Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”How disgusting.” The bird lady sneered at him before cutting his head off. He might’ve lost most of his cultivation, but his body was still nourished by Qi for a long time so it would make a delicious meal.

’Right... Foxes are weaker, so maybe giving her some Crystal Beast Cores might help her...’ The bird lady pondered about it for a while when an attack suddenly hit her.

Unfortunately for the attacker, her body was still enveloped by a powerful barrier, blocking it completely.

”You know that I didn’t pay attention to you and instead of running away you attacked. Are you really that foolish?” The bird lady was disgusted that these things were her colleagues, those that occupied mighty lands with incredible resources. Yet now neither of them are all that good now once they are challenged with the impossible.

”I have already sent assassins and powerful individuals towards the Foxes! They will die and you will too, you wench!” The Ancestral ’Holy’ Deer sneered at her.

”You... really don’t understand anything, huh?” The bird lady sighed. She already realised that this whole situation was staged by the Foxes, but it ran much deeper. The... ’Muscle’ Foxes who spent a lot of time in her domain were greatly strengthened, both their bodies and senses could not be compared to normal Foxes.

As such, some assassins wouldn’t be able to get past them and at best there will be a few injuries and that was about it. It was impossible to kill those Foxes with those ’muscles’ around them.

”I don’t have to understand a thing!” The Ancestral ’Holy’ Deer laughed. ”They are just shitty weak Foxes! With her dead the Nightmare Owls won’t be liberated and everything will return to its rightful place!” He laughed like a maniac.

”The more I listen to you, the more I realise just how ignorant you are...” The bird lady shook her head before cutting his spine cleanly. There was no need for any elaborate techniques when someone like him was injured beyond reason.

”Now, should I return now or prepare these carcasses here...” The bird lady pondered. She could always return, grab some Crystal Beast Cores and bring them over.

”Let’s grab a few Beast Cores and Crystal Beast Cores.” The bird lady nodded her head as she stored those carcasses in her Spatial Ring.

-----

”We are being attacked!” One Fox ran towards the middle to alert everyone.

”It’s time to have fun~!” Witch Aiko proclaimed. She was based on assassinations and poisons, but what if she went for direct confrontation?

”Just be careful.” Mei sighed, shaking her head. While she believed Aiko had some kind of plan, she was still worried that some mishap might happen.

”Don’t worry, I need to understand what I can do with my abilities.” Witch Aiko smiled gently, but... ’Moon Aiko will scold me too much, so I have to! *sob*’

”Go, go.” Mei breathed out, shooing Aiko away, since those enemies wouldn’t end.

Witch Aiko with her team rushed towards the invaders, ready for battle.

...

”Gosh...” Dai Lu wiped her non-existent sweat.

”...” Witch Aiko stared at her blankly.

”Oh, you are here.” Dai Lu smiled innocently.

”Don’t you give me ’Oh, you are here’!” Witch Aiko frowned at her. ”You are supposed to leave some for us, not beat everyone up!” She glared at her sharply, since she didn’t like how Dai Lu handled this.

”Don’t be mad, don’t be mad.” Dai Lu kept smiling. ”I just knocked them up, so we can line them up and you can pick whom you want to fight.”

”How does that help?” Witch Aiko rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t let Dai Lu leave this through!

”What do you think about cornered rats?” Dai Lu chuckled darkly.

”Oh...” Witch Aiko narrowed her eyes. ”You want to use their instinct to make them more fierce, but wouldn’t that mean they will be more straightforward?” She was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to obtain enough experience from this.

”You don’t have to worry about that, there are ways to make it happen.” Dai Lu smiled and comforted Aiko.

...

They waited until everyone woke up. It was... very anticlimactic since everyone was sitting quietly and without making any fuss.

”What did you do to them?” Witch Aiko really wanted to know what happened and why they were acting so meekly.

”Listen up you stupid rats!” Dai Lu shouted at them. Her colossal pressure descending on them and pressing them into the ground. ”If any of you can defeat those that challenge you, you will be able to leave unharmed!”

It was the simplest way to do this.

”But keep in mind that if you go berserk, your heads will roll faster than your balls down your throat! Understand!?” Dai Lu roared at them.

”Yes, ma’am!” The terrified assassins and assaulters immediately cooperated.

”That... works?” Witch Aiko scratched her head, but let’s be honest, she shouldn’t complain about means like this considering her own inclinations...

”Obviously.” Dai Lu huffed. ”While they are assassins, not all are trained equal, it’s obvious they would try to save their skins. Now, pick one and fight~!” She hummed and sat down nearby to cut anyone who would go berserk or try to sneak away.

”Uh...” Witch Aiko scratched her head again. She was disturbed by how smoothly this situation went, but she wouldn’t complain!

”I will pick you.” Witch Aiko first picked someone who seemed like he was fast. This was to compare her Movement Skills and Beast Techniques.

