Chapter 12: We May Have Run Into Evil Cultivators

It wasn't until nearly midnight that the sounds from inside the room finally ceased.

Silence had held for almost one hour.

The black cat let out a quiet breath of relief.

Those two humans were finally done — now they just needed to go to sleep.

Once they were asleep, she could go report back to Song Xuanqing.

But after waiting another fifteen minutes, the black cat did not get the sleep she was hoping for.

Instead, she got the door swinging open as Mu Tong and Mu Nan stepped outside.

The black cat's pupils contracted sharply. She slowed her breathing and suppressed her aura to the absolute minimum.

Mu Tong and Mu Nan had no idea there was a peeping black cat perched on top of the wall.

Mu Nan leaned against the doorframe, her expression displeased. "Did it really have to be so urgent? You deliberately drained so much of my Vital Energy. When we get back to the sect, you'd better compensate me extra!"

Mu Tong looked thoroughly satisfied. He glanced at her with a lazy, dismissive look. "Fine, I'll compensate you when we're back. But don't waste time now — hurry up and finish the Blood Refinement to heal your injuries. Then we find the Xuanqing idol, take whatever's special about it, and we're gone. We've already refined the blood essence of nearly a hundred people in this village. If we're too slow, not only might the Ancient God Society catch up, but the court's Demon Suppression Bureau will be on our heels too."

Mu Nan furrowed her brow, clearly unhappy. "Then let's start with this household. I'll set up a simple altar — you call them out."

With that, Mu Nan walked to the center of the courtyard, bit open her fingertip, and used the blood welling from it to draw something on the ground, all while murmuring something under her breath.

Mu Tong also moved to the center of the courtyard. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

A sharp, grating low hum rang out.

The sound was unnatural. Even the black cat felt momentarily dazed upon hearing it, and instinctively wanted to stand up and walk toward the center of the courtyard.

Fortunately, the impulse had barely formed before she actually moved, and the black cat shook her head, throwing off the influence.

Even so, it was enough to put her on edge.

Old Doctor Song's family, deep in slumber, were not so lucky.

Eyes still shut, the entire family sat bolt upright in their beds simultaneously.

A moment later, the bedroom doors opened.

Old Doctor Song, his wife, his granddaughter Song Ruru, his son, and his daughter-in-law — all five of them — walked toward the center of the courtyard in eerily perfect unison, their eyes closed the entire time. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were sleepwalking.

Meanwhile, at the center of the courtyard, Mu Nan had already finished setting up the simple altar.

A circular altar roughly three meters wide glowed with a faint red light in the darkness of the night, its surface covered in blood-drawn patterns that were strange and unsettling.

Old Doctor Song's family stood motionless at the edge of the circular altar, eyes closed.

Mu Tong stood at the center of the altar, his face grim as he muttered something. Wave after wave of strange fluctuations radiated from his body, resonating with the altar beneath his feet.

A red light gradually kindled in Mu Tong's eyes.

Up on the wall, the black cat's eyelid twitched. She knew she couldn't wait any longer.

If she waited, Old Doctor Song's family would truly be subjected to Blood Refinement.

She knew Song Xuanqing cared about these villagers. If she just watched Old Doctor Song's family get Blood Refined without lifting a paw, and Song Xuanqing got upset and withheld her payment — she'd have nowhere to go cry about it.

Besides, even if the black cat wasn't the sharpest claw in the paw, she knew she couldn't let Mu Tong and Mu Nan successfully complete the Blood Refinement and recover their strength.

Steeling herself, the black cat rose from the top of the wall, every muscle in her body tensed, her gaze fierce as she fixed it on Mu Tong and Mu Nan.

She was going above and beyond this time — she hoped that divine lord had prepared a generous reward!

With that thought settled in her mind, the black cat decisively leapt down from the wall, aiming straight for Mu Tong at the center of the altar.

The aura of a Demon Beast spread through the entire courtyard in an instant.

Mu Tong and Mu Nan sensed it immediately.

But Mu Tong's injuries hadn't healed, and his body couldn't keep up with his instincts — he had no way to dodge.

Riiip!

In the blink of an eye, the black cat had successfully pounced onto Mu Tong's back, shredding through his clothing.

She also left a deep claw mark across his back.

The wound faintly pulsed with Demonic Aura.

The pain forced a muffled grunt from Mu Tong.

By now, Mu Nan had finally reacted.

Her gaze hardened as she stared at the black cat on Mu Tong's back, her face cold as frost.

