Body Cultivation is the art of enhancing the body's strength. It sounds quite direct, but there are many nuances in this path that make it complicated enough to be considered the harshest path.
It was for a reason that Body Cultivation had disappeared from the rest of the World, leaving behind the knowledge of Soul and Spiritual cultivation.
While everyone could practice body cultivation because it catered toward non-attributed techniques, the difficulty of practicing it at higher levels was much more considerable than the other two paths.
For example, when our girls crossed the first realm, the "only" thing they needed to do was coat their bodies in energy. This would make each and every cell act as a small energy reservoir, unlike the Spiritual Path, where the cultivator's first step is to create the Meridian Net and Dantian and then connect them.
Let's turn back the clock three years for a moment and see how Yasenia broke through each of the realms.
In the first month, Yasenia completely solidified and perfected her foundation in the first realm and broke through, facing an assault of 12 lightning bolts.
She managed to fight back with difficulty, but it wasn't something that could deter her or hurt her deeply. In a few hours, she was back in perfect shape.
After entering the Second Body Realm, named [Mortal Transformation Body Realm], the Body Cultivator would need to create the meridian and dantian, using the energy they had gathered during the first realm and, quite literally, transforming the body to one of a cultivator.
After all, without meridians and the Dantian, there is no cultivation. Those two are the main pathways and reservoirs of the body.
However, Yasenia already had meridians and Dantian. So, how could they break through? Did they skip the entire realm?
Actually, no. It was quite the opposite. Realms that overlap between paths are one of the most complicated because modifications must be done to the base without upsetting the delicate balance inside a cultivator's body.
While cultivators were strong, they were, quite literally, an extremely concentrated amalgamation of Energy. That's why, when a cultivator went "supernova," meaning they exploded their Dantian, the effects were catastrophic enough even to hurt their own souls so much that they were affected during reincarnation.
To put it into perspective, a second realm cultivator's "supernova" could damage even a Unification Realm person, and if done at close quarters, killing a low-level Unification Realm expert was not completely out of the discussion.
Still, unless it were because of deep resentment and hate, a cultivator would rather die than explode themselves to drag their enemies with them.
I digress. The question was, how or what did Yasenia do to cross this realm?
The answer was in the nature of Body Cultivation. Yasenia used the method of Mortal Transformation to connect her existing Meridian Net and Dantian with the body. The concept was similar to how capillaries worked with blood vessels and the body.
The capillaries were very thin tubes that could secrete substances to "feed" the body and connect veins and arteries. Well, Yasenia and the girls modified their meridians to grow capillaries and do the same.
The process was arduous and meticulous because once created, similar to their Meridian Net, modifying it would be exceedingly laborious, close to impossible.
It wasn't that complicated for the girls with human bodies because human anatomy was the most studied across all realms, and the seniors could guide them even with their eyes closed.
Cecile, Kali, and Yasenia were different.
Even in their "base" forms, they had large extra limbs to care for.
Cecile and Kali didn't have it that complicated because their wings and tails were not that influential in their whole beings. A bit of extra research was enough to decide on how to create the new "Sub-Meridian-Net."
However, Yasenia's tail was stupidly complicated. To the point that even these usually all-knowing seniors had headaches.
If you remember, Tatyana actually allowed Yasenia's tail meridians to be woven by her little treasure after teaching her anatomy as best as she could with Avalonia.
After all, as a Progenitor Queen and a Dragon, her instincts in these matters were exceptionally sharp. With reason, at that. Imagine a Progenitor being born, and because of the uniqueness of their body, they mess up their future path even before taking the first step in their cultivation journey.
Progenitors were stronger than their peers not only because they had unique bloodlines but also because their raw instincts and comprehension were exceptional.
So, with this in mind, Tatyana, Mirrory, Valeria, and Yasenia worked tirelessly for three months, almost creating a new biology sub-category called "Yasenia's Tail," and managed to find the most optimal way of developing it.
For the seniors, it wasn't tiresome but highly entertaining. After all, studying new things they hadn't researched before was always a delight for them.
Even creating the immortal rank technique took less effort.
Still, it was a great success, and Yasenia broke through like a rocket, reaching the third realm in three and a half months.
Even with a big stop in the middle, the dragoness only took about eight months to break through into the third realm of the Body Cultivation Path.
The girls were dumbfounded, but they quickly recovered and redoubled their efforts, even dragging Yasenia to Dual Cultivate when they started feeling the energy lacking.
Yasenia couldn't help but be delighted as her dears dragged her away from time to time and aggressively squeezed her juices with eager and loving faces.
While it was true that being so overwhelmed by talent was sometimes frustrating, it was a bit different if it was your lover.
The pride they felt in their hearts at Yasenia's overwhelming talent made them, as her wives, feel so delighted that they wanted to boast to the entire World about her accomplishments as if they were theirs. They wanted to exclaim things like, "Look! This is my lover!" or "Can you reach the third realm in less than a year? Right, you can't, but my lover can~" or "Her giant heavenly peerless tits are unmatched!"
…
Hm…? That last line…
Whatever, let's move on.
You should know that thanks to the powerful Dual Cultivation Technique, the girls weren't left behind at all, quickly sprinting behind their dragoness.
Once again, one must admit Tatyana's foresight is quite spot on. Dual Cultivation Techniques are not that popular for their lack of power (and their sexual nature), but they are fast, and with the right combination, the results are exceptional, like the ones we are seeing.
