Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Unfortunately, the resting time didn’t last all that long. They were soon visited by uninvited guests who stormed Aiko.

Aiko naturally didn’t mind as she was familiar with the guests, but she still found the nice and obedient Wanshu strange...

Aiko yawned. Her sleep was interrupted and she wanted to sleep a bit more.

Fortunately, the Blood Fox was plenty soft, so Aiko pretty much passed out cuddling with her.

Mei’s lips twitched. She didn’t like this situation at all.

”How is the business?” Yuxi asked gently.

”It’s fine.” Mei sipped tea. She was not in the mood to talk about those things.

Yuxi nodded and sat near Wanshu. She was more accommodating to Aiko now, which was a good thing.

”How much longer will you spend here?” The Blood Fox asked.

”There are too many Foxes, but I plan to kick the responsibilities to the Grandmaster once she returns.” Mei sipped her tea. ”Of course, we will give her part of the revenue, so that she wouldn’t whine too much.

Mei shifted her sitting position. She was a bit uncomfortable now that the place was cramped with visitors.

It was not created with this in mind as they were supposed to spend time in there only for the sake of funds...

”So after half a month you will return, what do you plan then?” The Blood Fox asked. It was important that Aiko would be within their reach.

”You should keep working on resisting the voices.” Mei changed the topic and the Blood Fox frowned.

”What are you trying to say?” The Blood Fox snorted unhappily.

”There will be a Secret Realm opening and we will be raiding it for riches.” Mei shrugged.

The Blood Fox was startled. ”When will that be?”

”You still have time, there is no concrete date yet.” Mei shook her head.

”What is the ’theme’ of the Secret Realm?” The Blood Fox asked.

”Suppression of your Cultivation. Foxes would be less affected, but we are very weak to begin with, so be careful of other Beasts.” Mei warned.

The Blood Fox nodded while the other duo silently listened.

”Anything we should prepare?” Yuxi suddenly asked.

”You need to train to resist those voices, as we will be kicked into different starting points. It can take us months to meet.” Mei said seriously. ”Other than that, I will bring Pills, so there is no need to worry about resources.”

The team nodded. They would have to prepare for it.

...

The team went back, filled with more energy, as those voices no longer bothered them.

This was good as they would be able to train more.

Meanwhile, Aiko woke up from her slumber and yawned. She moved her position onto Mei and once again started sleeping.

Mei’s lips just twitched. She was hurt that she was secondary to the Blood Fox, which meant she would have to groom her tails more.

’But for some reason, I feel like my skin is getting prettier as I take care of my tail...’ Mei narrowed her eyes. This was very abnormal and she didn’t know what to do about it.

If she groomed her tail, it would attract Aiko’s sleepy body, but at the same time, she would get more beautiful, attracting even more trouble!

”What a dilemma...” Mei shook her head.

...

The half a month was uneventful. Aiko got more used to Mei’s presence and she started to be more mature, or maybe she was just acting...

Mei could not really tell if it was acting or not, but one side of Aiko still persisted. Her childishness and refusal to do too many things that she didn’t like.

Mei would have to work on those things, so that Aiko could grow more. It is important to have a steady mind for when they reach their Human Forms.

They also needed a safe base for that stage of life. They would be very vulnerable, which was not a good thing.

Unfortunately, this part of the Mortal World had limited Cultivation advances. They could only reach the Nascent Soul in this place. They would have to move to the Upper World soon.

The way that Worlds were separated was like this:

You had Mortal Worlds. Worlds that bred the next generation of Immortals.

Those Mortal Worlds were separated into two parts. The Lower Mortal World, or Lower World for short, and the Upper Mortal World, or Upper World for short.

This separation would allow more Mortals to survive. The higher Cultivation one had, the more destruction it would bring.

There were those that descended from the Upper World to pick up disciples or protect their Sect, but it was rare for them to move.

This limitation did not apply to Beasts, but as they would eventually reach the Human Form, they were likewise limited in these advances.

Then you had the Immortal World. A world where those that ascended lived. You still had a finite lifespan, but it was long enough for the bigger events to cause you distress.

Mei was... concerned. She was preparing for one of those big events, but if she were to ascend in the coming years...

Mei shook her head. It might end in disaster...

Like the Mortal World. The Immortal World also had different parts, but Mei did not know about them. She knew that there were only 9 Heavens left. The others were destroyed.

There were also places that she could not visit as she was too weak.

”I’m not sure if we can delay our ascension...” Mei would absolutely ascend with Aiko, as for the others... only fate could tell.

”We need more allies...” Mei narrowed her eyes. They needed to be sheltered for this first Disaster, but the next one would be free for taking.

”But how to get Immortals to descend...” She did not know how to do it and she was even unaware that Immortals could no longer descend...

It was a peaceful evening...

