Honami carefully looked at her three new owners in trepidation for the future while they traveled back in a horse carriage, held in the man's hands. While handsome and beautiful, they were not yet on the level of some of the celestials she knew in her original world, which was a cultivation world.
She, Honami, was a 500-year-old Gold Core Formation 5-tailed Demon Fox, after all! She was a venerable Guardian Beast of the Ying Yang Demon Mountain, and was about to ascend to the Nascent Soul Stage!
But as if the heavens pulled a sick joke on her, two immortals from the high heavens above had a duel, and she was caught in the aftermath, getting sucked into a crack in space. She thought she was going to die!
But as luck would have it, she ended up in this strange world without Qi. If that wasn't bad enough, her strength was forcibly sealed to that of the lowliest one-tailed mortal fox by this so-called Steampunk Playground, and all her equipment was broken! She didn't even know what Steampunk meant! The only good news was that this system rejuvenated her age to 18, so she could theoretically live longer... if she could survive, that is.
Due to her missing strength, she lost her human form, regressing into a regular Demon Fox. And to make matters worse, she found herself in a strange forest and had to hide and flee wherever she went. Before she knew it, she survived for several days, starving and weak, which was likely why she didn't notice the trap those two hunters placed.
Fortunately, they didn't kill her after she showed docility and intelligence, and once they found out that she was a so-called Steam Hell Challenger, they sold her to a merchant.
The bad news is that she was now a caged animal, sold to the highest bidder, and had no rights as an animal, even if an intelligent monster of sorts. And she had to say, the people of this world were scary. That Machine Cult looked like a bunch of madmen. So when she was about to be bought by one, she felt that it would even be preferable to get killed and become a stuffed animal.
Luckily, the handsome man holding her bought her, but she didn't know why. And that made her scared for the future.
Finally, Honami arrived at a large house, which was barely worthy of a Foundation Establishment Outer Deacon in her sect. And then she saw it.
Three identical owners, only with different clothes, were casually playing cards in the parlor.
"???"
"Are they all twins? Or did they form clones through some technique? Or perhaps... are these avatars?! But that is a Spirit Transformation ability..."
But she didn't need to think for long, because a portal soon opened before her.
"A PORTAL!? Another Spirit Transformation ability?!"
While her heart was in turmoil, she entered a bedroom with three other individuals.
However, this time, these three were markedly different. Their handsomeness and beauty were top-tier even among the most elite cultivation venerables she had ever met, surpassing even her own beauty. The crystals on their forehead and hair constantly changed colors, which was both enchanting and strange. But most importantly, their eyes held a sort of ancient air that Honami only glimpsed in the most ancient cultivators despite their youthful looks. No, perhaps they even surpassed that.
"Honami, a Demonic Dual Cultivator, hah?" The man spoke in a masculine and magnetic voice, revealing her Unique title on the spot.
"How?!" Honami inwardly exclaimed.
"So she came from a cultivation world, hah? Interesting." A short-statured but bountifully stacked woman who seemed like a half-breed of the people of her world tilted her head.
"They know about my world?!" Honami shook.
"Fufu. What a lewd little fox you are. Not only men, but also women? You are really voracious." A slightly tall woman with a perfect figure that any female cultivator would murder for, mischievously smiled.
"She even saw through my gender orientation!?" Honami was scared senseless.
At this time, the male clone put her on the floor, and the trio introduced themselves.
"I am Asher Wolf, and these are Sonia and Nidawei, my wives. We are fellow Hell Challengers trapped in this game like you." The handsome man kindly said.
The next moment, Honami came to her senses and kowtowed to the trio.
"Little Honami greets the three immortals!" She solemnly said.
However, all her mouth could actually say was-
"Chee! Chrip! Chee!"
"Curse this mortal body! I embarrassed myself before the immortals!" Honami felt like crying.
Luckily, the three immortals understood her.
"No need to kowtow to us, Honami. And we are not immortals from your world, either." The man kindly spoke.
"But we are indeed over 3,000 years old mentally and have 20,000 years of lifespan, so we might as well be immortal to some." The half-breed with large breasts said.
"But we are fellow Hell Challengers, little lewd one, so we are equals here." The other woman added.
The clones opened the cage, letting Honami exit.
"3,000?! That's the lifespan of a Nascant Soul Stage! And the half-breed immortal said they can live for 20,000 years... so they are truly comparable to the Spirit Transformation Realm?! That is equal to a 7-tailed Demon Fox! That would also explain why they can casually form avatars and rip the space open! I now understand everything!"
Once the demon fox thought she understood everything, she kowtowed again.
"This little one begs the immortals to take her as a disciple!"
"There is no shame in being a disciple of a Spirit Transformation old monster!" She thought to herself.
The trio looked at one another with troubled looks.
"Boss, she isn't listening..." Sonia warily said.
"I think we should spell it out for her, honey." Nidawei pursed her lips.
"Hah... Seems like it." Asher sighed, got up, walked to the kowtowing fox, and gently picked her up.
"Eh???" The pup-sized black fox was confused, blinking her small eyes.
"As we said, we are equals here. You are not our slave, nor do we want you as a disciple. We helped you as fellow victims trapped in this game world, and we hope you can become our friend and ally. Do you understand it now?" Asher patiently explained.
From the start, the trio didn't want a slave. Instead, they wanted a loyal ally. Yes, they knew Honami wasn't a good person, but that didn't mean she was bad. Asher, Sonia, and Nidawei were not exactly saints, either, and were arguably more evil than Honami.
