Deep into the mountains, there was a valley entrance that looked inhospitable. Surrounded by poison gas and many powerful venomous insects, this place was somewhere nobody would even attempt to approach. Moreover, because it was between two very large mountains, the sun rarely shone there, making the place feel cold and humid.
However, if one looked closer, one would be able to see that there were around 20 people camouflaged with the surroundings and guarding the valley's entrance.
One of them spoke. "This is probably the easiest job in this sect, right? Like, who will appear? There were only three sightings in the last five years, hahaha. Moreover, they were lost people who were easy to get rid of."
Another commented with a doubtful tone. "Even then, us speaking is a bit too much, no? We should be silent, just in case."
A third one clicked their tongue. "I've been doing this for a few months already, I haven't even seen a wild animal around here. We should be one of, if not the, best-protected sect in the World."
A woman sighed. "Even then, we lost our Nine Sect status because of the Astral Sky Sect Master."
"Right… Speaking of her, she has recently started an all-out war by capturing the wolf race."
"I heard! She went with her army during Fu Lang Zu's wedding day. Then, she captured Fu Lang Zu, got rid of the entirety of the Fu family, and finally gave the throne to Fu Lang Zu's future wife, who, by the way, was in love with one family member of the Astral Sky Sect Master's family!"
"Hahaha! Cuckolded to oblivion and back! They actually cucked him and annihilated his family! Hilarious."
"Hey, don't be like that. At least, they were our allies."
A mesmerizing voice reached them. "Right? They were your allies, but now they are mine. What a shame indeed."
The twenty people looked sideways toward the source and saw one of the most beautiful women on the continent smiling at them. She laughed a bit and asked. "Why stop speaking? Is it because I joined?"
The twenty people would've usually attacked by now. However, they couldn't. Their bodies were filled with fear as all their muscles tensed.
Even if the creature before them was much more enchanting and attractive than they'd ever imagined, her identity made it clear to them that if they attacked, they would be killed.
The guard leader asked with a stutter. "L-Lady Yasenia, what are you doing here?"
The dragoness tilted her head. "Why should I tell you?"
The guard gulped and laughed awkwardly. "Right, right. Why should such an esteemed person say anything to this little me?"
The dragoness smiled, amused. "Well, I can, though. Do you want to know?"
The guard stuttered. "I-If there is a price, I would like to not listen."
Yasenia walked forward toward the entrance of the Valley while chuckling. "Clever people~. The sect is lucky to have you." With a pondering look, Yasenia commented. "So, how attached are the twenty of you to the Silent Fang Sect?"
They all felt their bodies burst with cold sweat. 'S-She isn't here to swallow this sect as well, right? No. How does she know we are situated here?!'
The dragoness looked at the walls where the twenty people were camouflaged and blinked. "That technique is quite nice. Even though you are all mid-level Ethereal Soul people, you managed to make it a bit harder to notice you! That's a big achievement!"
'A-A bit harder?'
Yasenia reached the entrance to the valley and leaned over to look down. "Hm… quite dark. Isn't living in such a dark environment a bit of a bother? Or are there lights inside your headquarters? Perhaps the light is kept inside the buildings so as not to alert other people, right?"
The 20 people didn't dare answer or fight. One of them flicked their hand, summoning an alerting tool.
However, before she could rip the alerting talisman in half, a person appeared by her side, grabbing her hand; her heart almost jumped out of her throat out of fright. A voice whispered in her ear. "Don't be silly. We want to give the Silent Fang Sect a surprise. What if alerting them makes the sect people miss the same surprise you are feeling?"
'Wanting to piss myself in fear is not a good surprise, though!? Why would I want others to feel that!?'
The person surrounding her asked again, with a deeper and more authoritative tone. "Right?"
The assassin woman answered with a voice that felt as if she was about to cry. "R-Right…"
"Good. If you don't do anything stupid, you might be spared. So be good and continue doing nothing, okay?"
"O-Okay." The woman turned her head to see who was speaking to her and met with a pair of obsidian eyes. Pure black eyes without sclera that glowed like pearls. The swirling darkness in them was so deep and scary that the woman froze in place.
Doriel melded with the shadows again and disappeared from sight.
Yasenia hummed. "I wonder. How much resistance will a previous Nine Sect put up? I would think it will be more than a top ten clan, right?"
Kali descended from the sky to her side and commented. "It should be. So, let's be careful, Yasenia."
Yasenia nodded. "Let's stay together and let the maids lead. Even if a peak level attacks us, with all of us together, we should be able to defend ourselves and put up a fight. Moreover, while Tatyana is not here, Valeria and Mirrory are. So, there shouldn't be much reason to worry unless…"
Evelyn jumped and clung to Yasenia's back and asked. "Thinking of how much force would be needed to take us out?"
Yasenia laughed. "Yes. I am not sure, to be honest."
Doriel appeared in front of her from the shadows with another two maids, and the three of them bowed. "Young Miss, we've scouted the underground passways. It is of labyrinthic nature, and there are traps, but nothing we can't deal with. With Selena and Lady Angel's expertise in formations, we will be able to pass through without flinching."
