Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

After losing them the group discussed what to do next, but they came to the same consensus to leave this place.

They already overstayed their welcome, so it was time to part with this place...

...

The group arrived at the exit of the Secret Realm.

"Do we have everything?" Mei asked everyone, since it would be troublesome if someone forgot their things.

The group shook their heads and glanced at the still-fuming Aiko.

It was quite the sight to behold when a beauty was angry.

Mei was likewise not pleased since they wouldn't be able to deal with the monkeys. Moreover, their leader was in the 'False' Stage, all thanks to the time he spent in this place.

Mei pondered if she should destroy this place altogether, but Aiko had already done so much damage that it wouldn't be all that long until this place crumbled.

Mei nodded at everyone and they left the Secret Realm. Outside it was much nicer and cleaner, but that was only because a lot of things burned in the Secret Realm.

Aiko enjoyed that gentle breeze and calmed down significantly. She still had those Foxes in her [Tails Storage] even if they didn't show.

The Spider was somewhere else and the Dice Girl also walked towards her own Sect. It seems like she is with the Southern Sect.

That was a good thing, since Aiko had quite the bad blood with the Northern Sect.

Their group went towards their Flying Ship and waited for the rest to come out of the Secret Realm.

Some Elders were already bored out of their minds, which is obvious since they were in there for a long time.

Now the time inside and outside was different, but it still progressed over the years by a large margin.

What was the most striking about this thing was the fact that your ageing would likewise slow down.

It's not to the point that you wouldn't see the difference, but it was slow enough that most wouldn't notice that they aged.

Aiko looked around. The Eastern Sect was the first one to book it. The Western Sect was likewise already gone, from the gossip.

All that was left was the upset Northern Sect and smiley Southern Sect.

It was surprising that even the Sects would fight with each other, but when Aiko thought about it again. That was only natural.

They would fight over resources, prestige, women, and anything that you could put a 'price' on.

Aiko was not concerned about this, since she was part of the Fox Village for the time being and even if the Fox Village would get attacked... she would just take the Demonic Foxes and her team before running away.

A lot of Foxes were missing for now and there were only 6 months left before they would close this place down.

Unlike other Secret Realms that ran on an internal timer, this one was boosted by an Array, allowing them control over the opening and closing of this Realm.

The 4 Sects had to come together in order to open this place, but only 2 had to be together to close it.

The Dynamic was quite bad, since if two Sects joined their hands to close this place, that would be a pretty bad blow to the other Sects.

Aiko was bothered by this kind of politics. In the first place, who was the stupid one that made the rule that you only need 2 Sects together to close it? That just screamed for betrayal.

Aiko huffed in annoyance. She would be able to get to the good stuff with Mei, but they were interrupted and now Mei was talking with the Elders, so there was no time to pick things up again.

Aiko would be left alone and it was obvious why.

Mei had to explain why Aiko looked so different and who was the one Evolving. While Aiko did adjust her height with her Title, it was still enough considering she was a LOT more beautiful than before.

Most other Foxes did not change at all, some were even worse looking than when they arrived at the Secret Realm.

So everyone was suspicious of Aiko, while Mei was trying to smooth things over.

Mei still wanted to extort more materials and resources from the Fox Village, so she didn't want to end her time over there yet.

It was also important to get a shop when the delegation came, so that they could cross the ocean safely.

Aiko was not concerned with crossing at all, since she didn't care about it. She believed that there would be other ways through the ocean, not just by flying.

The Blood Fox was chatting with other Foxes. The fact that she was a beauty was a good enough reason, but she was also a Demonic Fox who didn't go insane in the Secret Realm. That part attracted a lot of attention, which caused both female and male Foxes to fawn over her.

When Aiko glanced at the Blood Fox she could feel a faint shiver run down her back. It felt like the smiling and polite Blood Fox was not as 'smiling'. It felt like she was ready to tear them apart at a moment's notice.

The Twins were quite similar since Wanshu was also a Demonic Fox. A lot of 'suitors' showed up, but Yuxi dealt with them swiftly.

It felt like the Twins had their own little world that nobody was allowed to approach.

Feifei was in Aiko's Tails, so that one wouldn't attract any attention. It also didn't seem like others realised that Mei was already Human.