Honami's eyes became complicated.
"Thank you..." Honami muttered.
"That's the spirit. From now on, I will help you regain your strength through your Yin-Yang Harmony and Dual Cultivation skills." Asher said, lightly hugging her and sitting on the bed.
Honami's Unique Title, Demonic Dual Cultivator, granted her several unique skills: Yin-Yang Harmony, Yin-Yin Merging, Deprive Yang to Reinforce Yin, Yin Demonness, and Dual Cultivation.
Yin-Yang Harmony was a generic Dual Cultivation skill that mutually benefited both parties, specifically increasing the skills of both parties by complementing one another. And as the name implied, she could only use that on consenting males.
"Unfortunately, if we do it, we would only be sharing our magic power, so we leave that to you, Boss." Sonia smiled and said.
"But I do wonder what it would feel like," Nidawei added.
Yin-Yin Merging was a female-on-female skill that combined and transferred energy between two willing parties. It was not only a recovery skill, but also gave a temporary stat boost to one or both parties.
"But aren't you afraid? You said it yourself, I am a Demonic Dual Cultivator. I could hurt you..." Honami said, feeling conflicted.
In her world, she and her ilk were called Demonic Sluts. After all, in her sect, they took in male and female cultivation cauldrons, letting the apprentices suck them and their very life dry!
Deprive Yang to Reinforce Yin, and Yin Demonness were the malicious versions of the two previous skills, harming others and benefiting from it.
However, the trio only had gentle smiles.
"We saw your skills, Honami. While some are less than noble, we want to give you a chance." Asher said and petted Honami.
In actuality, the trio also perceived through Reality Perception that Honami was a very honorable person who valued friends. Yes, she likely killed thousands of people in her world, but what the trio valued was loyalty. Does being a righteous hypocrite who stabs people in the back better? Of course not! They preferred an honorable demon over a saintly backstabber. It was that simple.
Besides, her skills didn't come without a limit. First, she had a limit to the amount of energy she could absorb, just like Sonia. She also carried a concept called Impurities from her world, which gradually reduced the effects of her other skills and her skill learning speed, until they were fully blocked! To solve both problems, she needed to activate her fifth skill, Dual Cultivation, which helped digest the energy faster and refine the impurities she accumulated.
And Dual Cultivation, while it could be practiced alone, has far higher effects when cultivated with another, and this is triggered through touch. Naturally, it was even more effective when having sex.
With all that said, the trio believed she wasn't foolish enough to use her two malicious skills on them, and they felt she was honorable enough not to bite the hand that fed her.
Besides, it wasn't as if the trio was helpless against her, especially since all three always stuck together. Even if they were alone, they could single-handedly butcher her and turn her into a fur coat!
Of course, they didn't mention it to the naive fox.
"Thank you... I will repay this debt." Honami gratefully said, closed her eyes, and started her Unique Skill.
Asher felt a good sensation in his palms and felt a tiny connection with the fox.
However, the same couldn't be said for Honami. Instead, she felt as if she touched a huge mountain of extremely pure energy, overwhelming her senses in euphoria.
"Oh! Oh! This Yang energy... so pure and powerful... So good... Addictive... Can't think...More...~❤"
"Purr..." Honami started purring like a contented cat, her fluffy black tail wagging like a happy puppy, and even drooled.
"Aw... so adorable. She entered a euphoric coma." Sonia fawned, poking her, and Honami twitched her leg and spasmed.
"It seems like we adopted a lewd pet fox," Nidawei said, amused.
"Hah... Her Meditation skill just leveled up." Asher curiously said.
"You're right... Oh! Now it's the Multitasking Skill." Sonia blinked.
"And now it's Fitness." Nidawei rubbed her chin.
"So she levels up her skills according to the most powerful skills?" Asher guessed.
"Probably. I mean, she is pretty much a blank slate at this point. Even her initial Comprehension is pretty bad, only at 100 due to her Racial Skill, Cultivation Prodigy. Her other racial skills are connected to charm and allure." Sonia pointed out.
"Now that you mention it, Kate started even worse, with only 30 Comprehension. Instead, she had some useless racial skills that enhanced her magic and magic regeneration, her lifespan to 200, and her appearance to 300. She is like an extremely nerfed version of us." Nidawei pointed out.
The trio couldn't help but frown in thought.
"Is this the system intentionally penalizing those who performed poorly in Nightmare Difficulty? Or is it a bias against those who are not from advanced civilizations?" Asher made a bold guess while petting the blissful fox.
"Bias is normal. Everyone has bias. A machine would also have bias, depending on the programmer." Sonia said.
"Sadists like tormenting others, but not experiencing the pain themselves... Unless they are also sadomasochists like me. But even masochism has limits. If they want an exclusive playground, they would make everyone else miserable while placing a convenient backdoor." Nidawei added.
"You're a pervert, we all get it. Please stop with the sexual comparisons." Sonia said with a helpless look.
"But Nidawei has a point. Our situation is indeed a special backdoor, so to speak... Oh! I just got a Teacher Title and Teaching Skill! Let's see... it improves Charisma and Comprehension." Asher smiled.
The other two expressions changed.
"Ah! Right. We wanted a talented slave for teaching..." Sonia pursed her lips.
"Seems like Honey is covered on that part. So now, we need to find other targets..." Nidawei mused.
"Then just ask Kate. Maybe she would agree to let us teach her slaves some skills to increase their value, or even teach her." Asher suggested.
The two women's eyes lit up.
"That's it!"
