A few days passed as Marin spent time mostly on her own, Celestia didn’t think too much of it, as she focused on her own cultivation. Tundra would occasionally drop in, usually at night, to help her with cultivation.

  But it seemed the 5th wife couldn’t hold her curiosity in for long, and eventually approached her while she was sitting in a quiet garden courtyard in one of the many tea houses of the city. Around that time, Tundra was out at the Southern Huan family’s compound for a meeting with some of the other tutors of the Southern Huan family.

  “Oh, Lady Eastheart, it’s a surprise to see you drop in so suddenly.” Marin sat down opposite her as if she owned the place, without asking Celestia for permission. This was her space, and her intrusion was unwelcome. Still, Celestia was far too gentle to tell her off, and merely shrugged it off as an irritating aspect of the woman.

  “You dual cultivated with our husband?” Marin said. Celestia’s mind ground to a halt as she tried to process what she asked. Marin, realizing Celestia wanted her to repeat, repeated her question and Celestia still didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure it was a question, or an accusation.

  Both. It was both.

  It was not different from being accused of cheating, so Celestia picked up her tea, and allowed the question to linger for a little bit longer.

  “Well?” Marin pushed. The way her hand was on the table suggested she was in a little bit of a hurry.

  “Why ask something that you’ve got the answer to?” Celestia sighed. The woman knew she knew. The point wasn’t the question, the point was what came after.

  “It’s a yes or no answer.”

  Celestia nodded, and then sipped her tea. She sometimes wonders why Tundra tolerated people like her. No, not just tolerate, he even took her as a wife. Politics aside, surely he can’t be so oblivious to her character’s challenges.

  Maybe it’s just the difference between men and women in their world?

  Or Marin was just a fantastic actress. Celestia blinked, and realized it was probably the 5th wife’s acting. She was wonderfully proficient at playing the role of the obedient partner, even if every time Marin performed her role, her own heart just boiled within.

  Marin leaned over. “What does it involve?”

  Celestia continued to wonder what Marin was trying to do. Was this an imposter? “Spiritual connection. Tundra checked my meridians for parasites, and since he was already doing that, he also helped spot potential flaws in my cultivation.”

  Marin remembered that time when Tundra also checked her meridians, and yet, with her, Tundra didn’t offer the second part. Still, she was curious. “Did you have to engage in bedroom activities?”

  Celestia thought it was a strange set of questions, but saw no harm in revealing the truth. She’ll find out, one way or another, might as well say it as it is. “Have to? No. But it happens, sometimes. The connection can be quite overwhelming, and we just end up in each other’s arms after that.”

  The fifth wife digested that statement, and was unusually quiet. She picked up a spare porcelain cup from the tray of tea cups and poured herself one. Celestia clicked her tongue in annoyance. The woman didn’t even ask. Again.

  She breathed. It’s not the first time her peaceful contemplation was interrupted by either Marin or Elly. She sat, and instead decided to pour herself another cup and continued admiring the view of the garden.

  As her spiritual roots were of the wood element, she’s very fond of gardens and forests. They resonate with her and deliver a kind of calmness.

  There was a strain of folks who believed that one’s star sign and elements had a profound impact on their personalities and their future success. In a way, it is a watered down form of divination that went through a few rounds of mortal reimagination.

  There is nothing Marin can say that can disturb her own internal peace. As long as her heart is calm, she can still concentrate on her own cultivation while enjoying the calmness of the garden.

  She just has to pretend that the woman isn’t even there.

  “You’re being selfish, Lady Gale.” Celestia blinked at Marin’s accusation. She looked into her eyes and realized Marin really was quite a good actress. The way she said those words as if she believed in it. How none of her supposed turmoils could be seen in her voice, even if Celestia noticed the slight trembling in her fingers.

  Selfish?

  “How so?”

  “If there is a good thing, it is only fair that I, as the fifth wife, share in it.” Marin said.

  That made Celestia choke on her own saliva. That wasn’t what she expected at all. “Oh.”

  ***

  The halls of the branch leader of the Ancient Titan were so grand that Tundra was genuinely impressed.

  Even in the heydays of the Verdant Snow, they never built something so clearly grand yet without ever feeling too gaudy.

