Chapter 33

It was freeing, gliding through the night sky, movement art making mountainside traversal fun and exciting. Was that jump too far? She would try either way, and if she fell, then the next protrusion would be wide enough to arrest her fall. Once, she spotted a tiger high in the earth realm, claws helping it scale the mountainside as though it was a regular tree trunk. She stayed away. No need to engage the mountain’s king on his home turf.

Two days after leaving the little village, Fu Yilan chanced upon a small merchant caravan and offered them her protection services in exchange for regular meals. They gladly agreed, having seen the beautiful cultivator run along the mountainside with inhuman grace. Silky, dark-brown hair had been flowing behind her with every step as they stared at her.

“I’m new to the area, traveling through. Can you tell me about the towns we’ll visit?”

“Of course, esteemed cultivator. We’ll be stopping at four more towns and villages before returning to Splitgorge City. I thank you deeply for accompanying us. Despite the route being rather safe usually, you can never be too sure what mountain bandits are up to.”

The caravan leader, Cheng Shi, was a tall man made short by his excessive bowing. Yet his stride was long and secure on the mountain paths, leading the alpacas, laden with bags filled with goods and supplies, through the terrain. He wore a perpetual smile, a merchant down to his bones, aware that he better not anger their protection. Sharp eyes betrayed a cunning mind.

“Bandits? Are they cultivators, to be traversing the terrain quick enough to catch you off guard?” He shook his head with a tired chuckle.

“Not quite. They are ambush predators, here in the mountains. Their bases are hidden, obscure paths leading to their camps. And when they ride out, they use mountain alpacas such as our two beauties to storm out from behind fallen rocks or the occasional small forest.” She held out her hand, hesitantly at first. The animals didn’t mind her touch, instead leaning into it. Heavenly soft fur cushioned slender fingers as she stroked the soft, brown wool. Soft humming let its body vibrate as it enjoyed her touch.

Fu Yilan noticed that the two guards and remaining two merchants making up this group of five seemed rather unworried. Both guards carried weapons but weren’t cultivators. Maybe martial artists, unable to cultivate, yet using martial arts that used slivers of qi naturally available to stand above regular men. She guessed that they were more capable than your usual hired hand. Their vital energy, as well as their body’s qi saturation was higher than normal. Though that might just be the effect of the Thousand Sheared-Off Mountains. She noticed that while qi density was still quite far below the Shifting Grass sect’s mountain, it was still higher than the regular lands below.

He noticed her glance back and smiled. “Warrior Zhao and Warrior Lin are more than reliable for the dangers that might await us on this route. Both capable martial artists, they have been traveling with me for years now, keeping my wares safe and cutting down beast and bandit alike.” She noticed that the two men straightened slightly at the praise, then turned her gaze back to the front.

Even after all this time running through these mountains, she was still in awe at the beauty the landscape held. Small, winding streams could be seen in the distance, as well as several waterfalls, wherever one of said streams ran over an edge. Some trees grew up here, clustering together in small groves. Apart from that, green stretched out over the gray of rock, grass and shrubs taking all the space that was available. And with the brilliant blue of the sky to accompany it, the view truly seemed magical. Simply the scale of it all dwarfed whatever she had known from back home.

Fu Yilan joined them for dinner, not saying much, preferring to listen in on the chatter of five men who spent almost every day of their lives together on the road. They were either bickering, bragging about their wives at home, or talking about their sons’  potential. All things they had probably gone through numerous times already. They kept their eyes where they belonged at least, barely any stray glances at her body sneaking past their guard. Especially the merchants knew that looking at something longingly above your means could end badly.

When everyone went to sleep apart from one of the guards, Fu Yilan sat in her tent and started cultivating. Her Moonlight Flower’s bud was slowly opening, showing a glimpse of brilliantly white petals within. Small fragments of moonlight floated down towards the flower and were added to the already existing net of roots spreading across the water, covering it with the moon’s blueish-white energy, manifested as qi.

It was disappointing though. The speed of cultivating was slower here than in the sect, and even slower again than when she drained the life out of those slave traders. Still, this was a cultivator’s path, and she would stick to it despite the dragging pace.

Fu Yilan took a few deep breaths to calm the turbulent waters of her cultivation technique, a reflection of the turmoil in her mind. She spent the rest of the night cultivating, only sleeping three hours before dawn. That much sleep was sufficient for a sixth-stage cultivator like her.

The next day dragged on. The caravan was moving at a snail’s pace, compared to her movement technique, but they knew where to go, and she didn’t mind the company. Caravan Leader Cheng chatted with her while the anal beads and vibrating beetle sent spikes of pleasure up her spine. Her body had cravings, having been altered, and now she was glad she’d decided to keep the toys. And the hornier she got, the more ideas snuck into her mind, ideas of offering herself to the men around her.

The art protecting the core of her mind, a net woven from intent-filled qi, placed women on the same stage as men. The circumstances of its creation though, when she was being trained by the sect’s branch leader, had made her incorporate views her rational brain didn’t support. Fu Yilan hadn’t noticed however, and with them woven in, they nudged her towards certain choices and opinions. She had been drilled on herself being lower than men in the bedroom. It shouldn’t have been applicable here, but the toys sitting inside her, and the pleasure they caused, let her decide that this was close enough.

