Chapter 1134: White Cat

The street was quiet.

A ray of sunlight streamed in, forming a bright patch on the counter. A white cat lay basking in the warm sun, eyes closed, looking lazy and content.

Sensing someone pass by the door, the white cat lifted its eyelids. As it recognized the figure walking in, its eyes suddenly widened, and it stood up on its hind legs.

"Meow!"

"Young Master Qin!"

Qin Sang was startled, quickly scanning the shop to find only the white cat.

"You know me?"

He had followed Cloud Wanderer's instructions to find this shop, which supposedly belonged to one of Cloud Wanderer's old acquaintances—a demon beast from the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea. He hadn't expected it to be a cat.

As he looked at the white cat, a sudden flash of insight struck Qin Sang, and he recalled a past event. This was the white cat that had sold him the Spirit Eye Cave Mansion back in the Ancient Abyss Kingdom!

Previously, Senior Brother Wen of Shaohua Mountain had dispatched him to the Ancient Abyss Kingdom to deal with a disciple who was practicing evil cultivation and causing harm. That was when Qin Sang first encountered the white cat. He learned from the white cat that she had been enlightened by a senior bamboo demon, who had bestowed upon her the Emperor's Nectar, allowing her to gain sentience. She had then cultivated in the cave mansion.

Unexpectedly, the senior bamboo demon never returned. Cultivating alone without guidance, she didn't know how to proceed. She decided to seek enlightenment at the Heavenly Demon Mound, using her cave mansion as a trade for a geomancy map and a protective magical artifact.

"Oh? It's you! The bamboo demon who enlightened you was Senior Cloud Wanderer!" Qin Sang suddenly understood.

When Cloud Wanderer was still in his Qingfu Righteous Bamboo form, he traveled to the Ancient Abyss Kingdom and enlightened the white cat. He had originally promised to bring her back to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea in Heavenly Demon Mound upon his return. However, an unexpected incident occurred midway. Qingfu Righteous Bamboo failed his tribulation and his spirit fused with Cloud Wanderer's. He lost all his cultivation, unable to protect himself, and thus couldn't look after the white cat.

The white cat didn't seem surprised to see Qin Sang, clearly already aware of his connection with Cloud Wanderer. However, upon seeing an old acquaintance, the white cat showed no joy.

"Young Master Qin, did Senior Bamboo Demon...?" Hesitation and disbelief flickered in the white cat's eyes. Previously, Cloud Wanderer had sent her a message, stating that if anything happened to him, he would entrust his affairs to Qin Sang. She had waited for many years in Immortal Demon City, without any news from Cloud Wanderer. Now, seeing Qin Sang but not Cloud Wanderer, the white cat had a premonition of ill fortune. The white cat had always had immense faith in Senior Bamboo Demon, never imagining he would fail.

Qin Sang's eyes dimmed. He nodded and sighed softly, "Senior failed his tribulation..."

The white cat's eyes instantly reddened, brimming with tears. It stared blankly out the window, then curled up, burying its head, completely silent.

Cloud Wanderer had enlightened the white cat, bestowing upon her sentience, an act akin to giving her a new life. When Qin Sang and the white cat parted ways, she was merely a minor demon at the Mortal Demon stage. Now, she had surprisingly reached the Demon Core stage. Apart from descendants with divine beast or immortal bird bloodlines, demon beasts' cultivation speed is far inferior to that of cultivators. The white cat's current achievement was partly due to her decent inherent talent, and undoubtedly, also thanks to Cloud Wanderer's meticulous guidance. After all, Cloud Wanderer was once a shapeshifting bamboo demon and understood demon beasts very well. To the white cat, Cloud Wanderer was like both a teacher and a father; their bond was undeniably deep.

A long silence ensued. The white cat lifted its head, its eyes red, and whispered, "I apologize, Young Master Qin, I lost my composure."

