Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko wanted to work on her Illusions, but there was a slight issue.

’It takes too long to form.’ The illusion itself was not that hard to create, but making it as real as possible was very hard and tedious.

You couldn’t just make it react to the real world, but also to the multitude of energies that floated around.

She did achieve something similar previously, but not to this extent.

’I also don’t understand how this Treasure can nurture Spiritual things.’ Moon Aiko shook her head. There was nothing really special about this Treasure that should allow it to nurture her Spiritual Fire, yet...

”This is nice...” Grandpa Flame sat on top of the Treasure as it lit up gently. ”This can help me progress, but very slowly. It depends on how much Qi is in the air, as this Treasure is not all that great.” He sighed.

”How is it able to nurture you?” Aiko needed answers.

”Hmmm...” Grandpa Flame paused. ”It’s a bit harder to explain, but you could see it as this Treasure separating different Qi, thus allowing me to absorb only the purest Fire Qi that I need.”

Aiko tilted her head. ”But wouldn’t that be good for both Bloodlines and other things?”

”Yes, and no.” Grandpa Flame shook his head. ”While you could also use it to nurture yourself. The problem is the speed at which this thing operates.”

”For example, it would take me about 50 years to progress in the Rankings, and that is not counted as real-life Spiritual Fire.” Grandpa Flame sighed, but this was better than nothing, and it was not like it cost any resources, so it was not a bad Treasure to have.

”Huh...” Moon Aiko nodded. That’s why this thing didn’t feel special. It only acted as a filter and was very bad at that, as it could only filter one thing. You could not change the filter to a different Qi type, so it was very specialised.

”I don’t like this...” Moon Aiko groaned, but at least she now knew what she should look for.

Most of this filtering was caused by the materials made out of this thing. Almost all of them were fire-related.

’Wouldn’t a wood element strengthen it, or would it increase impurities?’ Moon Aiko tilted her head. There were too many things that she didn’t know and couldn’t use her illusions on since she didn’t have any kind of baseline for them.

Ah Cy was slightly concerned, but still gave Aiko the rest of the Treasures.

”Right, so this one filters the Water Qi...” Moon Aiko investigated the multitude of Treasures.

”This pillow allows you to comprehend quicker? No, it just calms and stabilises your mind, so there is no real boost if you already have those qualities, but it should be able to help you practise for longer as you wouldn’t be as strained.”

”This one is quite nice. Before you get poisoned, it would filter the poison in the air by forming a weak barrier around your body.” Moon Aiko looked over all these Treasures, most of which were some kind of filter type.

”Thank you.” Moon Aiko smiled at Ah Cy. She was able to progress quite nicely.

”It is supposed to help you.” Ah Cy smiled.

Aiko munched on the elemental shards while working through all those Treasures. It should help her attain higher affinity, but it was still questionable.

”I will work on the story first, as it’s very easy.” Moon Aiko sighed.

”Do you want a Jade Slip?” Ah Cy sipped her tea.

’Where did she get that tea?’ Moon Aiko was startled. ”No, I will create it into a rock.” Jade Slip would make it so that it would never decay, which was not her intention.

By making it into a rock, there was a sense of urgency from the withering. If they can’t translate it quickly enough, the rock would eventually crumble.

Nodding her head. Aiko went outside to deal with this story.

Since she didn’t need to make it long, one rock would be enough.

...

Shaking her head gently, Aiko finished and went back inside.

”There is a rock outside with the story; you can call over the Grandmaster.” Aiko smiled before munching on more of the elemental shards.

”En.” Ah Cy nodded before walking out.

’I think I’m almost finished. I should get some practice with the needles- I should also raise the [Moonless Mist Shroud] and others...’ She still had quite a bit of work to do, and it was safe here, so it was a perfect opportunity!

Moon Aiko first started on her [Moonless Mist Shroud]. Hiding her beauty was a must if she wanted to travel around without being inconvenienced.

Sure, Dragons would see through that, but that was fine, or at least that’s what she thought.

’It’s hard...’ Moon Aiko realised that the scale of the difficulty was not linear.

The 1st and 2nd steps were very easy. It was like a sort of introduction to the given technique. The 3rd step was getting harder, where you had to actually think. The 4th step was where the real difficulty spiked, as it required 4 times the amount of attainment. The 5th step was the border in which you would be considered exceptionally talented in a given technique, but you still had more steps to take...

”I heard that you wrote it down on a rock?” The Grandmaster popped out of nowhere, but Aiko was not startled.

”That is correct.” Moon Aiko nodded.

”Why would that be?” The Grandmaster was curious, but he didn’t really care about Runes and whatnot. His Formations were nearing perfection, so it was not like he needed it.

