When Yasenia, Kali, Sarah, and Angel crossed the Heaven gate, an aura surrounded them, which attracted the surrounding dense energy toward them. Yasenia felt extremely comfortable with this, and the [Celestial Pearl] in her dantian spun slowly, absorbing the aura passively.
The others also felt extremely good, as if their pores were breathing and their lungs could hold more air. The energy gathered in them, and they could feel that they had advanced toward the next level by a big chunk. Yasenia also realized that the Pearl in her dantian gained a little of its previous majesty.
After her vision, the beautiful tricolored swirling Pearl had become somewhat dull, and no matter what Yasenia did the last week, it didn't even move. The golden, silver, and white that composed the Pearl also stopped moving. However, this event 'resurrected' the golden color, restarting its movement in the Pearl. Yasenia smiled gleefully. She was confident in grasping the basics of the Celestial attribute with her next contact with it.
Yasenia and the other's vision flashed white for a second, and then they appeared inside the town. They looked around and were shocked. What greeted them wasn't an abandoned town or a ruined place. It was quite the opposite.
There were a lot of buildings in perfect condition in front of them and a street that divided in two about a hundred meters in the distance. The roads were made of rock slabs and were wide at least two-hundred meters.
However, the thing that made Yasenia and the rest open their eyes with shock was the mortal people walking on the streets. There weren't a small number of people. It was bustling with all kinds of commerce, entertainment, and things you would see anywhere else.
Moreover, the cultivators that entered through the other gates were also present right beside them. Yasenia laughed at the absurdity, 'Did we have no benefit besides the cultivation boost? I can't complain since it let me increase almost a quarter of what I needed in total, but...'
Leaving the disappointment that she felt about the rewards apart. There was one thing that Yasenia didn't know.
Yasenia lifted her beautiful straight eyebrow and said with wonder, "This is quite unexpected. I didn't know that people could live inside a secret realm."
Angel said, "look, the aura around the cultivators is visible, and depending on it, the residents treat them differently."
Sarah asked, confused, "But it is disappearing, right? Look at us; the purple aura around us is getting thinner by the second."
Yasenia tapped the floor with her tail, "It may be the energy we couldn't absorb after crossing the Heaven Gate or the others. Look at that person; after crawling through the Waste gate, she doesn't have anything around her. Those from the Mortal Gate have a thin layer of green energy. And the ones that passed through the Earth Gate have a thick layer of blue."
Angel chuckled, "We are like lanterns with this amount of purple around us, hahaha."
Kali frowned, "I hope there are more rewards than being treated well by people for crossing the Heaven Gate. I almost had to sacrifice my [Golden Crown]. I really don't like when she dies."
Yasenia looked at Kali awkwardly, "Sorry for blasting her into pieces in our first spar, honey. I will try to control myself in the future." Yasenia even looked at the three-meter-tall green voluptuous woman that was basically a copy of herself and bowed, "Sorry for destroying you."
There was a flash in the [Golden Crown] 's gentle green eyes that no one realized, but she didn't answer Yasenia's apology. Kali was somewhat sad that she didn't react, but then she smiled under the veil, caressing the elegant and beautiful big green hand, "Little by little. I'm thinking of a name for you. I hope it will give you more intelligence when you hear it."
Yasenia looked at both of them gently. She didn't mind the appearance of the [Golden Crown]. Yasenia took it as Kali's growing feelings for her materializing in the most precious summon, filling her with sweet feelings for her little fox. Yasenia hugged Kali, entangling their tails, and kissed her over the veil. Then, she said, making them refocus. "We can only discover what our rewards from crossing the Gate are by speaking with the residents. They should know something even if they are mortals. Let's go."
Kali and Yasenia separated, and they all walked out from the Heaven Gate. The mortal people's eyes changed toward them. The eyes were filled with reverence and worship as if they were gods walking on the earth. Kali was somewhat nervous, but it instantly disappeared as she was flanked by Yasenia and the [Golden crown]. Angel was grabbing Yasenia's other hand and skipping happily, and Sarah followed from behind, looking curiously at the middle-aged-like Chinese architecture. 'A cultivation world indeed. I haven't seen civilization in a month.'
Yasenia naturally didn't mind the different gazes she received and continued sashaying toward a store on the roadside. From a distance, Yasenia could see that it was a pill store. She was curious about the quality of pills and other things in this town. 'They are mortals, so I shouldn't expect anything interesting.'
When they arrived in front of the pill store, another cultivator was speaking with the person in charge, so Yasenia intended to wait. But to their surprise, the seller instantly looked toward them and spoke enthusiastically. "Great Immortals, thank you for coming to our store! What can I help you with?"
The man speaking with the shopkeeper was first surprised, then angry. He raised his tone and berated the shopkeeper. "You filthy mortal! We haven't finished the deal yet, so why are you speaking with them?"
The shopkeeper sneered and said, "Who are you in front of the distinguished immortals? Wait at the side or go away before the respected immortals become angry!"
The man's face became red because of anger, and he took out his sword. Yasenia at first wanted to intervene, but after seeing him take out his sword, she shut up and looked with interest. The man said, "Even if you are a mortal, I was giving you face since the pills here are good, and I didn't want trouble right after entering this town. But who can bear this humiliation!? So, no more bargaining. Give me every single pill in your house or face death!"
The shopkeeper didn't even flinch at the cultivator's aura as if something was protecting him. Yasenia realized and was even more interested than the man blinded by rage. However, she asked out of courtesy, "Do you need help, mister?"
The shopkeeper shook his head and said, crossing his arms above his fat belly. "Do not worry, respected immortal." Then, he turned toward the man and said, "I wouldn't make trouble if I were you. Put down your sword."
