Heaven, Earth, Me

Once they arrived at the second peak, the storm around them seemed to have peaked in intensity. Even when they climbed higher, its harshness hardly escalated. Regardless, surviving in this environment without the formation would be complicated.

Angel asked, her long eyelashes and eyebrows having a layer of frost on them. "How much longer until we reach the owl's nest?"

Seeing her baby like this, the dragoness approached. "Soon." Yasenia smiled softly and caressed Angel's face, which was red due to the cold. Warm energy flowed from the dragoness' hands to the cute blonde girl's body, and the frost melted away. As it transformed into a liquid, it fell down like crystalline tears, creating an endearing view.

Seeing Angel's big eyes blinking and getting moist by the liquid, Yasenia couldn't help but appreciate her Baby's beauty. "My Angel is so pretty. I love you."

Angel's face gained a deeper touch of red, and she smiled sweetly. "I love you too!" Then, she hugged Yasenia and buried her face between Yasenia's breasts. 

Yasenia chuckled and hugged her, patting her back with tenderness and using her wings to cocoon her. Looking at the rest, she commented. "We are halfway up the second peak. We saw that the nest was near the top. We will take at most five more days. Once there, we will slow down our march and scout what the thing inside of the owl's nest is that's attracting my attention."

Everyone nodded, and the dragoness paused, looking around. "By the way. Have any of you caught the aura of this treasure yet? Or am I still the only one feeling it?"

A few maids with dragon lineage nodded. "We have, Young Miss."

The dragoness smiled faintly. "That's great. Anyone else?"

Cecile raised her hand. "I have. There is a pure and deep Yin Energy aura up the mountain. I feel it resonating with my bloodline."

The girls were slightly surprised. Still, now that others were feeling its aura, the girls understood why Yasenia was so adamant about getting this treasure. If even these people who had much lower treasure-detecting skills could feel it, it must be a tremendously powerful treasure. 

After that small conversation, they continued the tiresome climb. During these last few days, Yasenia's group noticed that the presence of beasts had completely disappeared. Even with the ongoing storm, they could sometimes notice some traces in the past. And yet, far from seeing faint traces, it looked like nothing roamed the place since forever in this area of the second peak.

Thanks to the lack of creatures, they could rush through and arrive near the top in just three and a half days. Yasenia looked around at the dark area and spoke. "It is the night. Let's wait until morning before we continue." 

The night went by easily, and on the morning of the fourth day, they arrived near the area that led to a massive cave. There was nothing in between the edge of the forest and the cave, leading to a large, empty white landscape. Clara spoke up. "Young Miss, if we cross this expanse and the owl is paying attention, we will get immediately discovered." She pointed at the edge of the cave and added. "We need to circle the area and approach along the edge." 

Yasenia thought about it and nodded. "Let's do that then. Unless anyone else has a better suggestion."

No one spoke, so they moved out. 

It didn't take long. Three hours later, they were right beside the entrance of the nest. Yasenia pondered how to approach their problem now. 'Hm… Should we enter? How do we scout the inside of the cave without being discovered?' 

Doriel approached Valeria and hugged the Ethereal Blossom into her arms. "Young Miss, I am ready to scout."

Yasenia paused and looked at Doriel's determined face. She frowned for a few seconds before sighing. "I know your personality, so I know that you are not one to suggest things you are not confident about." She approached and looked at Doriel straight into her obsidian eyes. Grabbing her cheeks, Yasenia slowly articulated. "Promise me that the second you feel even the faintest sense of danger, you will turn around and leave. We've taken months to come here. So, we can certainly take more time to explore it slowly and make a plan. Am I clear?"

Doriel blinked twice, her obsidian eyes gaining a soft glow. A faint smile adorned Doriels usually cold expression. "I will, Young Miss. I don't want to die yet."

Yasenia smiled and released her face, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Go ahead, then. Have your communication device out. We will never try to speak from our side, so it will be more for you to bring back news."

Doriel took it. Then, she melded with the shadows and entered the cave with Ethereal Blossom.

Inside the massive hole in the mountain, a passage spread ahead with no end in sight. There were no ramifications along the path, being a single straight path. The tunnel dug deep inside and also had a gentle slope. 'It is very long. It has a gentle curve as well, spiraling down the mountain.'

Doriel slowly moved through the only passage and suddenly felt a pulse of energy approaching. She instantly gave Ethereal Blossom a sign of warning.

The plant creature between her arms fed the stealth aura, and Doriel pressed herself against the wall, using her own stealth techniques. A dark cocoon spread around her before it disappeared, and she melded completely with her surroundings. 

With that, they became effectively invisible.

The pulse of energy passed her right after and spread outwardly. The pressure of the energy pulse was like a mountain, making the maid's expression turn serious. 'Did it discover me?'