The Holy Deer in front of her-

”Why are you so slow...?” Witch Aiko was confused.

”My ribs are injured and I only specialise in the choking kind of assassination...” The Holy Deer rubbed his head awkwardly.

”...” Witch Aiko facepalmed. ”Is there anyone who specialises in speed?” She shouted at them.

A few of them raised their hands, so Witch Aiko picked some of them.

The second Holy Deer was slim like the previous one, but his hair was green instead of golden.

Witch Aiko prepared her movement techniques and waited for this battle to start.

The Holy Deer disappeared and Witch Aiko immediately used her [Illusionary Steps].

The Holy Deer transformed into Deer Form and compressed his body, speeding up even further.

Witch Aiko was taken aback, so her side was grazed by his sharp antlers.

The blood quickly coagulated and sealed the wound, making it not a serious injury, but...

’It’s faster than I expected...’ Witch Aiko frowned. Moreover, as she was in her ’Nightmare’ Form, her means of defence were incredibly limited.

First thing first.

[Nightmare Domain] -> [Witch’s Domain]

A black, gooey-like substance spread from Witch Aiko to her surroundings. It didn’t really slow your movements as it was kind of like a ’zone’ without any effects, but since it was considered ’dark’, Witch Aiko was allowed to move within this zone freely.

Now, since it was ’Witch’s’, that meant she could use everything from her [Captivating Witch of Illusive Dreams Incarnate] Divine Abilities.

First would be those that affected the body, she could immediately use lethal poisons, but if she couldn’t control them properly the Foxes around might be harmed, so she started with ’relaxant’.

It was kind of a funny poison that she used on the Holy Deer before to make him not stiff and awkward when they were trapped inside the [Hollow Moon].

The Holy Deer was wrapped in lightning, making the ’relaxant’ harmless.

’So there is a way to block it without spending more Qi.’ Witch Aiko noticed that the lightning was used to make him faster, but the same lightning also blocked her poison.

Of course this kind of ’barrier’ would be limited in what it can block, but if she wanted to experiment with poisons it would be better to do it alone.

[Little #### Nightmares] couldn’t be used, since that was also insta-kill if used properly, that left just the things within the Divine Ability domain.

First would be illusions, simple ones like obstacles, but those would be reinforced with ’captivation’ making him charmed.

”I won’t be tempted!” The Holy Deer roared.

Witch Aiko was startled, since that always worked.

”I like men.” The Holy Deer snorted disdainfully.

”Right...” Witch Aiko was never troubled as much as she was right now. Her first enemy was useless, and her second enemy was immune to pretty much everything, making this experimental fighting...

’Troublesome...’ Witch Aiko sighed, but she would push through. She had more Divine Abilities within the [Captivating Witch of Illusive Dreams Incarnate], the problem was that it took time to set them up or great concentration which would leave her vulnerable.

Witch Aiko dodged another dash with [Witch’s Steps]. They were similar to [Nightmare Movement] or [Nightmare Dive] which allowed her to move within shadows almost instantaneously.

This didn’t consume as much as her Beast Techniques thanks to the [Witch’s Domain], but the problem was that the consumption of [Witch’s Domain] was increasing.

That was probably thanks to the Holy Deer rampaging with his elements, making it more difficult to maintain the domain.

[Witch’s Domain] - 2nd Stage

”AGH!” The Holy Deer screamed as he staggered.

Witch Aiko believed that the [Nightmare Domain] itself was too dangerous, so she separated it into stages.

The 1st Stage allowed her to obtain just buffs, which reduced the Beast Core and Witch’s Essence consumption greatly.

The 2nd Stage then unleashed the true power of [Witch’s Domain] it would pretty much eat at your mind until you died and collapsed.

Moreover, since it was not just [Nightmare Domain] it also included poisons, temptations, illusions and endless dream-like landscapes.

”Ugh...” However, the consumption was dependent on the target, so Witch Aiko felt pain from her Beast Core being depleted rapidly.

This was pretty much a sure-fire way to kill someone, as long as she had enough Beast Core energy and Witch’s Essence, so it was natural the consumption was that ridiculous.

The Holy Deer collapsed, probably because he was worn out.

Witch Aiko hugged her arms, looking over the Holy Deer.

He had his eyes rolled back, and his body was still breathing, yet there was no semblance of ’life’ inside him. It seemed that it was not just his mind, but there was also a chance to collapse his Soul.

’Or maybe liberate his Soul? It’s hard to say.’ Witch Aiko was tired, fighting actual Beasts instead of Foxes or Humans changed a lot of things.

”Do you want to continue?” Dai Lu smiled at Aiko. ’It seems like she finally understands the importance of knowing one’s abilities.’ She nodded her head happily.

”I think I will rest for a bit, my energy is quite low.” Witch Aiko felt unsettled that the consumption was so high and was trying to figure out how to remedy that...

[You have obtained 8,451 Cultivation Points.]