Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”I just had an idea.” Moon Aiko smirked, making them shudder.

”What is it?” Mei asked nervously.

”How about modifying the continental flying ships to house Foxes more comfortably?” Moon Aiko smirked. This would allow them to move more comfortably and not be huddled up on top of each other.

”How do you plan to do that?” Mei narrowed her eyes.

”More furniture perhaps?” Danji narrowed her eyes. It seemed like she could guess what Aiko was after.

”Not just that, we can also gather pelts and other soft things and make it into floor bedding. Then we just need to add a bed on top of each other and then-” Moon Aiko explained her string of thoughts and what they can do about it.

The main reason was that the Foxes needed a lot of time and attention to stretch after being squeezed like that. In order to eliminate that issue, Moon Aiko thought that just adding more beds and separating floors into even more floors would help.

”If they assume their Fox Form that would help immensely, but it’s not like they would be willing to do that.” Moon Aiko groaned.

”That is true, most Foxes got so used to their ’human’ body that they are unlikely to change forms, but there might be some that would be willing to do that. We just have to ask them.” Mei chuckled.

”It’s pointless if it’s just a few Foxes.” Moon Aiko shook her head. ”But with the previous plan we should have enough room to keep all the Foxes comfortable.”

”That is true, but it might be dangerous to let them wander around.” Mei frowned.

”I know we have limited time, but it’s not like the Fox Elders couldn’t just spread their Divine Sense temporarily to cover this whole area.” Moon Aiko gestured that it was time to stretch their backs just a bit.

”You are ruthless.” Mei chuckled. ”But I have nothing against this idea.” If the Fox Elders worked hard, not only would everyone be safe, but it would greatly speed up things.

Moon Aiko nodded her head.

...

They walked outside and Foxes immediately gathered around them whispering. Some Foxes were already eavesdropping on them, and soon that information spread all around them.

”Why does it feel like they are more excited than we are?” Moon Aiko chuckled.

”Maybe because they didn’t have enough fun?” Mei chuckled back before commanding the Foxes and explaining the deal behind their plans.

Most of the Foxes had their eyes lit ablaze, ready to tackle this mission to the best of their abilities.

Moreover, a lot of Foxes liked the idea of not being huddled so close to each other.

The Foxes immediately scattered and the Fox Elders sighed. They already had a lot of work, but maybe if they could get more comfortable pelts under them...

*cough*

For some reason even the Fox Elders were highly motivated, stretching their Divine Sense to the utmost limit, covering as large of an area as possible without losing precision.

Moon Aiko was impressed how everyone was working so hard, making her work hard too, but...

’Better rest now...’ Moon Aiko understood that once they arrived there wouldn’t be all that much time to do anything other than fulfil the deal that she would carefully craft.

The Nightmare Forest had many riches, so the Ancestral Beasts should have a lot of goodies! Moon Aiko intended to scam them to the best of her abilities!

Observing the Foxes running around with axes and other tools made Aiko chuckle.

She never expected the Foxes to be so enthusiastic about this.

”That is because they like to create elaborate things.” Yu came over, watching over the situation.

”You have changed.” Danji narrowed her eyes.

”I could say the same about you, fufu~” Yu teased her back.

”Can’t be helped.” Danji shrugged.

”What is this?” Mei glanced at them and soon started to talk with them.

Moon Aiko saw how quickly the deforestation was spreading, but that was fine. The forest would grow back, but they should be comfortable since you never know what might happen.

Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly as logs flew over her head.

At first, she was startled, but then she noticed the Muscle Foxes catching those logs.

’What is...’ Moon Aiko was startled, but then she noticed even more Muscle Foxes around stripping the logs of the bark.

Then the Demonic Foxes cut it into sizeable pieces and carried it towards the continental flying ship.

Just in front of the ship there were planks stacked on top of each other with some breathing room.

The Fire Foxes would sit around it and slowly dry it over time, making it less susceptible to mould.

While they were still in the ’dry’ zone, once one would reach the Nightmare Forest, it would be harder to maintain the humidity inside without spending Spirit Stones. Since they had to save as many resources as possible, some things would be turned off on the continental flying ship, making them save a sizeable amount of resources.

This was good and all, but Moon Aiko would still have to work hard to keep things in check since she felt like the Foxes might overdo it.

*ROAR!*

A painful roar spread from within the Forest and soon a group of Foxes carried one Beast after another.

