Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Feifei bonded with the Dragon quite quickly, so much so in fact, that it stunned Aiko.

Aiko’s lips twitched. ’I feel like a third wheel...’ She shook her head gently.

”Can we continue?” Aiko asked them, who were merrily talking to each other.

”Y-yes!” Feifei was startled, since she completely forgot about Aiko. She was so engrossed in talking that it didn’t occur to her that they were still in the Secret Realm.

Aiko massaged her head. She was seriously forgotten! How could this happen?!

”What do I do next, Mistress?” Feifei asked attentively.

”Just Aiko, that nickname gives me goosebumps.” Aiko’s body shivered.

”Okay~” Feifei smiled from ear to ear.

’I have given her the Bloodline.’ Aiko nodded. ’I still have the [Sub-Profession Coupon] and [Cultivation Gift]. Feifei Doesn’t have a profession, so I will withhold the Sub-Profession Coupon for now.’

[Cultivation Gift(Servant)]

Aiko clicked on it and Feifei stiffened. She closed her eyes and frowned. She seemed to be in pain...

”What’s happening?” The Dragon frowned.

”I gave her a Cultivation Gift, it should pass soon.” Aiko was not really sure what it exactly gave, but she should definitely be careful about it.

She didn’t want to inflict pain on others, but she can’t change how others obtain this gift. A special warning should be given to them.

Aiko nodded to herself, while Feifei was gasping for air. It seemed like she even forgot to breathe.

[Cultivation Method: [Simple Qi Gathering Technique], [Sacred Dao Leyuan Long Scripture(Complete, ??? Form)]]

Aiko checked Feifei, the only thing that changed was the added Cultivation Method, but it seemed a bit strange. She was neither Dragon nor Sacred, yet she still got it? Is this supposed to represent her true form?

Aiko was confused. She didn’t quite understand it, but she hoped that it would help her, considering the pain she had to go through.

”Are you alright, little one?” The Dragon addressed her as a hatchling.

”I’m fine, Grandpa.” Feifei nodded gently, but she still had confusion plastered on her face.

”How are you feeling?” Aiko asked with curiosity. She needed some feedback about what happened to Feifei, so she could understand this phenomenon a bit better.

”I feel... overwhelmed.” Feifei tilted her head. ”It feels like my head is being pressed by a mountain of information, but that also soon disappeared, turning into a shiny ’book’?” She tilted her head to the other side, puzzled about what happened.

”Is that ’book’ useful?” Aiko required a bit more information than that.

”I don’t know.” Feifei shook her head, but then she paused. ”I can give it a try.” She didn’t forget all the favours Aiko and her team gave her, so she would do anything to repay them.

”Try it then.” Aiko nodded. If she used this on Mei, how would that work? Aiko was looking forward to finding that out~!

Feifei sat down in a meditation position and recited a tiny part of the book inside her mind. This was the part that she was supposed to use in the Refinement Realm.

She tried to draw the Qi from the outside world as it was described inside the book.

Feifei’s Dragon scales shined gently and Qi rushed into her body.

[Qi: 51]

[Qi: 20]

[Qi: 0]

It felt like her body was deprived of Qi. She felt empty, but at the same time, she also felt lighter.

[Impure Qi was purged from the host’s system.]

Feifei heard a strange voice inside her mind, but she ignored it and drew the outside Qi the same way as she did previously when her Qi was purged.

[Pure Qi: 1]

[Cultivation: [Early Stage Refinement Realm]]

[Pure Qi: 20]

[Pure Qi: 40]

...

[Pure Qi: 160]

[Pure Qi: 180]

[Cultivation: [Middle Stage Refinement Realm]]

[Pure Qi: 200]

[Pure Qi: 220]

...

[Pure Qi: 320]

[Pure Qi: 340]

[Cultivation: [Late Stage Refinement Realm]]

[Pure Qi: 360]

[Pure Qi: 380]

...

[Pure Qi: 480]

[Pure Qi: 500]

[Cultivation: [Peak Stage Refinement Realm]]

[Not enough Qi in the atmosphere to progress.]

Feifei opened her eyes and found two dumbfounded beings in front of her. It was her grandpa and Aiko.

”What’s wrong?” She tilted her head.

Feifei didn’t know that she had drained this place of its Qi in but a few moments. There were only a few remnants of Qi left, but those were needed to maintain the space.

Aiko massaged her head. Is this how Mei felt...? Maybe she should tone down things or Mei’s heart might stop beating.

”You drained this place of its Qi...” Aiko explained to Feifei what just happened.

”Oh...” Feifei nodded innocently since she only knew a bit about Mei. ”I can’t advance further, but I obtained something called [Flawless Qi Pathways].”

[Flawless Qi Pathways]

[You have Qi pathways without imperfection. It is possible to use Techniques from higher Cultivation Stages without harming your own Cultivation.]

Aiko almost coughed up blood. ’Why are her things so much better?!’

