Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

The next day, Moon Aiko worked on another piece. This one was more advanced, having 5 metals inside.

However, she quickly realised that Yue was right about more tools.

Needles were perfect when working on smaller, more delicate pieces, but when it came to bigger pieces, she didn't need to be as accurate.

The metals naturally corroded each other, so there were even parts that were no longer usable and had to be completely cut off before they corroded even more.

Moon Aiko sighed. "What kind of metal do I have to use for that knife?"

"Here." As if already knowing that Aiko would ask this, Yue prepared a few metals and rubbers for Aiko.

"What's the rubber for?" Moon Aiko tilted her head.

"It will keep the handle cool and free of any vibrations." Yue giggled.

Chen Shi didn't understand why Yue was so enthusiastic about this Fox.

Sure, she was crazier than your usual Foxes, but with those things also came a lot of trouble.

Chen Shi was still used to the fact that Yue was not very active when she was known as 'Lady Liu'.

"Uh-huh." Moon Aiko nodded her head slowly. That would be quite useful when she worked on strange Treasures that wouldn't stay still.

"But it doesn't seem like I should melt the rubber?" Moon Aiko tilted her head.

"That is correct. You have to slowly carve a proper handle for yourself." Yue giggled, happy about being able to see craftsmen at work.

"But it's sticky." Moon Aiko frowned.

"Once you have the handle, you heat it up to solidify it completely. You will have a harder time making adjustments to it by then, so you have to make sure you carve it properly." Yue warned Aiko.

"Okay." Moon Aiko nodded her head as she pulled that [The Ever Shaping Cauldron].

Yue rolled around. "So you really have it." She already heard some things from her sister, but it was still shocking to know that Aiko had something so precious on her and was still in the Mortal World.

"It's just a larger Cauldron?" Chen Shi never really had to refine things multiple times, so one Cauldron for him was enough.

Yue rolled her eyes. "Just sit there and let us work." She shooed him like she was bothered by him, which hurt him quite a bit.

"..." Chen Shi was crestfallen, but still listened to her.

"But it seems you have not finished it yet?" Yue tilted her head.

"Yeah." Moon Aiko nodded her head. "I'm looking for materials that could be used for the insides."

Yue stuck her head inside, only to see several compartments barely separated.

"What in the world?" Yue went outside, puzzled.

"Not every metal needs the same condition, so those chambers will help me to melt it and prepare it for combining." Moon Aiko explained.

"Only you would do something so crazy." Yue sighed, shaking her head.

"Then how would it be done normally?" Moon Aiko pouted.

"Forging Cultivators would have multiple Cauldrons." Yue nodded her head like that was common sense.

Moon Aiko's face distorted. "That would make the quality all over the place. What the hell are they thinking?" She couldn't understand.

"It's cheaper to use multiple than craft one big." Yue shrugged like that was yet another common sense.

"Gosh, they are so wasteful..." Moon Aiko shook her head.

"In their eyes, you would be the one wasteful." Yue chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah." Moon Aiko rolled her eyes as she looked over the first materials.

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[Cold Iron]
[Purity: 100%]
[Description: Widespread material, often loved by Cultivators for its versatility and mostly neutral element.]

"Hmmmmm..." Moon Aiko thought about it before conjuring her illusions.

Blades, in different shapes and forms, formed around her, and she observed them.

"You have some absurd imagination..." Yue paused when seeing a certain 'blade'. "No, why would you need a sickle?" She tilted her head.

"Well, the pointed tip can be used as a sort of needle, while the middle part can be used to 'shave' the metal, making it easier for me to recover more of it or remove impurities that are hard to remove through temperature." Moon Aiko explained.

"..." Yue didn't think there was so much to craftsmanship, since most of her things were created from her Heavenly Forging Pavilion.

"Anyway..." Moon Aiko turned her attention to the blades. "I have too little of the metal, so I will have to settle for 3 blades. I will definitely take this small and sharp blade (surgical blade). Then I will add this sickle (farming sickle) and... Hmmmmm..." She pondered on it for a while.

There were so many different shapes, but she should probably settle on-

"Chisel." Moon Aiko nodded. "But I will need a hammer too." She groaned unhappily.

"Should I get more Cold Iron?" Yue asked her.

"The hammer can't be metal. The clanging might be uncomfortable, but it would also be too heavy for very precise hammering. You will use the chisel to slowly carve the metal, but for that, you need to be precise." Moon Aiko explained.

"..." Yue sighed. This was too much for her. There was so much craftsmanship that she no longer complained about the prices.