Aiko was surprised that even the 'all-knowing' Elders didn't suspect a thing.

The Beast Sect was nowhere to be seen, which saddened Aiko. They probably left when she started to Evolve. She wanted to see if there was any kind of change with the Dragoness.

Looking around; everyone was looking curiously at Aiko, but considering the amount of bloodlust she was giving out, no one dared to approach her.

Aiko liked this 'stalemate' where they would still look at her, but didn't dare to approach. One thing she was troubled with was the lack of bloodlust, or rather she was running out of bloodlust.

The calm and gentle breeze smoothed Aiko's nerves greatly, so much so that Aiko wanted to move around again, but Mei forbade her.

Mei said through telepathy that she shouldn't move too much, so as to not arouse suspicion.

That was because most Foxes were exhausted from the Secret Realm and it would be strange if Aiko was running around all merry and happy.

Aiko could only listen, but fortunately, Mei was not too heartless.

She allowed Aiko to go into their room and take the Jade Slip with her.

And so she did once she got bored and ran out of bloodlust.

As some Foxes tried to approach Aiko, she sneaked away from them onto the Flying Ship.

One Elder that she already forgot his name greeted her with a nod, so Aiko returned it.

She was confused as to why she was being greeted like that, but she didn't dwell on it. She walked inside and immediately used her movement technique to get in front of their room.

Aiko opened it with a special key and locked it behind her. There were only 2 keys per room, so Aiko had one and Mei had the other.

That way the overly energetic Aiko would be able to run around while Mei would be able to peacefully read her own books.

Aiko plopped on the overly large bed, there were a few other beds, it seemed like someone refurbished this place. Everything was a lot different from before.

Aiko didn't dwell on this and pulled out the Jade Slip.

She slowly turned into Moon Aiko. Her ears slowly relaxed and she started to read the Jade Slip.

There was some information that was different from her memories, which puzzled Aiko. Other information was also edited or deleted altogether, she would have to ask Mei about that later on.

Aiko nodded gently as she placed the Jade Slip in front of her and started to read it from the beginning. She adjusted the information in her mind so that the one she was currently reading was the correct one, but she still kept the old one in mind.

She wanted to know why it was so different from before. What changed that made Mei rework this whole thing? Aiko wanted to know, but she didn't know when Mei would return...

...

Mei arrived with the team and Aiko jumped on her immediately.

"Why did you change the Jade Slip?" Aiko immediately asked.

Mei adored this kind of Aiko, so she indulged her with a gentle caress. "Because our new temperature method is more accurate than what I was using before, so I had to adjust all the knowledge I had."

Aiko blinked with wide eyes. "Oh, I didn't think it would change that much..."

"It was only natural that it would change that much. Previously we were guessing the right temperature, but now we can accurately gauge it." Mei said gently. "That also greatly boosted the success rate of the Pill Refinement." She yawned.

"Tired?" Aiko yawned too, since it was contagious.

"Yeah, let's rest for now. The Elders are suspicious of other Foxes, since I have diverted their attention. It also helped that I bribed one of them." Mei sighed. "There are a lot more Elders now, so you have to be careful about what you are saying." She warned Aiko.

"I don't intend to leave this place, since I have work to do." Aiko shook her head.

Mei could not really see Aiko and work in the same sentence, but she would wait and see what Aiko would be doing in the meantime.

"I will rest for a bit and confuse them more later on. How about you guys?" Mei asked the team members.

"We are too tired from that attention, so we will chat for the journey." Yuxi was the one to first answer that and others nodded with her. It was obvious that Yuxi was the temporary leader for the time being, all because she was the only one proactive about kicking the crotches.

Mei's lips twitched. She had to explain why Yuxi was so lively and had to blame the other Foxes for being too lustful, but since this Fox Village was driven with lust for the time being, it was difficult...

"Don't cause more mess, okay?" Mei glared at Yuxi.

"Yes, ma'am!" Yuxi saluted before diving onto the bed.

Mei rolled her eyes. She could still be considered a miss...

Aiko exchanged glances with her team. It seemed like they would be really resting and not causing any issues.

This startled Aiko since they were quite lively outside...

AN: I know we wanted to see other Foxes in action, but I cut this arc shorter, since it wouldn't add much to the story. The next Realm arc should have them as everyone progresses in their Cultivation.