Once their boat approached the city's entrance, a guard in elegant robes stopped them. His entire gear was low-level heaven ranked, showing that the city's wealth was not to be underestimated.
"Identify yourselves!"
Kali stepped forward with her face uncovered and spoke softly. "Here. We registered Yasenia for our identification card."
The guard gave Kali's face an extra glance, but he professionally looked away and looked at Yasenia. The dragoness spread her wings, showing the ethereal Moon and Sun in her dragon wings, stunning the guard once more.
Kali sent a wave of pressure at him, snapping him out of his daze. "Please, don't look at her like that."
Her tone was much colder than her initial one, making the guard realize his blunder. He was instantly regretful and apologized sincerely, cupping his fist. "My deepest apologies. It was not my intention to be rude."
Kali smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. I understand. She is really beautiful, isn't she?"
The guard cleared his throat. "I wouldn't dare comment on it, Miss."
Kali snorted, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she asked. "Can we enter the city now?"
An stepped forward, looking at the guard, and she said. "I am with them. They are new, so I am guiding them."
The other guard was surprised and asked. "Miss An? Why are you working as a guide?"
An rolled her eyes. "Have you seen them? They are 100% going to get into trouble if they don't have someone with authority by their side."
The guard looked between Yasenia and Valeria and coughed. "I can't really deny that. Please, go on."
The gates opened, and Alaia maneuvered the warship to pass through. The gates were enormous, so they had no problems passing through.
Once on the other side, they were welcomed by a densely populated city that had a variety of creatures they hadn't seen before. There were beasts, humans, and beast humans aplenty, with the occasional spirit, undead, and even some demons and divines.
Yasenia exclaimed in awe. "This place is the most diverse I've seen in my entire life."
An sighed. "That doesn't make it a good thing. Look over there."
They followed An's gaze and spotted a divine beating up a demon. Still, nobody interfered. Yasenia asked about it. "Why is nobody interfering?"
An looked at Yasenia strangely, and the dragoness coughed. "Right. Who knows what backing each person has, right? If you step foot into the wrong fight, your life might be over before you realize it."
An nodded. "That's right. Some people will do that with you lot because of your extraordinary appearance, though. It is a matter of time…" An paused and asked. "Say, have you ever felt guilty?"
"Guilty about what?" Yasenia titled her head.
"I mean…" An spoke measuredly. "The reason some people have died in your path of cultivation is because your beauty provokes them, no? They might've lived a different life if you had never appeared before them."
The dragoness snorted, her veil gently blowing from the exhale. "Feeling sorry? I will never feel sorry for being too beautiful. What others think about me is beyond the point, and regardless of my appearance, if someone can't control their libido and they attack me, their death is deserved, as other women would've eventually fallen victim to such people."
An blinked and smiled. "I see. That's nice."
They docked in a parking spot, and when they all dismounted, Yasenia waved her hand and stored the flying ship.
Then, An poked Yasenia's wing and smiled widely. "Well, here is the first victim of your beauty, Yasenia."
The dragoness looked over and saw a young woman approaching with a bunch of people while her eyes alternated between Valeria and Yasenia. Kali was already accustomed to it, so she didn't overreact. Instead, she took the first step forward and stepped in front of Yasenia, using her tails to hide most of the dragoness's body. "How may I help you, Miss?"
The woman who approached looked at Kali, and her facial expression couldn't help but twitch even when she tried to keep it under control. "Hello, Miss. I am interested in the two women behind you."
Kali spoke curtly. "Then, you can stop being interested. Scram, we don't want trouble as soon as we arrive in the city."
The woman smiled and said. "Don't worry, I am not interested in any strange way. I can see that your clothes and overall aura are extraordinary. Therefore, I wanted to ask if you are interested in coming as guests to our [Seven Star Inn]."
Kali looked at An, and An spoke in a formal tone. "Lady, the [Seven Star Inn] is one of the most popular ones in this city. It is managed by Lady He, who is renowned around the world."
Kali looked at the woman and asked. "Are you Lady He?"
The woman's face gained a touch of interest, and she asked. "What makes you think so?"
Kali raised her eyebrow. "Not many people around here are peak-level Epoch Core Realm cultivators."
The woman's smile froze briefly, and her gaze became deeper. "Oh? You have sharp eyes, Lady…"
"Kali." Kali answered. "That's my name."
"A wonderful name." Lady He smiled. "Yes, I am Lady He indeed. The reason I have invited you and your entourage is simple, really." She paused and pointed at Yasenia, Valeria, and the veiled maids behind, who all exuded charm. "If you go around with them, you'll always need to have an eye open and another one closed. It will be difficult to find accommodation. I can grant you a safe place to stay and perhaps even information you are interested in that Miss An here can't provide you."
