Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”You can’t simply ignore the upkeep, as everything needs to be carefully calculated since you are doing something pretty difficult and moving around.” Chen Shi sighed. ”There is no remedy for this. You will have to balance the Qi yourself and keep in mind the changes in ambient Qi.”

”Can’t you just isolate the Formation?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”So that your opponent can break it, making you suffer backlash?” Chen Shi shrugged at her.

”Never mind...” Moon Aiko sighed. ”This stuff is so difficult. Inscriptions are really the easiest.”

”They are only easy because you can understand them without outside help.” Chen Shi rolled his eyes. If this was not Aiko he was talking about, his heart would definitely stop.

”I can’t help it.” Moon Aiko shrugged.

”So, Inscriptions are like connected stories or words. Formations are all about positions and the number of flags. What about the Arrays?” Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly.

”You will like Arrays if you like Inscriptions. It might follow different rules, but you still have to understand them.” Chen Shi smiled.

”Alright.” Moon Aiko listened intently.

”The first thing you need for an Array is a medium. Most would use Array Chalk, but that can be smudged, and it would be difficult to remove it from the place when you are in a hurry.” Chen Shi pulled something out of his pocket. ”This is Array Qi Powder. It’s similar to the Array Chalk, but it doesn’t get smudged, and you can quickly remove it if you imbue it with your Qi.”

”Wouldn’t that remove it by accident?” Moon Aiko frowned.

”It needs your Qi. Ambient Qi and Spirit Stones just power it, but don’t remove it.” Chen Shi moved the powder in front of Aiko.

”Wait, does that mean this powder is infused with a single individual’s Qi?” Moon Aiko felt something strange about this powder, since it felt like Chen Shi’s Qi.

”You are correct.” Chen Shi nodded his head. ”While Array Chalk can be used by anyone and passed around. You can’t do that with Array Qi Powder, as it is bound to a single individual.”

”I see...” Moon Aiko would definitely go for this option, but also keep a bit of chalk around. ”What about strengthening the given art?”

”Inscriptions... you just have to write more of them. Formations you add Flags, while Arrays have more options.” Chen Shi smirked and pulled out a large glass bead.

”You can get higher quality chalk and Spirit Stone, or you can introduce Array Core.” Chen Shi moved the core in front of Aiko.

”It feels strange again.” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”Because it’s not set up.” Chen Shi nudged the core. ”Since it drains the ambient Qi, that strange sensation is from that, since Beasts are more sensitive to those kinds of changes.”

”Does that mean that it’s easier to conceal Formation?” Moon Aiko blinked at him.

”Until you activate it, you can keep the Formation hidden, yes.” Chen Shi smiled. It was so nice to be able to talk with someone who was actually intelligent. ”Arrays always drain something, even the powder or chalk itself drains the ambient Qi.”

”While it’s minuscule, some Beasts still manage to spot it, in which case your ambush would fail for sure.” Chen Shi supported his chin.

”So, Formation for ambushes or quick fights, while Arrays for bases and defensive encampments?” Moon Aiko believed she had it right.

”That’s not quite right. Formation can also be used for defence, while Array can also be used on offence. Do not limit your imagination just because you feel you can’t use it in other ways.” Chen Shi shook his head in disagreement.

”Most grand Arrays include some kind of counterattack against anything that hits it.” Chen Shi explained the mechanism behind it.

”So Arrays are more about how to utilise the rules and Runes.” Moon Aiko pondered on it.

”You are more or less right. An array is an assortment of Runes that are connected in a special way and conjure the effects based on said placement.” Chen Shi nodded his head.

”But all 3 feel very different.” Moon Aiko’s lips twitched. She was unable to make heads or tails of this.

”That’s because you have not explored Inscriptions all that much. Have you ever tried to create a Storage Pouch? How about a basic Flying Sword?” Chen Shi shrugged.

”No.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”I can’t quite understand how to create either of those.”

”You can’t at all?” Chen Shi was startled. ”You already have all the tools to make them, but it seems you don’t know how to use them.” He nodded his head slowly.

”Let’s take this simple Storage Pouch. It creates about .5m2 of space. Not much, but as long as you can learn this, making bigger spaces would be just about stacking the effects on top of each other.” Chen Shi explained.

”Let’s say that I understand this, but wouldn’t it be easier to create one powerful Inscription, rather than many small ones?” Moon Aiko felt like it would be a pain in the ass if she had to make so many repeated Runes.