  There were multiple statues, made out of the bones of various spiritual beasts. Though they are bones, these powerful spiritual beasts’ bones were more metallic in nature and thus the statues looked as if they were bronze, polished statues of muscular men and women in various cultivation poses.

  Each one was beautifully crafted by hand, likely by a master cultivator who was an expert in such forms. Each one was an insightful representation into the movements of the fist, flesh, feet and muscle.

  When all the statues were taken together, they formed a combination of movements that even Tundra felt as if he gleaned some kind of physical cultivation knowledge from their movements. Truly, it was the work of a master cultivator.

  “Beautiful, aren’t there?” Patriarch Shurrish said with a smile. “These were made by the previous sect master of the Ancient Titans, and carved from fifteen bronze-hearted dragons. It is said that they still retain a bit of the residual spirit, though I can’t confirm whether they still are around.”

  Tundra nodded, and was quite amused how right the rumors were. He did indeed, sense a set of protector spirits embedded within the statues, and reckoned they were about the strength of a ninth-realm spirit beast. Powerful stuff, as he expected of an ancient great sect.

  The Ancient Titans were a body-focused sect, in that their cultivation arts often involved strengthening the body and flesh. In hindsight, it was obvious that such a sect would explore certain bloodline related cultivation abilities, and methods to transfer such bloodline effects to other individuals within their sect.

  It was just how such large sects worked. Tundra had to earn some ‘reputation’ and ‘trust’ by helping the Patriarch of the Southern Huan before the branch leader of the Ancient Titans would be willing to see him.

  “This way, the branch leader will now see you.” The 8th realm Branch leader of the Ancient Titans was very much a muscular, strong man. His skin shone as if they were made of gold, and his eyes were striking. They were almost entirely black, with golden rings within them. He stared at Tundra as if he was a violent beast eyeing his prey, but clearly the man was an intelligent one. “Branch Leader Nord Truehaven, I’ve brought the guest from afar. This is Sect Master Tundra Fox, of the Verdant Snow Sect, He is a rising star in the far side of the Greenstream Region.”

  “Well met, Lord Fox.” Nord Truehaven said, with a small bow. It was respectful, but not overly so. He walked down from his throne, and instead, guided them to a smaller, more cozy meeting area just around the sides of the hall.

  Patriarch Shurrish, knowingly, decided to retreat and allow the two to meet privately.

  Tundra returned the greetings, and started with a small friendly compliment. It’s a good sign if the meeting starts with a transfer to a smaller room. It meant that Nord Truehaven didn’t want to press on their weight as a Great Sect. “It’s a pleasure to meet the famous Lord Nord Truehaven, I heard you wrestled six eighth realm spirit beasts to submission.”

  “Ah, that incident is just part of my duties. It is mostly embellished. So, I heard from Patriarch Shurrish that you’ve been trying to get an audience. What is it that you’d like from us?” Nord Truehaven said, and quickly guided the conversation back on topic.

  That brief interaction was all Tundra needed to pick on Lord Truehaven’s personality, and so, decided to cut the fluff. With certain types of powerful people, it was just easier to be direct, “If I may be direct, I’m here to learn from the Ancient Titans Sect, and hope there is a way I can offer my services in exchange for the Ancient Titan’s bloodline transfusion methods. It is fairly well known now that my children’s talents are fairly lacking, but I hope to shore it up with a decently strong bloodline that could improve their minds, flesh and spirit.”

  “Oh.” Tundra’s bluntness made the branch leader’s eyes move in surprise. “That was a little more direct than I expected this interaction to be.”

  “I dare not waste your time, Branch Leader.” Tundra wisely complimented. A lifetime of dealing with people and peers made him decently competent at dealing with fellow leaders, even if he hated diplomacy and often allowed his elders to handle the finer details. “It’ll be easier for everyone if what I want is on the table. In return, I’m willing to offer some of my services as an alchemy master and healer.”

  Tundra calculated, in his experience as a 10th realm sect master, that what he offered to the Ancient Titans should be a fairly equal trade. Bloodline techniques are powerful and useful below the 8th realm, but once they reach the 9th and 10th realm, the value of such bloodline techniques diminishes.

