The best way to practice spirit power was for the body to make a connection with nature.
And the 《Lunar Blossom》 Lily was practicing gave the optimum effect whilst bathing in moonlight.
It was now very late at night. The only ones who resided at the back side of the residence were the Matsuda couple and herself. Granny Ayashi should also be sleeping right about now.
Additionally, Lily had excellent eyesight and hearing. If anyone really woke up and approached, she just needed to quickly get back into the house and close the door.
But even so, Lily still felt her heart thumping loudly.
“Seriously! It’s not like I am doing something shameful! If I don’t have strength, how am I supposed to go on an adventure and find a way to awaken senior sister’s soul!”
“This is my fate, I should just remain calm.”
Even if Lily could remain vigilant of other people approaching, the biggest problem was that… this time, she had no choice but to look at her own body.
That was because 《Lunar Blossom》 required her to meditate and absorb the essence of the moon with every inch of her skin.
How could she meditate when she hadn’t even seen it once?
Lily sat in seiza under the moon. Her beautiful black hair glowed under the moonlight and hanged on her straight back. She lifted the big breasts that would make most girls jealous. Even if some pregnant women had comparable size, their shape and plumpness couldn’t be compared.
“Senior sister… I’m sorry… Lily is only doing this for your sake.”
Lily untied the yukata and slipped it towards both sides of her arms. She pulled it towards the rear and exposed her glossy back.
Then she picked up a really long white towel and twisted it into a band.
She raised it above her head.
Took a deep breath, and then—
“Slap! Slap! Slap!” She whipped her back with the towel. A small frown creased on her forehead as she nibbled her lips.
Soon, her white back became red.
“Lily is going to look at senior sister’s body without permission. Even if it is for the sake of training, it is still a crime. Punishment is necessary! Senior sister… please forgive me with this…”
Lily silently decided in her heart that she had to frequently urge herself like this if she couldn’t avoid doing these kinds of things in the future! She was not a strong-willed person after all.
Lily folded the towel and put it at the side. She sat straight, grabbed her yukata, and flash—
The yukata rolled down from her smooth skin.
Lily blushed as she lowered her head to look at her body which she had never laid eyes on until now…
In that split second, even Lily’s mind was in a shambles.
Why was there such a fascinating thing in this world? It was clearly a part of her body, yet it was so divine and inviolable.
Those pair of mounds were so beautiful that she didn’t dare to touch.
They were pure and spotlessly white, just like two sets of snow mountains under the moon. Yet at the same time, they were like the bewitching valley which were drooled over by the demons and monsters of hell.
Lily couldn’t bear to look anymore and bashfully lifted up her head, though her eyes were still unwilling to part from the beautiful sight under the twin peaks.
This was the first time Lily had come to understand her own body. At this time, Lily felt that her body had become one with the moonlight and the garden. She could feel the connection between them harmonizing.
In the wild garden where the summer insects were chirping, there was a half-naked beauty.
The moonlight shone upon her back and formed a thin silvery thread which outlined her beautiful body. Her body scattered a refreshing smell which was unique to a girl during the summer night.
If there was a deity peeking nearby, they would have thought she was the spirit of this garden.
Lily breathed gently. Even if she closed her eyes now, she already understood just how beautiful and attractive she was. This was very beneficial in regards to her spirit training! She was greedy and looked a little too much, so she needed to punish herself again in the future for this wrongdoing. But even so, it was worth it.2
Understanding her own body was Lily’s first step in spirit training.
After that, she began recalling the training methods of 《Lunar Blossom》.
According to 《Lunar Blossom》, spirit training was divided into three most basic steps: Absorption, Conversion, and Body Strengthening.
The first step, Absorption, was the most important step. This was a very long process, but everyone had a different absorption rate. This was also the thing which divided the gaps between one’s training speed. Of course, one could also rely on external factors by going to places with dense spirit power, since it would increase efficiency.
And after the absorption, the spirit essence should be converted to energy suitable for the human body, that energy would then be used to strengthen the body.
There were some good secret techniques for the conversion of spirit power and strengthening of the body, but there were also bad ones out there. The efficiency of the best one had a huge disparity from the worst one! Some of the discontinued secret techniques could bring about side effects to the body. There was even the possibility that it could destroy the body. That most extreme case was that the body would explode.
However, it wouldn’t lead to that in most cases. When the side effects exceeded what the human body could endure, they would naturally stop to rest and recover before continuing.
After all, too far was as bad as not enough.
And this 《Lunar Blossom》 claimed the secret techniques recorded within were most suitable for females. There was practically no side effect to the body if it was practiced by a female. If there was one, it would be that the practitioner would become more feminine.
For Lily, who was already a beauty among the women, it was unimaginable what kind of side effect it would bring about.
“I’m still not sure if this secret technique is as good as that female author claimed. However, I can feel that her level is extraordinary from those letters, so I choose to believe in her!”
“Now then, let’s begin.”
Lily shut her eyes.
The first step was to probe for the presence of spirit essence.
《Lunar Blossom》 relied on the senses of a girl to perceive this universe and the endless supply of spirit essence. To begin with, Lily was very sensitive even though she was once a boy. He lacked masculinity due to his intuition that was more sensitive than a girl’s. Lily often felt frustrated over this, but now that it had merged with the girl’s originally sensitive body, she was like a fish back in the water.
But even so, Lily still felt at a loss with her eyes closed. She couldn’t sense anything at all.
How come? Could it be that I do not have talent? Or is there some kind of error in the 《Lunar Blossom》?
Well, it’s true that on the first page of Lunar Blossom, it did mention that not even one among a hundred may necessarily be able to sense the existence of spirit essence.
N-no… let’s remain calm and reflect on it thoroughly. I shouldn’t rush these things. Let’s take it slowly. Just recall that morning, how I was able to feel those spirits in the forest. How the eyes in the water and all the plants around seemed to be looking at me. If this feeling is not rooted in spirit power, then what can it be?
Gradually, in the darkness, little specks of light appeared before her eyes. The little specks of light were pure, gentle, and warm.
When Lily focused her attention on one of the light specks, it felt as though she could hear its life story.
Starting from a seed to a sprout, from a sprout to a flower, and from a flower until it withered.
It was growing and multiplying in this garden without end. It was just a weed growing at the corner of the garden, but it was filled with endless tales.
The leading roles of these tales were the innumerable spirit essences that made the world go round.
She slowly began to sense more of these spirit essences as time passed, until she began to feel as though she was sitting in the middle of a boundless starry sky. It was an endless sea of stars formed by the spirit essences floating in her surroundings!