The raindrops lessened. The atmosphere around the hut had completely changed.
Mais was in no condition to move and needed time. Kasuur could not even think in the face of such an aura. He didn't even turn his head. Even the raindrops trembled in the presence of the aura that appeared at that moment. Suddenly, the cat's body began to merge with the white light. First, her three tails and body merged, and then her color changed. The cat's body was now completely covered in white fur.
Kasuur turned around. He saw the bright light. This was the Tao influencing the body. Only very unique cultivators could achieve this when passing into the Sage Realm. Allowing the Tao to influence one's body enables one to reach a completely different level of Tao influence. The only reason Mais knew about it was because he dreamed of achieving this state and taking his cultivation to a much higher realms.
Of course, it was just a dream. No one can achieve the influence of the Tao in the body before reaching the Sage Realm. Not even Mais.
Mais could feel the movement of the Tao and the aura of the sage. He didn't understand how an origin beast could suddenly reach the Sage Realm, but he knew she was benefiting from the Tao's influence. Her body was changing under its influence. Mais knew he could not resist her at that moment. Even though she had just reached the Sage Realm, very few sages could resist this monster now.
Still, he stepped toward her. They could not escape this cat. They could only get closer.
"Can you stop her?"
Mais heard Kasuur's fearful voice. Surprised, Mais turned to Kasuur, whom he had just passed. He did not expect Kasuur to be able to withstand this aura. How could someone in the Origin Energy Realm survive it? Mais could, because he had a unique connection to the Tao and a unique bloodline compared to ordinary experts in the Sage Realm. But what did Kasuur possess? Was the only reason he didn't speak after what had just happened because he was scared?
"That depends on how smart she is."
At that moment, Mais took out the gold coin again. He was only four meters away from the three-tailed cat covered in white fur.
He stopped at that moment. The fluctuations in the Tao intensified. This creature had a very high level of understanding of the Tao. Mais stuck his staff into the ground and tried to save himself from being pushed backwards. He realized that emotions flowed alongside the Tao in the energy waves of origin. When he realized what the cat was feeling, his expression changed completely.
"You don't want to kill. "
The gold coin instantly disappeared from Mais' hand. Under the cat's sad gaze, Mais approached her. His body was almost engulfed in the white glow emanating from her. Nevertheless, Mais felt a connection with this cat. Not with words, but with the Tao.
However, a normal creature could not reach the level of the Tao necessary for communication. This cat was different.
"You are not an ordinary creature."
Kasuur looked at the boy standing upright in front of the white glow, staff in hand. Then, the little cat. Everything he saw seemed incredible.
'This must be a cultivator's journey.'
The creature was small, but her power was immense. Yet Mais did not sense any desire to kill from her. In fact, he understood that she didn't want to kill anyone.
Mais took a step. He stepped into the light.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Kasuur turned to Mais with trembling legs. He was sure he had been hypnotized. He tried to move, but he couldn't. His enemy, two realms above him, was no ordinary human! More importantly, she was no ordinary sage!
Kasuur was crushed under the weight of her enormous aura. This power could not destroy him. It could not take away his awareness, but it could stop him. Kasuur could not move.
He could only yell from behind Mais, and the sound of his voice made the situation even more chaotic.
The cat had heard the voice of her executioner. It enraged and frightened her.
CRACK...!!!!!
Suddenly, crackling sounds were heard. At that moment, the light spread further and began shattering the trees it touched. This destructive power was targeting Kasuur's fat belly.
"There is nothing to fear."
This was only for Mais. Kasuur was terrified, and every cell in his body warned him to flee.
Mais was getting closer. At that moment, he was only one step away from the cat with three tails.
"You are alone and abandoned. Why don't you want to kill anyone?"
These words were not just a question Mais asked the cat. Mais wished he could ask himself the same question. But he couldn't. He had killed despite everything. He had taken someone's life, even though he couldn't see or hear it. Everyone had things they loved. They had names. They had loved ones, and loved ones had them. They had feelings and dreams. They had responsibilities. They had years ahead of them. Did he have the right to take away their right to live?
