The White Cat's Divine Scratching Post Chapter 7

Lord Kitty raised his paw and scratched viciously at the face that was rubbing on his body.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Mo Tianliao wailed in pain, but he didn't stop rubbing his face against the soft fur of the cat's belly. Thus, Lord Kitty lifted his two snowy white paws and delivered a round of cat punches on Mo Tianliao's head.

A few moments later, Mo Tianliao crouched by the fire pit, his hair in a mess. The white kitten was seated on a round stone next to him, elegantly licking its paws.

Once the fat on the deer melted and started dripping onto the fire, the green-tinged fire leaped even higher, making the skin even crispier. The fresh fruit scent drifting from the fire and the delicious smell of roast meat mixed together to hook their appet.i.tes.

"Meow!" The little kitten called out to Mo Tianliao after it finished cleaning its paws. Its cute little nose twitched from the inviting smells from the fire.

That soft little meow melted the Demonic Lord's heart, and he couldn't help but move closer, "Xiaozhao, you want some of this deer meat? Come, give me a kiss and I'll cut some for you to eat." 

The white kitten tilted its head to one side and looked up at where it had just scratched this person's face. Strangely, there wasn't any blood coming from the scratch marks, which were pale against the man's tanned skin. It seemed like his servant's new body was much st.u.r.dier than his previous one. Thus, the kitten eyed the face in front of him… and bit down right on his chin!

"OW!" A loud scream rang out in the middle of the mountains, sending flocks of birds scurrying up into the air.

After Lord Kitty had blessed him with his 'kiss' and a nice ring of tooth marks, Mo Tianliao became more obedient. He sliced the roasted deer into thin slices of meat, then placed the slices on some tree leaves that he had already rinsed in the mountain spring nearby. He then placed the meat in front of the little kitten.

Mo Tianliao watched as the little furball sniffed at the meat with some disdain and took a small bite. After that, the furball started wolfing down the meat in dainty little bites. Mo Tianliao couldn't help but smile at the scene before taking a piece of meat for himself to eat.

The beasts on this mountain all fed on the qi-enriched greenery here, so their bodies were full of natural qi. Cooking and seasoning their meat was easy; he just had to sprinkle a layer of fine salt on top, as their meat was already more delicious than regular meat. The deer had been cooked well, so the outside skin was crispy, while the flesh inside was juicy and tender. When he ate a slice, a rich fruit aroma enveloped his tongue. It wasn't sweet in the slightest, but there was an indescribable fresh taste to it that helped to dampen the greasiness of the venison.

Once the pair had finished their delicious meal, Mo Tianliao tried to extinguish the fire. However, he found that spring water didn't have any effect on the woodfire, so he could only drag the remaining half of the deer to one side and wait until the firewood was used up.

The kitten cast a sideways glance at the helpless Mo Tianliao, then raised a single fluffy paw and waved it once, before setting it back down. 

Crackle… Tiny ice crystals formed and gathered on the rock beneath the cat's paw before shooting forward like a thin snake. The ice shot straight to the fire, instantly wrapping up the woodfire and its fuel in a block of ice. The fierce green fire slowly shrunk until it disappeared.

Mo Tianliao had gone down to the nearby stream to tidy up his messy hair. When he returned, he was greeted with the sight of the block of ice.

"Xiaozhao…" Mo Tianliao stared at the ice in a daze before abruptly recalling something. He hurriedly walked up to the kitten and picked it up.

The white kitten wasn't happy about being handled and tried wriggling around to scratch him.

"Xiaozhao," Mo Tianliao lifted the kitten up to his eye level and stared into its eyes, "Let me have a look…"

His Xiaozhao was a powerful creature and had great potential, so it was definitely a prime target for hunters. He wanted to know if Xiaozhao had been captured or bullied after all this time…

The kitten's clear eyes lifted up and observed Mo Tianliao's worried expression for a bit, before it huffed impatiently, which Mo Tianliao took as permission.

Mo Tianliao brought the little cat closer and gently pressed his forehead against the cat's, letting their divine souls touch. It was then that he found out Xiaozhao was still a wild and untameable beast, one which hadn't signed a blood contract with anyone before.

"Well done, Xiaozhao!" Mo Tianliao was so overjoyed that he kissed the kitty's forehead out of reflex.

