Chapter 1714. Radiant Crane Temple.

Chapter 1714: Chapter 1714. Radiant Crane Temple.

Jian Xinlin spoke as they walked together. "These caves are quite interesting. They’ve been around for a long time, but there was no one who dives during the Royal Hunts, at least not to my knowledge."

Yasenia blinked. "Why is that? This place looks perfect for a Spiritual Blacksmith to get their materials. Someone must’ve entered at least once or twice."

Jian Xinlin smiled faintly and touched the wall. "Come."

Yasenia walked toward her and stood beside her. Jian Xinlin paused for a moment, as she had to crane her neck up when Yasenia stood beside her. She wasn’t that short, standing 168 centimeters tall. Yet Yasenia, being almost 20 centimeters taller, looked really... large. Not just tall.

’It’s rare to see a woman as abundant as Yasenia. Her height, combined with her curves, makes her appear even taller than she already is.’

Because after Transcendence almost everyone selectively modified some parts of themselves during the rebirth process, the grand majority of women stood between 160 and 175 centimeters. Few went below or above that height.

The same was true for men, too. Most men were between 170 and 200 centimeters tall. Anyone above or below that height was usually so because of an unavoidable situation or bloodline perk.

Glancing at Yasenia’s group, Xinlin noticed that their heights varied greatly. From Angel, measuring around 155 centimeters tall, to Andrea, measuring up to 198 centimeters tall, they were all quite distinct. Even the maids behind them ranged from shorter than Angel to taller than Andrea.

’It’s as if they had not changed themselves from their mortal days, just perfected what they are.’

That was a difficult thing to do. Imagine having a tool to modify your appearance at will? Who would just lightly modify their own appearance instead of becoming incredibly handsome or beautiful?

Yasenia’s mellow and attractive voice tickled Xinlin’s eardrums. "Lady Xinlin, is everything alright?"

Glancing up at Yasenia’s faintly smiling face, she couldn’t help but feel a small thump in her everstill heart. ’...Sigh. She really is dangerous.’

Xinlin smiled faintly and shook her head. "Nothing, Lady Yasenia. I was distracted for a moment." Glancing back at the wall, Xinlin spoke. "Now, Lady Yasenia, as I was saying, try to break this wall."

Yasenia was somewhat confused, but she did as told. Her hand transformed into a dragon claw, her gorgeous starlit blue scales covering her hand as golden claws coated her fingers like armor. Then, she gripped the brittle-looking wall tightly.

Crraaacck.

A sound of scraping claws and faint cracks forming reached everyone’s ears. Nevertheless, Yasenia’s face changed slightly when she put in strength. The grip strength she was using right now would probably shatter a peak-level Transcendence Ranked shield, and even cause deep cracks in a One or Two Star Supreme Ranked one.

The wall, though, only had the surface cracked.

"Tough. Why is this so tough?"

Tatyana raised an eyebrow and approached as well, touching the wall. "Oh?"

Xinlin blinked and glanced at Tatyana. Tatyana was also taller than herself, but not by much. What she was curious about was her small exclamation. "Did you notice something?"

"I did." Tatyana rubbed her chin and grinned. "Really interesting."

Yasenia glanced at her with a touch of doubt. If Tatyana looked that excited, it meant trouble. This place probably had something much more insidious than they could imagine.

"Tatyana? Remember that we have Angel, Kali, and Cecile with us."

Tatyana pinched and twisted Yasenia’s soft side, causing her to yelp. "Little Treasure, who do you take me for, eh? A reckless madwoman who would put everyone into danger because it looks fun?"

Yasenia looked at Tatyana with a complicated gaze as she rubbed her side, and Tatyana’s smile deepened. "I’ll punish you later. For now, though, the reason I said this was interesting is that this whole mountain range is linked by Heavenly Lines and Natural Formation Lines."

Yasenia rubbed her chin and gathered her knowledge. "So... These mountains are linked to a degree and can dissipate energy? That way, any force inflicted upon them will scatter and cause no damage."

Tatyana nodded. "Exactly. So, you can’t break this wall unless you punch with enough strength to blow up a large part of the entire mountain range. I had not noticed until I saw your energy scattering that way when you tried to break it."

Jian Xinlin and the rest of the Radiant Crane Temple looked at Tatyana with a stupefied expression. Tatyana, noticing their odd looks, asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

Jian Xinlin’s lips twitched. "I don’t know. These mountains were oddly durable, but no one really knew why. How did you even..."

Yasenia and Tatyana blinked with identical cadence and spoke up. "Oh."

A vein bulged on Xinlin’s forehead. "...’Oh’? That’s all you have to say. Even making an identical expression. Someone would think you both are sisters instead of wives!"

Yasenia answered with a blank look. "We are mother and daughter, so you are not too far off."

Xinlin choked and rubbed her temples. "...What?"

Seeing her expression, Tatyana felt somewhat mischievous and smiled. "You know, as they say, it’s better to keep it in the family than to spill the waters to the neighbors." Grabbing Yasenia’s large and plump butt, she smirked. "With such high quality water, you can’t blame me for having the urge to drink it all myself."

"Ugh..."

Xinlin groaned, feeling a headache coming on. "How can you... No. You know what, never mind. Anyway, is what you said the truth?"