The dragoness's smile widened, and she felt prideful for her baby, which her maids took into account. She used her tail to pull her over and slam her face between her breasts. Angel instantly melted in the soft and comfortable hug.
Cecile looked around and asked. "Why not kill?"
Andrea commented. "There is no need."
Cecile looked at Andrea and blinked. "Why not?"
Andrea laughed. "Well, they are not a threat."
Cecile tilted her head. "But killing them can make any unexpected situation disappear, right?"
Andrea asked with a raised eyebrow. "What if there is a system in place to close things down once all the guards are killed? There are fewer risks in leaving them to live because we can at least predict their actions. We can predict nobody's actions if they are dead, so anything that happens will be a surprise."
Cecile got thoughtful. "Fair point."
Yasenia looked to the sky and spoke. "Come down. We are starting."
The twenty people who were stunned from seeing people appear one after another followed her gaze and saw around 300 people appearing.
Usually, this wouldn't be much of a force, but things changed a lot when the weakest in the group, cultivation-wise, were middle-level fifth-realm maids.
Other than the middle-level fifth realm maids, the entire group consisted of high-level Epoch Cores and above. It was a super elite group made of people who would be considered overlords in many other parts of the continent.
The twenty spectating people gulped. While they knew Yasenia was here for no good, the 300 people were a terrible signal. If Yasenia wanted to assimilate their sect, she would have arrived with a large force instead of an elite force. After all, they couldn't let people escape. The top powers of the Silent Fang Sect were not weak, so Yasenia's people would be too preoccupied fighting those to stop everyone from leaving. Life-saving treasures were also a thing, after all.
As soon as they thought that, they saw the cute blonde woman with large breasts taking out a disk and throwing it forward.
In an instant, a circle expanded for several kilometers outward and disappeared. Then, they heard. "Yasenia, I've blocked the teleporting talismans and life-saving treasures related to space!"
Yasenia leaned forward and rewarded her with a kiss. "Great job, baby. Let's go down."
The twenty people's eyes twitched, and after a long consideration, they decided to ask aloud. "L-Lady Yasenia! Can we leave?"
The dragoness looked at them and blinked. "Really?"
They looked at each other and nodded. Yasenia sighed. "Well, I thought that you would have a bit more backbone and at least stay here just in case we were repelled."
Andrea sighed. "Your only option for survival was to keep being loyal to the sect. You see, Yasenia hates gutless traitors quite a lot." Andrea muttered. "Of course, if you retaliated, you would also die. So, in truth, this was not fair for you, and the outcome was almost predetermined. My words of warning were wasted."
Cecile nodded. "They were. I told you killing them would be best and faster. Although, your words actually made me doubtful."
Andrea laughed. "Oh? Did I manage to trick you? Have you forgotten that those automatic formations would've meant nothing with Angel and the others? Killing them is the safest path."
Cecile blinked twice and said bluntly. "Oh. It's true. I was tricked."
The other girls laughed. Yasenia looked at Doriel and said. "Two seconds."
Doriel became a shadow that expanded to cover the entire valley in a second. In the next second, flashes of dark light appeared everywhere around the twenty people, and by the end of the second second Doriel reappeared by Yasenia's side. "Done, Young Miss."
Yasenia smiled. "Great job. Let's go."
A high-level Epoch Core man looked at the 20 people and asked. "What did Lady Doriel do, Sect Master?"
Yasenia commented as they descended. "She sliced their souls out of their bodies, effectively killing them by leaving a husk behind."
The High-level Epoch Core looked at Doriel with appreciation. "That's impressive, Lady Doriel. What do you call those martial arts you used?
Doriel answered. "[Curse Shadow Domain: Soul Severing]."
The High-level Epoch Core became thoughtful. He was a darkness-attributed cultivator, so he felt that he might be able to learn it. However, guessing his thought process, Doriel explained. "You need to become an adept curse user. It's not an easy skill to learn, even with the proper affinities."
The man nodded. "I see. Well, Spiritual Cultivation seems much more complex than Body Cultivation. Speaking of which, Sect Master, when will you share Spiritual Cultivation with the elders and disciples of the sect?"
Yasenia smiled and asked. "Do you want to learn the spiritual path as well?"
The raven man laughed. "Yes. I understand that Sect Master's strength is largely due to talent, but even that has limits. Sect Master must be practicing both a spiritual and body path, right?"
Yasenia didn't bother covering it. "That's right. However, it is harder than you might think… Hm… I don't want you to focus on the Spiritual Path since it is something with no returns until much later. I would prefer it if you all focused on gaining more strength and reaching the peak of the fifth realm. When the war ends, I promise to open the Spiritual Technique library to everyone."
The man smiled and cupped his fist. "Thank you, Sect Master."
Yasenia nodded and commented. "Now, focus. We are arriving in enemy territory. While our strength is high, never underestimate the enemy. A Nine Sect must have many tricks under their sleeves. The probability for some of us to die is high!"
"Understood, Sect Master!"