Before long, Bai Chen used the fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation to find a Secret Realm.
The restrictions around this Secret Realm were weak. Bai Chen brought one paw down, shattering them instantly.
Although Bai Chen had broken the restrictions with ease, he was not happy at all.
The weaker the restrictions guarding a place were, the more it suggested there was nothing valuable inside.
But since the restrictions were already broken, and in keeping with the principle that a sneaky cat never left empty-pawed, Bai Chen entered the Secret Realm anyway.
The moment Bai Chen entered, he froze. What a vast stretch of green grassland!
How much cheating had it taken to turn the grassland this green and this vast?
"Acquired Spiritual Root—Xun Grass!"
Bai Chen plucked several stalks and sniffed them. His Innate Inheritance revealed their information to him.
After confirming that they were not poisonous, Bai Chen stuffed them into his mouth and began chewing.
"Not bad!"
Bai Chen transformed into a Primordial Gourmet and gave his verdict.
As the Xun Grass entered his stomach and was refined, its medicinal effects took hold, and Bai Chen's fur became several shades more lustrous.
Bai Chen transformed the fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation into a Precious Mirror, opened a new page, and wrote in Innate Dao Script:
"Xun Grass: fragrant in flavor. Consuming it can beautify one's appearance.
Great God Bai Chen's rating: one star!"
After transforming back then, Bai Chen had been bored enough to come up with the idea of writing a Primordial Cookbook more comprehensive than the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
After rating the Xun Grass, Bai Chen gave his fur a violent shake, sending countless clones flying out. Armed with sharp blades, the clones began harvesting and bundling the Xun Grass.
Although the Xun Grass did not have any particularly impressive effects, Bai Chen thought it tasted quite good. It could serve as Imperial Cat Grass for Great God Bai Chen.
Besides, Xun Grass could beautify one's appearance. It might not be worth much to male beings, but it was a different story for female beings.
It would be quite useful for giving away or trading with female beings in the future.
"I never expected the mother plant to be an Innate Spiritual Root!"
As stalk after stalk of Xun Grass was harvested, Bai Chen discovered one that was different.
This Xun Grass had a square stem, yellow flowers, and red fruit, and it radiated Innate Dao Charm.
Bai Chen hurriedly collected the mother plant. An Innate Spiritual Root was truly a valuable thing.
As time passed, Bai Chen left the Secret Realm. The lush grassland that had once filled it had become a barren wasteland where not a blade of grass remained.
Great God Bai Chen was an Innate Divine Beast, after all. Naturally, he possessed the virtue of managing his household frugally.
I, Great God Bai Chen, hate wasting anything. I always lick every last grain of rice clean from my bowl!
After dealing with this Secret Realm, Bai Chen took out the fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation and began searching for his next opportunity.
After Nuwa saw her guests off, she went looking for Bai Chen. When she found him absent from the Secret Realm, she immediately panicked.
Where was my cat?
Where did he go?
Nuwa immediately began deducing his whereabouts. She saw Bai Chen leaving the Secret Realm, but then a force interrupted her continued divination.
Nuwa flew into a rage. Throughout Buzhou Mountain, there were not many beings whose fates she could not deduce.
Even her elder brother Fuxi was within her ability to deduce. In all of Buzhou Mountain, only the Ancestral Witches' lineage was beyond her calculations!
Bai Chen must have been captured by the Ancestral Witches and taken to their dojo!
How audacious of the Ancestral Witches' lineage!
Houtu and Xuanming had come to her dojo as guests, calling her "Sister Nuwa" and "Fellow Daoist Nuwa" at every turn.
Yet behind her back, they had stolen Nuwa's cat. Shameless and despicable—what utter contempt for the gods!
Yuanfeng: Nuwa, didn't you steal my cat in exactly the same way?
Those detestable Ancestral Witches! Nuwa had spent a spiritual treasure to buy Bai Chen from the Phoenix Clan, yet these Ancestral Witches had tried to get one over on her by taking him without paying a thing.
They had come to steal and rob!
The angrier Nuwa became, the more tightly she gripped her companion spiritual treasure, the Primordial Holy Sword. She was going to the main peak to demand an explanation from the Ancestral Witches.
Nuwa did not particularly enjoy fighting, but if someone wanted to test whether her sword was sharp, she did not mind granting their wish.
Nuwa hurried toward the main peak of Buzhou Mountain. Bai Chen was in the hands of those barbaric Ancestral Witches, and that was simply too dangerous. What if they ate him?
