Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

[You have eaten the [Thread of Soul Suffering]!]

[This is inferior to your [Nightmare Fox Incarnate] and will not be integrated into the system.]

[You have inflicted a Soul wound onto the subject that used such Treasure.]

'I don't believe that is enough.' It was fine if the one who was refining cheated, but outsiders are supposed to stay out of this!

Aiko was very displeased by their conduct.

Suddenly, chains wrapped around her body from the Treasure the contestant threw at her.

Aiko had a strange feeling about these chains and didn't know what to think about them.

She opened her mouth. "I'm not really into this, you know."

[Nightmare Domain]

She drowned the group in nightmares and watched her Nightmare Essence drop each second.

Aiko felt satisfied with this, but she also felt puzzled as to why those chains didn't try to restrain her.

The group of girls screamed loudly as they scratched at their heads.

It was quite a gruesome sight since their nails were quite sharp.

"Ew." Aiko recoiled from their unsightly appearances, but she had no intention of dispelling this domain.

She would keep them there until the Pill was finished as punishment.

Suddenly, an Elder appeared next to her and used his palm to strike the Vicious Cub.

"Supreme Jade Palm!" The Elder shouted.

Aiko frowned. 'They weren't protecting the contestants and now they want to interfere with me?!' She was quite livid about their attitude.

Everything was a fair game as long as they were contestants, but everyone else was supposed to stay out of this.

Aiko used her shadow movement to relocate her away from the palm that was trying to suck her in.

"What an unsightly attitude, human filth." Aiko said calmly, but her words were quite striking.

"You have crossed the line, whore." The Elder said back.

"Oho." Aiko chuckled. "You do know that even if you chase me away, that won't disappear."

"I can easily dispel this unsightly curse." The Elder said and nodded towards Lin Fan.

"Pffft." Aiko giggled. "You can dispel that, but that little bitch will still suffer." She shrugged like she didn't care.

The Elder frowned, not understanding what the Vicious Cub meant.

"Oh wow~, you are so clueless." Aiko laughed. "Even when someone uses a Soul-based Treasure in front of you, you are completely oblivious and you dare to host such Tournaments." She shook her head. This was not the first time someone used Soul-based Treasure in this place, but since previously it didn't affect Aiko or her team, she didn't call them out on it.

The Elder frowned. "Your accusations are baseless!"

"Are they now~?" Aiko hummed and let Mei focus on her Pill Refining.

"Then shall we see, who is the fool?" Aiko didn't really glare and she also calmed down significantly. Even if her Tails ate the [Thread of Soul Suffering], it didn't mean she disconnected her Soul from it.

"The girl will suffer due to your ignorance." Aiko sighed and her hand was swallowed by one of her tails.

She then pulled out a shiny golden thread that was no longer concealed.

The other Elders that wanted to move to apprehend the Vicious Cub paused.

"I heard that Soul-based Treasures are quite delicious." Aiko crunched one part of the thread and the girl that tried to use it screamed out of her mind.

The Elders were shocked.

"You don't dare to admit it and that is fine, but you do dare to use Soul-based Treasures in front of Foxes, you were the fool and she is the disabled." Aiko snapped the Treasure in half before the Elder could do anything.

He was so shocked that he completely forgot to react, but now it was too late.

There was a last scream from the girl before she stopped convulsing. She was now laughing funnily, like her mind regressed to her earliest age.

"Bunch of brainless fools." Aiko spat those last words, which enraged the Elder.

"You dare to harm my disciple?!" The Elder roared.

Aiko could feel another piercing gaze on her and she looked over. Lin Fan was bleeding from his eyes from his intense glare. He was trying to maintain his special Pill Refining process, but his mind was unstable. Lin Fan believed that the Elder would protect his girls and that he would be able to woo another one, but that filthy Fox ruined everything!

"You are an idiot, aren't you?" Aiko shook her head. "Why would you give her something she can't control? It's your fault that she ended up like that and you glare at me." She shrugged with a sigh, she couldn't believe that they were so ignorant.

"[Thread of Soul Suffering] was not something she was supposed to have." Aiko said seriously as the Elder attacked her.

Aiko dodged another palm, but the suction was a serious issue. She would have to use her shadow movement in order to dodge it, but that consumed a shit-ton of Stamina. She would run out at this pace.

Yet Aiko wasn't concerned about that. She already munched those threads, the girl turned stupid and Mei kept going with the Pill Refining.

Everything was under control since her Tails would be able to easily inflict mortal wounds on his Soul, making him stupid too.

