The succubus had not expected to be handled so roughly by Yasenia. With her senses, she could detect the outrageously rich Yang energy inside Yasenia. This was usually only possible through extensive dual cultivation. Unless someone had a very special physique, Yang and Yin energy had to be trained through practice.
Vrixana, the succubus, was confident in her charm, and with her preternatural senses toward seduction, she could even tell that her appearance was Yasenia's preference. It was more like an instinct after reaching the Demon Monarch realm and treading the path of seduction almost single-mindedly.
She wasn't called a genius falsely.
Who would've thought that her first playful attempts would be met so brutally? She almost lost confidence in her charm. As she flew back to the platform with a bewildered face, she glanced around and relaxed. 'Even the other participants are looking at me and lusting over my body. Is this dragon woman a piece of wood? Perhaps she has yet to lose her Primal Essence, and she has a terrifyingly powerful constitution.'
Her senses towards Yasenia sent so many mixed signals that she didn't know what was what. On the one hand, Yasenia felt like an experienced seductress; on the other hand, she was like a block of wood with no desires but with insane innate energy.
Yasenia ignored the puzzled and curious look of the succubus, waiting for Ao Yuelan to start explaining what they were seeing in front of them.
Ao Yuelan started speaking. "The cave ahead of you has nine total layers of Heaven-Born Flames. It is a single whole that has split itself after reaching the peak of the Seventh Realm strength-wise. The deeper you go into the cave, the fiercer the flames you will encounter."
After saying that, she stopped for a bit before continuing. "Your objective, as you've heard already, is to try to dive into the layer that's for cultivators above your current level. We will not disclose which level is for whom, so you'll have to go as deeply as possible and hope that you end up in that location."
Everyone nodded in understanding, and Ao Yuelan spoke a few last words. "Of the initial 40,000 participants, there are only 1,240 left. Now, I am interested in seeing how many of you will remain. Remember, you must not attack others inside, or you'll be punished. The nine layers are divided into the following colors: deep crimson, scarlet red, blazing orange, golden amber, radiant gold, white-hot silver, pale azure, violet-indigo, and finally, the black-core flame. Good luck, participants!"
The succubus turned to look at Yasenia and grinned. "Yasenia, do you want to go…"
Yasenia used [Pegasus Gallop] and shot forward like a white beam, leaving all the geniuses behind in an instant.
"...with me."
The smile on her face was almost frozen. Never in her life had she been rejected before. Her beauty and ridiculous talent made all, women and men alike, basically her faithful servants. The number of people she had dual cultivated with during her one thousand years of life was well over six digits, closer to one million than to one hundred thousand!
As she saw Yasenia speed forward, her eyes shone brightly, her body burning with lust. 'The more you reject me, the more I want you!'
She stomped the ground, and with a violent explosion, her body shot forward as well, chasing after Yasenia.
The rest of the geniuses weren't left behind, as they quickly chased after Yasenia, expecting to catch up to her quickly.
Once Yasenia landed in the deep crimson layer, she felt a warm flame enveloping her body. The fire's strength was basically nonexistent, and its purifying and strengthening effects were negligible. 'Hm… Nine layers. It's probably three layers for the mortal realm, three layers for Transcendence, and three layers for the Seventh Realm. I should at least arrive at the sixth layer.'
Yasenia was not aware that her guess was off by quite a bit. In truth, the first two layers were for mortal realms, the next three for Transcendence, while the last four were for Seventh Realm cultivators.
The sixth layer Yasenia wanted to enter was the first layer for Seventh Realm cultivators.
"This cave is… enormous."
She had been running at her top speed for around ten minutes, but she was still in the Deep Crimson layer. With her speed, ten minutes were enough to cover over a million kilometers!
A few seconds later, Yasenia finally noticed a change in color. It went from a deep crimson to a brighter scarlet red. The jump was not instantaneous, but gradual. The dark red color was slowly clearing up, gaining intensity in brightness. As it shifted, Yasenia could feel the flames increasing in strength.
The change was insignificant for someone with Yasenia's strength, but she could sense the change.
"Each layer is probably around 5,000,000 kilometers long. Ridiculous."
This was her assessment after running for a total of 25 minutes, when she finally saw the shift from scarlet red to a gradually lighter orange. It not only confirmed the ridiculous depth of the Flame Sky Ancestral Lake, but also Yasenia's own speed.
As she approached the third layer, which was supposed to be for Low Level Transcendence Cultivators, Yasenia felt a small wave of heat. "Hm, not bad. As I expected, the third layer must be for peak-level mortals."
With her skewed view of the world, and using herself as a measuring standard, Yasenia's conclusion was not too ridiculous. If she were at the peak of the mortal realms, she would've been more than able to resist the flames here.
