Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

“I wonder what kind of face the next Soul would make.” Moon Aiko smirked, sending shivers down their spines.

“What?” Moon Aiko looked at the Foxes, pouting.

She then focused on her Treasure and got inside.

The Ghosts were boiling thanks to Grandpa Flame, but this time, there was even fog around here.

“Thank you~” Fang Yue was doubtful about Aiko’s means, but she never saw Souls release so much Soul Essence that turned into Ghost Qi in her life.

This was much more effective than what she was thinking about.

“I learned from the best~” Moon Aiko hummed.

“You sure did.” Grandpa Flame snorted unhappily, since he liked the citrusy smell, but because of that, he didn’t have an excuse to leave this place.

“I wonder if we can make a garden here…” Moon Aiko thought about growing some grass that could empower Grandpa Flame, but the affinity was a problem.

Ghost Grass, or anything grown in here, would have the Yin type, while Grandpa Flame was mostly Yang.

Fang Yue tilted her head, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to work too hard here, since the Ghost Qi that turned into Ghost Essence made her quite lazy.

“Manage the Ghosts/Souls, we can’t let them disappear since they are a good source of Soul Essence.” Moon Aiko gestured towards Fang Yue.

“En.” Fang Yue didn’t think that one could recover the Soul Essence, since it was transformed quite quickly, but this was Aiko she was talking about, so it just might be possible.

“Good, there will be more Souls coming.” Moon Aiko smiled before disappearing.

“Even more, huh?” Fang Yue was slightly bothered by the sudden influx of bothersome individuals, but it couldn’t be helped.

From what she gathered, this war was inevitable, but she didn’t expect other Sects to also join.

“Anyway, we will improve the roasting later. For now, I will go.” Moon Aiko waved her hand before disappearing again.

“So quick…” Fang Yue would teach Aiko later, since she was too lazy to do it right now…

…

Moon Aiko opened her eyes again. “I checked it, and everything is fine. Yue is also doing well.” She smiled happily.

“You are not after Yue, right?” Mei couldn’t help but voice her worry.

“No.” Moon Aiko denied it, since she didn’t want such a stern wife.

“Phew.” Mei breathed a sigh of relief.

She then turned around. “Can we speed things up?”

“I will tell you if I can’t manage it any more.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

The only reason she was able to capture those Souls was because there were a lot of Foxes around.

Otherwise, it would be quite difficult since she couldn’t actually suppress the Mahayana Stage Cultivator’s Soul.

‘I need to somehow improve this Treasure for the future.’ Moon Aiko pondered it, when suddenly she had quite the devilish idea.

[No.]

However, the system denied it in such a hurry that Aiko was speechless.

‘What? I just wanted to connect the Hollow Moon to the Treasure with your help.’ Moon Aiko pouted.

“Everything alright?” Mei noticed Aiko’s expression, so she gently nudged her.

“Everything is fine.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

[Not allowed.]

’How grumpy.” Moon Aiko pouted again.

Another Soul was captured into her Treasure while she was not looking.

“If everything is alright, then we will continue.” Mei gestured to bring more and more of those bastards to the Array and ripped their Souls out.

“There are quite a few of them…” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

“Yeah, so tell me if your Treasure can’t manage them.” Mei smiled softly.

---

{Meanwhile, inside the Treasure}

“Scream for me, bastards!” Liu Ru laughed as she whipped their heads with a whip made out of Ghost Qi.

“Make sure they don’t have any thoughts about escaping, since they could hurt Aiko.” Fang Yue told her sister.

“Of course!” Liu Ru laughed. Coming with Aiko was her best decision, even if it was quite the bumpy ride.

“I also wanted to ask, but how are you able to create so many things out of Ghost Qi?” Liu Ru turned towards her sister.

The Souls patiently listened and waited for their chance to escape.

“Ah, I’m from the Immortal World, where we normally play with Souls to get rid of any impurities and increase the chances of advancing.” Fang Yue said absent-mindedly, but her sister had sparkling eyes.

“Hoho~” Liu Ru smirked and looked at the squirming Souls.

The Souls patiently listened and waited for their chance to escape…

“We also learned how to manipulate their emotions without causing any karmic backlash.” Fang Yue sighed. That part was quite a big issue in the Immortal World, or at least during her rule.

The Souls patiently listened and no longer waited for their chance to escape…

---

“Are those all?” Moon Aiko looked over the breathing, but dead-looking bodies of the Delegations.

“Yeah, if you want, just stick them into your tails and forget about them.” Mei chuckled.

“I could do that, but is there any benefit in doing that?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

“There is a possibility that they would be possessed by Ghosts, making this quite dangerous.” Mei shook her head before looking over the ‘dead’ bodies.

“That’s true…” Moon Aiko nodded. Maybe the Demonic Foxes could use those bodies for something?

“I will just stick them in for the time being.” Moon Aiko collected those bodies, startling everyone present.

Suddenly, Aiko’s Treasure started to glow.

[#### Ghost Harmony Kitsune Vessel (Paper Lantern)(???)]

