Immortal Star City was situated at the base of a giant mountain range. When they approached on the back of Baihe, the sight of the abundant structures spreading in a uniform manner with gorgeous architecture took their breath away. Lifting one's head, the tops of the mountains all around the region could be seen to have structures as well.
However, those were not of the [Immortal Star City], but the [Star Immortal Sect]. The sect was divided into several peaks, each used for people of different ranks. Overall, the sect followed a standard arrangement, using the natural energy in the environment as a source for their sect's locations. The richer the energy quality of an area, the more influential the people living there would be.
Yasenia's peaceful expression tensed slightly as several auras swept their location, all of them with strength in the Transcendence Realm. 'As expected, Transcendence Realm people are much more common in this Heaven. I did well hiding inside the girl's Beast Pocket. It is almost impossible to detect me that way.'
Only if someone intentionally tried to pry into the girl's Beast Pocket would one be able to sense even a hint of Yasenia's presence. Even if they did so, Yasenia would not stay arms crossed and wait to be discovered. So, only a forceful inspection can force her to reveal herself.
When Baihe approached the city, a shadow loomed over them. Looking up, they saw a middle-aged man in elegant blue cultivation robes descending upon them while mounted on a gargantuan eagle. The eagle made Baihe look like a little chick that had just broken the eggshell.
The middle-aged man spoke with a solemn expression. "Flying near the Immortal Star City is prohibited. I ask you both to calmly fly down and continue the rest of the journey on land."
He thought that once he spoke, the two little girls would show fear. Still, they just looked at him blankly without any big reaction. That was surprising, but more surprising than that was the crane's attitude. Clearly, it was a weak beast. However, it didn't show any trace of being intimidated by the eagle. 'How is this possible? Even if the Bloodline level of that crane is high, the strength difference is too high for it to remain unaffected.'
If Baihe heard him, he would probably roll his eyes. 'I've met a Dragon Queen! What can a little eagle do to intimidate me? Sorry, I am more afraid of the Dragon than your bird!'
Shen Miao nodded at his words, but she added something. "Senior, since we are going to the city, could we do the rest of the journey with you escorting us? We have intentions of participating in the annual sect entrance exam. We wouldn't want to miss it because the rest of the journey was done on foot."
The middle-aged man stopped analyzing them, and although he was weirded out by their outlandish attitude, he attributed it to courage. "You two have shown extraordinary bearing, so I don't mind escorting you both. Tell your mount to follow mine."
Shen Miao and Luan Feixue bowed respectfully and elegantly. Their gestures were reminiscent of nobility, easily showing that their background was anything but simple. This solidified the reason for their lack of reaction in the man's head.
He was not too far off, though. Shen Miao's family was really powerful, so she had met with people much stronger than this guard in the past. Meanwhile, Luan Feixue was the princess of a fallen royal family; the people she met during her life were anything but simple.
Yasenia was slightly surprised, though. 'A peak-level mortal cultivator as a simple guard. These people are truly luxurious. This man could probably fight with most people back in Distancia and win without any effort.'
Cultivation time was not the only thing affected by the energy quality. When one solidifies the foundation, higher energy quality always helps. It is like using a low-quality steak to cook compared to a high-quality one. The low-quality steak can still be cooked into a delicacy, but it needs much more work and time. In comparison, the high-quality steak just needs a few spices and careful handling to reach that same level.
The rest of the journey went without any extra setbacks, and soon, both girls dismounted and entered the city after registering. The process took a while, but it was not too difficult. After half an hour, they were done and could now enter and leave as long as their jade cards were activated. Reactivating them was also easy, needing only a few spirit stones to do so.
"Do you want to go to the place of the test straightaway?"
Shen Miao glanced at Feixue with a frown. "Isn't it better to first find a resting place?"
Luan Feixue laughed twice. "Shen Miao, if you want to have every single Spirit Stone stolen, you just need to say so. However, I really don't want to lose all my money. So, I'd rather forgo sleep for a few days until the tests start."
"How expensive can it be?" Shen Miao snorted, and Feixue shrugged. Then, both girls entered an inn to ask for prices.
Exiting the inn, Shen Miao spoke with a righteous expression. "What is a few days without sleeping? A cultivator needs to be accustomed to such experiences."
Yasenia and Feixue almost laughed aloud. Meanwhile, the dragoness was observing the architecture and formations of the place. 'Really powerful. It feels as if Angel's best disciples had crafted everything around here. Their level was also extremely high, to the point that other Formation masters feel like jokes. To think that that's the standard here is another eye-opener. I guess that an abundance of resources leads directly to an abundance of geniuses.'
Other than the buildings, the people walking around were similarly extraordinary. The beauty index was much higher than on lower-level worlds, showing how high-quality energy affected even mortals. Yasenia tried to find someone on her level of beauty, but sadly, she couldn't find any. 'Sigh… If my level of beauty were normal among cultivators, I wouldn't need to be so careful. It seems that even here, I am a few notches above. The woes of being too attractive!'
