“Well, that was lucky. Getting a room without paying a single coin,” Song Ming muttered.

“I have a feeling they have a way to ensure that we pay up when the time comes, since this place is likely either owned by, or otherwise endorsed by, the Phoenix Sect,” Bianca offered, Han Rushu and Xue Yaling both nodding in reply.

“Indeed, while this is rather unorthodox in terms of marketing approach – perhaps they’re appealing to the feet fetishists out there – they will definitely be able to get their money in the end,” the kitsune confirmed.

“You seem more familiar with people’s various fetishes than our resident Dancer,” she replied.

“Hm? Ah, sorry, the energy here… it’s hard to get used to, especially when it gets bad enough to the point of affecting my spiritual perception,” the aforementioned Dancer said, “It’s quite a lot more powerful than anything in the Abode, so it has opened my eyes a little… heh, if only.”

“Yeah, I could feel it as well,” Bianca nodded, thinking back to the aura she saw over the enormous compound, “I guess that’s something that a major sect should have, though, for the sake of their disciples having an easier time cultivating or using their skills or whatever. Can an array produce that sort of effect?”

Xue Yaling nodded, “To a certain extent, anything can do anything, but yes, a powerful array could have energy gathering components that would multiply the efficiency of cultivating here by a significant degree. Here, there is enough fire-type material that the planar energy is itself fire-aspected, meaning that the majority of it is perfect if you cultivate the fire element, and rather unfortunate in all other cases.”

“So if we get an array like that, we could decide what element of energy to keep around?” Bianca asked.

“Mhm, that is an option. However, I’d advise you not to do so unless we are able to acquire or establish an archetype that is focused around an element. Otherwise, we’d be causing half of our disciples to suffer in their cultivation for… no particular reason.”

“Right, makes sense. So, the three sects back in the Dragon’s Fangs, are they akin to the Phoenix Sect, with a specific element they focus on?”

“The Blazing Skies, Sacred Rivers and Calm Skies do all prioritise a certain element, and their disciples prefer to use it in their cultivation, but there are enough of them that diverge from the typical path that using such elemental arrays would be inefficient. That being said, the Blazing Skies do tend to use their Blazing Skies Core, which favours flame-type energy, so their sect is most likely to employ an array to gather fire-type energy.”

“Most likely? You don’t know for sure?”

“I may be knowledgeable, but I haven’t had the chance to intrude into every sect and confirm all these details. As such, if they haven’t shared it or if it isn’t visible from the outside – which it isn’t, in the case of the Blazing Skies – then there’s nothing I can do but guess.”

“Oh yeah… You just come off as way too reliable at times that it’s easy to think you know everything.”

“Is that a compliment? Aw, thank you, honey, you’re too kind. You’re also successfully understanding a lot more than before, which shows an excellent level of learning!”

“… Guess I’ll take it. Anyway, this place is quite fascinating. I wonder how exactly they guard this enormous place. Does their array summon some kind of enormous phoenix, per chance?”

“Don’t be silly, that’s horribly inefficient… though admittedly fun,” Xue Yaling said, “I’d imagine that it would be more along the lines of concentrated energy being directed straight at the intruder’s heart or brain, or perhaps a flaming cage that is summoned to detain those that haven’t earned death in the eyes of the Phoenix Sect.”

“And that’s guided by someone in the sect?”

“Usually. The more automatic defences get, the harder it is to create them, maintain them, and ensure that they never do anything that isn’t desirable. That’s why I’ve previously specified that if you want a good array, it’s best to employ intelligent judgement and the like instead of whatever can be done via clever arrangement of array nodes.”

“I would say that it is possible to create some impressive things via the great arts, but it is certainly best to put a mind in charge of it rather than attempting automation. Just like you’d need an incredibly great mind to oversee a place as large as this with spiritual perception, you’d also need an excellent mind to fully process and resolve every possibility and create a sufficiently complete array, or artefact, or whatever else.”

