Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

The bird lady was resting with all the Treasures and everything that would be able to soothe her Soul.

That was only natural since this time Aiko had to be more invasive than before since the scale was completely different.

'What kind of person would enslave Beasts.' Moon Aiko didn't know the answer for that, but at least Witch Aiko did a good job.

'Things are turning...' Moon Aiko paused. Things were turning in the wrong direction, if the 'Uncle' didn't come this time, she would definitely die by that guy's hands with her Soul snuffed for sure.

'Looking forward to meeting me...' Moon Aiko still remembered those words that lingered right after she ripped those tendrils. They were hurried words like he didn't expect her to go through with this so quickly.

'The nudging feeling is getting stronger.' Moon Aiko felt that she 'must' visit a certain place, but she didn't know how far from here it was. Her estimate was somewhere between the mainland and this place, but she was just guessing.

She would only know once she visited the sea with the others. If she felt like it was too far, she would just board with everyone and go to the mainland, if it was close, she would just keep going as is.

Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly, she was convinced that she would find an answer once she saw the sea and everything that came with it.

*Knock knock knock*

Someone gently knocked on her doors, pulling her out of her dazed state.

"Yes?" Moon Aiko spoke gently, but she was also weakened. She overdrew the Essence, which then drained her body of other energies.

Forget stability, she was happy that she was able to move around!

Moon Aiko didn't expect this situation, so she could only go along with it until she recovered.

"I have prepared some food and a message from my lady." The butler spoke gently through the door.

"Come in." Danji beckoned him.

'I still wonder how she got in here.' Moon Aiko blinked at her. It seemed like Danji was upset about something, but Moon Aiko was unsure about what.

'Tsk. I missed Dark Aiko! I will have to stick around until she comes out!' Danji wanted some affection, so when she heard from the passing Muscle Foxes that Aiko had a black hair and was doing something with the Ancestral Beast, she immediately picked a few Treasures that would allow her to resist the heat in order to be able to run over.

The butler opened the doors. It was still a sight to behold since it felt like there was a royal miss with her entourage in this room.

"This time we have some aged beef, still left from the last harvest." The butler introduced the meat first before later introducing the rest. He knew that this Foxy was a meat lover, so he prepared enough so that she could stuff her cheeks as much as she wanted.

Moon Aiko licked her saliva, she was already interested in eating it, but she waited for him to introduce everything and spread it in front of her.

"My lady also invites you for tea later." The butler finished with the message from his lady.

"Oh?" Moon Aiko blinked at him. "Is she doing better?" She was concerned about her health.

"It's the same, but my lady now got used to that 'state' of being, so she can actually move around now." The butler gestured with an ecstatic smile. His lady was finally able to leave the premises indefinitely and not just for a few hours, so he took her out of this place and onto the plains to recover for a few days.

The Foxes in the meadow were also kind, so things turned out a lot better than he expected.

"I see..." Moon Aiko thought that she could do better given enough time, but she would have to have someone to experiment on. The other Ancestral Beasts didn't want to invite her first, so the bird lady had to take her in.

Well, had to is a strong wording. It was her desperation that called for such drastic measures.

"I can assure you that even when she looks like that, she is still elated at being able to leave this place." The butler didn't want the Fox to misunderstand, so he tried to explain what was happening.

Moon Aiko giggled. "I understand."

Danji prepared some tea for Aiko, before stepping to the side. She was learning from old wives about this kind of thing... Well, it was supposed to be a kink, but she quite liked it, so...

"Please excuse me." The butler smiled before leaving the room so that they could be alone.

"How are you doing?" Moon Aiko wanted to ask how Mei was doing, but it was not appropriate to say that in front of Danji.

She was slightly more aware about the emotions and grievances between different Foxes and she also noticed that some were unsalvageable.

However, she wouldn't give up hope. Danji and Mei simply felt like rivals, so things could still improve.

"I don't have much to do, so I was sorting the Treasures and managing inventory. A lot of Foxes lost their appetite, so we were trying to figure out how to remedy that." Danji knew what White Aiko was thinking, so she continued her explanation. "Mei is also doing well. She is still busy with paperwork since a certain Fox was too... uneducated to handle everything. The Grandmaster seems like she will throw hands with the Nightmare Owls. The Elephant was making some moves, but the Crows intercepted it. We don't know exactly what was happening, but that's about it."

Danji gave the perfect report of what was happening, so much so that Aiko was lost for words.

"Nobody is injured or anything, right?" Moon Aiko was concerned that the Earthen Elephant Clan would do something stupid and that Foxes would be injured because of it.

"There is no movement from them and if they move they are always interrupted by the Crows." Danji shook her head gently.

