“I’m here to see Su Huang. She should be expecting me,” Bianca said as she approached the front gates of the Phoenix Sect as though she belonged there.

The women that stood guard there were different from those that she had seen the previous day, but they still seemed to recognise the name she mentioned, looking between one another and instantly getting smiles on their faces.

“Ah, has she found another one? I seem to recall her bringing it up… the way she blushed and stuttered to us was adorable~,” one of them said to the other, “What’s with the fox behind you?”

“She’s my servant. Su Huang knows her too, so don’t worry about her running off anywhere. I’ll keep her in line,” Bianca replied, though she made sure to sound frustrated, as though she should’ve been allowed inside from the moment she appeared before them, “Can we get inside now? I’ve had quite a few plans for her, and it would be a shame to not get through them all.”

“Ooh, if you tell us just one, then-”

“I’ll fuck her ass until she can’t walk, fill her up and leave her belly bloated with my cum. That good enough?”

The two guards instantly went red, but they recovered far quicker than Su Huang ever did – or sooner than Song Ming ever could, since she was destined to remain a cute, blushy mess forever. They were clearly not used to someone being quite so forward about their intentions, and the fact that Bianca didn’t look like the type to have a cock almost certainly threw them off.

“You have… well, this will be a fun thing to discuss with her tomorrow… alright, open up the gates!”

Bianca didn’t speak any longer, simply waiting to get through, and once she did, she looked to the kitsune for guidance. Xue Yaling had definitely paid more attention to their surroundings than she had at the time, and so trusting her directions to the treasury would be safest.

At the same time, if Bianca was to lead, she’d need to keep an eye out on their surroundings via spiritual perception, but her skill with it was limited even when the Demonic Tyrant came into play. Thus, letting a true expert take charge would be safest by far. Luckily for her, the kitsune had no problems going ahead, and she had definitely remembered where to go, as she had no doubts about her route and direction for all of the time she spent leading.

It felt like just a few minutes and many hours at the same time, going through numerous streets and alleyways, but eventually they arrived at a quiet spot where they paused.

“Alright, let’s take the moment to relax. There’s still some way to go, but hopefully we won’t run into anyone dangerous. The way into the treasury might not be guarded at this moment, especially if the sect is expecting guests, so if everything goes well, we won’t have anyone standing in our way.”

“Do you think they would’ve informed Su Huang about our planned visit?”

“Potentially, but she should still expect us to arrive after some delay. We’ve been moving relatively quickly so far, so we have some leeway before she assumes that we’re up to something strange.”

“Good point… do you think we’ll be lucky enough to avoid guards, though?”

“When it comes to luck, I have no idea. However, if whatever has helped us so far continues, then we should be just fine.”

“You’re putting a lot of stock into that nebulous luck, but alright,” Bianca had no better plans, so she glanced out from their hiding spot and hoped that the kitsune was right – and that Song Ming would be able to manage her role without issues.

 

“Those two… let in by Su Huang?”

The disciple bowed, “Well, she asked us to let them through, but… yes.”

“Hm… Stay here, I’ll take care of it. And watch out for any other strangers. Just because our main forces are out doesn’t mean that we should just let everyone inside.”

“Yes!”

The woman, whose large chest and orange, flame-like long hair made her resemble a phoenix that turned human, stepped away and returned inside the sect grounds, her spiritual perception scanning across the entirety of the grounds with ease. She could see those two walking around inside, going far from the route that would bring them to Su Huang’s abode, a place that she knew they had visited. Therefore, it wasn’t hard to understand that they were up to something.

The question was, what were they after? For two cultivators in the third realm to breach the grounds of a powerful sect meant that they had to be after something of great value, or they were just incredible thrill-seekers that had yet to be caught and taught the folly of their ways.

It was hard to tell, but she wasn’t in a rush to stop them. She could sense nothing on their bodies that would allow them to get away, nor any incredible techniques or skills that would permit them to skip three realms and overcome her and the defences of the Phoenix Sect. As such, catching them would be no trouble even if they were standing on the outer walls, ready to leap out.

Instead, she wanted to see more of their plan, to understand whether they were the ones that had masterminded this plan or if there was another faction behind them, and details of that kind. There had to be some reason that these two – and presumably some companions outside – decided to break into these lands, surely.

‘As long as they don’t harm my disciples, I can forgive their trespass for a time,’ the woman thought as her spiritual perception alerted her to someone approaching the gates of the sect, forcing her attention away for a moment.

