Chapter 120: Chapter 119: All Living Things—Fate or Calamity

The Tribulation Mirror, turns out to have its own special use.

Combined with the Wind Summoning Skill, using the Tribulation Mirror to dispel the aura is indeed cleaner than anything else.

But the power of the Tribulation Mirror should also have its limits, like the tiger striped cat Chen Xu is holding.

Its cries ranged from anger to confusion, “Meow meow! Meow…”

Chen Xu realized that he could vaguely understand the meaning of these meows, but compared to when he heard the Mouse Demon speak, the cat’s call seemed much more ambiguous.

The tiger striped cat initially cried out, “Eat, grow up, smells good…”

The “meow meow” was filled with anger and instinctive longing.

Later, when Chen Xu caught it, the cat struggled: “Let go… eat!”

After that, a gentle breeze from the Tribulation Mirror blew over, and the tiger striped cat’s cries suddenly calmed: “Meow… smells good, not seen? Meow…”

Apparently, while the Tribulation Mirror can dispel aura, it cannot make creatures that have experienced the present forget.

It cannot completely “sever cause and effect” in the true sense.

But on reflection, it’s not surprising, if it could truly sever cause and effect, what kind of power would that require?

Given Chen Xu’s current cultivation, he couldn’t even imagine what that realm would be like.

But never mind, Chen Xu thought, the unknown is always interesting and full of charm.

Exploration surpasses possessing everything.

He held the bewildered tiger striped cat and softly said to it, “Little cat, what is it exactly that you are trying to find to eat?”

Chen Xu actually already knew the tiger striped cat was looking to “eat” the corpse of a Demon Puppet, he just didn’t quite understand why the Demon Puppet’s corpse had such powerful magic power attracting stray cats to “eat”.

He had a vague suspicion, but the thought was indeed somewhat frightening.

The tiger striped cat remained confused, even when held by the scruff of its neck, but its limbs always drooped, maintaining a posture ready to spring.

Chen Xu asked it questions, and it responded angrily with “Meow meow meow,” saying, “Eat! Prey, defeat…”

This was just an ordinary stray cat, not a cat demon.

It couldn’t actually respond accurately to any of Chen Xu’s questions, as the ancients mocked some people’s futile efforts with “playing music to a cow,” it wasn’t completely without reason.

Chen Xu grew curious to try another approach.

He held the tiger striped cat and flipped his hand to take out half a normal meat pastry from the Fire and Smoke Kitchen, placing it on the ground.

This was the kind of baked bread Chen Xu made regularly, besides ones with meat filling, there were also ones with sugar filling, and pure bread without fillings.

Stockpiling some ready-to-eat food, for Chen Xu, was his way of casually preparing for crisis.

Whether it’s useful or not is hard to say, but it never hurts to store more when uncertain.

The aroma of the cut pastry, with its meat filling, was enticing, and the angry tiger striped cat suddenly halted its cries.

The cat’s eyes widened into round disks, staring intently at the half pastry on the ground.

“Meow—”

Its limbs were stiff, but the cry unexpectedly softened suddenly.

There wasn’t any specific meaning, it was purely just a desire to eat.

When Chen Xu released his grip, the tiger striped cat immediately leaped to the pastry on the ground, grabbing it with its mouth to try to escape.

But how could Chen Xu allow it to leave so easily?

His palm pressed down, and the tiger striped cat was instantly pinned to the ground, unable to move an inch.

Chen Xu said lightly, “If you want to eat, eat right here, you won’t be able to run away.”

Can the tiger striped cat understand?

Chen Xu wasn’t sure about its intelligence, but he noticed the cat indeed possessed a certain instinctive spirituality.

The tiger striped cat buried its head, crouched its body, and let out a hiss-like “meow” before grabbing the pastry to hurriedly eat.

This time, Chen Xu wanted to attempt and see if the food he prepared could be appreciated by ordinary animals.

If it could, then there would be great potential for maneuver.

In the end, after the tiger striped cat finished eating the pastry, it continued to meow, indicating it wanted more, but the Food Cauldron Celestial Book showed no reaction.

Chen Xu asked, “Does it taste good?”

“Meow!” Tasty, eat!

The tiger striped cat turned its head vigorously, eyes full of desire.

“Meow, meow meow meow…”

If the Food Cauldron Celestial Book could react, it would have received a crazy amount of acclaim from this cat right now.

But it didn’t, and after careful examination, Chen Xu finally confirmed.

If lacking complete intelligence, even if ordinary animals are fed more food by Chen Xu and call out “tasty” more times, they cannot provide praise.

Some animals do indeed possess a certain level of spirituality, but their intelligence isn’t complete, nor is their power strong enough, ultimately praise is empty.

It’s a pity, that a presumed shortcut has lost its potential.

Chen Xu decided to try Spiritual Food again.

He had previously cooked some porridge using Pill Jade Spirit Rice mixed with regular rice, ate some himself, and stored some in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen.

Chen Xu took out a small bowl containing some Spirit Rice Porridge that barely covered the bottom.

Then, he released the control over the tiger striped cat’s back.

This time, the tiger striped cat did not try to escape, but instead quickly sprang to the edge of the porridge bowl, suddenly arching its back and letting out an extremely wary sound.

What was it being wary of?

Oh, it was actually wary of Chen Xu trying to take the porridge from it.

Indeed, a little wild cat whose nature was untrained.