  But few ever reach such hallowed heights to know that bloodlines cannot carry them all the way to the end.

  And there are exceptions, such as the Progenitor Beasts. Those are a class of their own where all common conceptions broke down.

  “Hmm. Interesting. I had expected a bargain about the coming succession struggle. There are many bloodline methods known to the Ancient Titans, is there one that you wish for?”

  Tundra had no clue, but decided to be blunt about it. “Ah. If there is any that I can use on my 4th realm children that are well into their adult years?”

  “I see. There are two or three, then. Objectively, the value of such techniques to the Ancient Titans isn’t that high, but these are secrets of the Ancient Titans. It is something I will have to discuss with the Titan’s Council. They may ask for a heavy price, and a service in the form of tasks.” Lord Nord Truehaven said, and Tundra got a glimpse of the Ancient Titan’s internal workings.

  Stolen story; please report.

  The regressor nodded. He was on the receiving end of such requests in the past, and had done similar deals. With his own experience, he knew such interactions were inherently lopsided. “I understand. Such is the life of those who seek assistance. I merely ask that you speak on my behalf and petition for a fairer price.”

  Again, Tundra’s casual acceptance of the terms made Lord Nord Truehaven stare at him. As if he expected more resistance to the terms.

  He waited for a few moments for their minds to digest the interaction.

  “As it is, the Golden Fist branch of the Ancient Titans currently lacks an alchemy master of the 7th realm. The Goldrish and Huan families could benefit from a few decent 7th realm pills for their current generation of elders, and for us to trade with the rest of the branch sects, and both these families have prominent members in the Titan’s Council.”

  “Ah.” Tundra immediately understood his first task. He’ll have to make some pills for these two families, and have their patriarch speak on his behalf to the higher council. A small task, all things considered.

  ***

  The alchemical halls of the Golden Fist branch were rarely used, and alchemy elders of the Great Sect were often sent on tasks all over the Ancient Titan’s territories, together with their best healers.

  There is always someone having an unusual affliction, or someone requiring special pills right before a crucial breakthrough.

  So, while the Ancient Titans Great Sect is wealthy, the amount of high quality pills is something that is still largely managed out of their main alchemical halls, and distribution of high tier pills rationed across all the various branches of the Great Sect. Most pills go to the higher realm elders in recognition of their contributions.

  Thus, it was still a little amusing to see the twelve sixth realm elders of both the Southern Huan and Goldrish families visit him for his assistance. According to his purchased information, the two families should have three times more than this, but he concluded this was largely those that were willing to trust him with the task of making pills. He was sure there are hidden ancestors in the eighth realm or higher sequestered away in some safe, controlled place where their lives are extended via artificial means.

  Tundra briefly inspected their cultivation, and got to work.

  The Ancient Titans supplied him with the materials, but now, he had to create pills that helped push these elders along.

  It’ll take two months to get through all of them, and the next Titan’s Council meeting will be in three months.

  ***

  “I’ll be busy, and I will only be able to return once every two weeks.” Tundra explained his schedule over the next two or so months. It was possible he finished faster, but again, there is always a chance of accidents when it involved alchemical processes.

  Celestia and Marin were both fairly surprised when Tundra narrated, and he could tell how Marin didn’t expect him to just directly ask the branch leader to give him what he wanted. In a way, she lacked experience, so she didn’t know such a thing was possible.

  “We should be able to leave in three or four months, but if you find it hard to get something done, you may consider using some of the Ancient Titan’s training grounds or hunting rounds. Patriarch Shurrish and Lady Surizen spoke well of you, Marin, and so while I am busy, the ladies extended an invitation for the two of you to join their annual catch and release event.”

  “Oh. A hunt?” The woman seemed puzzled. Celestia looked at Marin, and back at Tundra.

  “Is it a competition?” Celestia asked.

  “Not at all. It’s a common thing for families to have these hunts and games. Think of a way for families to get to know each other, and they often invite some friends along to play with them.”

  “Oh.” Celestia realized this was probably one of those elite family things. “Do you think we should organize something similar for our family?”

