Chapter 429 – What it means to be Enlightened
Mei arrived with others on the side of the Grandmaster's Abode.
It was quite a messy situation, with many Foxes lying around groaning from pain.
Between them stood a certain pair of Twins, who were looting their groaning bodies.
"Are you sure this will work?" Wanshu couldn't understand the thought process of the Blood Fox.
"If they don't have their resources or Treasures, they are less likely to come to this place again." Yuxi believed she was right, but the Blood Fox just wanted to obtain those things for later purposes and not with this kind of grand plan in mind.
"I can see that working." However, Wanshu and Yuxi were completely oblivious to that fact.
"What are you doing?" Mei's lips twitched.
"Jade Fox." The Twins smiled happily as they came closer. "They were quite loud, and Vicious Jade Fox ordered us to keep things in check."
They would naturally use Aiko's name in order to pacify the seemingly angry Mei.
'Another Jade Fox?' The delegation looked at each other, not believing that this small Village would dare to use that kind of nickname twice.
Mei groaned. "So, what happened?" She wasn't really concerned about the delegation. She could stash away the whole team onto the flying ship with her achievements alone.
If they also added others, they would be able to stash many more.
"Vicious Jade Fox came, ordered and went." The Twins replied innocently, and Mei almost flipped out.
"That's not what I mean-" Mei was about to punish the Twins when a quite thick scent hit them.
Something was burning. Was the Grandmaster's Abode on fire?
"We are going inside." Mei said, and Grandmaster followed. The others naturally followed along, but a certain voice stopped everyone.
"I don't think that is possible." The Blood Fox smiled gently.
The delegation was especially interested in this Fox since Blood Foxes were more likely to be bloodthirsty maniacs. To add to it, she was also a Demonic Fox, so it was mind-blowing that she was able to act like this.
"It's not time for games." Mei narrowed her eyes.
"I agree with that." The Blood Fox nodded. "But this is about the safety of the Vicious Jade Fox."
"What do you mean by that?" Mei tilted her head. While there was a strange energy in the air, that didn't mean Aiko would be in any danger.
The delegation also raised their eyebrows. This kind of disrespect was rare, but the steadfast attitude from a Demonic Fox was too shocking for them to mind it.
"Nothing will happen to her." Mei already isolated the place where Aiko was inside an Array that fed into another Array. It was virtually impossible for the delegation or even the Sect Leader to harm Aiko.
The Blood Fox didn't step aside for quite some time.
"Very well. It will be on your head now." The Blood Fox knew that Aiko was in a unique situation that would attract a lot of attention, but Mei was too stubborn to listen to her.
Mei walked past the Blood Fox as a few sparks flew between them.
The delegations were quite young Foxes, so they were interested in this kind of rivalry.
Moreover, it was over a Fox that the Fox Village called 'Jade Fox'; the additional suffix was irrelevant since someone had to be exceptionally beautiful to earn that nickname.
Needless to say, everyone was interested in that Fox... but they were completely oblivious to the word 'vicious'.
...
Walking through the Grandmaster's Abode, even the Sect Leader sensed something wrong with her body.
'I can't muster my Divine Sense nor control my Beast Core energy.' The Sect Leader felt uneasy, but it seemed like everyone, except Jade Fox's group, was affected.
"I can't believe there is a place that can restrict me like this. Hey, hey, can I train here?" One youthful male Fox pleaded with Jade Fox.
He was gunning for her in the beginning, but this place was much better than a temporary relationship.
"No, we like peace and quiet." The Blood Fox answered in return. Neither Aiko nor she liked noisy situations, and when Mei refined Pills, she was of the same mind.
The youth clicked his tongue. He was quite slim with lightly purple hair, indicating his Element was lightning, but unlike lightning, his fuse was not that short.
"This is quite a beautiful place." Another Fox joined in the conversation.
This time, it was a female Fox that had dark blue hair, indicating her Element was water. She had quite the sensual body, but her demeanour was mild until waves started to build up.
"Thank you." The Blood Fox smiled, but she didn't really have a positive outlook on this group since they looked like troublemakers.
"You nurtured this place?" The Sect Leader was a bit startled. She believed that most of the work was done by Jade Fox, but that didn't seem like it any more.
'What if the whole team has their own specialisation?' The Sect Leader at first believed that Jade Fox was the brain of the operation, but what if everyone had their own small field where they excelled and it was not just fighting?
'Dear god...' The Sect Leader could feel a headache incoming. This time the delegations were too young not to get heated over things.
