Depthless Hunger

Zae Zin Nim sat in the audience, watching Omilaena and thinking it was almost unfair how fast the other woman had advanced in a month.

Instead of belching out smoke, Omilaena let it waft from her lips, so subtly that it almost seemed to emanate from her soul instead. She moved in smooth pirouettes, her robes trailing through the blue smoke and drawing out tendrils, as if painting the air itself. Even though her opponent was doing her best to defeat her smoke with fan strikes, Omilaena spiraled around her attacks as if they were just part of the dance, spreading her web of poison further.

Eventually the other woman collapsed, gasping for breath as the poison began to overwhelm her. This was actually mild for Omilaena, just enough to cause weariness and light-headedness. As soon as her opponent surrendered, Omilaena ended her dance with a sweeping bow to the audience, which applauded.

All it had taken was a little talk and Omilaena had grasped all the principles of grace and beauty that Zae Zin Nim had tried to explain. She had developed to match the Pureflower sect so much faster... and yet Zae Zin Nim didn't feel any jealousy.

It was hard to feel anything like that, watching her wife so beautifully wreathed in blue smoke. Zae Zin Nim realized that old habits were reasserting themselves, here in competition with so many women. But Omilaena was the one person she wasn't in competition with, at least not truly, not viciously. At most her wife would tease her about not advancing quickly enough with her new palm technique.

As she walked out to congratulate her wife, Zae Zin Nim flexed her hands at her side.

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..

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They lay together in a soft meadow hidden within one of the clefts of Pureflower mountain, surrounded by pale white flowers that glowed from the light reflecting inside. Omilaena stretched languorously, enjoying the feel of both Zin Nim and the flower petals. As usual, the other woman gripped her tighter, trying to use her as a pillow.

Technically they had been supposed to go throughout the mountain, harvesting certain rare flowers required by the sect alchemists. They had finished quickly, then taken the opportunity to spend some time together and now lay entangled, no doubt looking like pure maidens... despite how how hard they'd been fucking. Omilaena smirked and bent down to kiss the other woman's hair.

"We... have to go back..." Zin Nim stirred slightly but showed little sign of actually moving. "They'll suspect..."

"It's not like we're the only ones," Omilaena whispered into her neck. "You get this many women together, it's not like they can all be sexless jade statues."

"But still..." Despite her words, Zin Nim relaxed against her a while longer before they gathered up their robes and headed back.

Even though they returned with more flowers than average, it had also taken them much longer, so they received a few glances. Omilaena restrained her smirk but couldn't resist putting some extra sway in her hips. The women here might not be allured by it - mostly - but they endlessly compared one another, so they would notice.

On their way back, Zin Nim was still hanging on to her arm. They passed Kir Mei Bai in the hallway and her gaze fell on them, then she hesitated.

"Are the two of you together?" she asked quietly.

Zin Nim immediately shrank back as if she expected to be punished, so Omilaena nodded before she could try to lie. "Yes."

"There's no harm in such things, I only needed to know."

"You didn't expect when we arrived together?" Omilaena asked. "The two of us have always detested men, so we needed to find a place free from them."

"That might be easier, in some ways." Kir Mei Bai shook her head with a melancholy expression and floated past them.

Once they were alone again, Zin Nim was staring into the side of her head and rushed them back to the private quarters. As soon as the door was closed, Zin Nim frowned at her.

"You misrepresented us."

Omilaena shrugged. "What does it matter? Talking about 'other people' would only complicate things."

"I suppose." Zin Nim closed her eyes for several heartbeats, then nodded. "That makes sense. I'm just not used to... lying about myself so directly like that."

"It's a lot easier that way. Plus, half of the women here are preparing to eventually marry some man, so they have all kinds of special classes: yin preparation, poetry reading, dual cultivation, skills for waiting on a husband." ṙ�

Though Zin Nim paled, she nodded again with greater determination. "We do not need such things."

Omilaena grinned. "That's one way to put it."

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..

