Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko woke up refreshed.

’It even gave me a bit of Vitality...’ She was quite shocked to find that it trickled Vitality over time.

It only seemed like she would get 1 Vitality per hour, or maybe not even that, but it was still better than not having anything.

Moon Aiko kept the Treasure in the pendant mode before moving her body.

’It aches...’ Moon Aiko’s body and mind were painful, which was obvious since she had strained herself a lot.

’What to do...’ Moon Aiko sighed gently before dressing up and moving outside.

Danji was around a table, with food already prepared.

”Punctual, what happened?” Moon Aiko moved her strained body onto the soft pillows before munching on the first piece of a snack.

”I just felt you got better through our connection, so I prepared food to boost your recovery.” Danji chuckled.

”How long was I out?” Moon Aiko was slightly curious.

”For a week.” Danji narrowed her eyes.

Pfft

Moon Aiko coughed up her food, since she didn’t expect that kind of answer.

”Dear me, you are making a mess.” Danji chuckled again. It was obvious that Aiko was shocked, but this was a nice payback for making her worry.

”Did anything happen during this time?” Moon Aiko blinked at her.

”Yue bothered Chen Shi, since she wanted to visit her new home. For some reason, she is drawn to it quite a lot.” Danji summarised what happened before feeding Aiko.

Nom

”How strange.” Moon Aiko couldn’t understand it. The Treasure clearly stated that it would suppress Ghosts, yet Yue still wanted to go inside?

”She said it would feel much nicer inside than inside the bracelet.” Danji shrugged.

”So she just feels stuffy?” Moon Aiko blinked speechlessly.

”No, she said that they live in barracks, so she doesn’t have any privacy.” Danji chuckled again.

”That just means she is stuffy.” Moon Aiko rolled her eyes. She felt much more tired and less animated, all thanks to the loss of Vitality.

But that in turn caused her instability to stabilise a bit more.

’So Vitality feeds the Sun, making it stronger, while fragility feeds the Moon, making me more balanced...’ Moon Aiko had no intention of keeping her Vitality so low, but for the time being, she would keep it as is.

”No matter.” Moon Aiko munched again.

Danji tilted her head, but didn’t say anything. She would just keep feeding Aiko until she was tired of it.

”I have used a lot of materials, so the only thing left is to finish the disc and test it out.” Moon Aiko counted on her fingers.

”Are we returning?” Danji didn’t like that, since having Aiko for herself was quite nice.

”I’m not sure... I can’t really walk while in this state, so I have to discuss it with Mei.” Moon Aiko shrugged. ’I should tell her that I’m missing materials too...’

...

After eating the food, Moon Aiko visited the now former workshop, where she collected some residues.

’I still have some precious materials, that’s nice...’ Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly. Not all the materials were consumed in the process, but most of them still were.

’I don’t really want to look for Feet Shi, so I will just gather the rest of the materials and work on something simple...’ Moon Aiko looked around, quickly gathering the rest.

...

Back in the borrowed courtyard, she first mended her [The Ever Shaping Cauldron].

It seemed like it was wrecked pretty badly from that ’explosion’. Fortunately, someone gathered all the parts that she was missing, so repairing was not too bad.

’I probably should make a new design again.’ Moon Aiko sighed, but for now, it would do.

Gently nodding her head. She checked some blueprints while slightly adjusting her Cauldron.

’I have the perfect plan, but it’s too difficult for now.’ As Moon Aiko progressed with her knowledge, she realised that the ’Treasure’ came with its own blueprint that allowed her to make the Cauldron perfectly.

However, she was missing a lot of materials, and the shape itself was very difficult to accomplish.

She didn’t have the true [The Ever Shaping Cauldron], but a slightly modified version, which was dubbed as the Heavenly Refining Chambers.

As you might expect. Those allowed her to refine multiple things in perfect harmony, before joining them together in the middle chamber.

There were even chambers for cloth and other soft materials.

’If I wanted to, I could even cook in it.’ Moon Aiko chuckled, shaking her head.

”Aiko?” Danji peeked into the room.

”What is it?” Moon Aiko gazed at Danji. That red dress was really nice.

”Yue is here.” Danji gestured outside.

”Let her in. She will probably immediately dive in.” Moon Aiko shook her head and chuckled softly.

”Aiko~” Even before Danji could say anything, Yue barged in.

”And who talks about etiquette?” Moon Aiko snorted at her.

”Hey! I’m allowed to!” Yue pouted. ”That sweaty place is absolute shite!”

”Language.” Moon Aiko would let her taste her own medicine.

”Booo!” Yue booed Aiko like she was a child.

”What happened to you...” Moon Aiko shook her head speechlessly.

”Sweaty Zhiqiang happened.” Yue snorted unhappily.

”Was it that bad?” Moon Aiko blinked at her.

”No.” Yue shook her head. ”It was even worse.”

Moon Aiko sighed. She never expected that Yue would act like this.

”Lemme in.” Yue’s eyes sparkled. It was obvious she was very happy about it.

”Who’s the brat now?” Moon Aiko rolled her eyes as she touched the Treasure.

In front of Yue, it transformed from a pendant into a paper lamp.