Despite that, she held out until nighttime, small climaxes bringing pleasure but not quite the satisfaction she was looking for. Fu Yilan laid in her tent, fingers rubbing her clit while her other hand squeezed her chest. Flawlessly smooth skin squeezed between her groping fingers as they tried to elicit pleasure. Yet, despite Fu Yilan’s efforts, a climax at the level she sought eluded her. She was a woman, a creature of yin, and her own touch would not set her body alight the way a man’s would. Only the vibrating beetle kept her from running outside and offering herself up to the men of the caravan, since it was a creature of yang as well.

Thoughts of removing the sensitivity limiter on her pussy crept up. Surely, she’d be able to cum as much as she wanted if she was just that little bit more sensitive. The idea was pushed aside. It was pushed aside again the following night, and the night after that. It had been a huge mistake to let the toys pleasure her to pass the time. Her body craved dick, craved to climax strongly. Hazy thoughts reminded her that she didn’t want to change the way she chatted with her travel companions.

Her hand between her legs didn’t stop moving, stimulating herself with the vibrating beetle, as her mind delved along the Void Lotus’ root network. Fu Yilan hesitated for a moment before pulling the plug. The effect wasn’t quite as strong as when she let her asshole get more sensitive, but when compared to the refinement of her body, beauty, and meridians, her sensitivity was leagues behind. Without her special physique meant for pleasure arts, allowing Fu Yilan to keep the sensitivity at a level that wouldn’t just fry her brain, she would be dead.

Her sensitivity kept ticking up, each successive orgasm growing in strength. She did her best to keep down her moans and the soft shlicking sounds as fingers holding a vibrating beetle kept digging into her. By sunrise, Fu Yilan closed the path to her sensitivity with her qi again. A trail of wetness led from between her legs to the side of the tent where she had squirted. Repeatedly.

Fu Yilan knew she would regret her heightened sensitivity. It was a real challenge now not getting wet and setting off the beetle between her legs. She took it out after saying she’d scout ahead a bit, but it was already too late. That night was spent cumming her brains out again. When she woke up the next morning, her chest had gotten more sensitive as well.

It was annoying. She’d felt like, especially now that she had reached the sixth stage, that she had gotten a handle on her urges and her body’s sensitivity. However, it seemed like she had to be more careful. This time, she made sure the vibrating beetle was stowed away outside of her body. Her anal beads were manageable and convenient, so Fu Yilan decided to keep them in. The beetle however would stay out until she managed to control herself better.

The absence of her soft sword around her waist was consciously felt by Fu Yilan. The steel had given her a sense of security and purpose, as well as make her feel like a real cultivator. She was itching to finally reach a larger town, hopefully with a cultivator market that that would take her spirit stones in exchange for cold, soft steel.

She regularly practiced the steps of her Five Diverting Streams palm art, trailing its signature strokes of water qi, and felt like there was a way she hadn’t been actively utilizing it before. Especially now with her body more sensitive than ever, she felt more in tune with her palm art. Minor imperfections were smoothed out and she could feel it perform better as her body flowed smoother and more gracefully. A thought struck her. Was her body’s increased sexual sensitivity aiding her with learning fighting arts?

It didn’t seem impossible. She had been advancing far quicker than her peers, and the additional improvement, while possible due to her advancement, happened after breasts and pussy got more sensitive. Would it make sense to make herself even more sensitive? To try and push her body’s learning potential to the limit? It would be a tightrope, because excessive enhancement would send her sprawling into an abyss of pleasure. Still, wouldn’t it be worth it?

Fu Yilan thought it through, silently walking along with the small caravan’s men. Her pussy and tits were as sensitive as she could take it currently. There was still potential for anal development, though she wanted to be able to keep the anal beads in without issue. Next were her mouth and throat. Would their sensitivity truly make a difference? If pussy and ass sensitivity helped, then maybe mouth, tongue and throat as well.

That evening, she used the vibrating beetle and removed the plugs in the Void Lotus roots. Orgasms came quick as she enhanced every part of her body. It felt like tiny roots of ice were coiling through her body, digging into the tissue each root led to. There was something incredibly scary about feeling her body change in real-time. The root to her ass was plugged first, then the remaining ones. Fu Yilan was giddy with a mix of worry and excitement. She’d trusted her gut instinct on how long to keep everything open and hoped she’d made the right call. By now, she felt quite in tune with the Void Lotus Demoness art.

Out of curiosity, she let the vibrating beetle glide along her mouth’s lips. Like a tingle of electricity, she could feel herself get wet slightly. A moan escaped her lips, followed by a nervous giggle. This would be a challenge to stay on top of. Yet when she stepped back outside and got into the first stance of the Five Diverting Streams, she immediately recognized small imperfections. The grin on her face was manic. It truly worked!

Even her Bewitching Fox, Flowing Steps movement art could be optimized slightly. It was more flexible than her palm art, yet still, tweaks of the breathing, how the foot was set down, how hard to push off let her speed improve slightly, as well as the number of streams she could travel along. Same with the art’s bewitching aspect. Hips movements and sways could be optimized, making Fu Yilan feel more comfortable with it. A brilliant night sky sparkled above as a young cultivator grew stronger.