Chapter 543 – Familiar Figure

The Holy Deer was exceptionally steady when he ran. Aiko was quite shocked when she looked down below.

The ground, flowers, trees, and roots were moving out of the way to allow for smooth travel.

'This is so cool.' Moon Aiko blinked her eyes a few times. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The other Beasts also followed with their elements, but it was not as impressive as the Holy Deer.

The Beasts that lived in these areas made way for them; some didn't even leave their nests!

It was quite a funny sight, but also an unfortunate circumstance.

The 'Fox Clan' would never be as powerful as other Beasts until much later on, so it was impossible for even Aiko to run around here freely.

However, that didn't mean it was completely hopeless. She still had her poison and stealth, which would allow her to pick on Beasts that were not too powerful or smart.

Every Beast had to adjust to their own lifestyle and make it work. Otherwise, they would starve and die.

Some chose flight, others stealth. There were some that chose defence, but those were especially vulnerable against Human Cultivators, so there weren't many beasts like that.

Moon Aiko was also looking around for any kind of turtle that she could use for her future plans, but unfortunately, there was not enough water for that.

"By the way, what is that strange mountain?" Moon Aiko asked the important question as she used the bead to explore the surrounding area.

The strange mountain could be seen from here, which startled her greatly.

"That is the nest of a special kind of Bee, but I suggest you do not go inside. They are quite hostile right now." The Holy Deer said gently.

"The sweet scent?" Moon Aiko wanted to fulfil her curiosity.

"It's from Royal Crimson Honey. It induces cravings in Beasts and humans alike." The Holy Deer warned the Foxy.

"But it sounds delicious..." Moon Aiko would definitely visit it later once she was fully healed and recovered.

The Holy Deer shook his head. This Fox was unpredictable, so the best he could do was to warn her and hope she was not stupid enough to invade that nest.

They might be the last colony on this continent, but that didn't mean they were weak!

...

They ran through day and night. At times, Aiko slept, but the Holy Deer was so steady that she didn't wake up until she was fully rested.

Some Beasts were flabbergasted at this, but whenever one wanted to approach her, a bright Moon wrapped around her body, protecting her.

The Beasts quickly realised that she was not defenceless, so they quickly gave up on their teasing plans.

Time passed quite quickly, since Aiko slept quite often due to her injuries. She didn't want to show her [Melody of Healing] to others, so she just suppressed her injuries with needles once every so often.

This also earned her quite a nice boon.

[(Moved)#### Needle Technique (Stage 0)]V[#### Needle Technique R-1]

Her needle technique was moved into Arts Master, which was fine. It even gained a Rank, which was very beneficial to her.

Moon Aiko happily nodded when they approached the huge mountains.

"We are almost there. We will start climbing soon, so it might get a bit rocky." The Holy Deer warned, but he was confident about his skill in currying favour.

They ran up the mountain, where even more dangerous Beasts lay sleeping, but none of them approached them.

They did observe the strange Fox on the Holy Deer's back, but none of them moved.

'How dangerous.' Even with Witch Aiko's stealth, it would be impossible to bypass these Beasts since their Divine Sense was constantly being spread.

One option might be her movement technique, but if she used it incorrectly, they would immediately find her and squish her.

Moon Aiko shook her head as she held his horns. It was getting quite rocky as it became more and more absurdly inclined.

The Holy Deer was quite steady even against that absurdity, and they soon reached the top.

Moon Aiko observed everything she could, since it would be later recorded in her Table Map.

They all transformed into Human Forms before walking inside.

"Stay behind me. It will get quite rowdy inside." The Holy Deer warned the Foxy, since there would be a fight with the Elder.

"Why are you here?" An elderly man asked them as he immediately trained his eyes on 'Aiko'.

His eyebrows were so long that they could be counted as a beard! His bald head shone, but he had a magnificent double beard!

He had hunched back and looked quite fragile, but even with his eyes closed, his pressure was anything but simple...

"We have come to use the pond." The Nightmare Owl smiled.

"No, now go away." The elderly man snorted at them, but he still observed the cute Foxy.

"We will use the pond today." The Earthen Elephant didn't back down.

The elderly man moved, slapping that guy. "Let's see if you have the guts."

The Earthen Elephant was immediately sent flying into a nearby wall, coughing a bit of blood.

"Fuck, this guy is too serious!" The Nightmare Owl felt something was wrong about the elderly man, since it seemed like he was trying to show off...?

