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"How long do you think we'll have to stay here for Indra to lose interest?" Onari asked Gabriel.

"Umm, a couple of months? Maybe a year? And he still might not have lost interest at that point. Gods can be very persistent," Gabriel replied apologetically.

"Well, it'll still be nice to have something of a vacation," Yu Wu said. "Recent events have left me tired. Kicking back in the clouds and focusing on cultivation is exactly what this young mistress needs."

Gabriel perked up at that, "That reminds me… Indra mentioned that you two were cultivators. Was that why you decided that a nuke was necessary for you to get stronger? I don't mean to pry, but I am interested in how that process works."

Onari and Yu Wu exchanged looks, but they both almost instantly decided that Gabriel was trustworthy enough to share some information on cultivation, "Cultivation can be a… complicated process. I guess I should start by asking what you already know about cultivating."

Gabriel hummed at Onari's words, "Hmm, not much I guess. It would probably be best for you to start at the beginning."

Onari nodded, "Sure. Well, cultivation at its most basic level is the practice of training one's mind, body, and soul to extend one's lifespan. The ability to harness Qi and access extraordinary powers is really just a fortunate side effect of the process. The true goal of all cultivators is the pursuit of immortality."

Yu Wu picked up the explanation, "A cultivator's strength can be split into nine stages. Each stage contains a number of minor realms that a cultivator must progress through to get to the next. A cultivator's strength increases exponentially between each major stage. If a First Stage cultivator is only slightly better than a normal mortal, then Fourth Stage cultivators like us could be considered Ultimate-Class beings."

"As a cultivator reaches higher on the path of defying the heavens," Onari said. "They begin to require more and more energy for each breakthrough. Even the energy within the bomb that we stole may not be enough for Yu Wu and I to break into the Fifth Stage. And in addition to the exponentially increase in energy and time required, there is also something known as tribulation that a cultivator must go through at certain milestones of their journey.

"A cultivator's main driving force is the idea of defying the heavens and breaking their own fate. And, obviously, the universe does not always like or easily allow this to happen. At specific cultivation breakthroughs, the universe itself will send a disaster or 'tribulation' to test the cultivator. Every one of these tribulations must be overcome if a cultivator wishes to continue their heaven-defying quest."

Yu Wu spoke once more, "Of course, the rewards for cultivation are as great as the effort cultivators go through. Although cultivation is one of the most demanding paths to power in the universe, it is also one of the most potent. A cultivator's lifespan will increase, potentially to the point of immortality. A cultivator's body, soul, and mind will be tempered to the extreme and then they eventually break past that heavenly limit.

"It is also possible, and even likely, that a cultivator will gain insight into the inner workings of the universe at some point during their journey. Past a certain point of cultivation, power becomes useless without the profound understanding to utilize it. Through knowledge and mastery, a cultivator may even break through the heavens and become a deity."

Gabriel nodded along to the couple's explanation, but Yu Wu's last line really got her attention. The potential to become a deity, to attain an understanding of the way the universe worked like only one being had displayed in the past. Was it possible?

Gabriel knew it was impossible to replace her Father. But the way Onari and Yu Wu talked about cultivation sounded so similar to how he used to talk. How every being had the potential for absolute greatness and it just took time, effort, and the courage to defy fate and the heavens to unlock that potential.

"C-Can you tell me more about that profound knowledge you mentioned? The insight a cultivator can gain?" Gabriel asked almost desperately.

Onari winced, "Describing profound concepts and Laws is impossible even for the most sagely of cultivators. Concepts and Laws are things one must experience for themselves. Only then can they try to decipher what they faced. For example, I have experienced the Dao of Fire. But even if you gave me a thousand years to try and describe it to you, I would only begin to scratch the surface of that one Dao."

Yu Wu nodded, "I would have a similar experience if I tried to explain the Dao of the Sword. Some things are essentially impossible to put into words. In many ways, Daos, Laws, and concepts are even more powerful than cultivation itself."

"And when you say 'potential to become a deity', how godly are you talking about?" Gabriel asked, discreetly probing for more information.

"Anything is possible," Onari replied. "From the lowest level of divinity, up to the level of the Biblical God and even beyond."

"That's… That's good to hear…" Gabriel said, looking like she was pondering something deeper than Onari and Yu Wu weren't privy to at the moment. "Maybe there is a chance after all…"

Yasaka's Castle, The Hidden Side of Kyoto, Japan

In a large and opulent private bath, Yasaka absently hummed to herself. The suds she was lathering herself with tastefully concealed her nipples and pussy. Still, a vast expanse of milky flesh was left on display for anyone who was watching.

