Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

But this was enough looking around. This flying ship was already destroyed for quite some time, so who knows if these Runes are accurate.

Walking outside with the two behind her, Aiko immediately went into her next flying ship.

This was fully functional, and while Aiko didn’t believe this would be the newest ship. It should serve as a good comparison to the previous one.

And it showed!

Everything had the enlarging Array, but this time it also included Inscriptions on the walls!

The walls were strengthened through this, but it had the demerit of lowering the ambient Qi, which was quite concerning.

If everything shrank, it would be able to crush everyone inside, but there were changes about that, too.

The main Array that ejected things outside the rooms if the space failed, also had a supporting Array that allowed it to do it slowly.

That way, it wouldn’t eject everything out immediately, but slowly over time.

Of course, that still meant that the flying ship might rip itself apart from all the furniture and things inside.

Shaking her head, she went along. Each single piece of wood had an Inscription that strengthened it, but that was not the end.

Aiko noticed that the quality of wood dropped, so they exchanged quality for Inscription.

That way, they would be able to keep the same durability but use cheaper materials.

There was still the issue with the Inscription Ink cost, but it must’ve been cheaper since they were willing to do it like this.

Moving along, the situation got only worse and worse.

There were many typos, as if someone was like, ”Hehe, I’m smart, I will include words that have no meaning into sentences that were mostly correct!”, causing the whole thing to get the worst kind of efficiency and efficacy.

Moving along, there were different room tiers.

1st - Room with multiple beds.

2nd - Room with two beds.

3rd - Room with one bed.

4th - Large room.

5th - Large room with multiple smaller rooms.

6th - Large room, multiple rooms and a balcony.

It was ridiculous how much attention and wealth went into the higher-tier rooms, so much so that it pained Aiko.

Moving along the cafeteria was this time separate from the socialising place.

The cafeteria was also enlarged, like the other rooms. The only place that was not enlarged would be the socialising room and control room.

There was also a captain’s room, but Aiko didn’t count that one, since high-stage Cultivators were always whiny about those things.

The decor also improved from the ruined flying ship.

There were small paper lamps with nice scenery on them, and it was powered by the main control room instead of ambient Qi.

Moving onto the control room. It was also more sophisticated, but that didn’t mean it was better. It was actually worse.

The Qi efficiency was even worse than in the ruined flying ship, so much so that Aiko was unwilling to take it even for free!

Shaking her head gently, Aiko left the flying ship and asked an important question.

”How old is this flying ship?” Moon Aiko wanted to know how much the knowledge degraded over time.

”This flying ship is 100 years old, while the previous one would be 2,000 years old.” The Grandmaster answered honestly, since it seemed like the Foxy wouldn’t take any flying ships.

Aiko nodded her head. These bastards carved the Floating Stone, so even if she took it away, it would degrade over time, making it unusable.

That was not all. If she tried to plug it into her own flying ship, it would only bear 10% of its acceptable weight! This was a total scam!

”I don’t want either of them.” Moon Aiko shook her head. It was not even worth storing it into her tails, since most things about it were ruined, and it would take way too much time to rewrite everything to not make it into a bottomless pit that would just chew through Spirit Stones like a hungry Taotie.

The Grandmaster smiled and moved them back into the docks. It was obvious that this Foxy knew a lot about it, but if she was not willing to share her knowledge, he would not pursue it.

Moon Aiko summoned her Spirit Boat and enlarged it slightly. It was big enough to fit all of them, so they went on board.

This Spirit Boat only had the main deck and one room. However, that didn’t mean it was of lower quality than the flying ship!

The first thing she noticed was the lack of Inscriptions, so this thing should be old. There were Arrays on the outside, but they were hard to decipher, unlike the Arrays on the flying ships.

It seems she would have to learn Arrays in order to understand this Spirit Boat better.

The main change was the consumption.

Its consumption depended on size, but it was still much, much more efficient than the flying boats.

This would allow her to travel further, and since she could store things into her tails, there was no need for bigger ships!

There was one slight issue that Aiko noticed, and that was that it consumed the same amount of Essence as it did with Qi. Essence was precious, but the consumption was the same, so either something was wrong with this, or it should provide her with even more bonuses.

The colours of the Spirit Boat were very light brown. Not something Aiko disliked, and the room on the ship was also well decorated, with carpet and an overly large bed.

Aiko would have to change some things inside, but then she noticed something.

”I can’t take things out?” Moon Aiko was confused.

”Unlike flying ships, Spirit Boat is considered a Treasure. During the refinement process, you have to include everything you want, and it will be incorporated into it. That also means that if the Treasure gets damaged, it would be hard to repair.” The Grandmaster sighed.

