Chapter 3: Respected Divine Lord!

Song Family Village had a sizable river running through it — a tributary of the main river in Wan'an County — and the waters were home to plenty of fish.

Around here, fish wasn't considered a delicacy the way chicken, duck, or pork was. It didn't fill you up well, and the taste couldn't compare to pork or the like.

Selling it at the market fetched a meager price at best.

So whenever the first or fifteenth day of the lunar month came around — the days for burning incense — some villagers would offer fish as tribute.

Some of these offerings were raw, others cooked.

Certain villagers figured Lord Xuanqing preferred his food prepared, while others, lacking confidence in their own cooking, simply left the raw fish for him to handle himself.

When Song Xuanqing saw the black cat happily feasting on cooked fish at the offering table, he froze for a moment — then let out an exasperated laugh.

Where had this brazen little demon beast come from? It actually dared eat his offerings!

Song Xuanqing was no longer human. Without a physical body, he couldn't taste food at all.

He could technically consume the offerings, but it was like breathing in a puff of flavorless smoke — he could only absorb the essence, with no taste whatsoever.

So he had little interest in the offerings to begin with.

But his lack of interest was his own business. That didn't mean a stray demon beast cat had any right to eat his offerings.

Song Xuanqing had never tested his own strength in combat and wasn't entirely sure of his capabilities — but observing the faint Demonic Aura clinging to the black cat, his instincts told him he could handle this little demon beast with ease.

Even as a newborn Feral God, his innate starting point was already quite high.

Just as he was about to manifest and drive the cat away, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him — he remembered Song Xiuxiu's father and brother, still trapped on Wolf's Head Mountain.

He truly couldn't enter Wolf's Head Mountain himself, but… this little demon beast cat could!

It was a demon beast, after all. No matter how weak, surely it wouldn't be affected by the fog and Miasma, right?

With a plan forming in his mind, Song Xuanqing manifested in the next instant.

The moment he appeared, he stopped suppressing his aura and let it spread freely and unrestrained.

Ordinarily, when Song Xuanqing wasn't deliberately making himself visible, not even ordinary mortals — let alone those with modest Cultivation — could perceive him.

But he was fully capable of taking on a physical form.

The black cat had been buried in the offering table, happily devouring fish.

Then it sensed the sudden presence of Song Xuanqing's aura — and it was close. Terrifyingly close.

So close the black cat felt that aura hovering directly above its head.

With a piece of fish still clamped in its jaws, the black cat froze solid.

As a demon beast that had stepped onto the path of cultivation, the black cat could roughly gauge the strength of others through their aura.

And Song Xuanqing's aura, in the black cat's perception, was undeniably powerful.

The black cat stiffened for a heartbeat — then, as if triggered by pure instinct, its fur exploded outward!

It finally forgot about the delicious food in front of it. Baring its teeth, it raised its head and glared in the direction of Song Xuanqing's aura.

Its luminous green cat eyes were filled with wariness and ferocity. It hissed, every muscle in its body coiled tight, ready to fight at any moment.

In reality, though, the black cat's heart was in absolute chaos.

It looked fierce on the outside, but its paws were already quietly inching backward, waiting for the right moment to bolt.

Song Xuanqing's aura was stronger than its own — a direct confrontation was out of the question.

Song Xuanqing noticed the cat's paws slowly retreating and regarded it with an unreadable expression. "You little demon beast — you ate this god's offerings, and now you think you can just walk away?"

As his words fell, the black cat finally caught a clear look at Song Xuanqing's appearance.

Handsome features, sharp sword-like brows, bright star-like eyes, long hair pinned back with a white jade hairpin, and a robe of fine blue-green fabric.

He looked every bit the part of a refined and dashing young man.

Yet Song Xuanqing's slightly translucent form, and the faint aura of incense and divine essence that clung to him, made it unmistakably clear — he was no human.

The black cat felt a growing sense of familiarity the longer it stared at him.

Its gaze drifted involuntarily to the stone idol enshrined in the altar niche.

The idol's face was somewhat blurred, but it was still possible to make out a clear resemblance to Song Xuanqing.

And the faint aura connecting Song Xuanqing to the idol left no room for doubt.

Song Xuanqing was the divine spirit of the idol enshrined within Xuanqing Temple.

The black cat was stunned.

This wasn't its first time sneaking in to steal offerings. It had long since determined that the idol enshrined here had no divine spirit whatsoever.

So what was going on now?

The idol had given birth to a divine spirit?!

It had been caught red-handed stealing offerings from a god's own shrine.

The longer the black cat studied Song Xuanqing's expression, the colder its spine felt.

In the next second, it made its decision without hesitation — it turned tail and ran!

Song Xuanqing watched it suddenly spin around and leap off the offering table. He raised an eyebrow and reached out to grab it.

Song Xuanqing might look human enough, but he was anything but.

His speed was naturally beyond what any ordinary person could match.

Before the black cat even hit the ground, it felt a large hand close around the scruff of its neck — sealing its fate.

This is the end! the black cat thought.

