Heaven, Earth, Me Chapter 1723. Meeting the Raon Family Again.

Yasenia’s group moved quickly through the corridors, ignoring most of the rooms they passed. The place was honestly enormous, and it wasn’t without obstacles. Thankfully, their pendants prevented most of it.

That was both good news and bad news.

If it was preventing damage to them, the rest of the groups they shared the pendant with would naturally react the same. Moreover, while Yasenia wanted Andrea’s armor at almost any cost, she wouldn’t prioritize it over safety.

So, she had made amends after her greed for treasures flared up. She did that whenever there was risk involved. ’If there is no one and we can get it silently, that’s perfect. If we can’t take it silently, I’ll just keep my eye on it.’

She wanted it badly. Honestly, Yasenia felt that it was worth using Tatyana’s Talisman in exchange for that armor, which would complement the entire equipment set. From what Mirrory explained after, the armor and halberd weren’t as simple as 1+1=2.

It was more like an exponential performance boost for both.

"Mom, can we mark it somehow?"

Tatyana tilted her head as she parried a golem charging at her with a longsword. "Mark it? Do you mean the armor?"

"Yeah. Can we leave a mark on it somehow that will help us track it down without others knowing?"

A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "I do know quite a few formations of the like. As I mentioned before, my strongest ability is not combat. It is slipping out of a troublesome situation."

Evelyn joked lightly. "Says the woman whose strength works jumps levels even in the Seventh Realm."

Tatyana chuckled. "Alright. I am not saying I am bad at fighting. What I am saying is that I am better at escaping from tricky situations. Sometimes, you need to keep track of those who are trying to endanger you, so I do know how to."

Tatyana did a quick and flawless sequence of 10 sword strikes, disarming the golem and splitting it in half. The golem, a being with Level Nine Transcendence Strength, was dismantled just like that.

Then, she tucked away the sword and approached Mirrory. "Help me with this. I need your truth abilities to modify it and make it slightly more difficult to both cleanse and discover."

Mirrory glanced at her and pointed toward Angel. "Hey. You can get rid of that golem with a few slashes, but that’s not the same for Angel. Wait for a bit."

Tatyana glanced over and snorted. "You have too little confidence in her. She is doing perfectly fine. Stop being a worried dragon mother and come here."

Yasenia looked over, baffled. "What’s wrong with being a worried dragon mother?"

Tatyana wanted to answer, but that distraction gave the golem fighting Yasenia a small opportunity to strike. Its giant fist flashed forward so fast that Yasenia could only defend with her shield in a bad posture.

BANG!

Tatyana’s head moved from right to left as she followed Yasenia’s trajectory, her lips twitching as she held back her laughter. "Focus on your fight, love."

Yasenia puffed a few strands of her hair out of her face and then grinned at the golem. "You are not bad for being able to land a hit. COME HERE! HAHA!"

BOOM!

Yasenia shot forward, slammed into the giant golem, and sent them both tumbling to the ground as they began beating each other up.

The explosive sounds of her strikes, accompanied by her happy laughter, were a cacophony Tatyana couldn’t help but find endearing. Mirrory snapped her out of her senses. "So, what do you need help with?"

"Right. This thing over here..."

Their words were all in common language, but the eavesdropping girls felt as if they were using an ancient language of forgotten gods. So, they stopped listening. Even Angel struggled and only caught fragments of formation talk.

They failed to understand it deeply because they used [Law] concepts to create the formation, so even when the words reached their ears, their meaning felt distorted.

While Tatyana and Mirrory worked, the rest of them cleared the golems away and arrived at a large, circular hall. The hall had three entrances, including the one they came from.

The problem was that another group was here. It was one of the few they’d met outside: a mid-range family led by a relatively weak Half-Step. Even if weak, a Half-Step was never to be underestimated.

’We have the Shang Family guards by our side, but...’

Even when these guards accompanied them and saw basically everything they had done, including getting the weapon, they had been with them long enough to understand they were far from normal.

In a way, within the entire Shang Family, the ones Yasenia could trust most were the guards who accompanied them, aside from, obviously, Qinqin and perhaps the ancestor.

Yasenia suddenly recalled. ’Raon Family... Wait. Wasn’t this the family that felt somewhat sketchy regarding the Evil Source Sect?’

When Yasenia warned others, this family’s Lady jumped in, telling her she was spreading rumors and had to be careful.

Lady Raon also noticed Yasenia’s group arriving and gave them an odd look for only a moment. "Madam Dravory, Miss Shang. It is quite a coincidence we found each other here. Did you feel that ominous energy before?"

Yasenia answered nonchalantly. "I did. Do you have any idea of why it happened?"

In this case, Yasenia could only hope the guards would tell Ancestor Shang and keep it to themselves. Otherwise, it would cause quite a bit of chaos. ’If Ancestor Shang is clever, he won’t spread it. After all, our families are quite interconnected.’

It was just a wish, though.

