Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Chapter 160 – A breathtaking sight and Aiko missing

A few days later, after everyone rested, they left the ship.

Aiko was puzzled why the ship was half burrowed in the ground and that's when her team told her the reason.

Aiko blushed and apologised to Inscription Saint again, she didn't expect it to be this bad...

Chen Shi was taking it well, since Lady Liu was around and looking quite excited.

This eased his bleeding heart from the loss of wealth. Even when Aiko told him that she would pay for the damages, it was not easy to repair a flying ship…

Aiko didn't run around this time, as she was somewhere far away from any waypoints that she knew, she didn’t want to get lost.

Her main goal was the capital, but they were not heading to the next Capital, but to the Tranquil Garden Empire's main Capital.

The Inscription Saint wanted to settle there and there was also a princess from the fallen kingdom, so Aiko didn't refuse.

Lady Liu walked around looking at everything, it had been quite a long time since the last time she went on an outing, so she had to thank Aiko for crashing the ship.

Of course, she wouldn't tell her directly, as not to encourage that kind of behaviour. She will be kinder to Aiko and that's about it.

Aiko and her team followed their lead, with the Inscription Saint around, it was safe, so there was no way they would let them get away.

Lady Liu walked around the forest until they came to a flowery expanse. It was a breathtaking sight that stunned them. They didn't expect to find something like this, considering this place was not here when they were flying around.

"A good find." The Inscription Saint nodded slowly. He was exploring thousands of Li in advance on the flying ship, but could not find this place no matter how hard he tried.

"Vicious Cub." He looked at Aiko. "Remember this place and when you have time, explore it on your own."

This place was incredibly precious and hard to find since it could hide itself.

The Inscription Saint heard bees’ humming and stopped walking.

"We will be returning to the boundary." He didn't wait for anyone's answer and grasped Lady Liu's hand. He would guide her outside while the bees were still playing nice.

Aiko didn't know why he wanted to leave and she was reluctant to leave since it was a beautiful sight, but she would not risk it, not having the protection of the Inscription Saint could turn out bad...

They walked behind them slowly as he was carefully guiding them outside, but suddenly, on one step, Aiko vanished.

"FUUUUUUUC-" Aiko's voice stabbed their ears.

*Splash*

The Inscription Saint looked back and could not see that little rascal.

"Where is she?" He heard her scream, but could not find her.

"We don't know." The Blood Fox was a bit restless since Aiko disappeared right from her sight.

"Where did she disappear?" He asked a different question.

"Here." The Blood Fox pointed at a certain place, but didn't approach it.

The Inscription Saint approached it without care since he was powerful enough to save himself if something happened.

There was a strange natural illusion that covered a hole in the ground, not a big hole since none of them would fit... but Aiko was thin enough that she slipped between the cracks.

"We can't destroy it haphazardly, lest it caves in completely." He sighed. "We will return to the ship where I have the Divine Sense amplifier and I will try to find her through that."

The duo didn't agree with that plan, but they couldn't fit into that hole, so they had to follow them. They were not happy about this, but he was the most powerful person around, so they had to go along with it.

This also meant that he had the highest chance of finding Aiko...

...

"UUUUUUUCK-" Aiko splashed into a body of water.

"Ew!" Aiko cried out since this water was freezing cold.

She used her [Quick Double Jump] to get her out of the water.

"C-c-cold." Aiko was freezing so she transformed back into her Fox form.

"F-fuck! I-it's still c-cold!" Aiko cursed and explored this place with her eyes.

It was a dimly lit large cave, but thanks to her [Dark Vision], she was able to see almost everything.

Aiko blinked a few times since one tunnel leading away was shrouded in dark mist that her eyes couldn't see through, but there was also a nudging feeling that tempted her to go into that fog.

She activated her [Moon's Eyes] and sure enough, she was able to see through the fog. There was nothing dangerous about that fog, so Aiko stepped inside with her [Moon's Eyes] active at all times.

The previous tunnel turned into well ornamented walls and she was able to navigate it easily.

There were also countless Inscriptions- Words on the wall. They were hard to read even for Aiko since she didn't know many of those words.

The gist of it was that there was a great evil sealed in here, but what kind of evil or what did it do... that was not written down...

Aiko continued to walk as a Fox, but she could hardly see the words that were high on the wall, so she transformed back...

"Dammit! I forgot the clothes back in the cave!" Aiko was so focused on trying to find a source of warmth that it completely slipped her mind.

She clicked her tongue. "I will have to return for it later.

She used her Sect Token to clothe herself and continued walking.

Now with additional height, she was able to read those words and sentences much easier, but she still lacked the necessary knowledge about most words to make the content coherent.

Soon she stopped in front of a… concerning thing.

"Don't tell me it's a maze..." In front of Aiko stretched an endless maze with endless possibilities.

Aiko cursed loudly as she didn't like mazes, for some reason they creeped her out...

...

Aiko arrived at the entrance of the maze. She looked at the peak of those walls, but they were shrouded in a white mist that she could not see through.

