From above, the sect grounds looked quite a bit more awe inspiring, and felt even larger. It was hard to see just how far the lands and buildings stretched from below, and thus the higher viewpoint revealed just how little Bianca had seen back then. All of the enormous structures seemed to go on forever, and she could only see the rooves of about half of them despite being on a really high spot up in the building.

The rest were even higher, as though she was in a modern Orbis city, with skyscrapers all over the place, though they lacked the same simplistic glass-covered walls that were so prevalent back there.

As a result, it looked quite a bit better, at least in her eyes.

“How is it, Bai An?” Su Huang asked, looking out into the distance for a while before seeming to remember, “Ah, and you, kitsune.”

“… Thanks for asking, I guess-”

“I think it’s really impressive. I’ve never seen a place that’s quite like this in a very, very long time…” Bianca sighed, “Aside from the warmth and humidity, it’s absolutely wonderful. Though, especially when looking up from right here, it looks like there’s almost nobody here. Surely this isn’t the normal state of the Phoenix Sect?”

“Ah, no, it’s not. Most of our forces are out on various missions, looking out for those like the woman with oddly good luck I had mentioned. Furthermore, there’s this new conflict out in the west, so we’ve sent out a number of our disciples to examine the situation… It’s a perilous time right now.”

“So I see… I believe in the might of the Phoenix Sect, and I hope to return here one day when it can provide a better display of it. Nevertheless, the structures here show me the incredible foundation that your sect has accumulated, and I am impressed.”

“Thank you, babe. You’re quite a looker yourself… I mean, uh-”

“You’re not helping the point those fellow disciples of yours were making,” Xue Yaling muttered.

“Sorry, I do tend to use this place for dates, but… ah, forget it, my imagine is probably ruined already… We tend to be quite carefree in here, thanks to our relative distance from most danger in the region. Thanks to the oceans to the east and the various factions to the west, we can trade for many goods and services relatively easily, and we’ve enough power that nobody has any interest in attacking us so far. Since we’ve been relatively peaceful – especially compared to the Righteous Court’s deeds in recent years – we also lack foes that would be willing to team up to threaten us…”

“It’s okay, a disciple of a sect such as yours has no doubt earned the right to be carefree… besides,” Bianca supressed any hesitation she might’ve had and unleashed the kind of confidence expected of a Demon Queen, “I like women like you. All blushy and flustered like that… I can only imagine what you’d look like in bed, pinned beneath me.”

“A-Ah…” for a moment, she almost resembled Song Ming, though her control over her expression was still far better than Bianca’s dear pet, “I… Today might not be the best time. I still have a lot of tasks to do, and-”

“Then tomorrow, cutie. I’ll show you exactly why I’m called Mistress in bed – the one very, very large reason for it, and countless smaller ones.”

“One… W-Wait, are you- do you have a draconic heritage?”

She grinned, “You’ll find out.”

The disciple gulped and looked away, seeming to ponder for a while before nodding ever so slightly, “Okay, tomorrow… come around the afternoon, I’ll ask the guards to let you in, and… bring the kitsune. I don’t want them to suspect anything.”

“Heh, I hope your place has some good barriers to block out noise, because I can guarantee that you’ll make plenty,” Bianca let her grin widen, though had she not restrained herself, she might’ve laughed.

Thanks to a lucky encounter, she and Xue Yaling now had an entry strategy into this place tomorrow, one that would ensure that they wouldn’t be suspected at least for a little while. It wouldn’t give them much time to prepare, of course, but if they determined that they couldn’t get their way this time, they could simply make their way over to Su Huang’s place and then let the Demon Queen play with her for a while.

If she managed to notice anything amiss after such an experience, then Bianca felt like she almost deserved to figure out their plans, but the chances of such a thing were low. She’d make sure to cultivate some more during the time they had, and if she managed to reach the next realm, the already impressive effect of her body and cock would become even more impressive.

With someone who knew to use her skills to their fullest potential, that being the Demon Queen, taking the reins, success was near guaranteed.

Of course, she thought it would be best if they could get through in just one go. It would make things simpler, and if they took the item and managed to get out without incurring suspicion, they would have nothing to worry about for quite some time.

‘Anyway, no way I can keep this conversation going while considering all of this, so… I hope Xue Yaling understood my intentions. We need to figure out where the place they’re storing the Weave of the Senses is, so… how do we do that?’ she looked at the Phoenix Sect disciple and settled on her next step, “But I wouldn’t want to give you any trouble with your fellow disciples, so I’ll refrain from excessive teasing, cute as all that blushing makes you look. Tomorrow, I’ll show you what I can do without holding back.”

