Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

This time the Foxes were very orderly, maybe because everyone would have enough room this time, but that was a good thing. With this there would be less issues along the way.

Moon Aiko pulled out her flying boat and found the Shadow Fox already sleeping on it. She kept staring at her until the girl opened her eyes.

”What?” The girl yawned. ”I won’t allow you to leave me behind like last time!” She proclaimed before her body ’thudded’ back onto the floor and she immediately slept like a brick.

”What’s wrong with her...” Moon Aiko scratched her back.

”This is what happens when Foxes are either under stress or overworked.” Mei nudged Aiko. She wanted to remedy her workaholic nature, but she didn’t have a good reason.

Fortunately, this girl was a good enough reason to do just that~!

”Wow...” Moon Aiko pondered for a while. ”So the Fox Sect is a no-go, huh?”

”They are not as bad as the Fox Village, but still bad enough that we won’t join them.” Mei shook her head slowly. She was upset at how things ended, but this was also good.

Aiko would be able to understand how powerful are normal Beasts when they are not deranged or limited by Secret/Sacred Realms.

”I wonder what kind of Beasts we will meet.” Moon Aiko was curious if they would look like her or if they would be like animals walking on two legs...

”They are normal animals until they reach their Human Body Stage.” Mei chuckled.

”But Dragons...” Moon Aiko raised her eyebrow and objected.

”They are special.” Mei immediately stopped her. Dragons were special in many ways, so they were not really a reliable way to look at Beasts. Moreover, Dragons were considered as the most powerful Beasts... more or less.

Moon Aiko rolled her eyes. ”But we are too.”

”But unlike them, we don’t have big enough Beast Cores.” Mei soothed Aiko.

”But we can have powerful tails that make up for it.” Moon Aiko retorted.

”That might be true, but you also have to keep in mind that they have more energy. So while we can meet them in terms of raw body strength, it’s impossible when it comes to energy.” Mei shrugged.

”I can feel that ’BUT’ from miles away.” Moon Aiko chuckled and nudged Mei.

”You are not at that stage yet, but yes, it’s possible to match and surpass Beasts later.” Mei sighed. White Aiko was sometimes too sharp, making things difficult for her.

She didn’t want to tell her about what was next so that Aiko wouldn’t be burdened even more. It was better to focus on current stage and not try to skip-

’No, Aiko would definitely skip everything.’ Mei shuddered. That way White Aiko would have a bad foundation making resource consumption go through the roof, but that’s also where Aiko’s insanity laid.

If she did all the steps sprinkled with her insanity she would not be limited by the generic Cultivation Stages.

This would allow her to climb all the way to the Throne once she arrived at the Immortal World!

”Why are you smirking?” Moon Aiko shuddered. She didn’t expect Mei to be so engrossed in whatever she was doing.

”What?” Mei tilted her head.

”Nothin’...” Moon Aiko sighed. Mei could turn scary if Aiko pressed her too much.

...

The flying ship was high above the clouds once again, but this time the clouds were quite sparse.

”Are you sure this will be fine?” Moon Aiko asked Mei, looking down at the plains, forest and mountains.

”It should be.” Mei knew that they were far enough from the large Sects, so that even if they were spotted, they would be able to easily make it into the Nightmare Forest before their reinforcements arrived.

”So nothing will happen.” Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly and walked towards the Table Map.

”I bet 10 Spirit Stones that there will be a river under here.” One Fox Elder betted.

”I bet 100 Spirit Stones there is just a cave.” Another joined in.

”Very well.” Yet another Fox Elder joined and collected their bets, writing them down.

The Fox Elder operated the map to show what was under the ground.

”It’s a cave with a spring. Neither of you won.” The collector Fox chuckled.

”Dammit...”

”Ugh.”

The Fox Elders groaned, but they could feel their knowledge expanding at a rapid pace. Not just about being able to guess what was under them, but also the knowledge about the Mortal World!

This would allow them a lot easier ascension once it came to it!

”Why are you playing like this?” Moon Aiko came over because she was curious.

”Once you learn how to read the earth, you will be able to estimate where Spirit Stone Mines are located, guaranteeing your wealth.” One Fox Elder explained.

”Since we will not be joining the Fox Sect, we need all the knowledge we can get so that we are not taken advantage of, like before.” Another Fox Elder nodded his head slowly. He was quite upset, because he never got any Foxes to stay on his side, mostly because that ’technique’ was too addictive, making him lose all partners to others.

”That is true, if we can get a few Spirit Stone Mines, we can convince anyone to take us in.” Yuan sat nearby and also joined the conversation.