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When Zae Zin Nim thrust out her palm, a hand of blue fire extended from her. It wasn't the first time she had accomplished such a thing, but it was the first time she had tried it in direct combat and she held her breath as it collided with her opponent's technique.

Her blue palm was far smaller than the vibrant green steed, but her qi struck its chest and the magical technique shattered. Only after the qi horse was collapsing into fragments of energy did her palm flicker out. It hadn't reached her opponent, but it had gotten close... Zae Zin Nim raised one palm in front of her chest and focused her qi.

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Before she could strike, her opponent began circling her arms in a much larger technique. Her qi flowed together like a loom weaving in three dimensions, forming an emerald dragon the size of her body. Zae Zin Nim held back her palm, changing her plans, and tried to draw deeper on her mana.

She had struggled to accomplish this in practice with Omilaena, since there were conflicts between qi and mana techniques. The Coldfire Corona was endlessly cooperative, always following her instincts, but it couldn't merge easily with her usual qi patterns. Zae Zin Nim thrust out her palm again and this time the fiery hand was about twice the size of her real life hand.

The dragon opened its maw and unleashed flames: a qi technique possessing a secondary technique was impressive... but it wasn't enough. Her palm swept through the flames, flickering like the Coldfire Corona did when defending her, and then collided with the dragon technique.

Both exploded at once, leaving nothing but scattered qi. Before her opponent could form another, Zae Zin Nim thrust out her hand one last time: the last qi palm hit the young woman in the face and knocked her from her position, officially ending the match.

Others cheered and commented, but Zae Zin Nim paid them no mind - the only reaction in the audience she cared about was Omilaena giving her a slight nod. That had been an improvement, but she thought that she could enhance her new technique even further. She needed to increase the Coldfire Corona's level, for a start, and it would expand as qi and mana worked together more effectively.

"You have skill."

The voice surprised her, and Zae Zin Nim looked up to see her opponent bowing to her. She honestly hadn't been paying attention to the other woman except as an obstacle, but that dragon technique had been impressive... Zae Zin Nim searched her memory and eventually came up with the other woman's name.

Name: Shen Yu Yei

Total Power: 521

Cultivation: Earth Soul 8% (432)

Physique Level: E-0 (80)

Soul Level: 3 (9)

>

Shen Yu Yei was a younger cultivator who was officially one of the Pureflower Fairies, and Zae Zin Nim realized that she had seen her around several times. She was skilled, if not particularly dangerous. Out of respect for her ability, Zae Zin Nim bowed to her.

"So do you. I was impressed by the dragon."

"I reveal the greatest technique of my family and you're impressed?" Shen Yu Yei stared at her a moment, then sniffed and turned away. "Next time you won't win so easily. Mana techniques have too many limitations."

It seemed that this young woman thought of her as a rival, or perhaps just a threat. That was nothing new for Zae Zin Nim, since she had had a target on her back ever since she reached puberty. Still, the return of such dynamics left her unsettled, and she ended up staring at the arena much longer than she intended.

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..

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Their time in the Pureflower sect had rapidly gained them what would have been great wealth for most, but Omilaena had higher standards. Just accumulating ice-aspected qi wasn't enough for her, she needed a breakthrough solution. Though Zin Nim was still focused on breaking the 999 Power barrier, gathering Physique manuals, and getting closer to her goal, they would need to talk about that soon.

The latest reward they had earned was time in the Purity Sauna, a chamber deep within the mountain that was overflowing with hot qi. It allegedly assisted cultivation, strengthened Physique, and helped the skin - though Omilaena was beginning to think that everything the Pureflower sect did claimed to help the skin. All of that was well and good, but more importantly entering the sauna meant changing into wispy robes that didn't conceal much.

Omilaena was perfectly happy with that and considered stealing one for later use. She had a feeling that Zin Nim wouldn't be so comfortable, however... there she was, her arms wrapped around her ribs, her eyes darting, managing to look like a scared mouse despite all her power.

