Chapter 435 Mistakes of Past
Chapter 435 Mistakes of Past
"Zhiqiu... where did you learn the first gate of the Path of Origin Pleasure?"
He asked her and a genuine surprise appeared in her eyes.
"From the Three Paths of Pleasure? We only have ancient records of the latter two paths and only a small part of the first path, the Path of Mortal Pleasure which is in my private collection..."
He looked at her with slight puzzlement, as when he took her first time, he definitely felt an aura of the 3rd Path of Pleasure, slightly indistinct and vague, but unmistakable to him as the technique's creator.
But there was no lie in her gaze or words, only sincerity, and devotion.
"Then... do you mind telling me why you have such an abnormally high tolerance to pleasure?"
He then decided to carefully probe from a different angle as he felt that the mysteries around the Palace Master were somehow tied together, he was just not able to grasp what it was exactly.
He had to open up the 2nd gate of the Path of Profound Pleasure, the second of the Seven Paths of Pleasure which even Ye Ling could not handle at the moment. Because he could tell from the very beginning that Lian Zhiqiu was almost numb to any stimulation on the level of the Path of Mortal Pleasure.
He could see a knot in her cultivation, that stopped her from advancing further than the very peak of the Core Reformation Realm. Despite her incredible talent, both in cultivation as well as her talent as a Formation Master, she was still unable to progress to the Mortal Transcendence Realm.
As she heard the question, a bit of nervousness appeared in her gaze but she swallowed down that feeling and nodded.
"I... I have an unusual method of cultivation..."
"That I can see. You are a Dual Cultivator who has never been with a man, and yet does not suffer consequences of using a Dual Cultivation technique without a partner or even alternative source of Yang Qi, moreover you are a Symbol Cultivator at the same time, both of them not as an auxiliary technique. I have never seen anything like that but in your case those two are somehow fused"
He nodded, surprising her yet again as she almost gasped.
"How did you... no, it does not matter... I have cultivated using a formation I created since I could not find any other way...
When I was young... I stumbled upon something... and I saw something very unique in it... I, I tried to peer into its secrets and..."
She sighed, finding it a little hard to explain.
He gently put his hand on her cheek, causing her to move her gaze back to him.
"Can you show me?"
Her eyes shook for a moment, and then she nodded, touching her spatial ring, and an ancient-looking, slightly tattered scroll appeared in her hand.
The moment Wu Long saw the scroll, his heart froze for a moment, and then a realization started appearing in his eyes while Lian Zhiqiu sat up on the bed, opening up the scroll.
There was a water ink painting of mountains valleys and waterfalls drawn with a skilled hand, and a poem written on the side.
---
The cave shapes wind into a sweet melody
While the mountains of the valley dance
And the whole of earth shudders
As the Dragon stirs a raging river while entering the Gates of Heaven
---
It did not look like much from the first glance, but Wu Long instantly recognized his own handwriting and the movements of his brush.
"Zhiqiu..."
He softly said feeling guilt wash over him as he beckoned her into his embrace, wrapping his hands around her as the scroll was carelessly thrown to the side.
"Eh? W-Wu Long... the scroll..."
"Haa~ don't worry about something like that"
He shook his head as she sensed his mood change and obediently settled in his arms, melting into his embrace.
"That scroll... is something I made..."
Wu Long then softly said as her eyes widened, but she did not interrupt as he started slowly speaking about his identity, and past life.
"...At one point in time, when I was still relatively younger and stupid, at the time that I had only finished creating the Path of Profound Pleasure, I had encountered a group of scholars I got temporarily close to since I studied the Dao at the time"
As he explained to her up to the point he appeared in her sect so she could understand the context of what he was about to say, he then started recounting one particular episode from his path to immortality.
"...As we drank wine one night, I watched one of them paint with ink and talk about the way his painting encompassed his Dao much like an Expert Swordsman's calligraphy could project their Sword Intent, I got curious if I could do something like that with the Path of Pleasure... no, in truth it probably was that youthful bravado, to not let someone outdo me, and the desire to impress, to be admired...
In the end I made ten paintings, five failures, three imbued with the projection of pleasure from the Path of Mortal Pleasure, one from the Path of Profound Pleasure, and one... imbued with my ambition, it was this one"
He shook his head as he looked at the scroll laying on the bed not far from them. The scroll did not contain the projection of the Path of Origin Pleasure, but only his ambition toward it and the initial thoughts Wu Long had at the time.
"I did not realize at the time the possible consequences, I was far too immature, impulsive and inexperienced, drowning in my own pride and ambition...
I even forgot about the scrolls since they were not something I needed, leaving them with those scholars..."
He shook his head with a sigh, never having expected an error of his past catching up to him so far across time and even lifetimes.
"I am sorry, Zhiqiu... what you saw..."
He turned to her with a tender gaze as her eyes peered into his with a storm of emotions in them.
When Lian Zhiqiu, a starting out genius Formation Master and outstanding pure Symbol Cultivator, peered into the secrets of the scroll using a formation she herself created, the metaphorical pleasure hidden within pierced her mind, permanently damaging her psyche.
He could imagine that she has ever since been ravaged by lust so strong it was extremely painful, yet unable to seek help. That experience also opened up her perception, and she could see that none of the men had any chance of giving her that what she craved.
Her pure Symbol Cultivation was also now inexplicably but permanently fused with Dual Cultivation so she could not even progress her realm like a normal Symbol Cultivator would.
What she did was purely genius, as she created a formation that channeled her Yin Qi into the scroll where it was enriched by the scroll's created artificial Yang Qi, allowing her to cultivate, and at least slightly, only partially alleviate some of the lust.
The problem was that the scroll was not some heavenly artifact, and required outside energy to properly function as the medium through which she cultivated. So she resorted to having other people cultivate in another formation she devised, charging up the scroll so she could use it.
Thus began her days as the seductress, helping girls seduce their dream lovers, in exchange for them cultivating in specified places that she had installed formation into in advance. As her efficiency fell with rising realms she stalked Liang Yuhan into teaching her the ways to seduce men, taking her title of the Great Seductress and now targeting higher cultivation people to play matchmaker to.
Eventually, she reached Foundation Building Realm, a realm one could establish their own sect in, and founded the Yin Yang Unity Palace, as the whole grand formation was used by her to cultivate. There was also a more complex, far more powerful and ingenious formation in the Peak of Unity, one even Wu Long was in awe of considering the limits of this world.
Her memories, the pain and hardship she went through flashed before her eyes that then eased into a sincere gaze, reflecting his face.
"Mm, it is alright. The past me might have blamed you, but now... I am just happy to have met you...
You are the man who made me a woman, my love, my guiding star and my closest soul. There is no parting from you for me anymore, as I am yours, completely and with no leftover, with no way back.
Just... promise me to take responsibility..."
She nodded, her cheeks slightly reddening.
"I will, I promise"
He smiled back, vowing to from now on give her as much pleasure and even more warmth and love as he gave her pain with that scroll, their lips meeting in an emotional kiss.
"And thank you for sharing your story... it may take a little while to process though"
She slightly chuckled as the revelation was slightly too shocking to completely comprehend and sink in within such a short time as he nodded with a light laugh as well, holding her tighter in his arms.