Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Witch Aiko arrived with the others at the Shadows Peak.

The new Shadows Peak was located inside a small meadow, some ways away from every other Peak.

This place was quite well hidden thanks to the dense vegetation. Vines hung almost everywhere, and thanks to the thick leaves, it concealed this place well.

You also had to account for the lack of Qi, which made this place even more concealed unless you were looking for ’living’.

Thanks to that, even the Sect Leader was none the wiser about this place.

There were Shadow Foxes running around, unaware that they were being watched.

”It’s quite lively.” Witch Aiko looked around, but she couldn’t find any familiar faces.

”A lot of them deserted, and Elder Lin disappeared with the Young Master.” Zhi explained the situation briefly.

”Why did they desert?” Danji narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like this place at all.

”Well, they were ’possessed’, one could say.” Zhi shrugged.

”Sex-addicts.” Witch Aiko shook her head.

”Yeah, some of the Shadow Numbers also used those techniques, so what you see right now are the remnants of the Shadows Peak.” Zhi sighed.

”It’s because this one didn’t pay enough attention.” Witch Aiko immediately called out the Shadows Peak Elder.

”I wouldn’t hold it against her.” Zhi defended her. ”When I saw the state the Shadows Peak was in and the ’guests’ that permanently occupied this place, it would be hard to say that things were simple.”

”Was it that bad?” Witch Aiko blinked at him.

”I can’t say.” Zhi shook his head. ”You might be very skilled when it comes to this thing, but she was assigned as Shadows Peak Elder only because of her abilities. She had no management skills, and even when she tried, there were Elders who would sabotage her efforts.”

”So it was a shithole.” Witch Aiko nodded her head.

”...” Zhi didn’t know how to defend this one, since it was more or less true.

”What is left are the Foxes that actually did missions for the Fox Village. So without this place, the Fox Village is pretty much doomed.” Zhi chuckled. He already succeeded in contacting the Beast Sect, too, so they had a place on the mainland to take.

Zhi didn’t want to deal with the Fox Sect at all, since he heard quite the awful things from the Beast Sect and surrounding Human Sects.

Were those rumours true? Hard to say, but it was easier to join the Beast Sect since they had a dedicated Peak for every Beast... that also included Foxes.

”Not bad.” Witch Aiko chuckled. She approved of this kind of thing.

”We will be joining the Beast Sect. How about your team?” Zhi cautiously asked about this, since if she joined the Fox Sect, she might be forced to tell them their real location.

”I’m not sure...” Witch Aiko didn’t have any intention of leaving with the Delegation. There was something that she had to do... something that she had to visit.

”I will explain why we are joining the Beast Sect.” Zhi walked among the Shadow Foxes, yet he was still not noticed.

”Please do.” Witch Aiko was curious why he would ’switch sides’.

”Roughly speaking, there are only about 60 to 70% of Foxes inside the Fox Sect. About 30% joined the Beast Sect, and there are also scattered Hidden Clans, so it’s hard to say about the exact numbers.” Zhi started simply and then explained in more detail.

”Most races have their own Peak, and they get resources depending on their performance, but there are some races that are excluded from this rule.” Zhi licked his lips. ”As you might expect, Foxes are one such race. We are allowed to take more resources or exchange resources for our expertise.”

”How does that work, and doesn’t that upset others?” Witch Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”You might think that, but they have secured that. Each Peak gets a certain amount of resources, no matter what they do. Foxes are the same.” Zhi walked into the temporary building that was being used by his partner.

It was a very simple log cabin, with a very cosy interior, but Witch Aiko was unable to find her ’collection’.

That might be for the better, since that would mean the Shadows Peak Elder was actually doing her work instead of ramming herself with dragon dildos.

”Then you have a yearly tournament. I wouldn’t go into too much detail, since there are several types of tournaments.” Zhi chuckled. ”But Foxes have the ability to ’sell’ their art and skill set.”

”Their main attractions are the perfect illusions and visuals. Mainly music or anything finger-related, as Foxes are the most skilled in that department.” Zhi gently placed his partner on a nearby sofa.

”Wouldn’t they sell themselves?” Witch Aiko tilted her head.

”That’s where the main ’issues’ lie. Most Beasts are not interested in Foxes in that way, because they are the weakest race. Thus, they are not looking for Foxes as partners, but as companions or for passing time.” Zhi moved a tea set on a nearby table and invited them.

”Thanks to that, most Foxes are invited for their skill instead of their...” Zhi trailed his words, but it was obvious what he was hinting at.

”But of course, some races love to indulge, so you should be careful, especially once you reach your Human Body, as that pretty much becomes a free-for-all.” Zhi laughed.

”You seem cheerful.” Witch Aiko narrowed her eyes.

Zhi smiled. ”Because I know you are smart, and I also know that my Sis will try to convince you-

”Not gonna happen.” Danji stuck out her tongue. If Aiko wanted to join the Fox Sect, she would follow her.