When she saw who it was, she was, for a moment, absolutely stunned. As opposed to the pair that entered semi-reasonably, this one was a lone woman, clad in dark metal armour that, for a moment resembled star metal. No, it felt like it in nearly every way, except it should be impossible for someone in the third realm to be going around in such a valuable material. It was possible that she was part of some incredibly powerful faction, but…

‘The timing is just wrong. For two separate intruders to try and enter this place around the same time would be very, very unlikely, and she… Yes, I recall her aura being in proximity to the two that are heading towards the treasury. Therefore, it’s likely an attempt at distraction, but I do wonder how good this attempt will be.’

“Phoenix Sect! I challenge you all to prove your worth!” the woman outside their gates proclaimed, loudly and with boldness that made her demand feel oddly genuine, “Show me that you deserve to hold onto these lands!”

‘That aura is… oddly aggressive for a woman that seems as young as she is. And that energy… it’s a physique, and a powerful one, but why don’t I recognise it?’

“Should we-”

“Send someone out. I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong if that woman is a threat to us.”

The disciple she spoke to seemed confused, but she followed her instructions. In no time at all, a disciple in the third realm – the upper third realm, a fact that was a little unfair towards that strange woman but would ensure the disciple’s safety – was sent out, clad in gear that was adequate but hardly special. The traditional combat robes and a sword that would pair well with that of her foe, the strange woman whose eyes were green with a faint crimson rim around her pupil.

‘Very unique… where did she come from?’

As the disciple stepped out of the gateway, her gaze and that of the woman before her met. With her spiritual perception, she could tell that despite the disciple having the seeming advantage, she was the one to shiver and hesitate before she took her next step.

“I am Mu Jiang, disciple of the Phoenix Sect. Introduce yourself!”

“I don’t yet know if you deserve to know it yet. Show me your worth first!” the other woman proclaimed, the incredible boldness on display stunning just about everyone that was listening.

“You… fine! I will show you the full might of the Phoenix Sect!”

The woman that watched over them and the two that were still sneaking around in the sect sighted, “Mu Jiang, was it… how is she still so… hasty? I had thought I had told her about that fault of hers over a year ago.”

“She has not taken that comment to heart, I’m afraid…”

“I can see that much. Whether she wins or loses this time, make sure to get her to train her will afterwards. Her mind needs a lot of work to be able to handle the flames of the Phoenix Sect.”

“Do you think she will lose? Surely not, she-”

“She has a physique, and it’s one that I don’t recognise. It’s either some mutation or a far rarer physique than most, perhaps even an entirely unique one, but whatever it is, it is powerful. Whether it’s a defensive, offensive or a utility physique, I can guarantee that if that woman knows what she is doing with it, then our disciple will have a very difficult time.”

After she was done explaining the obvious, she made sure to watch carefully. Learning the physique ability and its properties would be immensely valuable, if nothing else.

The two outside the sect gates didn’t exchange any more words. After a brief while during which they simply stared at one another, Mu Jiang began the fight, dashing forward and gathering flame at the tip of her blade. It grew and grew in intensity until it engulfed the entire sword, but that was only the preparatory step for one of the core skills of the Phoenix Sect’s arsenal.

‘I wonder if they did their homework on our skills. One would imagine, but at the same time, nothing about this person is ordinary so far.’

Indeed, as the Phoenix Sect disciple drew nearer, the woman opposite suddenly reached out, her hand beckoning a vast amount of energy in the earth to burst forth right under Mu Jiang’s feet. A pillar of dark green surged from beneath the tiles of the street, exposing a round rune that burned with an incomprehensible symbol.

‘Crusader’s Runes? But their light is… No, never mind, that’s not important right now. How well can she use them with a body like that?’

The most powerful physiques were known to have a significant cost on the body if the person didn’t have a sufficient condition to handle it. Their body could outright explode if it was activated too early and failed to adapt, and often times, someone that cultivated a physique would need to practise a strong body technique in order to be able to handle the energy within their bodies.

And yet, this woman was able to follow up that initial blast with several more, runes seeming to explode underneath Mu Jiang wherever she went. It was as though she had no limits, nor any difficulty in handling this twisted form of the Crusader’s Runes.

“Stop it! Fight me properly!” the Phoenix Sect disciple shouted, but her opponent didn’t listen, instead waving her hand and unleashing four runes at the same time, trapping Mu Jiang on the spot.

The faint glow of a rune underneath the disciple stunned her, as she realised that these consecutive explosions only put her exactly where her foe wanted her. She could try to get out, but the flames on her sword had yet to be used, not even with the simplest of skills the Phoenix Sect had, the Lancing Flame.

“If you don’t surrender, I will be happy to teach you this lesson far more physically,” her opponent said with a smug smile.

“You… Fine! Fine, I surrender!”

“Hmph, and you were the best that the sect could present against me? Our faction would demolish you with just a few of our elites even if every single one of you fought against us. How pathetic!”