Of course, Yasaka would only allow a few, specific people see her like this. Her liege, Amaterasu, and her darling son, Onari, being at the top of that list. Maybe even both of them at the same time. Yasaka giggled lightly at that appealing idea.

Sure, Amaterasu wouldn't be able to join. But half the fun of Yasaka and Amaterasu's relationship was how the sun goddess lived vicariously through the foxy vixen.

'So close now,' Yasaka sighed, thinking to herself. 'Soon, I'll be able to taste the only man in the world that matters. Onari dearest, you wouldn't turn down your mother, would you?'

Even if she knew how utterly wrong it was, Yasaka couldn't help but fall in love with Onari the moment she set her eyes on him. The first moment she held him in her arms, she knew he would be the only man for her. His and Kunou's sperm donors had been just that, sperm donors. She hadn't had physical sex in literal centuries.

Did that fact impact her perception and decision making when it came to Onari? Probably. But at this point, Yasaka couldn't care less. Did she really need an excuse to love her family? And her beautiful baby boy had grown into such a magnificent man. Even Amaterasu, a virgin goddess, recognized and acknowledged his appeal.

When Onari had brought his delicious new fiancee back home, Yasaka had had to almost physically restrain herself from jumping them right there. She had eventually allowed Yu Wu to take her baby's virginity. That night, she spent hours drinking with Amaterasu in both celebration and envy. She had wanted to be the one to make her baby boy a man, but Yasaka knew she had to swallow her pride for the greater good of her plan.

She had been slowly broaching the idea of deepening their relationship to Onari for years now. She was an old fox. She knew how to plan, and more importantly, she knew how to wait. Her 'prey' wasn't going anywhere. If anything, he was just getting more and more appetizing the longer she waited.

(AN: creepy, yandere Yasaka is creepy and yandere… but we'll ignore that for the fox titties).

Yasaka was pulled out of her thoughts by the ding of a notification. She doused herself with water, washing away soapy suds and leaving her perfect body glistening under the light. As she settled herself into the tub, Yasaka reached for her phone. She hummed happily when she saw that the ding was from a message notification from Onari.

Yasaka was smiling when she first opened the message. As she read however, her expression began to drop. Passionate sparks fizzled in and out of existence on the surface of her bath water. She finished the message and huffed.

This was certainly not ideal. Gabriel had somehow managed to swoop in and steal her Onari away for a while. Yasaka didn't hate Gabriel. She actually quite liked the Archangel. So she wasn't angry, per say, just frustrated that things weren't going exactly to plan.

Yasaka knew she was beautiful and she absolutely wasn't above taking advantage of her beauty in her efforts to seduce her son. Over the years, she had spent a lot of time implementing a sort of Pavlovian conditioning into Onari. Now, blonde hair and massive mommy milkers never failed to elicit a physical response from Onari.

And Gabriel had both of those qualities in spades. Yasaka could easily piece together a picture of what happened when Onari and Gabriel met. Most likely, Onari had instantly fallen for the Archangel Gabriel. Part of the reason why was due to the unknown bias towards big titty blondes that Yasaka had impressed onto his brain. Another part of it was that Gabriel was just naturally lovable.

Yasaka couldn't even blame Onari for falling for Gabriel and potentially messing up her plans. She couldn't blame Gabriel either. The angel was too innocent and her son was basically caught in the 'perfect storm'. She would just have to plan around this development like she did with Yu Wu.

Planning around this wouldn't be easy, but it also wouldn't necessarily be hard. Onari had even been thoughtful enough to invite Yasaka to visit during his and Yu Wu's stay in Heaven. Yes… she still could work with this… But first, a round of drinks and scheming with Amaterasu was in order.

AN: Hello, everyone. Here's late Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year from me! Unfortunately, I have some news for the future of this story. I'm officially putting this story on hiatus for the time being. Don't worry though! I have no intention of abandoning this story and I fully intend to come back to it after this break.

I've been working on "Of Foxfire and Cultivation" for about a month and a half straight at this point. It's been the only thing I've written in that time, and I think the story is better for that. At this point though, I have to admit that I have no idea what direction I want to take this story in after we hit canon.

So I've decided to take a step back from this story. This will probably be the last chapter for a while. I have a non-canon omake that I'm still working on, so that might come out as well, but for canon chapters, I'm taking a break. Hopefully, this break will give me perspective and time to think and I'll be able to come back to this story with enthusiasm and fresh ideas!

I just want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, and supported this story. Even if you didn't end up liking the story, just the fact that people will see and read my work is still amazing to me.