Heaven, Earth, Me

The girls arrived at the Moon Swallowing Mountain rather quickly. Since they knew where it was, they just needed to mount their ship and traverse to the location quickly. They had one year to reach the top and take the treasures there as well, and with Gong Fen's situation solved, she really didn't have much haste at all.

When they arrived at the base of the mountain, Fylia spoke up. "Yasenia, you want to climb to the top, right?"

Yasenia turned her head and looked sideways. The eight-legged and ten-eyed white and black Qilin was looking at her. Those ten glowing blue eyes carried a mysterious force within them. 

"That's my intention, Fylia. What's the problem?" 

Fylia looked up and muttered. "At the top of this mountain, there are a few Sixth Realm beasts. So, I really think that even if you are prepared, you are risking too much."

"Sixth Realm…" Yasenia tapped her chin and asked, curious. "Are they as strong as that shadow of yours we fought in the Moon Goddess's trial?"

"Stronger," Fylia stated. She then added. "From what I heard, at the very top, there is a Sixth Realm beast that has developed an Intent Domain."

This made Yasenia and the others frown. "Intent Domain…" Yasenia sighed and scratched her cheek. "That's a real bummer, eh? Even a Soul Strand with an Intent Domain left us helpless, not to mention a complete creature. The jump in strength between the fifth and sixth realms is truly ridiculous… Why is it that way?"

Tatyana asked, her tone amused. "You are not even in the high levels, and you think that you should have a chance with them? Love, first try to reach the half-step realm." 

Everyone paused and looked at Yasenia. Yasenia looked at them and smiled. "I really haven't ever spent a long time cultivating by myself, right? If I want to reach the sixth realm before one hundred years, I need to go into closed-doors cultivation for a long time." 

The girls also knew that, but they didn't know how long "a long time" would be for their dragoness. What if she disappeared for half a century? Unlike Yasenia, they didn't have a need for Dual Cultivation, but that didn't mean that their bodies would be fine after being pampered by Yasenia's love basically for their entire adult life!

Yasenia looked at Tatyana and asked her, curious. "You said that when I was going to tackle the half-step realm, I should tell you, right? I remember you speaking those words even before I started my cultivation journey."

Tatyana blinked twice and smiled. "You actually remember! That's honestly impressive." 

Valeria, Mirrory, Fylia, and Vairon looked at Tatyana curiously. As the five oldest beings in the group, they didn't know why Tatyana would say something like this. Tatyana walked forward and extended her hand, revealing a single black pill. 

The other four felt their eyes widen and their hearts shake when they saw that pill. The pill was pure black as if it was absorbing the light around it. It felt like an orb that could swallow absolutely everything. 

Valeria spoke up, her tone accelerated and excited. "You- Tatyana. How did you find this!? Even gods covet this pill!"

The girls were stunned when they saw Valeria stepping forward and speaking in such a manner. In their opinion, the Nature Queen was always calm and stable like a mountain. Her temper was never affected by the woes of the world. Yet, now, even her voice trembled.

Mirrory looked at the pill and asked, confused. Her tone was sincerely baffled as her gaze didn't move from that pill. "Why did you not use it yourself? I don't believe that you can resist its temptation."

Tatyana smiled. "I did use it. Who wouldn't? Not to mention, I had yet to cross to the Sixth Realm back then. There is no way I would save it for a child I would have several hundreds of thousands of years in the future." Tatyana looked at the pill, and her smile became slightly lonely. "I was just reserving the second one I got for a lover I could really love…"

Seeing that the pill was still here, the girls felt a pinch of pain in their hearts, feeling empathetic for the Death Empress. 'She never deemed anyone close enough to give them this treasure…' 

Yasenia hugged Tatyana from the back, resting her chin on her shoulder and giving her a kiss on the cheek. The dragoness smiled and commented softly. "Don't worry. I am here now~."

Tatyana chuckled and gave her a faint smile. "I hope you are, Yasenia." 

Meanwhile, Vairon couldn't help himself and blurted out. "Wait, Tatyana… You had TWO of these!? How did you get them? Did you rob an Immortal Alchemist's vault?"

"Of course not. I am not that rash." Tatyana shook her head with a small laugh, flicking the pill upward once. 

Fylia stuttered. "Y-You! Be careful with it!?" 

Tatyana caught the pill back and rolled her eyes. "As if I would lose it." She looked at the maids and juniors, and her lips arched. "Anyway, this is a [Core Collapsing Pill]. A marvelous pill that can easily kill a cultivator of almost any rank."

Evelyn blurted, her eyes widening. "...What?" Then, her mind flashed, and she frowned deeply. "Wait. Then, why do you want Yasenia to consume it?"