Chen Xu did not move, only watched it.

The tiger striped cat looked around, sneaked several glances at Chen Xu, then stretched its head forward, stuck out its tongue and drank a quick sip of porridge.

“Meow!” Upon taking that sip, the tiger striped cat’s whole body froze.

Its eyes widened in disbelief, its furry mouth agape, and its entire feline body expressed a clear sentiment of “How can this be so delicious?”

“Meow meow meow!”

The tiger striped cat trembled with excitement, its entire head nearly buried in the bowl.

In just a few moments, the small amount of porridge at the bottom of the bowl was licked clean.

[Like +10]

The tiger striped cat, still excitedly licking the bowl bottom, was perceived by Chen Xu to be brimming with vitality after consuming just a little bit of the spirit rice porridge.

“Meow meow meow!”

Not satisfied with licking the bowl clean, it next leaped over to Chen Xu’s side.

Then, it circled around Chen Xu’s legs.

“Meow…”

The cat’s meow softened, becoming gentle and delicate.

It circled and circled, but seeing no reaction from Chen Xu, it finally lay down flat on the ground of its own accord.

Just like so, it spread out its limbs, exposing its fluffy belly.

Chen Xu: …

He witnessed firsthand how a cat could sell itself out, truly bringing a feeling of mixed amusement.

Unfortunately, even after eating the spiritual food, the cat could only accumulate a maximum of 10 likes.

Chen Xu couldn’t supply it with unlimited spiritual food, so he just had to rub the cat’s chin.

“I did tell the shopkeeper that I’d teach you the ways of getting along with humans, so you have to listen.”

After rubbing the cat’s chin, Chen Xu petted its head but refrained from touching its belly.

“In the human world, there are good people and bad people. If you don’t want to be tamed, you need to keep your meowing in check daily, not being too noisy to disturb the public.

Don’t scratch children; look for kind-hearted people when asking for food.

And don’t go to poor families who can’t even afford to take care of themselves, much less you.

If you’re not asking for food but hunting on your own, then…

If you can win, fight; if not, run.”

At the end, Chen Xu smiled slightly.

These were the words Master Wu had taught him, which he surprisingly was now using to teach a cat.

The tiger striped cat seemed to understand Chen Xu’s meaning, turning over and nudging Chen Xu’s hand with its head.

Then, with a swift leap, it jumped onto the windowsill.

It didn’t meow again but darted out from the windowsill, disappeared with a few quick leaps, and was out of Chen Xu’s sight.

Truly without any attachment, only a determination for freedom.

The tiger striped cat didn’t notice that after it left, a shadowy figure quietly followed it.

It was the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier released by Chen Xu.

Initially, the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier could operate within a range of almost ten miles, once released, it could act for about an hour.

Now, with Chen Xu’s cultivation improved, the action range of the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier had expanded to thirty miles, and its action duration had increased to three or four hours and more.

With regards to the phenomenon of the group of cats after the Demon Puppet’s death, Chen Xu still wanted to investigate further.

Chen Xu was especially keen to know how many Demon Puppets still lurked in Yunjiang Prefecture City.

Where did these Demon Puppets usually hide?

With the innate abilities of invisibility and great strength, the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier silently followed the tiger striped cat, merely lying in wait, quietly observing.

After an early meal, the students gathered in the rooms of the two masters to answer test questions.

Wu Zhengze only asked Chen Xu to sit in without questioning him about his answers, then proceeded to review the questions with the other students one by one.

Fellow students performed quite well, though mistakes were inevitable.

After a session of reviewing the questions, everyone experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, ups, and downs.

Wu Zhengze said, “Since the exam is over, worrying is useless. It’s just a matter of progress with success or fighting again with failure.

But regardless of success or failure, the academy test is not your endpoint.

Better to put all your energy aside and focus on reading, which surpasses all.”

Everyone absorbed his words and thanked the master.

Fang Ji slowly added, “The master’s words are true. Whether we pass or not, life goes on.”

Then he said to Chen Xu, “Brother Chen, the exam is truly exhausting, make sure to rest well tonight.”

Fang Ji’s concern was sincere, but Chen Xu gave him a slight nod while harboring a bit more caution in his heart.

After the students left, Wu Zhengze kept Chen Xu to talk.

The exam was only briefly discussed before Wu Zhengze asked Chen Xu, “Where’s your cat?”

What cat?

Just by looking at Chen Xu’s expression, Wu Zhengze understood.

“What, you don’t keep a cat? I thought you were going to keep it after you told the shopkeeper you meant to teach it manners.”

Chen Xu replied, “Just because I said a few words, should I keep it? How could I possibly take care of them all?”

“Since you’ve taught it, if it truly gains wisdom and later causes trouble outside, or eats something or gets eaten, wouldn’t you feel bad?”

“Cats eat fish and birds, and they may be hunted by large birds of prey. Whether hunting or being hunted, it’s all just nature’s cycle, a part of life’s endless loop that I cannot control.

If I were to control everything, the things beyond my reach would be fine, but if I could manage everything, then surely all living beings would fall into chaos.

Moreover, Master, do you and I not eat meat?”

After these words, Wu Zhengze laughed.

Wu Zhengze smilingly asked, “Then if your little hedgehog friend were caught or hunted, would you look after it or not?”

This… Chen Xu promptly replied, “Of course, that’s something I would definitely take care of.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep