Li Xiu guided her group out of the Forest. They ditched the Sacred Realm due to its limitations and the war happening inside.

Most other Cultivators stayed inside and naturally lost their lives, but Li Xiu didn't want to risk it.

Her lifespan was getting longer and longer, so there was no need to hurry for monetary gain.

Her group was dissatisfied with this decision, and that was also why her faction had only 10% of Cultivators left.

"Saintess?" The girl wanted to ask something.

"What is it?" Li Xiu pursed her lips. She could see her shining eyes glancing at the tiny Fox.

"May I?" The girl smiled innocently.

"Unfortunately, you will have to wait..." Li Xiu shook her head.

Aiko was too weak, even her fur was no longer lustrous, just a very dim shade of orange...

Aiko yawned slowly. She wanted to sleep, but was worried that someone would take advantage of her.

"Sleep..." Li Xiu gently patted Aiko, making the others jealous.

"We will spend a few days in the city before our Sect picks us up." Li Xiu immediately changed the topic as they walked towards the city.

...

It was a small city, but big enough to have special Cultivator Inns.

They booked one for themselves so they could rest inside. The owner was naturally enthusiastic about it and served them well.

'...' Li Xiu didn't voice anything to anyone, but hid her own Treasures. It was obvious that these guys might attempt something, but her team was too oblivious, and after getting Aiko, they were more disobedient.

She didn't need a team like that, so she would use this opportunity to teach them a lesson.

Shaking her head. She placed Aiko on her lap.

Aiko immediately tried to chew her thighs, which made Li Xiu giggle.

She placed a hand near Aiko, letting her chew on that instead.

'I'm hungry, give me food, dammit...' Aiko groaned unhappily from her inability to express herself.

She hoped that she would recover soon from this condition so that she could scold Li Xiu!

Well, she would still thank her for this kind of help, but she was starving!

"Here." The girl came with a piece of meat.

'Angel!' Aiko's eyes shone as she immediately bit into it.

"It was hungry, Saintess." The girl pursed her lips before walking away.

Everyone knew that the Saintess didn't have a good affinity with Beasts. One could say she had a completely awful affinity, and every Beast hated her.

That was probably why the Saintess was so enthusiastic about this Beast.

It was weak and couldn't resist well, so the Saintess might've hoped to gain a companion through this.

Everyone had a tacit agreement to help the Saintess. Of course not for free, they wanted to cuddle that cutie too, so they would make the Saintess indebted with this!

...

Days passed. The Saintess learned a lot from her group and how to spot the needs of Beasts.

Aiko was especially easy to read, so it was very simple to get used to it.

Aiko was also a lot happier thanks to the group.

'They are good, but their eyes are scary...' Sun Aiko sniffled before eating another piece of meat.

She was like a devourer in her current situation.

'I need to recover my vitality soon...' Sun Aiko didn't have a way to do that, since she couldn't even hum.

Well, the healing was probably just for her HP, but that was still good enough!

Just then, the flying ship landed outside the city.

"We are leaving now." The Saintess smiled. She repaid her team by catching those criminals who tried to steal from them, so they were now even.

They couldn't touch Aiko unless she wanted that herself.

"Yes, Saintess..." While the group was saddened by the fact that they couldn't cuddle the little Fox, they were still happy they didn't lose any Treasures.

Treasures were like a lifeblood for Cultivators, so losing them might cause their death.

"You are finally here." Ah Cy immediately pinched her Disciple's face. 'So she had Aiko this whole time... I was worried for nothing!' She pouted at her.

"Master." The Saintess hid Aiko in her sleeves, making Ah Cy narrow her eyes.

"This is a flying ship you can use. The others will board the main ship." Ah Cy spoke gently, but it was obvious this was an order.

"You are not going, Master?" Li Xiu raised her eyebrow.

"I will naturally stay with you. What if you get a mental demon because of what happened?" Ah Cy played her role well and even fooled the other Elders.

"I wish you a nice journey, Senior Sister." One Elder cupped his fists as he raised his flying ship.

"Take care, Junior Brother." Ah Cy waved them off. "Let's get on, it was so annoying..." She crossed her arms, but that wave was lethal!

"Master..." Li Xiu pursed her lips as her Master looked at her. "Your bra broke again."

"..." Ah Cy now knew why they were so enthusiastic about her...

...

The trio boarded the small flying ship.

Well, it was so small that it could be considered a boat.

It didn't have floors, just the main deck with a captain's quarters and a flying stone to levitate it.

"She seems sick." Ah Cy used her Qi to drive the flying ship out of this place and slowly towards the Southern Sect.

"Yes, I found her inside a cave." Li Xiu didn't conceal anything since her Master was no longer like before.

[

Name: Fairy Ah Cy

Cultivation: [Void Amalgamation - Peak]

]

Her Master finally reached peak, but she wouldn't be able to breakthrough in the Lower Mortal World. She would have to leave for the Upper Mortal World.

"Don't worry, I do not intend to leave without you." Ah Cy chuckled.

"But Master..." Li Xiu was worried about her lifespan.

"It's fine. I have plenty of life left in me. Even if you took a hundred years, it won't affect me much." Which was a lie. Ah Cy was quite old now, and her injuries decreased her lifespan, so she didn't have that much time.

She would not tell this to her Disciple, since she didn't want to pressure her.

"..." Li Xiu had vague awareness, but since nothing was concrete, she didn't say anything.

Just then, Aiko started to shine slightly.

"Auch." Li Xiu placed Aiko on the deck and took a few steps back.

'Finally, 1 Vitality!' Aiko finally digested the food, gaining 1 measly Vitality, but that reactivated her internal system, and she was able to move around slightly.

"Master?" Li Xiu was lightly burned, but she was more worried about Aiko.

"This is rare... We might need to land." Ah Cy didn't think that if the heat increased, the flying boat could take it.

"Try to give her this." Ah Cy gave Li Xiu a special bracelet.

[Heat Devouring Demonic Bracelet]

"Master...?" Li Xiu didn't like the name of that.

"It might be of Demonic origin, but the Elder already purified it. I'm not asking you to equip her with it, just place it near her so that the heat lessens." Ah Cy explained her true reasoning.

"Okay." Li Xiu placed it near Aiko, but far enough that it couldn't possibly hurt her.

Aiko felt a slight draft from her body, but it didn't affect her health, so she just snorted at it before stretching down.

'Why do I feel so sleepy........' Soon after, Aiko fell asleep.

Not having those cursed Titles meant that she could now sleep whenever she wanted...

...

"She is really cute like this." The heat went down, and Li Xiu could get close to Aiko again.

"Don't get tempted. Foxes are still monsters when it comes to intimate times." Ah Cy teased her Disciple.

"Master!" Li Xiu yelped at her with a red face. She had no intention of doing that to Aiko.

"Heh." Ah Cy chuckled. She believed that her Disciple would fall once this Fox took their 'human' form.

Li Xiu pouted as the flying boat drifted through the skies.

"At this rate, we will reach our Sect in 2 weeks, so make sure that Aiko is not recognised." Ah Cy narrowed her eyes.

"I believe that Aiko never showed this form, so as long as she doesn't take other forms, it should be fine." Li Xiu pursed her lips.

"How about contracting her?" Ah Cy narrowed her eyes.

"No." Li Xiu immediately denied it.

Ah Cy shook her head. "But others will try, how do you intend to remedy that?" She was trying to warn her Disciple about this.

"I don't have to." Li Xiu summoned a tiny, hateful Glacial Phoenix. "Go ahead and explain. Otherwise, I will dip you into spices and cook you for dinner again." She narrowed her eyes as she threatened her 'pet'.

"You are so mean!" The Glacial Phoenix cried out, but coughed awkwardly once Li Xiu took out the spices.

"This Fox is not simple; nobody would be able to invade her body without being burned alive, naturally, that includes contracts too. It's also more powerful than before, as there is strange energy that would also drain your energies." The Glacial Phoenix explained under the threat of being marinated.

Li Xiu nodded happily. "What do you think, Master?"

"I think that we will reduce the number of personal Disciples that our Sect has..." Ah Cy sighed. She would have to make an announcement about that part so that their good seedlings wouldn't die out due to greed.

"That's a great idea, Master." Li Xiu said sarcastically. She didn't believe that her Seniors and Juniors deserved that kind of warning.

"They are still your Seniors..." Ah Cy sighed again. In certain aspects, her Disciple was too stubborn. Fortunately, she had only one Disciple, which made everything easier.

"So what? It's their greed that dooms them. The frog that believes a well is all there is to the vast world!" Li Xiu clicked her tongue and tried petting Aiko.

"Whoa-!" Li Xiu's eyes shone. She really wanted to lie down on Aiko. She was so nice and warm.

"She needs to heal." Ah Cy scolded her greedy Disciple.

"I know!" Li Xiu pouted, but she was really tempted.

Ah Cy sighed. "Give her some of these once she wakes up."

"Master..." Li Xiu's eyes widened.

"What can I do when I have such a troublesome Disciple?" Ah Cy looked away, but Li Xiu still jumped at her and hugged her.

"Thank you so much, I will find even more Treasures!" Li Xiu's eyes burned with the fire of determination.

[Vitality Pills (7th Grade - Perfect)]

[Restore between 1-20 Vitality.]

She would feed them to Aiko so that she would get better sooner!