Heaven, Earth, Me

When the Solid Energy Core of a cultivator collapsed, that meant death. It was an inevitable outcome since all the controlled energy would go out of control and burst the Dantian, soul, and body from the inside. Only very powerful life-saving items might be able to snatch the life out of death’s grasp. Yet, even those who survived such an event would end up crippled and unable to cultivate anymore. 

The [Core Collapsing Pill] was supposed to help the core compress and break through. If the cultivator was able to break through, they would use the rest of the pill's energy to refine their Solid Energy Core. When a cultivator was not able to break through, the pill's pressure became too much, shattering the Solid Energy Core and killing the cultivator. 

Yasenia had failed that step. Hence, her core exploded, meaning that she was about to die. @@novelbin@@

During this perilous moment, right before the core collapsed under its own density and exploded, time seemed to slow down as life flashed before Yasenia’s eyes. Her choices, her strengths, her weaknesses, her family… 

‘Am I going to die?’

Yasenia felt the impending doom, and her heart raced. There were few times when Yasenia had felt the shadow of death as close as she did now. 

‘... I can’t die.’

Even knowing that she had reached the point of no return, Yasenia wanted to refuse such a fate. 

‘How can I die from Cultivation Deviation?’ Yasenia’s heart hurt with uncompromising feelings. ‘How can my death be something like that!?’

Yet, as much as Yasenia wanted to deny it, that was the fate she was heading into. Many peerless geniuses ended their path because of too much arrogance. They pushed, thinking they had no limits, and eventually, they failed.

‘I refuse to become one of them!’

As her core was collapsing, Yasenia didn’t back down. With an unyielding expression, she redirected all the pressure and enhanced it to the limit, compressing the entire Celestial Energy Star. She had decided that if she were going to die, she would continue pushing to the very last instant. ‘I’LL MAKE EVEN DEATH SUBMIT!’ 

Her voice burst outward with a roar, together with the sound of her Solid Energy Core exploding. 

“COMPRESS!”

BOOM!

The explosion was so violent that even the formations of the warship shook. All the girls on the ship felt the shockwave and their hearts dropped. Even Tatyana, who had been relaxedly looking at the Soul Techniques, felt her heart skip a beat as a bad premonition hit her.

Everyone arrived at Yasenia’s cultivation room and saw the walls cracked and regenerating. 

Blank faces all around simultaneously looked at those cracks before their blood drained from their faces. Tatyana rushed forward first and actually opened the door, her eyes trembling. 

Once they entered the room, they saw a massive crater in the distance. This room had been enhanced with space-expanding formations. 

“Yasenia?”

Tatyana called with trepidation as she rushed forward with the rest. 

Once she reached the edge of the crater, she looked down and her face relaxed for a moment. In the middle of the crater, with turbulent and fierce auras crackling around, Yasenia floated majestically. 

However, when she relaxed, Cecile’s shout reached her from behind. “Tatyana! RUN!”

Tatyana was confused for a second, but in the next instant, a sense of death surged upward from her heart. She formed a sword with her Death Energy and quickly followed her instincts, placing it vertically to her left. 

Then, the dragoness down below disappeared and reappeared by Tatyana’s side, Draheart swinging violently toward Tatyana. 

BOOOOOOM!

Tatyana’s face twisted in pain as she felt some of her bones fracturing. Her feet lost touch with the ground and then she flew like a ray of light.

BANG!

“GAH!”

Her eyesight flashed white after impacting the wall with terrifying strength. ‘W-What!? I couldn’t follow-Danger!?’ 

After Tatyana was sent flying, Yasenia reappeared in front of her with her sword raised high. The massive sword glowed brilliantly with the power of the Sun, descending with enough strength to darken the sky.

Tatyana quickly reacted, not holding back on her own. “[Abyssal Strike]!”

BOOOOM!

Tatyana, having sustained injuries before, was sent flying once more, her arms scorched from the terrifying heat from Yasenia’s sword. 

The girls were stupefied. Evelyn stuttered. “T-Tatyana is on the defensive?”

However, speaking was Evelyn’s mistake this time around. Yasenia turned their way, giving the girls the first clear look of Yasenia’s face.

The dragoness’s irises were bloody-red, [War Intent], [Monarch Intent], and [Celestial Intent] raging around her like hurricanes. The aura around her body was so dense that even the air was being deformed. And, in those eyes, there was no other emotion other than anger and bloodthirstiness.

Mirrory appeared and quickly said. “Defend against her! Her cultivation has gone awry, and she has lost her mind!”

Before Mirrory finished her sentence, Yasenia unfurled [Pegasus Gallop] and appeared in front of the girls, her sword held high and swirling with terrifying energies. 

Andrea and Selena quickly stepped forward, using defensive skills and creating a magma and glass wall. Selena shouted. “Grit your teeth, Andrea!”

Then, the sword swung down, [Empyrean Sun Collapse] exploding with unparalleled might.

BOOOM!

Andrea and Selena’s faces turned pale as their defenses were blasted off together with their bodies. Mirrory looked around and shouted. “What are you doing!? STOP YOUR YOUNG MISS!”

The maids reacted and everyone entered combat mode. The girls included. 

While they wanted to rationalize with Yasenia, her speed was currently too high and her strength too oppressive! 

