Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 1090: The Soul and the Hidden Manuals

As their lips finally met under the warm glow of the lanterns, the initial contact started as a hesitant and gentle touch. Li Yu expected a slow and quiet embrace but Lian quickly shifted the dynamic of the moment after just a little bit. She utilized the lessons she had received from the high end courtesans she hired and combined them with the theoretical knowledge she studied from manuals similar to Elder Jin’s. She tilted her head and wrapped her arms softly around his neck while taking the lead.Her tongue parted his lips and began twisting and turning in a highly practiced rhythm that sent a jolt of electricity racing down his spine. The sensation brought a very pleasant surprise to Li Yu as a deep heat spread through his chest. He tried his best to keep up with her fluid movements but he quickly realized he was severely outmatched on this specific battlefield. He was a warrior who could cross weapons with cultivators and fight demonic beasts without flinching but he felt like a stumbling novice when it came to physical intimacy.

'I really should have gone through those twenty five manuals I got from Elder Jin,' Li Yu thought while his heart hammered a frantic beat against his ribs. 'Perhaps I would be much more skilled right now instead of just blindly following her lead and hoping I do not mess this up.'

They engaged in a long and deep kiss as the ambient sounds of the night insects and the rippling water faded away into the background. The rich scent of lotus blossoms surrounded them and created a perfect memory for them both. They eventually stopped to catch their breath and Lian pulled back a few inches. A bright smile graced her beautiful features as she looked into his dark eyes.

"You have gotten much more bold recently," Lian told him while resting her hands gently against the fabric of his robes.

"I just could not resist," Li Yu replied with a warm laugh while brushing a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear. "You looked too beautiful sitting there in the starlight and I have been wanting to do that all day."

Lian blushed at the direct compliment and a soft laughter escaped her lips. They both smiled warmly at one another and leaned in to kiss again. The night went on as they enjoyed each other's company on the floating mahogany boat. They spent the next few hours talking about casual things, cultivation and old memories they had. The two snacked on the remaining roasted Sunfall Deer and shared a few more lingering kisses in between their stories. It was a romantic atmosphere that remained unbroken and provided a true escape from the harsh realities of the martial path.

All good things eventually come to an end as the early signs of dawn began to lighten the eastern horizon. Duty called them back to their respective lives and they knew they could not hide on the lake for long. Lian stood up from the silk cushions, smoothed her crimson dress and opened a spatial rift to return to her troops waiting at the Veiled Lotus headquarters. Li Yu steered the wooden boat back to the shore, packed up his decorations and took to the sky to return to his home at the Five Star Lakes.

He spent the next two days wandering around his estate in a very dazed but happy state. He greeted his contracted staff with a foolish grin on his face and failed to hear a single word Alden spoke regarding the weekly estate logistics. All Li Yu could think about was his time spent with Lian on the river. He replayed their conversations and the feeling of her lips in his mind over and over again. He ignored his daily training routines and simply enjoyed the lingering warmth of the successful date while watching the silver scaled fish swim in the central lake.

Once his mind finally settled back into a focused state on the third morning, he returned to his dark wood pagoda to resume his martial progress. He sat on his woven mat in the center of his meditation chamber and closed his eyes to circulate his energy. With his mind in such a happy and tranquil state, he found his five souls resonating together better than ever before.

The five distinct spirits dwelling within his inner sea vibrated in perfect harmony and generated a surge of raw power that flooded his meridians and body. The energy flowed like a rushing river through his veins and illuminated his bones with a brilliant light. The soul resonance granted him an incredible boost in his foundational strength and elevated his overall physical strength to new heights.

He combined this new power with the forward steps he recently took in his Yin Yang mastery. His understanding of the opposing forces had pushed his cultivation base right to the very doorstep of the Tribulation realm. He could almost feel the cosmic lightning gathering and waiting for him to take the final step to face the judgment of the heavens. He knew he was not ready to cross that threshold just yet but standing on the boundary filled him with a fierce confidence.

Li Yu opened his eyes and a bright light flashed across his pupils as he stood up from his mat and felt an overflowing amount of physical strength coursing through his muscles. He decided it was time to test his new limits and his good mood put him in an excellent stage of mind to try. He walked out of his pagoda and headed directly toward the rocky training clearing near the edge of the valley.

Star Abyss remained firmly planted in the solid stone where it was weeks ago. There was a large umbrella that one of his staff members had placed next to the staff to keep the weather away from it, something he noted with a smile. The heavy black staff radiated a dense and oppressive aura that challenged anyone to try and move it from its resting place.

What Li Yu did not know was that during his training session in the Mosaic realm, his grandfather Zhan Tian had visited the estate. The Worldkeeper examined the staff and actually loosened the intricate seals binding the weapon to the ground. Now that Zhan Tian felt his pride was safe since Li Yu failed to pull it out easily on his many attempts, the older man lessened the requirements on the weapon. He adjusted and altered the seals and restrictions he had left on it, making the staff only one fifth as hard to lift as it was originally. Showing just how ridiculous of a test it was from the Worldkeeper.

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Li Yu stepped up to the black pillar and wrapped both of his hands around it as he took a deep breath and channeled his Qi alongside the resonating power of his five souls. He braced his legs against the cracked stone and pulled upward with every ounce of strength his body possessed.

