Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko marvelled at the endless fluffy clouds that surrounded them.

”If I didn’t know these were clouds, I would have already tried to dive into them.” Moon Aiko lamented that it was not possible, so she swore she would later create a technique that would make it possible!

”I thought you would stay inside?” Mei nudged Aiko gently before wrapping a hand around her waist.

”I will, later.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”It didn’t feel right to stay inside when we just started this.”

”That’s unexpected.” Mei giggled before tilting the boat into the right direction.

”The disc changes often.” Moon Aiko found it strange, so she only made a comment like this. Insults or too many questions wouldn’t get them anywhere, so she was careful.

”We are avoiding small and large Sect Arrays, to prevent any hiccups.” The Elder said calmly, while focusing on the disc.

”How will we find the rest stops?” Moon Aiko was more curious about this part, since they would have to descend to find anything that would fit their needs.

”Those were more or less predetermined.” Mei smiled faintly. ”The ruined cities and villages from a certain stampede...” She narrowed her eyes.

”I have no idea what you mean.” Moon Aiko hummed innocently, but it was obvious she was aware that it was her doing.

”Well, it did save us a lot of time, since most Sects didn’t dare to expand so soon after the stampede, allowing us this leisure journey.” Mei chuckled. While the stampede was a disaster when it came to many businesses, it was very helpful to those who were trying to leave this place.

”Will it be leisurely though?” Moon Aiko tilted her head. She didn’t believe it would be that easy since too many Sects were part of the invasion force.

”Don’t jinx it.” Mei pulled on Moon Aiko’s cheeks.

”Again-” Moon Aiko whined, since her cheeks weren’t pulled for over a month!

...

The trip would be long, with 2 or 3 stops in total, depending on how exhausted the Elders ’pushing’ the continental flying ships would be.

There was a reason why the main person flying the ship had to be very powerful, because once you are over the ocean, you can’t just land and rest. So Mei had to prepare a plan for that too.

”This will be a long journey, so prepare for it.” Yuan nudged the duo, making them shake their heads.

”Hey. I’m just saying.” Yuan pouted before leaving them alone.

”How is the bed inside?” Mei wanted to know a bit more about this tiny boat.

”So-so, I would like to redo most of the features.” Moon Aiko nodded her head seriously, since it was unacceptable for things to be this shabby!

”You are trouble.” Mei sighed, leaning against the rails.

”I can’t help it when things are of a low quality.” Moon Aiko sighed too, sitting down and leaning against the low wall.

”Bored?” Mei sat down next to Aiko.

”Tired, the drain is quite...” Moon Aiko shuddered, since the drain was more significant than she expected, but since they were close to the sky, she was able to gain a lot of Solar Essence.

However, just because she was gaining barely enough to cover this trip, it didn’t mean she didn’t hate the feeling of energy leaving her body.

Fortunately, Moon Aiko didn’t consume any Essence to maintain herself, so there was no drain in that part. Otherwise, this place would be already slowly descending.

”It also makes me sleepy.” Moon Aiko rubbed her eyes.

”That’s only natural, since this would be one of the few times you would get drained like this.” Mei nodded her head slowly. She acknowledged this was pushing it, but it wouldn’t take THAT long, so it shouldn’t permanently affect Aiko.

”Yeah, you should step up your game.” Moon Aiko teased Mei while yawning. She never expected to be this sleepy.

”You still have energy to bite back, huh?” Mei wanted to taunt Aiko, but seeing her so listless... It was better to leave her alone and get used to this energy drain.

”Let’s go inside.” Mei helped Aiko to stand up.

”The bed is mine.” Moon Aiko warned her.

”Of course.” Mei giggled as she guided her inside.

...

Moon Aiko immediately plopped on the bed and fell asleep.

”That was quick.” Mei blinked at her a few times before giving her a peck on the cheek that she just pulled.

”Rest well...” Mei smiled faintly, while slowly and silently going outside, so that she wouldn’t wake up Aiko.

-----

Mei stepped outside, and a few Elders approached her.

”Is everything alright? We are concealing the energy of the continental flying ships, but if the altitude changes...” The Elders wanted to say that the altitude had to be maintained to decrease the burden on the Elders that are maintaining the stealth.

”Everything is fine and some of us are giving some energy into this flying boat, so it will be fine.” Mei didn’t know what kind of consumption this thing had, but since Moon Aiko didn’t complain yet, they were still in the clear.

Once she started to complain, Mei would have to come up with some kind of plan to remedy this, but that could wait.