The main peak of Buzhou Mountain was where Pangu Hall stood. The entire peak had been occupied by the Ancestral Witches.
Houtu and Xuanming had just returned from visiting Nuwa and were playing on the main peak.
"Sister Nuwa, what brings you to the main peak?"
Houtu was puzzled to see Nuwa arrive. As far as she remembered, this was Nuwa's first visit to the main peak.
"Houtu, do you really not know why I'm here?"
Nuwa's tone was icy. In the past, she had always added the word "sister" after addressing Houtu.
But now that Houtu was a cat thief, how could Nuwa possibly show her any courtesy?
"???"
Houtu noticed the drastic change in Nuwa's attitude and was baffled.
Hadn't everyone been getting along happily before? Why had she suddenly turned hostile?
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, if you're angry, why take it out on my younger sister?"
Xuanming was more perceptive than Houtu and sensed Nuwa's fury.
"Hand Bai Chen over, and I'll leave the main peak immediately."
Nuwa could not be bothered to exchange pleasantries with this group of cat thieves. All she wanted was to get her cat back.
"Bai Chen???"
Nuwa's words left Houtu even more confused. She felt as though her brain was no longer enough to process everything.
Nuwa manifested Bai Chen's appearance. When Houtu saw that fluffy, chubby little beast, only two words appeared in her mind: I want him!
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, are you saying that we Ancestral Witches captured your Pet Beast?"
Xuanming more or less understood. Nuwa's Pet Beast had gone missing, and she suspected that the Ancestral Witches had captured him. That was why she had come to demand his return.
"Of course!"
"After all, apart from our siblings, only your siblings are in Buzhou Mountain!"
There were only two groups of beings in Buzhou Mountain. Now that Bai Chen had disappeared, who else could Nuwa suspect if not the Ancestral Witches?
"Sister Nuwa, don't worry. I'll go ask my elder brothers right now!"
After reassuring Nuwa, Houtu was about to return to Pangu Hall.
She was also afraid that her elder brothers had really captured Bai Chen and eaten him.
"No need to ask!"
A thunderous shout rang out. Space twisted, and the Ancestral Witch Dijiang arrived through the void with the other nine great Witches.
"Nuwa, we did not capture this little beast. How much meat could there be on him? He wouldn't even be enough for a few bites!"
Ancestral Witch Dijiang already knew what had happened and gave Nuwa his answer.
Bai Chen was tiny. There would only be a few bites of meat on him. Even if he had passed right in front of them, they would have been too lazy to catch him.
"Really?"
Nuwa did not quite believe Ancestral Witch Dijiang. There was no helping it—there were only two groups of beings in Buzhou Mountain.
"We are Pangu's Orthodox Lineage. Why would we deceive you?"
Ancestral Witch Zhurong grew furious when he saw that his brothers were being suspected.
Was Nuwa questioning the Ancestral Witches? No, she was questioning the character of Pangu's Orthodox Lineage!
"Will you let me search inside?"
Nuwa still could not trust the Ancestral Witches' lineage. After all, hearsay was unreliable; seeing was believing.
"Presumptuous!"
The Ancestral Witches flew into a rage. Where did she think she was?
This was the main peak of Buzhou Mountain, the site of Pangu Hall and the land guarded by the Ancestral Witches. How could they allow an outsider like Nuwa to search it?
That was disrespect toward them, and even greater disrespect toward their Father God, Pangu!
Just as Nuwa and the Ancestral Witches were about to come to blows, Fuxi hurried over to mediate:
"Sister, Bai Chen should be somewhere in Buzhou Mountain searching for opportunities.
Let's search elsewhere first. If we really can't find that Fat Cat, we can come back here."
Fuxi truly did not want Nuwa to fight the Twelve Ancestor Witches. The other side had the advantage in numbers.
Besides, his instincts told him that the Twelve Ancestor Witches were far from weak.
If he and Nuwa fought the Twelve Ancestor Witches, they would undoubtedly be the ones to suffer.
Nuwa had let her anxiety cloud her judgment. After Fuxi's reminder, she finally calmed down.
That Fat Cat really could have gone somewhere in Buzhou Mountain to seek an opportunity and simply forgotten to return while inside that Secret Realm.
Nuwa bowed and apologized, then hurried away to search for Bai Chen.
Fuxi could not help but let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had not fought the Twelve Ancestor Witches. Otherwise, he would have had no idea how to resolve the situation.
Before you continue