The Clever Bai Xue

As the first ray of morning sunlight fell into the cultivation room, Shen Yuan, who had been waiting for a long time, circulated the Violet Cloud Qi Refining Method and captured the Dawn-Glow Purple Qi within that beam of sunlight.

The Dawn-Glow Purple Qi was born between heaven and earth. It was the most basic form of heaven-and-earth qi, yet without a special refining method, even if one knew it existed, one would be unable to capture it.

An invisible medium separated out a strand of hazy purple qi glimmering with rosy light. Following Shen Yuan's circulating cultivation method, it slowly merged into his body. The essence energy accumulated within Shen Yuan fused with that strand of Dawn-Glow Purple Qi, taking on a hint of noble bearing.

Outside the courtyard, Bai Xue lay sprawled across the stone table, staring blankly toward the cultivation room. The usual sparkle had vanished from her mismatched eyes.

The scene from last night still replayed in her mind.

"I'm no longer clean!"

"I'm no longer clean!"

Bai Xue, who had not slept all night, wore a face full of sorrow. Her palm-sized body trembled slightly, as though she had suffered an enormous grievance.

For a little cat determined to uphold cat rights and improve the standing of the Cat Race, Shen Yuan's seemingly casual action was simply the greatest insult to her.

If she had not known all too well that her combat ability was basically on par with a big rat's, Bai Xue would have gone to fight Shen Yuan to the death long ago.

As time passed, the morning sun gradually rose, spilling its light freely across the earth.

In Shen Yuan's courtyard, the wandering souls that had lingered all night let out shrill, miserable howls. Their soul bodies were far too weak to become ghost cultivators, and they could only melt away beneath the sun like ice and snow.

They did not dare rashly enter Shen Yuan's house to hide from the sun. In their understanding, stepping inside was far more terrifying than death itself. Even if they were to scatter into nothingness, they would not dare cross that line.

Crippled wandering souls fled in all directions across the courtyard. The pain and madness of having completely lost their minds drove them to slaughter one another. Their already fragmented soul bodies shattered continuously amid the savage fighting, while their wails that pierced the soul became ever more eerie.

In Bai Xue's eyes, such a scene was incomparably brutal and terrifying, but Shen Yuan, inside the cultivation room, seemed long accustomed to it.

Those shrill cries of souls could not even stir the slightest interest in him.

When the final wandering soul dispersed beneath the jujube tree, a large amount of soul power remained in the courtyard after the wandering souls had vanished.

The jujube tree and green vine gently swayed their branches and leaves in instinctive celebration, beginning to greedily absorb this unclaimed soul power.

For plants that had yet to develop intelligence and had merely gained the instinct to draw in and exhale spiritual qi through Shen Yuan's long years of cultivation, such abundant soul power would be an important factor in allowing them to develop intelligence.

Bai Xue shifted her gaze away. Rather than compete with the two plants for those scraps of soul power, she looked toward the wide-open gate barely ten meters away.

Compared to that soul power, Bai Xue yearned more for the world beyond the gate.

She could clearly hear the footsteps of passersby on the road outside, the occasional roar of a guide vehicle's engine speeding past, and see birds flying freely through the sky.

It seemed that with only a step forward, she could easily walk out of this prison that trapped her.

However, clever Bai Xue had already seen through everything.

Her beautiful mismatched eyes turned toward the cultivation room, and a trace of disdain appeared on Bai Xue's face.

"The great demon hasn't even signed a Spirit Beast Contract with me. He must be trying to test me this way. The moment I choose to run, he'll definitely catch me and bring me back, then torment me with perfect justification.

"In my inherited memories, the cultivators of Spirit Beast Mountain used this same trick to torment spirit beasts, then tame them from flesh to soul.

"I remember seeing a similar technique in human videos. It seemed to be called CPU? PUA?"

Bai Xue could not quite understand those unfamiliar letters, but she had already seen through Shen Yuan's little scheme.

She continued lying quietly on the stone table. A full half hour later, the cultivation room's doors slowly opened, and Shen Yuan emerged with a satisfied expression.

Shen Yuan was quite pleased with his first attempt at refining Dawn-Glow Purple Qi. When that strand of Dawn-Glow Purple Qi settled into his essence energy, he could clearly sense the nature of his essence energy slowly transforming.

There was not yet any obvious change in the Refining Essence Realm, but once he entered the Qi Transformation Realm and mastered mana, the Dawn-Glow Purple Qi integrated into his essence energy would transform the nature of his mana, making it far superior to that of ordinary cultivators.

The Violet Cloud Qi Refining Method held enormous advantages, especially in cultivating soul arts and evil-dispelling spells. This was precisely what made the cultivation methods of an ancient hidden immortal sect like the Falling Cloud Sect so extraordinary.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuan smiled and reached out to rub Bai Xue's little head.

"Bai Xue is so obedient. You didn't run around while I was cultivating."

Bai Xue secretly rolled her eyes, not believing Shen Yuan's words at all.

Shen Yuan's cultivation this time had merely refined some Dawn-Glow Purple Qi. Though this type of heaven-and-earth qi had some wondrous uses, it was only meaningful to low-level cultivators. A Void-Refining True Lord would not even spare it a glance.

Shen Yuan's words made Bai Xue even more convinced that he had only pretended to cultivate in order to watch whether she would run away.

The great demon is truly deeply scheming, but how could someone as clever as me be fooled by such petty tricks?

Bai Xue was immensely pleased with herself.

In high spirits, Shen Yuan withdrew his right hand from petting the cat and let Bai Xue play on the stone table while he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Last night's demon and monster attack had ended, but it had still caused some trouble. The collapsed wooden corridor, the gate, and the large hole dug in the center of the courtyard all needed someone to deal with them.

And since he had adopted Bai Xue, Shen Yuan also needed to prepare daily necessities for her, such as a litter box and cat food.

"If only cats could use flush toilets," Shen Yuan muttered regretfully.

Shen Yuan's breakfast was not lavish, merely a simple bowl of egg noodles. The old district was close to the countryside, and elderly villagers often came by to sell eggs from their own chickens.

Golden-fried farm eggs paired with plain noodles in clear broth were still enough to make one's mouth water.

Shen Yuan sat at the stone table, enjoying his delicious breakfast, while Bai Xue lay on the table and watched his noodles longingly.

Feeling a little embarrassed under Bai Xue's unblinking stare, Shen Yuan could only coax her. "Little cats can't eat this. I'll take you to buy cat food later."

Hearing that, Bai Xue gave Shen Yuan a look full of disgust and quietly complained in her heart, Who wants your cat food? This kitty wants human food!

In Bai Xue's eyes, cat food was merely inferior food humans used to fool cats. Only by eating human food could she stand on equal footing with humans.

But Bai Xue did not dare say that aloud before Shen Yuan, the great demon. She could only grumble to herself in secret.

In the messy courtyard of early morning, a young man sat beneath the tree eating breakfast, while the black-and-white kitten on the table quietly watched him. The scene carried a feeling of tranquil harmony.

However, this harmonious scene was quickly broken as a figure entered Shen Yuan's courtyard through the open gate.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty. Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, he carried an imposing air without even showing anger. A young man carrying a briefcase followed behind him.

The middle-aged man entered the courtyard and saw the mess covering the ground. His brow instinctively furrowed before he spoke to Shen Yuan beneath the jujube tree.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Shen Yuan here?"