Chapter 111 : Not a Cat
The spirit boat had already been sailing for several days, and whether she was a little white cat or a little white tiger, there simply wasn't enough time to pack her up and send her back. However, Peak Master Qingyu clearly wasn't going to tolerate any pretense of insanity. When she said she would keep the little white cat by her side, that's exactly what she did.
The little white cat breathed a sigh of relief and settled down, not daring to leave her room except to cultivate.
Time passed quickly as they traveled, and half a month flew by in an instant. Just as the spirit boat entered the far western region and was preparing to continue toward Mingzong Mountain, Peak Master Qingyu suddenly received a message from the sect. The little white cat happened to be by her side and initially showed no interest—until she heard her Senior Sister's name, at which point her cat ears secretly turned toward Peak Master Qingyu.
This small movement was naturally noticed by Peak Master Qingyu, but she merely glanced over briefly without addressing it. Even after listening to the sect's message, she didn't comment, only tapping her fingertips lightly on the table as she pondered the changes brought by those rogue cultivators in Xihe Town.
While Peak Master Qingyu remained composed, the little white cat—who had only heard half the conversation—was inwardly anxious. She hadn't received any news from her Senior Sister for a year. They had agreed to meet after one year, but not only had she not returned, she hadn't even sent a single message. Although the sect had soul lamps to confirm her Senior Sister's safety, she still worried!
The little white cat stole a glance at her master, then another, secretly peeking at Peak Master Qingyu dozens of times in a short period.
Peak Master Qingyu wasn't blind. As a powerful Fusion realm cultivator, her perception was extremely keen, and she naturally didn't miss the little white cat's hesitant demeanor. But since she refused to admit her identity and insisted on pretending to be a cat, let her continue the charade!
Closing her eyes, Peak Master Qingyu chose to ignore what she saw, pretending not to notice.
The little white cat was frustrated. She gritted her teeth and finally couldn't resist reaching out with her little paw to gently tug at Peak Master Qingyu's robe. When she saw that the other party still didn't respond, she had no choice but to increase her force until finally her entire cat body was hanging from it, becoming a weight that no one could ignore. Only then did Peak Master Qingyu open her eyes and glance at her calmly.
Well, they hadn't sent her back halfway through the journey, and now they were almost at Mingzong Mountain, so Master certainly wouldn't send her back now... So even if she admitted her identity now, it shouldn't matter, right?
The little white cat released Peak Master Qingyu's robe, curled into a ball, and silently raised her paw: "Peak Master, it's me."
That tender, childish voice was one Peak Master Qingyu recognized, but she clearly wasn't going to let it go so easily. The little white cat saw this and knew some scolding was inevitable. She gritted her teeth and simply removed her disguise—she stood up and shook her fur, and with a flash of faint golden light, black markings gradually appeared on her previously white fur. At the same time, her slender cat paws became sturdier, and her pointed cat ears returned to their rounded shape. In the blink of an eye, the little white cat had transformed into a spirited little white tiger.
Of course, this spiritedness didn't last even a second before vanishing without a trace under Peak Master Qingyu's cold gaze. The little white tiger also knew that sneaking out was wrong, and she hung her head sheepishly, waiting to be scolded.
However, the little white tiger clearly misjudged Peak Master Qingyu's temperament—her cold personality meant she wouldn't scold anyone.
She only needed to leave you hanging to make you tormented by your own anxiety.
Sure enough, being left hanging made Jiang Mo feel like she was back in her homeroom teacher's office, extremely anxious inside. In the end, without waiting for Peak Master Qingyu to say anything, she began to acknowledge her mistake: "Peak Master, I was wrong. I shouldn't have sneaked out, and I shouldn't have played dumb in front of you." After admitting her fault, she explained: "Qingyue left the sect a year ago. She promised to return after a year but didn't, so I wanted to find her myself..."
Peak Master Qingyu wasn't surprised at all by these words. Earlier, letting the little white cat hear the sect's message mentioning Yun Qingyue had been intentional. However, regardless of the reason, Jianbing was still too young to sneak out of the sect, which was inappropriate, so she didn't respond.