Suddenly, a sword split the space between them and chill spread towards the surrounding, especially towards the Elder.

Aiko was startled since she couldn't perceive that speed, which was unlike her.

She turned towards the origin.

"I believe this is enough." It was Ah Cy with a beautiful sword standing straight.

"You dare?!" The Elder was already delirious from Aiko's insult and the fact that his hidden agenda might be revealed.

Aiko tilted her head. She didn't expect Ah Cy to get involved, but it was strange.

'Usually, a mediator would strike right between the trouble parties, but she sided with me by using more strength on his side.' While the Nightmare Aiko was not the smartest, that didn't mean she was stupid. She understood that implication.

"I have turned a blind eye when your disciples interfered with others, since it was irrelevant to me." Ah Cy said in a chilling voice. "But now we see history unfold in front of us, yet YOU dare to interfere with it?" She glared at the Elder, since the Jade Fox was able to refine Perfect Grade Pills, it should be possible to refine Heaven Grade Pills.

With that, she would be able to lift part of her worries that settled inside her body and continue cultivating further.

In other words, Ah Cy had a vested interest in both the Vicious Cub, due to her Disciples and Jade Fox, due to her Pill Refining might.

She was interested in Lin Fan, but she quickly realised that she got the same feeling from him, like she did from the Saint.

Ah Cy didn't want to do anything with that feeling, so she would rather side with the Vicious Cub, which gave her the strangest feeling.

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" The Elder denied it.

*Burp*

Aiko massaged her stomach. "Do you mind if I eat more Soul-based Treasures?" She didn't really eat them, but her tails did. That didn't mean she didn't want to continue this since...

[[Little Nightmares] consumed Soul-based Treasure and reinforced its Core!]

Aiko wondered how far she could take this and how much change the [Little Nightmares] would experience.

"Without harming the Disciples?" Ah Cy raised her eyebrow.

"I can't really do that if they won't submit their Treasures." Aiko sighed and shook her head. She quite liked Ah Cy so she was more inclined to tell the truth.

"How much damage would it cause?" Ah Cy narrowed her eyes. None of the other Elders dared to join the Elder who cheated.

"Not much as long as the Elders don't interfere. They might be a bit weakened since I will have to nibble their Soul a bit." Aiko shrugged.

"You dare to go after my Disciples?!" The Elder roared again.

"Sheeesh, chill dude." Aiko cleaned her ears. "Your voice sounds like you are vomiting shit." She rolled her eyes.

"Does any Elder protest against this, outside of him?" Ah Cy glanced at the cheating Elder.

None of the Elders dared to raise any issue, they didn't dare to since they were scared of both the Vicious Cub and Ah Cy.

Ah Cy could easily freeze their Souls, which would kill them without being able to resist it. Their Nascent Souls would likewise be unable to escape her bone-chilling aura.

Aiko calmed down significantly and hummed happily.

She walked towards the first disciple who had the Treasure and made a grabbing motion.

"Gimme." Aiko said cutely, but it sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"I-I have no ide- AGH." Aiko punched his crotch, making him froth from the mouth.

She then used her Tail to rip the Soul-based Treasure from his body.

In this case, it was a whip.

She moved to another disciple as the other Elders glared towards the cheating Elder.

They always wondered why their Disciples were so weakened, but it turns out that their Souls were harmed!

"Gimme." Aiko's eyes shined.

"I-I"

"I heard that females like to use these." Aiko pulled out an excessively wide flag, and the girl almost fainted.

"W-wait! I have it here, please spare me!" The girl immediately pleaded with Aiko.

"Gimme." Aiko repeated her words.

The girl yielded and gave Aiko a small talisman-like ring.

Like this, she walked around and collected all the Soul-based Treasures.

Each time she did this, the Elders' faces hardened more and more.

Disciples were not allowed to own Soul-based Treasures, until they reached a Nascent Soul Stage where they understood their Soul correctly and understood their weaknesses and strengths.

It was like giving a child a loaded cannon and watching as it flailed with a torch.

If it didn't ignite the rope leading into the cannon, nothing would happen, but if they did, their Souls would be obliterated.

"Shame on you, Elder." One Elder spat out.

"I can't believe you would endanger yours and our Disciples like that." A beautiful Elder likewise spat out.

It was a big deal when someone broke a taboo inside their Sect, but there were certain Rules that applied to ALL Human Sects.

This was one of such rules and as such, the Northern Sect lost a lot of prestige and goodwill from everyone...