Heaven, Earth, Me

The gathering of people was incredible. Usually, there would be around 1000 people inside the Ruined City at all times. But that number increased by more than an order of magnitude over the last few days. 

Seeing the mass of people and cultivators who were all in the fifth realm made many of Distancia's leaders sigh. Tengliu commented with amusement. "I still remember when people at this level could be counted with the fingers of one hand in most powers. Now, there are tens of thousands of them, with a few dozen cultivators in a realm that we thought impossible."

Coraline smiled. "'Frogs in a well' is a saying that never stops being the truth. The bowl just keeps getting bigger each time you think you see the 'true' horizon."

Yasenia looked sideways and saw Violet approaching with a group of nearly 400 people. "Ayanduin, Gu Chen, we are here. Are we all going to enter together?"

Besides Violet, Yasenia could see six other people who were in the Transcendence Realm. Their auras were just too eye-catching compared to the surrounding people.

Many of them turned to look at her, pausing for a few moments as they observed her closely. Yasenia felt their gazes and smiled, cupping her fists. "Welcome, seniors."

"Who is she?" A suave middle-aged man asked Violet.

Violet commented. "She is Yasenia Dravory, one of the most talented disciples of the Astral Sky Sect."

"Oh?" A woman in the group raised an eyebrow. "So, that's Yasenia! I thought you were exaggerating, but now I understand why you didn't call Fu Kong."

The Transcendent Realm woman smiled at Yasenia. "Dual Cultivator, child. With your looks, you must be quite knowledgeable of them."

Yasenia smiled wryly. "I am indeed knowledgeable." She then nodded at Violet. "Thank you, Senior Violet."

Violet commented. "Add immortal. While I don't mind, many Sixth Realm cultivators prefer to be called immortals."

Evelyn asked, curious. "Oh? Like actual mortals call us?"

Violet smirked. "The difference is similar. So, yes."

Evelyn nodded. "Understood, Immortal Violet…" Evelyn frowned. "It really doesn't roll off the tongue nicely…" 

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Yasenia chuckled and patted her head. "I agree."

Violet added with a faint smile. "You can use 'Venerable' if you prefer."

Evelyn muttered. "Venerable Violet… Hm… A bit better, I guess."

The other immortals couldn't help but look at our girls, and one of them commented. "Confidence and lack of fear without being disrespectful. They've been around Sixth Realm cultivators quite a lot."

Violet pointed at the six accompanying Sixth Realm cultivators and presented them. "These are Elders of allied sects that I trust very much. They are Elder Swan, Elder Ru, Elder Ku, Elder Payun, Elder Dolter, and Elder Xerian." 𝔯

All the fifth realm cultivators bowed at once, cupping their fists in respect. "We will be under your care, Venerables/Immortals."

Elder Swan, the woman who told Yasenia about the Dual Cultivator, clicked her tongue. "That distinction makes the chorus sound a bit odd."

Violet pointed at Ayanduin and Gu Chen and said. "These two are the Left Guardian and Right Guardian of the Astral Sky Sect. They are, respectively, Ayanduin and Gu Chen."

The people behind the elders bowed this time around. "We will be under your care, Venerables/Immortals."

Ayanduin and Gu Chen smiled and nodded. Ayanduin commented. "Elders, this is our group's first time around the place, and after exploring with Lady Violet, we've noticed that some places are perilous. Therefore, we might want to lead our juniors through paths we consider a bit safer and take fewer risks. If you want to follow us, you are always welcome to. Of course, we will remain together for the first moments."

The others nodded without a problem. They had a temporary alliance, so separating when exploring the inner side of the immense Ruined City was normal.

The inner city could be observed from a distance, and it was made of several rings of large houses with a towering castle, eroded by time, standing in the middle of the city. No one knew if there were subterranean paths. However, it was not difficult for our girls and company to guess that something must be there after discovering the tomb of the powerful cultivator.

Lord Hurricane suddenly appeared in the sky and spoke aloud, his aged voice spreading uniformly several hundreds of thousands of kilometers around. "Today is the day that we've been told the inner city will open. However, we are still not 100% confident that something will happen, as we haven't noticed any different signals compared to other days." 

Yasenia looked at the old man, and while everyone had their attention on him, she sent a very faint Energy Pulse into the ground.

The energy thread sunk into the ground, touching a small formation below her feet. This formation was connected to an energy path that carried the energy pulse quickly through the ground and reached the large gates behind Lord Hurricane, who was giving a speech about fighting for treasures responsibly. 

The energy pulse moved around a keyhole and twisted the Key that had been already placed there. Yasenia and the others had naturally prepared everything before sending the notice, and now, they just needed to activate it. 

UMM~!

A big humming sound suddenly interrupted Lord Hurricane's words, making everyone's eyes slowly open wider.

As explained before, this was not the first time an event like this happened. And each time, Lord Hurricane gave the same speech. Sadly, all those other times were just huge wastes of time. So, until now, everyone was here just to see all these super powers gathered but feeling overall relaxed.

