Chapter 332 – Heart to Heart
They had a somewhat harmonious conversation. Aiko would always sit around her and Mei would be forced to come closer.
"So you lived another life, huh?" Aiko for some reason was getting a feeling of deja vu.
"Yeah... it was not the greatest life, but not the worst either." Mei shrugged.
Aiko tilted her head. "How was it before your whole new life thing?" She asked Mei gently.
"It was not as bad as it's right now. I'm honestly concerned for the mainland." Mei sighed. "I was here in an age before we had that enslaving technique, so I have no idea how that came to be. It was mostly peaceful and I did reform the Fox Village from my time because I was quite spiteful towards Humans, but it was needed since Foxes were on the decline from all the betrayals we suffered." She stretched her body. She was not used to the additional weight certain parts provided.
"Oho, how about some bedtime stories?" Aiko smirked.
"What? Are you interested in who my first 'Mate' was?" Mei chuckled.
"Why say it like that?" Aiko tilted her head.
"We had a strange relationship, but it was not bad. I suppose I was trying to escape the fact that 'that' bastard tried to push me down." Mei sighed. "We sort of hit it well, even though we were both 300+ years old at the time of it happening. My memories are a bit murky since it happened a long time ago and since I reincarnated over here weak... yeah, not much to remember." She shrugged.
Aiko was quite interested in those stories, so she nudged Mei.
"What happened to the bastard?" Aiko listened attentively.
"Died, but if I meet his reincarnation, I will kill him again, and tear apart his Soul!" Mei shrugged.
"Good luck with that, but tell me more." Aiko's eyes sparkled and Mei was quite burdened.
"The Golden Age was quite rough. There was not enough Qi for everyone to reach the Immortal Stage, so we as Foxes used our expertise to create illusions of Beasts for others to fight so they could hone their skill without bloodshed." Mei sipped her tea.
"That way there was no severe decline in population and no wars were truly waged. We pretty much held the white flag over everyone's head and told them not to fight, or else." Mei chuckled.
"Of course, greedy as the Humans are, they never had enough of our art, so they were trying to push us to make 'art'. Foxes are naturally more beautiful since we need to collect Souls. You are more likely to surrender yourself if your opponent is beautiful or handsome rather than ugly or repulsive." Mei sighed.
"Let's just say that they pushed us a bit too far." Mei shook her head.
"What happened? War ensued?" Aiko was looking for action.
"The Foxes closed themselves off and created the Heavenly Fox Sect on the Mainland. Which in turn set up a Fox Village on every other continent, after which every Fox would withdraw from the wider world and only Cultivate between each other." Mei smiled.
"Because of the lack of art and 'Beasts' to fight, Humans turned their attention to real fighting." Mei chuckled. "The fight intensified over time as many races went extinct, until everyone tried to put the blame on us." Mei chuckled darkly.
"Since we kept all the art in our territory, it meant that we were still progressing at the same pace, unlike the rest of the world. They slowed down or straight up stagnated. It was no longer a Golden Age of Cultivation, all thanks to a single race." She sighed. "Thanks to the fact that we were progressing at a steady pace and had quite a few Immortals ascend, more and more forces took note of this."
"They tried to question us, make us take the blame." Mei chuckled.
"Back then the only ones who could truly rival us were the Dragons, but thanks to my diplomacy we were in a somewhat friendly relationship. While everyone else voted against us, since the Dragons took no side, the others struggled to unite." Mei sighed.
"Then they started fighting over who should be in charge over their alliance, but due to conflicts among themselves, and some groups not wanting to join without the Dragons, no proper alliance could be formed." Mei paused.
"I believe that is when some local faction or another made sure that dubious technique fell into our Village's lap." Mei was somewhat sure of it, but she had already ascended by the time it got this bad.
"They believed that this technique would spread to other Villages and then take root on the mainland..." Mei narrowed her eyes. "Considering the mainland still provides resources, that appears to have failed, but it made our lives in this Village more miserable." She sighed.
"Pretty much everyone stopped using their brains and only indulged in carnal pleasure. Since Foxes that earned their Beast Cores turn impotent, there was no population boom, but a decline." Mei glanced at Aiko.
"Do you still remember that glorious and huge structure that can house hundreds of thousands of Foxes?" Mei asked Aiko gently.
"I went there only once, I believe, but it's quite a murky memory." Aiko didn't play the 'I remember it' card, since she knew that she had to be honest.
"That is fine. Right now we are housing less than a hundred thousand Foxes and it's still declining. More Foxes succumb to the depletion of the Beast Core because of that Technique." Mei sighed. "And if the depletion alone was enough, if you overindulge, your Beast Core will eventually shatter, taking what little reasoning remained with it and turning you into a wild beast at best." She shook her head.