Moon Aiko nodded. Another mission would be to figure out how to re-refine things in her Cauldron. That way, she would be able to customise this further!

Thinking about how wonderful the Treasures are, she should also dip her toes into those kinds of things!

Nodding her head, she stored her Spirit Boat into her body with a satisfied expression.

”At least you like something.” The Grandmaster smiled. He then pulled out another Treasure.

”I have this for you, too.” The Grandmaster smiled.

”You sly Fox!” Ah Cy was beaten to the punch, since she still wanted to give Aiko more goodies.

[Unnamed Spiritual Nurturing Bowl]

[Rarity: Numinous Treasure (Damaged Spirit)]

[Restriction: Acknowledge by the Spirit]

[Effect:

Size Adjustment

Spirit Core: Damaged

Nurturing Essence: Weak]

[Owner: - ]

Moon Aiko was very curious about this, but it didn’t seem all too good.

”It might have damaged Spirit, but as long as you can feed it some good ingredients, it can repair itself!” The Grandmaster hummed.

”Not to mention, this can nurture both Treasures and Spiritual Beings!” It felt like he was trying to sell Aiko something he didn’t want.

”Old fool. This broken thing will not benefit her.” Ah Cy spoke sternly. ”How many ’good ingredients’ have you already fed it, and it’s still in this state!” She didn’t want Aiko to suffer through this incomplete thing!

[Description: As the Spirit is damaged. It’s unable to properly consume resources. If you can somehow remedy that, it can become a priceless Treasure!]

”I like this one.” Moon Aiko smiled mischievously.

”Oho~” The Grandmaster noticed that smile. ”You must feel how many priceless resources I have fed it.”

”Yes. If I can fix it, I will be very happy.” Moon Aiko didn’t conceal anything.

The Grandmaster gave her the Treasure without second thought. He felt like he would be possessed by his Inner Demons at this rate.

But once this Treasure was out of his sight, everything would be alright! He could also curry favour through this, which was more than acceptable!

”Would you like an Inscription Story?” Aiko would give them the whole story, but even that small part should help them.

”What is that?” The Grandmaster grew curious.

”As the name implies. It’s a story made into Inscriptions. Anyone who can decipher it will learn Runes and how they interact.” Moon Aiko smiled.

She got quite a few goodies, and they didn’t hold her accountable for any disaster, so she would return a bit of that kindness back.

”I will have to discuss this with Inscription Peak Elder once you show it to us.” The Grandmaster was cautious about this, since knowledge can also cause downfalls!

”That is fine. I can make it in a few days.” Moon Aiko nodded.

”Let’s go.” Ah Cy grabbed Aiko. If she stayed with that fossil, all the Treasures she bought would turn useless!

”I will go ahead. Call me when it’s ready.” The Grandmaster smiled before leaving this place.

...

”What’s wrong?” Aiko tilted her head.

”I also have Treasures for you.” Ah Cy coughed awkwardly.

”Oh.” Moon Aiko smiled.

”Here and here and-” Ah Cy kept taking them out.

One Treasure was especially for nurturing Spiritual Fire, another for Spiritual Water.

There were Treasures against poison, for faster cultivation speed and many more.

It would take some time for Moon Aiko to sort through them, but she wouldn’t be just sorting.

She would make an illusion of each of the Treasures and then tweak that illusion to her liking.

With a real-world counterpart, her illusion would become more accurate, and thus those tests would turn into something she could actually use!

-----

”So you want me to be the bait?” The Blood Fox snorted.

”It’s the best way to attract their attention so that Aiko can rob them blind.” Mei nodded her head.

”What’s in it for me?” The Blood Fox narrowed her eyes. She would agree if Aiko was asking, but Mei...

”I will adjust your Treasure so they are more powerful, and I have plenty of Pills that can help purify your blood.” Mei would bargain with her own skills.

”And I get to enjoy Aiko for two weeks once everything is over.” The Blood Fox licked her lips.

Mei sensed a new kind of danger. ”Rejected. Suggest something else.” She folded her arms. This kind of danger was new and foreign, but it was still dangerous.

”I won’t go under a week. Otherwise, you should find someone else.” The Blood Fox shrugged.

”...” Mei would have to agree, since the Blood Fox was quite the hot topic.

”Ugh, fine!” Mei ruffled her hair in frustration. This was all to keep Aiko safer in the long run.

”Pleasure doing business with you~” The Blood Fox licked her lips. Looking forward to what the future will hold for her~!