DDT - Chapter 172

Chapter 172: Immortal Venerable × Meow Meow Cat (27)

If the demon before her, churning with demonic Qi, made any move to harm someone, she wouldn't hesitate to eliminate this menace immediately.

"I imagine you already know the power of the ancient Soul Refining Forbidden Curse that this venerable one has mastered. As the last descendant of the Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beast clan, you can probably guess how this venerable one was able to create such a scene," the old demon cultivator said.

The demon cultivator reached out and prodded the Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beasts in the illusion before him. The beasts he touched were knocked over or even sent flying by the external force. Even though Chi Junluo knew clearly that everything before her was fake, the emotion that remained in this body, deeply engraved in her heart, still filled her with boundless rage. It was as if she and her clansmen—whether in the chaotic battles of ancient times, the extermination a thousand years ago, or right here before her eyes now—were having their fates manipulated by an unseen hand. Just like this vile demon cultivator before her; if he wanted his clansmen to die, they would truly die.

Seeing the killing intent gradually gather around the little Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beast, the demon cultivator grew even more delighted. He continued his explanation with smug satisfaction, "That ancient Soul Refining Forbidden Curse refined your soul, and this venerable one obtained all the soul power of a divine beast like you. Naturally, I also possess the useless memories you've accumulated over so many years."

Outside the gray haze, Immortal Venerable Qingyun sat quietly on her flying sword suspended in the air. She felt as if she had stumbled upon some major drama. Ancient divine beasts had all but vanished after that great war. For so many years, although some cultivators still speculated that divine beasts survived in the world, no one had ever seen a trace of them. Today, this demon actually claimed to have used an ancient forbidden curse to seize the soul power of a legendary divine beast survivor. This was simply unheard of. She looked at the black cat opposite the demon and was shocked to realize that she hadn't just picked up a newborn cat demon cub—she seemed to have picked up an ancient divine beast.

The demon cultivator had long since noticed the newcomer who had flown over, a person of no consequence to him. He was confident that no one in the three realms could pose a threat to him anymore, so he paid it no mind. To savor the joy of sharing his victim's pain, he decided to present an even crueler reality to this pitiful divine beast. "If it were only based on the incredibly chaotic memories of a weak divine beast like you, perhaps this venerable one couldn't have restored this paradise so perfectly."

"Before you returned to those ruins that day, this venerable one had already used the ancient Soul Refining Forbidden Curse to refine the remnant souls from most of the bones in the ruins."

"What a coincidence. Among them were the clan leader of the Nine-Tailed Divine Beast clan and his wife, who died tragically at the hands of human cultivators on the day of the extermination." The demon cultivator deliberately magnified the two incredibly majestic-looking Nine-Tailed Divine Beasts, giving the audience a close-up. Through the original body's residual memories, Chi Junluo confirmed that these two were indeed the original owner's biological parents and the leaders of the Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beast clan. The demon cultivator replayed the memories he had extracted from their souls through the illusion.

"My lord, the day of our clan's extermination, as prophesied by the first high priest, is fast approaching. There is still time to lead our people and escape!" The first to speak, her tone filled with anxiety and agitation, was the original owner's mother. Judging by the location of their conversation, it was in the divine beast clan's ancestral hall. That voice was indeed her mother's voice from the original owner's memory. A wave of bitterness surged in Chi Junluo's heart.

The original owner's father, the clan leader of the Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beasts, stood before the spirit statue of the first-generation divine beast, lost in thought. After a while, he slowly replied, "The first divine beast's prophecies have never been wrong. If our clan is to be exterminated, there is no escaping this destined end, no matter where we flee. Can our clan escape the three realms? Rather than die in a foreign land, it is better to let our remnant souls remain in our clan's final home. At least here, we have the final blessing of our ancestors, so our bones will not be utterly lost."

After that came a heated argument between the divine beast couple.

The demon cultivator didn't continue the playback. It was obvious from the final outcome that the divine beast clan leader had not put up a fight. The demon cultivator waved his hand, returning to the final scene of the divine beast clan. Then, before the eyes of the small divine beast, who already seemed to be losing her mind, he replayed the tragic massacre from a thousand years ago.

A group of cultivators in white robes swarmed madly into this once-paradise. They were powerful and coordinated, each one with bloodshot eyes. Even though the elders and the clan leader couple of the divine beast clan fought with all their might, they couldn't stop their brutal slaughter. The strength of the Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beast clan was already a shadow of its former self, with most of its members being the old, the weak, and the young. The tragic scene that the original owner had deliberately blurred was now replayed with horrifying realism—a sky full of fire, splattering blood, severed limbs, and the wails of her clansmen. The plunderers took all the money and spirit tools they could carry from the clan's secret realm, leaving behind only a field of corpses.

The scene finally froze on the backs of the departing white-robed cultivators, even giving a dramatic close-up of a fluttering white hem.

The demon cultivator seemed to know exactly what kind of content would inflict the greatest psychological impact on the divine beast before him.

He seemed to have succeeded. A powerful pressure and spiritual energy began to emanate from the small black cat. Outside, Immortal Venerable Qingyun, and inside, Yun Qian, who was crunching on melon seeds under a tree, watched in astonishment as the frail little cat in their eyes rapidly expanded. Its black fur became glossy and sleek, and spiritual energy visibly gathered on its coat, creating a crackling sound. The kitten's originally cute little head grew in an instant into a ferocious, massive cat head. Two sharp fangs, dozens of inches long, protruded, and its deep blue eyes glinted with a twisted, cold light. Its limbs and body also became long and slender, with sharp claws treading lightly on the air. Behind it, a fluffy cat tail whipped fiercely, stirring up a gust of wind that blew the neat pile of melon seed shells Yun Qian had made under the tree all over his head and face.

