Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Ling Ling stared at the audacious Fox before being dragged away by Long Chen.

She was upset at him for this since it was a big deal.

Dragons, unlike other Beasts, had more options on how to ’lead’ their lives and thus cultivation.

From constantly consuming Qi to hoarding materials in order to make mega structures. There were many types of Dragons.

But all of them would never refuse Spirit Crystals.

If Spirit Stone was the condensation of Qi in a given region, then Spirit Crystal was its bigger brother.

The amount of Qi, that was contained inside the Spirit Crystal, would be able to power a whole fleet of flying ships. Not to mention, it also had a wisp of Immortal Qi, which was necessary to progress into the Mahayana Stage Cultivation.

Most Mahayana Stage Cultivators would stumble upon the wisp of Immortal Qi during their lifetime, but if one had at least 1 Spirit Crystal. They would be pretty much guaranteed to reach that stage easily and safely.

However, for Dragons, it was much more than that. Their Inner Core, or rather the Immortal Dragon Furnace, used a lot of Immortal Qi to progress.

It was powered by their Dragon Heart, which acted similar to a Beast Core or Foxes’ Pearl. It could contain and produce a bit of energy constantly, as long as you supply it with proper materials or adapt your body.

For Dragons, owning a Spirit Crystal was like a ticket for the early stages of the Immortal Dragon Furnace, allowing them to use Immortal World Rules in the Mortal World.

This was a big deal since they would be able to do contests against other Dragons and ’get’ their Treasures, making them even more powerful.

As such, Ling Ling was planning to steal a few for herself and use them, especially against her foolish sister, who lost her heart.

...

Aiko was completely unaware about that, and she couldn’t be bothered.

’What is happening...?’ Aiko was now in a black world. The ocean was high up in the skies, and below her was solid ground with jagged edges here and there.

It felt like she was on some kind of rocky plateau.

Looking around, she couldn’t see anyone.

”I didn’t think you would visit us so soon...” An elderly man(?) greeted Aiko slowly.

”No, it appears you are not yet here...” He slowly observed her. ”Others are also waiting for you. You made us quite worried, so come back soon.” He sincerely smiled at her.

”Ah, but don’t misunderstand. We won’t step in unless your Soul is being threatened.” He chuckled at her. ”Of course, the younger generation is eager, but treat them well. They are not as powerful and easily destroyed.”

Aiko felt a strange sensation on her body. It felt pleasantly familiar yet, at the same time, saddening.

Aiko briefly nodded because she realised that she couldn’t talk at all.

”It seems like you have found something nice.” The elderly man(?) smiled. ”While that little 8-legged guy is mischievous, it is not strong enough, so don’t abuse it like you usually do...”

Aiko slowly shook her head. She never really commanded her little spider.

”Ah, and once you have time to think about it, give it a name. Maybe something magical will happen.” He chuckled again.

”But since you have already visited me...” The elderly man(?) suddenly got sentimental. ”Right, you should head west once you are in a safer position. There is something happening over there and something delicious that you can obtain if you come at the right time.” He was exceptionally happy that she came back, albeit briefly.

If they lost her, her parents wouldn’t leave it be, and that would be a disaster for everyone.

Aiko slowly tilted her head, wondering about what the kind grandpa was talking about.

”Ah, it makes me happy that you think of me as Grandpa.” The elderly man(?) smiled happily.

”Now it’s time to go. Your Soul is too weak. You should eat some Souls to get stronger so that we can meet again.” The kind grandpa narrowed his eyes. ”Right, the Demonic Foxes have something nice that can help you with that, but it’s just a silly prototype.”

The kind grandpa chuckled. ”Take it and properly redo it. I believe you will have great success with it.”

Aiko tilted her head before nodding. She felt somewhat compelled to listen to him, and nothing about what he said seemed dangerous to her, so she had no issues with it.

”Good, good. Enjoy your time, don’t just rush it.” The happy grandpa laughed.

”I wish you a safe journey, Princess.” The grandpa suddenly vanished, and the whole scenery disappeared in front of Aiko.

-----

”What do you think? I was right~!” A certain someone chuckled.

”That seems to be the case, but who would’ve thought that so many changes would happen due to her.” The ’grandpa’ scratched his head.

”All is good for us since we only move with the Princess.” A certain girl chuckled back.

”Right, who was the one who guessed the Princess wrong?” He glared at her.

”Oh, shut it!” She clicked her tongue.

They started to bicker like siblings while the grandpa was deep in thought.

”Elder, we should make some changes to our world.” The ’grandpa’ said slowly.

”Again...?” A voice sounded from somewhere, but the bickering duo immediately stopped.

”It’s not that bad. It seemed like our Princess was intrigued, so just change a thing or two.” The ’grandpa’ chuckled.

The Elder was shocked. Their Princess never liked anything and would just laze around, but that same Princess now liked things?!

”Are you sure she is our Princess...?” The voice drifted into their minds once again.

The ’grandpa’ chuckled as he had already started to make plans to change this place.

-----

Aiko woke up surrounded by her tails. They were very enthusiastic about something.