Aiko stared at Feifei speechlessly.

[Cultivation: [Peak Stage Refinement Realm]]

[Peak Stage Refinement Realm]

[You are eligible to advance to the Qi Condensation (Qi Gathering) Stage.]

[As being, ’Feifei’, has Lost Ancient Bloodline, she can achieve all 21 Layers.]

”...” Aiko just stared at the notification from the system. This was much more elaborate than Beast Cultivation!

’God damn humans!’ Aiko snorted unhappily, but she didn’t let it show on her face, so that Feifei wouldn’t misunderstand again.

”Since you have draine- Why are you suddenly moving?!” Aiko yelled out when she saw the lazy lizard moving.

”The stagnant Qi was cleared, so I can move a bit.” The Dragon laughed. He liked Feifei more and more.

Aiko rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe them, happily chatting away while leaving her alone once again.

Aiko snorted unhappily and stood up. ’Since they are going to talk, I might as well look around and loot some things.’ The answer to all Aiko’s worries was shinies that could entertain her for a while and she would do just that!

Aiko left the two on their own. She was not worried about Feifei with that Dragon around.

”She just left, will you be alright?” The Grandpa asked.

”Huh?!” Feifei was shocked and looked around. She couldn’t see Aiko anywhere, she was gone...

”Nooooo! I haven’t even thanked her!” Feifei immediately cried out, startling the Dragon.

”She will return eventually.” The Grandpa tried to soothe her, but...

”But what if she hates me?!” Feifei cried even more.

”Then I will beat her up!” The Grandpa tried to protect his new granddaughter, but...

”I hate you! Why do you want to hurt Aiko!” But Feifei cried even more.

The Dragon was confused and didn’t know what to do. He never took care of little ones, so it was difficult to soothe Feifei...

...

Aiko ran inside the forest. Fortunately, it was past her big transformation, so she was much faster and nimbler as nothing weighed her down.

She kept her Divine Sense on, so that she could train and keep watch on things. She was not good enough to spot Herbs with it, but fortunately, she didn’t have to do that, since she already robbed that ’garden’.

So the only thing she was looking for were places with thick Qi that might host some kind of Treasure or something similar.

Maybe she should also scavenge some temples or structures, but since this was Aiko’s first outing in Secret Realm, she also wanted to enjoy it a bit.

...

A small Fox ran around with her stealth Skills. There was no one around, like everyone already found their treasures and left this place.

This slightly disheartened Aiko’s robbing heart, but she should be able to find some kind of secret cave or temple, right?

Aiko climbed the nearby mountain to look around. The only thing about Humans that was much better than Beasts was the fact that they could fly much, much sooner.

Aiko wished she could fly already, so that she would be able to explore this place much more quickly, but unfortunately, she had to walk everywhere.

The only thing that would help her at this point would be a Flying Ship, but Mei told her that nobody would be willing to make a small ship, since it would not sell for much.

The craftsman abided by the rule: Go big or go home.

Aiko naturally didn’t like that, since she wanted her own ship. She would have to learn by herself and steal some Floating Stones for her own ship!

’I will definitely find Floating Stones in here!’ Aiko yelled out, but someone had a different opinion.

[This Secret Realm was robbed too many times by powerful Cultivators. It’s impossible to find Floating Stones as they would have already been scavenged.]

Aiko’s enthusiasm was short-lived and she glared at the system.

The system stopped talking, sensing its owner’s displeasure.

”Then what can I find?” Aiko pouted.

[Inheritance-]

”Denied. Those are shit!” Aiko spat on the ground.

[Herbs-]

”Did you forget that ’garden’?” Aiko snorted at the system.

[...]

”That’s all?” Aiko stomped her feet.

[Memorials...?]

”What is that?” Aiko didn’t know that one.

[They are remnants from powerful Cultivators, that can aid in your journey. Some even might follow you, so that you can learn from them.]

”Do we know where they are?” Aiko was interested in this one.

[This system doesn’t come with a radar function.]

”Fuck off!” Aiko was angry at the stupidly proud system and looked around.

”How do they look?” Aiko asked with hope in her eyes.

[It can be anything, from a rock to a grand temple.]

”You are not helping, you do know that, right?” Aiko snorted again as her hope was lost.

[...]

”Whatever.” Aiko rolled her eyes and looked around. Thanks to upgrades and her body, her sight was impeccable. She was able to see far and wide.

She spotted a few temple-like structures, but one was already destroyed. The other two still stood strong.

’Is there anything on the other side?’ Aiko tilted her head. She was curious if this place was really that small.

She went to the opposite side of this place and looked around, but could not find any other temple.

Aiko was disheartened, but at least she had those two locations that she could explore for now.

Aiko ’rolled’ down the mountain on a rock due to her eccentric behaviour.

It was quite fun and Aiko wanted to try it again, but then...

*SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!*

It was time to book it!