Chapter 35

While it was a walled compound, they were still within the city. This was not even a proper sect branch, so there were only two white-sand sparring areas. None were in use at the moment. The center had a large pagoda of several stories and the guard, that had been trying to keep a conversation with her going was leading her around the twists and bends, all while nattering on and on about the meaning of the different paintings, furs and skulls that decorated the inside.

Finally, they reached a heavy metal door with an old man sitting out front. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. Fu Yilan would have thought he was napping if not for the knife dancing between his fingers. Fingers, that were devoid of any scars. He didn’t make mistakes with a knife, it seemed. Seventh-stage energy radiated from him. Seventh stage of the earth realm was the level of strength of the branch sect mission hall master Senior Xu had. Fu Yilan had considered him to be rather powerful. It seemed like she’d been wrong.

If their sect could keep someone of his caliber in a place like this outside one of the sect branches, then the Golden Fang Sect was definitely more formidable than the Shifting Grass Sect. Fu Yilan was surprised how the Shifting Grass Sect hadn’t yet been pushed out of Greenverge city entirely with an enemy that much stronger one river away.

She was ripped out of her musings when the old man’s gruff voice addressed the guard.

“So, what can this old man help the two of you with?”

“She wants to buy a weapon.”

“Can she speak for herself?” Fu Yilan stepped past the guard and took a few steps towards the old man before bowing.

“Honored senior, I seek to buy a soft blade from you and your sect.” That made him crack open an eye and scan her from top to bottom.

“Well, aren’t you a pretty one? Almost at the level of my dear wife. Take that compliment proudly, I don’t say it lightly.” Fu Yilan smiled and bowed once more, hand cupping her fist. “A soft sword, huh? Don’t have one of those here at the moment, but I can send for one so it’ll be here the next time a patrol comes through. It’ll cost you though…”

“How much?” Fu Yilan’s heart sped up slightly. This was the moment of truth.

“High quality, and for an outsider? Two hundred and fifty.” His eyes studied hers as Fu Yilan tried to keep every reaction to his offer from her face. It would fit within her budget, but only barely. “Though I’m sure, looking like that, you can earn some good money from our sect’s horny dogs as well!” He laughed, and the guard blushed slightly, glaring at the old man.

Fu Yilan considered it for a moment. She hadn’t asked for spirit stones back in her old sect, and when she was almost taken by the brothel, she would have only earned a fraction of this blade’s price, most likely. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of it earlier, seeking out strong cultivators and offering her services for money. It would have to her own choice to do so though. Well, she had been on the run, so little chance to focus on monetary plans. Fu Yilan didn’t notice how easily she now accepted selling her body.

“Make it two hundred and we’ve got a deal.” Primal Pulling Melody was slowly seeping into his mind, making his impression of her more favorable by increasing her allure on him. It worked nicely, a single-stage gap easily bridged.

“Two-forty.”

“Two hundred and five.”

They settled on two hundred and twenty spirit stones. The guard had left at that point, reluctantly, but he had a job to do. His reluctance was appeased by the fact that she would have to wait for the delivery of her blade.

“And throw in a little gesture of good-will.” His smirk and suggestive look told her what he wanted. Fu Yilan acted as though she was hesitant, weighing options.

“Fine. But make it a really good blade.”

“Of course, not to worry,” he replied, waving off her concern. It seemed like there was only one last thing left to do to seal the deal.

Fu Yilan let her pack and umbrella glide to the ground before using Bewitching Fox Steps to saunter over to the old man. His frame might have been wider at some point, but that didn’t mean that he was thin in any way. Muscles clearly showed that he still used the weapons he was guarding regularly. He smelled of steel and male strength as Fu Yilan got closer. Neither was a smell she minded. The beetle wasn’t in her at the moment; she still needed to get used to her new sensitivity. The anal beads however were rubbing against her insides pleasantly, and she could tell that she was getting wet.

“What about that dear wife of yours?” she asked, voice breathy. She went to her knees in front of him and took out his dick.

“Just a woman. A feisty one, but she knows her place.” His hand reached down, coming to rest on her head as she took his hardening member into her mouth. “Women belong beneath men. They are weaker and are meant to be taken by us. There is a reason only few women are allowed in the Golden Fang Sect. Too weak!” He grunted as he started to harden, Fu Yilan’s tongue work doing its job.

She was looking up at him and her sensitive throat, as well as the beads in her ass were making her horny. It all just felt so good, the constant stream of pleasure making life more enjoyable. And it was all so readily available, if she just gave her body to men. Slowly her views began to shift again, the net woven around her core identity warping her true ideals. She found herself agreeing with the old man. And how could she not, mouth filled with his meat, tongue and throat tingling with every touch.

