Heaven, Earth, Me

After refocusing on the matter at hand, Dandan commented. "So, Yasenia. You want to know what this place is in general, right?"

Yasenia nodded while looking into the crystal Alaia gave her. Inside, there was all the information they had collected about the planet until now. Dandan asked. "Before that, how many times have you been to the [Falcon Nebula]?"

Moving away with a smile, Yasenia commented. "This is our first time here. Come, let's sit on the side." After they all sat down in their respective chairs, the maids moved and gave drinks to everyone. It was a gentle and refreshing fruit juice.

Dandan exhaled with satisfaction after a sip and exclaimed. "This is delicious! Also, this is your first time here? And you've come so deep inside? Aren't you afraid that something can happen? Many people have died trying to come here!"

Yasenia shrugged and leaned back, sitting by Cecile's side. "Well, I am here, so all is good."

"Tsk, tsk. You are too careless, Little Sister Yasenia!" Dandan reproached. "The world we are in is considered the [Ruin World]. It is one of the very few worlds around here that have discovered ruins and a relatively safe environment. Star Beasts sometimes come and attack this place, but there are too many cultivators at all times in this place to consider them an actual threat."

"Oh? Are there many Transcendent Realm cultivators in this area?"

Dandan nodded. "There are currently around 80 of them in the city! They usually come with their disciples, as this place is quite good to train. You can also find lots of treasures. Here, because there is no heaven, once a Spatial Ring breaks, the treasures explode outward! So, well, there are many treasures littered all over the place from the many millennia that people have been coming here."

Yasenia blinked. "All treasures come out?"

Dandan shook her head. "Of course not. Those treasures that can't withstand the spatial distortion get destroyed in the process." 

The dragoness looked at Tatyana and smiled. "I wonder what would happen if mine broke."

Tatyana laughed. "If there is something strong enough to break it, I would worry about the world existing afterward."

Yasenia smiled. "I guess that's true." She looked at Zhang Dalong and asked. "How is the city Senior Sister Dandan mentioned called?"

Zhang Dalong answered calmly after taking a sip of the refreshment. "Similar to the world, it is called [Ruin World City]. Other than that city, there are other settlements. However, they are incomparable to [Ruin World City]. Around ninety-five percent of people live in [Ruin World City]."

The dragoness nodded and asked further, she wanted to get well-informed before going down. "How safe is it? Can you approach and enter without needing to worry about safety?"

Zhang Dalong frowned and looked at his fellow disciples. "What do you think? I wouldn't really consider it safe, but I can't tell since I've only come here with Sect Master."

A man who looked somewhat older spoke. "For the average cultivator, it is relatively safe. However…" The man looked at Yasenia and smiled wryly. "For Junior Sister Yasenia, it might be much more dangerous than for the rest. There are quite a few Dual Cultivation Sects, after all."

Zhang Dalong looked at Yasenia and sighed. "Well, that's right. Sorry, Junior Sister Yasenia."

Yasenia smiled. "Don't apologize. I am quite accustomed to similar situations."

Dandan snorted. "Boorish people everywhere! If I saw a big beauty like Little Sister Yasenia, I would admire from a distance, not covet you like a starving wolf!" 𝘳

Andrea entered the conversation, asking Yasenia. "What do you think we should do? Do we visit that place, or do we go directly to the ruins?"

Dandan blinked. "Are you trying to explore the ruins?"

Yasenia nodded. "That's right. Do you know anything about them?"

Dandan shook her head. "Nobody knows much. Other than the outer area, everything else is sealed. There was a time when fifty Transcendent Realm seniors gathered and tried to pry open the city. However, they were unsuccessful. Not only that, a few defensive formations activated that managed to kill three of those fifty, injuring many others." Dandan sighed. "Since then, nobody tried to force entry."

Yasenia raised her eyebrow with interest. "Ho~?" She looked at Kali and asked. "What do you think?"

Kali hummed, but before she answered, another woman's voice reached them. "Before she tells you what she thinks, I would like to know who you are and why my disciples are with you."

Everyone looked over and saw a gorgeous and cold-looking woman holding a very thin sword looking at them. Her black hair floated around in the void of space, but that only increased her natural charm. Her aura was profound and vast, like an ocean, and her gaze carried an ethereal weight that only Transcendent Realm cultivators had. 

Gu Chen stood up and looked over with a smile. "We are from the Astral Sky Sect. You've probably never heard of it since we are from quite far away. When you collided with that other person, my disciple here asked me to save your disciples from the aftermath. Otherwise, they would've been buried when you clashed the first time around."

The woman hummed and floated forward, confidently landing on the ship. Ayanduin asked, curious. "Oh? You are not afraid of falling into a trap?"

The woman said confidently. "There is no one here who can threaten me. There is no need to be cautious."

Ayanduin raised his eyebrow but said nothing else; he just smiled, thinking. 'You look exactly like me before I got a bug stuck in my soul. Ah, poor me back then.'