”But most Sects already have enough Spirit Stone Mines, so we shouldn’t really focus on it too much.” Mei walked over to join this game too.

”That is true, but it’s still better to know what would happen if we didn’t have them.” Yuan believed that this was worth the shot.

”But we can’t really explore uninhabited places without backing, because other Sects would push us around.” Mei snorted at their naivety.

”That’s true...” Yuan groaned. ”How about looking for the Spirit Stones Mine along the way?”

”We can do that.” Mei nodded her head slowly.

”Are there any Spirit Stones with elements?” Moon Aiko was curious if there was something like that.

”Those are usually called Elemental Stones and are only used in Forging.” Mei patted Aiko. ”It’s hard to extract their energies, but with proper processing they can still be used for tools and armours. Weapons are particularly good, since they can enhance your own element.” She had a few weapons in the Immortal World that amplified her illusions and temptations, making her more powerful than what she was supposed to be.

”That sounds interesting...” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes. She would have a lot to learn once she obtained a few mines with those.

”You are already thinking about work, huh?” Mei pursed her lips.

”Not work, research, research.” Moon Aiko pouted. Those two things were different!

Mei just rolled her eyes and Moon Aiko stood up. She would look at what was happening below them.

...

Moon Aiko observed for a while when she spotted some-

’A Beast running from some kind of Beast-kin, being chased by Human Cultivators...?’ Moon Aiko was puzzled if she was correct, since it was wrong quite a distance away and those beings were blurry, but she found it interesting.

’I wonder why they are being chased/chasing like that.’ Moon Aiko’s curiosity was piqued, but it was not like she could fly closer to have look. Their safety depended on this flight so she could move haphazardly.

”What are you looking at?” Danji noticed that Aiko was engrossed so she came over.

Moon Aiko turned towards Danji and back, but that interesting duo disappeared. ”They are gone...”

”Who is gone?” Danji was slightly confused and tried to look where Aiko was looking before.

”There was an interesting chase happening, but it seems they went behind a hill or something.” Moon Aiko explained in more detail to Danji.

”I have never heard of such a thing.” Danji shook her head.

Moon Aiko sighed, but then she turned towards Mei.

”Wait, didn’t you say that Beasts don’t have form like us? What about the Bull?” Moon Aiko explained what she saw in the Southern Sect.

”Ah, those.” Mei slowly nodded her head. ”There are guys who are able to crack part of our [Pseudo-Human Body], making it possible to slightly alter their bodies.”

”Oh...” Moon Aiko nodded her head. That would make a lot of sense, since she also found it strange.

’No, wait, he also had his Human Body, so maybe it’s not that simple?’ Moon Aiko tilted her head left and right trying to figure out if there was some kind of trick to it.

If she could find the trick then she would be able to alter [Pseudo-Human Body] to its complete form!

”Oh right. What happened to the Shrine that gave us our forms?” Moon Aiko suddenly mentioned it to Mei.

”Oh, that one was destroyed.” Mei chuckled.

”Isn’t that bad?” Moon Aiko was slightly concerned, but since it was not her issue, not too much.

”Not really. As long as the Shrine is good enough, it will be ’blessed’ and Foxes will be able to learn that ability again.” Mei shrugged like it was not a big deal.

”I smell a juicy story.” Moon Aiko cackled and nudged Mei.

”I may or may not have destroyed one and had to repair it...” Mei looked away when everyone stared at her.

”Whoa...” Moon Aiko paused. ”Does quality matter?”

”You mean the Shrine’s?” Mei turned back towards Aiko. ”The higher quality the easier access to the ability.” She nodded her head slowly.

”What would happen if we went overboard?” Moon Aiko thought that might cause the [Pseudo-Human Body] to attain its full form.

”Then the Immortal that created that technique would be able to descend.” Mei shook her head. ”It’s not a good idea to do that, since they are often wilful...” She warned Aiko, since she knew she already had ideas about what she wanted to do with this information.

”Hey! I’m not THAT reckless!” Moon Aiko pouted unhappily.

”Yes, yes...” Mei gently patted her head.

”Why does it feel like you are trying to bully me?” Moon Aiko was even more unhappy.

”Here.” Mei bribed Aiko with some snacks.

”You will be forgiven this time.” Moon Aiko immediately enjoyed the snacks.

’Maybe at the next stop we should cook more food, so the Foxes inside my tails have more things to eat?’ Moon Aiko tilted her head slowly. That was not such a bad idea and the next stop should have enough fauna to make it actually happen!