Lord Hurricane looked at the giant gates that remained closed for millennia and saw that they actually started to move. His aged face gained a rare expression of surprise. While he had noticed that this time around, it was slightly different, he was not expecting anything. After so much time being disappointed, Lord Hurricane just gave up.

Still, he was not fooled and quickly shouted. "REMAIN CALM!"

The people who were about to rush felt a wind wave that pushed everyone back a step. Those who had been momentarily blinded by greed realized where they were and surrounded by whom.

Elder Dolter, the middle-aged man, couldn't help but shoot a glance at Violet. 'Oh? She is not surprised… So, she expected it?'

Tatyana was observing these big bosses and noticed Dolter's gaze. She imperceptibly frowned. 'Violet, act surprised! Are you trying to reveal that it was us who opened it!?'

Violet's heart jolted, and her eyes widened slightly. She blinked twice and then returned to calm again. Dolter was somewhat confused. 'What in Heaven's name was that…'

Tatyana almost facepalmed. 'Is she completely null at acting!?'

However, to Tatyana's surprise, Dolter actually looked away, looking as if he had lost interest. 'Is that her usual reaction to surprising things!?'

The Death Empress decided to just not bother, as long as it worked, she was okay with it.

Lord Hurricane's words reached everyone. "I don't want anyone pushing over to enter. We will enter together, and when we all cross the gates, we'll start the exploration! If someone tries to speed ahead, they will be hunted by everyone else!"

If anything, Lord Hurricane was the person who wanted to visit this place the most. He was the oldest resident of this world, and he has been stationed here for who knows how long. However, he had a duty left behind by his brothers and sisters who forged the foundations of [Ruin World City] with their sweat, blood, and lives. He needed to act as a leader and make sure that this world was kept available for everyone who wanted to explore. 

He was this world's guardian, and he wouldn't let anyone destroy what he had taken care of for so long. 

When the gates completely opened, the formation around the Ruined City's inner area burst into an energy explosion, dissipating into the air. Yasenia looked at that and secretly sighed in relief. 

Andrea spoke through Spiritual Sense to everyone involved. 'Thankfully, we didn't try to sneak inside. Otherwise, who knows how many troubles we would need to go through?'

Kali nodded. "I would've needed to say goodbye to that Natural Treasure if we did that. Lord Hurricane looks very strong."

Valeria commented. 'He is probably a Level Four Transcendent Realm Cultivator. I don't doubt that he can take on more than ten Transcendent Realm cultivators of those gathered and still come out victorious.'

Everyone else couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. 

Lord Hurricane ordered aloud. "Move forward."

With his words, everyone started advancing slowly and crossed the fully opened gates. For the number of powerhouses gathered, the place was extremely orderly. Usually, there would be always a few rogue groups that tried to take advantage. However, with the old man floating on top of the gates and looking down at everyone who crossed over, nobody dared to make a wrong move.

When Yasenia was passing through the gates, Lord Hurricane looked at her for a second. 'Hm? A humanized pure dragon? Her bloodline level is also incredibly high. What a good seedling.'

Yasenia looked up, crossing gazes with him. The somewhat tired eyes of the old man and the gorgeous and youthful golden slit eyes of the young woman exchanged a look for a second. Yasenia nodded, smiling back, and looked forward again. 

This surprised Lord Hurricane. 'She actually smiled?' He couldn't help but chuckle. 'What a good lass. She was raised correctly.' Lord Hurricane pondered and thought. 'Dragons have a good sense of smell toward treasures, right? I should ask her if she wants me to tag along with them. I might be able to earn some profit. And if not, well, protecting such a talented young lass is quite good enough profit. It would be a shame if she died here.'

After everyone crossed, Lord Hurricane nodded around and smiled. "Great. Now, we officially begin the first Treasure Hunt of the Inner Ruined City! Go!"

The second he said so, the auras of tens of thousands of cultivators exploded outward like a volcano, and many rushed forward, spreading through the streets and entering one house after another.

All the Elders that accompanied Violet were about to do the same when they saw that Yasenia's group was taking it slowly. Instead of rushing forward, they were waiting for most people to leave before stepping ahead.

A junior from one of their sects looked over and shouted. "Hey! Are you too shocked by the aura bursts!? Let's move out before we are left empty-handed!"

Yasenia looked over, her face carrying her usual faint smile. "If you want to go, no one is stopping you." 

The Elders had long noticed her extraordinariness. Therefore, instead of thinking that she was afraid, Elder Swan asked. "Why are you waiting, Junior?"

"Venerable Swan, the first moments of a Treasure Hunt are the most chaotic. It is better to wait a few minutes because, inevitably, conflict will arise that can get you involved in-."

BOOOM!

A massive shockwave occurred a few kilometers to the right, followed by many others. Yasenia looked around and finished her sentence. "Involved in… Well, this."

Many looked at the man who shouted and noticed that his face had turned red out of shame. 

Suddenly, an aged voice reached them. "Not only talented but wise as well! You are a very interesting junior."

Looking over, they saw Lord Hurricane land in front of them with a faint smile.