A month later, Yasenia was sitting cross-legged in her private cultivation area. It was set up on the top of a mountain.

The sect went from the valley to the other side of the mountain basin, and the sect leader's, or Yasenia's home, and the main areas for the top elders were built here.

Yasenia's mansion took the highest mountain's top area, where the energy was the purest in the entire mountain basin.

Then, in the surrounding mountains, and the one Yasenia's residency was on, there were about two hundred houses with plenty of space for a lot of disciples.

This was for the core area of the sect.

After considering the size of first-rate powers, having two hundred places was more than enough to give each of the Epoch Core top-level powerhouses that would eventually reside here. 

Low-level Epoch Core cultivators usually didn't qualify as the core fighting force of a first-rate power unless they could surmount levels. 

Anyway, let's focus back on the more important matters at hand. Yasenia was sitting cross-legged in her cultivation area while waves of energy rushed toward her. 

Being about twenty kilometers up the mountain, the energies from the cosmos were quite thick. 

Angel had created an advanced energy-gathering formation across the entire house, increasing the purity of energy. Therefore, the purity of these energies was astoundingly high. 

The torrents of energy that rushed toward Yasenia as she practiced the [Convergence of the Celestial Bodies] cultivation technique while absorbing the Yin energy in her Dantian released from her dears were almost visible because of how dense and high the energy was.

Anybody seeing this would be quite surprised. A phenomenon like this usually happened only with Dantian Spiritualization Realm cultivators. 

After reaching her nearby area, Yasenia breathed in constantly and deeply, absorbing and digesting the thick spiritual energy with the aid of the [Primordial Energy Core] in her dantian. It wasn't only her breathing, though. Her blue dragon tail with golden rings and glittering white lights glowed with Empyrean beauty as the energy-absorbing organs there swallowed as much energy as she did with the rest of her body. 

After being purified, it rushed across her meridians, making cycles and nourishing her soul and body. What the body couldn't absorb was stored in the Dantian. 

As multiple energies cycled through her, Yasenia felt her soul, body, dantian, and mind becoming closer as if they were slowly fusing into one being. 

The Dantian slowly expanded, making her realize that she was breaking through. 'I'm reaching the Seventh Level.' 

Yasenia calmed her mind and slowed down her absorption, being more thorough with the body and soul energy absorption. 'I want to have a perfect foundation. For that, I need to feel as if the rest besides the Dantian can't absorb anything more.'

Her spiritual sense followed the energy that entered her body, and she ensured she was filled with energy. 

Then, she felt tight when she tried to store it in her dantian. Her Dantian couldn't hold more energy. 

'Perfect now, I need to accumulate enough energy to break the barrier and increase my level.' 

Increasing the cultivation level was similar to increasing the existence level of a being. When the cultivator broke through, the energy in the dantian would compress and jump in quality. At the same time, the Dantian would become more extensive, the meridians would widen, and the new energy would nourish the body and soul, effectively increasing the strength of a cultivator.

Body Cultivation was similar, but the difference was that the amount of energy the body could "store" was much higher. 

Besides the energy requirements, an understanding of Heaven's secrets was necessary to advance beyond the first level of the Unification Realm. 

That's why reaching the Unification Realm was a matter of hard work, but reaching further was a matter of talent, hard work, and comprehension abilities. 

It was not a fair world, and those who were born with low talent were bound to be normal unless they found treasures that could reverse their fate. 

Heavens were fair in this matter, so treasures like these were abundant. Talent, bloodline, constitution, etc., were fixed at birth but could be enhanced. 

Some sects even valued hard work more than talent, although they were not the norm but the exception. 

The dragoness began thinking about the soul. "An essential part of life. A part that holds our everything. A body without a soul can only be a puppet. A sword with a soul can become a living creature."

She had [Draconic Heart] on her lap during this whole time, and her hand caressed it slowly, feeling the surface and energies flowing through it. 

While she cultivated, the sword also did so.

