Far behind Yasenia, the group of geniuses was fighting their way through the golden amber flames. These flames were created to temper normal Fourth to Sixth Level Sixth Realm Cultivators.
Vrixana, the succubus, had an extremely sturdy body tempered by endless sessions of Dual Cultivation. Even when she didn't fight in close-range combat, any self-respecting Succubus or Incubus would be strong enough physically to restrain their partners to a certain extent.
Even as they relished in Dual Cultivation, both races hated losing control. Dominance was a big part of their race. Once defeated during Dual Cultivation, the succubus or incubus would most likely follow that person until they could usurp their place at the top once more.
Either way, Vrixana and many other geniuses had just arrived at the Sixth Level layer. They were deep into the golden amber flames, and their bodies were already starting to feel a terrifying strain.
Vrixana looked ahead, her purple eyes fiercely trying to pierce through the flames and find the figure of the dragon woman that had captured her undivided attention. If it were a normal situation, she would've already ignored Yasenia and started flirting with others.
But strangely, Yasenia's body had an allure that made her body burn with desire to possess. She was even considering making Yasenia her main consort, which spoke volumes for someone like her who slept with hundreds of thousands of beings.
Drakar, the other demon present, looked at Vrixana's back with a frown. "Hey, are you really that interested in that dragon?"
"Shut up. Someone with a soft dick like yours doesn't have the right to speak to me."
Drakar's face darkened. They had Dual Cultivated before, as it was a beneficial practice for Drakar as well. However, after a few times, Vrixana had gotten tired of him and never touched him again.
This naturally made him angry, so he challenged her to a fight. Sadly, he lost. Not because he was weaker than her, but because Vrixana's fighting methods were truly odd and ridiculous.
Since then, all he had received from Vrixana was disdain.
Nearby, Gu Shen listened to them and smiled strangely. "How will they react when I get my hands on that dragon?"
Among all the geniuses, there were a few who were slightly ahead of Vrixana. There were not many, just four. One was a Divine, two were humans, and the last one was an undead of some kind.
The divine and one of the humans were male, while the other human and the undead were female.
The Divine had white wings, golden hair, and golden eyes. He was incredibly good-looking, with a cold, elegant attitude. As he moved through the golden amber flames, he seemed to blend with them.
The human man was quite opposite in terms of aura. He was gloomy, but not ominous. His surroundings seemed to be submerged, as a sense of stability enveloped him.
In turn, the woman was heroic. Crackling thunder moved around her body as a large two-handed saber was slung on her back. Her gaze was like lightning, while each of her steps was firm, with no hint of instability.
Finally, the undead woman gave a sense of freedom. There was a light smile on her face, as her being was wrapped in a faint layer of Earth Energy. Strangely, among the entire group, she looked the most approachable. Whether that was the case was yet to be seen.
Vrixana glanced at them once and ignored them. Her objective was not to surpass these people but to catch up with Yasenia.
As the geniuses walked relatively close to each other, most of the people traveling with them had stopped along the way, leaving a few dozen of them in total.
Sweating and feeling as if her body was about to collapse, Vrixana finally stopped her march. She was deep within the golden-amber flame area, and in the distance, she could see the terrifying, radiant gold flames.
And yet, there was no trace of what she was searching for. 'She should be deeper, right?'
Like the others, Vrixana had checked on Yasenia and also knew that she was a 128-year-old junior. If someone like that could go deeper than her into the flames, it would strike at her pride, even when she initially didn't really care about it.
Still, while she was becoming obsessed, her intelligence didn't decrease. She walked a little farther, and once she felt a perfect level of pressure, she sat down and began meditating.
She was not the only one. Among the geniuses, no one pushed until they touched the radiant gold layer. Everyone sat down, some closer and others further away, and began cultivating and adapting their bodies to the surroundings.
Meanwhile, two levels above them, Yasenia was pushing forward with a frown on her face.
After reaching the Eighth Level Transcendence Realm cultivation section, the radiant gold flames burned with such intensity that even Yasenia was unable to resist them easily. Her eyebrows furrowed, feeling the pressure, strength, and pain as the Natural Treasure tried to burn her and refine her.
"I should stop here for a while and get accustomed. I can already tell that the flames in the next section won't be something I can take as I am right now."
With that in mind, Yasenia slowly sat down cross-legged and curled her long tail around her sitting legs. Taking a deep breath, she finally allowed her dantian to begin absorbing the surrounding energy while activating her cultivation techniques.
Inside her dantian, the Spiritual Cultivation Technique began glowing brightly. Of the five layers in this technique, Yasenia had been stuck at the peak of the third one since the Unification Realm.
The skills she learned from that cultivation technique were what helped her overcome all odds and step out as the final winner during her terrifying trials.
The Soul Cultivation Technique followed right after, its shine matching the Spiritual Technique. Not falling behind, two more glows appeared by their side.
One was the Body Cultivation Technique, and the last one was Yasenia's Beast Core.