[Modes: Red - Yellow - Green - White - Blue]

[Effects;

Ghost Storage (127/1k): Liu Ru, Yong Zhiqiang, Liu Zhi (Fang Yue)

Ghost Qi Storage: 100+%/Early Stage Soul Transformation

Ghost Suppression: Soul Transformation -> Golden Elixir

Ghost Nurturing: Enhanced

Ghost Nurturing Size: 10

Ghost Healing: Normal

Ghost Healing Size: 100

(Locked with Qi)

]

Moon Aiko tilted her head.

[The Treasure is trying to use the excess Essence to advance itself.]

The system dutifully responded.

Moon Aiko nodded her head before asking a question. ‘So-’

[No. You can’t connect it to the Hollow Moon.]

‘Tsk. Come on.’ Moon Aiko would have an easier time if the Hollow Moon were getting energy from Ghost Qi.

[…]

It felt like the system was rolling its eyes.

[Insanity]

[Insane Mission]

[Requirements: Reach Human Body, Reach Nascent Soul with Perfected Body/Soul/Qi Cultivation]

[Reward: Insanity^2]

‘You could’ve given me that sooner!’ Moon Aiko pouted, but she appreciated it.

[With the amount of work you will have to put in, some rules can be twisted.]

‘So it went against rules, huh…’ Moon Aiko sighed.

[Obviously, you would pretty much rob the Moon Goddess of her Throne if you did this.]

The system was quite annoyed at her.

‘Can we not do that part?’ Moon Aiko asked the system.

[…]

‘C’mon, I know you can make it happen.’ Moon Aiko smirked.

[I will ask Elder…]

The system sighed.

‘Nice.’ Moon Aiko smirked before turning towards Mei…

---

{Somewhere in the Upper Mortal World}

“I understand that Princess Yueying is powerful, but you also need to strengthen the Soul.” An Elderly Female Dragon gestured.

“Is it because it would be dangerous to fight against Soul Cultivators?” Yueying tilted her head. She quite liked this Grandma, even when she was frail and injured.

“No, once you join as partners, your Souls will resonate. The more powerful the Soul, the stronger the connection.” The Elderly Female Dragon shook her head. “You can already feel the connection between you. All that is left is Dragon Wedding, and you will be able to resonate.”

“However, as you picked Fox out of all races…” She sighed. “Because of their natural inclination, which causes them to have powerful Souls, it might have negative effects if you don’t strengthen yours.”

“That’s so complicated…” Yueying nodded her head slowly.

“Indeed. We have a few ways to strengthen the Soul.” The Elderly Female Dragon nodded her head. “The fastest one would be the Fox’s method.”

“Fuck them until you get them?” Yueying didn’t like that kind of plan.

“Indeed.” The Elderly Female Dragon nodded her head. “I know you might not like it, but this is completely natural for Foxes.”

“Riiiight…” Yueying stared at her teacher doubtfully.

“…” The Elderly Female Dragon just pursed her lips. “I’m telling you the truth.”

“Right…” Yueying sighed. Her teacher probably didn’t understand just how ‘special’ Aiko was.

“What are the other ways?” Yueying asked before her teacher tried to convince her any further.

“If you win the family tournament, you can ask them to visit the Soul Pond. While not as nourishing as Souls, it still should somewhat prepare you for the wedding.” The Elderly Female Dragon gestured.

Yueying pondered for a while. “Are there any other ways?”

“The Best Sect should have some Pills and possibly even a pond that could strengthen you, but it’s unlikely that you will be able to win the tournament, as you are too young.” The Elderly Female Dragon sighed.

“What if I do everything?” Yueying gestured that she wanted to have it all.

“What a greedy little Dragoness.” The Elderly Female Dragon pinched her nose before sighing.

“I will see what I can-” The Elderly Female Dragon noticed a faint light around Yueying. “I will see… I will… WHAT THE HELL?!” She almost flipped the table over.

“What do you mean you can just strengthen the Soul without doing anything?!” The Elderly Female Dragon was livid, since it took her so much time to prepare everything, yet this little rascal’s Soul was expanding so naturally that it pissed her off!

“Pardon?” Yueying was visibly disturbed.

“Tell me, did you sell your Soul or something?” The Elderly Female Dragon laughed awkwardly.

“No.” Yueying denied it, not understanding what was wrong with her teacher.

“…” The Elderly Female Dragon sighed. “Let’s just skip everything and see how to improve your body.”

She did listen to the stories about that Foxy, but she didn’t expect her to be THAT abnormal.

The Treasure was another thing. Sure, Yueying Soul was not expanding THAT fast, but it was still faster than their Soul Pond.

This expansion was also very natural and not forced, which means there would not be any issues down the line, but what enraged her the most was the fact that it was PURE Ghost Qi!

That meant her Soul might even get cleansed!

“Ah…” Yueying was still quite embarrassed about her body. “Can we do it some other time?”

“There is nothing else to do, other than your body. Your combat doesn’t need to be touched upon. You are gathering Qi naturally, and your Soul is being strengthened passively.” The Elderly Female Dragon’s teeth gnashed at that last part, since that was so ridiculous.

“All that’s left is to see what changed with your body with two hearts and how to conceal them.” She nodded her head and didn’t allow Yueying to raise any objections.