Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”Don’t tease her too much.” Yueying smiled wryly. She didn’t expect Aiko to be like this just from a simple exchange.

”But...” Aiko pouted.

Yueying sighed. ”You will have to cooperate with each other while we are inside here.”

”Tsk.” Aiko clicked her tongue. It was not like she couldn’t get along with her, but she didn’t like how she was treated.

”Princess...” Yanyan didn’t like that her Princess was like this.

”See?” Aiko immediately pointed at that insulting look, like she would not let it go until she was apologised to.

Yueying rolled her eyes. ”And you too, Yanyan. You will get along with her.”

”Yes, Princess...” Yanyan was not too thrilled about it.

It would’ve been much better if her Princess mingled with other Dragons rather than Foxes.

Foxes went from being the most reliable partners to the most promiscuous and without conscience. Yanyan didn’t want her Princess to fall prey to that, but it didn’t seem like her Princess would listen to her...

”Good.” Yueying nodded her head. ”We will be travelling for a while together, so it’s good to have a harmonious relationship.”

”Why?” Aiko didn’t understand why Yueying would want to travel with her.

”...” Yueying didn’t know how to put it into words. ”I would like to make a deal with you over the Spirit Crystals.”

”Sure, lemme fondle your boobs.” Nightmare Aiko was just Nightmare Aiko. She was more interested in bodies than good deals.

Yueying’s lips twitched. She was really tempted to make that deal if it was for enough Spirit Crystals, but then she would have a headache over Yanyan, who would hold a grudge against Aiko over this.

”We can figure something out.” Yueying smiled, but she rejected Aiko’s offer.

”See, that’s what I’m talking about. The only non-harmonious one is her.” Nightmare Aiko shamelessly pointed out that Yueying took way too long to reject her offer.

”Don’t tease her too much.” Yueying sighed, and she gently pinched Aiko’s cheeks.

”So... Can other Cultivators really feel your gaze?” Aiko asked important questions. She knew that Spirit Crystals were precious, so she would extract as much information as possible so that Moon Aiko could make good use of it.

”Hmmm... That’s slightly difficult to say. Human Cultivators can feel other Human Cultivators’ gazes, but we are Beasts. While they can vaguely notice us, they mostly only notice our bloodlust and killing intent.” Yueying explained.

”Oh...” Aiko nodded her head. It was slightly different from what others said.

’Is it like this or like that...’ Aiko sighed. There were too many discrepancies everywhere. Be it stories that she heard/read, or personal experiences.

She would have to test everything later once she got the opportunity, but for that, she would also need a Human body, which was unlikely for the time being.

’I still want to Evolve in here, but that still has to wait. Spidey is a bit restless, so I will have to let her go...’ Nightmare Aiko was not good at this stuff, so she just let the whole thing flow naturally.

Spidey wanted to go, so she would let her go.

Yueying wanted to travel together. Then they would travel together.

”But...” Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”What’s wrong?” Yueying tilted her head.

”How are we going to share Treasures?” Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”...” Both Yueying and Yanyan stared at her speechlessly.

”You can keep them.” Yueying suddenly smiled.

”P-Princess?!” Yanyan was shocked. ’Don’t tell me that our Princess had already fallen for her!?’ She cried out inside her mind.

Yueying simply believed that it would be easier to negotiate with Aiko if she had plenty of Treasures inside her pockets.

That way, she would be able to ask for more Spirit Crystals for her Grandpa, too.

’Grandpa always protected me, so I would like to extend his lifespan...’ Yueying narrowed her eyes.

While generally, Dragons were endless, there were times when they would ’age’.

This ageing came mostly from overusing and not replenishing one’s vitality.

It was quite deadly, since many Dragons were drunk on their own power and would not notice that they were consuming their Vitality faster than they could replenish it.

That’s also why young Dragons would never leave their parents’ side and would be banned from using their abilities and techniques until they grew up.

Of course, Yueying was an exception since her parents were somewhere else.

With this, she had to learn how to control her internal energies and not spend too much energy when she conjured her abilities and techniques.

This naturally caused her to be incredible at controlling surrounding energies, meaning she would be able to easily overpower her peers even without Spirit Crystals.

”What do you need Spirit Crystals for?” Aiko tilted her head.

”It’s an easy way to stabilise our internal energies and amplify them.” Yueying explained to Aiko while ignoring Yanyan. It was important to share information if she wanted to obtain what she wanted.

Yanyan was quite clumsy in this aspect, and it didn’t seem like she had learned those kinds of skills just yet.

”Ohhhh...” Aiko nodded her head slowly. This was definitely useful, but it didn’t sound like something she could use yet.

”Is there something you have to have in order to do that?” Aiko tilted her head, but she couldn’t come up with anything.

”Dragon Heart and Internal Furnace.” Yueying smiled. ”Those are the most basic requirements, but you also have Infernal Furnace, Dragon Furnace and so on. So, depending on the stage of your ’Furnace’, you would be able to do more or less.”

