Fishing

The cat demon nodded. "It was this humble one's good fortune. In my youth, I instinctively absorbed the spiritual power of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon. After I began cultivating, I encountered a senior bamboo demon who enlightened me with a drop of Emperor Flowing Dew. Only then did I awaken innate wisdom and become capable of human speech." Hearing this, Qin Sang came to a sudden realization. The realms of demonic beasts were divided into the Mortal Demon stage, Demon Spirit stage, Demon Core stage, and Transformation stage. Demonic beasts possessed remarkably complex origins and lineages. Some beasts endowed with powerful bloodlines could rival Golden Core stage cultivators upon reaching adulthood, though their intellect was not necessarily high. Meanwhile, the uniquely gifted ancient divine beasts of legend possessed strength comparable to great human cultivators at birth and intellect no less sharp than human minds, yet took an exceptionally long time to assume human form. Ordinary beasts like the white cat were just like mortal humans. First, they developed the instinct to swallow and breathe the world's spiritual energy, then cultivated step by step in an orderly manner. The difficulty was not in the least inferior to that of human cultivators. When a demonic beast of the Mortal Demon stage advanced to the Demon Spirit stage, its intellect would gradually awaken, though it still could not break free from instinct. After condensing a demon core and entering the Demon Core stage, its intellect grew higher and higher, until it endured the Transformation Tribulation and became a great demon of the Transformation stage, indistinguishable from a human cultivator. Emperor Flowing Dew was a divine substance born of heaven and earth when a demonic beast underwent the Transformation Tribulation. Ancient records described it: *Its shape resembles myriad olives, hanging in countless golden threads intertwined and suspended down into the mortal realm; when flora absorb its essence, they can turn into demons.* It was said that Emperor Flowing Dew was indispensable for a demonic beast's transformation. It also brought immense benefits to human cultivators, and could enlighten ordinary beasts to awaken their intellect directly—a treasure coveted by countless demonic beasts. The white cat had been lucky enough to be enlightened by Emperor Flowing Dew; no wonder her intellect was on par with a human's. For that bamboo demon to casually give away such a divine substance, even if he was not a great demon of the Transformation stage, he had to possess an extraordinary background. The great demons of the Lesser Cold Domain mostly congregated in the western demon domain, the Heavenly Demon Mound. Could it be that great demons were cultivating in seclusion within the territory of Shaohua Mountain or inside the Yuncang Great Marsh as well? If he did not strike, so be it, but once he did, he had to eliminate her completely! Qin Sang was secretly on guard against the cat demon. He asked in a deep voice, "You and I are total strangers. Who commissioned you? What do you have to report to me?" The cat demon did not answer. She nodded to Qin Sang, then waved the green bamboo cane behind her. A beam of azure light flew out and soon returned, enveloping over a hundred human figures. In the end, the azure light set them down before Qin Sang, covering a wide expanse of ground. There were youths and children, as well as young and robust men and women. Their clothing was coarse and their complexions sallow, clearly folk from impoverished households. Like the young man from earlier, these people had sunken eye sockets and pale faces, though they were not quite as emaciated. All of them lay motionless on the ground with their eyes tightly closed, like rows of corpses. Qin Sang glanced over them impassively, his tone cold and grim. "What is the meaning of this? Threatening me with these mortals?" The cat demon looked at Qin Sang with sincere eyes and said, "They are all villagers from Black Tiger Ravine at the foot of the mountain. Not a single person died after being abducted up here. Hei Wa... oh, that is my companion. The demonic art he cultivates requires blood food, but he has never killed an innocent person. After abducting these villagers, when his demonic art flared up, he merely absorbed some of their blood and vital essence. They only need to be sent back and recuperate for a while to recover. And the only reason he did this was to lure Gu Tiannan and you, young master, here. I would like to ask, young master, are you a senior cultivator from the immortal cultivation sect behind Gu Tiannan?" Hearing this, Qin Sang suddenly felt a premonition. Still, she was not of his race, so her words could not be taken at face value. Qin Sang did not answer, but simply said, "Continue." "Allow me to tell you a story, young master," the white cat said. The blazing sun hung high in the sky, yet the mountain was shrouded in chilling gloom. Towering azure light enveloped the scene; seen from the outside, the light surged and rippled violently, as if an intense battle were raging within. Inside the azure light stood one man and one cat, separated by over a hundred slumbering mortals. The cat spoke; the man listened. There was once a youth named Heihu. With both parents alive and a harmonious family, he had lived a peaceful and well-off life in a small mountain village. Then one day, tragedy struck. His entire family was slaughtered by a fiend, turning the whole village into an Asura hell. He was the sole survivor who managed to escape with his life, left an orphan. Later, he apprenticed under a martial arts master, learned a body of martial skills, and made a renowned name for himself in the jianghu, never forgetting his blood-soaked vengeance. He traveled all across Guyuan Country seeking to avenge himself on the fiend, but happened upon a legendary immortal scroll. Only after cultivating it did he realize to his horror that this demonic art required devouring the living souls of mortals and treating mortals as blood food. The youth suddenly realized that the person who slaughtered his kin had very likely cultivated this same demonic art. Following the clues, he began investigating and eventually discovered that over the past few decades, more than one such tragedy had occurred—not only in Guyuan Country, but in several neighboring small countries as well. In time, he even located the abandoned dwelling of someone who had cultivated the demonic art. Based on the final words left behind in that dwelling, the trail ultimately pointed to Gu Tiannan... The white cat spoke rapidly and briefly, seemingly pressed for time. "Knowing he was no match for Gu Tiannan and that he had already fallen into demonic ways, and knowing that even if he found other cultivators, no one would believe him without proof, he decided to stake his own life to seek revenge." After hearing this story, the first thought that sprang into Qin Sang's mind was entrapment. The information revealed by the white cat shocked Qin Sang. "Gu Tiannan's cultivation is at the thirteenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage?" He had interacted with Gu Tiannan for so long without sensing the slightest inkling of it. The white cat said, "Indeed. Not just Gu Tiannan—his disciple's cultivation is no weaker than yours, young master. If not for this green bamboo cane left behind by Senior Bamboo Demon to protect our lives, we would have been killed by them long ago. Last time, Hei Wa wanted to take revenge personally, only to discover Gu Tiannan's true strength and get gravely injured off-guard. Although I rescued him, his injuries were too severe. Even if he does not die this time, he won't live much longer." Qin Sang was not concerned about that. "He lures others into cultivating demonic arts and then devours those practitioners—is that how he attained such high cultivation?" The white cat nodded. "To our knowledge, that is indeed the case." Qin Sang's eyes flickered. Lowering his head, he pondered for a moment before pressing further, "What is your relationship with Hei Wa, and why are you helping him? Do you expect me to suspect my fellow sect brother as the mastermind based solely on your word?" The white cat said, "This humble one shares an old connection with his ancestors, and I had my own reasons for agreeing to help him. I know you will not simply believe me, young master. But if you are willing to follow me, you can see the truth with your own eyes. Time... is almost up." The white cat stepped outside the azure light and looked back at Qin Sang, waiting for his decision. Qin Sang had suspected Gu Tiannan all along. Hearing this tale, he already believed seventy or eighty percent of it, but hearing is false and seeing is believing. The azure light remained in place to feign an intense ongoing battle. Qin Sang spurred his Cloudfall Wings, while the white cat also concealed her form, the two speeding toward the deep mountains one after the other. "We're here!" Just as they were about to crest a mountain, the white cat suddenly came to a halt and mouthed the words to Qin Sang.