The man laughed arrogantly and said. "Trouble? A mere mortal is threatening me!? Ha! You are the one in trouble! Since you are so eager to die, take this!"
The man slashed toward the shopkeeper with the intent of beheading him. Yasenia stepped forward and blocked his sword with her tail. Even if the shopkeeper was safe from the aura, she couldn't guarantee it would be the same for a sword strike. Moreover, a mortal couldn't react to such a fast sword no matter what defensive treasures they had.
*Clang~*
A melodious sound of metal colliding together echoed around, and the man's sword bounced. The shopkeeper didn't know what happened until Yasenia spoke with the surprised man in her slightly deep and charming voice, "Let's not make trouble in this town. We don't know what dangers lurk around yet. How about I speak with the shopkeeper to let you go first? I don't mind waiting for my turn."
The man looked at Yasenia up and down, and a lustful light flashed in his eyes. He had entered the town before Yasenia. Accordingly, he didn't witness Yasenia's trial.
However, he wasn't blinded by lust. Even if Yasenia's seductive beauty tempted even the purest of people to commit sinful crimes, she had just blocked his sword rather easily, so she shouldn't be a weak woman. Therefore, he answered calmly, his eyes still roaming around Yasenia's mouthwatering curves. "At least junior sister is sensible! How about we go together and investigate the town together?"
Even if Kali wanted to gouge his lecherous eyes out, Yasenia ignored his gaze and answered with a smile that made his heart quicken, "I would pass the offer, senior brother. I hope we can each go our way without problems."
He didn't insist for the moment and turned toward the shopkeeper, ordering. "You heard her! Keep showing me your merchandise. I want to take a look."
The shopkeeper smiled, making his small eyes on his plump face almost disappear, and answered curtly. "I refuse. You just tried to kill me. Who will sell you anything? Go away from my shop and let the respected immortal way."
Anger rushed back toward the man even stronger than before, and he shouted with a cold voice, "Then die!"
Yasenia didn't intervene this time. She tried to give everyone a peaceful option once; she won't bother the second time. She isn't their mother, after all. Yasenia jumped backward, and the other three followed.
The sword flashed like lightning toward the neck of the unaware and still smiling shopkeeper, but before the blade touched his skin, a bolt of tyrannical green lightning struck from the sky, hitting the man instantaneously.
*BANG!*
Nobody could even react before the lightning carbonized the man, stopping the sword just before the shopkeeper's neck. The shopkeeper's small eyes were calm as he sighed and said, "I did try to warn you. You shouldn't make trouble."
Yasenia and the rest were truly frightened. This lightning wasn't something Yasenia could go against even if she went all out, not to mention the others. They couldn't even see when it struck the man. The strength behind it was in another dimension compared to the lightning they fought against in the Heaven Gate. It was less than an instant, and the man changed from healthy to charcoal.
Yasenia was still sweating as she said extremely seriously, "Be extremely careful with your actions-"
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
Another three green lightning bolts repeatedly smashed on different parts of the town, announcing the death of three cultivators. Yasenia looked warily at the shopkeeper and asked, "How is the lightning triggered?"
The shopkeeper was extremely respectful and answered honestly. "Your excellency, the divine lightning is triggered if you try to harm a citizen lethally or irreversibly; this includes torture or any kind of intentional malicious harm. Trying to abuse someone sexually or harass people in the city would also trigger divine lightning. Finally, cheating when challenging the trials in the city will also trigger the divine lightning."
Yasenia's eyes locked with the merchant's, giving him a sensation of pressure. Even if he had protection Yasenia's gaze was extremely penetrating. After confirming that everything he said is true, she asked one final question. "Did you leave anything out?"
The shopkeeper gulped and said, "No, I haven't respected immortal."
Yasenia and the shopkeeper kept looking at each other for five seconds until Yasenia's thinned reptilian pupils returned to their normal state, and her body relaxed. She was fairly confident that the man wasn't lying. Yasenia approached with a smile, making the shopkeeper release the breath he didn't know he was holding. Yasenia chuckled and said, "Sorry for scaring you. I can't let anything happen to my dears because of an oversight, can I?" By the way, you spoke something about trials right now. What is that about?"
The shopkeeper laughed and explained, "I can understand your position since the lightning is truly terrifying. This town has various spots where you can challenge yourself. We call them the divine monoliths! The trials will be stronger and more lethal depending on the door you entered. However, the rewards will be higher if you complete them."
Yasenia continued to ask. The other three had naturally left the leader role to Yasenia, so they were listening from the side with attention. "Do those divine monoliths disappear once someone completes them?"
The shopkeeper shook his head, "The trial doesn't disappear, but the rewards may run out, and even passing a higher level trial may reward you with lower tier objects."
Yasenia smiled, and her eyes flashed with a cheeky light and asked, "Can the opposite happen? The low-level rewards run out, and they earn higher-level rewards as a result?"
Kali and Angel were confused. Yasenia spoke that sentence in at least five different languages.
The shopkeeper shook his head, "They can't. If there aren't any rewards of their level or below, they will just receive a small boost in cultivation. But these respected immortals shouldn't worry since there hasn't been a shortage of treasures since the beginning of the history of our town. Therefore, there is always something to gain. Right, not all trials give rewards, so read them carefully."
Yasenia asked with interest, "How could you understand me? I spoke different languages in that sentence that shouldn't be common in your town."
The shopkeeper was surprised and then laughed, "You are an intelligent immortal. We are given special spring water at birth that allows us to understand and be understood no matter the language we speak. There are very few exceptions, but it works most of the time."
Yasenia was surprised, "Such a Heavenly Treasure exists? How could I get some?"
The man shook his head, "It doesn't work on immortals. At least not the one found here."
Yasenia nodded; she trusted this man. Then, our dragoness asked some of the key questions...