"Where did this little cat-demon come from, daring to interfere in the affairs of the Tianshan Sect?!"

Shouting furiously, Mu Nan moved with swift precision and swiped at the black cat.

But the black cat had no intention of getting entangled with them — attacking Mu Tong had only been to break his concentration.

Before Mu Nan could grab her, the black cat leapt off Mu Tong's back and successfully dodged away.

Then, moving like a blur, the black cat launched herself at Old Doctor Song.

Like a cannonball, she slammed into him and successfully knocked him to the ground.

Old Doctor Song, whose aging body was already frail, couldn't help but cry out in pain.

His consciousness gradually began to clear.

The black cat didn't stop there. She repeated the same tactic on the rest of Old Doctor Song's family, one by one.

Meanwhile, Mu Tong and Mu Nan were nearly beside themselves with fury.

The Blood Refinement ritual hadn't even properly begun, and it had been interrupted by some stray little cat-demon that had come out of nowhere.

Under normal circumstances, a cat-demon that had only just turned into a demon wouldn't have warranted a second glance from either of them.

Yet here they were, having their plans ruined by it.

Without dealing with the black cat, the Blood Refinement couldn't continue.

Mu Tong and Mu Nan, faces dark with rage, launched a murderous assault on the black cat.

Even gravely injured, the two of them clearly outmatched what the black cat could handle.

Fortunately, the black cat was agile enough.

She knocked down Old Doctor Song's family members one by one while simultaneously dodging the furious attacks of Mu Tong and Mu Nan.

When Old Doctor Song groggily came to, this was the scene that greeted him.

The Mu siblings, who had seemed so weak and sickly just that afternoon, were now full of life and vigor, chasing a black cat around in a frantic rage.

And the more Old Doctor Song looked at that black cat, the more familiar it seemed.

A flash of recognition — he finally remembered.

Wasn't this the cat-demon that had led Song Mugen and his son out of Wolf's Head Mountain last night?!

Old Doctor Song had been at the Village Chief's house last night too, so he had naturally witnessed the black cat returning to Xuanqing Temple after rescuing them.

He looked around at where he was, then at his family members scattered across the courtyard ground.

Old Doctor Song's expression changed instantly.

With no time to spare watching the black cat tangle with Mu Tong and Mu Nan, Old Doctor Song hurried over to his son Song Bo's side.

Finding that his son was breathing steadily, Old Doctor Song finally let out a breath of relief.

The next second, he delivered a sharp slap.

"Still sleeping?! Get up, damn it!"

The slap landed squarely, jolting Song Bo awake with a start.

Before he could even figure out what was happening, Old Doctor Song had already hauled him to his feet.

"You're up — now hurry and help your wife and daughter inside!"

Mu Tong and Mu Nan were aware of what Old Doctor Song was doing, but with the black cat demanding their full attention, they couldn't be bothered to deal with him.

A few ordinary mortals — once they dealt with this meddlesome black cat, they could handle them at will.

With the black cat drawing their fire, no one came after them, and Old Doctor Song and his son quickly moved the rest of the family inside.

Song Bo's head had finally cleared by now. He looked at Old Doctor Song with lingering fear.

"Father, what's going on?"

He'd opened his eyes to find the whole family lying neatly in the courtyard.

It was far too strange.

Old Doctor Song was breathing hard, stealing glances at the situation in the courtyard.

"How would I know? But whatever it is, it's not the black cat's fault. That black cat is the same cat-demon that saved Song Mugen and his son yesterday — she was sent by Lord Xuanqing. She'd never harm us!"

"Then Father, you mean… it's those two people?"

Old Doctor Song's expression was grave as he watched Mu Tong and Mu Nan in the courtyard — clearly skilled fighters who were even gaining the upper hand over the black cat.

"Most likely. We may have run into some evil cultivators. I always thought it was strange — how could someone with injuries that severe still be conscious, let alone recover so quickly? Look at those two — they're actually overpowering that cat-demon!"

"What? So the cat-demon Lord Xuanqing sent can't beat those two?"

"I don't know… Wait — the cat-demon ran! Those two are chasing after her!"

Song Bo quickly craned his neck to look, and sure enough, Mu Tong and Mu Nan were chasing the black cat out of the courtyard.

Old Doctor Song's expression was grim. He grabbed Song Bo and pulled him to his feet.

"The cat-demon doesn't seem to be able to beat those two. Grab the firewood chopper — we're going after them!"