"Okay, so some kind of wood?" Yue gently floated around Aiko, while Chen Shi observed her visible feet.

"Yeah, but one that wouldn't cause any issues with the rubber and Cold Iron." Moon Aiko nodded.

"That's simple, just use the normal Earth Wood. It might be a bit softer, contrary to its name, but it wouldn't cause any issues with the Cold Iron." Yue clapped her hands happily. "It's also widely available if you need to change something or replace it."

"That's a nice idea, but what about the rubber? Do we have enough?" Moon Aiko tilted her head.

"Rubber is fine, don't worry about it." Yue giggled.

"Okay, so let's make those tools first." Moon Aiko would start on the blades for now.

"I will get the wood, so you can finish it." Chen Shi sighed. That kind of scenery was too stimulating, so it was a good idea to take a walk.

"Thank you~" Yue giggled, happy about his resourcefulness.

Chen Shi waved before going out.

"Is he shy?" Moon Aiko tilted her head.

"I don't think so?" Yue raised her eyebrow.

"Are you sure?" Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

"I think..." Yue didn't spend that much time with Chen Shi, since Aiko was more interesting. Well, at least when she was doing something, Yue was not interested at all in their love lives.

"Whatever." Moon Aiko rolled her eyes before firing up the Cauldron.

Her Cauldron worked slightly differently, which she only realised when she repaired it a few times.

Most Cauldrons would be fired up from the underside, but her dual Cauldron was fired from within.

As such, without Spiritual Flame, you would be unable to do this properly.

Moon Aiko threw Grandpa Flame inside so that he would raise his heat.

"You are really trying to piss me off." Grandpa Flame grumbled from within.

"Whatever could you mean?" Moon Aiko said innocently.

"Don't think I didn't see your leg twitch when you threw me inside! You definitely wanted to kick me inside, but held back!" Grandpa Flame raised the heat due to his anger.

Moon Aiko whistled innocently as she handled the Cold Iron with her Divine Sense.

She wouldn't use a hammer, since she didn't have one, but also because this was too precise craftsmanship. Well, if she knew how to hammer properly and had enough experience, she could still use hammers, but she lacked those, so the only safe way to do this was through Divine Sense.

Moon Aiko nodded her head as the temperature inside her big Cauldron increased.

"Wasn't this Cauldron bigger?" Yue felt something was odd.

"Yeah, but since this Cauldron can 'hide' inside your body. I figured that I could make it temporarily smaller." Moon Aiko nodded. This did drain her Beast Core for some reason, but she didn't need to heat up a larger area, so the temperature was easier to manage.

"I wonder if you can 'pop'." Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes at Grandpa Flame.

"W-what are you thinking about?" Grandpa Flame felt something was wrong with that kind of wording.

"I wonder if you can split into smaller parts and heat the whole Cauldron more evenly." Moon Aiko proclaimed.

"Impossible." Grandpa Flame shook his head. "My consciousness would be split too, so it's both impossible and dangerous."

"All I'm hearing is, 'It's possible under certain circumstances'." Moon Aiko snorted unhappily.

"You are imagining things. Stop thinking about it!" Grandpa Flame was scared for his life, since this kind of Aiko would never let that kind of idea slide.

"Suuure~" Moon Aiko hummed as she threw the Cold Iron inside with her Divine Sense and heated it up slowly with the temperature inside.

Soon after, she split it into 3 different balls, varying in size.

The smallest one was used for the sharp, small blade, the biggest one for the sickle and the middle one for the chisel.

Yue was lying near Aiko, watching her work.

Anyone liked watching others work. Not only would they breathe life into those things. There was just something so mesmerising about seeing the materials turn into different shapes and then just reform their true forms.

Yue hummed happily while Aiko worked and Danji prepared some refreshments on the side.

She never really interacted with Aiko, who worked, but that didn't mean she wouldn't help around!

...

Moon Aiko pulled out those blades, cooled by her Spiritual Water.

This caused the sickle to crack, since it was too thin, but the other blades seemed in perfect condition.

Moon Aiko took it and observed it.

"How is it?" Yue was curious.

*Swish**Clang*

Moon Aiko threw them against the ground, and they bounced around.

"What-?!" Yue was startled.

Moon Aiko picked them up. "No damage, good." She nodded her head.

"What do you mean, no damage?!" Yue was so startled that she was now pinching Aiko.

"Don't pinch me..." Moon Aiko cried out softly.

"How about a warning when you do something crazy?! Do you always jump in first before doing any preparations?!" Yue was quite angry.

"N-no?" Moon Aiko looked away like she was guilty.