"Halt! Identify yourselves!" A stern looking soldier shouted stopping Wind and Lan as they approached the city gates of Kenco city, the capital of Ember state.
"I'm Dr. Genji of Diamond clan from Stones city." Wind said producing his external elder badge which had the insignia of Diamond clan on it.
The soldier took a keen glance at the badge and nodded. Stones city and its three clans had quite some fame in the rest of the Ji Empire so the guard was aware of them.
"What is your purpose of coming here?" The soldier asked.
"My clan has sent me to buy some Empyrean Techniques from the Empyrean Library." Wind said shortly. "This is my student Diamond Lan." He introduced Lan.
The soldier nodded, satisfied by their explanation and let them enter the city.
"Hmm… the city sure is on tight security." Wind said glancing around. At every corner soldiers could be seen. They seem to be investigating shops and households.
"Could some crime have been committed in the city?" Lan asked.
"Possibly." Wind replied. "But the soldiers are too many. Must be some great crime. We'll ask the locals. Firstly let's find an inn."
Wind and Lan slowly moved around the city and eventually found a good inn. Wind intended to stay in Kenco city for at least a month to cultivate in peace. He rented a spacious room with two beds and some furniture. Everything else was moved away on his request. He was here to cultivate, not to indulge in luxury.
Wind wanted to start cultivating but it was crucial to get the information on soldiers' presence and he couldn't count on Lan for it as she was too inexperienced, having being in her mother's embrace throughout her life. He took her along so she could watch and learn.
Bribing the bartenders, cunningly-talking to locals over drinks to get more information and simply blending in the culture… Lan was surprised to notice and learn many things as Wind did them in her presence.
Soon they had a firm understanding of the situation. Turns out, it wasn't a crime, but the rumor of the state's minister harboring rebels! Emperor Jiao naturally sent his army over. In normal circumstances, the minister would be arrested immediately along with his immediate relatives and underlings but Ember state was an exception because of how powerful its minister Kai Long was. So the army could only take him to the Emperor while their main forces stayed to investigate for any proof, witnesses or even the rebels themselves.
Wind shook his head at this situation though. Whether or not minister Long was harboring rebels in his state or was in cahoots with them; his matter was sealed the moment Emperor set his eyes on him. Whether this was a conspiracy instigated by a third party or the Emperor himself, probably due to the threat that Minister Long possessed due to his prowess; the result would be the same…his death.
Thinking back, Wind recalled Minister Long. He was an elderly man in his sixties. He wasn't loyal to even the previous Emperor. Perhaps that's the reason why he wasn't executed along with the other loyalists. But Wind/Lu's father Mizu was a kind person who didn't believe in ruling with a sword while Jiao was the complete opposite. He was a cruel man who had committed countless atrocities even when he was serving Emperor Mizu. It was the Emperor's mistake to give Jiao multiple second chances which only gave off a weak front to his army and let Jiao take advantage. If the rumors were true, Wind could try to get minister Long to join him in the plans against Jiao. & even if it wouldn't succeed, the rebels were legit. Wind could still make allegiance with them against the crown. But if the rumors were false, Wind only would be wasting his time. Regardless, he chose to observe from the sidelines for the time being while cultivating.
He needed a spear, a weapon+cultivation technique for Lan and time…to cultivate. Cultivation decided everything in the world of cultivators. Wind couldn't slack off even a bit because…Jiao was at the Emperor realm of cultivation! Wind was way too low. Even if he got a huge army to oppose Jiao, in the end he would still need someone at Emperor level cultivation. And the only people with such potential were Xiao and Lan. But Xiao already hated Wind, that left Lan.
Wind glanced at Lan sideways. This girl had a unique constitution which would make her a splendid cultivator. She had the potential to reach Emperor realm. & she was loyal to Wind so he could totally be confident in controlling her in his own designs. Thinking thus far, Wind decided that he'll pay full attention to Lan's cultivation.
"We're here." He said as they had just reached the Empyrean library, where they could buy cultivation techniques.
The Empyrean Library was a 4 storey tower-like building. Each floor contained one section dedicated to specific class. The ground level was for attending the visitors and also had enclosed reading cabinets.