...

Dai Lu returned the next morning. She was a bit too energetic, but that was fine. She would spend a lot of time overseeing this thing, so it was good that she was happy.

”I won’t need to go out until the opening of the Secret Realm. I will later teach you about the other major factions that will join us.” The Grandmaster was very talkative this time. ”There might be some minor factions that will sneak in, but they are not as powerful as the big factions, so we don’t need to pay attention to them.” The Grandmaster added.

”Which ones will attend?” Mei narrowed her eyes.

”All the major factions. This means the Northern Sect, Southern Sect, Eastern Sect and Western Sect.” Dai Lu explained. ”But the Western Sect is sending the least amount of people, so we should be wary of them.”

Mei nodded. ”Before the Secret Realm opens, we should find some kind of hidden abode and fortify it. It would also be good to secure a steady supply of Herbs. We need all the resources we can get.”

”What about the Alchemy Peak?” Dai Lu asked.

”We won’t do anything with them yet. They are greedy herbivores. Aiko needs a better image of Pill Refiners.” Mei snorted.

”It’s unwise to isolate Aiko. She will have to interact with them eventually...” Dai Lu sighed. She already knew that she couldn’t change Mei’s mind...

Mei snorted unhappily. ”It took us so much time to teach Aiko. I won’t let some deranged old fossil change Aiko’s ways.”

”You are also old-” Dai Lu couldn’t even finish the sentence and started dodging Mei’s sinister Pills.

”Okay, okay! You are not that old!” Dai Lu cried out, but Mei didn’t stop.

”Nothing will save you now!” Mei was always angered, since Dai Lu liked to take jabs at her age and how she did things.

”But did you teach Aiko something while I was away?” Dai Lu asked as Aiko stirred from sleep. ”Doesn’t look like that to me...” She tilted her head.

Aiko yawned and went back to sleep.

...

Mei calmed down after a few hours and Dai Lu sat down as she made tea for them.

”So what are you planning next?” Dai Lu was in top condition, while Mei was tired from throwing Pills at her.

”Alchemy for Aiko and you will look and manage this place.” Mei said. ”You will also get 30% of the sales.”

Dai Lu didn’t quite like that. She opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but Mei silenced her.

”It’s around 5,000 Spirit Stones a day.” Mei added.

Dai Lu stiffened. ”That is...”

”Yes, that is your pay.” Mei sipped tea slowly.

Dai Lu browsed Mei’s mind and almost fainted. It took her so much time to earn her current wealth, but Mei just printed money!

”This is so unfair.” Dai Lu wiped the non-existent tears, but she really felt bad.

It took her so much time and training to get into her current position. She was making a handsome amount of money, but it came with its own restrictions and troubles.

Meanwhile, Mei was free to do anything she wanted AND earned a lot of Spirit Stones?! How is that fair?!

”Keep in mind that we wouldn’t be here if Aiko didn’t want to build the first ’Massage Chair’.” Mei cut Dai Lu’s thought short.

Dai Lu paused. That was true. ’Aiko worked hard to create it, so it’s natural that we would be able to achieve something like this.’

To begin with, the Heavenly Massage Parlour had a monopoly on massages. So even Foxes had to rush all the way there to get a very pitiful massage that didn’t even relieve them all that much.

Meanwhile, Aiko created something portable that actually worked. You didn’t need any strange skills to operate that Massage Chair. All you had to do was sit down and enjoy it or place Spirit Stones to turn it into ’overdrive’ mode.

This was pretty much revolutionary and over time, the interest would fade, but that would be only if the Heavenly Massage Parlour took their stance and improved their service.

For the time being, they would be able to rake the profits like there was no tomorrow!

”Should I be wary of something?” Dai Lu asked.

”Don’t let them steal any of our Massage Chairs. While I don’t believe there are that many that can recreate it. It’s always better to not have competition.” Mei said lightly.

”Gotcha.” Dai Lu nodded. She then asked. ”Any special rules?”

”They are hanging around the waiting room, so you can check them later.” Mei shrugged.

”Okay. Will you be returning to my abode later?” Dai Lu asked.

”I will wait a few days in case something wrong happens and you don’t know how to deal with it, but I don’t expect anyone to raid this place with you in it.” Mei chuckled darkly.

”That is true.” Dai Lu copied Mei.

”Anyway. It’s time for sleeping, so you should excuse yourself.” Mei made a shooing motion.

”You are kicking me out already? How heartless.” Dai Lu played the pitiful card and her acting was top-notch, but she was unfortunately against Mei.

”That won’t work on me. Don’t make me pick up more Pills.” Mei narrowed her eyes.

”Okay, okay! I’m going!” The Grandmaster huffed unhappily and left the room.

Mei moved with Aiko on the bed. It would be yet another peaceful night...