*Nom*

Moon Aiko tasted the food and her eyes immediately lit up. No wonder that everyone was so interested in this meat! Even she could appreciate the savoury scent and taste that the beef gave off.

"Delicious!" Moon Aiko almost moaned from that taste. She wanted to just stash it into her tails, but her hand kept moving, stuffing her face with it.

'Squirrel?' Danji tilted her head and giggled. Seeing Aiko stuff her face, she felt quite happy with her current position.

"Are there any other plans?" Moon Aiko wanted to know if anything changed.

"Both the Deer Clan and Owl Clan are nudging us if we know when you will recover and visit them." Danji snorted unhappily, her happiness didn't last long because of this remark.

"Now they want to jump in, when they declined me before." Moon Aiko chuckled. She would make them wait until she completely recovered. She wouldn't risk that 'person' coming after her again so soon.

Sure, her 'Uncle' might be still around, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She also needed to recover more Essence to be able to keep Witch Aiko around longer.

"We naturally blocked them, so take your time." Danji smirked sinisterly.

Moon Aiko joined her. "Obviously, I will need to recover for a while~"

They both chuckled sinisterly.

"How is the metal extraction going?" Moon Aiko was concerned since she knew there was limited space on the continental flying ships.

"There is actually major development, but I didn't want to tell you about it because I knew you would run over." Danji immediately stepped behind Aiko and pressed on her shoulders so she wouldn't try to stand up.

Moon Aiko rolled her eyes. "You think I will rush over just beca-"

"We are building a continental flying ship from the metals." Danji explained briefly, and she could see Aiko's body visibly stiffened.

"... You know what. Good for you." Moon Aiko nodded her head. Danji was able to perfectly predict what would happen now. 'But didn't they use a lot of wood- Well, almost the whole thing was made out of wood, so how would things change when-'

"They are using multiple Floating Stones, as per Mei's suggestion." Danji explained to sate Aiko's curiosity and keep her here resting.

"Ohhhhhh." Moon Aiko nodded her head. 'With multiple of them, not only we can make a more stable flying ship, but the burden could be spread out...' She immediately drew mind plans about the flying ship.

"We are also reusing the destroyed flying ships and old parts from our currently working continental flying ships." Danji also added this, since she knew that Aiko might sneak out otherwise.

"I really want to see it." Moon Aiko caressed her chin.

"You may not." Danji massaged Aiko's shoulders to keep her from running around in this state.

"You could just carry me you know?" Moon Aiko smirked.

"That's not a-" Danji suddenly froze. "No, you won't sweet talk me."

"Tsk." Moon Aiko clicked her tongue. Her grand plan failed, she didn't expect Danji to be so resistant.

Well, the only reason why Danji was resistant was because this was 'White' Aiko and not 'Dark' Aiko...

...

Moon Aiko arrived at a lounge. It was beautifully decorated like any other room, but this one had a bit more personal touch than the others.

"Welcome~" The bird lady, while frail, was very energetic with her facial features.

"That's certainly a grand welcome." Moon Aiko nodded her head.

"Come, come." The bird lady immediately invited her. She was less stiff and authoritative than before, maybe because she was able to spend so much time outside of this place.

Moon Aiko sat on the soft sofa. Well, she almost sank into it, that's how soft it was.

"Aren't you worried that this will ruin your body?" Moon Aiko didn't like this extreme 'sinking' feeling.

"It will be fine, we are powerful~" The bird lady chuckled.

It was obvious that powerful Cultivators abused that fact, but then what kind of damage would it have on your body?

At first, it would probably have no damage on the body, but over time, barely noticeable cracks might form and one day they might collapse.

Sure, it might take longer than their lifespan, but the higher Cultivation Stage, the longer lifespan. That also meant a higher likelihood of injuring oneself, especially if they cultivate for an overly long time.

"Honestly, when you first came in, I didn't believe you would be able to cancel the Contract." The bird lady was always doubtful. Foxes are small and weak, so it was natural for them to be oppressed, but the same couldn't be said about this Fox...

"Yeah yeah." Moon Aiko waved her hand like she didn't care about it.

"Honestly..." The bird lady shook her head. "I can't thank you enough for what you did."

The butler prepared tea for them, Danji was waiting in the back room, since this was supposed to be a one-on-one conversation without distractions.

"It's fine, we had that deal..." Moon Aiko was slightly dissatisfied with it, since the mother daughter duo were getting increasingly more suspicious.

"I know..." The bird lady shook her head, but she already prepared a few Treasures and other things that this Fox might like~!

"Well, I wanted to give you the core of this place, but..." The bird lady laughed awkwardly.

"Let's not talk about that." Moon Aiko was very firm in her stance.

"Hahaha." They both laughed about that situation. The awkwardness was long gone and they were slowly getting ready to go through the final deal...