Su Huang had indeed gone red from her previous remark, and this one didn’t calm her down too much, though she looked to be simultaneously relieved and disappointed that she’d be left alone for the moment.

“Alright, I’ll… I’ll be looking forward to it. Uhm… Ah…”

“We were discussing treasures, sweetie. The Weave of the Senses at first, and now I’m curious about some of the other ones you’ve got. Where could you keep such things that they don’t affect the rest of the disciples in any negative way?”

“Ah, that… well, most of our items aren’t so impactful on the world that they’d be dangerous, so the majority are kept in the vaults in the centre of the sect grounds. Those that are harmful enough to be concerning are… not to be revealed to outsiders. I wouldn’t be able to show any part of that place to you even if I wanted to, the guards at those doors would be far, far less lenient.”

“That’s okay, cutie,” Bianca reached out and – just barely – managed to pat the woman on the head, enjoying her flustered look both from that and her continued use of pet names and the more subdued reactions compared to her favourite pet, “But since you’re so eager to guide me around, how about we have a bit more of a tour? I’m sure there are some lovely hidden spots in this place that would let us pass the time.”

“Alright, I can probably think of something for us, uhm, cutie-”

“Your food is here!” a waitress arrived with both their hands filled with trays that were, themselves, filled with countless plates placed beneath various covers as to obscure them, as though they were in some kind of excessively lavish restaurant… which, thinking about it, they kinda were.

Su Huang nearly slammed her head against the table when she had been interrupted at that specific moment, and even though she didn’t quite commit to it, her face was still blazing red, the heat concentrated at her cheeks, nearly inspiring concern from the waitress. By the time it was resolved, the food had not cooled at all – probably some aspect of planar energy again – but it felt as though a decade had passed.

A rather satisfying one, in Bianca’s eyes.

 

“Well… What do we do now?” Han Rushu asked, looking between Yu Juan and Song Ming, although the two of them didn’t seem to be bursting with ideas.

The blacksmith sighed, looking over the table full of snacks and meals that had been left untouched after they were interrupted by the appearance of that woman from the Phoenix Sect. She was a rather hot one, a fact that Bianca had seemed to agree with from the brief amount of time she’d spent staring at her, but it did mean that any plans they might’ve had were gone.

They didn’t have any real plans, but that was another matter.

“We should probably look around like Mistress told us to do, and share with her the wonders of this place,” Song Ming replied like the faithful pet she was.

“Oh, right… Wouldn’t you rather get fucked by me? I could show you what a true cock looks-”

“I’m not interested,” her aura suddenly changed, the faint red ring around her pupils feeling enormously more prominent even though the size was the same as before, “Don’t even try to touch me, either. You aren’t my Mistress, and you don’t deserve it.”

Han Rushu froze. That aura, that tone, even those eyes… it was like looking at Bianca when she was in her strongest state, and it was even stranger because Bianca did have a tough side to her, even if it was one that was relatively subdued without her Demon Queen side. When it comes to Song Ming, however, the only thing the blacksmith had ever seen from her was her acting like a cute little pet, eating out of Bianca’s hand and ready to kneel before her no matter what happened.

Worse yet, as soon as she was done, that aura faded, and it was as though she had never showed such a look, which made it all the more terrifying.

“Uh… Well, then perhaps we should look around.”

She wasn’t ready to risk interacting with an aura like that yet, and, as she thought about it for a moment, she understood that it might always be beyond her. Bianca and her influence on others, whatever it truly was, would only grow larger with each moment, and eventually there would be nothing at all that she could do to change it.

Luckily for her, she had already decided to side with Bianca and join whatever sect she’d made, so she didn’t need to be concerned about the Demon Queen turning against her unless she went up against her on purpose.

Therefore, she decided to commit herself to this task as much as she possibly could, and that meant looking not for opportunities to enter the sect grounds, but instead for weaknesses in security that might be exploitable on the way out, and spots where their plan could be carried out. The latter seemed like it would be obvious – the spot in front of the main gates presented the best view around, and would be the first to bring some challenger to the attention of the Phoenix Sect – but there were always other options, and it wouldn’t hurt to check them.

The priority, therefore, was to look out for any weaknesses in the Phoenix Sect’s defences, and determine the best direction in which to escape. Without knowing what plans the two inside the sect had, she could only figure out some excuse to look all around the area, an excuse that would work for anyone that happened to be listening in.

