Chapter 12 : Divine Lord Zhiming
The spirit boat stopped before the mountain gate, and everyone disembarked one after another.
The disciples on guard at the mountain gate glanced up, and seeing that it was a group of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment disciples returning, they lost interest and withdrew their gaze. But then as the spirit boat was being put away, another cyan-robed figure descended gracefully.
"Senior Sister Yun." The gate guards clearly recognized Yun Qingyue. Seeing her return, they hurriedly bowed respectfully in greeting.
Yun Qingyue merely nodded slightly in response, not saying much, coldly aloof as always. Then with a flash of sword light, she stepped onto her flying sword and entered the sect, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.
She left so quickly that the gate guards couldn't clearly see her appearance, though some vaguely noticed she seemed to be carrying something in her arms. But what could make their cold Senior Sister hold something so carefully?
Someone hesitantly spoke up: "Did I just see Senior Sister Yun carrying something?"
Several gate guards had caught a glimpse but nobody could say clearly what it was. However, the newly returned junior disciples, still excited from seeing the white tiger, immediately responded when they heard the gate guards: "It's a white tiger! Senior Sister found a white tiger in the Cloud Ridge Secret Realm!"
Hearing this, the gate guards were surprised and somewhat disbelieving: "How is that possible? The Cloud Ridge Secret Realm opens every year, and all its treasures were collected long ago. The spiritual energy there isn't even dense enough—how could it nurture a divine beast?!"
What they said was entirely true, but what everyone had seen was even more true, so the two groups began to argue at the mountain gate.
Of course, Yun Qingyue, having already departed, knew nothing of this. She carried the little white tiger on her flying sword, heading straight for the main peak, Mount Tianyang—she was the Senior Sister of Mount Mingxia, but since a divine beast concerned the entire sect, she naturally had to see the Sect Leader first before making any decisions. On the way, she had transmitted a message to her master, but unfortunately, the Master of Mount Mingxia was immersed in closed-door cultivation and hadn't responded.
The flying sword streaked through the air, moving very fast. Jiang Mo, held in Yun Qingyue's arms, wanted to see the sights of this cultivation sect, but the blur of passing images made it impossible to see clearly, so she abandoned the idea, planning to look another time.
However, before Yun Qingyue could reach Mount Tianyang, someone intercepted her midway.
A dark-colored figure abruptly appeared in front of Yun Qingyue, who stopped just in time. Seeing who it was, she first showed surprise, then bowed respectfully: "This disciple greets Divine Lord Zhiming."
Zhiming casually gathered his robes as he turned around, indifferently responding with an "Mm," but his gaze fell directly on the little white tiger in Yun Qingyue's arms. He narrowed his eyes, examining Jiang Mo up and down with undisguised scrutiny, staring until the little milk tiger's fur stood on end before finally shifting his gaze to ask Yun Qingyue: "This little one, where did it come from?"
Yun Qingyue maintained her respectful attitude and replied: "In response to Divine Lord, this white tiger was a chance encounter for this disciple in the Cloud Ridge Secret Realm."
Zhiming frowned upon hearing this, thought for a moment, and asked: "What place is the Cloud Ridge Secret Realm?"
Yun Qingyue felt embarrassed and had to explain: "It's a training ground for Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment disciples. This disciple went as an escort."
Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment were evidently too distant from this Divine Lord's experience, to the point where he knew nothing about them. He seemed even more surprised after hearing Yun Qingyue's explanation. The next moment, he extended a finger, pointing directly at the little white tiger's forehead.
Yun Qingyue saw this but neither blocked nor dodged, while Jiang Mo wanted to dodge but couldn't—though to the naked eye that finger moved not at all quickly, even creating the illusion that one could easily avoid it, she somehow couldn't. Moreover, even after being poked and the finger withdrawn, she had no idea what had happened.
But Yun Qingyue clearly knew, so she carefully asked: "May I ask if Divine Lord has discerned anything?"
Since picking up Jiang Mo, Yun Qingyue had harbored doubts, as this little white tiger was simply too weak. Not only was she weaker than a divine beast or cultivator, she couldn't even match a strong mortal. If not for the special fur that announced her identity, Yun Qingyue would have been more inclined to believe she was an ordinary beast rather than the legendary majestic white tiger divine beast.
After all, the white tiger was originally a war deity commanding slaughter—who would believe one could be this weak!
Zhiming withdrew his hand, his brows tightly knitted as if troubled by something he couldn't comprehend. After thinking, he reached out again to touch the little white tiger's paw, and this time Jiang Mo unceremoniously gave him a swat.
Of course, Zhiming didn't feel any pain at all, and instead caught the little white tiger's paw and squeezed it. After squeezing the paw, he squeezed the leg, until the little white tiger became irritated, bristling as she let out a series of milk-voiced roars...
Zhiming wasn't frightened or threatened; instead, he smiled.
He probably didn't smile often; Yun Qingyue couldn't help but look twice when she saw this. Zhiming then said: "It's likely the birthplace lacked spiritual energy, causing this little one's congenital deficiency. I also find it strange—being so deficient, how did she even survive?" He then looked at Yun Qingyue: "Perhaps she is your opportunity, or perhaps you are hers?"
Divine beasts certainly aren't like cabbages that can simply grow from the ground. In fact, nurturing one of the Four Divine Beasts might require thousands or tens of thousands of years, and if anything goes wrong during that time, the divine beast cannot be born. Or like the original little white tiger, perhaps due to insufficient spiritual energy in the Cloud Ridge Secret Realm, even after birth it couldn't survive.
A divine beast that could be born, could survive, yet remained weak to this degree—not just Yun Qingyue, but even Divine Lord Zhiming had rarely seen such a case. He couldn't be entirely certain about Jiang Mo's condition, but at least she was still alive.
Upon hearing this, Yun Qingyue's expression paused slightly, while Jiang Mo thought the man was spouting nonsense. After all, days ago Yun Qingyue had also examined her body and reached the same conclusion of congenital deficiency—did they need this person to show off?
Thinking this, combined with her displeasure at having her paws squeezed, the little white tiger rolled her eyes quite rudely at Divine Lord Zhiming.
Divine Lord Zhiming naturally saw this and laughed, raising his hand to lightly tap the little milk tiger on the forehead: "You little one, so bold. You should be more respectful to your elders, understand?"
The little white tiger immediately covered her head with her paw, and although it didn't hurt, she still "aowu-ed" several times.
Though Yun Qingyue couldn't understand what she was saying, Divine Lord Zhiming seemed to understand, his eyes suddenly narrowing: "Cursing me?" With that, he made a beckoning gesture, and the jade gourd hanging around the little white tiger's neck suddenly flew to him.
Zhiming caught it, though no one knew what was in the jade gourd. But seeing how the little white tiger had been carefully protecting it with her paws since they met, he sensed its importance and deliberately took it to tease her.
The little milk tiger hadn't expected her "milk bottle" to be snatched away. She was momentarily stunned, then furious: "You shameless jerk! And you call yourself a Divine Lord, stealing milk from a cub!"