Anyone hearing her words would feel like puking blood and slapping her face for being too arrogant. Of course, those feelings would instantly subside when they looked at who was speaking.
The entrance exam was four weeks later, and until then, Luan Feixue and Shen Miao explored the city together. There were a few encounters with young masters and such. Thankfully, both girls were clever and had enough status to know how to deal with them.
The dragoness looked with curiosity throughout the time, and she interacted sparingly with Feixue. Most of the time, she was learning the way people around here communicated and their gestures. 'The last thing I want after trying so hard to blend in is to be discovered because my gestures and wording are too strange.'
"Oh. Look, Yasenia."
Feixue's call made the meditating dragon open her eyes. Looking over, she noticed a few orbs emitting elemental energies. "Oh? You found the [Burning Spirit Core] and [Freezing Spirit Core]. Go and buy them then."
"... Have you seen the price?"
The dragoness looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "5 Low-level Spirit Stones each… You do have enough, so what's the problem?"
"They are so expensive! Even if I have 3000 Low-level Spirit Stones, that's all I have! After that, I will be left with nothing. I have to buy more medicine and herbs later, right? How could I afford it if the Spirit Ranked medicine is already so expensive?"
The dragoness answered calmly, her lips faintly arched. "Did you think that becoming exceptional would be easy? Why do you think that many cultivators learn alchemy and other things while cultivating? Isn't it so that they can afford treasures to become stronger? If it were cheap to become stronger, the number of alchemists and other profession masters would instantly decrease by 99 percent!"
"I know…" Luan Feixue blurted. "But I am unresigned! Aren't you a greedy dragon? How can you let your disciple splurge all her money!?"
The dragoness answered with a serious tone while half-joking. "I am greedy for my treasures. What's mine is mine, and what's yours is also mine. But why would I care if you spend money? Take the costs as those you'd need to hire me to concoct all your medicine."
"Argh…" Luan Fexiue almost had a heart attack. "How can you be so shameless!? Whatever, whatever! You are the master, so I should listen."
Yasenia laughed.
Shen Miao saw Feixue put on a painful expression and asked, confused. "What's wrong?"
"Sigh… I need those two items, but they are quite expensive. It is quite painful to buy them."
"Which ones?" Shen Miao looked, and her eyes widened. "You are going to buy those? They cost 10 Low-level Spirit Stones in total!"
"I know. But I really need them."
The transaction went without a hitch. Because it was at a relatively low level, there was a lot of the same material. With the proper techniques, any sufficiently large fire-related or ice-related spirit could be transformed into those cores.
Once she got them, Feixue felt immensely gratified. "Although it hurts… I finally have them all!" She grabbed her friend and dragged her along. "Shen Miao, let's go rent an alchemy room. I need to concoct a few pills."
Being dragged by the hand, Shen Miao showed a dissatisfied expression. "Hey! Stop pulling, servant!"
Although she said that, she didn't resist at all, and the corner of her lips were faintly arched while her eyes showed a glint of joy. During these few weeks, both of them had become quite close. By now, calling them close friends wouldn't be an exaggeration.
They arrived at the alchemy place, and once there, Feixue paid another two Low-level Spirit Stones with a pained heart. Inside the alchemy room, Feixue forgot not to allow Shen Miao to enter and became quite awkward. "Uh…"
Shen Miao, curious about Luan Feixue's alchemy, looked at the awkward woman and asked, puzzled. "Why are you not starting? Two hours is not that much time."
When she asked, there was a small flash of light before a third woman appeared in the room. Luan Feixue was stunned. "Huh? Why…?"
Yasenia smiled faintly. "She is clearly someone trustworthy and with a good heart. I don't want you two to become estranged because of a misunderstanding about hiding my existence."
Meanwhile, Shen Miao looked at the new tall woman with wide-open eyes and mouth. She had never seen such a ravishing beauty in her entire life. Moreover, the large dragon wings and very long tail clearly indicated her inhuman nature, yet added such charm that it made it almost impossible to look away.
Yasenia didn't present herself and sat in front of the alchemy cauldron. "Take them out. I'll craft it in a few minutes. I don't want to stay outside for longer than necessary."
"O-Oh. Wait a moment!"
Yasenia received the ingredients and began working. In the meantime, Shen Miao snapped back to reality and looked at Luan Feixue with eyes that were shouting to explain things.
Luan Feixue, not knowing how to start the explanation, blurted carelessly. "T-That's my beast companion."
Shen Miao's eyes rolled, and she almost fainted in anger. Losing all sense of composure, the usually calm woman roared at her. "Do you think such a half-assed explanation is enough, you stupid Xuefei!"