Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”Oh, right.” Moon Aiko stuck out her tongue. ”Did I forget to mention that?”

Mei almost fainted from that innocent expression, but she still pinched Aiko’s cheeks.

”Where did you find so many of them?” Mei narrowed her eyes.

”Got them from the Sacred Realms. I also have one more race and a few other goodies.” Moon Aiko smiled gently. Her cold demeanour stole Mei’s heart.

”You’d better be upfront about these.” Mei pouted.

”Well, I kind of forgot, not to mention we can’t really use them.” Moon Aiko sighed.

”Are they suffering from staying in the Sacred Realm too long?” Mei frowned.

”Yeah.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”Chen Shi already worked on a resolution with me, but well...” She scratched her head awkwardly.

”It would take quite a long time, right?” Mei sighed.

”Yeah.” Moon Aiko nodded. ”But they are cuties, you will like them.” She gave a kind thumbs-up.

”Next up, you will tell me that you found the Ghost Flag.” Mei shrugged. That was one of the things that the Fox Elders were looking for, and she was also looking for it in order to intercept it.

”How did you know?” Moon Aiko’s eyes widened.

Mei almost choked again as she glared at Aiko.

”Don’t joke around! That thing was lost for a long, LONG time!” She didn’t believe that Aiko would be able to find it.

”Was it important?” Moon Aiko was startled and felt guilty.

”We can’t allow it to get into the Fox Elder’s hands.” Mei frowned again. ”They want to capture the enslaved Foxes and transport them onto the mainland.”

”Oh...” Moon Aiko nodded her head and pursed her lips. Her ears twitched, clearly indicating happiness. ”Then you don’t have to worry about that.”

”No.” Mei shook her head. ”I worry even more since you have it.” She sighed gently.

”I don’t have it.” Moon Aiko giggled.

”??” Mei was confused for a moment before narrowing her eyes. ”Didn’t you say you found it?”

”Well, Danji found it.” Moon Aiko corrected that statement.

”But you still have it.” Mei was more and more confused.

”No.” Moon Aiko shook her head.

Now it just felt like Aiko was making fun of Mei, and she didn’t like that!

”Spill it.” Mei put her hands on her hips.

”It no longer exists.” Moon Aiko confessed. ”I used it as material in order to create a Treasure.” She smiled happily.

Mei stared at Aiko for a long time. ”You... what...?”

”I combined precious materials to make a special Treasure.” Moon Aiko smiled again.

Mei had a headache. ”But that Treasure can capture Ghosts, right?”

”En?” Moon Aiko tilted her head. ”But it’s not like they can use it.”

Mei paused. ”What did you do this time?”

”I made Treasure with severe limitations on who can use it...?” Moon Aiko hummed. It didn’t feel right to tell the whole story through the dream.

”I feel like I will die one day from your absurdity.” Mei sighed. ”Is the Treasure alright? Can it be used?”

”I would never do that.” Moon Aiko pouted.

”That’s a flat-out lie.” Mei clicked her tongue. ”So, can we use the Ghost capturing part?”

”Yeah.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”It can even suppress Ghosts.” She smiled again.

”Hm?” Mei blinked. ”How much?”

”From [Soul Transformation] to [Golden Elixir]?” Moon Aiko paused. ”But there is also an option to strengthen it.”

”Hmmmm...” Mei gently frowned. ”Most Elders have already finished at least Nascent Soul, but some of them reached the pinnacle, so we might be in a pickle when it comes to those.”

”But they can’t maintain their Cultivation Stage in Ghost form, no?” Moon Aiko raised her eyebrow.

”That’s the thing. For a ’short’ period of time, they will be able to maintain it even more so if their cultivation is stable. So we wouldn’t be able to capture them, and they would just run away.” Mei frowned.

”How about battering their Souls before killing them?” Moon Aiko suggested. While she was not as strong as the Elders, her [Little #### Nightmares] should still do the work, right? ’I might need to strengthen them, though?’

”I see...” Mei nodded her head. ”We could definitely forcefully reduce their Soul strength, but will you be alright?”

”As long as it’s not a direct confrontation, I should be fine, but the problem is that I have to get close.” Moon Aiko sighed.

”Short range... let’s not do that.” Mei sighed. ”I will test your blood later.”

”What for?” Moon Aiko took a step back. She didn’t like getting her blood drawn.

”Soul Devouring Talisman.” Mei smirked. ”The problem is that the effects might not be as good, and we might have to burn through the capital.” She clicked her tongue at the end, since it would drain them dry.

Mei interrupted Aiko. ”And no, we can’t use Spirit Crystals. That would be like putting a huge mark on us.”

”Well, there goes my idea.” Moon Aiko sighed.

”It’s not too bad. If we have powerful enough blood on our hands, we will be able to come up with something.” Mei patted Aiko.

”Let’s hope it will go smoothly.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”When should I return? I don’t like walking.”

