After that day, the war ended, and a new era commenced. While very few threats remained, like a few rogue high-level cultivators who escaped, everything was peaceful again.
The first thing Yasenia did was visit the humans. In that place, there was one who could be considered an old enemy of hers. Eventually, however, she managed to accomplish nothing because of her lack of intelligence and being spoiled since birth. Her grandeur and sense of superiority were her ultimate downfall when adapting to the situation would've made her much more of a threat.
When Yasenia arrived, she saw quite a decent city. It was surrounded by a relatively powerful formation. However, it showed that it was built with non-optimal materials.
Her lovers and daughters accompanied Yasenia. Cecile and Kali even carried the eggs with them. Well, it was more like Kali and Cecile spent more time holding the eggs than without them, but that was another matter.
A few months had passed, but Estrella, the oldest, had yet to become one year old. For those who forgot, the ritual to learn the constitution and attributes was done at one year of age.
Yasenia was currently carrying all four of the babies that were not eggs. She used each arm for one baby and then her tail to hold the other two against her chest.
It looked a bit comical, but the little ones were loving it, so no one complained.
Evelyn looked around and hummed. "This place is quite nice. Although it is built in a desert, the architecture is unique and beautiful. Look over there."
The girls looked and spotted a large pagoda with a pyramidal shape. Andrea hummed. "That's quite nice. I wonder what more these humans built during the last months? They were absent in most battles, after all."
While they walked down the marble path built on top of the sand, they heard a voice calling them. "Oh? Yasenia and her family, you are here."
Looking over, they saw An Meiling walking over with a faint smile. The human woman looked at the four little ones in Yasenia's embrace and laughed. "Well, I can already guess who the most loved parent is."
Yasenia's lips arched smugly while the others gave her a side eye and a snort. Cecile patted the egg in her arms and said. "You must listen to Mama Cecile more than Mommy, okay?"
Kali laughed at the side. "I will be quite happy if my little one considers me on the same level. They have part of a dragon's bloodline; Yasenia will instinctively be the most liked parent."
An Meiling looked at Tatyana next and bowed. "Lady Death Empress, welcome."
Tatyana nodded faintly. "No need for formalities. I am here to accompany my daughter."
After she revealed her own power, she, of course, stopped giving face to anybody. No one dared to say a single word, though. The being in front of them was so much stronger and more influential than them that they might as well be considered a dust mote before the sun.
An Meiling smiled. "That's good enough, Lady Death Empress. Let's get to the point. I bet you are all a bit busy with the little ones in your care."
Yasenia hummed. "You said that you have Tang Xian captured or something? What happened, really? Can we get some details?"
An Meiling nodded. "It's a bit embarrassing, but Tang Xian has a certain charm that makes her quite irresistible to many. She has a pure aura that masks the demon within, and that's strangely attractive for some. Therefore, one of my juniors got snared in her claws. If Tang Xian wasn't impatient and rushed her seduction tactics, we would've probably been in a lot more trouble. While I trust my male juniors, I can't deny that Tang Xian has some methods that stand outside my knowledge."
The dragoness nodded. "Her family back in the Sky Continent is truly a pain… Well, it is a pain for me. I got into trouble with one of their children, and that escalated. Eventually, her family, the Tang family, and another one called the Long family teamed up and tried to mess with me."
An Meiling looked at Tatyana and asked. "Can I be rude and ask a question, Lady Death Empress?"
Tatyana nodded, and she asked. "Why didn't you deal with them, Lady Death Empress?"
Tatyana shrugged. "They are good practice. If Yasenia hadn't been involved in what she has, they would've helped me shape her into what she is today."
An Meiling coughed. 'Wasn't Tang Xian's great-grandfather like an Eighth Stage Transcendent Cultivator or something according to Tang Xian? Was she lying?'
Yasenia asked. "So, what did you do to her after discovering what she did?"
An Meiling shrugged and confessed. "I wanted to kill her, but well, I decided to keep her to have something that could be traded with you."
With a lifted eyebrow, the dragoness smiled. "That's a good strategy. Although the value Tang Xian had for me faded quite a long time ago, I would certainly have been interested in permanently eliminating a passive threat."
The human woman laughed. "Well, come this way. She is below here."
Angel asked. "Is it okay for the babies to go down?"
An Meiling smiled at Angel. "Don't worry, we've cleaned the place and placed walls on the cells with the traumatic content. We will only see Tang Xian…" The woman paused. "Well, that woman herself can act a bit crazy, so if you ever feel that it is not good for the little ones, tell me, and I will silence or cover her."
Angel smiled. "Thank you!"
Aurelia slowly opened her eyes from the comfortable nap she was taking in Yasenia's arms and looked up. Her golden eyes, exactly like Yasenia's, observed the surroundings and landed on her mommy's face. "Good morning, Aurelia. How are you doing? Feeling good, baby?"
Aurelia smiled and giggled, moving around without any care for her sleeping sisters. The dragoness looked at Angel, who quickly approached and took Aurelia from the quadruple embrace.
At first, the baby frowned when the warmth of her mama dragon disappeared, but when she felt Angel's body heat, her frown changed to a happy smile. "Augha!"
A blabber came out of her mouth when Angel picked her up, making people feel their hearts melting. Even An Meiling, who was cold-hearted, couldn't help but feel her heart soften. She sincerely praised. "They are adorable."