Wind and Lan entered the library and Wind produced his Diamond Clan badge.
"We'd like to browse through cultivation and combat techniques for purchase." Wind said to the receptionist behind a big desk. This person was a woman in her sixties. She was thin and tall with her white hair tied in a big bun on her head. She had sharp eyes and thin lips. She scrutinized Wind from top to bottom as her eyes flickered twice with green light before returning to normal black color. She was about to ring a bell to summon an attendant when Wind raised his palm towards her to stop her.
"It wouldn't be necessary. I'm familiar with the Empyrean Libraries." Wind said with a smile.
"Humph!" The receptionist snorted and then ignored him, silently giving him the permission to go ahead. An attendant was basically an additional person whose role was to fool customer into buying costly techniques. Since Wind refused for attendant service, the receptionist could not go on with it.
Wind and Lan walked up the round staircase reaching the 1st floor which contained manuals and books on cultivation techniques. Wind had the Iron-Rhino technique (Cultivation+defense), but he didn't think it suited Lan entirely. He'd like to search for something very suitable for her. Wind himself practiced the Perfect Body technique so he didn't need any other cultivation techniques as his was already the best in the world.
Wind and Lan noticed two level 10 Novice cultivation guards. Their eyes were almost closed but green light leaked out of their eyelids as they were all sharing their vision together. This was the same technique that the receptionist was using earlier. It allowed every guard in the library to see through each other's eyes making it impossible for anyone to copy or steal any scroll or book.
Lan was naturally curious about those flickering eyes and peeked at the guards many times. Noticing this Wind chuckled at once.
"That is an observational skill but not for sale despite its ordinary level." Wind told Lan in a hushed voice.
"Oh, why so?" Lan asked.
"Because it is too useful." Wind answered. "Only the Emperor's forces may use it for vigilance, security. If this technique was to spread out, it would prove to be a headache to the empire. Imagine a force sharing their sights using this technique. Spying and sharing information would become so easy!"
"I see." Lan lowered her head sadly.
"It's alright. We'll find some good techniques for you." Wind said with a reassuring smile. However in his mind he already was thinking of ways to obtain this particular skill. Its name was 'Myriad Hawks'. As the name suggests, myriad number of people could use it simultaneously. The hawk term however was a stretch. But the technique was incredulously helpful due to the previously suggested reasons. If Wind could acquire this technique, it'd be greatly helpful in his revolution against Emperor Jiao. Wind made a note in his mind to somehow obtain the technique. It's just that he lacked the ability to forcefully or sneakily steal it right now.
There were several racks left and right everywhere around Wind and Lan. They looked around glancing at the names and synopses of the books and scrolls written on a slip pasted above them on the wooden rack. They quickly approached the elemental based techniques. Those were only a few and had high cost. Wind found two Earth element techniques in there.
"Stone Sculpting (Cultivation, Defense, attack). It allows one to manipulate stones and easily cut through them in any shape to create structures at rapid speed. It is also useful in some strategy techniques." Wind read the description. "What do you think, Lan?" He asked looking at her.
"I…don't know." Lan blinked staring at the book in front of her. "Master knows about the techniques better." She humbly said, making Wind smile.
"Well, this is good but there are loopholes in it. With a powerful attack technique, Stone Sculpting can easily be broken through. It has military usage but doesn't guarantees strong assault. It's not worth it." Wind said and glanced at the other book.
"Earth Energy Technique (Cultivation): Absorbing the Earth's energy to cultivate." Wind read the description. There was only this much written on it, but this much already contained great insight. Earth has its own chi and in large amounts too! However, being able to draw out its energy is rather difficult. Anyone could absorb some of its energy but that would barely be like a drop of water in camel's mouth. Hence only the people possessing the Earth element traits or elemental stones could practice this technique. For Lan it would be perfect! She had a natural Earth element constitution.
Wind smiled and nodded at Lan, telling her silently of his choice. Lan nodded back. Then they walked towards the second floor. Empyrean Library didn't allow one to take out the books directly. One had to make mental note and later tell the book titles to the receptionist who would have an attendant or servant fetch the book's copy to give to the customer upon successful payment.
