Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Aiko connected more Table Maps together. Most of them were focused on either the Lifeform Seeking Function or Building Seeking Function.

This would help them find the weak points of the Human cities, allowing them to eliminate most of the danger that came with it.

The Demonic Foxes were running around to prepare everything for the breakage of the Defensive Array.

Most Arrays would be protected by supporting Arrays. Some were similar to Illusion Arrays or some kind of sense-distorting Arrays.

This would prove difficult to break quickly, and that’s where the brute-forcing method came in.

It was a one-time use Treasure that would allow you to break most mid-tier supporting Arrays. It would not help you with Defensive Arrays, but those were mostly simple when it came to disassembly.

”Now I’m wondering what they did...” Aiko pondered on it, but she couldn’t figure out why they were so up in arms.

”That goes a long way back. You will have to wait till they depart, and I will tell you.” It was quite a chaotic situation, so the Demonic Saintess was unable to indulge Aiko.

”I also noticed that you are not drawing in Qi like other Beasts...” Aiko narrowed her eyes.

The Demonic Saintess paused but still smiled. ”You are very perceptive. That will make everything a lot easier later.” She was quite happy that Aiko was smart.

”Fine... but you better make it worth it!” Aiko pouted. She didn’t like when someone was dangling a juicy story in front of her. Only to not deliver on that promise.

”En.” The Demonic Saintess smiled again.

...

The Demonic Foxes were lined up in rows. They were waiting for the Communication Stones so that they could depart.

While a few of them wanted to use the old maps, those maps didn’t show any buildings or anything.

Everyone came to the conclusion that they should start anew so that the old map doesn’t affect the new one.

”I didn’t think you could store different maps like that...” Aiko was more and more curious about who created this wonderful device.

Was it Human? Beast? Some kind of other creature? Aiko didn’t know, but she wondered what was the intention behind this device.

”Yeah, I’m not sure for what reason you would have it, but it’s pretty handy when we are testing someone.” The Demonic Saintess smiled.

”And it only requires White Jade...” This by no means was cheap, but it was not expensive either.

”You can also use Imperial Jade, but those are so scarce that it doesn’t justify the usage.” The Demonic Saintess sighed.

This whole Sacred Realm had only a few pieces of Imperial Jade, and even those were mostly monopolised by Humans.

The Demonic Saintess had one Imperial Jade, but she didn’t want to use it for something like a map.

”They are quite lively.” Aiko hummed to herself as her ears gently twitched.

”Because everything will end in this part of the Sacred Realm...” The Demonic Saintess was convinced that they would be able to reclaim everything and get rid of the Humans.

”They are almost gone. Are we starting?” Aiko tilted her head, wondering about the backstory.

”Sure, let me prepare a few things...” The Demonic Saintess smiled.

...

”So... where should I start... We will skip a few things and get to the pivotal moment of my life. We were running away from Human Cultivators, but I was stabbed by my partner...”

The sun was going down as the blackness of the night approached. It was a humid evening with signs of rain coming along.

They were running away during the conspiracy that was made against them.

The Demonic Saintess’s sister was a dummy who didn’t understand poisons all that much at the time, so she believed that she died.

”That reminds me of someone...” Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”Does it? I don’t think she is in the Mortal World any more...” The Demonic Saintess pondered. ”Moreover, if I see her, I would like to kick her butt! Who buries someone without checking if they are dead!” It seemed like the Demonic Saintess held a small grudge.

The Demonic Saintess was then transported by Humans to their camp. They were gathering Beasts so that they could inherit the Demonic Inheritance.

Their most preferred target was Foxes since they were weaker than conventional Beasts. Moreover, they always looked youthful and beautiful, making them the prime target for greedy Humans.

The Demonic Saintess was dragged in front of a Black Obelisk with old Runes.

At first, she didn’t understand what was happening, but soon, thoughts and things poured into her mind.

She was quite compatible since she was a prodigy.

And thus, the Demonic Saintess was born.

”But-” Aiko wanted to say something but was shushed by the Demonic Saintess.

”I’m not finished. I will give you an opportunity to ask questions later.” The Demonic Saintess giggled.

There was an uncountable number of voices that had invaded her mind. Most were grieving, wanting revenge for their injustice.

This... had very little effect on the Demonic Saintess. She understood her path too well, and she had already walked that path for some time now. Simple voices wouldn’t affect her.

The Demonic Voices calmed down.

”You should run.”

”You can’t stay here.”

”You will become their slave if you stop now.”

”Rage.”

”Hate.”

”Never forgive.”

”Never forget.”

The voices screamed about irrelevant things, but the Demonic Saintess didn’t care.