The kitten's tail immediately stiffened. 

B-b.a.s.t.a.r.d! How dare you lay your hands on your master!

Xiaozhao struggled out of Mo Tianliao's grasp and leaped back down to the ground. It placed its front paws on Mo Tianliao's leg and glared ferociously at the human. When the human tried to come closer, Xiaozhao immediately turned around and showed its displeasure with its swaying tail.

Mo Tianliao couldn't resist bursting into laughter and reaching out to stroke Lord Kitty's fur.

Ever since the Great Demon War 8000 years ago, the cultivation world had been contaminated by the air of the demon world. Due to the impure qi on the Taixuan Continent, the risk of qi deviation had increased for the cultivators. Most cultivators would have to use some pills or treasures to raise their cultivation level safely. Furthermore, as they advanced to higher stages, the risk of their qi deviating increased. Sometimes, even a simple battle might cause their inner qi to descend into turmoil.

Later on, cultivators discovered that there was something even more efficient than pills in controlling their qi: magic beasts.

Magic beasts were different from normal wild beasts. Magic beasts had intelligence and the ability to cultivate. They were also born with a very powerful divine soul that was both pure and warm. Cultivators could form a blood contract with a magic beast and tame it in order to defeat their inner demons and calm their turbulent inner qi. Thus, wild magic beasts were very valuable and often the target of hunters. The greater the potential of the beast, the more help it would be to the cultivator who tamed it.

"Xiaozhao, it's already been three hundred years, why haven't you grown more?" Mo Tianliao used his fingers to estimate the current size of the kitten. It had originally been about the size of his palm, but even now, it had only grown to a length of seven inches.

The kitten ignored him and slowly licked its paws clean.

Mo Tianliao pulled the furball over, held it in the crook of his arm, then stroked that smooth fur, "Did anyone bully you during all this time? If anyone did, just point them out to me next time and I'll help you beat them up."

The comfortable petting motions soothed Mo Xiaozhao, so it didn't try to struggle. The kitten relaxed bonelessly into that warm embrace. Its long tail was draped over Mo Tianliao's arm and the very tip of it swayed to the same rhythm of Mo Tianliao's motions.

Mm, the material of these clothes is too rough, it's not comfortable when I sleep on it… I guess I have to get this idiot some new clothes tomorrow.

While still thinking of that, the little furball fell asleep.

Mo Tianliao smiled and bent down to rub his face against the little cat's back. He had never been very patient towards other humans, but he somehow had infinite patience for furry little beasts, especially this bad-tempered little kitty. Ever since the old b.a.s.t.a.r.d had died, all he had left was this little kitten.

To Mo Tianliao, Mo Xiaozhao wasn't just a magic beast he wanted to contract with, but also the one he cared most about in this world.

Still carrying the sleeping furball in his arm, Mo Tianliao took out the jade scroll. As expected, once he had finished roasting the deer, the second chapter had appeared on the jade scroll.

Chapter Two, Absorbing Qi. 

Find a quiet place, absorb natural qi into the meridians. Start with the wood attribute, then fire. Circulate the wood qi into your body, and the fire qi into the dantian.

Was that all? Mo Tianliao searched the scroll thoroughly, but there was still only one paragraph.

For most techniques, there would be a long chapter explaining all the details of absorbing qi, from how to draw the qi to the chants and mental techniques needed. There would also be further explanations for inner qi, natural qi, and so on. This didn't seem like it was meant for beginners at all, it seemed to be written for experienced cultivators who were starting over…

When his thoughts wandered to this point, Mo Tianliao suddenly gasped and looked down at the jade scroll in his hand. It was only now that he remembered that jade scrolls were written using divine souls, so naturally, jade scrolls had to be read using divine souls as well… Cultivators without divine souls couldn't read jade scrolls! Mortals who had just entered a sect should be reading normal scrolls instead!

"Master…" Mo Tianliao sucked in a breath of air. So that meant… Master Qingtong had known from the start that he was an old soul who had managed to possess a new body. Thus, Master Qingtong hadn't even bothered to go along with his act and had just thrown the jade scroll onto his face.

"Mew?" The slumbering kitty heard Mo Tianliao's call and answered it sleepily.

