Where did this dog come from?

"Brother Zhu?"

The woman in white nodded lightly and said, "Over the years, he took countless spiritual medicines, but how could mortal power alone break the lifespan limit imposed by heaven and earth? His time should have been up two days ago. Yet now, despite not achieving the Five-Pass Breakthrough, he has gained a new lease on life. He must have encountered an immortal blessing... I wonder whether he happened upon immortal medicine from the Heavenly Realm or met a reincarnated Immortal or God."

"The chances of immortal medicine being passed down from the Heavenly Realm are far too slim."

The bald young man shook his head. "I think he met a reincarnated Immortal or God. For us mortal Cultivators, perfecting our dharma bodies is the limit, but the reincarnations of mighty Immortals and Gods can surpass that limit. Perhaps one of them laid a hand upon his head and bestowed longevity upon him."

"That must be it." The woman in white sighed. "With Brother Zhu's talent, he'll probably perfect his dharma body within a few years and become one of the peerless masters of our age."

"Fairy Featherfall, you're quite close to Zhu Chenghuo. Why don't you contact him? I imagine he'll agree to help without us having to offer many treasures," the bald young man said. "Next time, we absolutely cannot let this Heavenly Dog escape again."

"All right."

The woman in white nodded. "We really cannot let this Heavenly Dog go. An ordinary Heavenly Dog's strength only approaches the Fifth Heavenly Pass, but this one is much stronger, on par with an ordinary master of the Fifth Heavenly Pass. Moreover, she recovered completely so quickly. Clearly, her origins are extraordinary. There may be a terrifying Outer Demon lurking in the mortal world behind her, empowering her. We must be on our guard."

The bald young man pressed his palms together and sighed. "I fear only peerless masters... or even reincarnated Immortals and Gods can wade into these deeper, murkier waters..."

"There's no need to worry too much."

The woman in white said, "Even if the sky falls, our immortal seniors will hold it up. Take the immortal senior who saved Brother Zhu, for example. Perhaps he is hidden in ordinary society, walking among mortals. When the critical moment comes, he will surely reveal himself."

Early that morning, on a street in the Old Town.

A stooped, white-haired old woman shuffled unsteadily along the sidewalk, leaning on a cane. Deep within her cloudy eyes, a faint, eerie blue gleam flickered.

Damn it! I had to self-destruct again. Luckily, I had the power my lord bestowed upon me, or who knows how long it would have taken to recover...

Outwardly, she looked frail and elderly, but furious roars echoed in her mind. That damned Venerable Dragon Subduer! That damned Fairy Featherfall! They actually had two Fifth Heavenly Pass masters ambush me just to capture me! If my lord hadn't empowered me, I would have been reduced to ashes!

Though the empowerment had increased her strength, she was still fundamentally a Heavenly Dog. Once Fifth Heavenly Pass Cultivators concealed their auras completely and prepared an array to ambush her, she could not detect them.

The Moonless Array was not particularly useful in itself; it merely prevented mortals from entering. But that area had already been sealed off, and Cultivators would never go there. Naturally, the instant she stepped into the array, her identity was exposed.

I still haven't found what my lord wants. I can't go back yet.

As the white-haired old woman walked slowly with her cane, she fretted to herself. Honestly, judging by the clues I found, that thing should have been with the Cheng Family. The Hidden Dragon Scale even reacted faintly, so it must have spent some time there. But I searched the entire Cheng Family estate and found nothing. Where on earth did it go?

Just then, a young man carrying a shoulder bag approached from ahead, walking briskly along the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets.

The white-haired old woman did not move aside. She knew many mortals would make way for her out of "respect for the elderly and care for the young." Even if she fell over, those mortals would avoid her as quickly as possible.

Sure enough, upon seeing her, the young man immediately and politely went around her, though... he looked somewhat flustered.

But the instant they passed each other-

"Hm?"

The white-haired old woman suddenly felt the Hidden Dragon Scale inside her sleeve grow warm.

She froze in place, then whipped her head around to look at the young man walking away behind her. Surprise and delight burst into her eyes. The Hidden Dragon Scale actually reacted to this mortal! He must have touched that thing, and no more than a day ago!

Her whole body trembled with excitement. After all her fruitless searching, it had practically fallen into her lap!

If she had known the person who had recently touched that thing was this mortal, why would she have risked sneaking into the Cheng Family estate twice in a row?

Hm? Wait...

Watching the young man's retreating figure, the white-haired old woman suddenly hesitated.

What if he's a master concealing his aura? Once a Fifth Heavenly Pass master hides his cultivation, I can't tell either. Unless...

She thought for a moment, then abandoned her old-woman act and hurried into a nearby alley. After making sure nobody was around, she transformed into a Pomeranian with snowy white fur in a flash of eerie blue light.