As all four techniques glowed, the rest of the treasures began activating. Even Dramel, inside the Celestial Black Hole Energy Star, knew an opportunity was about to come. Dramel, in her half-conscious state, knew what to do.
'I'll use this and finalize the fusion.'
It wasn't only her. Soluna, Draheart, Sui Xing, the Celestial Pearl, the Primordial Energy Core, and even the newly added Everlasting War Calamity Battle Flag were prepared.
The four cultivation techniques, four conscious treasures, and three powerful ones all hummed, resonating together.
Once they did, the Celestial Black Hole Energy Star started rotating. Its movement gave a sense of heaviness, as if a terrifying rumbling sound would echo as it increased in rotational speed.
Outside, Yasenia opened her spiritual, bodily, and soul meridians, along with the upper, middle, and lower Dantians. Then, as everything reached the end of the preparation time, she began absorbing energy.
WHOOSH!
A terrifying wind picked up as the radiant gold flames around Yasenia began circling her figure and falling onto her. The vortex was 100 meters at first, but each passing second increased at a terrifying rate.
100 meters… 500 meters… 1 kilometer… 5 kilometers… 25 kilometers… 100 kilometers…
The area of influence grew exponentially, encompassing more and more until it reached a maximum of 10,000 kilometers.
All spectators became stupefied as the flames transformed into a gargantuan hurricane that flowed into the voracious void Yasenia represented.
Usually, Yasenia cultivated in closed doors or used her bathing herbs. This masked the true influence of her absorption capabilities as the resources were close and nearby. So, she didn't need to focus on reach but on the suction and transformation of nearby resources.
Even as she practiced in the Primordial Palace, the energy that nourished her mainly came from it.
Now, surrounded by a Natural Treasure that evolved to nourish cultivators, Yasenia was like a voracious beast with an endless appetite.
Her Celestial Black Hole Energy Star absorbed everything that entered Yasenia's body, expelling it toward the Primordial Energy Core and upgrading it at a ridiculous pace. The treasure, which was near the peak of Transcendence, quickly evolved and became a Supreme Ranked Treasure.
Once it transformed, it began helping the Celestial Black Hole Energy Star to process the terrifying flames and nourish everything.
All Supreme Ranked treasures, including the Celestial Pearl, began transforming and adapting. Even Soluna got extreme benefits, her cultivation skyrocketing at a pace that would scare almost anyone.
Ao Yuelan appeared above Yasenia, looking down with both bewilderment and worry. "What is this girl doing? Doesn't she know that the Natural Treasure's flames are not something easy to digest? If she continues, she will explode."
Yasenia had entered a selfless state, similar to an enlightenment but not quite. Her overwhelming talent allowed her to do so at will whenever she cultivated, part of the reason for her ridiculous cultivation speed.
"Should I stop her?"
Ao Yuelan pondered, a conflicted expression on her face. Thankfully, she wasn't the only one watching. Yan Huang's voice reached Ao Yuelan, easing her worries. "Lady Death Empress said that there are no problems. Allow Yasenia to do as she sees fit. If there are any problems, I'll intervene myself."
The worry in Ao Yuelan's beautiful wine-red eyes disappeared, relief washing over her. "As long as she isn't in danger…"
Then, she left to check on the other participants with a faint smile on her lips.
Meanwhile, Yasenia continued to swallow the world around her like a starving monster. Her cells were enveloped by the golden fire, burned, enhanced, and reborn. Most of that fire was focused on reforging her own bones, continuing her cultivation path. Her spiritual sense sharpened, her understanding of the world deepening at a terrifying speed. Her soul, equally affected, expanded and improved. Simultaneously, her Beast Core was bathed in the flames and purified even further.
In the middle of it all, the two major siphons, the star and primordial core, worked tirelessly to convert as much energy as possible into Yasenia's own and feed her at peak pace. Were they any faster, the sheer volume of energy would've started hurting her.
Her cultivation speed was ridiculous, and just two weeks after the trial started, Yasenia began feeling the completion of her paths soaring toward perfection.
As her treasures and she herself approached a breakthrough, the aura she emitted was terrifying. But right as she entered a flow, she involuntarily frowned and opened her beautiful golden eyes.
"Hm? Where are the flames?"
Looking around, she noticed a nearly 50,000-kilometer void around her. Puzzlement flashed in her eyes, and left with no other option, she stood up and rushed forward, wanting to reach further places so that she could absorb more of the flames.
Outside, some geniuses felt their eyes glazing over, not knowing how to even react to the level of absurdity they were currently witnessing.
Tatyana coughed once. "Yan Huang, you can't take it back. You gave her two months, and two months it shall be."
Yan Huang's lips spasmed, his fingers twitching as he considered ending the trial early. 'Greedy dragon! Can't you leave something for the rest? Those flames can recover, but it takes several thousand years!'
Sadly, a reward was a reward, and he couldn't take it back just because the person he invited to the buffet had a much greater appetite than he had ever expected.