“So, if we had a… uh, not sure of the right word to use, but someone whose mind was able to grasp everything in the world all at once, she – not sure why I’d just to she, but if that person was hot, it’d be a plus – would be able to create these kinds of automatic arrays and what not?”

“Yep, that would be possible. However, such a being cannot exist, as the capacity of a mind is limited. It’d not a matter of intelligence, but the fact that the brain and the soul – however much of a part that plays – are not all powerful. They have limits, whether in physical size or other factors, and thus no mind should be capable of grasping quite so much information.”

“But if there was such a mind-”

“Yes, in that event, the matter of creating just about anything would be possible. A little silly to theorise about, though, seeing as it won’t ever happen.”

“You never know…” Bianca shrugged, thinking back to a philosophical subject from Orbis.

She couldn’t recall the name, but it was a concept posited by some man from some hundred years ago that if there was a being that could know all of the information of the world, it would be able to predict the future with perfect accuracy, since everything that happened, no matter how random it seemed, is ultimately determined by fixed rules and factors. If she flipped a coin, it would be unpredictable for her, but if someone made a simulation of it with all the significant factors in place and with accurate settings, they’d be able to get the result a hundred out of a hundred times they tested it.

At least, that was her understanding of the premise. There were all kinds of things happening in the scientific world even from her own basic understanding, so the truth of it all was likely even more complex.

Regardless, the discussion that they were having brought up this distant memory, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the seemingly impossible entity of Orbis might be feasible here. She couldn’t say for sure how intelligent and knowledgeable people could get in this world, but she did know that her Demonic Tyrant was able to overcome certain rules. If she wasn’t the only one – and she couldn’t be, given that Xue Yaling could figure out her identity – then it wouldn’t be impossible for someone to reach that level. And if they did…

‘Actually, what does it even matter to me? There could be thousands of those people out there, but as long as I don’t interact with them at any point, or if they don’t intend to hurt me, then all should be fine… and besides, if they could calculate everything in advance, then this very thought would already have been considered by them, so… Yeah, no point in wasting time thinking about it,’ Bianca concluded.

“Thinking about anything interesting, honey?” Xue Yaling tapped her on the shoulder.

“Nah, it’s nothing… Should we rest up, since we’ve got the place to ourselves anyway?” she shook away her thoughts and glanced at the large bed in the room.

“Are both of our rooms like this?”

“You mean with a single bed? Seems like it. Perhaps you ought to have asked her a little more and guaranteed that you’d be getting a different type of room,” the kitsune shrugged.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, should it? We’re all women – or something like that – so it’ll be just a nice, peaceful night regardless, right?” Han Rushu smiled, perhaps hoping to get into bed with Bianca this time, seeing as the five had only two beds to share and the opportunity to fit themselves into the rooms however they wished.

“We’re all women? I wouldn’t have expected you to use a phrase like that…” Yu Juan muttered, “But it is up to Bianca in the end. If she wishes it, perhaps we might all need to share the same bed.”

“Hm… I don’t think the bed will fit more than three people even in the best conditions, so I doubt that it would be wise to do something like that unless two people want to sleep on the floor. However, the walls… I can’t hear anything from outside, like we’re completely sealed off.”

“The Phoenix Sect must want to leave a good impression on visitors… though don’t expect the sound isolation to block their own spiritual perception. There’s at least one person that can peer in here, if they so choose,” the kitsune explained.

“… Song Ming, Yu Juan and I can stay here, Han Rushu and Xue Yaling can go to the other room. You two seem to get along, so I’m sure it’ll work out.”

Bianca’s decision was motivated by the fact that the soundproofing seemed good enough to let her engage in some lewd activities, and since she trusted the kitsune enough for her not to spill anything she’d rather leave unsaid, it made sense to put the blacksmith in the same room.

While she was with Song Ming and Yu Juan, she hoped that she might be able to raise the subject of sex with the two of them. Song Ming was obviously happy to sleep with her alone, but she did need to check whether she’d agree to involving others. Meanwhile, Yu Juan needed her energy to survive and get better, so in her case, it might well be optimal to use the dick summoning ability on her, since the demonic corruption would come to her one way or another.

