Chapter 1715. Deep Dive and Xinlin’s Little Peculiarity.

Chapter 1715: Chapter 1715. Deep Dive and Xinlin’s Little Peculiarity.

Their group advanced swiftly, and Yasenia used her powerful treasure scent to follow its trail. The caverns were rather large, about 30 to 40 meters tall, and half as wide as they were tall at their widest. The tighter paths were only wide enough for about five people to walk side by side.

The surface below their feet was uneven, and some water creeks ran among paths marked by time. Above and below, stalactites and stalagmites were easy to see, and when they checked, they noticed the water was somewhat special. Rich in rare materials, but at a very low density.

As for light, some flora developed fluorescence, giving the cave a bluish-green glow.

Tong Zhuo suddenly commented. "Speaking of tight paths, Madam Yasenia is at a disadvantage. Not only you, but some of your partners and maids will be unable to fight at full strength, right?"

Yasenia tilted her head, not fully understanding what he meant. "Disadvantage?"

Tong Zhuo nodded. "I heard that the Beast Form of the humanized beast species is stronger in combat. Here... transforming into your giant beast forms should be impossible."

Yasenia and the girls understood. Kali answered with a faint smile. "It is true that many of us can’t transform here. Nevertheless, that doesn’t apply to Yasenia. Her dragon form is quite special."

Yasenia laughed and muttered her transformation skill. Jian Xinlin frowned. "Yasenia, stop it!"

A beast transforming in a tight space never ended well. Especially when the beast couldn’t break the walls.

Blue light lit up the caves, and from the sphere of light, Yasenia slowly walked out.

First, two massive, 10-meter-wide wings spread out majestically. The Sun and Moon glowed with celestial intensity, and the starry aura and scales shone in the deep, dark caves. Then came the tail and her legs. The gorgeous golden rings and long, sinuous motions swept the cave floor.

With loud thumps, her golden claws descended, and then Yasenia’s dragon head manifested as the sphere disappeared.

Her gorgeous, swept-back golden horns and her glimmering crystal mane added to the overall charm of her dragon form, as a faint, golden color covered Yasenia’s underbelly like gold powder scattered among the stars.

Her overall size, though, was not that large. If one had to compare it, she was slightly larger than a powerful horse, but her figure was agile and slender, with beautiful muscles.

The one thing that made her feel gigantic was her wings and long tail. So, after Yasenia tucked them in, her figure was reduced to the size of a large mount.

Yasenia shook her body slightly and stretched her wings once more. "Nnng~. It has been a while. So comfy."

Qinqin trotted over, her eyes wide. "Wow! I didn’t know you could transform into this small form. Now that you are not large enough to cover the sky, I can see you in more detail!"

Yasenia glanced at the girl, and the urge to be slightly mean to her took over. Her golden eyes shone mischievously, and with a low growl, she feinted a charge.

"W-Wah!"

Qinqin jumped back, almost stumbling.

Yasenia burst into low laughter, her ethereal dragon voice echoing in the caves. "Be careful, Qinqin. You’ll trip~. Oh my, as an immortal, tripping in fear is quite embarrassing!"

Qinqin’s cheeks puffed like a balloon, and she walked right up to Yasenia, smacking her sturdy front. "Y-You! Why are you always so playful, eh? I am going to get back at you!"

Yasenia lowered her dragon head, showing Qinqin her gorgeous side profile. Then, raising her scaly eyebrow and arching her lip, Yasenia asked with a low, seductive growl. "Oh. You will? I can’t wait, Qin~Qin."

Qinqin felt her heart accelerate and panicked. ’W-Why am I being seduced by a beast!? I am a human! Ah! S-So embarrassing.’

Thankfully for her, there was a teacher right behind her commenting. Evelyn sighed in admiration. "She is so hot even in her dragon form. Honestly, the nights in this form are the wildest."

Angel glanced at her and bumped her side. "Don’t give ideas to the newbie. Look at her. She is already drooling."

Qinqin’s brain began processing that absolutely delicious sentence and digesting it. "Heh... Heheh... Huehue... E-Eighty... No, E-Eighty-one feels correct. Yeah. Hehehehe."

Yasenia blinked at the silly expression on the girl’s face and smiled helplessly. ’This girl... sigh.’

Straightening her long neck, Yasenia turned to look at the sect members. She noticed that while the men looked at her admiringly, many girls blushed. If she could read minds, the words "cute," "adorable," and "pretty" would echo enough to create a symphony.

After all, they were all accustomed to dragons larger than mountains, which always caused awe and fear. Yasenia’s current form was like a miniature version they would love to keep as a pet and pamper to the skies and above.

Jian Xinlin stared dazedly, and Tong Zhuo’s eyebrow twitched. "Madam Yasenia... you made a mistake."

"Mistake?"

The next second, Xinlin vanished and reappeared in front of Yasenia’s head, hugging her tightly. "Oh my Heavens! You are so cute and adorable and beautiful, and I love you! Ahhhh! H-Honorary Elder. No! I will give you the spot of an honorary deputy Sect Master! Yasenia, come to my sect, pleaseeeee!"

As the girls, mouths agape, stared at Xinlin patting Yasenia’s head and rubbing it with aggressive affection, Tong Zhuo clarified. "She loves beautiful creatures that are not unnecessarily large. She has even captured a [Zap Thunder Cat] to keep as a pet."