”Huh?” Zhi was stupefied, but recovered quickly.

”Fox Sect is too dangerous. There are also rumours about using a hidden Contract on anyone who joins them.” Zhi warned her Sis. ”Especially the Contract about leaving the Sect. You would have to abandon your intelligence!”

”I believe that everything can be bypassed.” Danji had full trust in Aiko.

”I won’t be coming with you with the Delegation, so consider your choices.” Witch Aiko suddenly dropped this bombshell.

”W-what?” Danji stuttered, since she didn’t expect this at all!

”Yeeeah. There is something I need to do, and I need you to establish a stable foothold on the mainland.” Witch Aiko pursed her lips. It was obvious that Danji was unwilling, but she needed this.

”I’m going to follow you until we separate.” Danji was smart, but she also had her needs. She would stick to Aiko until the Delegation was about to leave.

”Speaking of separation.” Witch Aiko moistened her lips, making everyone shudder.

”How about separating the Delegation from the flying ship~?” Witch Aiko chuckled sinisterly.

”What do you propose?” The Shadows Peak Elder was awake for some time, but she didn’t have a good opportunity to join.

”We can steal that flying ship and give it to the Beast Sect as a bargaining chip~” Witch Aiko hummed again.

”...” The group looked at her with fear, but what she said could be used, but...

”We can’t operate the flying ship.” The Shadows Peak Elder was the first one to reject that idea. ”Nobody knows the way to the mainland, so we would get lost without a guide...”

”How about taking some of those from the Delegation with us?” Witch Aiko was sure that she could convince that odd, but gorgeous girl.

”Impossible.” The Shadows Peak Elder shook her head. ”Only the Head of the Delegation knows about the way, since he is the only one strong enough to stay outside the rooms.

’What about Mei...’ Witch Aiko pondered on that, but it was not like she could say it without Mei’s approval.

”There might be another way, so let’s explore this a bit further.” Witch Aiko smiled again.

”You won’t be able to convince the Head of the Delegation...” The Shadows Peak Elder frowned.

”Don’t worry, his head will make for nice decoration~” Witch Aiko hummed.

”How dreadful.” The Shadows Peak Elder was taken aback.

”I think that if we can take their riches, the Beast Sect will take us even if they didn’t want to.” Danji nodded at her slowly.

”Why do you say that?” Witch Aiko raised her eyebrow.

”If we steal the flying ship, we can pretty much move the whole Fox Village with us. Well, at least those that are not bad.” Danji gestured and conjured a small demonstration.

”There are MANY Foxes that would join us, but that means that the previous deal about taking just the Shadows Peak and a few individuals would fall through.”

”The Fox Sect would also not stand for this, as there would be way too many Foxes that they lost and would try to retrieve them.”

”By taking their riches and flying ships, we should have enough bargaining power for us to negotiate and secure everyone’s seats.”

”You want to demolish the Fox Village.” Witch Aiko nodded her head slowly. ”How do you think moving would work?”

”That’s the difficult part.” The Shadows Peak Elder clicked her tongue. ”We will be moving targets once the Human Sects realise that the Fox Village is moving.”

”We could use the other flying boats as defences and move them into an Array?” Zhi suggested.

Meanwhile, Witch Aiko pondered. ’I wonder if I could invite ’those’ Beasts...’

”That would burn a lot of riches that we would need in order to negotiate.” The Shadows Peak Elder shook her head.

’Even if they didn’t move, as long as their children moved, they could pretty much mow anyone down.’ Witch Aiko smiled happily. She didn’t believe that they wouldn’t hear her out if she solved their Contract ’problem’!

”So we still can’t do that, huh...” Zhi sighed.

”I think we should discuss this more.” Danji noticed Aiko’s sinister smile, like she already had some tricks up her sleeve. ”There should be ways to go about this, right?” She turned towards Aiko, startling her.

”Huh?” Witch Aiko was not paying attention to their conversation, making them slightly upset.

”We are talking about moving the flying ship into a defensive Array.” Zhi rolled his eyes.

”You don’t have to worry about that, but we need to sort the Foxes so we won’t get any bad apples.” Witch Aiko hummed happily.

The group rolled their eyes.

The Vicious Jade Fox was too carefree, which made them confused and curious.

If she had a way to deal with this situation, they could even declare war against everyone!

”Well, it will take a while, so you will have to work hard.” Witch Aiko nodded her head.

”What will take a while?” Zhi asked cautiously.

”I have to visit someone for reinforcements, so it will take a while.” Witch Aiko played with the cup that was filled with tea. She had no idea when that happened, but the tea was smooth and mellow, like she liked it.

”We can give you time, but we would have to discuss with our guide if it would be even possible.” The Shadows Peak Elder sighed.

”I will see what I can do.” Witch Aiko didn’t know if it was a good idea to meet Mei right now, but moving this plan forward might help her...?