Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

They all sat down around the table. Aiko sat close to the Dragon girl since she looked quite interesting.

"What is it?" Yueying was confused as to why the little fox was staring at her.

"Nothing~" Aiko hummed, it didn't make sense that a Dragon would be this cute.

"Is that so?" Yueying tilted her head cutely and Aiko followed suit.

"So why did you want to see us?" The Blood Fox knew that this would keep going until Aiko was bored, so she asked in advance before it happened.

"Oh, right." Yueying smiled gently. "Thanks to the ruckus you have caused, I was able to leave that place sooner than expected, so I wanted to thank you for that."

She pulled out what looked like a rose out of her Storage Ring.

"Here." She presented it to the little Fox. "A small thank you from me."

Aiko took it, nodding softly. "You are cute too~" Aiko said, gently smiling back at her.

Yueying blushed, it was rare for someone to call her cute. She had plenty of nicknames synonymous with sickness, but not cuteness.

She was very happy to meet this little Fox.

"Where are you going now?" Yueying asked, as she didn't want to part with them yet.

"Another capital." Aiko was vague since she didn't want to be trailed. She wanted to enjoy some peacefulness along the way.

Little did she know that would not be permitted...

...

They chatted for quite some time until they ran out of topics to talk about.

Yueying felt sad that they couldn't stay with her longer, but she also didn't want to force them to stay.

There were not that many that liked her since everyone believed she was a powerhouse.

Unfortunately, she was not...

She was sick and fragile, but because of her eyes, she more than made up for that deficit. The only one who would constantly pick fights with her would be her Junior Sister, who could quite accurately read how powerful someone is.

She waved goodbye to the Foxes, which were a lot stranger than what she heard about them.

Yueying hoped that they wouldn't change too much the next time they met. She would be heartbroken if they became like the foxes she heard about...

...

"What a strange Dragon..." Aiko murmured.

"Indeed." The Blood Fox nodded, but she quite liked her.

"I also think so, but..." The Umbra Fox had plenty of time to learn about things and she knew that Dragons were supposed to have an oppressive Aura around them, but for some reason, this one didn't have one...

"She is very strange." The Umbra Fox proclaimed, but added. "I quite like her."

It's said that Dragons are powerful, yet elegant creatures, if Aiko could learn about them and copy them for a bit... she would become the best team leader ever.

Aiko didn't know their inner thoughts, but she wanted to check the Dragon girl's providence.

"I don't want to go shopping any more, are you fine with it?" Aiko asked her team.

"We are fine to leave whenever you need." The Blood Fox smiled, thanks to that strange merchant they had everything they needed.

She also realised that for some reason Aiko was causing this heat, which previously didn't happen.

It also happened right after getting that strange liquid on her, so it might be better for them to rush the rest of the mission and get back to Mei to solve this.

It would be bad if Aiko were hunted because of her effects on the environment and its surroundings.

"Then let's go~" Aiko hummed and dashed away, but at a speed that her team would be able to follow.

They dashed on the rooftops and out of the city.

While you could traverse on rooftops, you always had to exit and enter the city through the gate, otherwise, you would be hunted by peacekeepers, and bounty hunters believing you were running to escape a crime.

Aiko didn't forget this and went through the gate.

...

"The Forest is close, once we enter it we will pick up the pace." Aiko said gently as they took the road, walking at an average speed.

Aiko turned to her Fox form to enjoy her speed. Naturally, she would wait every few hundred meters for her team. They had become truly irreplaceable at this point.

They ran through the forest before setting up camp around a small pond.

Aiko munched on some of the snacks that the Umbra Fox bought for them.

"These are not bad, but I wonder if you can improve them." Aiko was overjoyed, since it seemed like the Umbra Fox had a similar taste in food.

"I know, but it's already better than average for Human standards." The Umbra Fox sighed. "It was quite difficult to find food that was not bad."

"Thank you for your sacrifice." Aiko prayed for the Umbra Fox and her suffering.

The Blood Fox giggled and gently petted the Umbra Fox.

The Umbra Fox nodded back and Aiko smirked. "Do you perhaps need a private room~?" She had the biggest grin on her face.

The Umbra Fox blushed red and the Blood Fox laughed.

"There is no need-" The Blood Fox wanted to correct the misunderstanding, but was stopped by Aiko.

"We have company." Aiko readied herself switching to her Fox form, just in case there would be a battle.

Her team likewise readied themselves.

A male Fox fell down.

"Dammit!" He cursed as he brushed the dirt of his body.

He looked around only to be stunned. "Oh. Hello~" He was extremely friendly, which made him even more suspicious.

