Chapter 152 : Carefree and Unbothered
The Canglán Secret Realm was vast, and since flying swords couldn't be used within it, traveling to regroup with their fellow disciples was a long journey.
Fortunately, neither Yun Qingyue nor the little white cat was in a hurry. As the human and cat made their way north toward where Su Hao and the others were located, they didn't miss any opportunities for gains along the way. However, compared to treasures like the element crystal and the Square Seal, the harvests along this route were rather meager.
One day, the human and cat entered a forest. Whether due to weather changes within the secret realm or a peculiarity of this forest, shortly after entering, a light rain began to fall from the sky. For cultivators, rain wasn't typically an issue—a simple hand seal could keep the rain away, preventing even one's shoes and socks from getting wet. Yet traveling in the rain was still irritating.
Oh no, not irritating for people—irritating for cats.
Yun Qingyue wasn't bothered by the rain. She casually formed a hand seal, creating a barrier around herself that also enveloped the little white cat in her arms. The fine raindrops hit the barrier like they were hitting glass.
Initially, the little white cat didn't mind the rain either, watching with interest as the raindrops hit the barrier and slid down. She even extended her paw to test it—Yun Qingyue's barrier was only meant to block rain, not restrict the little white cat's movements, so she easily stretched her paw outside the barrier. The paw outside quickly had its fur dampened by rain, while inside the barrier remained perfectly dry.
Putting a paw through the barrier created a peculiar sensation, as if a thin membrane had been penetrated, yet when withdrawing her paw, everything returned to normal—except for the rain-dampened paw.
Rain wasn't common in the cultivation world, and the little white cat played with the rain with interest for a while before eventually shaking the water from her paw and pulling it back.
Yun Qingyue observed the little white cat's actions without any intention of stopping her. On the contrary, the cub's playfulness added a gentle warmth to her expression, as if they weren't in a perilous secret realm but in a peaceful, familiar place.
This tranquility didn't last long, however, as the rain outside grew heavier.
At first, it had been just a fine drizzle, giving the cat leisure to extend her paw and play. But as the rain intensified, not only did the surrounding scenery become hazy, but the force of the raindrops striking the barrier also grew stronger... Gradually, the soft "pitter-patter" of raindrops changed to a "pitter-patter," then to a "thud-thud," as if small stones were hitting the barrier.
Under such intense sounds, the little white cat finally began to feel uncomfortable, sensing the air becoming sticky with moisture with each breath. The sensation was even more pronounced for Yun Qingyue, who was maintaining the barrier; the ordinary barrier could no longer withstand the pressure, forcing her to increase her spiritual energy output.
After walking for a while longer, the little white cat finally wrinkled her face and tugged at Senior Sister's sleeve: "Senior Sister, let's find a place to shelter from the rain. Traveling like this makes me feel quite uncomfortable." The air was so heavy with moisture that she felt as if her fur was completely soaked, sticking clammily to her body—not only uncomfortable but also strangely heavy.
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue looked down at her and stroked the small cat's head: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
The little white cat immediately shook her head: "Not exactly, just that this environment isn't very comfortable."
Despite her response, Yun Qingyue wasn't reassured. Even though the little white tiger was a cub and in disguise, it couldn't change the fact that her cultivation had reached the late Nascent Soul stage. With such cultivation, she shouldn't be affected by external environments, yet she was feeling discomfort. This suggested that the environment here truly had issues, but the divine beast's more sensitive perception had allowed her to detect the problem sooner.
With this in mind, Yun Qingyue naturally had no thought of refusing and quickly began looking around for shelter from the rain.
The rain outside was heavy, pouring down in torrents, but normally this wouldn't obstruct a cultivator's vision. Yet when Yun Qingyue actually looked out, she found that everything in the rain curtain had become blurry.
She frowned slightly, carefully scanning for a long time before vaguely seeing a tall mountain ahead, with what appeared to be eaves jutting out from its waist.
Yun Qingyue's gaze lingered on those eaves for a moment before withdrawing—this rain was suspicious, and that mountain was too far away. She had no intention of flying her sword over or walking such a great distance to seek shelter. So her gaze swept around again, and this time she spotted a huge tree that would take several people to encircle. The tree trunk had a dark hollow that appeared to be empty inside.
Having traversed the secret realm for many years, Yun Qingyue's vigilance was not lacking. Though she immediately identified the tree hollow as a potential shelter, she also knew that in the secret realm, not only were there demon beasts, but even plants often posed dangers.
So she first cast a spell and threw it at the tree, causing it to shake and drop a ground full of broken branches and leaves.
Yun Qingyue waited a while longer, observing carefully to ensure there were no problems, before finally approaching.
The tree hollow wasn't at the base of the trunk but rather near the crown. This was no obstacle for a cultivator; Yun Qingyue, carrying the little white cat, leaped onto the trunk with one bound. However, as she was about to cast another spell to investigate the hollow, she made another discovery...
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The trunk of the tree, large enough for several people to encircle, was quite robust, and the space inside was quite spacious.
On top of a thin barrier at the bottom of the hollow, a campfire burned slowly, its dancing flames dispersing the excessively heavy moisture in the surroundings while illuminating the silhouettes of two people and a cat sitting opposite each other by the fire.