The giant sword was like a small and long table, but since she got it, the appearance had changed so much that you wouldn't say they were the same if you compared it side-by-side with the sword she originally acquired in the armory. 

At first, it had a stony surface with a dim reddish core at the top. However, as her energy nourished it, the sword slowly shed the rocky layer and became smooth and bluish-green after the trial. 

Yet, that wasn't its ultimate form, nor was the one it had now. 

The previous smooth body had become scaly as if dragon scales surrounded it. And the edges were sharp to the point that leaves falling on it would be cut by their own weight. 

The previous dim core was now swirling with energy and power. 

Moreover, when Yasenia used Sun energy, the core transformed and shone with golden radiance. When she used Moon energy, it glowed softly and aloof like the Lone Moon in the sky. And when she used her star energy, the core glittered with white light, like a night filled with stars. 

The most noticeable change was when Yasenia used her Celestial Energy. 

The sword would glow with a galaxy of blue colors as rivers of white lights ran across it. As if a small universe was hidden in that core. 

Yasenia's understanding of the soul increased, and her body was processing the rivers of energy inside her while [Draconic Heart] shone beautifully with the different colors. 

The dragoness slowly opened her eyes and smiled at her sword. "Does it feel comfortable, Draheart?"

The sword buzzed with delight as the residual energy she couldn't absorb was swallowed by it. 

It had reached the peak of the Heaven Rank a while ago, and it was accumulating energy to break into the quasi-transcendence rank and later become a Transcendence Ranked treasure. 

However, Yasenia had the hunch that Draheart wouldn't be able to advance that far until she herself did it. 

Yasenia smiled softly as she felt herself getting closer to breaking through. "I'm a bit behind compared to you, hahaha. You are already at the peak of the fifth rank, and I have yet to reach the peak of the fourth realm. Sorry, Draheart. You'll have to wait for your slow partner to catch up."

The sword buzzed softly as if telling her not to mind and advance at her pace.

The spiritual intelligence of [Draconic Heart] was getting increasingly higher by the day. Although, right now, it was a conscious being, but not sapient. 

After twenty hours of accumulating energy, Yasenia finally understood how to fuse her body, soul, mind, and Dantian. 

It was not difficult because she had a [Spiritual Breakthrough] years ago when she got rid of all her heart demons. 

Yasenia muttered. "I took soul, body, dantian, and mind as different parts of myself, but they are not. The soul and body work together to create a life. The mind allows us to understand and change ourselves. Finally, the Dantian is the core that maintains everything together and nourishes it."

"My mind must connect my soul and body, but if I do so, my Dantian becomes an individual part, unrelated to the rest. However, during the Unification Realm, that must not happen. The objective is to fuse everything."

Yasenia smiled. "Yet, that is not a problem. It's quite simple, actually." 

Yasenia closed her eyes, and her aura gradually grew in size and became turbulent as she spoke. "A cultivator has first to connect those three. Then, when we manage to fuse them as much as possible, we will reach the ninth level. It's not a single step but a procedural step."

Yasenia's aura increased, making the air around her become dense. "It's at that moment, when a cultivator reaches the peak of the ninth level, that a cultivator must spiritualize their Dantian and fuse it with the soul. But it isn't just the soul. After all, the cultivator had linked everything else together before. Hence, the spiritualization is already enough to connect all four together."

The energy moved across her meridians and nourished her body as her body, mind, and soul began fusing. 

With the massive rivers of energy, her soul involuntarily materialized behind Yasenia. 

The enormous dragon with the Moon and Sun on its wings was imposing and magnificent, looking like an overlord over the world with its aloof golden eyes. 

Yasenia's body quickly expanded and changed forms. From her usual 187 centimeters in height, she massively enlarged and changed from her human to her dragon form. 

The place she was in was the top of a mountain. 

The hour was twilight, and the sky had the Sun, the Moon, and the stars present. 