The woman looked around the ship, and her eyes eventually landed on Yasenia. "You are quite a strange creature." 

Yasenia smiled faintly. "That's quite rude, senior."

"Oh?" The woman's willowy eyebrow faintly raised. "You are not fearful of me?"

Yasenia's faint smile arched a bit further. "There is no one here who can threaten me. There is no need to be cautious."

Dandan, Zhang Dalong, and the others instantly froze and felt their eyes widen as they looked at Yasenia. 'I-Is she courting death!?'

The Thirteen Rose Thorn Sect Master squinted and spoke. "I've killed people for less, Junior. You are pushing my bottom line."

Yasenia felt the Sect Master's pressure descending on her body, trying to constrict her. However, the gesture was controlled and at a level where an average Dantian Spiritualization Realm cultivator would feel constricted. Therefore, Yasenia, who was far from an average cultivator, didn't need to use much of her strength to resist it. 

"Senior. I understand you are cautious. However, you are acting too out of pocket." Yasenia looked at the woman, her smile unchanging. "I don't mind respecting Senior, but I want to receive respect in return."

The Sect Master laughed coldly once. "You want me to treat you as an equal?"

Yasenia shook her head. "I want you to treat me as a junior and respect me, not a bug that you can squash at any moment."

The Sect Master paused and waved her sword lightly, thoughtfully. Yasenia instantly summoned Tatyana's talisman but didn't activate it. She learned from her previous encounter with Tengliu that the aura of this talisman could make things escalate beyond her control.

The Sect Master naturally noticed the talisman. A strange feeling of alertness that she didn't even feel when fighting that other Transcendent Realm cultivator washed over her, surprising her. 'What's that? Such an intense aura…' Her gaze became deep for a second, and then she nodded, storing her sword in her spatial ring. "Understood. I admit that I was disrespectful."

Yasenia stored the talisman and smiled. "I also apologize for being rude to Senior. Someone of your caliber deserves more respect than what I showed."

The Sect Master turned to look at Gu Chen and Ayanduin and commented. "You have raised quite an interesting disciple."

Both of them smiled, but internally, they were rolling their eyes. 'Since we met, we feel more like she is raising us instead.'

After that, Yasenia and the Sect Master talked a bit, presenting each other. Yasenia learned that her name was Violet. 

Gu Chen cupped his fists. "My disciple was rude, Sect Master Violet. I hope you can forgive her."

Sect Master Violet smiled faintly, her cold facial features making her smile look more menacing than welcoming. "Don't worry, Left Guardian Gu. I am the one who must thank you and Right Guardian Ayanduin for listening to Junior Yasenia and saving my disciples." 

Then, Violet looked at Yasenia. "I heard that you were asking my disciples things about this place. If you don't mind, I can answer a few questions."

Yasenia commented. "We want to explore the ruins. I was wondering if we needed to go somewhere first or if we could enter there straight away." 

Sect Master Violet commented. "You do well in asking. [Ruin World City]'s higher commands are the ones who control the area. Of course, everyone can enter without going through that, but during the millennia, they have become quite well established here, and most people follow their rules. Those who don't are then labeled as 'Rogue Groups' and will have quite a lot of trouble walking and resting around [Ruin World City]."

"Ho~?" Yasenia praised. "That's a good method. Neither overbearing nor soft. We can obey and then be treated fairly, or we can ignore it and be treated as outcasts. No violent threats needed."

Sect Master Violet nodded. "Indeed." 

The dragoness pondered. "How do they know if someone has entered the place without their permission?"

Sect Master Violet commented. "There is a formation at the entrance of the ruins. If you pass without the jade card they give you, it will activate and your image will be sent to [Ruin World City]. Then, your face will be added to the 'Rogue Cultivator' list."

Yasenia blinked and looked at Tatyana. "If it is just a formation… We could enter without the need of the card, no?"

Sect Master Violet asked. "Are you trying to tamper with the formation? I don't recommend it. While they don't really mind people entering without permission, if someone tampers with their formation, then the real trouble will start. That's a bottom line they don't like to be stepped on."

Yasenia frowned. "I see." 

Tatyana raised her eyebrow. "Do you think I can't tamper with it without being noticed?"

Yasenia shook her head. "I know you can. I was thinking if Angel could. What do you think?"

Angel blinked and pointed at herself. "Eh? Me?"

Yasenia smiled. "Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything. I just like to think about the situation from all directions. Relying on them all the time will make us too dependent on them."

Angel blinked twice. "Oh!" 

Violet looked back and forth and asked. "You seem awfully confident that Junior Tatyana can tamper with it. I must tell you that some very renowned Transcendent Realm formation masters have created it."

Tatyana blinked and looked at Violet. She smiled and said. "Do I look that young? Oh, don't answer. Of course I do~. Junior… Hehe, it has been a while since someone honestly called me that way, thinking of me as someone young and healthy! How old do you think I am? Twenty? Perhaps a bit older, like… Twenty-one?"

Everyone deadpanned and looked at the ancient woman's tirade, not knowing how to react.