”Where are you at?” Aiko wondered just how powerful Yueying was to display that kind of strength and destroy the upper part of her Cauldron.

”Beginning.” Yueying smiled wryly again.

”...” Aiko stopped any questions. This was a great mental blow to both her and Moon Aiko.

They spent so much time forming that Cauldron into perfect shape and reinforcing it, and while it still held that defensive capability, even if it was cracked, Aiko was still unhappy about it.

”Shall we go?” Yueying noticed Aiko’s odd expression, so she changed the topic.

”I will just follow you...” Nightmare Aiko was in low spirits from that information, but that couldn’t be helped.

Who could say that Yueying would say something like that...

...

Aiko walked next to Yueying while Yanyan was glaring at them.

They were currently walking towards the top of the mountain.

It was quite a steep mountain with rocky terrain. There were a few patches of grass here and there, but other than that, it was quite barren.

They weren’t climbing yet, since it was not that steep, but they would still have to watch their steps, so that they didn’t fall and roll down the mountain.

That would be quite dangerous. They wouldn’t only lose a lot of time, but it’s possible that with a clumsy roll, they might inflict injuries upon themselves!

”What are we looking for?” Aiko blinked her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything.

”There are Treasures at the top.” Yanyan looked like she was literally sniffing Treasures.

”I also have this odd feeling that there is something precious on top.” Yueying tilted her head slightly.

This kind of cute demeanour did not quite fit her new body, but since she was hot, Aiko would let it be for the time being.

”And do you know what that is?” Aiko rolled her eyes slightly, since she couldn’t feel anything.

”Fiendish Treasure. It has quite a nasty energy.” Yanyan spat out like she had breathed in something rancid.

”I can’t feel that at all.” Yueying sighed.

”That’s only natural, Princess.” Yanyan soothed her. ”You were banished early due to the ruined ceremony, so you were never able to learn these things. It’s already a great accomplishment that you can feel something from this distance.”

”Mmm...” Yueying didn’t answer properly because she believed she could do better than this.

It was quite unlikely she would be able to do better, since till now she was missing her heart.

For comparison, it was like someone who had lost their eyes, but then suddenly got them back.

Even if you missed them for a few years, the difference in ’vision’ was too startling for anyone normal.

Yueying was actually coping with the influx of information quite well, and that was all thanks to Aiko.

That unfamiliar yet calming energy was soothing her mind, which was overwhelmed with new information.

”Do we have to get that Treasure when it’s Fiendish?” Aiko tilted her head.

”Do you not want it?” Yanyan snorted.

”Just because it is a Fiendish Treasure, doesn’t mean it is unusable.” Yueying explained to Aiko since she still observed that Yanyan was not good with her.

”Really? But why would you say it’s a Fiendish Treasure, then?” Aiko couldn’t understand, wouldn’t that just make it into a normal Treasure?

”Because that weapon or Treasure might possess you. There are also impure energies inside that might lower the strength of the weapon or Treasure.” Yueying kept explaining while Yanyan was sulking.

”Oh... anything possessive is my forte.” Aiko nodded her head. She would be happy to add more Ghosts or just nourishments for her current Ghosts.

”Then I will let you deal with it if it’s about that.” Yueying smiled gently.

”Hmmmm...” Aiko didn’t say much about it. There was this nagging feeling, and the main cause was her [Intention Perception].

It’s been a while since it gave her any kind of signals, probably mostly because everyone was so easy to read that she didn’t need it.

But all of a sudden, that same [Intention Perception] that was asleep was guiding her, explaining the influx of ’intents’.

’It’s a bit murky, but it seems this place is all about possessions...’ Aiko nodded her head slowly. Maybe she should also refine her Treasure here while she is at it? Nobody would really come here, since it was a Fiendish Treasure.

”Are you alright?” Yueying touched Aiko’s shoulder.

”Huh? Yeah.” Aiko was slightly flustered from the sudden touch.

”I was calling you.” Yueying shook her head.

”What’s wrong?” Aiko didn’t notice it, but they were almost at the top. ’Don’t tell me that, that kind of simple thought took me so much time!’ She wanted to cry inside her mind, but right now was not the right time.

”This place is about possessions.” Aiko suddenly said.

Yanyan wanted to retort at her, but was stopped by her Princess.

”How bad is it?” Yueying felt uneasy hearing that from Aiko.

”A very bad nagging feeling. It’s been a while since I felt like this.” Aiko explained how she felt about it, but it was obvious she wouldn’t tell them about her [Intention Perception].

”Hmmmm.” Yueying paused her steps. ”How are you, Yanyan?” She narrowed her eyes. It would be good if Yanyan were at full strength; that way, they would be able to go inside without too much danger.

”I’m fine. A bit tired from the long journey, but I should be able to display my full strength.” Yanyan took this seriously, since the Princess relied on her.

”Good, so if we go inside...” Yueying narrowed her eyes. ”How confident are you?”

”No problem.” Yanyan gave the ’OK’ for this.