Tatyana smiled faintly. "Well, it can kill any cultivator. However, if you survive and understand the secrets behind it, the benefits are immeasurable. The time when a cultivator has the highest success rate for this pill's effects is when crossing from the Level 9 Dantian Spiritualization Realm to the Half-Step." 

Andrea crossed her arms with a frown. "During that step, one must use the pressure from their body and energy to smooth out the Solid Energy Core and make it into a perfect sphere, right? Compress and perfect until you can't anymore."

Tatyana agreed again. "That's right."

Kali muttered, unaware of this pill even with her vast knowledge about pills. "So… This pill is named [Collapsing Core Pill]. Does this help a person perfect the core? We have the [Core Refining Pill] invented by Elder Frederick for that, though." 

Tatyana looked at Yasenia and Kali and shook her head. "I won't answer questions about this pill. Having knowledge about how others use it is actually counterproductive. It makes one's thoughts close down that path, and every person's path is different." She extended her hand and placed the incredibly black pill on Yasenia's hand. "It's your choice whether to use it or not…" Tatyana looked up at the dragoness and smiled. "I won't blame you if you are concerned and won't use it. You have less than a five percent chance of success and a ninety percent chance of death, the rest being you ending up crippled." 

Yasenia didn't plan to refuse. Whatever made her stronger, she would give it a try unless it was certain suicide. Still, she asked. "Does this pill help with cultivation progress?" 

Tatyana nodded. "Indeed. I will tell you this: if you don't take it, forget about ever catching up to me. It's impossible, even with your talents." 

Yasenia was stunned. Until now, Tatyana never gave her a certain negative about her ability to catch up. The dragoness was rather convinced that Tatyana was actually optimistic about her chances. Yet, now she was telling her quite the opposite. 'If I don't take and succeed, I will be unable ever to catch up? How influential is this single pill… Why is it so influential?'

The itch to know was great. Still, she respected Tatyana's words about her not saying anything. She stored the pill and hummed, confused. "So mysterious…" 

Mirrory spoke at this time, backing up Tatyana's claim. "She is not wrong, Yasenia. If Tatyana has really taken that pill and succeeded, then her talent is literally Heaven-defying. That pill is taboo in the higher realms. Nobody uses it unless they are utterly desperate for strength. In my long life, I've seen less than two hundred people succeed. Those who did, though, reached incredible heights. Fu Jing Jing, my previous master, and her sister are two of those who managed to take advantage of this pill." 

Yasenia's lips twitched. "One was a Saint, and the other was a powerful and respected Goddess…" 

Fu Jing Jing's sister was a mystery to Yasenia. However, she had heard Angel mentioning her in the past from her talks with Mirrory. Still, she never dug deeper other than the information about her cultivation level. In Mirrory's words, even the Sun and Moon Gods at their prime would need to be careful around Fu Jing Jing's sister. 

Yasenia sighed and looked at Tatyana with a smile. "You are like a cloud, Tatyana. You feel nearby, and yet, you are too far away. Even when one is close and tries to reach out to grasp you, your presence slips between my fingers."

Tatyana shrugged with a laugh. "You are the one trying to catch up~."

"Right, Miss I-gave-birth-to-raise-up-my-own-lover."

Tatyana coughed once. "If you put it that way, it does sound slightly wrong. However, that's not what happened!"

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "That's exactly what it is!"

As the girls bantered and started their climb of the mountain, the rest of the Astral Sky Sect had managed to explore the place and collect several treasures. 

Ayanduin looked at the entrance of the Deadly Magma Caves and smirked. "That was a nice adventure. What do you think, Little M?" 

Money looked at her master and nodded. "Profit."

Ayanduin grinned. "Indeed."

At the side, Gu Chen bonked Ayanduin's head and scolded. "Can you not teach my junior sister your bad habits? We almost lost people down there because you wanted to fight with that Sixth Realm beast for treasures!"

Ayanduin raised his eyebrow and extended his hand, revealing a gorgeous red seed. It was as if the seed was made of pure ruby. "We got it, didn't we? This thing will come in handy when we want to establish our own power. The fruits this thing gives are ultra beneficial for the development of the body." 

Gu Chen couldn't deny that, making Ayanduin grin. "High-risk, high-reward. It's how Yasenia has become such a powerhouse at such a young age. It is also how I, your master, was able to become an Undying Monarch Body Realm cultivator at the tender age of 800 years old!"

Gu Chen sighed and looked back at the people lying on the ground like starfish. "Are you all okay?"

Tengliu waved her wing-arm twice with almost no strength. "I am dying, but other than that, I am okay."

Coraline muttered, looking at the sky. "I hope my little Ebirah is doing fine…"

The mermaid queen lay completely immobile and begged once. "Water… Please."

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