It didn’t seem like they were discriminating, since they carried just about anything that had a nice pelt.

They then made piles of these bodies before the Muscle Foxes prepared hooks to drain them and Demonic Foxes to come and prepare the pelts for curing.

It was quite an elaborate plan. The normal Foxes would hunt and gather things. The Muscle Foxes would then sort the transportation, usually with...

*swish swish*

Bodies flew over Moon Aiko’s head, but this time she was prepared and conjured a barrier around her, blocking any blood from the bodies.

”They could be more discreet and not cause such a mess.” Moon Aiko’s lips twitched.

”Pot calling the kettle black.” Mei teased Aiko without any remorse, since Aiko was the culprit behind their strange behaviours.

”Hey!” Moon Aiko pouted at them. ”I know how to keep things clean at least!”

”Should I remind you of your workshop...?” Danji raised her eyebrow.

”Not you too!” Moon Aiko cried out. It seemed like they would bully her today...

Anyway, moving on. The Demonic Foxes would then handle the more intricate work, being curing, engraving, adjusting and placing the wood/pelts.

There were also some other Foxes as helpers, but that was the main workforce and their workflow was simply mesmerising.

Moon Aiko couldn’t believe how well they worked together, making her dream of her own mountain with countless Foxes~!

’I wonder if they would worship me...’ Moon Aiko tilted her head from side to side as her ears swayed gently.

Little did she know that not only was she already worshipped, but she even had a few fanatics...

...

The process was going smoothly, and the wood planks were prepared quite swiftly. The quality was less than ideal, but since this was gathered quickly, it was more than good enough to last at least this trip.

Moon Aiko considered adjusting the continental flying ships once she arrived at the Ancestral Beasts’ lairs.

It was necessary either way, since the Foxes wouldn’t be able to endure the long way to the mainland and the Fox Elders also had to adjust the propellers to make use of better Inscriptions and Arrays.

The main reason being consumption, but this had to be done carefully. If the continental flying ship blew up then that would be a disaster and that was also why they didn’t try to modify it just yet.

Once you started the modification, you would have to overwrite almost half of the continental flying ship and create a bigger, more elaborate Inscriptions with Arrays.

As you might expect, that would take a shit ton of time and the continental flying ships would not be usable during that time, making them vulnerable to attacks.

”Look at them, so happy...” Mei felt strange. Even the old Fox Village that she remembered wasn’t this happy. ’Could it be, because they were suppressed their whole life, now that they are free, they are more carefree?’ She thought about it for a while, but this was the only logical conclusion she could come up with.

”Yeah.” Moon Aiko smiled.

”They should drink more.” The tipsy Dai Lu came over chuckling. ”The Fox Village never looked like this, so I can’t thank you enough.” The old Fox Village was quite depressing, making things difficult to progress, but look at them now.

They would even jump into a volcano if Aiko told them, but the most impressive thing was what they were able to achieve in a few days. Especially the Demonic Foxes.

’No wonder that everyone is saying that the Demonic Foxes were cursed...’

That was the consensus after seeing what they can achieve. It was pretty much unimaginable that the Demonic Foxes would fall so low as to turn into wild Beasts.

But now that they have their intelligence back, they are much more efficient, not to mention terrifying.

If Aiko says something, they would do their best to achieve it in the shortest amount of time.

”The modifications are complete.” A Demonic Fox came over giggling.

”Gosh...” Mei shuddered at that efficiency, since it was not even a day after she made that command.

”They are great~” Moon Aiko hummed happily.

”I can’t believe you are just going with it...” Mei was flabbergasted, but she also wanted to see what changed inside those continental flying ships.

...

The whole group went inside the continental flying ship.

It was quite cramped inside, since the rooms were cut in half and some places, especially rooms, into 3 to 4 parts. Increasing the capacity greatly.

This allowed all the Foxes to have their own, somewhat comfortable, bed. It was nothing to scoff at though, since those pelts were preserved well and kept almost all their fluff, making them nice to lay on.

The rooms were further split with what looked like a piece of bedsheet. This was like a ’border’ between the individual beds, giving them even more privacy than before.

”We have also modified the ship that was supposed to go for the Southern Sect.” The Demonic Fox gestured, since they didn’t want to huddle the Foxes together again.

”That is fine.” Dai Lu licked her lips. ”Since they are late, they can escort us to our destination where we will give them the continental flying ship.” She laughed sinisterly, as if she already planned this...