They were the voices of the old, forgotten in the river of time, unable to seek justice for themselves. They became what we call-

”Vengeful Spirits.” Aiko narrowed her eyes, and the Demonic Saintess patted her gently.

Unlike normal Vengeful Spirits, which mostly attacked humans. These were able to impart their knowledge.

Seeing how well the Demonic Saintess was taking in their thoughts and intentions, they gave her even more.

Knowledge of the past. Research of the past. Duty of the past and much, much more.

The Demonic Saintess understood where the Demonic Lineage stood. They were the protectors of Worlds. Beings which were supposed to be there to balance things out.

Yet a certain greedy palace sealed them, making them writhe in agony.

The greedy palace was able to monopolise more Qi, but at what cost...

”I’m not interested in that palace.” Aiko stopped the Demonic Saintess since there were still things she wanted to know.

The Demonic Saintess was able to break through the encampment and destroy the Black Inheritance Stone.

Unfortunately, she was unable to destroy it completely before she was chased by the Human Cultivators.

She was once again chased throughout the continent until she and her group stumbled upon this Sacred Realm.

”We didn’t have much choice at that time since we would’ve been wiped out. Moreover, with around 1,200 Foxes, it was safe to say that we would have the upper hand inside the Sacred Realm.” The Demonic Saintess liked Aiko’s hair, so she kept caressing it.

”1,200?” Those numbers didn’t math for Aiko, as there were only around 600 to 700 Demonic Foxes.

”The Sacred Realm was never visited before, so...” The Demonic Saintess pursed her lips. Unlike right now, she was not a good leader before, and she had to learn the hard way about what her orders might cause.

”I understand.” Aiko nodded gently and used her lap as a pillow. ’This sensation...’ She felt familiar with this sensation.

”But we caused them to suffer even greater ’wounds’. 3 of their best Mahayana Cultivators died while entering the Sacred Realm due to the restrictions.” The Demonic Saintess was happy about that part.

The confused Foxes quickly scavenged the Sacred Realm for resources that would allow them to build their own safe haven.

It took them over 50 years to achieve this, but once they realised that, they also noticed that their Souls were bound to this place.

Both Beasts and Humans were enraged at the owner of this place, but since they were now part of it, they were unable to hurt the owner.

”But some still tried, no?” Aiko raised her eyebrows.

”En, and they turned into ashes.” The Demonic Saintess shook her head. Fortunately, none of her Demonic Foxes were stupid.

That’s also when the great Sacred Realm war started. It was Humans who were trapped here and tried to set up an enslavement colony, vs Beasts and Foxes trying to prevent that.

”They wanted to funnel already tamed Beasts into the Mortal World so that they could empower their Sects, right?” Aiko narrowed her eyes again.

”En. It was quite a sinister yet genius plan. Unlike the Mortal World, Sacred Realm never had Humans before, so the Beasts over here didn’t know how to properly deal with them.” The Demonic Saintess sighed.

At first, the Beasts were unwilling to team up with the Foxes, but once a certain princess was ravaged by the beastly Humans, they quickly changed their tune.

An enormous stampede occurred.

Such a huge stampede was never seen before, and it almost wiped out all of the Humans inside the Sacred Realm, but that’s where things got more difficult.

”They got outsiders help.” Aiko tried to predict what had happened.

”En.” The Demonic Saintess really liked this small Fox. She might have caused her quite a headache, but she was cute and smart.

The ’Hunter Sect’ and ’Hunter Association’ joined forces in order to conquer this land.

They funnelled resources and personnel in order to create fortress cities that could defend against the stampedes.

The Beasts were pushed back, but the Humans were unable to go out.

A Cultivator from the Upper Realm came down to negotiate a ceasefire for those who wished to train themselves in the Sacred Realm.

Of course, the rules didn’t apply to the Hunters, so they could still be targeted by Beasts.

”So you have to be careful about hurting young Cultivators...” Aiko sighed.

”En...” The Demonic Saintess also sighed. ”But the borders are vague, so if we don’t like someone, we can always come up with a solution.” She giggled sinisterly.

Aiko nodded slightly as her ears snipped.

’Such large ears...’ The Demonic Saintess had never encountered a Fox with such huge ears.

Things got muddled in the middle since neither the Human Cultivators nor Beasts were willing to anger the Cultivator from the Upper Realm.

The peace, however, didn’t last long. The Human Cultivators found a special Relic, one that allowed you to see the general map from a Dragon’s perspective.

”Table Map...” Aiko narrowed her eyes.

The Demonic Saintess smiled again. This little Fox was really making her happy...