There was a long journey until they could get the first stop. The subsequent stops were quite close, since that whole area was completely ruined, so they didn’t need to worry about the interference of the other Sects.

In other words, this first part was the biggest hurdle and after it, it would be easy.

”There are some flying ships trying to scout things.” One Elder reported to the Fox Village Leader.

Yuan nodded her head slowly. ”Until they notice us, don’t do anything rash.” She didn’t want to mess with this plan just because she was paranoid.

”I have already prepared a Formation, so once we land the place would be concealed and protected.” Chen Shi chimed in.

”I didn’t think you would board with us.” Mei came over and commented on her observation.

”It was not part of my plan either, but I had an epiphany, allowing me to come up with a plan to move a large quantity over long distances quickly.” Chen Shi smirked. ”It will cost me a lot, but I will be able to progress my stagnating mastery, which is perfect.” He rubbed his hands slyly.

”And what if you fail?” Danji chuckled darkly.

”Then I will build everything from the ground up.” Chen Shi shrugged like he didn’t care about that part.

”Is it that easy?” Yuan knew how much work had to go into the Fox Village just to make it work, so doing it all over again was...

”It’s not that bad when you know what to do.” Chen Shi already built it once, so he could do it again.

He had much more rich experience and he also had fellow Rune Cultivators on the mainland, albeit not as powerful as he was, of course.

”Stay focused.” Mei warned them, since there were flying ships below the clouds.

Fortunately, it was supposed to rain, so the clouds covered them well.

Another reason why Mei chose to go above the clouds was because of the exposed Foxes.

If any of them fall ill, it might spread, halting this whole operation, so she had to carefully pick what to do and what to consider when creating the plan.

Fortunately, so far everything was going well, so she wouldn’t complain!

Especially the nice bright sky warmed their bodies and the Arrays blocked the coldness that came from high altitudes.

Mei would find this trip quite leisurely, if there was not so much at stake.

She was constantly on the edge, and would be until they reached the Beast Sect... probably.

-----

Moon Aiko woke up. She felt much better than before as her body adjusted to the constant severe drain that she was experiencing due to the [Unnamed Spirit Boat].

She would redo this whole boat in order to make it more pleasant and high quality! But for now that could wait.

She stepped outside to meet the others, but everyone was by the handrails watching down.

”Is there something outside?” Moon Aiko asked them softly, in order to not disturb them too much.

”How are you feeling?” Mei immediately asked this, since Aiko seemed a bit off.

”I’m sluggish, but I don’t feel as bad as before.” Moon Aiko yawned again, but this time she was not as sleepy, so everything was fine.

”Good.” Mei nodded her head happily. She was concerned that Aiko might be experiencing some side effects from such a long flight.

”We are scouting the flying ships that are under us.” Mei pursed her lips.

Moon Aiko immediately pulled out her Table Maps and started recording through the orbs.

”You can use this to see who is below us and what is below us.” Moon Aiko yawned again. Mei was smart so she should be able to figure that out that easily.

Mei was surprised that Aiko would have something as precious as this.

She smiled gently and patted her head. ”Go sleep some more.”

”No, I want to enjoy the sun, since I need to recharge my energy.” Moon Aiko shook her head.

”Right...” Mei pursed her lips. This journey would really be rough on Aiko, so she would indulge her once this was over.

Moon Aiko sat nearby and watched them work.

”I wish I had something like this when I was exploring the Secret Realms...” One Elder sniffled.

”This feels illegal, like we are doing something forbidden.” Another agreed with him.

”Anything that can help us get through this situation is welcome, gentlemen.” And yet another Elder joined.

The Elders bickered before focusing on the Table Map.

It was truly a miraculous Treasure that mesmerised them, but they had no intention in taking it for themselves.

They knew what this represented and where they stood.

They would never be able to match the Vicious Jade Fox and Jade Fox, much less the others.

Furthermore, they were satisfied with their current position and would work hard to keep those positions for a long time!

Of course, they wouldn’t use any underhanded methods, since that was a one-way ticket to meet Yama, which they didn’t want to, obviously.

”There are not that many flying ships and most of them leave after a while.” The first Elder commented after looking at this for a long time.

”It might be possible they are either still trying to find the Fox Village, or us.” The second Elder frowned. He was not sure which one was better, but this whole situation smelled pretty bad.

Mei narrowed her eyes and looked over the Table Map, trying to figure out if there was something abnormal about this...