Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Aiko kept pulling out the blocks of dirt like there was no tomorrow.

Mei kept harvesting it again and again until she felt completely exhausted.

”Are we stopping now?” Aiko took the harvested Herbs and placed them in her [Tails Storage]. The Herbs without the dirt were very small, so she could store a lot more things. Mei also harvested the grass, so Aiko stored it for later.

”What do you mean, ’Are we stopping’?! Do you know how hard it is to do this?!” Mei cried out. She felt unhappy that Aiko kept pulling things out of her tails.

Aiko tilted her head and smiled. She was currently in her big form so she smothered Mei, trying to appease her.

But all she got in return was a mean pinch from Mei.

”Why?!” Aiko cried out. She could have nuzzled Mei’s, but the other way around it was a no-no??

Aiko couldn’t understand what was wrong with Mei.

”I just want to rest.” Mei glared at Aiko.

”Okay.” Aiko smiled innocently and guided Mei to a nice place.

Aiko plastered Spirit Crystals into the ground and then placed furs on top of it. As such, she created the most glorious and warm bed possible.

Mei massaged her temples.

”You know that you are the only one that would use Spirit Crystals like this, right?” Mei shook her head at Aiko. She was completely speechless at her antics.

”But it’s warm and comfortable!” Aiko pouted, like Mei couldn’t appreciate the beauty of this bedding.

”Forget it...” Mei gave up correcting her, since each time she tried to correct her, Aiko would just come up with something even crazier. Her mind was unsteady and she couldn’t afford Aiko’s shenanigans. ’I should be able to reach my Human Form here. Then, if I drain this place, I should be able to use the Forbidden Technique to transform myself back into a Fox and seal the Human Body Cultivation.’

’With that, I will be way ahead of my competition and I will also be able to keep being with Aiko in my Fox Form. The only disadvantage is that my Human Body Cultivation will drop in strength over time...’ If that Cultivation dropped too much, Mei would lose her Human Cultivation altogether and she would stay as a Fox forever after.

That would cause her to lose her privilege in achieving Kitsune Form, which was supposedly the last form for Foxes!

’There is still a long way ahead.’ Mei sighed. Foxes would become stronger the longer they lived. They had many ways that would increase their strength compared to other Beasts, but most Foxes would not live long enough to harvest the fruits of their hard labour...

...

As Mei went to bed, Aiko tried to sneak away, but was stopped by her team.

”Where are you going?” The team narrowed their eyes, it’s not been all that long since Aiko was injured, so they were unwilling to let her go.

”I’m visiting chicken.” Aiko smiled innocently.

”Pfft.” The Dragon almost couldn’t contain his laughter, but gently nudged the other Foxes. ”Let her go, I will step in if the chicken would cluck at you.” He chuckled darkly.

”Good support!” Aiko raised her thumb in approval before running away.

The team was still concerned. They didn’t trust the Dragon completely, even if Mei and Aiko believed him.

They wanted to be the caution of the team, but the Dragon’s strength was undeniable. They would not be able to harm it even with their full strength...

As such, they could only concede and watch as Aiko left.

...

Aiko dashed through the forest to a familiar ’garden’. She already rubbed her grubby fingers before diving into the ground.

Aiko did not test it yet, but she should be able to grab those blocks from below, which means she could be as stealthy as she possibly wanted!

The ’garden’ this time was guarded by other Beasts. They were probably the lackeys of that flying chicken, but since Aiko was underground, those Beasts were unable to find Aiko.

Aiko rubbed her hands and applied [Digging Site] and later [Soil Excavation]. There was still a lot of the ’garden’ left, but since her Skills and Abilities levelled up, she was able to choose a much larger space. As such, she was much quicker in taking that ’garden’

She could also hear a screech from the sky, it was a painful and confused screech, but Aiko ignored it. Mei liked these Herbs, so she would take them and give them to Mei.

Happy Mei meant happy times for Aiko. She would be able to nuzzle her and get Pill Candies from Mei. This was the best situation for Aiko and no chicken would stand between her and her goal!

Aiko grabbed part of the Garden until her [Tails Storage] was full. She didn’t need to leave space for other Treasures, since these would be processed by Mei!

Aiko nodded underground and moved back into the forest where the Dragon resided.

The headless chicken was roaring around, confused as to why this happened to it.

...

Aiko returned to the camp. Her team immediately swarmed her and touched Aiko if she was injured somewhere on her body.

Aiko was getting better at using her big body, since previously it was only used for Pill Refinement.