Kali smiled. "I hope you are not challenging my intelligence in any way, Miss He. What's the catch?"
Lady He laughed. "I am not. The catch is that I want otherworldly merchandise. You are neither from a nearby city nor this world. With your appearances, you would've been known in just a few months regardless of what you did."
Kali pondered and asked Yasenia via spiritual sense. 'What do you think?'
'While she is still hiding something, it is worth to give it a try. We can either keep probing or just accept her offer. If she is interested in trade, she might know Ayanduin. Therefore, forming a relationship with her should be nice.'
Kali took what Yasenia told her into account and said. "Good. We'll accept. But if we are placed in a room that we can't inspect before settling in, then our deal is off."
A man behind Lady He frowned. "Fox, you are insulting Lady He's integrity with such demands! Watch your mouth."
Lady He's face fell, and she responded even before anyone from Yasenia's group reacted. "Did I ask you to speak?"
The man's back straightened, and Lady He turned to look at him. "Are you mute now? I asked you a question; answer it!"
The man said firmly. "You did not ask me, My Lady!"
"That's what I thought. Then, why did you open your big mouth!?" Lady He ordered. "Apologize to them. If it is not sincere, you can relinquish your duties!
Kali looked between them and waited for the man. The man bowed deeply. "I deeply apologize."
However, Kali went off-script. "I do not accept your apologies. Cut your tongue."
Lady He and the people around her paused, and Kali asked. "What? His mistake is not small. If we were not good-tempered, a fight could've happened. I want him to apologize by cutting off the part of his body that committed the mistake."
Lady He looked deeply at Kali and smiled. "Do as she says."
The guard looked at Lady He with a stunned expression. However, when his mistress's gaze fell upon him, radiating an imposing pressure, he bowed. "Understood, My Lady."
He then took out a dagger and used it to slice off his tongue. The organ flopped outside with a spurt of blood and wetly bounced twice. Kali nodded and looked at him. "Apology accepted." Then, she smiled at Lady He. "This was a nice performance. We agree to your conditions as long as you are fine with that one condition I asked about."
Lady He smiled. "That can be done. Do you have anything to do, or do we move out?"
Kali blinked twice, her fox ears twitching. "Oh? You are coming with us?"
"Well…" Lady He shrugged. "I am honestly free, so as long as you don't find me bothersome, we can walk around together and get to know each other."
Kali asked the dragoness, and hearing an affirmative answer, she accepted her offer. "That would be our pleasure."
Then, their group of nearly 100 combined people set off. Lady He explained. "This city is divided into three different concentric sections. It is a very typical layering around here. The outermost part is where most mortals and low-level cultivators live. We are currently…" Lady He waved her hand, summoning a map of the city. Then, she pointed at a specific place in the southern part of the city. "Here. My [Seven Star Inn] is located in the second circle, near the central area."
Kali asked, curious. "You are really renowned, from what Miss An implied. Why aren't you located in the central area?"
Lady He laughed. "Well, I've received offers for a location there. Still, it is too restrictive. There are a few people in there that are control maniacs. They don't pay as much attention to the outer and inner sections, but they strictly control the innermost sections."
Kali hummed. "I see. It seems that their existence is quite a mystery for most of the population, am I right?"
Lady He blinked. "Oh? Why do you say that?"
Kali commented. "Miss An didn't know about their existence when I spoke about them."
Confused, the elegant woman continued questioning. "What do you mean? Miss An should know about the [Four City Kings], no?"
Miss An and Kali spoke at the same time.
"Them!?"
"Four?"
Yasenia and the maids behind her looked at Lady He with an inquisitive expression. Lady He shrugged. "Four, yes. Also, why the surprise?"
Yasenia pondered for a few moments and sent a message to Kali. 'Reveal that we know about their strength level. Or, at least, reveal we know about three Transcendent Realm cultivators.'
Kali answered. "Well, we noticed three abnormally large energy signals when arriving here. I guessed they are Sixth Realm cultivators. Now, though, it seems that you are saying that there are four of them."
Lady He's facial expression changed for a second. Kali missed the meaning, but her dragoness told her. 'She was fearful for a second.'
This information surprised the fox woman. Then, she heard Lady He speak. "Miss Kali, I would prefer if you don't speak about that information freely. That's very secretive information. Although I don't know how you learned about it, I can tell you for certain that if they know that you know, you'll be in a little more than trouble."
Kali sighed. "I see. This will make things a bit harder…"
Lady He's lips twitched. 'How does not speaking about those god-like existences make things harder?'
Yasenia pondered and said. 'Honey, try to guide the conversation so that we can speak with Lady He inside a concealing formation and ask her more questions. She is our biggest hint to help us discover Ayanduin's whereabouts.'
Kali answered softly. 'Understood, love.'