”You can’t fly for too long. The Fox Village is in ’lockdown’, so they will lock onto your flying vessel immediately. They might even take it from you.” Mei’s face turned ugly. She didn’t like how this Mortal World operated.

”That bad, huh... how about half of the journey?” Moon Aiko pleaded with Mei.

”That’s fine. You are at the Inscription Association, right?” Mei narrowed her eyes.

”Yeah.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”Can you convince the Rune Cultivator to give us a hand?” Mei felt uneasy about the upcoming war, so she wanted to have as many hands as possible.

”But how do you take him inside?” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”Tails is definitely not a good idea, but there should be a brief window when the Protection Array is weakened.” Mei calculated.

”While it’s unlikely, he could possibly go through the ’void’, but then he would be weakened.” Mei agonised over how to get him inside without endangering Aiko.

”Because if others saw my tails, it might put me on the list.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”But on the other hand, if the Protection Array is not weakened enough, it will cause us trouble.” She shook her head.

”It can’t be helped. I will contact you later.” Mei sighed as the dream dissolved.

It was not like Mei didn’t want to keep going, but she was quite tired from the shock that Aiko gave her.

”Demonic Foxes, huh...” Mei murmured from her sleep as she rolled around.

-----

Moon Aiko woke up.

”What a dream.” She yawned again. It didn’t feel like she got all that much rest, so she just went to sleep again...

...

The next day, Moon Aiko arrived at Chen Shi’s study.

”You are not doing anything that will make me poke my eye out, right?” Moon Aiko didn’t knock and just loudly questioned them.

”What do you take me for?” Chen Shi opened the doors, staring at her.

”At least wipe that lipstick.” Moon Aiko kicked his chin as she walked inside.

Chen Shi quickly cleaned his whole body.

”Does ventilation not mean anything to you?” Moon Aiko rolled her eyes.

”Enough, enough.” Chen Shi felt like he was being berated by his mother. ”What have you come for?”

”When will the Demonic Discs be finished?” Moon Aiko asked gently.

”In a few days.” Chen Shi yawned. ”What? Do you need them?”

”No, I’m just running some tests.” Moon Aiko shook her head before pulling out the Demonic Saintess on the disc.

”How was it?” Moon Aiko asked softly.

The Demonic Saintess was startled, so she opened her eyes.

”The Treasure can work even inside, as long as we supply it with enough Spirit Stones.” She replied softly, making quite the sweet sound.

Chen Shi coughed awkwardly, since he was still in the mood.

”Should I bring the stick?” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

Chen Shi choked on his own breath. ”No need.” He immediately slid with his chair under the table, so that Aiko wouldn’t be able to get him.

”You know I can just sneak under the table and twist it, right?” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”No.” Danji stopped Aiko before she could do anything like that. ”That’s too promiscuous.”

”You are one to talk.” Chen Shi felt like this 3-way war was not too bad.

Both Moon Aiko and Danji turned towards him. ”Shut up.”

Chen Shi was speechless. ”I can be considered a Saint, you know?”

”A bimbo at best.” Moon Aiko snorted unhappily.

”How much does it burn Spirit Stones?” She ignored Chen Shi and immediately asked the Demonic Saintess.

”Too many.” The Demonic Saintess shook her head.

Moon Aiko groaned. ”We should get at least a mine or something.”

”Most Spirit Mines are already empty on this continent, but you can have some luck on the mainland.” Chen Shi sighed. He was also looking for a Spirit Mine, but this continent’s Qi was too thin to achieve any kind of formation of a new mine.

”Is it that bad?” Moon Aiko blinked at him.

”Worse than you can imagine. If the Elves didn’t intercept, this place would already be overrun by Void Beasts.” Chen Shi shook his head.

”I’m shocked that you stayed here.” Moon Aiko widened her eyes. ”You really wanted that G-”

”Don’t you even dare say that word!” Chen Shi shouted at Aiko.

”Whoa.” Moon Aiko didn’t expect that kind of strong reaction. ”What’s wrong? You don’t like Yue any more.”

”I love her, but I hate that cringy- Ugh.” Chen Shi shuddered just remembering that word.

”It’s not that bad.” Moon Aiko teased him.

Chen Shi rolled his eyes. ”I will remind you of that when one of your wives becomes a Ghost-”

”Right!” Moon Aiko widened her eyes. ”What if you nurtured your Souls?” She asked the Demonic Saintess.

”It might speed up the process a bit, since our Souls would be cleansed of that Qi.” The Demonic Saintess nodded her head.

”But there is a problem.” She couldn’t help but add. ”If we return to our bodies, then our Souls will be polluted again.”

”Oh.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”Using the Soul as a sponge to get rid of that Qi?”

”Yes, but it will greatly weaken both body and Soul connection.” The Demonic Saintess sighed.

”Is there a remedy for that?” Moon Aiko nudged her.

”Unfortunately, I’m not versed in that kind of thing.” The Demonic Saintess shook her head.

Moon Aiko turned towards Chen Shi, who flinched on instinct.