Spirit, Feet, Cat Look

It was night time.

The bright moon was just rising, and the stars shone dimly.

A streak of ink-black smoke glided across the night sky, without causing a ripple.

The ink-black smoke landed in the courtyard of a shop, quickly contracting to reveal the figures of one big and one small cat.

"Since you could fly, why did you still make me run all over the place with you before?"

Du ke moved away from Qian Sui's side, while also shaking his paws. The mud stuck on his paws had dried and caked on, clinging uncomfortably to his paws.

Walking felt quite irritating.

At times like these, he missed that little fat black cat a bit - although that guy had darker fur, a fatter figure, and was shorter, his skills at pampering cats and dogs were still pretty good.

Qian Sui glanced sideways at Du ke without making a sound, and went into the kitchen on her own to find some dinner.

Seeing how aloof and independent this black cat was, Du ke clicked his tongue. He could probably guess a little about what was on this cat's mind, but it was just her way of behaving and handling matters.

A dead stubborn one!

Serves you right to not be married off for decades, unable to find a husband.

Hmph, tui!

While Du ke was cursing in his heart, his gaze was also fixed on Qian Sui's figure. In his eyes, there were wisps of ink-black aura rising from Qian Sui's body. Even after the black cat entered the kitchen, Du ke could still feel that ink-black aura.

"What is this aura...?"

Du ke murmured to himself, then turned his head towards the front hall. He had just passed through the door curtain when he heard the clanking sound of knife sharpening.

Going closer to take a look, the old knife sharpener was sitting under the candlelight, wholly focused on sharpening a hatchet in his hands.

The hatchet head without its wooden handle was constantly sliding and grinding on the long whetstone in the old man's hands, with the rust coming off bit by bit with each grind, leaving only the most lustrous cutting edge.

Du ke silently sneaked past the old man and came to his dog's side.

The dog, who hadn't seen the cats all day, jumped and scrambled towards Du ke when he saw him come back.

Du ke allowed the dog to fawn over him, while using the corner of his eye to observe the knife-sharpening old man.

"If you want to watch then watch, why sneak around?"

The old man suddenly spoke out, and the hatchet he was sharpening was also finished. He placed it on a rack nearby, still with the blade facing up, giving off a cold glint.

"Hey, when was I sneaking around?"

Du ke rolled his eyes. In a flash, a mischievous thought arose in his mind, and he spoke in an affected tone, "Old man, old man, do I look more like a human or a monster now?"

"I see you as an itchy-skinned monkey begging for a beating!"

When the old man said this, Du ke gave an unconcerned laugh.

At the same time, Du ke focused his senses to look at the old man. With just one glance, Du ke's eyelid twitched. This old man did not have that inexplicable aura he could sense.

Before Du ke could think too much, the old man also sighed, "You're quite different from the Chi Yu Xiao Fei Lian I knew."

"How am I different?"

Du ke blinked. The old man snorted, "You're chattier than them!"

"Tsk!"

Du ke clicked his tongue. It was so hard to be able to talk, how could he not say more?

Do you know how pent up I felt when I couldn't speak before?

"But that's also a good thing, at least you're more lively now."

The old man sighed again, as if recalling some past events.

"Oh, were the Chi Yu Xiao Fei Lians you knew very glum?"

Du ke was rather curious, and flopped backwards to sprawl on the floor, exposing his snowy white belly. Leaning against the dog, his tail curled up to cover himself a little.

This was much better!

Just as Du ke adjusted his position, the old man spoke again, "The Spirit Cat sect, moon shadow black eyes golden tiger face cold heart fiery temper, four-eared brocade thief crafty and cunning, lion-faced arhat taciturn and introverted, only Chi Yu Xiao Fei Lian had an aloof and noble character, not mingling with the vulgar masses."

"Oh, so our Chi Yu Xiao Fei Lians were quite principled!"

Du ke exclaimed in realization, but the old man said, "Hmph, you're you, they're them, don't compliment yourself unduly."

"Tsk!"

Du ke clicked his tongue again. This old man was no fun at all.

