In the late evening, they found a small, dry cave to serve as their shelter. After Vahn had secured the entrance and gathered materials for a modest fire, he turned to his Lilith.
"Instructor, I want to give you a massage."
Lilith wanted to refuse again, but something stirred within her. A desire to experience his massage again.
The first time he requested, she refused coldly. "I am a cultivator. My body does not require the crude maintenance of a mortal," she had snapped.
But Vahnn was persistent. The second time he asked, he shifted his appeal. "I have received your protection, your teaching, and now your spiritual awareness. I only wish to ease your burden and repay your teachings with the only comfort I possess."
Lilith stood still, silent for a long moment. But his persistent eyes were too much for her.
"Fine," she finally agreed, the word barely audible. She couldn’t understand the reason for her acquiescence. Perhaps it was a calculated risk, or perhaps a strange, new curiosity.
She laid down on her front on a straw mat Vahn had prepared inside the cave, her veiled head resting on her arms.
Vahn approached her back, his movements respectful. He focused his hands, channeling not the rough power of his Lightning Art, but the gentle, soothing energy of his light affinity, subtly injected with healing light.
As his strong, warm hands began to work on the rigid knots of her cultivator muscles, an involuntary sigh of release escaped Lilith. The healing light permeated her spiritual blockages and smoothed out the tension she carried not just physically, but spiritually.
The effect was instantaneous and profound.
The Saintess of Darkness became addicted.
That was how it became a routine where, at the end of each taxing day, Vahn would massage Lilith’s shoulders and back. During this time, they shared a little physical intimacy and, more importantly, emotional stories.
Vahn’s Master Storyteller title came fully into play. He told her tales not of grand heroes, but of flawed people, of deep losses, of moments of unexpected kindness and agonizing betrayal. He used his words as carefully as he used his saber, targeting the invisible scars on her soul. He told her stories that made her emotionally vulnerable and subtly etched more space in her heart for him.
However, these three days of close interaction weren’t without any reward.
Emotional Connection: 30% (↑15%)
Physical Connection: 43% (↑10%)
This was the progress of their relationship over the last three days. It might not look like much, but Vahn had successfully triggered rewards twice during this period.
For the first reward: Darkness Affinity +50%, and the Shadow Transformation Art (Heaven).
For the second reward: Darkness Affinity +75%, and the Ancient Shadow Summoning Art (Forbidden).
The total rise in his Darkness Affinity might seem inconsequential, but it greatly enhanced the natural power of his Darkness-based attacks. Furthermore, wielding those advanced Dark Arts would be far easier.
As for the two new Dark Arts he received, one was the Shadow Transformation Art, which would allow him to transform into a livingshadow. This was excellent for hiding, infiltration, and escaping mortal danger.
But the second was the Ancient Shadow Summoning Art, a Forbidden Grade Art, the same classification as the Dream Manipulation Art. This Art could literally allow him to summon the Shadows of the dead within thirty minutes of their demise.
Their powers would be the same as before their death, and they would follow him without any rest until he completely deletes them.
Vahn had read about this kind of power in some of the novels he consumed, and now such an Art belonged to him.
However, there was a major weakness: these summoned Shadows would be using his internal energy as fuel.
Nevertheless, if he could mitigate or ignore this weakness, this Dark Art held truly immense potential for the future.
Recognizing the value, Vahn immediately crushed the scrolls and learned all three Dark Arts at once.
Back to the present:
After satisfying Lilith and ensuring her relaxation through the massage, Vahn gently moved away. Once he confirmed she was deeply asleep, he used the remaining faint healing light to mend his own muscle fatigues from the day’s training.
He then sat down cross-legged in one corner of the cave and began to meditate. The warm firelight from the small campfire washed over his figure, highlighting his face set in deep concentration.
Under Lilith’s rigorous guidance, Vahn had already achieved all the prerequisite conditions needed to step into the Foundation Establishment Realm. He had the Spirit Sense, the excellent energy control, and his focused will.
Using his refined Spirit Sense, he delved deep inside his spiritual core until the circular structure known as the Dantian became visible to his inner sight.
It wasn’t a physical object or organ in the mortal sense; it was a boundless sphere of concentrated internal energy he had gathered through his Qi Refining stage.
Vahn attempted to gauge its size, a measure impossible by the scale of the physical world.
But he was momentarily stunned when he "zoomed in" with his Spirit Sense. While other cultivators’ energy reserves in the Qi Refining stage were typically the size of a small pond, his own Dantian was like a Boundless Ocean of grey fog.
This immense volume of energy was a direct result of his Void Refining Physique and the massive consumption of spirit stones.
His next critical step was to transforming this gaseous energy into a more concentrated, liquefied state, a process known as ’laying the foundation.’ This transformation had to continue until the vast ’Ocean’ of grey fog turned into a true sea of liquid spiritual energy, marking his breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Vahn began the careful, agonizingly slow process of compression. He used his spiritual will, now greatly boosted by Lilith’s tutelage and the new rewards, to exert immense pressure on the gaseous Qi within his Dantian.
The process of liquefaction was torturous, as every molecule of energy resisted the pressure.
But his Will was superior to their pitiful resistance.