Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko couldn’t wrap her head around it, were plushies really that important? Sure they were soft and squishy, portable and-

’Well...’ Moon Aiko nodded her head. They certainly had a certain appeal, not easily replicated by other things and since they lacked the social touch of outside Foxes, maybe that was for the better.

’Fine, I will not mention it again.’ Moon Aiko would just have to bear the fact that her plushie was so well received and that everyone liked it.

The good thing was that nobody fought over them, probably the most important thing, actually.

’I don’t want my ideas to bring violence to my companions or allies, as for enemies, hmpf.’ Moon Aiko snorted unhappily.

Of course, the Foxes observed her with great interest, even if Aiko didn’t pay much attention to them.

Just her mere presence boosted their recovery greatly and soothes their minds.

After all, this was the same Fox that was able to destroy the previous Fox Village without breaking a sweat. Caused stampede that almost wiped this place and-

She had many unbelievable achievements...

”So how is everything going? I hope nobody wants to stay behind.” Moon Aiko was a bit concerned that someone might be unwilling to leave this place, in which case a bit of force would be necessary.

”Surprisingly, everyone wants to follow us.” Mei pursed her lips. She couldn’t believe that there was not even opposition, not even the Foxes in this place raised any issues.

”Did someone brainwash them?” Moon Aiko couldn’t believe that there was not a single Soul that wished to stay, or maybe there was? Maybe it was hard to voice their opinion since almost everyone wanted to leave?

But even then, that sounded unbelievable.

”Keep an eye on the Foxes, just in case they become more depressed...” Moon Aiko paused. ”Do we have wine or something? It might be necessary to distribute it if someone would feel awful about this situation.”

”I was considering saving it for the ’deal’, but I think this is a good idea.” Mei never considered this part, since everything was going way too smoothly.

”I will see to it.” Danji bowed before leaving. The Foxes in the rehabilitation zone were a bit apprehensive towards Demonic Foxes.

Well, considering what kind of rumours surrounded them, it was only natural.

Demonic Foxes, the unstable crazy bunch that would attack anyone and anything.

”The food is enough right?” Moon Aiko asked Mei again.

”We won’t need as much food, but we prepared enough to host for those that might need it.” Mei nodded her head gently. She already made arrangements when Aiko needed part of the food for the Demonic Foxes.

”You don’t need to?” Moon Aiko was startled. Sure, some of the more powerful Foxes could just eat ’Qi’, but even they would need to eat something once in a while to retain their strength.

”En. Thanks to the ocean, the density of Qi is unmatched. While you can’t cultivate above the ocean, you can still use the natural Qi to nourish your body, thus removing the need for normal food.” Mei explained the situation to Aiko.

”Fascinating...” Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly. This was truly fascinating, something worth investigating while she had time.

”Don’t even try it.” However, Mei cut her thoughts short for some reason.

”Why? I haven’t done anything.” Moon Aiko pouted.

”Knowing you, you would scoop part of the ocean, causing a lot of trouble.” Mei sighed softly.

”... Okay, first up, rude. Why would I want to scoop part of the ocean?” Moon Aiko snorted unhappily.

Mei breathed a sigh of relief that Aiko didn’t consider it.

”If I were to scoop it up, it would obviously be the whole ocean.” Moon Aiko nodded her head proudly. That way she would have enough research material.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

’Although I will have to heal the Demonic Foxes before drowning my storage.’ Moon Aiko smacked her lips.

”...” Mei’s lips twitched. Right, that sounded more like Aiko rather than just scooping a part, why not scoop the whole thing up?!

”Speaking of storage, I will leave the weapons and stuff in the dining hall, the Foxes can pick what they like, just one weapon per person should be enough. Or a pair of weapons that can be used, like 2 daggers and stuff.” Moon Aiko suddenly said to Mei.

”Why?” Mei didn’t think that was necessary and while the dining hall was big, she didn’t believe it was big enough to store all those weapons.

”Because at this rate I just might start scrapping them.” Moon Aiko already rested a bit, so her hands were a bit itchy. And as there was nothing to take into her hands or tactically moving resources around, she had to occupy herself somehow.

”Fine...” Mei chuckled, Aiko could never really stay in one place...

...

The Foxes moved in orderly fashion, the ship didn’t include the Demonic Foxes as they were stored in Aiko’s tails, pre-emptively.

They would be released once they arrived by the sea or some part of the beach where it would be safe for them to play around.

This way, the continental flying ship would have the ’baseline’ for the burden and any adjustments could be made along the way.

That was especially true for the steering and thrusting Arrays.