"But you do have a bit of cat-likeness now!"

The old man sighed feelingly, and finally lifted his head to look at Du ke with those clear eyes like a child's. There was some gratification deep in his eyes.

"The cat-likeness you and that black cat mentioned, could it be referring to the aura after the bloodline has fully awakened?"

Du ke vaguely guessed in his heart. What this old man had been talking about, that cat-likeness.

Everything Qian Sui did today was to force him.

Forcing him to reach his limit, then break through that limit, so that his bloodline could break through again - a second awakening.

No, calling it a second awakening was a bit inaccurate. It should be a complete awakening.

After all, Du ke always felt that after activating Light and Dust Entwined, it was as if he was shrouded in a fog, and everything he saw was blurred, which was very unsatisfactory.

But after the previous experience in that underground cavern, Du ke suddenly realized that his Light and Dust Entwined should not be like before, but like how he felt it today.

There was even greater room for growth!

"Yes and no!"

The old man shook his head, picked up a nearby water pitcher, scooped out a ladle of water and poured it onto the long whetstone in front of him.

"Then what exactly is it? Tell me quickly!"

Du ke was somewhat impatient. He felt that he was just about to grasp the crux.

"Spirit," the old man lightly uttered two words, and explained, "This is what I meant by cat-likeness, and is precisely what you lacked before.

You must know, Spirit is the foundation of spirit cats. Without Spirit, ignorance of Spirit, inability to comprehend Spirit, how can one be called a spirit cat!?"

"Spirit is the essence of spirit cats. Awakening your bloodline is just the surface. What's key is to allow you to resonate with all things under heaven, and perceive the Spirit in all things under heaven."

"And with Spirit, you can properly embark on cultivation. Otherwise, even if the genuine scriptures are laid out before you, you wouldn't be able to comprehend them."

"Spirit is the key, the key to unlocking the spirit cat bloodline. Only by being able to sense Spirit can you cultivate the fundamental methods of spirit cats!"

"Additionally, ordinary living beings see with their eyes, hear with their ears, smell with their noses, touch with their limbs. But spirit cats are different, as you should know by now."

When the old man said this, he glanced at Du ke.

In his eyes, wisps of jade-white aura were rising from Du ke's entire body, but Du ke was unable to control this Spirit, and could only let it dissipate.

"Could it be that spirit cats..."

Du ke's mind stirred, and the old man nodded, "That's right. Spirit cats don't look at external appearance and form, but at the engendering of Spirit. Your previous lack of manifest Spirit means you naturally had no cat-likeness."

"Hmm, Spirit..."

Du ke furrowed his brows, carefully chewing over this term. In his mind, he also recalled the flames he saw erupting from the black cat's body earlier.

That must have been Spirit.

"What about the Spirit in all things under heaven?"

When Du ke asked this, the old man's voice became more somber, but he didn't answer Du ke's question. Instead, he said something else.

"You should have seen Qian Sui's spirit body before."

When the old man said this, Du ke thought of the smoke beast Qian Sui had revealed previously.

"You mean that smoke beast?"

"To be precise, it's called a spirit body. The swirling smoke is just its external manifestation.

What you called a smoke beast is actually Qian Sui gathering the Spirit of heaven and earth, with heart as brush and mind as blade, sketching and carving out a body of Spirit!"

"As for other things also having Spirit dissipating from them?"

"All creatures and things in this heaven and earth have Spirit. Only the spirit cat lineage can comprehend, sense, assimilate and wield it."

Du ke didn't speak further, just silently contemplated the old man's words.

Spirit - a term he had never come across before!

Martial cultivators focused on pills and provisions for cultivation, demon clans focused on sun essence, moon essence, and blood food. Could spirit cats focus on this Spirit for their cultivation?

If so, how should it be done?

"Do you know how many living spirit cats there are now?"

The old man asked again. Du ke shook his head, "Apart from myself and Qian Sui, I haven't seen a third one."

"There are four living now. With you included, three are in Mao City. As for the fourth, it was seduced away by monkeys outside."