So, Yasenia reached the first level of the Third Body Realm, called the [Spiritual King Body Realm].
The strength of the tribulation was so high that a few people confused it with the ones to enter the Ethereal Soul Body Realm. Moreover, even in that category, it was considered a strong one.
The sight of a blackened sky and 30 giant serpents made of pure Tribulation Lightning was enough to scare 90% of the sect. Still, who were these lightning bolts aiming at? Well, our dragoness. So, while receiving some heavy injuries, she managed to blast all those serpents into nourishment for herself.
The third realm consisted in strengthening the body, once more, by imbuing "spirit" in the body.
The "Spirit" referred to in the Body Cultivation path was different from the "Spiritual" Path.
This spirit was more of a will and stance, a physical and mental state similar to enlightenment.
Those who reached this state would gain the strength to intimidate enemies with their auras and also infuse the energy in their bodies with much more ease and precision. There was also a qualitative and quantitative jump in the energy stored in the body.
To achieve this, the cultivator needs to focus all their efforts on harnessing a highly elusive concept known as "will" and then refine their own bodies through it, a task that is not only complex but also difficult to master. It was an abstract concept even for the fantastical world of the Body Cultivation Realm.
However, for Yasenia, it was extremely easy.
She had [Empyrean Regal Dragon Aura], an aura that not only created will but also manifested it offensively. So, instead of creating a new "Will," Yasenia tempered her own and used it to enhance her body.
The results were astounding. Her dragon aura had actually evolved once more, transforming into [Cosmos Dragon Imperial Suppression]. By now, our dragoness could probably kill people below the Unification Realm with just a look.
Using [Cosmos Dragon Imperial Suppression], Yasenia attacked her own body and tempered her flesh and mental strength. This was the first realm that actually brought some effects to her overall strength.
It took her eight months to cross this entire realm while the other girls caught up and even surpassed her. The reason? The amount of tempering her developed dragon aura could do was vast enough to take a while.
While normal people worked with their hands, Yasenia was using a complex tool, so it took a while to reach the point of not being able to perfect it anymore.
Our girls also benefited a lot during this realm. They had a very big cheating key called "My Dragon Wife."
Yasenia's will was useful not only for herself but also for them. The reason was the peculiar ability to externalize and use it as an attacking method.
Above all, it was our girls' trust in Yasenia. The Dragon's pressure could actually hurt them while they were body-cultivating, so they needed to have extreme trust and allow their dearest to squeeze their bodies perfectly.
Their trust was based on two things.
First of all, it was Yasenia, and their lover probably preferred to have an arm sliced off before they got a scratch on their skin.
Second of all, Yasenia used Dragon Aura to help Andrea while she crossed the Spiritual King Realm in the past.
And so, the Ethereal Soul Heavenly Tribulation arrived for our dear dragoness.
The moment it came, the entire sect was shrouded in darkness.
Yasenia looked at it with a stunned expression. "What in Heaven's name is this?"
This time, even the seniors felt their lips twitch.
This level was well into the Fifth realm tribulation level. Probably, not even the leaders of this continent faced something as potent as this when they crossed into the Epoch Core realm, and Yasenia was breaking through into the Ethereal Soul Realm.
As Yasenia looked at the blackened sky with her mouth agape, the seniors who were currently residing in the sect came to see.
Tengliu asked, confused as she looked at the clouds. "Wasn't she entering the Ethereal Soul Body Realm?"
Mirrory answered her. "She is."
The leaders turned to look at the mysterious red-haired and green-eyed woman with their eyelids trembling. 'This is for the Ethereal Soul realm? Then what about Epoch Core?'
They had seen this red-haired woman in the past, but no one knew her identity. Not that they dared to poke their noses into the matters of the Astral Sky Clan. During the last seventeen months, they've benefited tremendously from their collaboration, and they didn't want to stop benefiting.
The Mermaid Queen asked, a concerned expression on her usually cold and indifferent face. "Will little Yasenia be okay, Lady Tatyana?"
Most of the leaders have become increasingly fond of Yasenia during their time here. Her dedication, hard work, talent, and personality had wholly won them over, and they all cared about her as if she were one of their juniors.
Tatyana looked at the sky silently for a few seconds. "Depends."
Her answer made our girls turn to look, their hearts trembling and their eyes widening. If Tatyana was not sure, this was much more serious than expected.
Yasenia suddenly felt a pulse spread from the cloud, and knowing that this was the pressure wave to immobilize her, she released her auras and strength, taking a deep breath and roaring defiantly.
"ROAR!"
Her throat vibrated as the deep dragon roar made the air around her swell and explode upward.
BOOOM!
Both auras clashed, and the massive aura Yasenia spread from her body was rapidly crushed as the invisible pressure descended with seemingly unparalleled strength.
BANG!
Yasenia's legs bent ninety degrees as her tail dug deeply into the ground for extra support. However, her back didn't bend as she looked upward with a defiant gaze.
Then, she challenged the Heavens.
"You are so eager to kill me!? It will not be that easy!"
RUMBLE!
The sky shook, and the Tribulation lightning began to gather. Countless lightning serpents came one after another.
1…5…14…29…
The serpents gathered one after another, increasing in number by the second, and the faces of everyone present became increasingly dark.
By the time it stopped, 87 Tribulation Lightning Bolts were moving in the clouds.
This sight made everyone feel their hearts constrict in worry for the lone creature facing such a catastrophe.