Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Witch Aiko escaped the clutches of that strange wolf. She would have to get back to her later, since it didn’t seem like she would be left alone, but that should be fine.

She was already getting two birdies to come with her, so one more would not be an issue... probably.

”I didn’t think you would be able to escape her.” The Ancestral Beast giggled.

”Whose fault is that.” Witch Aiko glared at her.

”My, my, you are right. Seeing an angry beauty is lovely.” The Ancestral Beast seemed to be in a teasing mood, which made Witch Aiko even more upset.

”So, why did you suddenly come over when I’m trying to hide from her?” Witch Aiko was apprehensive, just in case this girl tried to lure that wolf over.

”I will lose most of my power soon, so I wanted to enjoy my hobby one last time.” The Ancestral Beast said slowly, her expression stiff.

”And it just so happens to be in this place, huh?” Witch Aiko’s lips twitched.

”No, it was just along the way, so I wanted to see how you were doing.” The Ancestral Beast giggled.

”Just so you know, you will absolutely become my maid.” Witch Aiko threatened her again.

”Yes, Master.” The Ancestral Beast went along with it with a giggle.

”...” Witch Aiko blushed. No wonder she was nerfed when she became so beautiful, most normal individuals would bark for such beauty if they had the opportunity.

It took her a bit to recover, but she was curious. ”What is your hobby?” Witch Aiko was unable to figure out what this beauty might be like.

”It’s archery. It’s very relaxing and nice for the body.” The Ancestral Beast supported her nice chest, making her cough awkwardly.

”When did you pick such a hobby?” Witch Aiko really couldn’t figure out why someone would start this. There were so many better and more complex hobbies that would allow you to grow too.

”When my parents were still alive.” The Ancestral Beast thought hard about it, but it might’ve been when her grandparents were still around.

”I’m sorry.” Witch Aiko didn’t expect that answer, so she gave her a genuine apology.

”It’s been a long time, so it’s fine.” The Ancestral Beast sat near Aiko for a bit.

’You are really making it difficult for me.’ Witch Aiko clenched her jaw inside her mind. She really wanted to bite those soft thighs!

”It’s... very relaxing. Your surroundings tend to blur and melt together, leaving nothing around you, but the focus on your target.” The Ancestral Beast tried to explain why she liked it, but it was quite difficult. She had done it so many times that she was not really sure what truly appealed to her.

”That’s... interesting.” Witch Aiko really couldn’t understand this since she never worked with a bow. Or at least not on a scale that would allow her to ’feel’ those things.

”I will show you.” The Ancestral Beast seemed like a girl for a brief moment, a young girl with a friend, sharing her likes and dislikes.

”Sure.” Witch Aiko didn’t reject this. It seemed like the Ancestral Beast was waiting for this, maybe even this whole time, so it would be beyond rude to reject her.

The Ancestral Beast stood up, and Witch Aiko followed her.

There were many things she was curious about. Like, what was her age? What was her name or nickname? Why didn’t she try to make this place even more toxic and so on...

However, it didn’t feel right to ask her anything just yet. It seemed like the Ancestral Beast was struggling with something, so Witch Aiko would naturally not push it.

Coming to an opening, there were still plains that were completely intact. There was no thick moss and swampy liquid flowing around. The grass was nice and green, like it was never poisoned to begin with.

Witch Aiko found this place peculiar, but she understood that some hobbies should have a certain ’atmosphere’, so she wouldn’t comment on why this place was the only one without poison, outside the warehouse of course.

”You must have many questions.” The Ancestral Beast picked up a bow from within the grass.

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”...” Witch Aiko didn’t say anything, and she just sat nearby, watching over her.

”Thank you for not asking them...” The Ancestral Beast murmured as she pulled back the string. Her target was at the end of the plains.

This would be a sizeable distance for mortals, but for cultivators this was nothing. It seemed like this was truly just about recreation and nothing else.

Witch Aiko trained her eyes on the Ancestral Beast, but her being blurred. No, her presence thinned so much that it felt like she didn’t exist.

Witch Aiko paused for a moment. She could see the individual that she called the Ancestral Beast, but she could not feel her at all.

Soon, her eyes widened as [Serene Lantern Eyes] activated without any rhyme or reason.

’That’s how she survived for so long.’ Witch Aiko pursed her lips.

The Ancestral Beast’s bloated Soul was compressing, squeezing. It was not just about making the Soul compressed, but anything that was not part of the Soul was quickly being converted by foreign energy, making it part of her Soul.

No matter how much her Soul would bloat, she would be able to reduce its size like this, always.

’I’m so sorry for thinking this is stupid hobby.’ Witch Aiko leaned against her knees looking at the figure of the gorgeous girl. She didn’t expect this outcome at all.