They all jumped at him, while Moon Aiko observed the whole situation.

There was a strange feeling of kinship with that Elder, but Moon Aiko didn't know why.

The scent from the tea was also nice, and she really wanted to drink it.

"If you want to drink it, you can." The elderly man suddenly appeared near Aiko and, without any kind of noise, almost scared her to death.

The Holy Deer stiffened. The Elder that he knew of didn't have that kind of ability!

Both the Fox and Holy Deer were inside an impenetrable barrier, yet that Elder also appeared inside? How was that possible?!

"But I'm too dirty." Moon Aiko was unwilling to drink tea when she smelled this bad.

The Holy Deer was shocked when he saw another Elder fighting the other Beasts. Now there were two Elders, but with the same presence and pressure?!

He gulped nervously, but still blessed both of them, just in case the Elder went nuts.

"Right, you wanted to have a bath, right? Go, go." The Elder smiled happily, letting them go.

They were currently in an enclosed space, yet that space didn't seem to shake or crumble even from the rough impacts.

"You don't mind if I dirty it?" Moon Aiko tilted her head.

"Go, lass." The Elder pushed Aiko to have a bath, since she really did smell bad.

"What about you? Fight or wait?" The Elder narrowed his eyebrows. It felt like his eyebrows were actually his eyes.

"Wait, wait." The Holy Deer didn't need to use the Primaeval Pond, so he would naturally not engage in foolish battle.

Shaking his head gently, he observed his colleagues who were still fighting.

It didn't seem like they realised that the Foxy had already gone ahead.

Moon Aiko felt truly strange about this elderly man, but as long as it didn't feel bad, she didn't mind.

-----

"We will win!" The Nightmare Owl yelled as he tried to one-up the Elder.

The Elder easily shrugged him off, like he was made out of feathers.

"We will enter that Pond!" The Earthen Elephant breathed heavily, yet his injuries were exceptionally light.

The Elder was not trying to injure them. He was just trying to see if they were worthy of bathing inside.

"Not bad for a war-cry." The Elder nodded and stepped back.

Everyone was happy that they didn't get slapped as much as they expected.

"We can finally let the Foxy join the-" The Nightmare Owl licked his lips, but then he noticed the Foxy was missing.

"Where is she?" The Nightmare Owl looked around, and the other Beasts were the same.

"She already went in." The Holy Deer shrugged.

The Nightmare Owl chuckled. "Alright, you bastard! I will see if you can shrug with your limbs broken." His face turned into a squid with all the veins appearing everywhere.

"You could've told us that." The Earthen Elephant was likewise upset, since he was pretty much punching back, which acted as a meat-shield for others!

"I couldn't interrupt your fun." The Holy Deer was not worried since he had already strengthened his barrier.

"If you put that barrier down, I can promise you that we won't mess you up too badly." The Fire Bird Queen's face twitched. Her body was a mess, and her favourite clothing was ripped, revealing her juicy body.

The Holy Deer pulled a pillow out of his Storage Pouch and lay down. He knew that they wouldn't be able to break this barrier any time soon, so he would just lie down and let them tire out...

"You fucking-!" The Nightmare Owl Transformed and immediately descended upon that bastard with sharp claws.

-----

Moon Aiko could hear some fighting happening behind her, but she didn't think it would get too bad, so she kept walking.

This place was like a maze, but she could feel the water from a certain direction.

This place was a maze created by that Elder to keep the unworthy out.

Only those who were acknowledged by the Elder or knew how to solve this puzzle were allowed to have a bath.

Moon Aiko was unaware of this, but she noticed that the surrounding shadows wrapped around her body even when she was in her Moon Form.

It was a strange sensation, but not an unwelcome one. She just found it odd that the Moon was able to absorb the Shadows...

Walking further in, the cave transformed into an even more elaborate labyrinth, making it even more difficult to traverse.

Of course, that was for others. Moon Aiko could still feel that 'water' in a certain direction, so she followed it.

However, there was one thing that scared her.

The Table Map didn't show this place on the map, even when she held that bead.

It was similar to what she experienced with the Goddess of the Moon, but on a much larger scale.

Moon Aiko didn't know what to think about this. The Elder was friendly and 'familiar' to her, so she didn't feel like he would hurt her, but she was still worried that she would get lost in here.

Shaking her head gently, she walked further and further, trying to get a grasp on the scale of this maze...