Chapter 428 – When Aiko returned
Aiko arrived at the Fox Village but was blocked by the guards.
"Why can't I enter?" Aiko tilted her head. They were very uncooperative, and she couldn't even see that familiar Muscle Fox.
"You will have to wait." The guard didn't say more. 'Gosh, why did it have to be her.' Inside his mind, he was already panicking since he was ordered not to let any Foxes in, not just the Vicious Jade Fox.
They would be investigated by the delegation from the mainland about their missions and how much work they did for this place, and based on that, they would be allowed to board the flying ship even without an internal tournament.
Of course, he was not allowed to say any of that in order to test the patience of the Foxes.
"Yeeeah..." Aiko sighed. Her hair was turning black. She could feel something approaching from within the village, but that kind of energy was unfamiliar and felt naturally hostile to her.
The guards flinched and were ready for battle, but...
Aiko would not be stopped just because a few idiots believed they could stop her. She needed to work on her metals in order to utilise her current state of mind, and nothing would stop her.
Shadows shrouded her body as her body disappeared with a wisp.
They looked around, but they couldn't see the Vicious Jade Fox any more.
This would be counted as trespassing, but nobody would dare and try to pursue her since everyone cherished their backdoors...
...
Aiko appeared in her sinister form in full combat form.
"Grandmaster?" Aiko looked around.
"Both Grandmaster and Mei are outside." Blood Fox approached Aiko.
"Don't let anyone disturb me. It's very important." Aiko ordered the Blood Fox.
The Blood Fox was quite surprised that Aiko would order them, but everyone understood that something must've happened to her.
The air around Aiko was very unique. That much they realised.
"En." The Blood Fox bowed and activated a small jewel in her hands.
The whole Grandmaster's Abode was shrouded by a similar Array that was around the whole Fox Village.
This Array was created by Mei in order to protect Aiko since things started to heat up.
Not only was this Array more powerful than the Fox Village's, but it also cost a lot less to maintain.
Mei used her Immortal knowledge on this, so its efficiency could not be compared to Mortal Worlds.
Not even Immortals would be able to break it easily if you supplied enough Spirit Stones.
Aiko smiled as her hair turned white, and she immediately went into the Grandmaster's house.
Sitting down in the large room, Aiko spilled all available, non-large Treasures and made them levitate.
She then spilt metals and asked her Grandpa Flame to help out.
"I can't believe you achieved enlightenment already..." He was speechless at first, but he did his work dutifully.
The flying metals slowly melted and rearranged themselves.
With her heightened sense, Aiko was trying to determine their best form.
She tried again and again, but the metals were quite uncooperative.
Scaling things up to absurd numbers, there were dozens, maybe even hundreds of flying metals around Aiko.
There were also Treasures flying around, but those Treasures were not touched by her for now.
During this time, Aiko pondered why it was difficult to rearrange the metal in certain ways.
No matter how many times she tried it, the metal would resist her will.
Aiko gave up for the time being, but she still collected a lot of information.
Grandpa Flame sweated at the sheer scale that Aiko was operating on. He couldn't believe she could process all of that information.
Moving on to the Treasures, Aiko immediately noticed the irregularities.
The Treasures were not perfect, and the mixing of metals was likewise not perfect.
As such, Aiko was able to perceive the broken seams between the metals.
In theory, she should be able to break down Treasures that were not completely mixed together by using the broken seams to her advantage.
...
At this moment, a certain Fox with terrifying senses arrived in front of the gates of the Fox Village.
The guards bowed, fearing her wrath. They were the same guards that stopped the Vicious Jade Fox.
The gorgeous Fox looked around. She was one of the delegations here to pick Foxes that had a bright future.
She was slim, unlike other Foxes. Her body was far from bountiful, but it had a certain innocent charm.
She already offered a seat for the Jade Fox and Grandmaster of this tiny Fox Village. They both had bright futures, especially the Grandmaster, who mostly recovered from her scars.
She was a beauty, and there would always be someone who would be willing to accommodate her, even if she was that old.
"Report." The delegation Fox ordered.
"We have stopped almost all Foxes from entering." The guards replied.
"Almost?" The delegation Fox picked up on that word and glared at them. "Didn't I tell you to stop ALL of them?" Her glare was a serious issue for the frail guards, but they couldn't refute her words.