”I always feel so light after doing this, but the heavy feeling would always return.” The girl turned around. ”Thank you for indulging me.”

”...” Witch Aiko just smiled. ”You can keep going.”

”Oh, will you keep watching?” The girl giggled.

”Obviously.” Witch Aiko chuckled.

The girl raised her eyebrow.

”Yeah, your back is beautiful.” Witch Aiko stuck out her tongue.

”I knew it.” The girl gave up commenting on this. She knew how beautiful she was. That was also the reason why she was made into an ascension fool.

”Hey, I mean it only in good ways.” Witch Aiko shrugged.

”...” The girl rolled her eyes, but she was clearly not too upset about it. ”I feel like I’m not seeing you.”

”Well, you are not wrong.” Witch Aiko made sure to conceal herself as much as possible, without making it feel like that. All those techniques and abilities were very useful in this.

”But Master, you should show yourself at least once, so I know who I will serve.” The girl curtsied.

”Gosh...” Witch Aiko rubbed her nose. ”I’m not too keen about this, okay?”

”?” The girl was confused, but she understood a moment later.

The seemingly unassuming, but pretty Fox, turned into something out of this world. That beauty was not natural. It was so unnaturally pretty that it was a bit chilling for the girl.

”!” The girl understood why Aiko had such a ’mild’ reaction. She was the same as her, but she was lucky to get something to conceal her beauty.

”I’m sorry...” While the girl intended to serve Aiko, she planned to do it half-heartedly. That was because she thought that nobody would ever understand what she went through.

However, seeing the current Fox in front of her, she had both ’need’ and ’sense’ to protect her.

”?” Witch Aiko was confused, but she still hugged her knees. ”Sometimes I wonder if I will be able to live without hiding. I mean, I could do that even now, but I would be bothered by the reactions of those around me.” She was not talking about her team. They might be hit pretty hard the first time, but they were very adaptive. However, the same thing couldn’t be said about the other Foxes that were following her.

The most likely scenario would be that there would be a cult around her, because of her beauty. Or that they might fall in love with her and do something stupid.

Little did she know that there were already 2 cults all about her...

”I will do my best to follow you for as long as possible.” The girl pursed her lips.

”It’s fine, I won’t abandon you.” Witch Aiko smiled a bit weakly. She meant it, but now she felt a bit depressed about her situation.

The girl smiled gently. ”If you are tired, you can lean on me. While I will never be your true partner, I will do my best to help you.”

”How nice...” Witch Aiko smiled a bit foolishly and the girl paused.

”Why do you look like...” The girl stilled for a moment, murmuring to herself.

”?” Witch Aiko looked at her. ”What were you saying?”

”Nothing.” The girl smiled. ’That person should be already far away, there is no way they are the same person.’ She shook her head, getting those silly dreams out of her mind.

The girl sat near Aiko, and they leaned on each other.

”I was wondering if your hair were like those feathers.” Witch Aiko commented on the texture of her hair.

”This is my human form, while not complete, it’s good enough.” The girl giggled. ”If I had a complete human form, then those feathers would be less defined until I reached the highest stage.”

”Is that how it works?” Witch Aiko was curious about the Human Body Stage, but since nobody ever talked about it, she never asked anything.

”Hmmm...” The girl paused, but thinking about what was happening right now, she just smiled.

”The Human Body Stage starts with establishing your Dantian. While Foxes have it harder, their ceiling improves by as much.” The girl started to explain, since she needed this knowledge to ascend without too many injuries, thanks to certain fucker.

”Your Beast features will get completely erased, and your body will form based on your affinities. The more affinities the harder, but you will be able to gather more diverse Qi, speeding the starting process.” The girl explained slowly and even showed some of it through illusions.

”As you increase your Cultivation Stage, some of those Beast features will manifest. Not truly, but things like hair that looks like feathers and have similar texture or more complex eyes. That sort of thing.” The girl was very happy that she could talk like this, so she explained this endlessly.

”Is it possible that the Human Body Stage will have Beast features like these ears?” Witch Aiko was concerned that she would be too small if she didn’t have these ears.

The girl shook her head. ”That is not possible, but Foxes have that special stage that will allow you to become something between a Beast and Human. Sharing both of those benefits while not having to transform between them.” The girl smiled faintly.

”Normal Beast needs to switch between forms in order to use the given techniques, but Foxes don’t necessarily have to.” The girl knew that Foxes were very important for the Immortal World, and not just for their beauty...

”That’s interesting.” Witch Aiko nodded her head. While she already knew quite a few things, it was always nice to listen to a beauty explain things. She was clearly excited and willing, so who was Aiko to stop her from doing this?