  Marin groaned, and somehow, Tundra looked at his fifth wife, and realized she associated hunts with some rather negative memories. It must’ve been that incident with the Eastheart family back in her hometown.

  Celestia realized it as well, and nodded. “Let’s talk about this some other day.”

  ***

  That same evening, the three sat together to cultivate, but after some time, Marin didn’t leave. Instead, she remained, and declared.

  “I want to witness what happens.” Marin said. Tundra looked at the other wife, and nodded. Celestia seemed resigned to this sequence of events, and he knew the two must have talked about it.

  “Very well. You can sit next to me. I will show it to you.”

  Celestia, as she always had, unbuckled the belt that held her robe together, and exposed her smooth, milky skin. She sat in a state of undress, as Tundra held her close. One of his palms was on her belly, and the other pressed on her heart.

  Marin watched, surprised as she could feel the incredibly overpowering cultivation energies of her husband flowed through Celestia. She watched, and at this distance she could feel it tear into Celestia’s soul. The energy flowed from one hand, and came out the other, but there were branches of that energy.

  It split, and moved through her meridians.

  Celestia turned red, her eyes were closed as she struggled to contain Tundra’s energies within her. Her body trembled as sweat formed all over her body.

  Then it stopped.

  “Good work, Celestia. Did you get a sense of the spiritual structure I tried to make?” Tundra complimented, while Celestia tried to catch her breath. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. Marin saw a wild hunger in Celestia’s eyes, when she turned briefly. As if she was a beast who struggled to contain a creature within.

  There was a wild animal in her soul, and right now she struggled to hold it back. She struggled to talk, and merely nodded.

  “Why- what happened to her?” Marin asked.

  Tundra nodded. “The shapes and structures we form within our soul come in many forms, as is how we compact the nature of our spiritual energies. Each of the five elements form and behave differently when formed into structures within our soul. Water, for example, prefers flowing structures and designs where the water itself isn’t stagnant. Wood prefers to grow upward. Metal prefers to be shaped into different exotic shapes. Fire, prefers to burn and thus must have clear lines of energies carved into the spiritual space.”

  “Earth, like yours, wants to be compacted and condensed. But we cannot accommodate the energy’s natural preferred state all the time, because of what we want to achieve. So, we must shape. Contain them. We are their masters, and we must overpower them. I merely imprint the sensation of how these elemental energies feel when they are shaped within the soul, so that she can see it. Feel it. Fight with it. But it’s dense, compact nature evokes a primordial reaction from us. It is similar to when we couldn’t control our own cultivation.”

  Marin looked at Celestia, who was in a disheveled state. Maybe Marin thought Celestia was struggling to contain such epiphanies. So she could only repeat the terms. “Primordial reaction.”

  But it is normal. When one is cornered by a wild beast, the reaction is similarly primal.

  “Is- is there more?”

  “No. I usually allow Celestia to rest.” Tundra said, but Celestia was still trying to catch her breath. She wasn’t really looking at them, instead, it was as if her mind was concentrated on something within her. Breathing.

  “When did you start doing this?”

  “When she came to me for help.” Tundra said.

  “And you judged I wasn’t ready for it, is that why you never offered it to me?” Marin said. Tundra sensed she was accusing him of being unfair, but decided not to react to it.

  “Yes. You are not.”

  “Am I ready now?”

  “No. My energies will enter your spirit realm, and not only that.” Tundra said frankly. “I do not know whether you have a full grasp of her own personality to be able to contain that sort of primordial presence in your mind. However, I can introduce you to a weakened form, if you truly insist. But it will be harder for you to gain a sense of what I am speaking of.”

  Marin glared at him. “Try me.”

  “I will not do something that is harmful to my wives.”

  “Then at least this weakened form.” Marin disrobed just there and then. “I want to know what I am missing.”

  Tundra knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  ***

  Marin felt his hand on her chest, and on her belly. The last time he touched her this intimately was back in her hometown, in a fit of venting. She used him to deal with her frustration at both the world and herself. She got in position, just as Celestia did before, and then, allowed Tundra to approach her from behind.

  “I will start. You must try not to resist the energies, or you will find that you have less energy to work with later on.”