Soon after she thought about it, the owl's silhouette appeared in the distance. Its large round eyes glowed in the darkness as it ran slowly along the tunnel on its two legs. 

Doriel didn't get nervous. She kept her body as still as possible and even paused her heartbeat and breathing. While it sounded radical, a cultivator at her level had no problems keeping this state for several hours or even days if trained enough. Doriel could maintain it for over three weeks without a problem.

The massive owl covered a small part of the cave. After all, this tunnel was wide enough for it to fly through it. With the wings retracted, the amount of space it took was not much. 

Even then, the pressure was suffocating. Doriel analyzed it now that she was so close to it. 'This beast has an Intent Domain. Either that or its cultivation level is far beyond the first level. Regardless, it's not a beast we can face head-on. Too strong.'

The owl continued looking around the place, sniffing and looking at different parts of the walls. A few moments ago, it could swear that it noticed something for a fraction of a second before it disappeared. Of course, the owl was not sure if what it felt was accurate. However, with its intelligence, disregarding it felt like a foolish option. Many beasts in these mountains could evade its perception, and disregarding such an event would be foolish. 

It looked around the place with quick head tilts, typical of the animal. Soon, it was right by Doriel's side and it paused. The owl tilted its head around, looking at all corners, until a small place to its right caught its attention. 

Doriel looked at it from the darkness. Right now, the owl was looking straight at her, those large eyes seemingly able to see through any disguise and deceit. Still, far from panicking, Doriel didn't even blink as she crossed gazes with the owl. 

The maid and summon were as still as a rock, Doriel's entire being calm and collected. For one of Yasenia's personal maids, looking straight into death's eyes was a regular occurrence during training. 

The owl squinted and tilted its head a few times, sniffing the place with curiosity. It had a hunch, a feeling. Could something be here? However, as much as it looked, it couldn't find or see anything! 

The beast's high but limited intelligence doomed it not to find Doriel. After closely checking the place and failing to find anything, it guessed it was too sensitive. If it had been more intelligent, perhaps it would have been checked either way. If it were stupider, maybe it would've attacked that place even when there was nothing. However, neither happened, and the owl continued along the cave's path.

The owl exited the cave and looked around, its gorgeous white and blue plumage flowing with the wind. Yasenia's group was near it, covered in snow and formations, so the owl similarly missed them. 

Still, seeing the owl outside worried Yasenia. Tatyana looked at Yasenia and waited until the owl went back inside before speaking. "She should be fine. I felt no energy being released from the inside. 

Yasenia was sure of it as well. But even then, she was worried. How could she not be worried when one of her precious maids was in danger? Still, beyond being worried, she was cool-headed. 

They waited for three days before Doriel reappeared by Yasenia's side. "I am ba-"

Yasenia instantly grabbed her and started spinning her. "Are you hurt? Did you lose a limb? How about an organ? Were you hit? Were you discovered?" 

Doriel blinked twice before chuckling and stopping Yasenia. Looking straight into her eyes, she stated. "I am okay, Young Miss."

This calmed the dragoness. She nodded twice and smiled. "Great! So, what's in there?"

Doriel spoke directly; such was her style. "There is a Luna Essence and two unhatched eggs. A few other Transcendent Rank herbs as well that Lady Kali might like."

Tatyana's eyes widened slightly. "There really is a Moon-attribute Natural Treasure!?"

Yasenia's eyes glowed. "Eggs!? I can cook them and make a delicious omelet! They will be nutritious for sure!"

Everyone deadpanned and looked at the dragoness. Andrea coughed and asked. "Say, Yasenia. They are the children of a Transcendent Realm beast. Don't you think that they have… I don't know, better uses?"

The dragoness thought and realized. "Right! I can perhaps reach the Sixth Realm in my cooking mastery!"

Everyone decisively ignored the dragoness and looked at Doriel. Kali asked, curious. "How hard will it be for us to snatch these?"

Doriel shook her head. "The Luna Essence has a small link to the Owl. If we take it, we will need to leave this world, or else we will be pursued by it regardless of where we go. Only the spatial layer between this world and the outside is enough to sever that link." She then added. "The eggs should not be that hard to steal. However, we better leave no traces, or we will be in trouble. Imagine what Yasenia would do if someone stole her eggs."

The girls paused, and a chill climbed up their spines. 'An angry beast mother is truly terrifying.'

Andrea asked, confused. "Why do you want to steal its eggs, though?"

Tatyana smiled. "I know it is cruel. However, they are just too valuable of a treasure to leave behind." 

Andrea sighed and nodded. "Understood. Do we wait for the others before we try this? Or do we pick them up along the way while escaping?"

Yasenia tilted her head. "We will wait. Having them as a backup would be ideal. However, if we see a chance to get the treasures, we won't give it up. We'll try to pick them up along the way while escaping." 

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