Chapter 468: Living in a New Skin

The cavern resolved slowly as tension and speed gave way to wakefulness. They had escaped successfully, and hidden well enough for rest, yet none of that was any comfort. As her mind returned to itself, Zae Zin Nim let out a sigh and stirred within her blankets.

"Kai..." Zae Zin Nim's relaxation faded as she remembered everything - Omilaena had explained more during their flight, but she only had time to think about it now. She got up, pulling blankets with her, and huddled up next to her wife, who was seated in the cavern beside her. "He's not back yet?"

"Even if he was, he wouldn't be able to find us." Omilaena pulled her closer and stroked her hair with one hand even while she manipulated a syringe in the other.

"So what is our new strategy? We can't fight that many patriarchs, much less my father..."

Omilaena chuckled. "On the contrary, I think that we proved that we can. Yes, we took serious risks and losses, but they weren't so superior. Especially now that you've unlocked more power... if we get Kai back, and I find a way to catch up to you two, I think we could take on even the Masterful Crown clan's forces."

"Maybe so." Just having rested and talking things over made Zae Zin Nim feel much better, shedding the old fear of her father - she had met him palm to palm, after all. "Kai will come for us, definitely. He'll probably try to bring things to help us. So we just need to survive until then, and gain as much power as possible."

"Agreed. I'm not sure what resources we can reach, but we have options. In terms of my power, I think targeting the Purple River sect is the most obvious, but I don't know that we can afford to travel that far."

"How much can we afford to travel at all? I want to go back to the dryad village... but even if they really killed everyone, they're probably watching just in case we return."

"I think it would be an unnecessary risk to return to any of our old locations." Despite her cold words, Omilaena was running fingers through her hair affectionately. "The one variable is the Krysali. If they stayed where they were, they were probably found and killed in the searches, but I'm willing to bet they left preemptively."

"Are you sure? They aren't used to how cultivators are..."

"On the contrary, they're extremely familiar with fighting people who are much stronger than them and willing to kill. In Cragrila's position, I'd head north, into the least explored forests. We should go the same way, though I don't know what our chances of finding them are."

"We can figure that out later." Zae Zin Nim leaned into her wife and was silent for a while.

There was so much to think about, but she didn't want to think at all. For a while, just a few minutes, she could rest here and simply exist. And for a time she really was at peace, almost descending into meditation as Omilaena's slender fingers ran through her hair. She closed her eyes and rested in a way completely different from sleep.

"You know, it makes absolutely no sense that your hair isn't tangled," Omilaena said. "It was getting whipped around by the wind the entire chase, and yet it's absolutely perfect."

"That can happen for higher stage cultivators," Zae Zin Nim murmured without opening her eyes. "Weren't you listening in the Pureflower sect? Your beauty becomes a fundamental part of your being."

"Honestly, I figured that was bullshit. But I think we need to explore this new you, huh?"

Zae Zin Nim had known it was coming and still groaned. But now that the possibility had been raised, she had no choice but to face it. Up to that point, she had been able to ignore how horribly dark her skin was and not think about the other changes, but now that the issue was raised, she couldn't put it out of her mind. She pulled away and rose to examine herself more carefully.

"Do I... look awful?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "I know I could look at myself, but..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Omilaena said as she rummaged around in her spatial satchel. "You've unlocked an enormous amount of new power, potentially unprecedented, and you're worried about whether or not you're pretty?"

"I'm married now! I want to be attractive to you and Kai."

"Well, take a look and tell me what you think." Omilaena pulled a surprisingly large mirror from her satchel, taller than Zae Zin Nim's entire body, and held it up for her.

She hadn't been twisted into any kind of abomination, yet she still recoiled. The most obvious change was her skin, which had become a shocking shade of gray. When she overcame her surprise, she could see that it was still clear and smooth, maybe even more so than before, but the change was so immense...

"Are you really self-conscious about this?" Omilaena rolled her eyes. "You are smoking hot, with skin most women could only dream of... are you really going to get upset because it can't be compared to a rock? I mean, honestly, you could still compare it to rocks, just different kinds."