When she rubbed her sleepy eyes, there were signs of destruction around her.

[##########]

[##]

[You have obtained: Mark of ####]

[[Little Nightmares] changed into [Little #### Nightmares].]

[They can no longer be improved by normal means.]

[You need to grow stronger for them to grow stronger.]

[Certain Cultivation Stages will give them new powers.]

[Immortal Wisp can gain them new power. (Up to a point.)]

[Updating Mission.]

[Requesting Points of Interest.]

[More Systems were integrated.]

[It’s incomplete integration. New Systems will stay dormant for the time being.]

The destruction was caused by her Tails, but the main culprit was a certain Dragoness...

’How dare she try to steal from our Princess!’

’Death to her! Death to her!’

’Make a nice roast out of her!’

’Quiet. Our Princess is sleeping, and we shall not move.’

’Hmpf.’

’Tsk.’

Snort

Rolls eyes

Aiko blinked slightly absent-mindedly because there were too many changes.

The biggest change would be the change in landscape, all thanks to the fight.

Aiko yawned as her Tails shrunk back. They no longer barked at each other and cautiously lay next to her.

Ling Ling glared at her. No, rather, she was glaring at the Spirit Crystals.

Aiko stored them before stretching.

[New Missions were applied.]

[Happenings in the West!]

[Demonic Foxes’ Prototype!]

[Previous Missions were either reset or deleted.]

[Missions will be obtained mostly from Secret/Sacred Realms and Sacred Grounds.]

[Missions in Mortal World will be updated and increased in difficulty.]

[This increase allows the User to have better Evolutions.]

[More requirements for Evolution added.]

[Adjusting the Human Stage System.]

Aiko was swarmed with messages, making her head tingle.

Her body changed to the Moon Aiko so that she had an easier time dealing with it.

At that moment, Long Chen arrived.

”What happened?!” He knew that Ling Ling was eyeing her Treasures, but he didn’t step in since he believed they were quite harmonious.

That, in turn, turned into this mess, and now he had to deal with it.

Aiko passed by him since she wanted to finish this puzzle as quickly as possible.

’I need to change my approach.’ Aiko completely ignored everyone and went to the passage to play the game.

Long Chen glanced at Ling Ling. ”I will heal you.”

”Thank you...” Ling Ling pursed her lips. Both her body and Soul were damaged by that damn Vixen, so she had a hard time activating the healing powers in her Horns.

All she could do was rely on this bastard to help her.

”No need to glare at me. I’m trying to help you...” Long Chen was a bit saddened that Ling Ling hadn’t opened up to him completely.

...

Aiko walked through the passage, touching the Runes. Most of them blinked at her, but Aiko didn’t care.

’It’s useless to try to touch them with speed.’ Aiko shook her head as each Rune had an additional Rune inside.

It was a short-distance Qi infusion. Aiko would be able to amplify it thanks to her dual Beast Cores.

The only troublesome thing about this was the fact that she had to touch all the 2,000+ Runes...

”Out of the way!” The Elf sped next to her as she kept pressing the Runes in sequence.

’This...’ Aiko blinked a few times. ’She is faster than aim...?’

”Slept well~?” The Flower Demon smiled at her. The scent wafting from her almost made her go mad. ’How is it possible that it’s even stronger-!’ She couldn’t believe her senses, but her body was reinvigorated just because she was close to her.

”Mhm.” Aiko simply nodded. She felt like she had some kind of dream, but she couldn’t remember it.

”Should I help you with the puzzle...?” The Flower Demon noticed that she was quite sleepy, so she wanted to curry favour with this.

”I’m too tired to do this, but I don’t need help.” Aiko yawned slightly. She was more reserved since she felt like someone was watching her.

”Should I do something about the Dragoness...?” The Flower Demon whispered.

”There is no need.” Aiko felt like keeping them in this state was more beneficial.

Ling Ling would be more cautious about her, which would make Long Chen take upon even more burdens.

”Dammit! I only reached 1,200 Runes! How was Long Chen able to get 1,800?!” The Elf cursed loudly.

The Flowed Demon snorted disdainfully. ”They all think that speed is the key.”

”They just don’t have the mindset and tools to do it in our way.” Aiko narrowed her eyes as she spotted the vines and Runes in places one would not expect.

”I will not get in your way.” The Flower Demon shivered when her location was found out.

”I haven’t said anything.” Aiko was back to her expressionless self, so it was difficult for the Flower Demon to gauge her emotions.

Even if she had an Innate Ability that could do it, she was still unable to gauge her emotions properly.

This made her even more wary. ’Did she become even stronger...? No, the Qi inside didn’t change. It’s just that her demeanour changed greatly.’ The Flower Demon nodded to herself.

Aiko finally touched the 2,187 Runes.

”You have spotted all the working Runes, but do you-” The Flower Demon tried to help her, but-

Aiko suddenly slapped the ground, and a gush of Qi poured into every direction. All the Runes light up on the wall and in the correct order!

”...” The Flower Demon gulped awkwardly. She didn’t expect that the little Foxy was so skilled!