Tatyana almost choked. "She even managed to capture one of those? What Level?"

Among the creatures that developed no offensive power, the Zap Thunder Cat was one of the fastest. Even Level One Law Creators and Demigods had some trouble capturing a Level 9 Mythical Core Beast Zap Thunder Cat, not to mention a Level 10.

Tong Zhuo sighed again. "...A Level Six one."

Tatyana’s eyes widened slightly. "Alright. I’ll give it to her. Her persistence is second to none in that regard."

Even if she was a Half-Step, a Level Six Zap Thunder Cat was so fast it could probably run laps around Yasenia without being easily caught. Not that they were stupid enough to do that and get caught.

Tong Zhuo looked up at an angle as if remembering a deeply painful past. "...Two and a half thousand years. Two and a half millennia of pure neglect as she chased it around the entire continent. In the end, the cat was caught."

The rest of the sect members felt their faces twitch, too. Two and a half millennia without their Sect Master was a truly dangerous moment for them. What could they do, though? Cute and adorable beasts were the one weakness of their super-powerful Sect Leader.

Yasenia looked at Xinlin’s eyes and felt a strange shiver. "L-Lady Xinlin."

"Call me Big Sister Xinlin!"

Yasenia’s eyebrow twitched. "Big Sister Xinlin."

"Yes, yes~? What does this pretty dragon want?"

"Could you give me some space?"

"Hehehe. Are you shy, baby? Don’t worry, little Yasenia. Big Sister Xinlin will protect you. I can even build you a pretty ecosystem if you want."

Yasenia’s beast instincts rang. ’She wants to cage me!’

Thankfully, her lovers came to the rescue. Cecile spoke the magical words. "Yasenia’s maximum size is over 200 kilometers in wingspan. She is so large that she can cover the entire sky from horizon to horizon. This is just the shrunken version of herself and temporary."

It was a lie, but with her deadpan tone, who the hell could tell? In truth, this petite form of herself was her "true" size, while the other was boosted by Cosmic Energy.

Xinlin glanced at Cecile with suspicion. Her sharp senses told her this was indeed Yasenia’s true dragon form. However, Cecile’s face was so deadpan that doubting her felt... wrong.

"Hm... I see. I’ll hold back then... at least for now."

Yasenia looked at her Sweetheart with a deeply grateful and loving look. ’Ah! My Soulmate is the best in the world!’

Cecile smiled faintly as overflowing gratitude gushed through their connection, filling her heart. She fluttered her wings and landed on Yasenia’s back, hugging her neck and leaning forward. The crystal mane looked hard, but it was actually soft. The crystal mane was created from overflowing celestial energy, which took a formless yet solid-looking form as a crystal mane.

"Also..." Cecile glanced at Xinlin with her icy blue eyes. "She is mine."

Xinlin pouted a bit. "I will give up... for now, at least."

Tong Zhuo took out a handkerchief and cleaned his sweaty forehead. ’Close call. Good move!’

After giving Cecile a silent thumbs-up, he asked Yasenia. "So, is your nose sharper in this form?"

"Everything’s much sharper. It’s just that I can’t go around in my true..." Yasenia gave Xinlin a side eye and coughed. "Ahem. My small form. Dragon Hunters are quite annoying, among many other individuals. Now that you’ve both relaxed, you can probably tell many things just by looking at me."

Xinlin spoke with the iciest voice they’ve ever heard. "If someone tries to hunt you, I’ll destroy their sect."

Everyone laughed awkwardly while Qinqin walked around Yasenia, humming with confused eyes. Unable to ignore the fluttering little bird, Yasenia glanced her way. "...What are you searching for, Qinqin?"

Qinqin blinked. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

Qinqin hummed. "You don’t have clothes, right?"

Yasenia immediately understood, and her tail rose high up before falling down.

PANG!

Qinqin was smacked against the ground, leaving her legs twitching. "No wonder you and Evelyn get along. Sigh. This way, the scent of the treasure is quite thick over here."

Evelyn passed by Qinqin and gave her a secret thumbs-up.

Qinqin answered the same from the ground, her hand twitching.

***

After walking around for a while, their group arrived at a massive, empty space. It was as if someone had taken out the very core of the mountain. They walked out of the creak, looked around, and focused on the center.

There, a gigantic fortress entered their eyes. The fortress, with tall towers, massive walls, and a gigantic gate, looked impenetrable.

Formation lines and runes glowed and flowed around the empty sky above it, showing that flying here would be a very bad idea.

Tatyana commented. "This doesn’t appear on the map. Look, we’ve walked through here, and then Yasenia took us left at this intersection. The area was not mapped, and we’ve built upon it."

Xinlin glanced at the three-dimensional illusion Tatyana created, highlighting the paths they took and the new ones. "You are right. It seems that they missed it... or it was built recently."

"Built? In this place?"

Xinlin hummed. "Perhaps this area was not linked and as solid as the rest and was carved out for that reason."

Tatyana didn’t comment, as she was glancing at the formations with Angel, Mirrory, and a few other maids. After a while, she spoke up. "Flying in is a death sentence. We have to go through the gate."

So everyone moved toward the gate, and soon they noticed other presences nearby.