Chapter 1724. Converging.

Chapter 1724: Chapter 1724. Converging.

A few moments before that rumbling sound, the ones below had behaved exactly like Tatyana predicted. The Demons and Divines who met a while ago decided to cooperate instead of face each other.

Demons and Divines were enemies, but they wouldn’t act excessively unreasonable in a situation that looked obviously dangerous. The traps had taken the lives of several high-level immortals, and they couldn’t continue like that.

A major reason the agreement moved so quickly was Isla herself. After understanding that the Dravory family might be the same as the one from the Sky Continent, Isla knew that she couldn’t let them behave as they wanted.

’From what I heard, Madam Dravory is a mid-level transcendence. However, what if the one here is not only Yasenia Dravory, but Lady Katherine herself... Or was her real name Tatyana?’

If Lady Death Empress had silently manipulated everything, an individual Isla had long admired and knew a bit about, they couldn’t continue as they were.

So, she asked if there was a black-haired, red-eyed woman among the Dravory Family members.

"Yes, there is. It is one of Madam Dravory’s wives, and probably the woman whose beauty level can be compared the most to Madam Dravory."

Isla’s face tightened. "Master, this woman might be a Half-Step in disguise. I am not sure yet, but her powers are powerful to the point that my previous Sect Master was wary of her."

The Half-Step Divine had taken Isla as a disciple for a while, so he knew who she was talking about. The Heavenly Sect Leader was so powerful that even he didn’t dare underestimate him.

So, in the end, the Half-Step Divine decided to take action. "Can you guarantee what you said?"

Isla showed a complex expression. "I might be overthinking it, Master. I won’t lie to you. Nevertheless, there are far too many coincidences to call her a look-alike. And..." Isla bit her lip, feeling her pride hurt. "If the rumors are true, then Madam Dravory is younger and even more talented than myself."

Of all the people she had even fought, Isla remembered her duel with Yasenia.

Yes, she won. However, the situation back then was a Half-Step Third Realm Isla against a recently advanced Level One Third Realm Yasenia.

Even then, Isla had to show all her strength, or Yasenia would’ve become a problem with her [Day and Night Cycle].

"...More talented than you?"

For the Divine, Isla wasn’t a singularity. He had seen monstrous talents grow across his many years alive. Still, Isla was among the very top, and her attitude and arrogance were well earned.

A 300-year-old Third Level Immortal? At her age, most "geniuses" had either just broken through into the immortal realm or were in the midst of doing so. Plus, Isla’s foundation wasn’t shaky or built quickly just for speed. Isla’s advancement was well-paced and not rushed. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close.

With Isla’s warning, his mentality shifted slightly, and he decided to make concessions when speaking with the Demons. The Demons noticed the oddity, and they weren’t stupid. It was clear they couldn’t keep losing time trapped down below.

After joining hands, they combined their strength and, quite literally, blew a hole in the Labyrinth’s ceiling. After rushing out, they noticed that Isla’s warning was not misplaced.

There were others who had already managed to enter the palace, their energy traces everywhere. Those who had rushed in first grimaced and began shouting orders.

"Fast! Move out and search the area!"

"Don’t bother with conflict. Make sure to get the treasures!"

"Tsk! Who tricked us!?"

And so, those who entered with Yasenia and those who were trapped below finally reunited. While there were no fights to the death yet, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

Because they managed to break the labyrinth’s ceiling, the core of the formation that teleported them got damaged, making it impossible to activate it again without repairs.

***

The palace was filled with traps for those who didn’t have the pendants, so their advancement was slower than those with pendants, even when they were overall stronger.

Still, the traps in the palace were much less malicious than those in the labyrinth. So, with experience from down below, most groups that escaped from the labyrinth could press on and explore without casualties.

The group with Jaxon in it was also moving around quickly. They were all demons focused on combat, with no succubi- or incubi-related bloodlines among them. That didn’t make them better, though.

If anyone forced them to fight, they would be ruthless. Jaxon was in the middle of a battle with a junior from another sect for the right to get the treasure. He swung his gigantic war hammer, a wild grin on his face.

"DIE!"

BOOM!

The young talent from the other side had half her body blown into bloody mist, and she flew back toward her people, landing and leaving a bloody trail. The Demons burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! They wanted to use juniors. Did they not see Jaxon?"

"Ignorant people. Tsk, tsk. The number one talent is with us."

Jaxon flashed forward and looked down at the woman with a twisted smirk. "You don’t look bad. Become my breeder."

The woman coughed up a mouthful of blood and glared up. "You... Wish."

Jaxon glanced up at her elders and raised his lips. "What do you think? A single defeated talent in exchange for an alliance. I can even promise to liberate her after she gives birth to two of my spawns."

The woman froze, her eyes shaking. She knew exactly how the elders and leaders of her family would view this deal.

An elder pondered and tapped the cane on the ground. "Deal. However, you can’t keep her with you and purposely prohibit her from giving birth or use other demons to breed her. If you ever lose her as your concubine, our alliance will be broken, and we’ll become enemies. She is, after all, part of our Ye Family bloodline. You can’t treat her poorly."

Jaxon lifted the woman by her hair and smirked. "You’ve heard? You are mine now."

The woman bit her lip, but she didn’t complain, sighing and slumping in acceptance.

"Jaxon, let’s move on. Don’t get distracted by unimportant things."