Song Xuanqing lifted the black cat up to eye level, his expression somewhere between a smile and something else entirely.

"You ate this god's offerings, and you think you can run off without giving something in return?"

Song Xuanqing glanced at the thoroughly ransacked offering table.

The black cat tried to struggle, found it completely impossible to break free, and went pale with despair.

"Mrow~"

I'm just a little cat. What could I possibly offer you?

Song Xuanqing was a divine spirit — far more powerful than it. What use could a freshly awakened wild demon beast cat be to him?

Surely it wasn't going to lose its life over a few fish, was it?

This is the end!

The black cat had not yet refined its Spirit Bone, so it was still unable to speak in human tongue.

But Song Xuanqing understood the cat's meaning perfectly well.

"I can overlook the matter of you stealing this god's offerings — but you must do one thing for me in return."

The black cat's drooping, lolling head snapped upright immediately.

What? This divine spirit isn't going to kill it?

That was wonderful news!

As for what it would have to do for Song Xuanqing — that didn't matter!

As long as it successfully left this temple today, it would never come back!

"Mrow, mrow, mrow!"

Respected divine lord, please speak! This little demon will go through fire and water!

Song Xuanqing's mouth twitched. How could a cat act so much like a fawning dog?

He shook his head and said, "I need you to go to Wolf's Head Mountain and find a pair of hunter father and son. They are people of Song Family Village. Find them and bring them back to Song Family Village."

He paused, then added, "Even if that pair of hunters has already died on Wolf's Head Mountain, come back and tell me the result."

The black cat found this slightly strange. This powerful divine spirit actually cared about the lives of two ordinary mortals?

But the black cat said nothing and agreed without hesitation.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow!"

Respected divine lord, rest assured! I will definitely bring those people back to you!

Song Xuanqing didn't believe for a second that this crafty demon beast cat would honestly go looking for that pair of hunters.

More likely it would bolt the moment it left Xuanqing Temple and never be seen again.

So he had already prepared a backup plan.

And at the same time… he wanted to test a theory of his.

"If you can bring that pair of hunters back before midnight tonight, I will reward you with something."

The black cat was puzzled. What kind of something?

In the next moment, the black cat felt a faint, clean fragrance drift around the tip of its nose.

It was similar to the scent of incense sticks burning during an offering, but far more refined and pure, carrying a trace of divine essence.

Unable to help itself, the cat sniffed, drawing that wisp of fragrance into its body.

In an instant, the black cat felt a cool clarity surge through its mind — a crystalline, absolute lucidity.

Cultivation problems it had puzzled over before were suddenly resolved in a flash of understanding.

It even felt the faint stirring of an imminent epiphany.

At the same time, a warm current flowed through its body.

The black cat felt its Cultivation rise by a small but unmistakable margin.

Song Xuanqing watched the Incense Value on his System panel drop by 1, then turned his gaze to the black cat.

"How do you feel?"

This was the first time Song Xuanqing had used Incense Value on another being — or rather, another cat.

He wasn't sure what the effect would be.

When he absorbed it himself, all he got was a brief cool clarity in his mind and a slight uptick in Cultivation.

Though that might be because he was absorbing too little at a time.

He simply didn't have that much Incense Value to absorb right now.

Incense Value seemed to be quite important within the System, but Song Xuanqing still wasn't entirely sure what it was meant for beyond direct absorption.

Surely it couldn't only be for him to absorb directly?

Song Xuanqing felt that pure absorption of Incense Value had limited effect.

The black cat opened its luminous green eyes. Its expression was completely different from before — far gentler and more docile.

The black cat suddenly felt that Song Xuanqing bore it no ill will. Even after catching it stealing offerings, he hadn't made things too difficult for it.

He only wanted it to go into Wolf's Head Mountain and bring out two ordinary mortals.

And he had given it something this valuable on top of that.

The black cat didn't know exactly what Song Xuanqing had just done, but the benefit it had received was undeniable.

The black cat became thoroughly compliant.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow."

Respected divine lord! I feel like I've grown stronger! And the cultivation problems I've struggled with before — I understand them all now!

Seeing the black cat's complete change in attitude, Song Xuanqing knew that even that tiny bit of incense had made a significant difference to the cat.

Perhaps it was because the black cat's Cultivation was still so low.

Either way, the black cat would now obediently go to Wolf's Head Mountain and bring Song Xiuxiu's father and brother back for him.

Song Xuanqing nodded. "Go to Wolf's Head Mountain and bring that pair of hunters back. Once you do, I will grant you another gift like the one I just gave you."

The black cat responded with an enthusiastic, "Mrow, mrow, mrow!"

Song Xuanqing watched the nimble black silhouette disappear into the night, let out a long breath, and turned to return to his idol.

As he turned, the corner of his eye caught something on the fish platter the black cat had been eating from — a flash of vivid green that looked oddly familiar.

Song Xuanqing picked up the small green leaf that had apparently been used as a garnish, and as he looked at it, his eyes suddenly went wide.

This… this was catnip?!