"But... it's so..."

"Dark? What do you think about me?"

"It's not like that!" Zae Zin Nim screwed up her fists and scowled. "People can be your color, that's normal, but they're not supposed to be gray!"

"Who says? I think it's nice." Omilaena slid up behind her and began taking off her outer robe. "Come on, get past the first impression and really take a look at yourself."

"This i-isn't the time for that..."

"I'm serious, we need to do a proper inspection."

Zae Zin Nim removed her outer robe, which left her body still partially clothed. She had to admit, seeing herself as a whole instead of a first impression, it wasn't so bad. Her skin wasn't splotchy or uneven, it was a pure and untouched gray. When she raised her arms, they looked strong but still slender and feminine. If this was the way she looked now... she wouldn't be a jade beauty, but whose approval did she need, aside from her spouses?

Of course, that thought brought other things to mind and Zae Zin Nim began to squirm as her mind developed new insecurities. Before she could explore them, Omilaena looked at her - not improperly, through her goggles. First the old blue pair, then the new one she'd developed.

While she did so, Zae Zin Nim examined herself, taking comfort in her new strength.

<

Name: Zae Zin Nim

Total Power: 1681

Cultivation: Earth Soul 62% (524)

*Heavenly Sash: Cultivation +10% (52)

Coldfire Corona: 32 (396)

Pure Yin Shroud: Spinel Rank (245)

True Blackblood Physique: E-0 (400)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

>

"The completely baffling thing is that you're at E rank Physique," Omilaena said. "Because I would absolutely swear that you broke through, yet I'm also confident in what I'm seeing. As far as I know, that shouldn't happen."

"I know," Zae Zin Nim said, "I was so concerned that I might have diverged..."

"Oh, I don't think so. Use these and take a deeper look at your soul." Omilaena whipped off her goggles and fitted them, forcing her to examine her soul again.

<

Name: Zae Zin Nim

Physique: Blackblood Mortal (600 year lifespan)

Soul: Blackblood Mortal (300 year lifespan)

Supremacy: None

Talent Capacity: Coldfire Corona

Elemental Capacity: Unawakened

Essence Capacity: Pure Yin Shroud

Cultivation Capacity: Brightwind Cultivation

(Heavenly Sash Bond)

>

Zae Zin Nim gasped when she saw that her fundamental aspects had changed: both her Physique and Soul were listed as "Blackblood Mortal", and more importantly, her lifespan had multiplied by several times. According to this, her body would live for 600 years even while still mortal, which as far as she knew was unheard of.

"What... what does this mean?" she asked.

"I'm confident that this is a better fundamental path than the one you were taking before, and definitely better than the immortality elixirs." Omilaena shrugged. "But how your Physique fundamentally works, and why you stayed at the same rank... no real idea."

"Could it be like Kai's essence?" Zae Zin Nim suggested. "A lower stage means more potential for growth?"

"There's no particular reason to think it would, because there's no precedent for that. But there's also no precedent for someone at E rank to have such a huge amount of power from Physique, so we're in new territory."

"I suppose the thing to do is begin training physically. When I advance from E-0 to E-1, that will give us new information."

"Look at you, thinking analytically! Glad I had some effect." Omilaena smiled at her, but then her smile became salacious. "But I think there's another experiment to do first... they all said that purifying the Blackblood Physique was supposed to produce some new effect for dual cultivation, so I think we need to get to the bottom of that."

"That... that hardly seems like the highest priority!"

"On the contrary..." Omilaena slid up against her, urging her back down to the blankets, and Zae Zin Nim instinctively responded so they sank downward together. "There could be some very serious variable we haven't noticed yet."

"You're just making excuses now..."

"Do I need to?"

"I suppose not..." Zae Zin Nim relaxed into her wife's embrace, they melted into the blankets, and she indulged in a third sort of rest.

-

By the way, if you remember the old Zae Zin Nim image, here are all three versions:

I commissioned all three of those at once. We've now come full circle, revealing my full plans I've had in mind since I first introduced Zae Zin Nim many chapters ago. Is this sort of planning worth anything? I guess we'll see.