous. Did this mean that the defensive formation could resist? Not exactly.
With her four paths creating resonance and the two treasures taking advantage of the rivers of energy pouring in from all sides, the shockwaves that struck her surroundings were flattening everything with incredible strength.
The cave had long become several times larger, the rock compressing each time Yasenia's aura burst collided with its walls.
Meanwhile, outside Yasenia's current location, around ten people looked around with confusion. "Are you sure it was in this area?"
"Yes. Can't you feel the energy moving oddly here?"
"But… Lord Baihu, are you sure you want to interact with that woman?"
"The leader of the supreme sect has spoken; we must follow her words. Of course, not any random person can become such a blessed person."
A man at the side frowned. "Shen Baihu. I understand that you are a big fan of the new Sect Master. However, aren't you meddling a bit too much in her business? If she asks us something, we must follow it without question."
"Hmph. Fu Weiyang, would you smile and nod as a parasite latches onto someone you hold dear just because that person told you that they like the parasite?" Baihu sneered. "While I admit that the dragon woman has talent, I must still see if they have enough talent as they have hunger. Taking those treasures without thinking of consequences is a sure-fire way of bringing calamity onto herself."
A woman at the side raised her eyebrow. "Is that why you forcefully trigger the [Star Breaker Realm Bead]? To test her?"
"Yes." Shen Baihu nodded indifferently. "If she can't even survive that test, what's her worth?"
Fu Weiyang looked at Shen Baihu and spoke lightly. "You are going to get killed at this pace. What would YOU do if someone forced their tests on a person you love? Would you smile and nod, thinking that they were for your own good?"
"Narrow-minded." Baihu softly berated, his words filled with scorn. "If my filtering Yasenia Dravory means my death, I'll gladly become a sacrifice so that Lady Death Empress can soar higher into the skies."
"Lunatic. You are dead the second she discovers you are doing this, regardless of the results."
Shen Baihu ignored the man's words and looked at the woman. "How is it, Yu Xiaolian? Can you sense her?"
The woman closed her eyes and nodded. "I can." Her gaze moved toward a mountain in the distance, and she moved her chin. "She is breaking through over there. She is covered in formations, but with our [Thousand Miles Soul Searching Device], the wisps of energy are easily detectable."
"Careless." Shen Baihu snorted. "Is she so poor that she can only set up a mediocre concealing formation?"
Fu Weiyang smiled somewhat angrily. "Can't you think that, perhaps, she has her own reasons for the sloppy defensive methods?"
As the group of ten floated up, they suddenly frowned and looked behind them. A few people from various sects stood behind them. These people were not as powerful as they were, but they were much more numerous.
A demon at the lead grinned. "I guess I should thank you. I can feel that a certain someone is hiding within this mountain range."
Shen Baihu, being the leader, raised his eyebrow lightly. "Who can you detect?"
The Demon laughed and grinned. "My leader has asked me to collect some goods. So, I will do as such. I ask the elders of the [Astral Death Sect] not to get involved."
"You should be a follower of Ralgar. If you don't want to die, I recommend you leave this place."
"If there is nothing, why should we leave?"
Baihu squinted. "Because we are here. If you don't want your entire power to be flattened and revived to serve us eternally, you'd better think about your next actions.
"Domineering." A woman with red, feathered wings spoke with a smile. Her valiant expression showed fearlessness as she raised her eyebrow. "Are you sure the [Astral Death Sect] can offend Demons, Divines, and major sects at the same time?"
Fu Weiyang stepped forward, his face solemn. "The person you are searching for is from our sect. We can't give it to you, and as previously agreed, you should accept it."
"Sure. Show us proof." The Divine woman with red wings smiled. "If you do that, we will all leave. Of course, if you are speaking nonsense, we will call our elders. They shouldn't be too far from here."
The ten people of the Astral Death Sect looked around and wanted to speak when the mountain behind them shook.
BOOM!
A powerful and profound aura spread all around the mountain range, and soon, a pillar of light pierced the clouds. Everyone's eyes widened. "This… The aura of an Ancient Treasure!? How is this possible?"
Looking over at the middle of the pillar of light, they saw Yasenia's figure floating with closed eyes. Someone squinted and didn't dare wait, stepping forward with a killing blow.
'I will rob her before the others; that way we will have the advantage.'
Yasenia felt a presence approach, and her eyes opened, flashing with sharp coldness. "Scram!"
Waving her arm, dozens of attack talismans she gathered in the Secret Realm appeared in front of her. The dozens of attacks, carrying mid-level Transcendence Rank strength, barreled against the Level 5 Transcendence Realm cultivator.
BOOM!
Everyone became silent as an explosion that rocked the mountain range swept over them. From the cloud of dust, only Yasenia emerged and floated up in the air. Her eyes scanned everyone who had gathered with a solemn expression.
"I didn't know that any chicken and pig could now team up to bully a junior for her treasures! Shameless!"
Everyone glared at Yasenia, but they didn't lose control over their emotions. All the people gathered were several thousand years old, so they knew that Yasenia had some tricks up her sleeve for her to appear so confident.
Shen Baihu looked at her with cold eyes and spoke aloud. "Yasenia Dravory. We are from the [Astral Death Sect]. We are here to pick you up. Come with us."
The dragoness looked at them and snorted. "Why should I? I don't even know your sect."
"Foolish! Do you think you can escape this situation with your pitiful strength? I admit that you are strong for a Level 2 Transcendence Realm cultivator. However, don't be arrogant. There are plenty of Level 7, 8, and 9 Transcendence among us to flatten you in an instant."
The dragoness's lips arched mockingly. "Try it. See what happens."