Meanwhile, Lady Raon had failed to see a trace of guilt or deceit from Yasenia. Therefore, she didn’t probe further. "I do not. Since Madam Yasenia has no information, we’ll keep moving onward in that direction."

Yasenia glanced and showed a troubled smile. "That’s... the direction we were going to follow."

A mature-looking man from the Raon Family spoke sharply. "Madam Yasenia, we told you first. Are you trying to scheme something? It is very bad manners in a treasure hunt to do what you’ve just done."

His words were not excessive. On the contrary, they were quite understandable. Lady Raon had pointed in a direction, claiming it. Moreover, they were in this hall before Yasenia arrived. The least Yasenia could do in that situation was concede, ask which direction they hadn’t investigated, and share some information.

Yasenia, though, smelled the treasure from that direction. She didn’t want to share ways if she wanted to stay secretive. Therefore, she needed to convince them somehow. "Lady Raon, it’s not that I am trying to get in your way. Nevertheless, our family has come from this path and found a few interesting rooms. As you know, though, we lack strength. We didn’t dare enter without a Half-Step to help us."

A sharp voice called out from behind Lady Raon. "Don’t you have those Shang Family guards?"

Yasenia, though, had already thought of a counterpoint. "It is as you said. However, if we get a treasure with their help, we’ll have to sell it to the Shang Family at a very low price. It’s not that we want to share, but being selfish when treasure hunting is a trait everyone shares, isn’t it?"

Confirming her words right now was impossible, so they could only take her word for it. Lady Raon glanced in the direction they originally wanted to go and hummed. "Why do you want to go in this direction, then?"

Yasenia pointed at her nose. "As Lady Raon might already know, dragons are sensitive to treasures. That direction has a treasure of our level. So, we don’t want to lose it. That’s why I am sharing this information."

It was a lie, and if it were discovered later—which it most likely would be—it would cause their relationship with the Raon Family to plummet. Even if it was a mid-range family, it had many more connections than Yasenia.

It would be disadvantageous.

However, Yasenia was willing to take the risk if, in the end, she got her hands on Andrea’s treasure or increased her chances of getting it.

Lady Raon was not stupid, though. She commented, her eyebrow raised. "How about we both go this way first? It’s not like the treasures in your direction will disappear, right? Moreover, we can even agree to share the profits. You guide us, and we get it."

Yasenia chuckled. "If I agreed to that proposal, I would instead turn toward the Shang Family guards. They are, after all, stronger than Lady Raon’s group and less numerous."

It was not a lie. Lady Raon’s family had only one Half-Step: Lady Raon herself. The Shang Guards had three.

Having reached a stalemate, Lady Raon had to make a decision. Yasenia decided to show a slight opening to convince her fully. "Also, the ominous aura Lady Raon mentioned felt much stronger in that direction. Perhaps Lady Raon wants to investigate it. You’ve shown interest, right?"

Yasenia risked Lady Raon discovering her traces and making public that they liberated the Evil Source Ghosts. But once again, she was making concessions due to the situation at hand.

Eventually, Lady Raon nodded. "As a member of the Central Capital, investigating what is happening to bring awareness is our duty. Since Madam Yasenia has insisted to this point, we will acquiesce this time."

Yasenia cupped her fists. "I will give Lady Raon and her family discounts on our products when they come out and consider you for trade with priority. Thank you so much, and also I am sorry for being this stubborn."

Someone snorted from behind Lady Raon. "A youngster will behave as such no matter how mature you outwardly look."

Lady Raon quickly scolded. "Elder, hold your tongue."

Her tone, though, wasn’t that accusatory. It was as if she spoke just for show. Yasenia didn’t react. She, instead, smiled. "Indeed. My young blood is pumping each time I see a treasure I can get with my own strength. Sorry for being unreasonable. Being a dragon, sadly, is not all positives."

With those words, their groups crossed, glanced at each other, then parted ways.

Evelyn immediately blurted out. "Wow. They are super sketchy, no? Or am I reading far too deep?"

The girls burst into laughter, and Andrea commented. "I do believe that we were the rude ones this time. However, Lady Raon accepting after Yasenia suggested the powerful evil presence was in that direction is... not a good look."

"Agreed." Kali nodded. "Most people would be wary after hearing about it, but I noticed some of the Raon Family members show looks of faint surprise instead."

Yasenia sighed and shook her head, looking at the luxurious halls around them. "Either way, we risked quite a bit for this thing. Let’s speed up and get it. If we even fail to attach the tracking formation, it will be quite a disaster."

When she finished speaking, the floor suddenly quaked and rumbled, causing some of them to take flight to avoid falling.

"The Raon Family?"

"Impossible. We’ve just separated from them."

"What is this, then?"

Tatyana commented. "It’s probably the people trapped below becoming free."

"So fast?"

Tatyana smiled wryly. "When those at each other’s throats are backed together by a common enemy and decide to temporarily cooperate, you can create interesting miracles. I bet Demons, Divines, and other groups joined hands to blast a hole open in the trapped space below. We need to accelerate."

Yasenia nodded seriously and spread her wings, flapping them powerfully.