“Cultivators are here!”

“Children, Ah Li, go home! Just in case…”

“They must be travelling to the immortal masters…”

The chattering of the villagers entered Bianca’s ears even from this great distance, thanks to a little empowerment from her planar energy. It was quite strange to hear such reactions from them when she had experienced a very different response mere months ago, but with the borrowed bearing of the Demon Queen, she continued on and towards the man that looked to be the most important amongst these farmers.

He was dressed well – by the standards of the village, which meant that he had more than worn out rags on his back – and seemed to come out to the forefront of his people when Bianca approached, so it seemed like she made the right decision.

“Oh great cultivator, is there something you need?” he asked, trying his best to keep his voice steady and his words calm.

However, even before she got close, she could see sweat forming on his skin and dripping down, not that she paid much attention to his appearance beside that. His hand trembled and his legs seemed extremely stiff, as though he was being faced not with an ordinary woman – as close as she could be to one, anyway – but by some kind of monster, some kind of…

‘Demon. Right, I keep forgetting that I have an aura that makes everyone afraid of me, especially since I’ve always been around other cultivators and those that weren’t particularly concerned about my aura… and it must’ve gotten much, much stronger since I had to flee Xi Village,’ Bianca realised.

Her silence must’ve been concerning, for all of the symptoms of fear worsened, both in the man before her and all those that were still out in the open. The women and children that retreated to the shacks and huts were likely terrified as well, but she couldn’t see that without focusing and using her spiritual perception, so she ignored it. Ultimately, though, she figured that this kind of reception wasn’t given purely due to her being a cultivator, or else this lot would’ve crumbled from all the various travellers that ought to have come through here.

‘When did my aura get this bad? I’m pretty sure that the Dancer’s Abode had plenty of normal people as well, yet they weren’t breaking down over me looking at them for a while… Fuck’s sake, I nearly forgot about how unfair this was…’

“Great cultivator, if I have been disrespectful, then-”

“Just tell me where to find the Phoenix Sect,” Bianca cut him off, not wanting to deal with a cowering man any longer than she had to.

His sweat was starting to reach her nose, and she didn’t appreciate it in the slightest, not to mention the others that were gathering around here. She wasn’t sure if her senses had gotten stronger since the last time she paid attention, or if it was merely the fact that she had spent the last few days exclusively with women that smelled rather nice, but the scent was especially unpleasant around them.

“It’s right in that direction, great cultivator, only an additional day on foot at most,” the man instantly turned to point in roughly the direction they’d already been travelling in, “The great immortals will surely welcome such great personages as-”

“Quiet. Come on, let’s move along,” Bianca said, turning back to her companions, rushing through the town with a fast walk while the people here looked on.

This seemed to only further terrify that lot, but she didn’t look back until she was out of earshot of the villagers.

 

The villagers dispersed after a while, since they concluded that the cultivators wouldn’t be coming right back to demand something from them. One of them, a villager that was no older than twenty, long black hair cascading down from his head and piercing black eyes, returned to a building and, the moment he was out of sight, any sign of fear vanished from his face, leaving only a pure, undisturbed calm.

“To think that I’d end up transmigrating again… And taking his name in the process. Heh…” he spoke to himself, glancing for just a moment in the direction that those cultivators departed in, “Fortunately, it all seems to be much easier here, so there won’t be anything holding back my progress. I’ll reach for the highest realm of this world, and then… I’ll search for immortality once again.”

He looked at his hand, clenching it into a fist, “I wonder if my dao marks were transferred here as well… Or if they will be of use here, given that the ways of heaven differ. Regardless, I don’t need the power of Spring Autumn here, for I have my path already.”

“Refine earth, refine man, refine heaven!”

 

“That was weird.”

“They’re surprisingly unused to cultivators passing by… or else that aura of yours is significantly worse than it seems to us,” the kitsune replied, “Honestly, I’ve forgotten quite what it felt like the first time I encountered you.”

“And I’m used to combatants and the likes of the Exarch, so I’m not especially shocked by any murderous auras. If anything, it’s strange to run into those with no killing intent,” Han Rushu added, “It’s not the worst I’ve ever felt, though, definitely not… Though it does seem like I’ve gotten accustomed to it even quicker than usual.”

Bianca was glad that she was facing away from them, as she nearly started blushing the moment that she considered the reason for it. In hindsight, it was obvious that when she influenced others via her demonic corruption, they became more receptive to her aura, no longer having such a negative response to it. It happened to Song Ming, so it would make sense for it to happen to others as well. Since she’d slept with Han Rushu twice at this point – at least by the metrics of her dual cultivation technique – she almost certainly influenced the blacksmith in the same manner.