The 2nd floor was the same as the first. It contained combat techniques manuals. They spent a lot of time there looking through almost all the books' description. There were many that enticed Wind and Lan. Some of these techniques were weapon based, some required hand-to-hand combat. Wind remembered that Perfect Body technique was of the latter class. Using this technique, with just a single punch, one could shatter a mountain! However Wind was far from reaching that level. Hence he decided to buy a hand-to-hand combat technique for the shorter term. Not always would one have a weapon on hands. This situation arose earlier during his fight in the Diamond Clan fortress.
Wind Found a suitable technique: Clown Combat Technique (Attack)- It allows one to fight at close range, using swift moves to dodge the opponent's attacks, one can even deliver dangerous blows at opportune moments.
Later they moved to weapon based techniques section where Wind let Lan look around. She had never held a weapon so Wind wasn't certain which technique she'd like to practice. Lan read through various techniques which used swords, lances, daggers, maces, shields & spears, bows and crossbows, halberds, darts, chains, axes etc. At once she was overwhelmed with all the description of the techniques.
Even after spending more than half an hour, Lan couldn't decide upon a technique. Wind didn't mind this. He smiled instead and wrapped his arm around Lan's shoulder.
"I think it is better to visit a weapons store first." Wind said to Lan. "Every person is naturally inclined towards certain weapons. Once you see all the weapons, you'll find one that you like and then it'll be easier to find a suitable technique for you."
"Ok, Master." Lan said nodding with a slight blush.
Next up they moved to the 3rd floor which contained support techniques manuals & books. There were many techniques there. Some were about rapid movements, enhanced senses and some about communication and observation. There Wind found an interesting technique.
"Earthworm Technique (Support): It allows user to dig into Earth at rapid speed and mould the earth/soil in any form. It has versatile usage and can be used for attack and defense in some sense too." Wind read the description and mused for a full minute making Lan curious. The technique was basically very weak. The attack and defense was useless unless large amount of soil was used which would require lots of energy expenditure. Plus they would still be weaker than the stone sculpting techniques. However the ability to dig into earth rapidly was very handy! It would ensure a person's survival! One could always run away by using this technique. Wind smiled a little as he stroked his chin. "Let's buy this technique too, Lan." He said. "It will be useful to you."
"Ok Master." Lan said nodding. "I will cultivate it diligently." She said having full faith in Wind's choice.
Wind already had the Thousand Li Sight technique as a support one, which he was yet to learn. So he didn't bother looking for another support category technique. However he did find some medical techniques which he found interesting. It could be helpful in case of grave injuries or sickness. In the past, Wind had reeled Wu Shang in. He was an Empyrean level dark doctor. Wind was still carrying the numerous medicines Wu Shang had concocted for him. Those had been very useful. Unfortunately Wu Shang had to run around in search of the ingredients for Ever-Youth pill. Otherwise Wind could have simply fooled him into imparting all his knowledge unto Wind.
Shaking his head, Wind casually picked up a medical book titled- "Yun Acupressure Technique: Stimulating the various acupressure points in human body to heal several diseases to some extent and provide first-aid and temporary boost to the body." Wind read the description and nodded. He was aware of all the energy nodes and pressure points which were used to manipulate energy flow for better intercourse and dual cultivation. Yun Acupressure could provide him some aid in other areas too.
Next up was the 4th floor which contained unique techniques that were either of ancient origin or dedicated to other rare techniques. Wind however hesitated from going there, because there was one Master level guardian at the top floor of each Empyrean Library. Wind didn't want to be noticed by a Master level cultivator for the sake of his own peace, because him being at Master Level realm at such a young age would generate unwanted curiosity. If he lied about using youth retention pills for his young appearance and the Empyrean guardian turned out to have unique skills that could see through lies or physical state of someone, then it'd breed trouble for Wind.
"Well, it's not like I have immense wealth anyway. Those Unique techniques will cost a fortune. I have my hands full of techniques at the moment so I have no need to rush into danger to hoard more techniques." Thinking so, Wind retreated and later paid for the techniques. He had bought 4 techniques (Earth Energy, Clown Combat, Earthworm, Yun Acupressure) for a total of 400,000 gold coins! Yes, that was an insane amount of cost price. But Empyrean techniques were costly for a reason. They were chosen techniques approved by the Emperors over the generations. They were all premium techniques that nobles primarily practiced.