At least at the beginning of the long area, where First Level Transcendence Realm people gathered, Yasenia would've had no problems bearing the tempering. Her body-refining skill was brutal, giving her extreme resistance and a body far ahead of her peers. Add her four cultivation paths, and there would be no doubts about her ability to resist the flames.
Yasenia continued to dive deeper into the Blazing Orange area. The heat quickly increased, reaching a level where average Level Three Transcendents would have a hard time resisting. For Yasenia, the temperature was neither too strong nor too beneficial.
"Alright, let's enter the Sixth Realm area." Yasenia took a deep breath and approached the golden amber section. Once she stepped inside, Yasenia instantly noticed the change.
The heat of the fourth layer was violent, and for the first time, Yasenia could feel the tempering of the flames. That sensation, in turn, convinced Yasenia that she had just entered the Transcendence Realm area, deepening the misunderstanding.
After a casual feel, Yasenia rushed ahead with a nonchalant expression.
Outside, spectators were looking at the dragon woman weirdly. There was a large map in the middle of the arena, with dots representing the position of each cultivator. Above each colored layer, people could read the cultivation level that each layer should have.
Seeing Yasenia enter the mid-level Transcendence layer so easily in the first hour left all those already convinced of her strength flabbergasted. They understood in their heads that Yasenia would reach this layer, but most predicted she would achieve it by the end of the first week or the start of the second.
Not knowing that she was being reevaluated as more of a monster, Yasenia continued rushing ahead. Her speed never faltered for a second, even when the golden flames burned fiercely to a level that even Fifth Level Transcendence Realm cultivators would have a hard time.
"Hm… I am starting to feel the flames. I must be approaching the third level for Sixth Realm cultivators." This made her frown a bit. "Will I be able to step into the sixth layer at this pace?"
Feeling her confidence falter for a second, she shook her head and looked ahead with a determined expression. "Let's arrive at my limit first. I have two months to temper myself and go deeper later."
Braving the flames, Yasenia reached the end of the golden amber flames, her eyebrows somewhat furrowed at the extreme temperature of the radiant gold flames up ahead. "As expected of a Natural Treasure. The area for the fourth level of the Transcendence Realm is not a joke."
After preparing herself, Yasenia stepped forward and dove into the area for Seventh Level Transcendents.
Seeing the dragon dive headfirst into the high-level area, without a single hint of hesitation, everyone felt their jaw slacken.
Tatyana's eyelids trembled as she felt the piercing glares of the dragons and Yan Huang around her. They were screaming with their eyes at her, asking her about what kind of torturous cultivation journey she allowed Yasenia to take!
Clearing her throat, Tatyana defended herself. "She has an ancient body-refining technique. So her resistance is higher."
Ao Xianlan arched her lips disdainfully. "Right, she also has a strange soul-refining technique, right? What's next? A supreme Dual Cultivation technique?"
Tatyana sweated coldly, not daring to answer any questions. She knew that these old monsters all suspected that Yasenia had Body, Spiritual, and Soul Cultivation techniques. It was just too glaring, especially for Ao Xianlan, who had hugged the dragon girl for a week straight.
Even if Yasenia's Solar System Dantian was deeply concealed by the Celestial Black Hole Energy Star, as a powerful Level Five Demigoddess, her senses were terrifyingly sharp. Detecting that the low, middle, and upper dantians were opened on top of having a Beast Core was just as easy as squinting a little to read something slightly far away.
Of course, Ao Xianlan had fallen head over heels for Yasenia, not romantically but as someone from a senior generation. Therefore, the second she noticed, she protected Yasenia's body even more fiercely from foreign Spiritual Senses. Even Yan Huang was unable to catch a hint, despite having an idea in his head.
Tatyana knew that, so she was grateful to Ao Xianlan. She would've done it herself, but since the dragon ancestor stretched out a claw of help, she accepted it.
"Seniors… Um…" Everyone noticed a relatively young dragon pointing at the map, his finger trembling. "S-She entered the Eighth Level Transcendence area."
Tatyana, Ao Xianlan, and Yan Huang became silent for a moment. The man asked, his tone full of pity. "Little Yasenia, I will pamper you for all that your mother made you suffer."
Ao Xianlan was muttered. "What gift can I give that baby? Should I prepare good things for her child? I know a few extremely good people who can heal mental trauma as well…"
Tatyana felt wronged and slammed the armrest. "I haven't tortured her! She has tortured herself!"
Of course, despite her outburst, everyone ignored her. Tatyana's weakness was and always will be those who treated Yasenia honestly and with good intentions. 'I want them to show hidden intentions so I can slaughter them!'
Tatyana hoped for that, but was bound to be disappointed this time.
deep crimson, scarlet red, blazing orange, golden amber, radiant gold, white-hot silver, pale azure, violet-indigo, and finally, the black-core flame