If the others realised, then it would be rather awkward – not to mention revealing the fact that she had slept with the blacksmith to those other than Xue Yaling and the blacksmith herself… and Yu Juan, who likely noticed with her keen nose, and Song Ming, who must’ve noticed that something was odd back when she woke up to the scent of cum…

‘Oh for fuck’s sake, they all know, don’t they?’ Bianca sighed, her shoulders dropping, ‘At least Song Ming won’t bring it up if I order her not to, and I think Yu Juan wouldn’t want to upset me either since she’d rather be kept alive by my energy…’

She walked a little further then turned around, facing the others, any signs of a blush long gone from her face.

“Alright, so, before we head inside, we should clarify the plan. Xue Yaling, according to your understanding, the majority of the Phoenix Sect guards have to be outside of the sect, right?”

“That is my hypothesis,” the kitsune nodded, “I would need to confirm it once we get there, but I believe that we should have a perfect opportunity to slip inside. The issue is that we need to find an entry point, a method of ensuring that we don’t attract attention in the process, and then some notion of where to actually go. Sect grounds can be rather enormous, so to find the treasury room – or the right one, even – and then to find a way inside, and then to the Weave of the Senses… It will be quite the challenge.”

“Right… So, the black metal stuff that you requested, what is it for?”

“The idea was rather simple. In essence, I want to cause a distraction once we’re ready, and do so with a very abnormal figure. Say, someone with a physique, star metal equipment and weapon, and the desire to confront challenging foes from the Phoenix Sect. Assuming there’s not much more occurring in the sect, it might get the interest of any guardians and higher realm cultivators for long enough that we can sneak inside.”

“That’s not too bad of an idea, if I may say so myself. From my experience with those in higher realms, having a vast range of spiritual perception doesn’t mean that they will grasp anything and everything that occurs within. If their attention is stolen away, then they would only be alerted by significant disturbances,” Han Rushu confirmed.

“Okay, that’s something… Are we sure that the Phoenix Sect doesn’t have anyone that’s sufficiently good to pay attention to everything?”

“Almost certain. To truly grasp everything within the range of spiritual perception, especially at higher realms, one would need a supernatural mind. You’d need to be able to grasp more information in an instant than most understand in their entire lives, to process it all right there and then, to decipher and use it all at once… In essence, you’d need to be a genius among geniuses among geniuses in terms of the mind.”

“… Cool, cool, guess that’s unlikely then… But if we ran into someone who’s great with mental techniques, they’d be a bit more of a threat?”

“Yes, they would be in this specific situation. Luckily, the Phoenix Sect isn’t known for such things.”

“Right. Okay, so, we distract them with Song Ming doing something – nothing dangerous, most importantly – and then the rest of us sneak in, try to find the Weave of the Senses, and then fuck off as quickly as possible?”

“Something like that. However, the fact that we have relatively limited time means that we must hurry. That, or confirm that half of the Phoenix Sect was killed somewhere out there, and now they’ll be at low manpower for years until they find enough disciples to replace their lost numbers,” Xue Yaling shrugged, “With the distraction handled, we still need to figure out a weakness in their defences, the location of the Weave, and then information about the return of the Phoenix Sect forces and those that still remain there.”

That sounded simple enough on the surface, but if the Phoenix Sect was anything like the sects she had seen back in Xi Village, their grounds would be enormous, and their structures even more so. There could easily be countless hiding spots for treasures that they’d need to look through, and she doubted that if the Weave was anywhere near as valuable as Xue Yaling made it out to be, they’d be getting randoms informing them about its exact location.

Of course, perhaps the Phoenix Sect had a habit of showing off valuables, but…

‘If I rely on convenient stuff like that, I’d be… well, I’d be in the grave soon, considering how heated people in this world can get about fighting and what not. Well…’

“So, our most adored future Sect Master-”

“Does it have to be that word?”

“Hm?” the kitsune looked shocked for once.

“What about Sect Queen? Sect Mistress? I admit, I may just like the word Mistress way too much, but…”

“Cheeky girl, you want every one of us, and every future disciple, to call you Mistress? That’s… it’s incredibly bold, and I almost like it.”

“Almost?”

“I doubt that most disciples would accept such a proposition unless they were really, really desperate. Cultivators, especially those with some existing foundation, tend towards being proud of their acts and achievements, and they’re not the type to bow before someone else in such a… demeaning manner. Of course, not everyone would necessarily see it like that, but if we want to recruit anyone of note and don’t just find someone in the sixth realm willing to act as a good reason to submit to us, that won’t work.”

“Aww… Well, if I manage to reach the sixth realm, then can I force all the new disciples to call me Mistress?” Bianca asked, and once she received a nod from the kitsune, she moved on, “Fine, we’ll consider that later. What were you saying before this tangent?”