Now of the original 610,000 gold coins, Wind was left with only 250,000. He sighed. Unfortunately the Empyrean Libraries had a fixed price policy. They couldn't be bargained with, so Wind had to buy the techniques at the listed cost price.
Next up they walked around the Kenco city and Lan was very amused to see many different shops and stalls. They even stopped by a stall to grab some quick bite. The local spicy cuisine were enjoyed by both of them before they resumed their exploration and spotted a weaponry shop. The shop owner was a bulky man with a balding head and a thick beard. He seemed rather uneasy at once, given how many times the Empyrean soldiers had interrogated him, as all rebels would want weapons and his was one of the best weaponry shops in the city. Wind had to produce his Diamond clan badge again to assure the owner that he wasn't investigating him or was a rebel.
Afterwards he quickly found a weapon of his liking.
"That's Golden Spear." The owner introduced. "Forged in a yang furnace with pure gold essence!"
Wind was rather skeptical about it but he decided to try it anyway. Injecting his energy into the golden spear, he could feel its composition to some extent. As the owner said, it indeed contained gold essence and thick yang energy residues, declaring it to have been forged in yang furnace which in turn was a high grade furnace used by Empyrean forgers and alchemists.
"You forged it, Mister?" Wind enquired.
"Uh, no. My friend in the Empire capital did." The owner replied. Wind nodded, not enquiring further. The golden spear was a genuine high grade weapon.
Meanwhile Lan had been going around the shop on her own, somewhat entranced by the sight of so many weapons on the walls. Lan eventually stopped before a crossbow. It was made of wood and black composite metal. It was a dull looking weapon with no luster about it. The same was the case for the small arrows. But Lan simply couldn't walk away from it. It appealed to her mysteriously!
"Looks like you've found your weapon." Wind said smiling. Lan was jolted to awareness and turned to face Wind shyly before nodding.
"How much for these two weapons?" Wind enquired.
"That would be 100,000 gold coins." The owner said.
Wind walked out of the weaponry shop with the two weapons bought from only 70,000 gold coins!
Lan seemed to be in a daze again having witnessed Wind's spectacular haggling. Then again, it wasn't that Wind had a talent or experience in haggling, but that he had a keen eye. He was prince of the Empire in his past life. He had eyes for the quality of the things. He was able to easily downgrade the weapons' quality in front of the shop owner and got himself as much concession as possible.
They then moved back to the inn where they rested and studied for the rest of the day. Lan now possessed the Earth Energy & Earthworm techniques. She had much to learn. Wind suggested her to learn both techniques side by side so that she could both harness the earth's energy and practice the Earthworm technique with it. Wind on the other hand studied the Yun Acupressure Technique simply because it was the easiest. Even an ordinary person could use it to some degree.
The day turned into the night and the night turned into the day. Wind and Lan diligently studied. They both had good catching speed and hence were able to perfectly remember everything they read. Later on Wind experimented on his own body using the Yun Acupressure Technique and the results were astonishingly visible. Wind was very satisfied with it. Meanwhile Lan laid butt naked on the floor, trying to absorb the Earth energy. She had to follow a certain breathing pattern and keep maximum contact with the ground in the beginning to be able to sense, absorb and store earth's energy. Since she had a unique constitution, she experienced no trouble in this part. Wind at the same time was enjoying how Lan's naked body moved as she breathed. Her tight twin peaks rose and fell as she inhaled and exhaled. This made Wind want to make a move on her but he decided against it. Cultivation was top priority! Wind was perverted but not a lecher. He had plenty self control in him.
Without much further ado, Wind dabbled into the Clown Combat Technique.