Smack!

Yasenia swatted Tatyana’s hand and slapped her perky butt back with her tail once before speaking. "You really like to grab it, don’t you?"

"I would love it more if you did like a month ago and sat on my—"

"ANYWAY." Yasenia interrupted with a glare and looked at the dumbfounded Xinlin. "These mountains are nigh-indestructible because, as a relatively high-level world for this Heavenly Layer, the durability of the terrain is very high. Destroying a combined super-environment like this one would need the combined efforts of several Half-Steps. That’s the conclusion."

Tong Zhuo spoke from behind, chuckling. "I like this family. I think you’d fit right in, Xinlin. Aren’t you an incredible sister lover?"

Xinlin glared over. "Shut up. My Little Star has nothing to do with this?"

Evelyn poked Tong Zhuo, her eyes sparkling. "Spit it out."

Tong Zhuo gave Xinlin a side glance, and seeing her death glare... He ignored it and spoke with a smirk. "She has a rather young sister, around four to five thousand years old. Sect Master Xinlin pampers her to the Heavens. Thankfully, the girl has not grown crooked and has a great personality... Not because of Sect Master, but because the rest of the sect made sure to teach her. Otherwise..."

"TONG ZHUO! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?"

The sect members kept straight faces, not because they weren’t reacting, but because if a single muscle twitch left their control, they would burst into laughter. Their twitching lips were a big sign of that.

Tong Zhuo changed the subject to save himself. "Anyway, Madam Tatyana, your mastery over Feng Shui is sublime."

"Formations." Tatyana corrected. "I am great at formations."

Evelyn spoke up like Tong Zhuo. "...Or so she says. However, she probably is at an expert level in all professions. Formations are just her specialty, which the word ’expertise’ can’t even begin to describe. Don’t let her bloodthirsty and cruel aura deceive you. That woman can probably crush absolutely everyone in this world in meticulousness."

Tatyana gave Evelyn an annoyed look. "...Why did you say that? Do you know how bothersome it will get with people asking me to do this and that?"

Evelyn chuckled. "You are also a Dravory... No. To be precise. You are the source of the very surname, so you better put your weight into it, since you are the very source of our family clan!"

Tatyana gave an arrogant look. "I’ve already created this masterpiece from scratch. Isn’t that enough?"

Yasenia, suddenly thrown into the conversation by her dearest mother, flashed a pretty smile and even struck a pose. The effect was terrifyingly destructive. The cute motions, with that body and face of hers, came out as one of the most seductive gestures the people present had ever seen.

Thud. Thud. Thud...

Seeing people faint, Tang Zhuo made a comment with a sigh. "Destructive. She K.O.ed a tenth of our people with a single pose. That smile can probably bring even gods to their knees."

"..."

Xinlin sighed and began guiding the group inward. "Anyway, as I was saying... Because the walls are that tough, the blacksmiths that came here eventually gave up. The caverns are not only dry of resources, but they are also quite disorienting and complex. They even go down quite deeply in labyrinthine ways. At one point, a Transcendence got lost for a few years before coming out.

Andrea looked around curiously and asked. "Then, shouldn’t we be using a map or something?"

Xinlin glanced at the tall, heroic woman and smiled. "No need to. After that happened, the one I mentioned released some maps he created afterward out of pure frustration. He shared them as if he was cursing at these caves. I have the jade slip with them here and have also memorized most paths."

Yasenia approached and blinked her pretty eyes. "How about... you share them with me?"

Xinlin felt her heart tingling at that gesture and almost nodded. She squinted and raised her hand to poke at Yasenia’s cheek. "You crafty dragon, if you want it, pay for it. They are not free."

"How about..." Yasenia moved her hand elegantly, as if flipping in and out, and manifested a small potted plant. "...This?"

Xinlin’s eyes widened when she saw what Yasenia manifested. "Child... It’s not that I don’t want it, but you must understand how valuable this flower is."

Yasenia naturally knew. The flower she took out was the same flower she took out during the flower gathering with the First Princess. If it were another person, she wouldn’t have taken it out. However, after spending time with Jian Xinlin and her sect members, she noticed they were good-natured and worth making allies with.

After all, the Radiant Crane Temple was one of the four righteous supreme sects. She was careful that their attitude wouldn’t be a bit too righteous and annoying, but she got a pleasant surprise. Whether it was Tong Zhuo, Jian Xinlin, or even the other sect members, they were upright individuals with a sense of humor and kind personalities.

So she chose to give them a small gift that might help them get a little ahead in the long run. "Keep it. I naturally know. I have another one, so I’m fine on my end. Just... I hope we can continue having a good relationship."

Xinlin sighed with a helpless smile. "Even if I wanted to, I can’t not take this gift. Sigh. Here is the map, and yes, expect our support from now on. Thank you very much, Madam Yasenia."

Picking up the flower pot cautiously, as if she were handling an incredibly fragile treasure, Xinlin set it aside and gave Yasenia a copy of the map.

The sect members behind Xinlin were all quite excited as well. They were all elders and other high-ranking individuals, with a few talents among them, so they were pumped to get back and, with luck, break through the bottlenecks in their Spiritual Senses.

That day, the alliance between the Dravory Family and the Radiant Crane Temple became firm and solid.