Chapter 431: Infiltrating the Verdant River Sect

Initially Omilaena thought that getting inside might be a challenge, maybe even a fun one, but the dryads had already set up half the steps. They weren't breaking into the central chambers of the Verdant River sect, after all, just an outer courtyard that was technically a guest room for the dryad matriarch. The dryads could already have done it themselves, if they hadn't needed humans with sufficient strength.

They left the dryad community, finally getting out of the humidity, and took the public road toward the sect headquarters before turning away from the main path at the last second. There was a really rather pathetic village for outer disciples and other servants, which they just passed through on their way to their real target.

Once they reached the sect's outer walls, which were stone emblazoned with water symbolism and the Verdant River sect's symbol, they met their first real barrier. Ordinarily Omilaena would have wanted to go over the top, but advance intelligence suggested that the sect had cultivators watching.

There were people coming and going both on the ground and in the air, but those in the air tended to be cultivators with flying swords, so they were under more scrutiny. Fortunately, their group had stolen command medallions that would open the gates for them, so they could pretend to be minor sect members. With Kai playing servant and hiding them with his umbrella, they could pass as random women in the sect.

Umbrellas seemed to be common even outside the rainy area, because heaven forbid a woman's skin experience any sunlight. Omilaena rolled her eyes as they strolled straight past the guards.

Inside, there were no dryads at all except for the matriarch herself. This was where it got trickier, because they needed to leave the areas where low level sect members were permitted. They had to trust Zin Nim for this part, guiding them like they were normal people until they had a chance to cut through a large garden.

It was a pleasant enough place, filled with medicinal herbs, pale blue flowers, and ornamental trees, but unremarkable. Omilaena had seen much more interesting gardens on Rosemount, and honestly even on Deadwaste. Their only goal, however, was the gate on the opposite side, where the dryad matriarch allegedly waited.

From a distance they could even see Nymidria's upper boughs: strikingly blue leaves filled with qi waved over the top of the walls. There was a shroud preventing Omilaena from gathering much more information, but the dryad matriarch seemed like she was plenty powerful, at least equivalent to an average Sky Soul.

"There are two entrances," Zin Nim said quietly, "and both are protected by qi barriers. I can tell already that these low rank medallions won't open them. We could break through easily, of course, but that would alert the sect."

"Seems like there are cultivators gathering by the western side." Kai's head raised and he gave the impression that he was testing the air, even though he didn't actually sniff. "Some inside, too. I think they're talking to her."

"Then we can try the other entrance. I may be able to bring down the barrier, given time."

They slipped around some of the ornamental trees to an isolated corner of the garden, which indeed had a small door. Gardener or maintenance entrance, most likely. While Zin Nim knelt down beside the door to work on the qi barrier, Omilaena peered at her command medallion and tried to manipulate its inner workings, just in case the barrier proved impossible.

This one was far better constructed than the Bloodcoral medallion she'd manipulated earlier, less due to fundamental superiority than better design. Instead of having all the potentials locked within it, she felt absences in the magic, where higher ranks would add something new. Still, she was far better at Cloudspire technology than she had been back then, so she tried to see if she could manipulate the spells.

Kai wordlessly touched her shoulder, grip tight. She immediately glanced at him, saw his gaze shift, and followed it to the main garden.

Fuck. There was a sect member stumbling there, laughing and swinging around a bottle of alcohol. Unlike the sober people, who were going about their business in the main areas, he looked like he needed an isolated spot for a particular sort of business.

When he swayed into their corner of the garden, he was so focused on rearranging his robes, Omilaena wondered if they were really going to stay there and tensely watch the man piss in front of them. Before he got that far, unfortunately or thankfully depending on your perspective, he looked up and managed to focus on them.

"Hey... what are you?" He frowned and began fumbling for his own medallion. "Nobody is supposed to be around... uh..."

"You look like you're having fun." Omilaena struck like a snake, pressing herself against the man in an instant. She'd considered using a needle or knife before deciding they shouldn't leave a dead body, so she used a different weapon. "Can I have some?"

"What are you...?" The drunk still looked puzzled, but that didn't stop him from groping her ass. "This is... restricted..."

"Then maybe you can show me around?" She gave him a coy smile and he leaned further into her. Finally registering what she said, the man thrust his booze toward her, but the smell was so rank Omilaena decided not to try that route at all.

Instead she kissed him, releasing poison both through her lips and her breath. She nearly overdid it and killed him, but managed to emit just enough to knock him unconscious. As soon as she confirmed there was no one else around, Omilaena pulled him to the corner beside the door.

"Sorry, Zin Nim," she whispered. "Strictly necessary seduction."

"That is permissible," Zin Nim said without opening her eyes, "and wise. If we leave any trace, it might be assumed that he was responsible."

Finally Omilaena could push the man off her and set him on his back, then after some thought poured some of his alcohol over his robes. Most likely he would think that she was some sort of dream, and even if not, she would be nothing more than a sexy body to a man like that. He would remember her tits and ass, not her face.

