Dual Cultivation 2

Later that same day...

Liam awoke from his post-coital sleep feeling incredibly refreshed. His eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the light filtering through the forest mist. The breeze carried the fresh scent of the surrounding plants.

He stretched, feeling his muscles relax. The hard ground where he had collapsed seemed softer than it should have been.

Next to him, still drowsy, was Mary, her beautiful face lit by an angelic smile.

She must have had wonderful dreams.

Looking at Mary's naked body, Liam felt a wave of energy surge through him. It was as if every cell of his body was vibrating with life. But before he could dwell on his newfound vitality, a more urgent realization struck him.

'My cultivation has increased!'

His eyes widened as he felt his mana had increased enough to reach the level of an 8-Star Spirit Apprentice!

'Not only am I stronger, but Mary has also increased her level. She's now a 7-Star Spirit Apprentice!'

He looked at Mary more closely, ignoring her beautiful body to focus on the sensation coming from her.

'How?'

'Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once.' The incubus demon's voice echoed in Liam's mind. 'I can't help you in battle. My help lies in cultivation, especially dual cultivation. Today, you cultivated with a partner.'

Liam's brow furrowed. He remembered hearing about 'dual cultivation' in an old book at young Master Porter's house. It was an ancient practice, long banished from the history of Twin Lands.

'What are you talking about?' He asked, but the Incubus had already retreated to sleep in the cloudy area where Liam's mana lake was, leaving the boy to ponder.

After spending five minutes thinking about it, he recalled the information more effectively.

Simply put, 'dual cultivation' is the practice of increasing one's strength and ability through sexual activity. It was an ancient practice that had been banished from the history and not even demonic clans and sects accepted it in their ranks!

Liam understood the reason for such non-acceptance. According to history, this type of practice carried many risks of abuse, exploitation, power imbalance, dependence, addiction, loss of vital energy, destruction of healthy relationships, and moral degradation.

In the most absurd cases, members of the same family practiced the act with close relatives, leading to unimaginable risks capable of destroying families and ending their bloodlines.

With this in mind, he better understood what had happened.

'So that's it! She absorbed the special energy I had, and I absorbed hers!' He thought, not quite right, not quite wrong.

'Dual cultivation is forbidden, but it's supposed to be something incredible, with the potential to elevate an ordinary person to high positions in a short period. The best part is that it happens through an extremely pleasurable act.'

He looked at Mary differently, feeling like he was about to do things with her again.

But he knew he couldn't do it where he was. He had let his primal instincts get the better of him earlier, but now he controlled himself as he put on his torn clothes.

'The most important thing now is to move. This is not a good place to stay any longer than we already have.' 

He approached her, leaving the idea of her enemy behind. Now that Mary had another use, there was no way he could act so foolishly.

In the blink of an eye, she awoke from her sleep, feeling even better than Liam as she had progressed further than him compared to her previous power.

As soon as she understood what had happened, having overcome the aphrodisiac effects of Liam's aura, Mary looked at him seriously, noting the benefits they had both enjoyed, but not forgetting what she had done earlier.

"I'm sorry. We tried to take action against you earlier..."

She spoke, but he cut her words off.

"Mary, this island is like a hell. It's kill or be killed. You don't have to explain what happened earlier. Now we have something else to put the past behind us." 

He looked into her eyes with warmth, unable to ignore what they had done.

Mary looked at him the same way, her heart pounding as she gazed at his lips.

"Are we partners now? I see we're both stronger. What happened?"

A part of her suspected their intimacy had led to this unexpected power, but she wasn't entirely sure.

Liam sighed. "It's complicated. I don't really understand what's behind us getting stronger myself, but I think we'll figure it out together. I hope I can count on you from now on."

Seeing him show one of his hands, Mary took his help to get up and quickly dressed. 

"I'll try my best. Before that, we should get my former partners' things. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." 

He agreed, then walked side by side with her to the place where he had killed Mary's two former allies.

Liam knew Mary's name, and she knew his. They had told each other their names during their sexual adventure, and of course they had learned what each other liked best...

As soon as they reached the place where the bodies lay, she said to him sincerely. "Bazel and Elias were my allies, but we weren't friends, Liam.

I was lucky they didn't attack me at the beginning of our journey on the island, and so we became allies. But that's all. We've been attacked by other survivors a few times in the last few weeks, so we've become aggressive. But I have no feelings for them."

"I see. I have also become involved with other humans on the island... Anyway, we'd better get out of here. Demons might soon come to this place looking for these bodies."

She agreed and followed him out of the area, now on a journey she hadn't expected.

Mary had done things with Liam once, but hell, the sexual tension she felt now couldn't help but make her think of him more and more.

"When are we going to do it again?" She asked after a few moments, following in Liam's footsteps.

"When we find a safe place," Liam replied. "I don't think we'll gain as much from it next time, but we need to explore its potential. If I'm not mistaken, the people of the Demon Gate won't just accept us as equals. The strongest among us might gain an advantage in the sect after leaving the island."

Mary nodded, understanding the truth in his words. In a world where the strong dictated terms, their newfound power could be crucial.

She glanced at him thoughtfully. "I don't think your incubus's power is suited for direct combat. It's more about seduction and what happened earlier. My mental abilities aren't strong offensively, but I can use them for attacks and distractions. We could combine our strengths well."

Mary wasn't a fool. She analyzed not only their intimate encounter but also the previous battle and its impact on her. Realizing she needed Liam to stay alive and access the pleasure she had just experienced, she began to plan their best course of action together.

Liam liked what he heard and said.

"Yes, I've already thought of some things we can do together. Let's train when we find a suitable enemy. The food reserves of your old companions won't last long, so we'll have to hunt in three days. We'll train against wild boars."

"By the way, how did you get to 7-Star so quickly? I thought my cultivation was pretty high for this place." 

He smiled and said. "I found a hot spring on my first day here. I've been cultivating mana ever since."

"Oh? You must be lucky and very talented! How old are you?" She looked at him with interest, a smile on her beautiful face.

"I'm 18. And you?" He looked at her and imagined she was about 22.

"33." She gestured with her fingers.

"All that?" His eyes widened considerably.

"Huh? Are you calling me old?" She played with him. 

"I just didn't expect a woman as beautiful as you to be old enough to be a mother." He was sincere and dry.

Dimples formed on her cheeks. "Thank you for the compliment. But women my age rarely become mothers..."

In her heart, she couldn't help but thank her mana, for it was the greatest miracle for vain women.

Liam would never have known what Mary looked like before he came here!