”How elaborate...” Yue’s eyes sparkled even more. ”Did you notice that there is a rising Dragon on the sides?” She scrutinised the Treasure carefully.

”I have not noticed it, since it didn’t shine as much, but it’s definitely pretty.

”It feels like it’s a star that’s protecting the fragile insides.” Yue nodded her head.

”But the insides are even stronger and more fearsome than the outside.” Moon Aiko added.

”True that, all normal Ghosts would quiver in front of this.” Yue nodded her head. ”However, I’m already affiliated with you, so I won’t get suppressed.” She proclaimed happily.

”Is that how it works?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”Yeah, but the ’affiliation’ can be retracted immediately after the Ghost has impure thoughts.” Yue explained, since she experienced that when she tried to move Aiko from Danji.

”So... I’m now a Ghost collector, huh?” Moon Aiko mulled over it, but then she just shook her head.

”May I?” Yue was like a giddy child.

”Sure, sure.” Moon Aiko sighed. So much stuff to do, yet Yue was so happy.

Whoosh

Yue immediately dived in.

”This is so cooooool.” Yue marvelled. ”There is a grassland, we could probably add flowers... Although Yin-based flowers are rare, it’s not impossible.”

She nodded her head repeatedly. ”We should also add some trees, since there is already a river running around. Some mountains would be nice too.”

”Wait, hold on.” Moon Aiko stopped her. ”It feels like you are trying to create a whole Sect inside.”

”No, but that’s not a bad idea.” Yue nodded her head. ”But that’s not the point. What I’m aiming for is to fill the inside with flowers that produce Yin, which will turn into Ghost Qi, which in turn will nurture us.”

”Right, most places don’t have that much Yin Qi, and I don’t really like cold places.” Moon Aiko nodded her head seriously.

”And materials are too hard to extract Yin Qi from, so that is also a no-go.” Yue nodded her head seriously, too.

”But can flowers produce Qi just like that?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”It’s not known in the Mortal World, but it’s very common in the Immortal World.” Yue moved to explain how it works.

”To begin with, the World is made up of Dragon Veins and other Veins, but they are limited by the type of Qi they produce. Usually, it’s neutral Qi that solidifies into Spirit Stones. If the Dragon Vein is young or pure, you can even get Spirit Crystals, but I’m skipping steps.”

”Simply put, we create a large Array Gardens. It’s a Natural Array, instead of man-made, which gives it more power, but at the same time, it’s easy to disturb with diseases and floods. These Natural Arrays can exchange the neutral Qi into a more colourful Qi.”

”Hold on. That doesn’t explain why you would want those flowers.” Moon Aiko felt like she was missing something.

”During the collection, your Treasure can gather different Qi, but it can’t convert all of them.” Yue’s voice felt like she was smirking.

”Ah, if we include flowers that can convert a wider variety of Qi, then we will naturally produce more Yin or Ghost Qi.” Moon Aiko finally understood what Yue was after.

”En~” Yue giggled happily. ”This place is nice~, but with flowers, not only would it look even more amazing, but we would be able to gather even more Qi.”

”In turn, it would allow you to nurture your Ghost Souls more.” Moon Aiko nodded. ”By the way, do you have any Cultivation Manuals for Ghosts?” She was quite curious.

”...” Yue paused. ”I have some, but they are not the greatest.”

”It’s fine, I will get you something later.” Moon Aiko still had those Gifts, so she would definitely use them on Yue.

”Now I’m wondering, how strong are you?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”I’m powerful when it comes to attacking living creatures, but Ghosts... I would be on the weakest side, since my Soul was whipped for too long.” Yue shook her head.

”I see...” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”So you are yet to start to Cultivate?”

”Yes, since Ghost Cultivation is banned.” Yue nodded her head. ”But my Soul is still being nurtured, so I will become strong just by waiting.”

”But it’s a slow process, right?” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”Yes, since you need to form a barrier around your Soul, so it doesn’t dissipate. Without a Cultivation Manual, that barrier is very weak and needs to be maintained constantly, so most of your resources would go into maintaining it.” Yue explained her predicament.

”That’s interesting... Is that why Ghosts hide inside numerous Treasures?” Moon Aiko’s eyes sparkled.

”En. Treasures allow us to have more ’permanent’ barrier, making us grow stronger, quicker.” Yue nodded her head.

”That’s really cool.” Moon Aiko believed that Ghost hunting was a lot easier, since she would get Ghosts AND Treasure at the same time!

”You are plotting something.” Yue narrowed her eyes.

”You are imagining things.” Moon Aiko shrugged.

”Don’t try to kill humans just to get their Souls.” Yue warned Aiko.

”Because I will be hunted, yeah, yeah.” Moon Aiko rolled her eyes. ”But if they attack me~”

Yue sighed. ”You plan to use this place to nurture your own Soul by burning theirs, right?”

”How did you know?” Moon Aiko blinked at her.

”There is a fucking boiling Cauldron in the middle of this place! And it’s huge!” Yue protested against it, since it was big, black and ugly, making her frown multiple times.

”Oho~” Moon Aiko smirked. ”And I was wondering where that ability went.” She would be very upset if she couldn’t get Soul Points again!