Yasenia continued absorbing energy as her aura thickened further, making the mountain tremble. 

In a few seconds, Yasenia reached her full size, being 150 meters long and more than fifty in height. 

Her body glowed with an Empyrean beauty, and her aura deepened further by the second. 

Her dragon neck extended together with her wings, and Yasenia roared to the sky as she broke through. 

"ROAAR!"

BOOOM!

The massive shockwave created by her breaking through expanded together with the sonic wave her deep, lasting, and resounding dragon roar created. 

The aura was like a wave that alerted all beasts in the surroundings about the Celestial Dragoness's presence. 

Meanwhile, her spiritual sense and everything else became much more powerful and refined. 

The seventh level of the Unification Realm was a significant milestone, and the jump in strength was incomparable.

With her current strength, Yasenia felt as if she would be able to destroy ten of her previous selves. 

Furthermore, knowledge of her true innate skills appeared in her now vast mind that fused with her enormous soul. 

With all this new power, Yasenia lifted her dragon head and looked into the heavens, feeling free and unrestrained. 

She felt like she could do anything, and nothing could stop her. 

"I can soar to the sky, fly through the heavens and earth without match!"

Her nature as a dragon hit her the deepest as her body and soul fused and became one with her mind. 

Yasenia's urge to spread her wings and fly was unstoppable. 

She wanted to cut all her chains, leave everything behind, and become a free creature that roamed the heavens, unbothered, unmatched, unhinged, unstoppable even by the heavens themselves.

Moreover, her Celestial Energy and bloodline told her instinctively that it was possible. 

There was an uncomfortable feeling in her heart, as if doing this was not correct. 

However, the dragoness ignored it and took a step forward in her dragon form and slowly spread her wings. 

Her innate skill [Empyrean Galaxy Domain] unfolded, swallowing the surroundings with Yasenia's profound Celestial presence.

The Sun, the Moon, the Stars. 

All felt within her reach. 

Her entire being felt like some chains were about to be broken, and she ignored the part telling her not to do so.

"It can be only The Heavens, The Earth, and Myself if I leave everything else behind and fly!"

The Celestial Dragoness's golden eyes glowed with radiance, with expectation about such a future. 

"Fly!" 

Her massive wings completely unfolded, creating powerful wind currents, and when she was about to flap them and fly free… 

The enormous dragon stopped moving.

CLANG!

The sound of metal. 

A crisp sound tingled her ears and made her flinch. 

As if the many chains that tied her to every limb called her.

The chains that were about to be broken seemed to be speaking to her mind. 

Yasenia frowned and looked at herself. 

However, as soon as her eyes landed on those metaphorical chains, Yasenia's expression eased, and she smiled softly. 

"…But I can't."

Her extended wings slowly folded back, and the [Empyrean Galaxy Domain] gradually disappeared. 

Yasenia chuckled, looking toward the sky with a calm expression and without reluctance. 

She knew and felt the things holding her back from soaring and becoming a free and unhinged creature. 

She could feel the presence of her dears.

Her family.

The weight of being Kaleina's mother. 

She could feel… her chains tying her firmly to the ground. 

However, Yasenia knew that they didn't only hold her back. 

She could feel that although she could only walk on land, those at the other end of these chains helped her push forward. 

Maybe it would be faster to fly. 

Maybe it would be a better experience to soar the skies freely. 

Maybe becoming a creature without a match and with no ties or chains was what she was supposed to become. 

However, she could not.

The joys and love she could find while firmly walking on land was something she would not change for anything. 

Not for unlimited freedom.

Nor for cutting herself from responsibility.

Nor for gaining unlimited strength. 

This was Yasenia's heartfelt desire to walk alongside her dears. 

To see every step and every footprint they left together. 

The Celestial Dragoness's body became smaller by the second, and the Empyrean Dragon changed back to the loving and alluring dragoness. 

Yasenia gave the sky one last glance and smiled. "It's already late. I have to prepare dinner."