Now she had to actually move in it, so she was able to slowly master the ’controls’.

Aiko nodded happily at her team’s care.

”There are still things we can learn from Grandpa Dragon, so let’s ask him.” Aiko dragged her team next to the Dragon.

The Blood Fox didn’t like it. It was fine that the Dragon protected Aiko, but the others didn’t want anything to do with it! They were worried that the Dragon would harm them in order to separate them from Aiko!

”I would like to practise my Divine Sense with you.” Aiko said. She knew that her team also practised the same, so this was a good opportunity.

”I have a different Divine Sense, but I can give you a few pointers.” The Dragon didn’t reject this motion, since it would be much more lively with this.

Aiko nodded gently, but smirked right after. ”I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Her team already guessed that Aiko would play around a lot, so they took a bit of distance.

”Oh?” The Dragon narrowed its eyes. ”Are you challenging m-”

Before the Dragon could finish his words, Aiko pulled out the ’wolf’ card and summoned her Divine Sense.

A large wolf appeared behind her staring at the Dragon.

”I’m sorry.” The Dragon immediately prostrated, making Aiko speechless.

”Erm...” Aiko didn’t know what to do, since she didn’t expect this to happen.

”I would like to train?” Aiko didn’t know what she wanted to do, when she was that pitiful Dragon bowing to her.

The Dragon slightly raised his huge head. Seeing that Aiko was still Aiko, he coughed awkwardly.

”I almost thought you were that bastard.” The Dragon patted his chest.

”Who?” Aiko tilted her head.

”No matter, no matter.” The Dragon shook his head. ”I will teach you to the best of my abilities, and you three- four can watch.”

The Dragon snorted steam out of his nostrils as he summoned his Divine Sense.

His Divine Sense was incomparably large and threatening. The Divine Sense Dragon scales were huge and shiny and this meek Dragon turned into a much more threatening form!

Aiko was stunned speechless as the strange Grandpa really turned into a majestic Dragon!

”This is Dragon’s Divine Sense. There is one more race that has this kind of sense, but let’s skip that part.” The Dragon smiled. The rest was for Aiko to figure out over time.

”Now our Divine Sense works by extracting our True Essence into Divine Sense and summoning it.” The Dragon explained.

”The older you are, the more Essence you have to store.” The Dragon pointed at the huge Divine Sense.

”This Essence can be extracted from the Divine Sense in order to empower you, but since it’s so potent, you can’t keep it in your body for too long or you would be risking lasting damage.” The Dragon explained the Divine Sense of his race.

”I’m not sure if it’s the same with your Divine Sense, but I can tell you that you are not ready to extract it just yet. Your body is not powerful enough to bear the power that comes with your Divine Sense.” The Dragon explained more.

”In order to be on the safe side, you should meet your ’kin’ and get more concrete answers.” The Dragon could not help with this, since he would be implicated later if he did so.

Aiko nodded gently. The Dragon was caring and willing to explain so much. This prompted Aiko to try hard and learn!

”Now, for our uses, it would be having your Divine Sense to fight mine.” The Dragon said, but before Aiko’s team could voice her disagreement, he continued. ”Of course, I would only defend. While your Divine Sense is more potent than mine, the limiting factor is your Soul and Mind.”

”With this, you should be able to get more familiar with your Divine Sense without accidentally hurting anyone. I will also shield your friends if your Divine Sense stops listening to you.” The Dragon flicked his finger and created an elaborate Defensive Formation that would protect everyone.

”Keep in mind. This training is not about how much damage you can deal to me, but how much control you can obtain over your Divine Sense.” The Dragon raised his finger and warned Aiko. ”It does not matter if you are powerful if you can’t even control it!”

Aiko nodded like an attentive child. ”Control, not power.” She smiled. ’I should be able to do it, since I don’t have to worry about harming Mei.’ She was very happy about this part since she was always overly cautious of hurting Mei, but with this~; she would be able to go all out!

Mei woke up a few moments ago to a grand sight. She knew that her old friend was powerful, but she didn’t expect to be so majestic. His Divine Sense was much better for training with Aiko than hers. She had to be careful with Aiko’s since it was in a different league when the wolf was out.

It was not like Mei would be badly harmed by Aiko, but injuries were unavoidable if Aiko went all out. This also might cause Aiko demerits in terms of her psyche. If she made subconscious restraints, it would harm her in the long run when it comes to her Divine Sense and Divine Consciousness!