She seemed to have other words to say, but then a certain noise flooded the air. A rhythmic tone used by the various defensive arrays within the sect grounds to indicate intruders. Given that there was only a single set of intruders to be found, she hardly needed to guess the culprits in this case.

“Get Mu Jiang out of there and don’t send anyone else to meet the woman outside. Watch her actions and report them to me afterwards. I’ll make sure that nothing is stolen from us.”

Her figure disappeared in a flurry of flaming feathers, leaving the alarm sound to blare over the entirety of the sect grounds in the meanwhile.

 

“Shit.”

“Is that an alarm? How did you trigger the fucking alarm?” Bianca asked, no longer bothering to keep her voice down, “And why does it sound more annoying than the college’s smoke alarm?”

“The what now?”

“Smoke alarm. It went off when it detected smoke, and there were quite a few that liked to smoke, so…”

“I see… Sorry. I hadn’t perceived the presence of the alarm array before it was too late to fix it, so I think it’s time to get inside. Do you remember the description of the item? Yes? Then run all around until you find it. Most of the items shouldn’t be trapped, so don’t worry about going through them, though even if they are, it appears that my senses aren’t good enough.”

“Whatever, we’ll figure that out afterwards… are we splitting up?”

“We’ll cover more ground that way!”

Before Bianca could say anything, Xue Yaling was already running off, the large door agape and no guards to be seen… at least so far. It was a little strange how empty everything in the sect was, but so far, it was in their favour, so she didn’t want to complain.

Since the kitsune chose one direction, she chose another, running off and paying only enough attention to her surroundings to confirm that the Weave of the Senses wasn’t in sight. The treasury started out as a set of rooms akin to a museum, with numerous displays that were made of glass and contained an item each, with a label written out somewhere near. Some of the labels were written out on paper and stuck onto the glass, others were carved out in the wooden base of the plinths that the items were placed upon, with plenty in between.

However, none of the things she saw resembled the description of the Weave of the Senses that she had been given. There were some clothes here and there, but nothing was a close enough match for her to stop and investigate. Worse yet, as she ran through and took random turns whenever she stumbled across them, she soon felt as though she had ended up in some entirely different world, for she had no clue how to get back.

All she knew was that, after what felt like a decade, she suddenly stopped once a certain shape appeared in her peripheral vision. She didn’t know how she found it, but there, right there, was a torso made of some kind of stone that bore a black bodysuit with two rings holding it in place on either hand, at the index and middle fingers.

‘That… is it just out there? In front of me? Can I… take it?’ Bianca thought, then immediately slapped her cheek, ‘What are you thinking, of course I can. I have to, or else I will have come all this way for nothing.’

She rushed to it and tried to recount her journey in the meanwhile. She had never been great at constructing a mental map of places, but with how focused she had been on looking for the Weave of the Senses, she barely had any notion of this place. Therefore, she pushed it out of her mind and took a look at the glass cover over the Weave and the mannequin-like torso it was placed on.

There didn’t look to be any obvious way to remove it, so she went for the simplest solution, drawing her sword and coating the blade in her energy.

It was almost certainly not some ordinary glass – whatever passed for ordinary glass in this world – so she’d need to invest a bit of strength into breaking it. Thus, she simply invested the most energy into it that she could, and slashed down, making sure that there was no chance that her strike would accidentally damage the item she sought.

Her weapon struck the glass, nearly bouncing off, but the crackling crimson continued, tearing through it and shattering the entirety of the cubic glass cover.

Fortunately, none of the glass shards fell onto the Weave, so it only took a little bit of fiddling for her to remove it. She could’ve stowed it away and put it on once she had more time, but since she needed to know how to get out of here, having a stronger spiritual perception was nigh mandatory. Thus, she threw off her clothing faster than ever before and slid inside the soft bodysuit, slipping it on as though it was perfectly made for her.

The second that it was completely on her, every part in direct contact with her skin, she felt a jolt of energy, and then her whole body warmed and her mind… opened up, for lack of a better descriptor.

All of a sudden, her spiritual perception flowed out and surrounded her, grasping so much more than she had ever thought possible, and when she asked the Demonic Tyrant to control it, that reach extended even further. The only issue was that the moment it reached out, she could feel someone approaching, forcing her to rush and put her clothes back on so that she didn’t greet them with her pussy and boobs on full display.

The Weave posed no obstacle in this, effectively being no thicker than her skin, so she managed this herculean task just in time to be presentable, and to realise that if it was anyone other than Xue Yaling – which it had to be, as she was sure she’d recognise the kitsune from quite a while away – that they would be her opponent.

And in that moment, her adherence to acting as though she belonged might’ve overwhelmed any sense of reason.