Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

Miles away from New Branch City, far up in the sky, one lazy-looking woman was flying through the air at a relaxed, casual pace. Her expression was blissfully tranquil, holding no stress.

If one didn't know any better, they would mistake this woman as someone simply enjoying the cool breeze that brushed past her face.

This woman, of course, was Bella. And she had her hands behind her head, keeping a steady pace through the sky. 

A sliver of a black aura leaked out of her body, being barely seeable to the naked eyes.

'Mnnh….sure this helps with cultivation. But Master essence is so pleasurable and so relaxing. Like it was made for me….' Bella was positively basking in the sliver of power from using her Darkness Soul link.

Yin pleasure saturated her body and soul, heightening her to a tranquil blissful state. 

It was similar to how Ninu constantly feels about Yin pleasure, in a continuous state of life-giving blissful pleasure.

Ever since yesterday, Bella can't remember ever deactivating using her Darkness Soul link. And as per Darcel's instruction, Bella didn't bother with overexerting herself. 

She went at her own perfect pace. And her results were more than evident. 

The more in tune Bella fell in line with her Darkness Soul link, the better her progress was in masking her presence. Now, Bella could genuinely take on those lazy days without getting bothered by any other members or captains.

However, Bella wasn't entirely relaxed. She remained at a steady pace as she followed behind two other figures just a mile below her in the sky. 

These two figures were two men Bella had the slight displeasure in steadily following them.

These men wore bright white armor that stood out like a sore thumb in any place they were to travel to. Both of them also wielded overly large broadswords, slugging around their shoulders as if they had no weight.

From a mile away, anybody in New Branch City would be able to identify where these men come from. 

They were, of course, White Demon group members. 

And they weren't any ordinary members. Both men were powerful seventh-level Heavenly Kings! 

They both were at the exact same level as Bella, being at a similar high ranking in their own group. 

With their level of prowess, both men surely would sense Bella from even miles away from them.

However, neither of them had the faintest of clue Bella was right over them. They continued to casually fly through the air, chatting it up with each other like they were truly alone.

'Master is just becoming more and more terrifying. They're all just so interesting, really….' Despite recognizing there are even more depths to Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's powers, Bella didn't feel any genuine fear at all.

The more special powers her Master and Mistresses have, the more Bella felt safe and comfortable being under them. 

As like today, by her going out while masking her presence, Bella was able to take a pleasant stroll throughout the city with nobody going up to bother her.

Being a Captain of the Snow Angel group gave her a lot of unwanted notoriety that Bella honestly would've preferred to be a no-named regular member. 

But because of her Master, this problem was getting quickly dealt with.

And while on her stroll, Bella decided to pay a visit to the White Demon group district. She knew she would be able to find at least some White Demon members preparing to go off on their own.

And when Bella traveled towards their district, she was not only correct but had a plethora of options to follow. 

None of the White Demon group members picked up on Bella walking so close to their district. And Bella knew the most powerful members would be cooped up in their building.

So Bella decided to discreetly hide from plain sight, and when two pairs of seventh-level Heavenly Kings went flying out of their district, she quickly followed behind.

Attempting any of this simply would've been impossible in the past. 

But Darcel's Darkness Soul link enchanted Bella's already excellent comprehension to an unfathomable degree. 

For the first time in her life, Bella even had developed an interest in seeing what else she can study further with her Darkness Soul link. 

However, for now, Bella focused on listening in on these two men as they finally started talking about something worthwhile.

The man on the left, whose name Bella heard was Toma, began saying, "You know, with how far we're going out, you think we'll stumble on that magical Spirit Monster horde?" 

His tone was laced in a heavy joking manner. Toma still couldn't believe after all this time, a strong group of their own were wiped out by a mere beast horde. 

And the sentiment was shared by his partner.

Bella had heard this man's name was Kaba, and his grin turned sardonic when responding to Toma. "Oh, for sure. Maybe we'll meet even a stronger version of the horde, containing only late ranks Heavenly Kings! Seriously, those damn Snow Angels are obviously bullshiting. I just can't wait for that Mage to come over here tomorrow and help us find that Heavenly Crystalline treasure. Oh, the things we can do with that!"