"It's also because of this matter that Qian Sui is quite attentive towards you. Adding to that your previously messy aura with no manifest Spirit."

She is afraid that you will go astray and completely miss the path of the Spirit Cat's cultivation. If the Spirit Cat fails to awaken its own Spirit, then it will be no different from an ordinary wild cat - already half a waste.

"Hmm," Duke snorted lightly, "I can roughly guess her motives, but this is really too much hassle for a cat."

"She went through the same thing back then. She's just letting you retrace the path of trials she went through originally. That path was opened up by the first generation Spirit Cat, hidden within Mao City, containing three great terrors.

It's also because of this path of trials that Mao City can be called the ancestral city of cats in the world, the home of the Spirit Cat!

You've only just begun, yet you've already awakened, quite impressive.

You should know, back then Qian Sui rolled around on that path for months, hovering on the brink of life and death several times, before she finally succeeded in awakening her Spirit. "

There was reminisce in the elder's eyes, and he smacked his lips.

"Ah, back then Qian Sui was just a tiny furball in my hand. And now..."

"Meow!"

Qian Sui's yowl suddenly rang out, and the elder stopped abruptly, looking sheepishly at the black cat.

"Finished eating already?"

Qian Sui glanced at the elder, snorted at him, then jumped up to the water tank in a few steps. She started fiddling with the fish in the water while keeping her eyes on the elder and Duke.

Feeling Qian Sui's gaze, the elder smiled wryly, "I'm just telling him about it, no need to be impatient."

Hearing the elder say this, Qian Sui nodded satisfactorily.

"Anyway, please continue."

Duke reminded the elder, "Off topic, off topic!"

"Oh, when you get old, the mind tends to wander."

The elder sighed, and picked up where he left off.

"Why Spirit Cats exist, I won't tell you now since you're still young."

At this, Qian Sui gave the elder a meaningful look, but didn't say anything. She just kept fiddling with the clear water in the tank to play with the fish, while listening to the elder and Duke.

"But Spirit Cats have long used their Spirit to cultivate. When Spirit Cats first appeared in this world, they would gather the Spirit of heaven and earth for their own cultivation."

"And Spirit Cats themselves contain extremely strong Spirit. For a Spirit Cat to cultivate, it must first awaken its own Spirit before it can gather and connect to the Spirit of heaven and earth for its own use."

"This brings us back to what was said earlier.

What you lack in your cat form is that you have yet to awaken your own Spirit, and have not revealed your Spirit Cat foundation.

Without comprehending Spirit, you have no root.

Now that you've awakened your Spirit, you have some semblance of a cat form."

The elder paused, then added, "Ahem, the form of a Spirit Cat!"

"Please speak in full next time, don't be so vague. I thought you meant the form of a feral or house cat!"

"Spirit Cats and ordinary cats are not the same at all. Spirit Cats are innate while ordinary cats are nurtured.

The two are no longer the same class, how can you confuse them?"

"So now that my Spirit is awake, how do I cultivate?"

What Duke was most concerned with was how Spirit Cats cultivate. Now that he understood the prerequisites, he was getting a little impatient.

He wanted to quickly find out how Spirit Cats gather Spirit and how they cultivate.

"Qian Sui will naturally guide you, I won't overstep my bounds."

The elder shook his head, unwilling to say more. What he had told Duke tonight was already enough.

Anything more, Duke would have to learn for himself.

"Can you give me a sneak peek of where I'll be cultivating?"

Duke looked up at the black cat, dissatisfied. "Although you put me through a lot today, I did gain some benefits.

I won't argue with you about the rest for now, we can discuss it later.

But if you do the same tomorrow, don't blame me for losing my temper!"

"I'll scratch all your fur out!"

Qian Sui bared her teeth at Duke. This little rascal sure holds a grudge!

Fine, she'll be waiting for his revenge!

As for where they'll be cultivating tomorrow?

"Meow!"

Qian Sui yowled, answering Duke's question.

"The Spirit Cat Temple?" Duke's eyelid twitched. "Where we'll be cultivating?"