But was he looking for justice? This kind of justice could not be found. There would be no justice anywhere he went. Didn't he tell Kasuur as much?
"I apologize."
He didn't know the lives he took. He killed without caring. He took their lives in a despicable way without knowing their value. He apologized to everyone he had killed. He let the white light touch him. He knew. There would be no more death. This cub, who didn't want to kill, was not a monster like him.
He didn't feel painful claws in that moment. It was soft, white fur. This cat, who had led a lonely life like him, had found someone to replace her mother. The warmth she felt in nature during her lonely nights in the forest was much more intense here. She wanted to cuddle in that warmth and escape the forest that frightened and polluted her. This little monster had felt the Tao of Mais. It was as visible as the bright moon in the sky.
She sat on Mais's lap. She released the white origin energy and her aura that she had suppressed, and the energy dissipated into the earth like a burst balloon.
Kasuur was also released. At that moment, he knew that a sage monster was sleeping on Mais' lap, but he said nothing. He looked at them with his eyes open. He was surprised but thought he was watching a drama rather than a magic show. He realized that Mais and the three-tailed cat were bound.
As the raindrops began to fall again, Kasuur nudged Mais with the tip of his sword.
"We should go inside now."
Mais headed for the hut with the cat in his arms and Kasuur behind him. Kasuur kept looking at the cat.
"It seems I really shouldn't have killed him. I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. You couldn't have known he'd be one of the nine-lives cats."
They entered the hut, and Kasuur looked at Mais, puzzled. At that moment, he didn't understand what Mais was talking about.
"Nine live cats?"
Mais nodded and put the cat on the bed where it had just slept. At least, he thought so. In fact, his bed was in the corner opposite the one where he had left it. The cat got up and got into the bed on her own.
"She's a kind of cat that resurrects every time she dies. But she's not normal. She has three tails. She's probably an evolved species. Maybe her ancestors were the first to evolve. I don't know how or why, but each time she dies, she becomes stronger. She just needed to return from the dead with her old strength, which is an absurd ability for monsters. Perhaps it was the Tao. But that doesn't seem possible either. It shouldn't matter which Tao she gained entry into. She shouldn't have been able to pass from the Origin Energy Realm to the Sage Realm.
This creature was like a newborn. Mais knew. This little cat had probably died before. She was alone. Her parents had abandoned her. Or maybe they were dead. She was scared. She had already seen the other world. She doubted her own existence and didn't know why she was living. She had never experienced pleasure. It was difficult for her to kill for food, let alone kill for pleasure like other monsters did. She had tasted death.
When Mais realized that the nine-tailed cat had three tails, he realized that she was the offspring of a nine-tailed cat and a three-tailed fox. But such a creature was not supposed to be born. It didn't make sense. Even if she had evolved, there must have been an in-between species, but Mais had never heard of one even close to this one.
He had even heard of experiments on them! This birth could not have produced fertile offspring. Even worse, it burst the uteruses of nine live cats.
These nine cats were not just rare creatures. Each of these powerful creatures was precious. The cat with the ruptured uterus could not undergo any more experiments until she died.
Mais stood there in his wet clothes, his mind on this experiment.
"I have a great lack of knowledge in beast science," he thought.
Mais picked up his staff and found the wall. Leaning his back against it, he pulled a book out of his large robe. He did this with his hand inside his robes so that Kasuur wouldn't ask questions. The book, of course, came from the ring.
Still, Kasuur was confused. Mais had taken out a book. But how would he read it?
He was blind.
"Hey, Mais—"
"It's an audiobook. The narrator can express his own words. It's used for learning during bodybuilding training."
There was a whole library in the treasure palace. Of course, most of the books were rare and ancient, but there were also the occasional audiobook.
Kasuur wouldn't understand or ask about them because he didn't care. Mais decided to explain it to him later.
"What are we going to call her?"
This was an important question. Neither Mais nor Kasuur expected to tame a monster. But Mais thought for a moment and then decided.
"Immortal White."
The kitty was far from immortal, of course, but the name suited her perfectly.
So Mais and Kasuur decided it was the right name for her.