"We apologise for our incompetence!" They both prostrated in front of her.
"What happened?" She was not interested in worms squirming around.
"One Lightning Fox just bypassed us altogether, without even stopping. There was another Fox that just disappeared in front of us like it was nothing." The guards replied.
"Describe the second Fox." The first was definitely impressive in its own league, but these guards had powerful Divine Sense, and it would be impossible for someone to just 'disappear' in front of them.
"It was a beautiful Fox with silver- erm, black hair." The guards didn't know how to properly explain it since that Fox changed her colour midway through.
"Just describe the process." The delegation Fox groaned. She couldn't believe that she had chosen such stupid guards.
"Yes..." The guards gulped.
"It went something like this. A silver-haired Fox arrived here, wishing to enter the Fox Village since she completed a Shadow Peak's mission. We stopped her because we were ordered to, but she seemed impatient. At that moment, her hair changed colours, and her whole demeanour changed. It was quite terrifying, so we guarded against her, but shadows wrapped around her, and she just disappeared from the spot." The guard elaborated, and the other nodded along.
'That is incredible.' The delegation Fox was both impressed and upset. 'She might've defied my order, but that might be because she has a split personality. Based on what I heard, she also can twist her shadows into space elements, making her travel through space. This is a huge find.'
The delegation Fox was anxious.
As was said, she was just ONE of the delegations. There were other members that arrived here and were looking for Foxes that had a bright future.
While she did offer the Jade Fox and Grandmaster a seat with Treasures, they didn't say yes, yet.
She did hear rumours that Jade Fox had a partner, but that was irrelevant. If your partner can't follow beside you, you will abandon them for a better future.
Yet the Jade Fox was not swayed by beauties, not swayed by Spirit Stones because she had quite the business, not swayed by Fame. It was difficult to work with her.
"Find the Fox that escaped-" As the delegation commanded, a huge Array activated at a certain 'Peak'.
Everyone turned towards that place since everyone was vaguely aware of it.
The Grandmaster's Abode.
'But the Grandmaster is supposed to be in the main hall of the Fox Village.' The delegation Fox had a nagging feeling that this was an important hint for what she was looking for.
...
Both Mei and Grandmaster looked outside.
"The Array activated, Mistress." Dai Lu licked her lips.
"She is fine. I can't feel anything wrong with her body." Mei stopped Grandmaster from acting. 'But I do feel strange energy from our link, like she is in some kind of trance.' She narrowed her eyes. That was not a good sign.
"Should we go?" Dai Lu asked Mei.
"Yes, there will be others coming, considering this kind of fuss." Mei set up that Array to protect Aiko, but she didn't expect it would be activated so quickly.
This would greatly change their plans to conquer the old fossils, but Mei didn't mind.
She was already so attached to Aiko that she would rather wipe this place out than part with her.
"Oho~ I will be joining too!" The Sect Leader appeared out of nowhere with delegations.
"I wonder what is going on and where did that strange Array come from.""Tell me about it. Based on that energy, I would have a hard time making a dent into it. Moreover, it even blocked my Investigation Divine Sense, so I can't really see what is happening inside.""Serious? It blocked your Divine Sense?! Who made that thing?!"
The delegations chatted without a care in the world. That was only natural since most of them were as strong as the current Grandmaster.
Mei rolled her eyes, but it was not like she had a good way to stop them.
Moreover, once they entered her Array, they would be at her mercy, so she would be able to do anything with them.
Confusion, injury, curses, with just slight adjustments, anything was possible.
Everyone followed the gorgeous Fox.
They already tried to woo her over with numerous rewards, Spirit Stones, Treasures and other things, but she dismissed most of them.
...
The Demonic Foxes inside the containment zone sniffed some kind of sweet scent.
Most of them paused for a moment, which greatly unsettled both Elders and guards watching over them.
It felt like they were under some kind of spell, but they couldn't figure out why they were acting so strange.
...
Inside the Array, there was another commotion.
"There are more Foxes coming to see what is happening. What will we do?" Yuxi returned from scouting.
"We are not allowed to let anyone inside. That was the order." While that voice was ordering, Aiko still didn't actually use the order function, so the Blood Fox had some leeway in those terms.
However, that didn't mean she had any intention of allowing anyone inside.
She would fulfil her role perfectly, especially since Aiko was leaking so much unique energy.