Qin Sang empathized. Seeing that the white cat had calmed down, he explained his purpose. "I understand your feelings, Fellow Daoist. Senior Cloud Wanderer was also a close friend of mine and greatly benevolent towards me. Before his passing, he entrusted some matters to me, including the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea and fellow Daoists like yourself. He hoped I could offer some assistance after reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Unfortunately, my talent is insufficient, and I haven't been able to break through the bottleneck despite years of arduous cultivation. I came here now to first contact you, inform you of the Senior's news, and see what I can do..."

"This is not the place to talk, Young Master. Please follow me."

The white cat lifted a paw, closed the door and windows, jumped off the counter, and headed towards the back hall.

They entered the white cat's cave mansion. Qin Sang noticed that the layout here was very similar to the white cat's previous cave mansion, indicating a nostalgic cat demon.

"After we parted ways back then, Young Master, thanks to the geomancy map, magical artifact, and the 'Spirit Evasion Art' you gave me, I was able to pass through human territories and reach the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea safely, meeting Grandpa Liu..." The white cat pulled herself together and began recounting past events to Qin Sang.

"Grandpa Liu? Is that the Willow Spirit?" Qin Sang asked, having heard Cloud Wanderer mention him before. The old willow tree was the only great demon at the late Demon Core stage in the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea, a willow spirit who had attained enlightenment through cultivation. There was also a horse monkey at the mid-Demon Core stage, both trustworthy.

The white cat nodded and continued, "After Senior Bamboo Demon disappeared, Grandpa Liu and Grandpa Horse Monkey struggled to hold on. Later, Senior Bamboo Demon finally returned, and that's when we learned he had transformed into a human. At that time, Senior Bamboo Demon was only at the Core Formation stage and couldn't reveal his true identity before reaching the Nascent Soul stage. So, throughout the entire Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea, only Grandpa Liu and I knew Senior Bamboo Demon's real identity... I reached my current state thanks to the Senior's guidance, and I had already heard about Young Master Qin from him. The Senior held Young Master Qin in extremely high regard, always lamenting your disappearance whenever you were mentioned. Fortunately, Young Master, you are safe and sound..."

After listening to the white cat's detailed account, Qin Sang now had a general understanding of Cloud Wanderer's past experiences. Cloud Wanderer had originally intended to meet his old acquaintances only after reaching the Nascent Soul stage. After all, he was unique, an anomaly in the cultivation world; carelessly revealing his identity could lead to unforeseen consequences, even with the closest of relationships. However, he hadn't anticipated the sudden invasion of the Sinful Abyss.

The Heavenly Demon Mound had an alliance with humanity. During intense warfare, the demon race couldn't stand by idly; they would dispatch large armies of demon beasts as reinforcements. Some would be led by demon kings, while others would temporarily pledge allegiance to human cultivators. As for how the demon race internally deployed their forces, it would be decided by the various demon kings through deliberation. The master of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea had remained unseen, and other demon kings were growing subtly suspicious. Without a demon king's protection, it was likely that everyone there would be forced to serve as cannon fodder.

After returning from the Ziwei Palace, Cloud Wanderer's progress was swift, achieving continuous breakthroughs. By then, he had the power to protect himself, and he promptly returned to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea, revealing his identity to the willow demon. After some discussion, they set up a spirit formation in his former cave mansion to disguise it. Since the two-domain alliance wasn't at a disadvantage and the war hadn't reached its peak intensity, even though the master of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea didn't directly appear, they ultimately managed to deceive others.

"Does every demon king control a demon city?" Qin Sang asked curiously. One of his reasons for visiting the white cat was also to inquire about the customs and geography of the Heavenly Demon Mound.

The white cat shook her head repeatedly, "How could that be? Emperor's Nectar is incredibly precious. Demon kings only spare a small portion to enlighten their descendants or promising young demons to serve as their confidants and help manage their territories. True demon beasts with awakened sentience are actually very, very few. Most still retain their wild nature and couldn't possibly stay quietly in a demon city. Aside from this Immortal Demon City, there's actually only one demon city in the Heavenly Demon Mound: the Myriad Demon City, located in the extreme north of the Heavenly Demon Mound at the entrance to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Its lord is Lord Feather Demon King, and it's said that most of the residents there are human..."