Toma had also shared in Kaba's eager enthusiasm as he began to say in a zealous tone, "It'll be great to finally put all those damn bitches in their places. And those shitty crows won't even know what hit them."

Suddenly, Toma's expression turned a bit thoughtful. His thoughts delved a bit deeper into that Mage as he said, "Still….I'm surprised those damn Raven Order Mages are willing enough to agree to this."

"Heh, I think they just realize we were always a group to invest in even before the Divine Barrier shattering. With their help, even those small-time Mercenary groups like the Nobe's Fang group will fall in line to us." 

Kaba seemed positively assured about the Raven Mage Order help.

But there were still small doubts in Toma's mind. Everyone knows Mages, in general, are incredibly proud and even somewhat biased against cultivators. 

And this didn't decrease after the Divine Barrier shattering.

In fact, just like how other Mercenary groups were suspecting each other of quickly growing in strength very recently. Everyone also suspected the same for the Raven Mage Order group.

However, for cultivators, it was, of course, easy for them to judge another cultivator's level of strength. 

But a persistent problem that had always bugged cultivators was that they have no accurate way to judge the power of a Mage. 

The properties and qualities of Magic Power are essentially undetectable to cultivators all around the Nine Provinces. All they really had to go on is a faint feeling of pressure from them, and the status ranking a Mage gets ascribed to when they supposedly increase their Magic Power.

And with how already prideful Mage's are, sometimes even more than extremely powerful cultivators, Toma suspects unexpected things could happen with them. 

Toma voiced out his concerns, telling Kaba, "You know, as great their help will be, how can you still be so sure that everything will go smoothly? There's a reason why both sides of power rarely fight with each other. Every single one of those Mages is incredibly dangerous."

In response to Toma's worries, Kaba's smile didn't lessen. 

His smirk only grew a bit more sinister as he began saying, "Oh sure, this doubt is going on in many other member's minds. But you know….no matter how possibly powerful they got, we still have a perfect way to deal with them if things get out of hand. You also know there's a reason why Spirit Artifacts are so highly valued, right?"

Toma contemplated Kaba's words for a moment. 

He didn't need to be told twice on how efficient various Spirit Artifacts. But it wasn't like Mages were in the dark about this subject.

However, right then, one very special Spirit Artifact streaked into Toma's mind. His eyes started to brighten as he said, 

"Wait….don't tell me we actually managed to get that Spirit Artifact?! Is Captain going to bring that with him tomorrow?"

"Oh, for sure he is. If that Mage were to even try the slightest thing that's out of line, we'd be more than prepared. Now then, stop worrying so much, and let's focus on scourging these fields. "

As Kaba began talking about what their jobs were today, Bella already stopped listening. 

She paused in the air as her mind began connecting the dots on what the White Demon group wanted to do.

'The Heavenly Crystalline treasure….so that's what they want, huh? And that supposed Spirit Artifact….alright then White Demons, let's play around.' 

Bella began to drift back to the city and, while doing so, brought her contact ring to Darcel.

She infused a tiny bit of her Qi into her ring, making it glow up in a brilliant purple shine. After a second of silence, Darcel's voice ranged out from the wing, asking Bella, 

"Yes? What do you have for us?"

"Master, I was able to find out exactly where the White Demon group is going tomorrow. And they're also bringing special preparation." Zara explained, already feeling slight anticipation for whatever her Master has brewing. 

A second later, Darcel voiced sound out of the ring again as he said, "Ok, when you get back, bring Zara into a room where no sound can be leaked. We all have vital information to discuss."

Bella's contact ring went dead, and she turned her head back up. She was smiling and shaking her head, finding this whole situation peculiar. 

Her past self would've found plots and plans like this far too troublesome. She would've done anything other than actually help and probably would've tried to find an excuse to laze around.

But now, without any influence from her Darkness Soul link, Bella genuinely wanted to be active in screwing up this whole Mercenary Event. 

And it's all because she feels....no, she knows her Master can take their whole group to the top of everything! Meaning a completely easy-going life for her to bask in.