She looked absolutely delicious in her own robe and Omilaena was sorely tempted to take advantage. When Zin Nim saw her, she hurried over and latched onto her side, and somehow Omilaena ended up putting a protective arm around her shoulders. People had trusted Omilaena that much in the past, but it had always been a setup to exploit them... it was strange to realize that Zin Nim's trust was actually justified.

"These outfits are indecent," Zin Nim muttered to her.

"They're traditional," Omilaena said as she guided her to one of the sauna rooms. "Besides, we're all women here."

"That isn't much comfort and you know it." As they passed other cultivators, Zin Nim's eyes flickered to them and her lips twisted. She didn't manage to get anything out before they found their room and sank into seats.

Even though she didn't intend to cultivate there, Omilaena gladly relaxed and let the heat sink into her body. These qi-based treatments were definitely compatible with her power, so why did she resist taking on cultivation directly? She didn't think it was a psychological hangup: there was some fundamental principle she was on the edge of discovering.

There was definitely a difference between power that merely absorbed all three forms of energy, such as Physique, and those that used them more selectively. Some paths were unquestionably mutually exclusive, and some hit dead ends sooner than others, so the trouble was choosing correctly. She enjoyed soaking into the heat, hoping the solution would come to her.

"I guess I've always looked at other women," Zin Nim said abruptly, barely audible. "I just didn't understand what I was feeling. I thought it was... jealousy or admiration. But after meeting you, I... I guess I realized this was possible."

"So what you're saying is that you're lusting after other women?" Omilaena asked, over Zin Nim's squeak. "How terrible! Betrayed by my heartless wife, whose desires can nev-"

"Omi!" Zin Nim shoved her over on the bench. "I was trying to be grateful!"

"I know you were." Omilaena leaned closer and caressed her damp hair. "It's been wonderful seeing you blossom like this and find out who you really are."

Zin Nim's flush had nothing to do with the heat, and her glower faded as she eased closer. It was too hot to have sex, but they melted down into the steam together.

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..

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A long time ago, Zae Zin Nim had only possessed a small number of medicinal pills that rattled around a mostly empty box. Now hers was overflowing with Transcendent Complexion Pills, enough to trade for practically any resource in the sect. She had reached and even surpassed her goal in joining, yet she found herself having doubts.

At night, long after the others had gone to sleep, she found herself staring at one of the pills. The Pureflower sect had potent qi, yes, but it wasn't exactly what she needed anymore. She had acquired several Physique manuals that might help her unravel the secrets of the Blackblood Physique, yet that wasn't her most pressing need.

Eventually she pulled on her outer robe and padded over to Omilaena's room. Her wife was unsurprisingly still awake, her goggles over her eyes as she tried to melt down one of the pills. That was improper alchemy... at least for Cloudspire. Perhaps such things could be done, with Rosemount techniques.

"You need something?" Omilaena asked.

"What are you doing?" Zae Zin Nim came to stand behind her, examining the ruined pill.

"If I swallow the ice pills, they'll try to add an ice element to my body, and I think that will just conflict with everything else. But their raw power should be useful, if I can find the right form. Something that matches instead of clashing." She took off her goggles and propped them on her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"I have enough pills to purchase the Heavenly Maiden Pill, but... I'm not sure it's right for me."

"For one, you're decidedly not a maiden."

"I'm being serious." Zae Zin Nim shoved her, but couldn't find any real anger. "The Heavenly Maiden Pill would break the 999 Power barrier, but it won't do anything more than that. It's more for a cultivator bride than... a cultivator who can stand on her own."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"So you're aiming higher?" Omilaena regarded her thoughtfully. "You've been stuck beneath a thousand for a long time, so there's an argument for breaking it as quickly as possible. You think you can accomplish more? We've gone to a lot of effort to get access to this sect's resources."

"I know, but I think maybe I should pick a different goal. They have many rare and powerful techniques... even some that might be used for dual cultivation."

Omilaena grinned, but visibly restrained herself from making any jokes. "I don't think you can break the barrier that way, but you might be able to set up something interesting. What were you thinking?"

Zae Zin Nim took a deep breath and explained.