“I can see it in your eyes, you’ve understood this as well. How about this. We fuck whenever I want and in return I order you a better blade.” Fu Yilan nodded. She didn’t mind the deal. Her body was an asset and she didn’t mind using it, as long as it was of her own will. He was rock hard now and Fu Yilan could tell he wouldn’t be holding on much longer. Her Void Lotus Demoness art was draining him steadily as she sucked him. “Though I don’t know why a woman would even need a blade if she just does as a woman should, submitting to men. Oh well, you women are not known to be the smarter gender.” He chuckled. Fu Yilan let the statement pass. After all, there were bigger things in front of her.  

…

This was the third day she’d stayed with the Golden Fang Sect, yet it was the tenth time Fu Yilan’s face was pressed against the cold, iron door keeping the weapons. The old man was pounding into her with stamina that was in complete opposition to how old his body looked.

“I don’t think I could ever get tired of this ass!” A smack landed on it, making it jiggle.

Fu Yilan didn’t answer him. In fact, she was wholly unable to do so. She barely managed to keep draining him of his energy, and only because that’s where all her focus went. She was struggling with her more sensitive body. Every grope, every kiss, every smack on the ass sent fireflies shooting through her body, carrying flames that made her mind overheat. Each thrust from the man behind her hammered her face against the iron door, while her breasts swung back and forth in a steady rhythm.

Her mind was a mess, the last few strands of sanity clamoring to pull everything back together. It was futile. It seemed like she had gone too far when she’d pulled the plugs. Fu Yilan cursed herself. She had been aware of the risk and had still decided to risk it all by doing it all within one night, going off gut feeling. She blamed the constant throbbing of arousal during the travels and the cultivation art improvements that had followed the sensitivity.

 Fu Yilan hoped that all it took to regain control was one more stage instead of two. She was optimistic though that an advancement to the seventh stage should let her handle these changes better. Otherwise, she’d be stuck like this, tongue lolling out of her mouth, long string of drool dripping from it.

Loud moans echoed along the hallway, yet not further out. At least that was what Fu Yilan guessed because no one had come investigating the lewd sounds she was making. A tug on her hair had her arching her back and reciprocating the kiss Old Man Chen wanted from her. She twisted and they locked lips. His tongue dominated hers and Fu Yilan let it happen, washed away by the experience.

It wasn’t all bad though. Her martial arts were advancing well. The cultivators from the sect weren’t here yet, so the compound held only the servants and the few cultivators stationed here for longer time periods, like the guard that had greeted her or the weapon hall master.

Two weeks in, on the sandy sparring area, Fu Yilan moved through the motions of first her Bewitching Fox, Flowing Steps movement art, then her Five Diverting Streams. Her understanding of the two had increased significantly from when she had learned them in the Shifting Grass Sect. She was able to walk on water by now, and here on the sandy sparring area, not a single grain was moved as she stepped in a regular rhythm in a movement that was similar to a dance. Fu Yilan could feel every part of her body move with astounding clarity, and even the circulation of qi was clearer than ever.

There was more here, a step that she was seeing the beginning of. Keeping up the steps of the movement art, her hands started doing the movements of the defensive palm art. This much was not yet an issue. Taking steady breaths, Fu Yilan moved like this for five minutes, before the qi path started changing, adapting. Slowly, imperceptibly at first, but with growing strength, blue qi trails followed Fu Yilan’s hand movements. She didn’t dare open her eyes though, not yet. Trying to commit the path of her qi and the feeling of the movements to memory, she kept going for what felt like ten minutes. When she opened her eyes, her qi reserves were almost empty, and the sun had moved a considerable distance in the sky.

Had it truly been that long? Everything pointed to several hours having passed, but it hadn’t felt like that to her. Fu Yilan clenched her fists from victorious excitement. She had progressed in a way that was significant. Combining arts like that required high understanding of both their qi paths, as well as their meaning and intent behind it. Though it was made easier by her sensitive body, she still had to find a way to satisfy both art’s qi paths as well as understand the intent behind each art well enough to combine it without losing too much of the original. Part of an art’s efficiency came from the user’s state of mind and how close one got to the original creator’s.

Thinking of merely flowing water was one thing, but an art changed if the water that was flowing came from a mountain spring or a languid river. One was quick and energetic while the other was clam and steady. If the cultivation art was made to be energetic and fast-paced, but all one imagined while using it was a large river, steady and deep, then the outcome would not be optimal, as it would be a deviation from the original intent. Efficiency also scaled with the personal understanding of the mountain spring, how the water frothed when it hit a stone, how the sun’s light sparkled in the crystal-clear water.

Finding a way to combine the “Flowing” aspect of her Bewitching Fox, Flowing Steps art and the “Streams” aspect of her Five Diverting Streams palm art was nevertheless challenging, despite the two being rather close in meaning.