Moon Aiko observed from a high point. Those Foxes looked kind of like ants.

”I know I don’t have to mention it, but you can’t take this small boat over the ocean.” Mei was worried that Aiko would take this boat to cross it, in which case her life would be in danger.

”...” Moon Aiko was still unsure about the difficulty. What was so dangerous about the ocean? Wasn’t it just a large body of water with thicker Qi?

Well, not quite. The ocean hosted aquatic lifeforms, which also created their Sects and other things.

That meant they had territories to manage and guard and as one might expect, Human Cultivators were not welcome flying over their domains.

As such, most continental flying ships, if discovered, would be immediately shot down on sight.

That’s why most of the Arrays and Inscriptions were about concealing the continental flying ship and the rest was defence.

However, if concealment failed, you would have a hard time defending...

...

”Ah, right.” Moon Aiko realised something as she watched the Foxes board the ship. ”I’m going to meet someone.”

She couldn’t Contract Nero, but she still wanted to take her with her.

Leaving someone behind would be pretty depressing, especially since the Nightmare Owl Clan no longer existed.

Her companions watched her as she jumped down and ran into the Forest.

...

Moon Aiko looked around, but even then it was pretty obvious where Nero was located.

”I can see your tail.” Moon Aiko chuckled at her.

”You don’t see me!” The tail quickly swished, but it was pointless as it appeared on the other side of the tree.

”I can still see your tail.” Moon Aiko liked how flustered she was, she even dropped her way of speech.

”Oh no!” Nero panicked and her tail swished back and forth, making Aiko giggle even more.

”So, why are you still hiding?” Moon Aiko tilted her head. There were no longer enough Foxes to call this place overwhelming, yet this cutie still hid herself.

”There are too many Foxes!” Nero shook her tail vigorously behind the tree.

Moon Aiko looked around. The place was pretty much deserted, but she still found this amusing.

”...” Moon Aiko sighed, shaking her head. ”Would you like to come with me?”

”Nero will be fine.” Nero peeked from behind the tree. She was good at following things, thanks to her superior senses.

”Nero will follow, in stealth, nobody will be able to see me!” Nero hummed happily, making Aiko even more speechless.

”You are... really bad at stealth though...” Moon Aiko chuckled, seeing her tail swish back and forth.

”Oh, no! Nero will practise!” Moon Aiko could feel Nero nodding her head vigorously behind the tree.

”Fine, fine.” Moon Aiko sighed. Since she didn’t want to follow and jump on the continental flying ship, she would just have to pay more attention so that Nero wouldn’t get lost.

’This is all right? We can’t loot the Holy Deer place, and the other places no longer hold anything worthwhile...’ Moon Aiko pondered, but she couldn’t figure out if she forgot something.

’Should I get a special Jade Slip just for my plans and things to do?’ Moon Aiko was now seriously considering it, and it seemed like that was quite the tempting idea.

With her memory being perfect, the amount of work was still staggering, so much so that her brain refused to focus on it.

She still held that information in her head, but actually accessing it was the troublesome part.

Something that would help her ’jolt’ the memory would be appreciated for her future plans.

’I also don’t know what might happen to me in the Human Body Stage...’ Moon Aiko didn’t want to take risks like this, so it was better to get a Jade Slip and make a habit out of it.

’I wonder what kind of limits the Jade Slip has...’ Moon Aiko paused. ’No, why am I thinking about this. Researching that information would be so exhausting.’ She quickly gave up on this, and she would just borrow several of them, just in case one would give up working...

...

”Finished?” Mei asked Aiko who just returned onto the small flying boat.

”I think so?” Moon Aiko paused. ”I will have to see if she can actually follow us.” She was still a bit uneasy about letting her run down below.

’I know that the twins told me that she is built like a freaking mountain, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get injured.’ Moon Aiko believed there would be limits to her impenetrable skin. It was possible that her internal organs were softer, and thus she would be vulnerable to blunt impact.

’But it’s not like I can ask her.’ Moon Aiko knew that those things were too precious to share with others. Who in their right mind would be willing to share their weaknesses with others?!

’Although, that sounds like a different kind of fun.’ Moon Aiko suddenly smirked and everyone shuddered. They had a really bad feeling about what would just happen, but they had no way of preventing it.

”Think so...?” Mei was startled. White Aiko was quite thorough, so it was impossible for her to make this face unless something was wrong. ”Will everything be alright?”

”We will know once we fly.” Moon Aiko shrugged. She would just fly in her boat at the start to see if Nero was able to follow them without issues...