บท 1043: Chapter 1043. Entering The Ruined City's Royal Palace.
Their group of nearly 200 cultivators shot forward, surrounded by the nine Transcendent Realm cultivators. It was slightly redundant since, when others saw Lord Hurricane with them, they did not dare step forward.
The dragoness's nose constantly twitched, smelling the presence of a few peak-level Heaven-ranked items. Still, she didn't say anything, and they just continued forward. Like Lord Hurricane, she believed most of the high-quality treasures would be hidden deeper into the Ruined City.
The city covered an enormous area, so even with their speed, they took a few minutes to reach the central area. Their journey was uneventful, and they managed to arrive at the front gates of the central castle in a short time.
Once there, everyone stopped to look around. This location was quite gorgeous in its eerie abandonment. The mix between what was once probably a thriving citadel and now had turned into a desolate place ruined by the passage of time was a reminder that even the greatest could fall in time. That almost nothing was eternal.
The place was eerily silent, giving the atmosphere a strange sense of foreboding.
The group leaders swept the area with their spiritual sense, and they found nothing threatening. However, after her adventures with Yasenia, Violet understood that some formations in this place were hard to detect with just Spiritual Sense. So, she suggested. "We should look more in-depth. A single sweep with our Spiritual Sense is just not good enough."
Lord Hurricane hummed. "We can do that. Spread around and carefully search this area. If you detect something abnormal, call us immediately."
For the next two hours, everyone started an in-depth search. Tatyana was looking around when she saw something partially hidden under a large rock. She crouched and put her back into it, lifting the giant rock. When she had it above the ground, she exploded a pulse of Death Energy on her hands and made the rock fly away. The heavy rock flipped a few times, creating quite a lot of noise, before it came to a complete stop.
Looking down, Tatyana used her pressure to blow the dust away and reveal the images engraved in the ground, very clearly part of a formation. 'These formation lines… They are really ancient. Let's see… If this goes here and this goes there…' Tatyana looked sideways and spotted another marking on the wall. 'Aha, it continues there and then…'
Tatyana looked upward and blinked. "Oho~, it goes around the gates."
Violet appeared by Tatyana's side and asked. "Did you discover anything?"
Tatyana smiled. "I did. Thankfully for us, it is in disuse. The main nodes have been erased due to time. The formation protecting the entrance has been broken in the past and now it remains unusable and inactive. We won't have any problems opening the gates."
Violet nodded, but Lord Hurricane asked. "How are you so sure?"
"I am very good at Formations." Tatyana smiled faintly. "I can bet my neck that nothing will happen due to this particular formation."
Lord Hurricane raised his white, bushy eyebrow. "Only this one?"
Tatyana shrugged. "If you want me to take responsibility for things I didn't know about, I would like to decline politely."
Lord Hurricane nodded. "Since you are so sure, let's go ahead with it." He continued, addressing everyone present. "I will open the doors. Most of the treasures must be inside here, so we'll all have our turn." He then looked at Yasenia and commented. "Remember, only one Treasure."
Yasenia smiled faintly. "I understand, Senior. I wouldn't dare lie to you about it." On their way here, Ayanduin and Gu Chen had been checking with Kali. Therefore, they knew that the Natural Treasure was most likely inside of this palace.
Lord Hurricane stepped forward and pushed the doors open.
The large gates rumbled as they rubbed against the ground, spreading vibrations all around the place that had lacked the presence of living beings for who knows how long. Dust fell from the faded carvings on the gates, and the small rocks on the gateway were pulverized as Lord Hurricane forcefully dragged them open with his energy.
As they opened, the Transcendent Realm cultivators all around the city heard the rumbling doors, leading to many of them changing their objective to the center of the place.
Tatyana looked around and muttered to the girls. "Stay close. Others are probably going to come over soon. We can't completely rely on Lord Hurricane's presence. There must be others like him who have their fair deal of influence."
Andrea asked. "Why do you know that?"
Tatyana smiled. "Well, Lord Hurricane has a very solid grip on power, but he is far too gentle. No other leader would prevent people from rushing forward and killing each other since everyone minds their own business. Only someone with a sense of duty and a good heart does something like that."
Evelyn sighed. "So many good-hearted people lately."
Tatyana laughed. "That's the norm usually. Without kindhearted seniors that take care of juniors, civilization will collapse in just a few generations."
After the doors opened, Lord Hurricane looked into the dark passage and commented. "I can't feel any danger. Let's rush inside. I can feel others approaching."
They all rushed into the palace, and a few seconds later, other people arrived and looked inside. Then, they nodded and entered. Elder Payun was among those who arrived and entered, his face quite cold since he was kicked out by Violet.
Meanwhile, Yasenia took a deep breath and other than the smell of dust, she couldn't help but notice the mix of "delicacies" that were in this place. Yasenia smirked. "Quite a few nice treasures."
"Oh? Where?" Lord Hurricane looked backward and smiled at Yasenia. "You are a dragon, right? So you must have quite a good sense of smell for treasures. While it varies from Dragon to Dragon, I know you must be particularly sensitive to it."
"Indeed." The dragoness didn't deny it. "However, Venerable Hurricane, you can't treat me as a map or a guide without compensation."