If it was going to happen no matter what, she might as well let the Dancer enjoy it.

The kitsune and blacksmith didn’t argue with her and instead went off on their own, soon leaving the three in the room alone. Once that happened, Bianca didn’t hesitate to approach Song Ming and grope her ass, causing her pet to gasp and moan.

“M-Mistress-”

“I bet you’ve already gotten used to the plug in your ass, haven’t you?” she asked, glancing at Yu Juan for only a moment, curious to spot her reaction, “Feel like upgrading yet?”

“I… I have nearly forgotten, but I could never forget your care and attention, Mistress… Are you… are you sure that I can, even… and Yu Juan is here-”

“On that note, what would you think about having her be involved for once, or maybe more than that?” Bianca inquired, finally giving the Dancer more than a glance, “You wouldn’t mind, would you? I’m sure we could have plenty of fun together.”

“Uhm…” Yu Juan looked to have been caught off guard, giving the stutter-y Song Ming a chance to respond.

“If you want her, then I would be incredibly happy!” she replied without hesitation, “I am your loyal pet, after all, so if it makes you happy, then I’m glad!”

“… Okay, that… I wasn’t expecting you to be quite so eager,” Bianca muttered, “You don’t feel like you’d rather have all of my attention to yourself?”

“How could I ever do that? All I could ever wish for is to be within your heart as your pet, now and forever,” Song Ming confirmed, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Bianca without a sign of dishonesty in her words.

It was rather scary, truth be told. Now that she knew of the demonic corruption, she kept considering whether anything her pet said was due to it, so hearing this caused such a response made her stop and assess things. However, in the end, she couldn’t conclude that her pet wouldn’t have necessarily agreed to such a thing without any influence at all, seeing as she hadn’t spent enough time learning about Song Ming until some degree of influence was applied.

However, she couldn’t exactly stand around here and ponder this, seeing as it would do nothing to help her understand the matter, so… she decided to just let it go.

“Well then, Yu Juan, want to help Song Ming adjust to a new butt plug? Should be a fun way for us to get to know one another a little more,” she suggested, glad to see that the Dancer didn’t take long to nod.

“Of course, what did you have in mind?” she rushed over, arriving at Song Ming’s side and leaving the flustered girl no room to escape.

“W-Wha-”

Bianca placed her finger on her pet’s lips, enjoying the soft sensation for a moment, “Shh, sweetheart. I believe in you, so just trust me. You can take more than that tiny little plug in your butt, and if you do, it’ll make me really, really happy. It’s only a little larger, only half a centimetre or so, and you’ll feel really good once it’s in you, I’m sure of it.”

Faced with such a barrage of encouragement, Song Ming wasn’t able to keep up her reluctance. She shut her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then nodded.

“Good girl.”

Her pet shuddered oh so wonderfully, a smile forming on Bianca’s face as a result. She helped Song Ming up, considered the best position for them to take for a little while, then gestured to Yu Juan.

“How would you feel about eating my pet out while I work on her ass?”

“Sure, Mistress,” Yu Juan agreed without hesitation, getting onto the bed, “Let the cutie sit on my face, and then you should have enough room to play with her however you want… and she has been wearing a plug this whole time? I almost didn’t notice today, she seemed so calm that I thought she must have removed it earlier…”

“My pet is just a natural butt-slut, is all,” Bianca smiled, all while helping Song Ming up onto the bed as well, “Come on, just place your booty right over here, and…”

While positioning her, Bianca removed all the clothes from her pet’s body that might get in the way, exposing her pretty ass and the jewelled end of the plug that had been hidden away all this time. The crimson material glistened in the lights that illuminated the room, and made it all too tempting to just pull it out and shove the other plug inside.