"And we are cleaning those bastards, right?" Aiko rubbed her hands with glee.
"We are trying to round all of them up at once, so that none can escape, but it's taking quite some time." Mei shook her head.
"There is a tournament incoming and we will definitely attract attention, so we will have to be more careful moving forward." Mei advised Aiko.
"Why can't we hide our abilities?" Aiko tilted her head.
"Do you believe that is possible with your current infamous reputation?" Mei giggled.
"I'm sorry..." Aiko's ears dropped low.
"It's fine. We can always adjust the plan; after all, your position has already been decided." Mei chuckled darkly.
"What will I do in the great purge?" Aiko asked Mei.
"That is a good name, but you won't be doing much; you will just take your rocks and sticks and go wild." Mei smirked. "Try to prioritise only the ones using that technique; however, if there are a few strays, then that is also fine~" She hummed gently.
"I will keep that in mind, but when will the great purge commence?" Aiko narrowed her eyes, if she could get stronger, flagging would be that much easier!
"The emissary from the mainland should come here after the tournament. With some luck the Sacred Realm will be opened up for exploration, since the other Sects would want to do the same, as a last chance at getting the 'good Foxes' before they leave the continent." Mei nodded.
"Once the Sacred realm is opened, there will be the biggest influx of Foxes in a very long time and those rats would definitely want to get a new piece of 'meat', so that is the best possible time." Mei nodded. "But the plan might have to change depending on the circumstances."
"How do those Sacred Realms differ from Secret Realms, like this one?" Aiko tilted her head.
"Most Secret Realms are created by powerhouses that just ascended, while Sacred Realms were a poor creation of a tiny world." Mei sighed. "Once you get into the Immortal world you have a lot more on your plate than in this peaceful Mortal World. There are too many powerful factions that will try to rule over us, so it's important to get as strong as possible."
"Will do~" Aiko was overjoyed with her current assignment.
"Okay..." Mei smiled gently. It was good that Aiko was enthusiastic about this part.
"How about the mainland?" Aiko asked gently.
"The mainland is very different-" Mei was suddenly interrupted.
"We already got your Beads and Mei has already Evolved, so you can take your time little one." The Grandpa said. "You also don't have to worry about those other bastards, since they went dormant after spending too much energy." He chuckled darkly.
"Okay~!" Aiko answered, but she was more interested in stories right now.
"I will tell you only a bit about the mainland so you can prepare your wits. It's a much more hostile place than this simple sex-obsessed hellhole." Mei chuckled.
"Why do I need wits?" Aiko asked.
"There is a lot of politics going on behind the scenes on the mainland. Our true purpose and origin was to secure enough Souls to ascend to the Immortal World with full tails. Politics makes everything easier since we can isolate the smaller Sects before draining all their Souls." Mei continued. "As such the mainland is more hostile and intricate, if you are in a bad place at a bad time, you might be killed. If you anger someone by accident and then let it go, then you might see your world crumbling around you as they plot against you secretly."
"So just kill anyone who slighted you or you slighted, got it." Aiko nodded like she was some kind of genius.
"Hold your horses; you can't do that." Mei chuckled.
"Why?!" Aiko was startled.
"The mainland has its own set of rules, killing is naturally prohibited since they don't want to lose talents. You can only kill through politics or if they agree to a death match." Mei shook her head. "They are very unlikely to agree to death matches, so you will have to lure them out and make them miserable so that they either agree or do something that will cause their loss of life." Mei explained.
"I have to learn more things..." Aiko groaned.
"You have me for that. I can help you slowly adjust, since our whole team is still too young for the mainland." Mei chuckled.
"Too young? I'm reaching my 40s!" Aiko pouted.
"And I only managed to get to the mainland when I was around 250 I believe." Mei tilted her head. She did not know if she remembered that correctly, but it should be pretty close to that number.
"Oh..." Aiko paused. "So, what do we do?"
"Just get as strong as possible. Even if they plot behind closed doors, if you are talented enough, none of the Elders would dare to touch you." At least that's what Mei believed and remembered.
"And even if they were that stupid. I'm still here and can shut them down." Mei smiled gently.
"Got it." Aiko nodded gently. She could slowly learn over time.
"How about I tame a few Beasts as my security for when I Transform?" Aiko smirked.
"Can you do that?" Mei raised her eyebrow.
"I already got eggs, so I just have to try." Aiko shrugged like it was not her issue.
"You have to feed and take care of them. Are you sure you can do it?" Mei narrowed her eyes.
"I can just feed it Beast Cores, no?" Aiko tilted her head.
"And do you know it's Element?" Mei chuckled like she had cornered Aiko.
"System." Aiko replied briefly, but Mei immediately clicked her tongue.
Aiko chuckled gently and enjoyed pouting Mei for some time...