“Well, I think that, uh, Mistress,” Han Rushu had to force the word out of her mouth, “would appreciate hearing about the outside of the sect. The walls, defences, and so on. They’re hard to get a good look at from here, what with all the buildings outside.”

“Ah, yes, that would be best. I can’t really… see, so I wouldn’t be able to help there,” Yu Juan said, “I’ll speak with some of the people here. I’m sure Mistress would love to know how they prosper under the strongest sect in the region.”

‘You’re almost as good at sucking her cock as you are… well, sucking mine, except literally. Those two will make a wonderful pair in time, won’t they?’ Han Rushu thought, tempted to imagine the two spending time with her instead.

That would make her far too hot and bothered to stop her from doing anything besides just masturbating, which, while fun, certainly wouldn’t help, unless she happened to catch the attention of some inner disciple or elder with her huge dick and get into their bedroom, and grab some benefits from them in the process.

‘If that was to happen, it would be fun… but would also make it far, far more obvious that we were the culprits.’

She reluctantly stood up and headed out, leaving the other two to do whatever they wished. As she had no additional ideas to offer them, the best thing to do was to simply let them get on with it. Neither of them were stupid enough to make any blatant mistakes in the sect and get themselves exposed, though even if they were to draw attention, nobody should believe that they were out to get one of the more valuable items in the Phoenix Sect’s vaults.

It was a rather ballsy thing for someone in their stages of cultivation to attempt, after all. A few third realm cultivators going up against the might of an entire sect, even if only for a single item, was incredible. It was beyond incredible, and if they succeeded, she believed that they’d be remembered for quite a while.

‘Though it’s not important now. Whether or not we can succeed is entirely up to those two in the sect. Even if I have the perfect method of escape somewhere around here, it wouldn’t do us any good if they can’t find a way into the sect and into the treasury… or into someone’s pants. I have a feeling Bianca liked the way that girl looked,’ Han Rushu thought, reaching outside the town that stood just before the sect’s gates, ending up in the wilderness.

Of course, it wasn’t especially wild nor dangerous, with the cultivators of the Phoenix Sect often hunting here and ensuring that there were no threat brewing right outside their walls, but with safety came complacency, and with complacency came opportunity.

While she wandered around, pretending to simply be sight-seeing, she looked around for places where the presence of guards on the walls – difficult as it was to spot them – seemed lower, and where the walls themselves were in relative disrepair. None were anywhere near breaking down, but those that were covered in foliage or had cracked bricks within them implied some level of complacency, and therefore a level of disinterest in that area.

If they escaped through there, those weak spots could be vital to ensuring the slowest possible response from the Phoenix Sect, and therefore letting them get out before any defensive measures are activated.

Of course, part of the problem was that the defensive measures weren’t primarily the people, but a single person, or the automated components of the defensive array. Therefore, this wouldn’t offer them any guarantee besides simply giving them a small edge, but that was all that Han Rushu could expect to achieve.

She was just a blacksmith, one that had a huge libido – and dick – but a blacksmith nonetheless. Her expertise was not in arrays, nor the defences of a sect as large as this.

‘Even then, I think this spot is rather good… it’s overgrown, no people in sight, no particular defensive inscriptions that I can perceive…’ she thought as she looked onto that spot, contemplating whether she should approach and test it, ‘This is either deliberate, as a way to lure in potential attackers and thieves, or they’re a little overconfident in their position here. I wish I knew which one it was, but it’s something to keep in mind for the moment.’

They had gotten up early and therefore had plenty of time to explore, but she had no intention of lurking all around the sect until tomorrow. For one, she doubted she’d be able to get around fast enough to return in time to provide any useful info, but she also doubted that the kitsune – the real decision maker and planner, at least when the Demon Queen wasn’t around – wanted to depart from the Heartlands outright in order to create their sect.

The north and south were rather different, and their customs and cultures would not accept outsiders like them invading their lands to steal territory, not to mention the inhospitable lands that were produced by the extreme temperatures there. In the very north, the land turned to glass, and in the very south, the absolute cold froze all that dared to venture too far, so most of the people in both continents resided in the central lands. There, they’d be able to find the most disciples, and disciples were what made a sect mighty.

A single person was easy to target and kill, but when they became the leader of a faction, suddenly there were all kinds of politics and challenges that arose. Even with her minimal experience, Han Rushu knew this all too well.

‘If only I’d had that idea before I got chased all over by the Exarch… I’m lucky he didn’t brand me, or else I’d end up as Yu Juan had. I doubt that Bianca’s abilities would be especially effective at freeing me of that brand, however,’ the blacksmith sighed, and ventured on.