“… Ah, right. So, our most adored future Sect Master, shall we proceed and write the first chapter in your grand story? The day on which you acquire the item that will allow you to compete with the sects of the east is nigh.”

“When you put it like that, how could I ever say no?”

 

The three sects of the Dragon’s Fangs were enormous, their primary structures being so large that Bianca could see them from a vast distance and still behold their enormity. Fortunately for them, the Phoenix Sect lacked a mountain into which to carve such vast structures, but what their buildings lacked in singular enormity they more than made up for with quantity and breadth. Out of all the places Bianca had seen so far, even including the Dancer’s Abode, the sight before them was the closest to an Antanian city than any other.

With whatever cultivation magic they had access to, the Phoenix Sect had structures that rose into the skies and spread wider than any other, with the tallest structure easily containing ten or more floors, with the widest matching some of the malls she’d seen in the past.

It was quite something, and if she was astounded by it, it meant that the others were too. Han Rushu seemed somewhat unsurprised, though even then her expression a slight hint of awe at the sights before her. Xue Yaling normally seemed to be above all the ordinary people of the world, but now she couldn’t conceal her amazement either. Needless to say, Yu Juan was perhaps the only one that couldn’t respond in the same way, though she still seemed impressed by something, perhaps the planar energy that surrounded this place.

In Bianca’s eyes, it manifested as a rather dense flaming aura around the walled off expanse before them, though it was subtle enough that it didn’t resemble actual fire. If it had, she’d be calling the fire service as soon as possible, even if she knew full well she’d have zero chance of reaching or calling them… nor any memory of the right number even if those factors weren’t true.

It was probably a sequence of three, probably the same three, but the exact numbers slipped her mind already. Perhaps she still had the reflex for entering it, though.

“This will prove challenging… also, try not to mention the matter in straightforward terms this close to the sect. I’m not certain about the exact defensive measures used here, but someone with a vast spiritual perception range is almost certain to watch out for certain… key terms.”

“Noted. Would any kind of wall you’re able to put up help with that, or…”

“If they’re in the seventh realm, then nope. However, I recall that Huang Su, the Sect Master, was a -relatively – young leader and still in the sixth realm. Confirming something like this is trivial, at least so long as she didn’t attempt to undergo a breakthrough in secret and succeed, which… tribulation lightning tends to be rather overt, so it’s hard to hide.”

“Well, in that case, all of you can go about discerning the rest of what we need, and I’ll just… experience this place. Let’s find a place to stay first, though.”

They likely wouldn’t be let inside of the main sect grounds, according to Xue Yaling’s explanation and her own understanding, but there was a certain number of structures outside of the large walls that appeared to be relatively welcoming to outsiders, with plenty of signs and nice roads and structures that resembled inns or, in a more modern understanding, hotels.

At least one of them had to accept outside cultivators, and once they had a place there, they might be able to secure a room to discuss things freely, without observation from other cultivators. Even if not, having a place to rest – and fuck without needing to go into a tent and have everyone else hear them easily.

Bianca took the lead, both due to her supposed leadership role and the fact that it felt so much like an Antanian city. It seemed like she could simply act like she had done back then, and she would have no issues… as tough as it would be for her to recall all the details. Luckily, the details that she forgot were almost certainly those that would be purely applicable to the culture and world of Orbis, not this one, so it was even easier to blend in thanks to that.

Nobody seemed to pay them much attention as they entered, either. There were no guards stopping them, nor anyone intending to get into conflict with them, and when they arrived at the first building that caught her eye, there was a reception desk and a rather bored woman sitting behind it, feet up on the desk, bare save for tights. She was reading a book and paying exactly zero attention to the entrance.

“Ahem, can we rent a place here?” Bianca asked, having noticed a board with keys behind the woman’s desk, numbers on each one, ‘This place is either something akin in function to a hotel, or this is a very unusual type of warehouse that people rent spaces in. At worst, we’ll have just wasted a bit of time, though I have to say… I want those tights. Or anything close, really, they look really good, way better than what I’ve currently got on.’

“… Huh? A room? For all five?”

“Two would be fine.”

“Fine, just stop interrupting my reading,” the woman agreed instantly, throwing two keys towards them with some planar energy trickery, returning to her book almost instantly… and without asking for payment.

‘Um… The prices aren’t listed anywhere, so should I just… go?’ Bianca looked around for a second, glanced back at the woman, then shrugged.

If she wasn’t going to be asked for money, she wouldn’t bother providing it. Afterwards, she wouldn’t be the one blamed anyway, if this place worked anything like Orbis. The customer was always right – except the numerous cases where the customer was very, very wrong, as per her business teacher – and in this case, the situation was rather clear cut.

She glanced at the numbers on the keys, then at a sign near the stairs, and headed away, the others following after a short pause. The whole time, the woman at the reception desk didn’t spare them a single glance.