”But once that one large Inscription breaks, all your stuff gets thrown out. Meanwhile, with many smaller Inscriptions, you can ensure that before it fails, you will still have enough time to replace it.” Chen Shi erased one layer, but nothing was thrown out.

That was only until there were 3 last layers, and some kind of rough paper got flung out of it.

”See? You have plenty of time to replace it or stop using it before it fails on you.” Chen Shi demonstrated the ingenuity of this piece.

”I see...” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”But what if the middle part breaks?”

”Then anything above this will cease to function. So you will have only half of the storage.” Chen Shi rubbed his head.

”And as you have guessed, if you can find the very first Inscription that is holding this whole thing together, then you can just eject all of their stuff.” Chen Shi groaned unhappily, since it happened to him more than once.

”That’s dangerous...” Moon Aiko nodded her head. It seemed like she would be in great danger if she didn’t solve this issue.

”First, try to create a few Storage Pouches. While the materials are expensive, you won’t be able to move if you don’t learn this.” Chen Shi pulled all the necessary materials out. ”I hope you treat that Carving Pen well, since it will be useful now.”

”...” Moon Aiko nodded stiffly. She still didn’t figure out what to call it.

”Oh, right. How do you create a Treasure Spirit?” Moon Aiko’s eyes sparkled slightly.

”You mean to create a Numinous Treasure?” Chen Shi paused. ”That’s quite difficult. Treasure needs to meet quite a few requirements before you can even consider that.”

”What are they?” Moon Aiko conjured her Carving Pen and got to work to copy the Storage Pouch to another fabric.

”First, you need enough Qi in the material itself and stable Qi coming from outside. Neither of these is easy, but they can be solved by high-quality materials and Qi Gathering Runes.” Chen Shi proclaimed.

”The rate is a bit iffy, but you can figure out something to stabilise it, but the problem is with the next step.” Chen Shi groaned. ”Most of them call it the ’breath of life’ because those fuckers can’t explain it either.” He was quite unhappy about that part.

”I have not quite figured out this part, since it’s so damn complex. To put it simply, you need to create the perfect condition for the Soul to exist. Then you need enough Qi inside to attract some kind of Soul that would rest inside.” Chen Shi described it with his doodles.

”But here is where the issue comes up. The more Qi you include, the easier it is to attract a Treasure Spirit, but at the same time, it’s possible that your Treasure becomes possessed, making it unusable or straight up dangerous.” Chen Shi shook his head.

Moon Aiko finished the first Storage Pouch. The space inside fluctuated, and it was very unstable, but it was working.

Chen Shi took it while he kept going. ”So you have to adjust the Qi, materials, and make it habitable, but the outrageous thing is that you have to adjust all of that based on how large the Treasure is!” He slammed the table in anger, from both this ridiculous requirement, but also that Aiko was able to create a semi-permanent Storage Pouch.

”Can’t you do basic calculations and then decide how much you need?” Moon Aiko’s ears snipped left and right since she was trying to figure out how to do this.

”That is impossible. Do you know how hard it is to create one Numinous Treasure? Almost impossible, so you don’t and won’t have enough data to do anything with it.” Chen Shi shrugged. ”This Storage Pouch is very unstable, so you can’t use it, but you are getting there.”

Moon Aiko picked more materials for another Storage Pouch. ”Can’t we gather Numinous Treasures and see how big they are and stuff?”

”You are thinking too simply this time.” Chen Shi shook his head. ”Did you forget that the Treasure Spirit could grow?”

”Ah...” Moon Aiko completely forgot about that part. ”But there are Treasures that can grow by themselves, no?”

”That’s only possible with certain metal combinations.” Chen Shi shook his head. ”And naturally those combinations are ridiculously expensive.” He snorted unhappily.

”So we are at the end of the road.” Moon Aiko frowned.

”Not quite, you can always study old texts and their flowery words and try to figure out how they made it.” Chen Shi shrugged.

Moon Aiko kept staring at him.

”You can only get those books if you can deal with the bastard in the Temple.” Chen Shi snorted in anger. That bastard was giving him a headache these days.

”That’s on the menu.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”Don’t spare him.” Chen Shi nodded his head at her.

”Don’t worry.” Moon Aiko chuckled and moved the Storage Pouch in front of him.

”Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at you, already trying to experiment when you can’t even create a stable space.” Chen Shi shook his head disapprovingly.

”But without experimentation, you can’t progress.” Moon Aiko shrugged.

”But with experimentation, you will pick up bad habits. You should first master the basics before moving on.” Chen Shi warned her.

Moon Aiko pouted, not willing to concede this part, since experimentations would give birth to new creations!