Bizarrely, she actually felt a bit dirty. Not that she felt the slightest guilt about using her sexuality, but the feeling of pressing up against the man had been repulsive in a way she'd hadn't experienced before. Somehow her body had become used to two very different people...

To distract herself, Omilaena found the man's command medallion underneath his robes and began experimenting with it. This one was slightly higher rank than the previous, judging from the wave symbols on the front, but it didn't have any extra permissions. She spent a while analyzing the differences before Zin Nim finally made a soft noise of satisfaction and stood up.

"The door is open," she said, "but I don't know if we should enter."

"Safer in there," Kai said. His eyes almost seemed to burn toward the wall, as if he could see through it... or at least sense prey on the other side. "We shouldn't be visible inside, but if we stay here, more people might notice us."

"I can only kiss and pile up so many bodies," Omilaena said. "Let's go."

They crept through the door, which was unlocked now that the qi barrier was gone, and entered a garden that was much more to Omilaena's taste. Vines and trellises swarmed across the square courtyard, which was dominated by the dryad in the center. Omilaena had to resist looking at her in order to properly scout the area.

It seemed that there were cultivators who had entered from the primary entrance and now stood in front of the tree. From a distance their words blurred together, but they referred to the dryad matriarch as "Nym Id Ria" as if she had a Cloudspire-styled name. They treated her like a Sky Soul, too, to be approached with deference. Some kind of negotiations over paying her in exchange for the growth of certain magical items, and Omilaena decided it wasn't relevant.

That left her free to look at Nymidria herself, who was a sight to behold. Her tree was ordinary enough, shaped like an oak tree except for its silver bark and blue leaves. But in the center, emerging from the trunk as if she was part of it, was a truly enormous woman - easily twice the height of an average person. She had silver skin that merged into her bark and blue hair that matched her leaves, far more striking than the average dryads seen around the village.

The dryad matriarch wore a partial robe that left her shoulders bare and plunged to reveal a great deal of silvery cleavage. She shifted forward, regarding the cultivators who spoke to her, and in that moment Omilaena became certain that it was all a pretense. This was another woman using her sexuality as a weapon - her clothes weren't comfortable, they were armor.

Combining that display with the drunk, Omilaena found herself in a strange mood, needing some kind of outlet. She wanted to elbow Kai and make some joke about the dryad, but he was in predator mode, his gaze shifting sharply around the courtyard in case any of the cultivators noticed them. No chance of teasing him like this. Zin Nim, on the other hand...

"What do you think?" Omilaena leaned against her to whisper.

"Her shroud is impressive." Zin Nim glanced around them nervously, but answered. "I think she is still only an Earth Soul, but strong due to other powers."

"I wasn't thinking her shroud was the impressive part. Nice not to have the biggest tits in the room, huh?"

Zin Nim's eyes widened comically. She looked like she wanted to either make a noise or strike, but they couldn't do either while they were hiding and so she just glared indignantly. Omilaena tried to pull the other woman into an embrace, but Zin Nim narrowed her eyes and retreated to Kai. Which would only smoosh the tits in question against his side, but maybe that was defended for her.

That shroud was truly interesting, though... it struck her as a combination of the usual qi here and the mana skills she'd seen on Deadwaste, which meant it was likely custom-made. Omilaena wasn't a shroud specialist, but she considered herself well above average with spiritual sight and had made significant advancements in her soul. Maybe she could pierce the shroud, with enough effort...

Gradually she pushed her way through the canopy of power, finding the strength underneath, and then the dryad's soul blossomed.

<

Name: Nymidria

Total Power: 1370

Physique Level: E-0 (80)

Dryad Essence: 147 (648)

Iron Bark (+100)

Cultivation: Earth Soul 59% (506)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

>

An impressive 1370 Power, primarily from her dryad essence and Earth Soul stage cultivation. But she also had an additional hybrid ability and...

And she was watching them.

Nymidria's human-shaped body hadn't moved, still speaking to the cultivators, but that was only a fraction of her total body. A knot on the back of the tree had opened, revealing an eye that stared right at her, spiritual sense battling spiritual sense.

Omilaena swallowed and realized that she wasn't quite as slick as she thought she was. Just how bad this turned out was up to fate, and she didn't like that gamble.

(Cognosticon here. Chapters next week will be on the normal schedule, but I may need to shift at some point in the future. Publisher things are consuming some of my time and it's a lot to juggle.

On the bright side, I have uploaded more bonus content. This is actually somewhat of a cut subplot, something that I considered adding to the first part of the Cloudspire arc but decided would be one subplot too many, and more relationship than some readers want. But if you want more of all three's psychology, you can now read Omilaena Figures Her Wife out.

This one has both SFW version and NSFW version. It's about their relationship, but important enough to their personal development that I decided to make one without (overly) explicit content. Regardless, this one is the length of a few chapters and spans across a large part of the story.)