V1: The Young Vixen (2)

Willow observed the jade book with interest. Although she called it a book, it was a piece of jade that was shaped into that form. There was naturally no paper inside it. Instead, there was a complicated script inscribed on the jade. It formed a diagram that resembled a sleeping fox with nine tails.

As she focused on the diagram, she unknowingly fell into a deep meditative state. A majestic scene appeared before her. She was in the middle of a sky full of multicolored clouds. In front of her, a gigantic creature was lying lazily on the clouds.

It was a pure white fox with nine tails swaying wilfully at its back. At the tip of each tail was an orb of purple fire. Although they emitted no heat, they gave Willow an incomparably terrifying feeling or they would have if she was capable of full-blown terror. Instead, they only made her slightly wary.

Soon, she was captivated by the slow and rhythmic breathing of the majestic beast. It felt like it was breathing with the universe and the myriad creations. Reality seemed to be fading in its surroundings. It was as if the world was becoming illusory, making it the only true existence.

Unconsciously, she started mimicking the breathing pattern of the mystical fox. In this way, a girl and a fox breathed like one for what seemed like an extremely long period.

After a while, there was a change. The fox's breathing was disturbed. A horrifying aura surged from it pressuring the very world. Willow was startled awake from this mystical state.

"Damn! Perverted-Hairless-monkey!!! What are you doing !?" The voice was coming from the previously sleeping fox. Naturally, Willow thought that it was speaking to her at first but soon noticed that the fox's gaze went past her. She followed it and found a muscular man sitting cross-legged behind her.

He too was a giant but compared to the fox he was 100 times smaller. He was almost fully naked, wearing pelts to cover his junk. He had a mane of purple hair and eyes like those of a lion, full of dominance. In his hand, he was holding a rough jade plate. Using his nails he seemed to be carving something. Most likely the image of the sleeping fox.

Willow raised an eyebrow at the sharpness of his nails.

"Don't be like this sister fox, I was just capturing your majesty. My brothers don't believe me when I say that I am your acquaintance." His voice was powerful as he responded.

"Who is your acquaintance? Are you even qualified to be this Monarch's friend?" The fox was full of disdain.

The man wasn't mad, he simply smiled while continuing his drawing. The fox frowned, miffed by the lack of reaction. "If you don't leave right now, I am going to make you." The fox was annoyed.

"I almost finished. I am close to success. Your Foxiness, just let me complete it." His request seemed like a joke but his expression indicated otherwise. The fox's purple eyes narrowed and bloomed with radiance.

"You…! You are comprehending a Path. It's not the 'Battle' Path of your people…It's a new one!?" The fox was alarmed. As if to confirm its observation, the world started to tremble, and heavenly music spread accompanied by heavenly apparitions.

The man was sweating and seemed to be exerting a momentous effort to complete the drawing. The fox thought about it and said with a sigh, "You reckless fool. Although I don't have any grievance with you titans, I am still a Primordial. I can't let you succeed."

At the same time, it was saying this, one of its tails flickered sending an orb of fire hurtling toward the burly man. Wherever the orb passed, reality burned, leaving an indescribable trail of nothingness.

The brawny man became solemn, obviously expecting this. He let out a powerful roar. Around him, there were various visions of heaven-shaking battles. The clouds scattered and dark scars appeared in the sky.

"BATTLE!!!!" With his bellow, the world shook and the war visions coalesced into a huge ancient symbol. Boundless battle intent surged from this symbol. Sometimes, it looked like a spear, other times like a sword. It was akin to the manifestation of all the existing weapons as well as those to-be-created in the future

"Go!" With a prompt from the giant, the Battle Sigil shot forward to meet the Reality Burning Flame.

"You cannot possibly believe that your pitiful battle art will be enough?" The White fox spoke unhurriedly. The orb exploded into a lotus shape at those words as if to swallow the Battle Sigil in its leaves.

"Of course not. I don't want to resist your Reality Burning Flame. I simply want to gain a breath of time." The burly man answered thoughtfully.

"You-" The fox seemed to realize something.

Before it could speak, the Battle Sigil exploded violently creating numerous cracks in the sky akin to a fractured mirror. While the Battle Sigil wasn't enough to deal with the terrifying fire orb, its explosion was more than enough to stale it.

The impact caused by the collision of the two divine abilities blasted Willow from her seat as a spectator back into reality. Startled, she woke up still half naked and seated cross-legged on her bed.

Before she could marvel at the experience she had just gone through, a sense of unfamiliarity hit her. The noise of the brothels felt too loud, not just that, the entire city seemed to be speaking right next to her ears. She felt dizzy and her balance was off. The world was so much clearer, it was like she was seeing it for the first time.

Puzzled about the new sensations, she stood up and went to the bathroom where a huge mirror was fixed on the wall. Her brow rose as she saw her current appearance. Disheveled clothes, exposing creamy thighs as well as part of her chest along with her shoulders.

That she expected, but she didn't expect the huge tail behind her or her slightly droopy and pointed long ears. Or even the pale gray hair sharing the same color as the fur on her tail and ears.