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Meanwhile far away there were three people grunting loudly in a house. Xiao was getting drilled by Bao in her wet vagina while Heng was greedily drinking her milk, squeezing both big dense breasts. Xiao's milk was the sweetest drink Heng had ever tasted. It was full of yin chi. It wasn't exactly yin milk though. That one could only be generated during 10 ians of full moon technique. Meanwhile Bao was sweating profusely as he lied sideways behind Xiao, moving his lower body continuously to fuck Xiao. Not far from them there was a two years old boy, seemingly asleep on a heap of Yang and yin pills! These pills were all purchased by the gold that Plant King had given to Xiao. All the storage of pills in the spatial ring had already been consumed by her, the baby and the attendants. The current heap of pills was bought from the gold. Heng and Bao bought it in bulk from black market to not arouse any suspicion. The baby Qiang was a unique kid. In just two days, he had grown up to 2 years of age. He had fallen into slumber shortly after birth and had been consuming energy from around him continuously. Xiao couldn't generate enough energy for him due to her lowest possible cultivation level. Hence she simply raised this heap of pills for Qiang so he could continue to absorb energy and grow.
Meanwhile, Xiao's body was still as sensitive and fertile as before. Her sexual needs were still on high and the two attendants were diligently serving her. They barely had any rest. Xiao made them fuck her in turns when they needed a break. While the rest of the times they had to do a threesome. There was already another bulge on Xiao's belly. She was apparently pregnant again! As Xiao had checked her womb using her energy, she had discovered that this time there were two fetuses inside! She was having twins!
Needless to say, this time the father of the children was either Heng or Bao. Regardless, the pleasure that her body gave her was too good so Xiao didn't mind having sex continuously.
"Ugh! I wanna cum!" Bao exclaimed as he humped faster and faster. "Please let me cum again, mistress." He requested and Xiao loosened her Succubus Grip on him, allowing him to have an orgasm and Bao ejaculated his thick semen inside Xiao which her vagina quickly absorbed.
"My turn." Heng said and adjusted his penis inside her and started moving his lower body to fuck her while sucking on her nipples. Meanwhile Bao crept out of the house, to take a break.
Once outside, Bao cursed inwardly.
"Fucking nymphomaniac!" He shouted in his mind. "This is too much. I can't go on like this. I've visibly thinned! She's draining us like a succubus. I have to figure something out."
It had been half an hour. Xiao let Heng cum inside her at last and she moaned in the pleasure. Heng's body twitched. The yin in his body had increased by many folds while his yang was depleted. This was wrecking his body from the inside. He looked sickly, added on to his already old appearance.
Suddenly a group of men broke into the house.
"Pay up Heng! You owe us 50,000 gold coins!" The leader of these men spoke before freezing in their spot. Their jaws dropped as they saw the most beautiful woman they had ever laid their eyes on. But she had a big belly and her breasts were leaking out milk continuously. Her legs were spread open profanely as she looked at these men with lust instead of alarm.
"Holy shit!"
"Damn, what an obscene erotic woman!"
"Look at those milky breasts! She's pregnant too!"
"Heng you bastard, you were having fun with such an erotic woman? How much did you pay for her? Why didn't you pay back the money you borrowed from us instead?"
One by one all these men spoke and shouted. Heng on the other hand was astonished at once before realizing what was going on. All these men were from a local gang. They were cultivators who often robbed and traded slaves. Heng and Bao had had several transactions with them in the past. They owed no money to this gang though. There could only be one reason behind their blatant lies.
"Please give us some time. We'll return your money soon." Bao entered the house and pleaded the gang. Heng got the gist and followed through.
"Yes. We have nothing to offer you for now but we'll get the money to repay you within a week." Heng said.
"Bullshit! You'll pay us right now!" The leader shouted. He was good at acting. He then stared at the naked pregnant Xiao with lust. "Hmm level 1 Basic cultivation, with overflowing yin chi due to pregnancy. A perfect woman to have sex with! We'll take this whore."
"She is no whore. She's our mistress. Please restrain yourselves." Bao said.
"Humph! Mere commoners dare get in our way?" The leader shouted. "Stay away if you value your lives. Men! Grab this woman!"
Following his orders, the gang grabbed Xiao like hungry wolves. They spread her legs wider and held her down. Surprisingly, Xiao didn't struggle. She needed yang chi and in front of her were several men at Novice cultivation realm full of yang chi. Why would she struggle?
