Heaven, Earth, Me

The figurine's directions were a bit messy because, instead of guiding you toward the location that you needed to be in through the tunnels, it pointed straight at where they needed to go. Therefore, when Andrea's senses pointed left, she sometimes looked over to see a wall there. This was making Andrea somewhat annoyed. "Who creates an inheritance guidance tool that points straight at the place? This is less helpful than if we didn't have it!"

Andrea stored the item with a sigh. Yasenia hugged her arm into her bosom and smiled. "Don't worry that much, Darling. We'll arrive eventually. Moreover, there haven't been any problems yet other than the occasional beast that has appeared."

Andrea looked sideways and felt her heart healing. 'Ah… My dragonesses beauty is truly a treasure. I could stare at her all day, every day, and never get bored of it.'

Yasenia saw Andrea looking at her quite intently, making her curious. Blinking twice, Yasenia tilted her head. "Is there something wrong, Darling?"

Andrea raised her hand patted Yasenia's head, scratching her scalp very gently with her nails. "Nothing love, I was just thinking of how pretty you are."

Yasenia squinted and purred, her deep growl making her chest vibrate and transferring those vibrations to Andrea's arm, which was resting deep in Yasenia's ravine. 

Evelyn raised her hand, feeling a strange breeze that was hitting her from behind, and she asked. "Lord Dan spoke about some trials we need to endure to reach the location of your inheritance, right? I wonder what they are?"

Flying forward for a few moments, Angel exclaimed. "Ah!" She pointed forward and smiled. "This should be one of them!"

Everyone looked ahead, and their eyes widened slightly. 

The hot air which spun together with streams of magma was undoubtedly not a place they could traverse. Ignoring the cyclones, the temperatures inside this cave were already hot enough to make some of them perspire, so a literal cyclone made out of searing winds and other even hotter materials might be lethal for them.

Yasenia muttered, somewhat troubled. "This… How do we even cross this?"

Cecile asked, looking at Evelyn. "Aren't the middles of the cyclones safe? Like… Something like the eye of the storm?"

Evelyn blinked twice and pointed at herself. "Why are you looking at me?"

Cecile blinked twice back and said bluntly. "You are the one with [Storm Intent Level 9]. If anyone here knows, it should be you, no?"

Her mouth fell open, unable to retort Cecile's logic. If she knew so much about storms, a cyclone, hurricane, or any similar stormy event, she should have been well within her expertise. The mischievous woman saw everyone look at her, and Evelyn coughed. "While that's indeed the case in normal storms on the surface, I can't say anything about… Those!"

Evelyn pointed into the room where the giant fire hurricanes were swirling around in chaos, sending molten giant rocks and other items flying around as if they were pebbles. 

Yasenia turned toward Tatyana, and the Death Empress looked back at her. Yasenia smiled. "Send a few undead to see if it is like that. You should have a strange skill to share senses with your undead, right? I bet you do."

Tatyana's lips twitched, and she said. "You know that sharing senses is quite general, no? If it feels pain, I will feel it as well."

The dragoness smiled a bit wider. "A little bit of pain is scaring the Death Empress? That's quite a novel thing to listen to."

The blatant provocation left everyone speechless. 'Who would fall into such a childish and blatant-'

Tatyana scoffed. "Heh! You don't know what you are talking about, little girl! Stay there and see how this Empress works!"

Everyone almost fell from mid-air. 'S-She fell for it!'

Tatyana waved her hand, and Death energy swirled around her. The pure Death Yin energy, incompatible with the surroundings, battled for supremacy as it tried to form a technique. Tatyana snorted as the surroundings resisted, and her aura exploded outward violently, creating a domain of Death Energy. "Now… Descend."

The space around Tatyana shattered, revealing five dark portals. Not much later, five skeletal hands appeared from these portals, and powerful-looking undead beings appeared. Their bodies were around four meters tall, and they wore heavy armor. Their heavy tower shields had drawings of eerie war situations, and their empty eye sockets glowed with a ghostly green flame.

Tatyana nodded and pointed sideways. "Walk to the center of those things and come back to report." 

The five undead bowed in respect before following her orders. Then, they unhesitantly walked toward the swirling flame hurricanes. The girls saw the five of them spread out and enter the hurricanes, their figures disappearing when they did so. 

Their instantaneous disappearance came as a surprise. Evelyn asked, confused. "What happened? Where did they go?"

Tatyana muttered, a bit upset. "They went… Flying."

Everyone looked at Tatyana, speechless. 'Even those undead were thrown around like a leaf in the wind? What kind of brutal winds are spinning there?'

Yasenia asked, curious. "Have the undead survived being flung away?"

"They have…" Tatyana answered, somewhat unsure. "However, it is difficult to know. Their energy signals became somewhat dim after they were swallowed by the hurricanes." 