Time passed, and the little white tiger continued to hang her head anxiously, waiting until her heart was racing and her neck ached, feeling unbearably difficult.
Only then did Peak Master Qingyu feel she had left her hanging long enough, and finally tossed a jade pendant to her.
The little white tiger caught it clumsily, looking up with confusion.
Peak Master Qingyu only dropped the words: "Communication jade token."
Then she stood up and left. While leaving the little white tiger hanging, she hadn't been idle—she had already contacted the leading elders from the Buddha Sect and Tiandao Sect who were on this journey, passing on the news about Xihe Town. Now the two sects had also sent people to investigate, and she planned to discuss with Elder Yi Yun and the others whether they should head directly to Mingzong Mountain or make a detour to Xihe Town first.
Peak Master Qingyu left so abruptly that the little white tiger didn't immediately react. It was only when the system light orb, seeing that the master had left, finally cautiously approached and reminded her: "Host, it's a communication jade token—it must be for contacting Senior Sister!"
With this reminder, Jiang Mo finally realized, and her tiger eyes immediately brightened as she looked at the token in her paw.
However, looking at the system light orb now bouncing back and forth in front of her eyes, she didn't have much patience: "Where did you disappear to earlier? Not a sound from you! In that atmosphere, I was nearly scared to death!"
The system light orb flickered a few times, seemingly a bit embarrassed—since the system had been repaired and rebooted, its presence had diminished considerably. In the system's own words, it was a side effect of being struck by heavenly lightning.
Previously, it had been too flamboyant, never considering whether the people of this world would notice anything unusual—after all, they couldn't see it, and couldn't do anything to it. But now it didn't dare to be unrestrained at all, especially in front of a powerhouse like Peak Master Qingyu, where it was obediently invisible, not even daring to speak with its host for fear of being detected. After all, although Peak Master Qingyu couldn't summon heavenly lightning, it wouldn't be difficult for her to summon some lightning to strike it—what if she actually hit it?
Humble system, online self-isolation.jpg
System baby was aggrieved, but System baby couldn't speak up, so it could only change the subject: "Host, didn't you miss Senior Sister? Now that you have the communication jade token in hand, why aren't you contacting her?"
Jiang Mo saw that the system was trying to change the subject but couldn't be bothered to pursue it further. She gave the system a white eye and raised the jade token.
And then, and then she froze in place... Oh no, she had never used a jade token for communication before, and no one had taught her how to use this thing. Was this token for single communication or multiple communications? She'd better not dial the wrong number and reach someone else.
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Yun Qingyue had been staying in Xihe Town for several days.
At first, she didn't know that the one leading the team to Mingzong Mountain was her own master—this was information the Sect Leader Uncle told her when she sent a message back to the sect. However, she didn't specifically contact her master afterward; after all, Master's addiction to cultivation was well-known. Although she didn't know why her master would leave the sect this time, considering the half-month journey, she must have spent it cultivating again.
As a disciple, Yun Qingyue naturally didn't want to disturb her master's cultivation. Besides, if Master had something to ask her, she would naturally contact her—this had been the pattern of interaction between master and disciple over the years; the one who initiated contact had always been Peak Master Qingyu.
Sure enough, not long after the message was sent back to the sect, her master's communication jade token lit up. It seemed that the sect had already informed Master about the news from Xihe Town, and Master was specifically contacting her to inquire about the details.
She took out the jade token, infused it with spiritual energy, and respectfully called out: "Master."
However, there was a moment of silence from the other side of the jade token, creating a strange feeling. Then, instead of her master's customary cold voice, a familiar childish voice came through: "Senior Sister?"
Yun Qingyue paused for a moment, surprise passing through her glaze pupils: "Jianbing? How did you get Master's communication jade token?" Before the little white tiger on the other side of the jade token could answer, she had already thought of the answer, and her beautiful brows furrowed slightly: "You came with Master?"