”To give a sense of urgency.” Moon Aiko replied simply.

”Hm?” The Grandmaster paused.

”When you know that something will disappear one day, you will naturally put more work into it.” Moon Aiko smiled like a Fox.

”You-” The Grandmaster’s smile widened. ”That is not a bad idea, we can apply it to other things too...”

Cultivators were naturally lazy, since they lived for a long time, but once they reached the end of their lifespan. The sense of urgency would kick in, and they would work harder.

’This little Fox is trying to use that in order for others to learn quicker.’ The Grandmaster smirked.

Most would hate her for this, since nobody wanted to work THAT hard, but thanks to that, it would progress their attainment by leaps and bounds!

”Hahaha, I’m learning from a Junior. I can’t believe it.” The Grandmaster laughed happily.

”I will talk about this with the Sect Leader. Unfortunately, we can’t conclude how effective it will be, so any kind of reward would be given on the mainland.” The Grandmaster scratched his head. They would only see the real benefits after 5 years, which was too long for delegations to stay here.

”That is fine.” Moon Aiko didn’t need more Treasures for the time being.

The Grandmaster disappeared again, and Aiko meditated once again.

...

[Moonless Mist Shroud 4/9->5/9]

”Fffffuuuuck, this took a long time.” Moon Aiko ruffled her hair. Raising it to the 5th step took her 2 weeks!

But now her beauty has dropped from 68 million to only 6.8 million! That was good enough for the time being!

Moon Aiko nodded her head before standing up. She didn’t really need more things, and she kind of missed her group, so she wished to return.

’I have not checked the Titles, right?’ Moon Aiko would go through this last, as it was not as important.

[Restorer]

[You have a higher chance of success when you are trying to repair something.]

[Pioneer]

[You are more likely to be enlightened about a new path. (Not full-fledged Enlightenment!)]

[Ghost Princess]

[Ancestral Shop now has special Cultivation Manuals for Ghosts!]

These were great! Especially the last one! Moon Aiko liked them a lot~!

Nodding her head happily, she walked outside.

There was a row of old grandpas around her stone, trying to decipher her story.

”Ah Cy.” Moon Aiko noticed Ah Cy was nearby, watching over them.

’Her air changed.’ Ah Cy noticed that Aiko was not as beautiful as before. ”Are you leaving now?”

”Yeah, I have achieved everything for now.” Moon Aiko nodded.

There was no longer any need to stay here. Sure, it was fun, and she wanted to explore this place more, but she really missed Mei.

’I can always return to explore more.’ Moon Aiko smiled.

She also needed special-

”Ah, right. Can I get resources that can interact with ethereal beings?” Moon Aiko pursed her lips. ”It doesn’t need to be much. I just need a bit for my Treasure (Pole).” She smiled innocently, but who knew she would create one of the most terrifying Treasures later...

”Sure.” Ah Cy gave Aiko a Storage Ring.

”There is a bit of everything if you want to experiment.” She smiled happily.

”Thank you for everything.” Moon Aiko nodded when energy gushed out from one of the Elders.

”I have progressed past my bottleneck!” He cried out happily before running away.

”...” Ah Cy pursed her lips. ”This is too effective.” She groaned unhappily as they were unable to move the rock. So every Inscription Elder runs to her Hidden Peak for Enlightenment or breakthrough...

”Sorry...” Moon Aiko noticed how troubled she was, so she apologised.

”It’s fine...” Ah Cy sighed. ”Don’t forget to visit my Disciple. She is missing you.

”I will.” Moon Aiko smiled before walking away.

”And you! Only one hour a day are you permitted to come here; there is still half of the incense left!” Ah Cy commanded, and the Elders were obedient about everything.

That was because 3 Elders already managed to pass the bottleneck, so this fortuitous opportunity shouldn’t be snorted at!

...

Moon Aiko arrived at a familiar abode.

”Li Xiu~” Moon Aiko hummed as she entered. There were quite a few Disciples, but they didn’t dare to stop meditating for some reason.

They didn’t even dare to raise their heads.

”Aiko~” Li Xiu hugged Aiko, making everyone curious why her voice softened so much.

”I will be leaving soon, so I came to visit and bid goodbye.” Moon Aiko smiled.

”You must reach the mainland! Otherwise, it would be too boring!” Li Xiu narrowed her eyes.

”En, en. I’m working on it.” Moon Aiko smiled. This was a promise she could keep, since this ’small’ island wouldn’t be able to contain her.

”Good, good.” Li Xiu nodded happily. ”I have a few gifts for you- Why are you not meditating? Do I have to ’teach’ you?” She cracked her fists, and everyone no longer paid any attention to them as they focused on their meditation.

”Tsk.” Li Xiu clicked her tongue in annoyance.