Andrea took out her item for the inheritance, and she tried to sense the direction of the location once more. "It's below us in that direction…" 

Andrea pointed down and diagonally forward. Everyone couldn't help but feel that they needed to pass this location to reach the place Andrea's figurine was guiding them to.

Yasenia decided. "Well, let's try it. I mean, if those undead didn't die instantly, we should be able to resist, right?"

Cecile looked at Yasenia and asked her, curious. "How about you transform into your dragon form? These hurricanes would become much less menacing that way, right? I am not completely sure, though. So, if you feel that's not possible, don't feel pressured to do so."

Yasenia blinked twice and looked at the fire-swirling winds once more. Then, she commented. "That's actually quite a good idea. All of you can mount on my back and tie yourself to my body to not be flung away."

The girls were a bit worried, but they wouldn't stop Yasenia if she thought she could do it. 

The dragoness stepped forward and then started transforming into her normal dragon form. The majestic creature that reached over three kilometers in length appeared. For Yasenia, the gargantuan mines that they had been traversing instantly felt as if they were about to squeeze her in. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Thankfully for her, they were large enough to hold her gigantic body without much problems. Everyone jumped upward, climbing up Yasenia's body, and landed right below her long neck. There, they gathered and tied themselves to the giant dragon's body.

Yasenia looked back at them and asked softly, her ethereal voice reaching everywhere in the surroundings. "Are you all ready?"

Everyone gave the go-ahead while Evelyn muttered. "I feel that there should be another way to cross this that doesn't involve brute force…"

"Dear, if you have any ideas, I am all ears." Yasenia started. Then, she smiled wryly. "However, there is nothing around us that we can use, and if we get too close, we might get sucked in by one of those powerful flame cyclones."

Evelyn sighed and shook her head as she looked around the place. "I really can't find anything. The ceiling seems even more deadly than the rest, and trying to learn their pattern is basically impossible since it's not a controlled pattern."

Yasenia agreed, and since no one had any other ideas, they decided to cross it as they planned. Yasenia ordered. "Everyone, enhance my durability and create a barrier around my body. I am charging forward." 

With Yasenia's words, everyone in the group used their techniques, and the dragoness was instantly surrounded by gorgeous lights and barriers. The intimidating figure of the dragon, surrounded by several auras and protective barriers, took a step forward and then another. 

Tatyana grinned and shouted. "Rush in at top speed!"

Yasenia roared in answer, and all her muscles tensed, her claws digging deep into the ground below her. Then, she used her movement techniques and galloped forward.

BOOM!

The sound of the dragon striking into the terrifying hurricanes of pure fire was deafening and sent a shockwave throughout the barriers. Instantly, they all felt a terrifying pressure surrounding them as even breathing became difficult. The constant attack of the hurricanes on their protective barriers was like receiving a constant barrage of hundreds of peak-level fifth-realm cultivators. 

Even for our extraordinary group, such a level of constant attacks and damage was hard to keep up with.

Meanwhile, the dragoness was faring much worse than everyone else. The second she entered the swirling flames and molten material, her feet almost got ripped off the ground.

If she hadn't lowered her center of mass and used her claws to firmly grasp the ground, she might've been flung around like a ragdoll even with her size. The hurricanes were that strong.

Still, the dragoness did not despair. Her face gained a serious expression as she, instead of slowing down, accelerated. "[Pegasus Gallop]!"

Her body, like a shooting star, pierced forward through the terrifying hurricane, breaking through the firestorm and eventually reaching a place where there was no wind. 'The eye of the hurricane!?'

Yasenia looked around, and the imagery was terrifying. They were currently crossing a section without any winds, and around them, like a menacing red wall, the eyewall of the hurricane spun imposingly.

At this point, Yasenia had a choice. 'Do I stop? Or do I continue?'

The distance from one side of the eye to the other was not that far, so with her current speed, she didn't have much time to think. Everyone on her back also understood this, so nobody spoke and decided to trust Yasenia's judgment.

Ultimately, Yasenia's face gained a determined expression and she prepared her body. Their current momentum was strong, and while they were struggling, there were no signs that they were about to collapse. "PUSH THROUGH!"

Together with her roaring scream, the girls' auras exploded outward as they poured their energy into renewing the barriers and buffs around her. Without a single shred of hesitation, Yasenia rammed headfirst into the eyewall of the hurricane.

BANG!

However, as soon as she did, what greeted her was not the other half of the hurricane. Instead, what greeted her was a free fall. "Huh?"

Looking down at the even more enormous cave below her, Yasenia extended her wings and glided forward. "... This place looks… Like a forest landscape but made out of fiery trees and rivers of magma."

Evelyn looked upward and saw that the hurricane was spinning above them, seemingly stopped by an invisible barrier. She laughed mirthlessly. "This place is crazy."