The gang leader unleashed his erect weapon and jumped into the battlefield of love-making. All the other men did the same and soon the house was full of erotic screams and moans as they fucked Xiao roughly, exactly how she wished them to. Her breasts were sprinkling out milk while her vagina was squirting out yin fluids as all gangsters took turns in raping her.
Heng and Bao meanwhile walked out of the house and celebrated their freedom by eating lots of food and sleeping off their fatigue. The night fell and morning appeared. It was already too late for the gang to realize that they had fallen into a honey trap. Xiao had been using Succubus Grip technique on all of them, draining their yang speedily with each ejaculation and later kept them erect, rendering them unable to climax. Meanwhile her cultivation rose once again!
Now Xiao was at Level 2 Novice realm.
"S…something isn't right!" The gang leader uttered before his mouth got blocked by Xiao's kiss. Increasing his hormonal flow, Xiao was able to make the leader cast any other thoughts aside except for love-making. He kissed Xiao deeply and continued to thrust inside her. Continuous yang chi, overflowing yin chi, plus intense sensitivity made Xiao feel like she was in heaven and immersed herself in dual cultivation without a care.
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Meanwhile in an unknown forest a nun dressed in tight fitting black cloak was sprinting through the woods. The thorny bushes got stuck in her cloak and pulled as the woman kept running, resulting in the cloth getting ripped from several places. Her headdress fell off, revealing lustrous silky black hairs. Coupled with her blue eyes and lovely fair skin, bountiful assets; she was a pure beauty & definitely a damsel in distress.
Suddenly she tripped on a stone and fell down hard.
"Ugh!" The nun winced getting up and revolving her yin chi furiously through her meridians. There was fear all over her face. It was making her clumsy too. She started running again but it was already over for her. Whatever she had been running from was already behind her. Fearfully she turned around. Her eyes were wide open as her beautiful body quivered.
A loud growl echoed in the forest. Several trees fell and soon a beast emerged from the woods, staring at the nun with its multiple eyes. The beast resembled a tall horse but with a lizard's head with multiple eyes and it that had a long red horn on its forehead, leaking of venom.
"No! This can't be! I'm a follower of God Chaos. I can't die at the hands of a beast!" The nun screamed in frenzy. She let out all of her yin chi and activated her trump card skill.
"Chaos beam!" She shouted aiming her palm at the lizard and a wave of vibrations leapt out at the speed of sound!
Boom! An explosion occurred and the beast was pushed a few steps backwards. It shook its head and stared at the nun angrily before growling and charging towards her with its venomous horn pointed at her.
"No…!" The nun's scream echoed in the forest. Death was right in front of her before but suddenly the beast fell head first into the ground. Its horn got stabbed into the soil and caused a long line to be formed as its body kept sliding forward due to the momentum. Its tall body stopped a few steps away from the nun who was shivering in fear.
Plop! She fell to her knees with quivering lips as she blinked, trying to process what just happened. Soon a man walked out into the clearing. He was a young man in his thirties. He had brown messy hairs and fair skin with a well built physique.
"Are you alright, miss?" The man asked. "I heard your screams and ran over. Then spotting this beast I used a dart to knock it out." The man said waving his dart thrower pipe as he walked up to the nun and held out his hand.
The nun took his head and dazedly got up. Never had she found a man so dashing before. Her heart fluttered.
"I…I'm alright." She said taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I'm Eun." She introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you Eun. I'm Wu Shang." The man said with a smile.
Wu Shang had been out on the search for ingredients of Ever-youth pill on Xiao's command. His quest had taken him afar. He had several adventures on the way too. Currently he was roaming in this forest looking for ingredients when he heard the commotion caused by Eun and the beast and hurried over, finding and rescuing the damsel in distress.
"Nice to meet you too Mister Wu Shang. Thank you for saving me. W-would you like to come with me to our chaos hall? Many of my sister nuns are in this forest fighting the beasts. I need to report to our elder sister in the hall." Eun said.
Wu Shang raised his eyebrows. He had never heard of warrior nuns, chaos hall and such. He was intrigued.
"Sure." Wu Shang replied and soon he and Eun disappeared in the woods.