The muscles in his arms bulged and his veins pressed against his skin as he fought against the immense weight. The ground trembled beneath his boots and the rocks began to splinter under the force of his stance. Even with the seals drastically reduced by his grandfather, it still took everything Li Yu had to break the connection. He roared out loud and poured his energy into his grip while twisting his torso to generate more leverage.

A loud cracking sound echoed across the valley as Star Abyss finally tore free from the stone. The sudden release of tension sent Li Yu stumbling backward but he quickly caught his balance while holding the heavy weapon high in the air. The black staff hummed with a deep resonance that seemed to match his own beating heart.

Li Yu let out a breathless laugh in victory, he had finally pulled this weapon out of the ground. What he didn’t realize was that Zhan Tian had already altered it, the original restrictions placed on this weapon were simply insane. If it took this much effort just to lift it now after he reached the peak of Karma Severing and experienced a soul resonance, it would be an extremely long time before he had the strength required to wield it at its full unsealed weight.

Li Yu was incredibly happy that he could finally use the staff to fight with now, missing having a sturdy staff to beat his opponents with. He swung the heavy pillar through the air a few times and enjoyed the deep whistling sound it produced as it cleaved through the wind. He then looked at the glaive he received from Zhan Tian prior to his journey.

He decided he would not give the glaive back to his grandfather even though he now had his signature weapon. Li Yu thought the bladed polearm was quite cool to use as well and he planned to keep both weapons for different combat scenarios. The glaive offered slashing attacks and slightly longer reach while the staff provided crushing blunt force. He decided to name the glaive 'Grandpa' right on the spot. It was a simple and fitting name for the weapon.

Li Yu spent the rest of the afternoon practicing his strikes with Star Abyss until his arms ached from the effort. He returned to his pagoda as the sun began to set over the lakes. He used the soul armory technique to bind the staff to his Human Soul, leaving just one spot left for a weapon in the future.

As he washed up and changed into fresh robes, his thoughts drifted back to his date with Lian. He couldn’t help but continue to have his thoughts drift back to that amazing day. However, as he went through the day, he remembered his distinct lack of expertise during their intimate moments on the boat. Li Yu realized his inexperience with things that couples do intimately was a glaring weakness he needed to fix before their next encounter.

He decided it was time to go through the twenty five manuals he received from Elder Jin to gain some much needed theoretical experience. He walked into his private study and closed the heavy doors behind him. He then felt a sudden spike of paranoia and worried that someone might somehow know what he was doing in here. The thought of his followers or his parents discovering him studying such texts made his face burn with embarrassment.

Li Yu immediately channeled his Qi and turned on all the defensive arrays built into the pagoda to ensure his absolute privacy. He activated the sound dampening runes, the visual obscuring barriers and the anti-scrying formations until his study was locked down tighter than a weaker clan’s treasury. No divine sense or prying eyes could pierce the walls of his room now, at least no one much stronger than himself.

Satisfied with his security measures, Li Yu reached into his spatial ring and retrieved the stack of glowing jade slips. He laid them out across his wooden desk and picked up the first one with a sense of determination as he also prepared his own mind for such things. He sent a thread of his divine sense into the jade and a flood of highly detailed images and instructions poured directly into his mind.

He began to learn a lot of new concepts very quickly but he ended up skipping through a large portion of the texts. He discovered that out of the twenty five manuals, a good twenty one of them were explicitly written for females to study. They detailed specific techniques, unique skills and charming postures designed solely for a woman to perform for her partner. It was clear that Elder Jin was far more concerned with making sure the man was enjoying things rather than providing a balanced education for both parties.

On many occasions while going through those twenty one manuals, one thought kept coming to his mind. 'I would definitely like to experience this one day,' Li Yu noted in his mind as he examined a particularly complex technique.

He flipped to the next section and raised an eyebrow at the glowing images floating in his mind.

'But this other one looks like it would be even better…' Li Yu thought while shaking his head in disbelief. 'Is such a thing possible? Who came up with such things?'

The other four manuals contained a mix of things for both males and females. Li Yu went through all of them with a very focused expression as he tried to memorize the ones that seemed practical. The diagrams showed dual cultivation methods and intimate positioning.

He continued to read through the remaining slips and made mental notes of the things he found interesting or appealing for the future.

'This particular movement seems practical,' Li Yu muttered to himself while tracing a diagram in the air with his finger. 'It uses a subtle infusion of wood Qi to increase stamina. I should probably practice the Qi circulation path for this tonight just to be safe.'

He continued to flip through the glowing texts and chuckled out loud at some of the more outrageous suggestions. The strange legacy of Elder Jin provided a wealth of bizarre knowledge and Li Yu spent the rest of his evening trying to filter out what he thought was nonsense from the useful tips.

He wanted to make sure he was ready for what Lian would throw his way next time they shared a quiet night together but knew it would be quite some time before he could use most of these things. Li Yu packed the four jade slips away into a sealed box, storing the other twenty one separately and placed them all in the deepest corner of his spatial ring as before but he didn’t treat them like trash this time.

Li Yu then turned off the defensive arrays and went to bed with a much better understanding of the various things a couple might do for or to one another in intimate moments.