  Marin could not nod, but she felt her heart pound. She tried to calm herself, and breathed. It didn’t work.

  Just as before, she felt her husband’s tremendous energies surge around him. Now that he sat behind her, it was as if there was a giant that was behind her.

  It was like a flood. A surge of energies immediately burned through her meridians. It was as if her spiritual lines that connected her meridians and her spirit roots were charged with energies.

  “Do not resist.” Tundra repeated, but this time, it was not his voice that got through to her. With his hands on her body, and his energies flowing through her spiritual meridians, it was as if it was a command to her soul, and she froze.

  That energy entered her spiritual realm.

  It was as if she was suddenly forced to dream while awake, and not just that, the dream was one she could not control. Her body no longer obeyed her at that moment. She felt that energy took shape as it transformed.

  Her eyes were not looking at the real world, instead, it was as if her vision was forced into the spirit realm. Forced to look at the silverish little sparks of energy enter her spiritual realm, and it changed before her eyes.

  It changed color.

  From silverish, as if it were little bits of dust, it changed in front of her eyes. It turned larger, and it’s color changed into a brownish shape, with the texture of soil. Yet it wasn’t just brown.

  At that moment, her mind was assaulted by a strong feeling, as if she was the earth itself. As if she was as vast as the hills, the mountains, the continent. She wanted to scream, but her body was not hers. The sensation wanted to pull her apart, to make her more.

  That brownish shape was small, and yet, Tundra lifted it over her spiritual realm, as if it was on top of her. The words and feeling came to her immediately.

  Earth.

  Weight.

  Depth.

  There was no reason why she should struggle under its weight, but yet it did.

  That brownish, earth-like shape had weight! It was as if the world itself sought to crush her. Yet, she also felt her husband’s presence, intertwined with hers in a way she didn’t know how to explain. It was warm. Cozy.

  It was as if he was there within her, helping her hold up that weight. Slowly, though, it felt as if he was letting go.

  She felt that weight in her spirit. It was getting heavier.

  Heavy.

  She paled, and trembled. How was she going to hold up this thing?

  It was so heavy!

  It felt as if her soul was going to crack. It felt as if her skin was about to burst. It felt as if it was going to crush her, and she was immediately filled with a morbid realization that she was staring at death.

  Heavy!

  She can’t! She can’t hold it anymore!

  It vanished. Tundra stopped.

  “Did you feel it?” Her body still felt as if it was pulled apart. Her body felt alien. As if she had to relearn what her body was. She wanted to turn to look at him and answer, but her mind was as if it was disconnected. She couldn’t. “You must know the energy’s nature, to be able to condense it into a much smaller shape. To bend energy to your will, you must know that energy’s nature, and master it. Overcome it. If the first to the fourth realm is piling sand and gathering stones, the fifth to the eighth is about turning sand and stones into hard walls and structures.”

  Marin didn’t pay attention. The sensation was too much for her. The weight was still a phantom in her heart and soul. It was getting lighter.

  Tundra waited.

  It took perhaps fifteen breaths, before Marin felt her own soul regaining control over her body. Once she did, she tried to get up with what little energy she had left, and gripped him tightly. Her eyes were furious. “What was that! Were you trying to kill me?”

  “No. I wasn’t. That was the sensation of the Earth Energy’s weight. How it feels to condense and form earth in one’s spiritual realm. It is to embody the vastness of earth in spirit.”

  “I felt like I was being torn apart!” She grabbed him, but just as suddenly her body lost strength. As that sensation faded, it receded like the ocean waves from her body. It pulled strength out of her veins, and she collapsed.

  Now, on the bed, all she could do was catch her breath. Earth. It wasn’t even the full thing.

  “You are not ready, Marin. You’ve not seen what it means to condense and create strong structures in your spirit. What I created for you temporarily is a structure of Earth in the seventh realm. Something to help you feel the density, weight and compactness of earth energy structures, but I believe you couldn’t see it. Rest. Perhaps if you are still keen two weeks later, I can let you try it again.”

  “Madness.” Marin cursed. It wasn’t the kind of dual cultivation she envisioned. Those stories of lustful exchanges between men and women didn’t truly grasp what this was. No. This wasn’t dual cultivation at all.