A young monk with a face like a beautiful woman had half his face reddened by the firelight. He lowered his gaze slightly with a calm demeanor, pressing his palms together and reciting a Buddhist invocation: "Amitabha, this humble monk greets Senior Sister Yun." After finishing, he added: "What a coincidence to meet you here."
Indeed, the anomaly Yun Qingyue discovered when investigating the tree hollow was that someone was already there—she had initially been very cautious, fearing another ambush like the group in the desert. But she quickly realized there was only one person in the hollow, and upon closer inspection, seeing Tan Xin's conspicuous bald head, she finally relaxed.
The campfire had been lit by Yun Qingyue. She picked up a withered branch dampened by rain; the rainwater on it quickly froze and then fell off with a rustle. Only after all the moisture had crystallized and separated did she throw this dried firewood into the fire pit.
The little white cat nestled quietly and obediently in Senior Sister's arms, listening as she addressed the young monk: "Indeed, it's quite a coincidence. I was passing through here to regroup with my fellow disciples but didn't expect to encounter rain halfway." As for how strange this rain was, she didn't need to elaborate, since Tan Xin had sought shelter even earlier, presumably aware of the rain's unusual nature.
Tan Xin indeed nodded, glancing slightly at Yun Qingyue's dry appearance, and advised: "Senior Sister Yun's decision to seek shelter is truly wise. You may not know, but when this rainwater falls on the body, it draws away one's spiritual energy."
The rain outside was indeed peculiar—falling on the barrier, it was merely fierce, but falling on a person's body, it would unknowingly drain spiritual energy from the cultivator's body. By the time a cultivator realized what was happening, eighty percent of the spiritual energy in their meridians would already be lost. If they reacted even slower, they might have their meridians completely emptied, reduced to the state of a mortal... Of course, those who would fall to such a state were mostly Buddhist cultivators; ordinary people wouldn't let themselves be rained on so carelessly.
It was said that among Buddhist cultivators, many practiced asceticism, and being exposed to wind and rain was commonplace for them, not something they would specifically mind. However, after hearing this, the little white cat couldn't help but fix her gaze on the young monk's head for a few moments, privately thinking they were simply relying on their lack of hair, not minding a bit of rain.
Nevertheless, Tan Xin seemed to have been affected, though fortunately, he had been alert enough to retain most of his spiritual energy.
After hearing his experience, Yun Qingyue immediately lowered her gaze to look at the little white cat in her arms, her eyes filled with concern—she hadn't been rained on, but the little white cat had earlier extended her paw to play with the rain, and she wondered if there would be any consequences.
Perhaps due to the tacit understanding developed from their long association, the little white cat immediately recognized Senior Sister's worry. She raised her paw to pat Senior Sister's arm reassuringly and shook her head to indicate she was fine... In fact, the rain outside probably didn't target beast species, as the little white cat truly hadn't noticed anything unusual. Her spiritual energy remained abundant; it was just the damp environment that made the cat uncomfortable.
Yun Qingyue set her mind at ease, lowered her eyes, and pondered for a moment before asking: "Thank you for informing me, fellow disciple. But since you discovered this issue, why didn't you turn back? Why seek shelter here instead?" If she had known the rain was so strange, she would have retreated and sought another path long ago.
Tan Xin didn't hide anything from her and turned his head to look at the left wall of the tree, though this glance revealed nothing: "This humble monk felt he should come here once, and having not yet achieved what I desired, naturally cannot give up easily."
Yun Qingyue had a good sense of direction. Seeing the direction Tan Xin turned, she immediately thought of the eaves she had vaguely glimpsed in the rain curtain.
For cultivators, inner premonitions were not to be ignored, especially as one's cultivation increased. Since Tan Xin felt he should make this journey, either there was an opportunity here for him, or a tribulation—the former couldn't be missed, while the latter couldn't be avoided even if one wanted to, so it was better to face it boldly and with composure.
After a brief exchange, Yun Qingyue clearly had no intention of interfering with another's destiny, and said: "I was just passing through. Since fellow disciple says this place isn't suitable for a prolonged stay, I'll turn back once the rain stops."
Hearing this, Tan Xin showed neither pleasure nor disappointment, remaining as calm as before: "Then this humble monk wishes Senior Sister Yun a smooth journey."
Yun Qingyue nodded; she wasn't one for excessive talk and immediately fell silent.
Outside, the rain continued to patter down ceaselessly, and from the sound of it, it wouldn't stop anytime soon. Yun Qingyue relaxed slightly, leaning against the tree wall, holding a piece of wet wood that she had originally intended to freeze-dry as usual. However, remembering the young monk's words, she ultimately didn't dare waste spiritual energy—she had tried after hearing Tan Xin's warning and found that while moisture was abundant here, it was not easy to absorb spiritual energy for her own use.
This was very abnormal!
Because Yun Qingyue had an ice spiritual root, and though it was a variant root, the connection between ice and water—water freezing into ice, ice melting into water—was undeniable. Under these circumstances, an environment rich in moisture should have been beneficial to her, except for now.
For this reason, Yun Qingyue didn't do anything more, simply closing her eyes and focusing on listening to the rain outside. Meanwhile, the little white cat curled up into a ball in her arms, completely carefree and unbothered, and after a while, she yawned and fell asleep.