Those walls were also incredibly high, making it impossible to jump over them, whilst also being too smooth to climb or even get a grip on.

But not for Aiko! With her [Quick Double Jump] and coordination, she was able to somewhat scale the wall, but.

*Thunk*
-1,000HP

Aiko hit an invisible wall that was hidden behind the fog.

She crashed down, but she was able to double jump at the last second, breaking her fall.

Aiko once again cursed loudly, but there was no one to appreciate her vocabulary.

"Fuck! I'm not dealing with this shit!" Aiko turned around and wanted to leave, but behind her was the same white fog that she saw above.

Aiko gulped, she wanted to curse, but she had an odd feeling.

And that feeling was right, since that fog was closing in on her.

Aiko cursed again and jumped into the maze, since there was something creepy about this white fog...

The maze was... surprisingly clean? It was all white without any blemishes or rubble, no decay could be spotted on it.

'Strange...' Aiko thought, as previously the maze looked old and rocky, yet this white polished stone looked amazing in her eyes.

Aiko walked forward. Why forward? Because behind her was the same white maze corridor!

That's right, she couldn't see the entrance of the maze any more!

Aiko sniffled softly, she wanted to stay under the Inscription Saint protection and laze around, but she ended up in deep trouble...

...

She walked and walked. The room was ever so slowly darkening, but it was hard to spot, as the change was so minute that it slipped by the [Moon's Eyes].

...

Another change occurred, but this was a noticeable one. Vines were slowly hanging down the walls and ceiling. It gave it a more creepy feeling.

Aiko was startled by the change, but she didn't know what else to do than just to walk forward.

...

A moss slowly formed under her feet and around the bottom of the walls.

It made moist sounds whenever Aiko stepped on it, this was also the first time she regretted not having any shoes.

The sounds were alright, but the texture was revolting and she wanted to cry.

"..."
"..."
"..."

Aiko turned around when she heard some muffled noises, but there was nothing behind her. She was now very scared.

She didn't understand what was happening, her [Moon's Eyes] nor her [Intention Perception] could pick up anything...

Aiko gulped and walked forward.

Now even rocks appeared and the previously pristine corridor turned into old and uninhabited ruins... if only the last part was true.

"She a beauty."
"She pretty."
"She delectable."
"She tasty?"
"Very?"
"Taste."
"Taste."
"Taste."
"Taste."

The strange sentences lingered in Aiko's mind and it slowly gnawed at her sanity.

She kept walking, but she subconsciously held her head, since she was starting to feel pain.

"Eat."
"Eat."
"Eat."

The words turned more concerning and Aiko started to run.

"You will never be able to get that job."

"What are you doing, you bastard!? Redo it!"

"You are just a scum. Don't call me ever again!"

Strange sentences assaulted Aiko's ears. She cried out as those sentences hurt more than those previous whispers.

She ran even faster, but that didn't slow those voices down, she could not lose them...

...

After half an hour of those voices constantly barraging and humiliating Aiko, she finally collapsed as she couldn’t keep her breathing steady.

She grasped her head, since it hurt like a bitch. The white fog was slowly approaching her.

If one looked extremely carefully, they might spot a face in the fog that was smiling sinisterly...

...

Back on the ship, the Inscription Saint was activating the Divine Sense amplifier.

From a few hundred of Li of Divine Sense, it became thousands of Li.

He carefully scanned all the information he could get from the Divine Sense, but he frowned.

"I can't find her in a 2 thousand Li radius..." His frown deepened, and Aiko's team was ready to rush outside.

Lady Liu glanced at Chen Shi and he swiftly put them to sleep by drawing into the void.

Lady Liu sighed. "They shouldn't wander around." She shook her head and her eyes shone in a strange colour.

"Liu Zhi..." Chen Shi said his eyes so wet they nearly teared up.

"It's alright." Liu Zhi looked tired, but she was smiling. "There is no danger to her and she will even have unexpected gains...

She chuckled. "I can't understand why there are so many Heaven's Sons and Daughters..." She was concerned.

"Will it affect us?" He asked carefully.

"If you are not seduced, it won't affect us." She shook her head. She was not in danger since she was a Mortal, but Chen Shi was a Cultivator, which meant he would be easily affected by the Heavenly Daughters...

"That won't happen." His face hardened when he realised what she was implying. He also felt slightly hurt...

Lady Liu giggled. "You never know when you might find someone more appealing~" She teased Chen Shi, but she didn't expect such a strange reaction from him.

He abruptly stood up and cornered her. He looked like a hungry beast staring at his prey.

Liu Zhi subconsciously gulped and a strange feeling crept into her mind.

"No." Lady Liu covered his lips. "I'm tired and we haven't found Aiko yet!"

His eyes were smiling like he achieved his purpose. He took her hands and softly said. "I will do my best then."

Liu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, but that also meant she let her guard down.

Chen Shi aimed for this and gave her a light peck on her lips.

Before Liu Zhi could process what happened and scold him, he was already sitting back in the chair, expanding his Divine Sense.

She could only turn red from embarrassment and return to her room to cool herself down and rest.