But that shouldn't be right—since when had Master become so accommodating?!
Finally having contacted Yun Qingyue, the little white tiger hadn't even had time to feel delighted before her Senior Sister's questions made her feel somewhat guilty. But this guilt only lasted for a moment before she quickly regained her righteousness: "That's right, I came too. Back then, Senior Sister, you said you'd return to the sect after a year of tempering, but I waited and waited and couldn't wait for you. Not even a message came, so I had to come find you myself."
Her words hit the mark, and this time it was Yun Qingyue who felt guilty. But before she could explain, she heard the little white tiger continue: "And I had said before that I wanted to explore the secret realm with Senior Sister. Senior Sister, you said to wait until my cultivation recovered to Nascent Soul. Now I am at Nascent Soul!"
With the last sentence, the little white tiger's tone lifted slightly. Even across the jade token, Yun Qingyue could imagine her standing tall with her chest puffed out, looking smug.
Yun Qingyue's lips couldn't help but curve up slightly, while simultaneously marveling at the natural advantages of divine beasts—even born with deficiencies, even having fallen in realm and starting the immortal path anew, the little white tiger's cultivation speed was still beyond what cultivators could hope to match. She herself had cultivated for over thirty years to form her Nascent Soul, already considered a once-in-a-century prodigy in the cultivation world, yet the little white tiger had used merely a year and some to walk the path that took her thirty years.
If someone else encountered this, they might feel discouraged, because the normal cultivation speed of divine beasts isn't actually this extraordinary—they rely more on the accumulation of time. But Yun Qingyue's mind was clear, and she didn't think too much about it. Instead, she was genuinely happy for the little white tiger.
However, being happy was one thing; it didn't mean she approved of the little white tiger's actions. She rubbed her temples with some headache: "But the Mingzong Mountain Secret Realm has never been explored before, and its dangers are immeasurable. Even with Nascent Soul, I can't guarantee your absolute safety."
The little white tiger had been waiting for her Senior Sister's praise, but hearing this, even her raised tail drooped down. Dissatisfied, she said: "But Zhong Heng and the others aren't even at Nascent Soul, yet they can still enter the secret realm to explore, right? I don't see Senior Sister stopping them!"
Zhong Heng and the others were naturally different—they had cultivated for many years, and when entering the secret realm for opportunities, they naturally accepted whatever fortune or misfortune came their way. But Jianbing was still too young. She only wanted to follow herself, and if she brought her into the secret realm and she encountered danger, it would truly be her fault... The future divine beast that would guard the sect, the fluffy creature she had raised with such difficulty—Yun Qingyue didn't want anything to happen to her at all.
Knowing that the little white tiger could sometimes be stubborn and unreasonable, Yun Qingyue didn't try to persuade her. A flash of inspiration struck, and she suddenly asked: "You're still so young—how could Master bring you out of the sect and agree to let you enter the secret realm?"
The little white tiger's body immediately stiffened, and she unconsciously looked guiltily toward the door.
Fortunately, Peak Master Qingyu had gone to find Elder Yi Yun and the others to discuss matters and had not yet returned, so she couldn't hear her wild claims.
The little white tiger breathed a sigh of relief. She was tempted to deceive but didn't really want to lie to Yun Qingyue—mainly because saying that Peak Master Qingyu had agreed to let her enter the secret realm wouldn't necessarily be believed by her Senior Sister, and once they met face to face, the truth would definitely be revealed, so there was really no need to lie—she anxiously swished her tail, the tiger tail thumping on the floor with a pattering sound: "Anyway, I want to enter the secret realm with you. You're raising a tiger, not a cat."
Relying on the fact that there was no one in the room at this moment, the system, which had been invisible before, was now quite smug. Not only was the light orb swaying back and forth in front of Jiang Mo's eyes, but a mechanical voice in her mind was also repeating in a loop: "Not a cat, not a cat, not a cat..."
Finally, the little white tiger couldn't help but become embarrassed and angry, taking the opportunity to send the troublemaking system flying with a swat of her paw.