Seeing a bunch of people prepare to fight in front of her, Yasenia took a deep breath and released a deafening [Celestial Dragon Roar].

ROAAAR!

Everyone felt as if their heads had been hit with a hammer as their souls were directly attacked, even though all the people here had started practicing the “standard” soul cultivation manual, that was far from enough to face off against Yasenia’s terrifying soul attack.

Some maids, Evelyn, and Andrea, coughed a mouthful of blood. 

Then, Yasenia rushed forward and released a terrifying barrage of attacks. 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The defense-focused maids rushed forward and blocked her attacks, controlling her attack range. Meanwhile, the ranged maids began attacking with several different techniques. 

Yasenia saw the attacks coming her way and opened her mouth. [Celestial Dragon Breath] burst forth like a beam, sweeping the sky as she tilted her face and eliminating all of the attacks. 

Seeing her lightning bolt be destroyed, Evelyn was scared witless. “What kind of monstrous strength is this!?”

The rest of the people were also stunned. Mirrory’s heart was heavy as well, looking at Angel’s dazed face. “Angel! Snap out of it! While Yasenia is getting restrained by the group of maids, cooperate with Tatyana to create a containing formation!”

Tatyana appeared by Angel’s side. “Let’s get to work, Angel. My Little Treasure seems to have gone slightly berserk.” 

Angel snapped out of her daze and started working. Still, her anxiety was at an all-time high, asking as she built the formation with Tatyana. “W-What is happening? Why is Yasenia attacking all of us? And why is her strength so high!?”

Tatyana quickly traced the formation lines with Angel as she answered. “I have no clue, Angel. Something went wrong when absorbing the [Core Collapsing Pill]. However, if something goes wrong with that pill, death is basically guaranteed.” Tatyana’s heart was not relaxed at all. She was actually extremely nervous. “I don’t know what happened, but we will only know after we snap this silly dragoness from this state!”

Angel looked at how Yasenia brutally sent people flying with each of her sword swings, and her eyes trembled. “S-She… Can she snap out of it?”

“She can!” Tatyana said firmly. Her eyes, when looking at Yasenia, were full of determination. “Even if she can’t, I will make sure that she can! Now, focus! We need to build a formation that can contain a sixth-tiered beast!”

Angel’s hand almost faltered. “Sixth Realm!?”

Tatyana knew what Angel was thinking, but she didn’t have time to explain. Yasenia had not reached the sixth realm, but her current strength was honestly not too different from that of a sixth-tiered beast that just crossed over. 

Meanwhile, on the front lines, Eira and Doriel appeared, each on the side of Yasenia, attacking with lightning-fast strikes. The sword cultivator and assassin had timed it perfectly. Yet, as their strikes were about to land, a loud clang echoed.

CLANG! CLANG!

Eira’s and Doriel’s eyes widened. Eira’s sword had actually been stopped by a shield, while Doriel’s short sword was being deflected by Yasenia’s tail. Eira muttered. “Ho-GAH!”

BANG!

Yasenia’s foot sank deeply into Eira’s stomach, making her spurt a mouthful of blood as her body flew across the room like a meteor. 

Doriel then saw a longsword flashing toward her neck, and she barely avoided it while leaning back. Yet, the second she leaned back as if having predicted it, the dragoness spun her torso and slammed her large shield on her chest. 

BOOM!

The dragoness, wielding a shield and sword, turned toward the others and lunged forward without a single strand of fear. Her [War Intent] was constantly telling her how to fight, and coupled with her instincts, all the attacks that came her way were either blocked or dodged. Meanwhile, each time she attacked, someone would lose their footing and be sent flying.

Sixty Peak-level Fifth Realm cultivators were struggling to hold Yasenia back!

When they thought that Yasenia could not become even stronger, the people suddenly saw a gorgeous pipa appearing in front of the dragoness. 

Everyone’s face paled, and Valeria quickly shouted. “Stop her!”

She waved her hand, and monstrously large and strong vines surged toward Yasenia. Everyone’s eyes lit up as the vines seemed about to coil around Yasenia’s arms. Yet, at the last possible second, an extremely cold and hot aura burst forth, freezing one of the vines and burning the other to ashes.

Soluna appeared, her eyes similarly lost in bloodlust as she defended Yasenia. 

Everyone felt their heart sinking when a melody started playing. Valeria looked at the maids and shouted. “Use buffs! We need to counteract her debuff!”

[Heavenly Constellation Fourth Sky: Lyra’s Harmony] unleashed. Yasenia’s and Soluna’s aura, while deep, suddenly exploded outward with violence, pushing everyone back several steps. 

Kali smiled incredulously. “Is this how it feels to have her as an enemy?”

Evelyn chuckled mirthlessly, her hands trembling slightly. “This is terrifying.”

Andrea stepped forward and shouted. “Angel and Tatyana need only a few more minutes! Hold her back, and don’t go for the kill!” 

Yasenia had been dodging during the time she played Lyra’s Harmony, and after playing for a little while, she let Dramel go. However, the music didn’t stop playing as Dramel repeated the tune. 

The dragoness, with her auras roaring violently as she flew, stopped above all of them and picked Draheart. Then, she waved her sword and activated a skill they didn’t even realize hadn’t been deployed by now.

“[Empyrean Galaxy Domain].”

Everything transformed into an empyrean space, Yasenia’s influence spreading everywhere.