True to her word, she wasn’t going to suddenly thrust the largest plug into her – not that she had any expectation of Song Ming’s ass surviving such an experience – but it was still going to require a bit of care and attention to let her have a comfortable step up.

Thus, she first allowed Yu Juan to put her expertise to use, her mouth positioned just beneath Song Ming’s pussy, letting let lick and kiss and pleasure her pet in all the ways she knew. Very quickly, her pet started to moan and gasp, her hands clutching the bed sheets tightly, but while it was pleasant to see her enjoying the process so far, it would also make it rather difficult to loosen her up and switch her plugs.

“Yu Juan, try not to make her cum too quickly. Keep her nice and happy for now, okay?”

The Dancer provided her with a quick thumbs up before returning to her work, her pet’s moans quickly becoming fainter and less frequent. Her breathing was still heavy and steamy, but as it steadied, it ended up far closer to the state that Bianca intended.

She leaned in and released a breath onto Song Ming’s neck, causing her to shiver.

“Good girl. Just relax and enjoy, then I’ll handle the plug. It’s only a little bigger, so your stretched ass should have no problems taking it in. It will feel good, I promise, sweetheart,” Bianca whispered in her ear, planting a quick kiss on her neck before withdrawing and taking up position near her butt, her face close to the crimson jewel.

Her pet tensed up nearly instantly, but Yu Juan’s continued cunnilingus calmed her nerves with enough time, and thus allowed Bianca to begin. Reaching forward, she grasped the round outside end of the butt plug and gently pulled on it.

“Hnng- ah… that feels…” her pet gasped instantly, “P-Please be gentl-ah!”

Bianca caught the moment that her pet relaxed for a second and used the moment to pull hard, feeling resistance from Song Ming’s tight asshole for a moment before she overcame it, the small plug slipping out with a pop and leaving her hole gaping just a little, clenching and opening with every breath.

“Ohh… fuck… That… ah…” Song Ming spoke in between heavy breaths, “M-Mistress…”

“That looks a lot hotter than I expected… Now to replace it. Hold on, sweetheart,” Bianca slapped her ass and brought out the larger plug, though she would hesitate to say it was meaningfully bigger, at least definitely not large enough to cause her pet any issues.

Thus, she didn’t delay too long, as to avoid her tightening up and making things more difficult, and instead placed the plug into her mouth, coating it in her saliva as to add some lube to the toy. She would need to get something better if she wanted to switch up to the third plug, which was over a centimetre over this plug, and nearly two more than the first one, but for this small set up, it was more than sufficient to get it in.

She pulled the plug out of her mouth, confirming that it was coated in enough of her saliva, so she pulled one of her pet’s ass cheeks aside with one hand and used the other to press the narrow tip of the plug against the open ring of muscle.

“W-Wait-”

Although Bianca perceived a hint of excitement or arousal in her voice, she didn’t give her body any time to tighten up and pushed on, the plug sliding in further and further until, with a rather satisfying sound, it went all the way inside. The last stretch of the journey was made all the easier by her pet’s anal muscles pulling the narrow stem that connected the plug to the jewelled end, desperate to be rid of the girth that was forcing her asshole open.

At the same time, Song Ming let out a loud moan and cry as her hands clenched the bed sheets to the point of nearly tearing them – except not, since the material was way, way tougher than anything found on Orbis – and grinded on Yu Juan’s mouth, shocking the Dancer for a moment before she adapted.

And once she was done, her breathing got even heavier, making Bianca grin as she considered a possibility.

“Sweetheart, did you cum from that? Did you cum as I shoved something in your ass?” she asked, although the answer had already been decided in her mind, regardless of what Song Ming might say in reply.

She felt the phantom sensation of her cock twitching and hardening within her shorts as she imagined thrusting it into her pet’s tight ass, stretching it open even further, filling her guts with sticky cum and leaving her belly bulging… Bianca caught herself as her energy began to circulate within her body, nearly using the dick growth technique right there and then… and then she had an idea.

“Well… why don’t we do a little more? Yu Juan, how is your experience with anal?”