Lord Hurricane smiled. "You don't lose a chance to profit if you can. You are greedy."
"I am indeed greedy. But in this world, I consider greediness a positive trait if it doesn't cross a certain degree."
Lord Hurricane commented. "Okay, what's the deal?"
Yasenia shrugged. "Simple. If I find something I like and want it, I'll say it. If none of you want it, I get it."
Elder Swan commented. "Do you think that's a fair deal?" She looked at Yesenia and shook her head. "While I agree that without you, some treasures would be impossible to find. You wouldn't be able to be here if it wasn't because of us."
Yasenia nodded. "Then, from now on, we can separate, and each group can search by themselves. This place is big enough either way."
Elder Swan was somewhat startled. "Why did you suggest that?"
Yasenia looked at Ayanduin and Gu Chen. Gu Chen spoke up. "I wouldn't mind. However, this place could be full of risks and dangers from those hidden and sometimes active formations."
Violet sighed. "No need to. I think her proposal is fair. Yasenia's dragon sense is just too valuable. Moreover, while she is greedy, she has shown restraint as well. Unless she really wants it, I doubt she will just glomp all the treasures."
Elder Dolter agreed. "I also agree."
Elder Swan frowned. "I still feel that we are depending too much on Junior Yasenia. I refuse and suggest a more traditional way of searching."
Elder Ru, a stoic man, nodded. "I agree with Elder Swan."
Elder Ku crossed his arms. "I agree with Elder Swan as well."
Gu Chen and Ayanduin naturally gave the vote to Yasenia. "We agree with Little Yasenia."
Everyone looked at Elder Xerian. The woman sighed. "Why is it me who has to decide the tiebreaker? Lord Hurricane, what do you think?"
Lord Hurricane shrugged. "I feel that both ways are good. Choose your side."
Elder Xerian groaned and scratched her cheek. "Then, I agree with Elder Swan. I think this junior is already being given too much preference with that one-time deal."
Yasenia hummed. "I understand the decision of the elders. This junior will remain silent then."
Yasenia then took three steps to the side and crouched, making everyone doubtful. 'Is she going to sulk in the corner?'
Looking at that swishing tail as Yasenia moved a few rocks around, many got lost in the tail's hypnotic movements and the dragoness's gorgeous back.
"Here~." Yasenia grabbed a disc and lifted it, tapping it twice to clean all the dust. Everyone was confused, and Yasenia stored the item in her ring.
Elder Swan asked. "What is that?"
Yasenia blinked. "Hm? A treasure, of course."
"Huh?"
Everyone was stunned. Violet rubbed her forehead and sighed. "What rank?"
"Peak-level Heaven-Ranked shield." Yasenia smiled. "It is also in quite a good state. Just a few touches, and it will be as good as new."
The Elders that voted against Yasenia guiding them felt like a loud and ringing slap had just landed on their faces, making their lips twitch.
None of them had noticed the shield hiding at the side. Even when Yasenia was lifting rocks, and they analyzed the place with their Spiritual Sense, they were unable to sense it as a treasure and grouped it with the rest of the rubble.
Elder Ru frowned and commented. "Why did you store it in your ring?"
Yasenia tilted her head. "I found it, so I took it. Is Venerable Ru now going to steal the treasures that the juniors find?"
Elder Ru looked at Yasenia deeply and said. "You are pushing the line too much."
Yasenia arched faintly, her lips resembling a sneer more than a smile. "What line are you speaking about, Elder Ru? I just found a treasure, and I stored it. I did nothing else. When Lord Hurricane told me to guide him, I said I agreed as long as, from time to time, I got something myself. And yet, that small request was taken by the Venerable Immortals as a declaration that I would steal everything."
Yasenia squinted. "You've called me many things indirectly, not trusting and twisting my words. So, I ask you, Elder Ru. Now that I've decided just to take whatever I find like any other cultivator is doing in these ruins, what line have I stepped on? The line that everything in here belongs to Transcendent Realm cultivators? Excuse me for being rude, but if that were the case, I wouldn't be here in the first place."
Ayanduin shook his head and sighed. "Since my junior feels like a burden, we will leave. We wanted to explore this place together. However, it is clear that instead of taking advantage of all the abilities of our juniors, you elders just want to guide everyone without receiving any input from them because they are mortals." Ayanduin finished with another sigh. "That's quite disappointing. Let's go, juniors."
Ayanduin walked toward the passage at the left, and Yasenia and the others followed. Lord Hurricane rubbed his beard, observing everything in silence. After Yasenia's group left, he said. "I will go my way as well. Have a great time."
Violet shook her head. "I will also go my way. I can't believe I misjudged so many people lately… Sigh. It's been so many years since I last saw you all, and the changes are far beyond what I imagined. It seems old feelings can't be trusted."
Then, Violet left with her own group and chased after Yasenia's group.
Those left behind looked at each other, and Elder Ru raised his eyebrow. "Don't tell me you think that Dragon woman is more valuable than us?"
While the others didn't answer, they each had their own thoughts on the matter. To avoid further division, they didn't voice their opinions and decided just to continue exploring together.
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