Evelyn smiled softly. "They really are."
"Hm~?"
Evelyn looked at the human woman with a puzzled face. "What's wrong?"
An Meiling smiled. "You've matured quite a bit."
Evelyn almost had question marks popping above her head. "Huh?"
The woman turned around while shaking her head. "Don't worry. We are here."
A pair of gates opened and they all followed inside. Walking through a few corridors with covered cells, they eventually arrived at Tang Xian's cage.
Tang Xian was sitting on a chair, sickly pale and with almost no meat on her bones. The Demonic Cultivation had already backlashed, making her nothing but a mortal.
When the dragoness saw her, all the words she wanted to say converged into a single but audible sigh.
The sigh reached Tang Xian, who lifted her face to look over. Yet, unlike the crazy reaction the girls expected, she just stared at Yasenia and the children in her arms.
Yasenia remarked. "Regret is a very bitter pill to swallow. You've lived your life hating me and envying me. Over beauty, over family words, over grand aspirations that initially had nothing to do with me, you've betrayed yourself and ended up… a husk."
The dragoness sighed. "You are alive but dead. A shell of what you once were. Tang Xian, you had everything and risked it for nothing. You lost. Seeing your state… It's honestly… pathetic."
Tang Xian spoke, her voice a whisper that she would've missed if it were not for Yasenia's sharp hearing sense. "Sorry… Please… Save… me…"
The dragoness's calm expression turned into a sneer. "Tang Xian. I don't pity you. I am disappointed that what I thought to be a threat would become this. Save you? Why? Who are you? What are you? Never. Salvation will never come to you, Tang Xian. You choose this path. Now, own the consequences."
Then, she turned around and spoke to the rest. "Let's go. An Meiling, she is entirely yours to do as you see fit. Kill, torture, sex slave, whatever. The link between our Fates ends here."
An Meiling nodded and followed behind Yasenia after giving one last look to Tang Xian.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a tall terrace and looked at the growing city. Kali asked. "Are you going to help here?"
The dragoness hummed. "Sure. Of course, it won't be free. However, if you want to buy resources, contact us."
An Meiling smiled. "Thank you. Building a power from nothing is really complicated. We will need plenty of resources if we want to defend ourselves. I can imagine that there are quite a few people who are not happy with humans regaining a bit of their old glory."
"It doesn't matter much." Yasenia looked down at her babies and smiled. "They will grow in a proper environment. I want them to judge by the character and morals of people."
Evelyn asked with a smirk. "What about Demons?"
The dragoness laughed. "Them as well. If they learn to judge by character and morals, most Demons will not make the cut unless they are lying."
Yasenia felt two little hands pushed against her chest and looked down. Seeing Skye waking up and trying to find her feeding source, the dragoness moved her tail to cover her breast and lowered the dress.
"What's the plan?"
The dragoness answered the question of Ou Junwei, An Meiling's senior brother. "Plan? I have no plans left, hahaha." The dragoness' face was peaceful as she looked at the sky. "Now, the only plan left is to grow. Gain strength and pierce the sky. Go out to explore, become stronger… Hahaha… Ah!"
Seeing the look of realization on Yasenia's face, everyone was curious. Kali asked. "What's wrong?"
Yasenia hummed. "I almost forgot I needed to beat up Tengliu half-dead for what she attempted to do a few years ago."
An Meiling's lips twitched. "Even after all of the help she has given you? You really hold a grudge."
The dragoness snorted. "This and that are different. If I don't do this, there is this… how to say it… this feeling? That I am not doing something right. Or, that I am being too forgiving? I don't know. It's a complicated thing."
The dragoness took out a communication device and connected it to Tengliu's.
A nervous voice came from the other side. "Hey, Little Yasenia, what's wrong?"
Yasenia smiled. "Don't worry too much. Come to the arena in my sect in a week. Let's finish our grudges and have a new beginning. What do you think?"
Tengliu's voice arrived from the other side. "There is… a new beginning?"
Yasenia laughed. "If I kill you after what you've done for me during all these years, I would not be fulfilling revenge. I would be becoming blind with rage and living… too… fixated. How to say it… Tengliu, what you did was worthy of death at the time you did it. That's the truth. However, I couldn't really deliver that death at that time."
Yasenia looked at the sky and sighed. "Later, you showed an honest drive to become closer to me. I was at first tempting you to lower your guard and eventually finish you. Yet, as we interacted more, I could feel that you were genuine in your efforts. Don't worry, my eyes weren't closed all these years. Whoever thinks that you still deserve death is a person who is living in the past and unable to let go. You've redeemed yourself enough, just, fight me with everything. I'll beat the last remaining grudge between us out of you."
Tengliu's hum was heard on the other side. "Okay. I'll be there, Little Yasenia."
The dragoness's lips arched further. "That's good."
"Yasenia…" Tengliu paused and said. "Thank you. I really appreciate and adore you. I just wanted you to know that."
"I know." Yasenia snorted a smile. "Now, I'll see you there in a week, you silly bird."
Cutting off the communication, the dragoness continued looking at the sky. 'While some might not agree… I feel this is the best.'
Her heart felt relaxed, and a small laugh escaped her. 'After this, all knots will be tied.'