Sitting in the sea of consciousness and watching the whole drama unfold, the Heavenly Dao had the best seat in the house. At this moment, he felt as if he were in the cockpit of a beast-form mecha in an interstellar world, watching a great battle about to erupt. The Heavenly Dao flipped his palm in the sea of consciousness, and a cup of coke and a bucket of popcorn appeared in his hands. Now this was the life!

"Roar!" The Nine-Tailed Cat Divine Beast, having returned to its divine beast form, let out a great roar and lunged at the demon cultivator. The moment it made contact with the demon's body, its two front paws tore violently, as if to rip the demon who had poked its wounds to shreds. It looked incredibly ferocious, yet it seemed to have lost its mind.

Immortal Venerable Qingyun's right hand was already on the hilt of her sword. The divine beast before her seemed to have lost its sanity, and that demon was clearly of an extremely high cultivation level. Perhaps she should intervene!

Yun Qian nervously crushed the melon seed shells in his hand, his eyes wide.

The massive divine beast plunged into a cloud of gray haze. The demon cultivator who had been floating there dispersed into gray, flocculent matter the instant the beast's claws touched him. In a flash, a large amount of demonic Qi and strange gray haze formed a huge array exuding a malevolent aura. The flocculent matter transformed into ropes, trapping the writhing divine beast in the center of the array.

Immortal Venerable Qingyun immediately drew her sword and flew towards the array, sword Qi and spiritual energy converging at its tip. Just as she was about to pierce the array, it was over before it began.

A withered old hand, covered in wrinkles and reeking of death, gripped the blade, preventing it from advancing an inch. The attack of the great Immortal Venerable Qingyun was brought to a dead stop in mid-air, just like that.

The divine beast turned around, its eyes glowing fiercely. The demon cultivator emerged unscathed from a spatial rift to the side. Looking at the trapped beast, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Nothing but a piece of trash," the demon cultivator said, suppressing Immortal Venerable Qingyun with his demonic Qi. The gap of several cultivation realms was an insurmountable chasm in this world. Even for a prodigy among human cultivators, she was no match against absolute power.

"Look at you, you lowly ancient divine beast. You once dominated the three realms, but in the end, you're nothing more than a vessel this venerable one has taken a fancy to." The demon cultivator felt that he had finally said most of what he had been holding back for years. He activated the array, preparing to refine the divine beast's remnant soul in one fell swoop.

As the demonic Qi in the array began to surge, the demon cultivator even took a moment to lament, "Who would have thought that the final monarch of the last surviving clan of the great divine beasts would actually fear human cultivators in white robes? That you would lose your mind and go berserk just at the sight of someone dressed in white. Such a fragile mind, truly the laughingstock of the three realms!"

Immortal Venerable Qingyun, who was restrained by the overwhelming power, was suddenly stunned when she heard the demon's words. Afraid of white clothes? Loses her mind and goes berserk upon seeing someone in white?

Why did that sound so much like her little disciple?

Immortal Venerable Qingyun shifted her gaze to the divine beast in the array. The beast's eyes… they really did have a hint of her little disciple in them. Was it her imagination?

The demon cultivator was in a great mood. He watched the surging demonic Qi in the array, the muscles on his face twisting into a smile.

He could already imagine the wonderful experience of seizing its soul power, occupying this divine beast's body, and ascending to the Upper Realm. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept past from behind the divine beast. The demonic Qi in the array flickered like a flame a few times and was mostly extinguished. Only a small cluster of demonic Qi remained, flickering at the divine beast's feet like a dying ember in the wind.

The demon cultivator's face froze. The other two spectators also hadn't expected that the demonic Qi, which looked powerful enough to turn the world upside down and devour the divine beast whole, would just… be blown out by the wind? Was this a new viewing package or an Easter egg?

The divine beast blinked its large eyes, lifted its left front paw, and gently stomped. With a faint "poof," the last trace of demonic Qi vanished, without even a wisp of smoke.

The scene became somewhat awkward, even falling into silence.

The demon cultivator beckoned with his finger, but there was no response from the array. Not only had all the demonic Qi inside disappeared, but it seemed the array itself had lost its connection to him.

He shifted his gaze from the array and met the eyes of the divine beast, which was no longer bound by demonic Qi.

"I hear you want to refine my soul power and, while you're at it, seize my body?" A pleasant female voice came from the divine beast's mouth. A sharp pain shot through Immortal Venerable Qingyun's mind. That voice was incredibly familiar, as if it had once sounded beside her pillow.

"A mere demon cultivator dares to be so arrogant? Tell me, am I the one who's gone berserk, or are you the one who's lost your mind?"

After arrogantly delivering the lines she had prepared long ago, coupled with the cool move of stomping out the immense demonic Qi, Chi Junluo proudly flicked her cat tail. That's right, she did it on purpose. It was a rare opportunity to appear before the female lead in such a majestic form, so she definitely had to put on a good show. That wretched demon cultivator knew how to act, trying to trick her, but how could she, a magnificent divine beast, just sit back and wait for her doom?

Perhaps, this was the cultivation world's version of The Birth of an Actor.

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