Another wave of unique energy hit them, and with that, the smell of something burning.
Mei slightly quickened her steps, and they arrived in front of the Grandmaster's place.
"My home." The Grandmaster sniffled as there was an overpowering smell of something burning.
That would not be easily cleaned...
"We can clean it later." Mei rolled her eyes and opened the doors.
What they saw shocked them...
...
There was a gorgeous Fox sitting on a pile of broken metal. Around her floated countless other pieces of metal with Treasures to add.
When one metal broke down, it plopped back onto the ground, being replaced by a new metal.
This kind of thing was repeated constantly.
The breathtaking Fox was in a daze, constantly waving her hands.
"You are really overworking my old bones!" Grandpa Flame groaned.
"You need to keep your temperature in check if you want to finish soon." A soothing voice came out of her soft lips. It captivated everyone, even when she didn't try.
Mei at first raised her eyebrow but then leaned against the door frame.
Cold Steel, Iron, Cold Iron, Mystic Iron, you name it, and the stunning Fox was using it.
It was also not a low quantity.
"Oi, oi, oi, do you know how much resources those cost?!""P-please marry me.""I wish I could fight her..."
The delegation was noisy for a moment, but a certain cold Fox shut them up when she lowered the temperature.
They all turned into mild lambs in front of her. Nobody would dare to defy her.
'Enlightenment... what will you create?' Mei finally figured out why the Blood Fox kept everyone out. This was a precious moment for any Cultivator, and being disturbed at this point might have disastrous effects.
'Fortunately, nobody can move while I'm around.' Mei was smart enough to prepare in advance.
"Huff, huff. Did I ever tell you that I hate you?" The Grandpa Flame sulked at the amount of work he was putting in.
At first, nobody really paid attention to the Spiritual Flame, but once it talked again, everyone's eyes were strained.
Almost all Spiritual Flames could not talk. They could only nudge you with their emotions, but they couldn't share their thoughts.
Such a unique flame would be coveted everywhere, yet the cold Fox was keeping everyone in check.
"I will feed you later." Moon Aiko rolled her eyes. She was at a critical point. She could almost taste what was behind that impenetrable wall.
"You mean suffocate me, like you did last time?" Grandpa Flame protested.
At this point, the delegations were questioning their lives.
Some of them had their own Spiritual Flames, but those hungry bastards had never enough. How much did she feed it to cause this kind of reaction? It was simply ridiculous...
"She is exceptional." The cold Fox suddenly spoke.
"And you should keep your hands to yourself." The Blood Fox gently deflected her fervent desire.
The cold Fox and the Blood Fox had a staring contest.
Unfortunately, the Blood Fox was already used to this kind of thing, so she won it easily.
The cold Fox clicked her tongue, but before she could protest, a sharp sound spread from inside the room.
All the metals fell to the floor.
Mei narrowed her eyes.
The delegations were slightly disappointed.
'It's natural she would be tired when she handled so much material at once.''Her Enlightenment is almost gone, and it doesn't seem like she gained anything. How unfortunate.''I will coddle you later so that you feel better.'
There were different thoughts from the delegation, but one thing was unanimous. She failed her Enlightenment.
However, what happened next made them hold their breath.
As the metals crashed, the Treasures approached the gorgeous Fox.
"You really are whipping this old body." Grandpa Flame sounded sulking, but his eyes shone brightly.
He realised that Aiko was doing something out of this world, and he would do his best to support her.
"Show me what you got." Grandpa Flame burned brighter than before, raising the temperature of the whole room.
Even those outside were hit by that strong heat, yet the Fox inside the room didn't look bothered.
"Can you compress it into a blade?" Aiko didn't believe that simple heating would work, so she had a different idea.
"En." Grandpa Flame compressed his body into a knife.
The knife was so hot that it distorted the surrounding space slightly.
Aiko took it into her hand, and the first Treasure approached her.
She stabbed that Treasure precisely where the seams were broken, but the Treasure exploded.
Mei was about to rush in to protect Aiko from the shards, but a chilling sensation overcame them.
All of the broken shards that were created due to the explosion were easily stopped by the gorgeous Fox.
'Oi, oi, oi, that's not how you use Divine Sense!''That's not possible! Even if you strengthened your Divine Sense, it would still be pierced by small fragments. That's also why we are not using it during fights!''I love her! Please marry me!'
Some found it ridiculous, others questioned, yet there was already a group of fans inside the delegation cheering her on...
A new Cult was born...