Mo Tianliao petted the furball in his arms with more than a little worry. Since Master had seen through his secret, then what about the Sect Master? Normally speaking, when someone succeeded in reincarnating, most people wouldn't be able to see through their secret, even if their cultivation level was high. That is, unless they had some special secret technique to do so.

However, since Master already knew and hadn't killed him on the spot, even going so far as to give him a suitable cultivation method, it seemed like Master Qingtong was going to let him live. It would be best if he confirmed this with Master another day and got a better understanding of the situation.

Since he had found his kitty again, Mo Tianliao was in a very good mood. As for everything else, he would find a solution sooner or later, so there was nothing else to be worried about.

With a warm little creature in his arms, Mo Tianliao wrapped up the remaining half of the deer with some large leaves. He then stamped on the block of ice that Xiaozhao had made and made sure that the woodfire had been extinguished, before grabbing the package of deer and walking down the mountain jauntily.

When he returned to Qingning Palace, he could see from afar that there was a group of people gathered in front of his courtyard door. 

"Greetings to s.h.i.+shu!" When the crowd saw that Mo Tianliao had come, they all bowed in greeting. Regardless of whether their respect was genuine or just for show, they still kept to the necessary courtesies.

Mo Tianliao nodded, "What brings all of you here?"

The crowd exchanged glances and pushed out the disciple Mo Tianliao was the most familiar with: Suheng. Suheng seemed a little uneasy, but he still spoke up, "Reporting to s.h.i.+shu, our master has been on a training journey for more than three months, so there hasn't been anyone to take care of some tasks. We haven't had any idea on what to do, so… Since s.h.i.+shu has come, we should hand over these tasks to s.h.i.+shu to manage."

What Suheng meant by 'tasks' was the administrative ch.o.r.es in the sect. Although the disciples were here to cultivate, they still had to take care of things like their clothes, food, as well as maintaining relations.h.i.+ps with the other abodes. In the past, although he had a chief manager in charge of maintaining his demonic palace, he had still taken care of some tasks himself then.

However, he was still a mortal right now, so having him take on the management of Woqing Abode… Mo Tianliao looked over the crowd calmly. They all carried different expressions, but most of them seemed to be watching the drama eagerly. Mo Tianliao understood what was going on immediately.

These haughty geniuses still couldn't stomach the fact that someone with double attributes had become the Branch Master's direct disciple. They wanted to find out what kind of skills this mortal had, as well as push the administrative ch.o.r.es onto someone else so they could spend that time on cultivation instead. Two birds with one stone.

"Place those in my room and let me have a look. Tell all the disciples who have tasks a.s.signed to them to come to me tomorrow after morning practice."

Mo Tianliao handed over the package of deer to Suheng, "I hunted this in the mountains behind today. You can share this with the others."

After saying so, he turned around and entered his room without waiting for anyone to answer.

The crowd exchanged glances again and slowly entered the room after him, placing the ledgers and seals they had on a table. Suheng waited outside with the deer meat in hand.

Mo Tianliao waved his hand, indicating that the crowd could leave.

He glanced over the mountain of ledgers on his table and snorted. Had they brought over all the accounts for the past hundred years? Well, he wasn't going to bother with those now.

Mo Tianliao took out a spirit stone from his storage bracelet and inserted it into a hollow in the corner of the room. A faint glow instantly encased the entire courtyard.

This was a special spell formation to restrict access to the courtyard, which could be activated with a spirit stone. He wanted to try absorbing qi tonight, so he wasn't going to let anyone disturb him.

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Author's Note:

Mini Theatre

Carpenter: Master, how did you know that I possessed this body?

Master: Hmph, stupid disciple.

Carpenter: Are you using this to threaten me?

Master: Hmph, what do you think?

Carpenter: (lies down) Just do it, I won't resist!

Master: …… (raises paw, sends stupid disciple flying)

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TL Note:

Most of the cultivation terms here are borrowed from Immortal Mountain's glossary of wuxia/xianxia terms:

I've also simplified some of them for easier reading, like the 6 stages of cultivation: Refining, Foundation, Core, Soul and Half-Immortal.

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Mini Glossary:

Dantian (丹田) –  Refers to the region in the body where a person's qi is concentrated