"We have Foxes here, so let's camp with them." He said somewhat loudly.

More Foxes appeared from the Forest, but Aiko was ignoring them.

Why, you might ask? There was something important about this guy...

[Your [Soul Palace (Undeveloped)] has been roused and is slowly developing.]

Aiko paid attention to her system most of the time and this appeared the moment he smiled at them.

This was strange, but also very good.

There was a 'beautiful' Fox in the male Fox's team. She kept glaring at the Blood Fox for some reason.

At this point, Aiko snapped out of it and gazed at the opposing female Fox.

"Don't worry." Aiko said gently and everyone looked towards her. "They will grow eventually." She gave her a knowing gaze.

The opposing Female Fox almost snapped at them, but was stopped by the male Fox.

"Stop, Shadow Passion." He said sternly.

"But Mirage Fox..." She kept glaring at them.

"I said stop, they are our allies." The Mirage Fox reprimanded her even more harshly, so much so that she was taken aback.

"My apologies." Shadow Passion bowed and retreated.

"As you might've heard I'm Mirage Fox, this is Shadow Passion and this guy..." He paused looking at his last teammate who was trying to hide behind a tree, but his chubby sides were sticking out.

"..." The Mirage Fox felt ashamed about this guy, he was so promising, but at the same time such a let-down... "This is the Gluttonous Fox." He shook his head.

Aiko glared at him. He wouldn't try to steal her meat... right?

Aiko was worried that he would eat everything and nothing would be left for her team.

"He hunts for himself, you have nothing to worry about." The Mirage Fox was very perceptive; that was one of the reasons he was chosen as the heir to the true Sex Technique.

Aiko snorted. "If he takes just a tiny piece from us, you will get shredded." Aiko threatened, but since she was so small it... it looked like a small roaring cutie.

The Mirage Fox nodded.

Aiko nodded, transforming back into her Human form and tapping the Sect Token.

"Let's eat." She went back to the fire, ignoring them, but keeping an eye on the supposed Mirage Fox. He was the reason that her Divine Ability, which was pretty much useless up until now, started developing.

She wanted to see if she could unlock its true potential through him.

Her team likewise didn't protest against it, which was a relief for Aiko.

"So, what are you doing here?" Aiko asked them since it was unusual that someone would be here at this time.

"We were supposed to join you in your mission and give you more intel, but..." The Mirage Fox ruffled his hair. "We are not that good at keeping the pace..." He stared in a certain direction, to where his chubby teammate sat.

"What kind of intel?" Aiko asked, curious about it.

'She took the bait, now we just need to take the liquid for ourselves.' The Mirage Fox smiled kindly. "You were supposed to kill the princesses, but the mission has changed to capturing them. We are now trying to secure the liquid that made them like that."

Aiko didn't change her expression, while he was developing her Divine Ability, but that also didn't mean she believed him.

"So what?" Aiko tilted her head, she had no intention of surrendering her treasure.

"Here is the rest of the intel." The Mirage Fox came close and activated his own Divine Ability.

Aiko immediately noticed some kind of change.

[Your [Soul Palace (Undeveloped - Developing)] is developing at greater speed!]

"It is said that their mothers also had that liquid in them." The Mirage Fox gestured, trying to keep his concentration and the Vicious Cub's attention on him so that he would be able to subdue her.

But there was something strange about this situation as his own Divine Ability was pushed back...

'Could the Jade Fox have given her some kind of Treasure to protect her mind...?' the Mirage Fox frowned inside his mind, but didn't let it be seen on his face.

"Ohhhhh." Aiko's eyes shined. She would love to get those Treasures off of them. "And I'm guessing you know where they are?" Aiko smiled from ear to ear.

'She is really cute... what would happen if she aged...' The Mirage Fox gulped, but steadied his mind. "Unfortunately they are already dead."

The little Fox looked so shocked that he felt kind of bad for saying it like that.

"But, I know where their bodies are buried." The Mirage Fox added.

Aiko nodded with a serious expression. "Where are they?"

"They are inside a certain fallen kingdom's graveyard." The Mirage Fox paused. The more he tried to charm this Vicious Cub, the harder the mental barrier felt. "But that fallen kingdom turned into the nestling ground for vicious Spectres."

"Just Ghosts?" Aiko tilted her head, not understanding what was the big deal about this.

"No, no. Not just a Ghost. We can eat Ghosts and it's not a problem, but we can't eat Spectres since they don't have Souls." The Mirage Fox felt a headache incoming. If she didn't even know this basic knowledge, this job would turn into even more babysitting...