Jaxon plopped a pill into the woman’s mouth to heal her, then pointed his chin. "Follow me."

The group of demons left right away, and the woman followed behind Jaxon, resigned to her fate. The Half-Step Demon Monarch glanced around and blinked. "Hm... That’s the Raon Family, right? They are a small, mid-sized family."

A female demon beside him glanced over indifferently. "Yes. What do we do?"

"Let’s ask about how they entered here. I don’t recall the Raon Family being with us."

The female demon nodded and approached. Lady Raon turned her head, and her muscles tensed up when she saw the group of powerful Demons. ’Asura Demons and Erinye Demons, what a heaven-forsaken combination of demons to encounter. Those who love warfare, and the other bunch who pursue vengeance.’

"Lady Raon, it is a pleasure to meet you. Could you explain to me how you entered this place? I don’t recall seeing you down in the labyrinth."

Lady Raon had no issue telling the truth. Lying to this bunch would be a stupid choice. So, she explained how the Dravory Family’s formation masters created these pendants, which allow them to walk around without triggering most traps.

Lady Raon added. "Every single one of you needs to have it. We’ve tried for one of us to be without, but the traps activate and target even those with the pendants. So, it is quite useless for your larger group."

The Demon grinned. "You thought we’d steal them?"

Lady Raon sighed. "Please, understand my position."

"Hahaha. I really like you. Alright, I won’t steal them from you. However, if one of you dies in an accident, you’d be willing to sell it to us, right?"

Lady Raon grimaced and rubbed her forehead, a deep headache setting in.

"...How about you find the ones who created it instead? Won’t they be able to give all of you as many pendants as you want? The design is done, so I am sure they can produce it quickly."

The Demon Monarch hummed, his flaming wings flapping behind him. "...Not a bad suggestion. You are clever." He turned around and waved his hand. "Let’s go... Ah. By the way, any idea where the Dravory Family is?"

"The last place we encountered them is..."

***

Yasenia’s group had finally arrived near the location where the armor was hidden.

Hidden, yes.

Once they reached the main throne room, the empty halls made their voices echo in the sheer stillness. Yasenia glanced at the statues, chandeliers, intricate carpets, and carved pillars lining the path to the throne, along with many other decorations.

"...It is not here. The scent is still leaking from somewhere."

However, there were no more entrances to this location. The only way to enter here was through the giant and intricate gates behind them. The maids moved before Yasenia could order, sealing the doors with formations and other measures meant to slow anyone trying to get inside.

The Shang Guards crossed their arms and admired as the 300 beautiful maids moved around in perfect synchrony. "...They are good."

"Yeah. Once they catch up in level, I am unsure if we could become part of them with our current skill."

A Shang Guard blinked and glanced at the woman who spoke those words with a raised eyebrow. "Are you having any ideas?"

The woman tilted her chin up in response. "Are you telling me you haven’t at least thought about it? Although, well, since they only seem to accept women, are you perhaps jealous that I have the chance?"

The man almost rolled his eyes to the sky. "Nonsense."

The woman’s lips arched. "I heard that Madam Dravory has her fun with the maids as well."

"...Nonsense."

"Hehe. You don’t sound as convincing as before."

While the Shang Guards bantered, they heard Yasenia speak. "The scent is the strongest in this area."

Looking over, they noticed quite a funny sight. Yasenia, in her dragon form, was climbing all over the throne with no respect, sniffing it by pressing her snout against it. Her tail wagged playfully behind her, and her wings fluttered from time to time when a scent hit her nose, which was hilarious.

The girls were also holding back their laughter, but their eyes were full of love and amusement.

Yasenia raised her dragon head and blinked at the gazes she was receiving all around. "...What?"

"Ahem." Kali cleared her throat and walked over. "Nothing, love. So, you mean that the treasure is below the throne?"

Yasenia didn’t know how to answer that. "It’s just... it’s strange. The scent comes from these small ridges of the throne. However..." Flapping her massive wings, Yasenia took flight and latched onto the seams of the curved ceiling. "...The scent here is as strong as it is down below."

Yasenia used her claws to latch on and skitter about on the ceiling. "Sniff, sniff, sniff... sniifffffff! Why is this scent coming from so many places? It doesn’t make sense!"

Amusing as it was, Yasenia’s comments caused them to think deeply. Of course, they first glanced at the three seniors to see if they had any ideas. They didn’t want to rely on them all the time, but this time, they were on a timer.

Tatyana, Valeria, and Mirrory began pondering seriously. Mirrory glanced at the other two and commented. "Isn’t it faster to create a treasure-hunting formation? Carrying one around is usually useless, but when it comes to closed environments, those are great, no?"

Tatyana agreed and flickered her wrist. "I always have a few of those with me, so no need to build anything. It is rare that you can’t see through it, though."

Mirrory shrugged. "There is something interfering with my senses here. I can only pour out a certain level of sensing, you know? Otherwise, I could straight up ask the world itself for the true path toward the treasure and be done with it."

Valeria giggled. "Oho. Excuses from Miss Mirrory? That’s rare to hear."

Mirrory rolled her eyes at the playful banter. "At least I help sometimes. What about you, green Yasenia?"

Valeria puffed with laughter. "That’s more of a compliment than anything else."

A formation lit up, forming a sphere. Tatyana spread her hands. "Alright. Let’s cover this place with it. [Piercing Heavenly Secret Formation]."