Her true form was a Heavenly Dog, so she was naturally adept at imitating canine behavior. Besides, this was the cutest kind of dog she had ever seen. Surely even a mortal would not object to such an adorable dog deliberately approaching him?

As long as she could make close contact with him, the unique nature of her Outer Demon power would at least let her determine whether he was mortal-even if he was a peerless master who had achieved the Five-Pass Breakthrough!

Then the adorable white Pomeranian ran out of the alley and dashed after the young man, who had already gone some distance ahead.

Fuck, this lousy dog has nothing going for it except being cute. It runs so slowly!

She could not help inwardly cursing her fellow canine.

In truth, even without using her Outer Demon power, this transformed body was immensely strong despite being far inferior to her true form. She could even run much faster than a leopard.

But that would be far too alarming. Mortals or Cultivators might notice her, and neither outcome would end well.

After quite a while, she finally caught up with the young man. She hastily adopted an affectionate, ingratiating manner and rushed over, wagging her tail happily, intending to pretend to nuzzle her head against the human's head.

"Woof, woof~~"

However-

"What the hell?"

Hearing barking behind him, Lin Zhishui jumped in fright. Had that vicious dog from a nearby household gotten loose again because its owners had failed to leash it properly?

Without even looking, he instinctively turned and kicked-

Where did this dog come from? Get lost!

"Yelp!"

With a pitiful whimper, the tiny, adorable Pomeranian went flying.

As she pretended to be sent flying through the air, the Pomeranian thought mournfully, What's wrong with this guy? I'm so cute. How could he bring himself to do that?

Then she flipped once in midair and landed steadily on the ground.

This was the last shred of her dignity. Even if she had to commit to the act, even if she was pretending to be a puppy, surely pretending to be a puppy that knew a few acrobatic tricks was fine... right?

"Uh..."

Only then did Lin Zhishui realize he had kicked an adorable little puppy. Taken aback, he coughed and said, "Sorry. Are you okay?"

Why is this human apologizing to me? Is he crazy? Surely he hasn't recognized me? The Pomeranian was a little stunned.

She had never been a mortal's pet and had no idea mortals could treat dogs like their own sons or daughters.

"Come here." Lin Zhishui crouched down, tried his best to give her a friendly smile, and made clicking noises with his tongue as he beckoned to the adorable Little Pomeranian in the distance. Inwardly, he felt a little puzzled.

This little thing doesn't look too bright. Did I kick it into a concussion?

Are you trying to call a bird? I'm a dog!

The Pomeranian roared inwardly with all the imposing air of a Heavenly Dog, then obediently wagged her adorable little tail and trotted eagerly over.

"What a good dog. Did your owner abandon you?" Lin Zhishui reached out and stroked the Pomeranian's fur.

That's how you pet a cat! I'm a dog!

The Pomeranian roared inwardly again, but she had no time to dwell on it. She narrowed her eyes, pretending to enjoy herself, and began carefully sensing whether this fellow was truly mortal.

If he was a Cultivator, contact at such close range would cause his spiritual power to provoke a reaction from her Outer Demon power.

However-

There was no reaction.

Wonderful, this guy is mortal! All I need to do is quietly devour his memories. At worst, it'll turn him into an idiot. I won't have to risk him noticing, or pay any price.

Secretly ecstatic, the Pomeranian immediately stopped the undignified act of wagging her tail and glanced quickly around. Seeing that nobody else was passing by, she began steadily releasing the Outer Demon power she had concealed as tightly as possible within her body. No longer bothering to suppress the lingering sword intent, she gradually began radiating an eerie blue light invisible to mortals.

She had fled here specifically to recuperate, never expecting such a pleasant surprise.

Even if Fairy Featherfall sensed the sword intent's location and hurried over at top speed, she would still have enough time to devour this mortal's memories and escape.

"How can this dog smile?"

To his surprise, Lin Zhishui noticed that the Little Pomeranian's mouth had actually curved into an unmistakable smile. So those memes online were real?

Just then, the smile on the Pomeranian's little face abruptly froze. She instantly concealed her Outer Demon power as fast as she could and resumed wagging her tail, licking Lin Zhishui's fingers ingratiatingly like an adorable puppy that had found her owner.

"Senior Lin, what a coincidence."

A clear male voice, filled with excitement and nervousness, suddenly sounded behind him.

Lin Zhishui turned to look and saw a refined man in his fifties standing behind him. His hair was elegantly slicked back, with a touch of gray at the temples, and he was looking at Lin Zhishui with apprehension and respect.

PS: (Please send recommendation votes~~ I heard chapter comments are unavailable now, but you can still leave comments. They'll be released on the fifth. Boohoo, without the comments from you goofy netizens, I'm so miserable I could cry.)