The most shocking besides her pair of silver fox eyes was the purple wisp of fire burning on the tip of her tail. As she was critically observing her new state, her ear twitched. She heard footsteps coming this way. Promptly, she stopped her observation, removed the torn dress she was wearing, and put on a clean one.

Despite the urgency of the situation, she calmly tried to mask those new features. She didn't want to attract attention because of them. Who knows what would happen to her if she was discovered with outlandish inhuman features?

Surprisingly she didn't need to try hard, a thought, and her inhuman traits vanished like snow under the sun. Although the new features weren't visible anymore, Willow could still feel their existence. They weren't gone, just concealed. It was as if the act of disguise was now deeply ingrained in her new form.

A knock.

She stepped outside of the bathroom and sat on a chair before inviting her visitor in. A petite girl, still in her teenage years came inside with a plate full of delicacies and a worried expression on her face.

Looking at her, Willow affected a gentle expression. This girl was the only 'friend' she had in this place. They were about the same age but unlike Willow who was brought

from outside, she grew up in this brothel. Her name was Bloom. Luckily or unluckily for her, she had a scar that cut her face into two diagonally. She grew up in this place but she never had to serve the client in 'that' way. She could only work in the kitchen as an aide or as a handler for the courtesans.

Coming closer, she put down the plate and hugged Willow. "Are you okay?" Her expression seemed genuine as if she cared about Willow's well-being after her first night.

Willow merely nodded in answer to her question. While in her embrace Willow occasionally shook a little as if she was letting out silent tears. Her behavior was textbook perfect after such an event.

'A friend? yeah right! Keep up your caring mask, it can only fool those naive girls in the brothel.' Willow thought inwardly.

Bloom was a spy for the matron of the brothel. Willow discovered her identity not long after they met for the first time. Bloom collected information about the mental state of the courtesans and their secrets. Because of her, who knows how many girls' dreams of freedom went through the window?

She had come to check up on her after the night with Julius. After all, he was a big client of this brothel. They couldn't afford any mishap happening with the only girl he took fancy to. She hadn't come out of her boudoir for the whole day and the night had already fallen. As such, the matron was worried and sent Bloom.

Bloom had an expression of relief when she saw that Willow was fine. The reason both she and the matron were worried was that some girls who had been forced into this life chose suicide after their first night.

"Come, take this beverage. It will help with the soreness. It is also an excellent contraceptive." Bloom said and gave her a cup filled with a thick liquid.

The medicinal scent filled the entire boudoir. Willow was particularly sensitive to it with her new overwhelming sense of smell. But her expression didn't betray anything. She simply took the cup gratefully and drank till the last drop.

"Don't forget to eat. I will come later to check on you." Bloom pointed at the plate on the table. She let out a commiserating smile before leaving the room. Willow didn't speak but her eyes expressed incredible gratitude. That is until she couldn't hear Bloom's footsteps anymore.

'It looks like I observed the diagram for an entire day.' She observed after opening her windows and seeing the night sky.

'Right, the diagram.' As she thought of it she went to seek it on her bed. Surprisingly, she didn't find it.

'Did Bloom take it? Impossible my eyes have never left her since she came in.' As her thoughts ran trying to figure it out, she noticed something. On the bed, there was a trail of jade-colored dust hidden in the folds of the messy sheets.

'It broke down into dust.' Willow was speechless.

Faced with this incomprehensible event, Willow shrugged. After all, she had obtained all there was to obtain from the diagram. Even though she wasn't sure about the exact nature of her gains.

"Thinking about it, what exactly did I gain?" Willow wondered out loud as she started examining her body. Besides the outward changes, she felt that something about her was fundamentally different. It was as if she had jumped out of her skin as a mortal to become some otherworldly creature.

She could now 'observe' her insides through her new senses and noticed that she didn't have organs, bones, or blood, not even tendons. Her insides were a pitch black void. A visual representation of emptiness.

'I should have noticed earlier, I haven't felt my heartbeat since I awoke from meditation.' Willow thought. It was a shocking matter. A normal person would lose their mind in her circumstances. Willow was only slightly affected; she was thinking about the impact on her continued existence.

Soon enough, those worries were put to rest. Her body worked perfectly even without 99% of its components. It was freaky but at least, it wasn't deadly. Although she didn't feel hungry, she still ate to avoid arousing suspicion. She made quick work of the huge amount of food.

Willow didn't have a sensation of satiety after eating the entire content of the huge plate. 'I should be able to feel the existence of Spirit and open my spirit orifices now that I comprehended the diagram but my body has changed. I can feel a trace of Spirit in the air but I am not able to interact with it. How am I supposed to cultivate?' Willow pondered intently.

After all, the reason she bore with that arrogant young master wanton possession was only so she could achieve her dream of cultivation. Now she was at an impasse. She was pretty far from the orthodox path of cultivation as it seemed. She didn't know how to proceed going forward.

For the second time since she came to this world, Willow was lost and uncertain.