On a remote and uninhabited prairie, there was a small lump of white quietly laying under the shade.
It was a cat.
His entire body was snow-white, with glossy and smooth fur. He had a beautiful pink nose and eyes as clear as sapphires saturated with the color of the ocean.
This cat’s name was Yue An. It was the name given to him by his first owner.
In the shade, the white cat leisurely swung its tail before sitting up. With a gentle shake of that thin tail, many other white tails instantly appeared. The cat’s expression seemed quite nervous as he turned his head to cautiously count his tails.
Done with the count, the white cat was very satisfied. He then carefully looked at the little shadow of a ninth tail and gently caressed it. As he actually touched it, his expression became somewhat pleased and he began to purr in contentment.
Yue An gently swung the existing eight tails, and, like a folding fan closing, those extra tails merged into a single one.
Legend was that for every 20 years of cultivation, a cat would grow another tail. Its cultivation was considered to be complete when the ninth tail had grown <sup>1</sup> . Once the cat attained righteousness through cultivation, it could become an immortal. However, when the ninth tail was almost fully grown, the heaven’s will would be imposed and a wish would have to be fulfilled. Any type of wish was okay. But when a wish was granted, a tail would fall, and the cat, left with only eight tails, couldn’t ever become immortal.
Yue An was only a young cat and had not lost a tail before, nor did he want to lose one. The young cat was not resigned. Taking advantage of when the clan’s guards were distracted, he sneakily used the formation left by the only cat that had successfully cultivated nine tails to become an immortal, and he was sent to this place without humans.
Yue An calculated the date; his ninth tail should grow soon. And here, there weren’t any humans! Yue An was extremely happy. With a lazy yawn and stretch, he cockily swung his tail and began lapping at his soft, pretty coat.
This was a paradise where only animals existed.
The end of the dry season was approaching, and the unbridled prairie that had been tormented by the great heat would soon welcome the sweet rain. Yue An could sense the faint traces of moisture in the air that brought wafts of coolness during the blazing drought.
The pure white cat stood up, shaking out his fur before jumping onto the huge rock that he generally used to sharpen his claws. Standing proudly with his head raised, the petite Yue An thought of the lions he had seen on TV in the past. Remembering the exuberant manes, he enthusiastically copied the manner of the male lions and roared loudly.
“——Meow!”
The tender cry didn’t frighten anything. Even the birds that were standing nearby with their heads high, on alert against natural predators, were not scared away.
Yue An, “……”
Yue An sullenly looked at his paws before he extended his claws to lightly scratch at the big rock below his feet. Seeing the five deep claw marks that had appeared, he finally retracted his claws, satisfied with himself. He jumped down from the rock and strutted towards the water reservoir in his territory with his tail raised high.
Yue An had already been at this place that lacked spiritual energy for many decades. From when he only had 5 tails, he had already claimed this piece of territory and lived his days here without moving his den. Actually, saying that this place lacked spiritual energy was an exaggeration. Even the post-magic era, where barely any cats could awaken their sentience, had more spiritual energy than here.
Yue An could guess that he was no longer on earth. Here, the oxygen was thin, and the animals he came upon were much smaller than the ones on earth. The sky was always overcast with tinges of red. The torridity didn’t come from the sun, but rather from under the ground.
However, that was fine.
The growth of his tails did not depend on the spiritual energy available, they would grow as long as he lived. Whether the spiritual energy was dispersed in the air or not, it only affected the strength of the techniques he could use. For example, the lightning technique that could strike down a wall back in the day, in this place that lacked spiritual energy it could only be used… to catch fish.
Yue An had raised some fish in the reservoir. During the dry season, daring little animals would sometimes sneak into his territory and steal a few. Yue An didn’t really mind even after discovering them a few times. They all wanted to survive; those fellows struggled to live while he was rather unrestrained. However, he’d be even freer after becoming an immortal!
Yue An picked up a fish that he struck unconscious with lightning and strolled towards his den while happily fantasizing.
After becoming an immortal, things like fish, he could eat or throw them out as he liked. If he wanted chicken, he could eat to his heart’s content, and he didn’t need to hunt those little sparrows anymore. He could directly go hunt phoenixes!
The little white cat that looked as if it had not yet reached adulthood happily walked forward with short steps. If it wasn’t for the fish in his mouth, he would even meow a song.
Yue An’s fish pond was a bit far from his den. Before he became a demon, he was a pampered house cat. His first owner was a cute and charming little girl who doted on him to the point that he could reach the sky. Unfortunately, when the little girl’s mother was pregnant with a second child, she sent Yue An to her countryside hometown.
It was then that Yue An awakened his sentience. It was also during that time that he was taken back to the clan by a traveling cat demon.
The little girl raised Yue An for a bit more than a year, and along with her pampering, Yue An developed many fussy habits. For example: one – there couldn’t be any foreign scents near his den; two – maintaining a glossy, spotless appearance at all times; three – paying particular attention to keeping an unhurried and composed bearing while eating, etc.
Yue An had even sectioned off a specific area for eating and another for burying food remains. Slightly to the left of the area between his den and the fish pond, there was a piece of land not covered by the wild grass, exposing the dirt below. That was Yue An’s dining room.
Yue An set the fish down, the tip of the tail that was raised high swayed a few times. Just as he was about to bite, his ears suddenly twitched to attention, and he raised his head to look towards the left. Without any warning, his body lowered, the back legs applied force, and he shot forward like a streak of white lightning,
Light rustling sounds came from the prairies. When Yue An who was two heads shorter than the grass appeared again, he was holding something that looked like a cross between a bird and a chicken <sup>2</sup> in his mouth.
When he was done killing it, Yue An effortlessly dragged the animal that was twice his size back to the dining area. With ease, he stretched out his sharp claws and skinned the animal that had delivered itself to his doorstep.
Afterward, he unhurriedly licked clean the blood and shreds of flesh on his body and paws before lowering his head to leisurely eat the fish and the unplanned-for prey. It tasted like chicken, but more firm. It was better than nothing, and he could still use it to grind his teeth.
Finished with his meal, Yue An licked his paws and cleaned the traces of blood off of his face before starting to dig a hole at the side, preparing to bury the remaining bones.
At this time, a peal of thunder came from near the horizon. The white cat that was focused on digging jumped in shock and raised its head to look towards the murky red sky. He didn’t detect the moisture that would always appear before it rained. There shouldn’t have been thunder at this time.
The sky was silent for many seconds after the thunder, then there was a sudden explosion accompanied by blinding flames.
Those flames became brighter and brighter until they cut through the hazy skies. It was as if a comet was piercing through the atmosphere, a long tail trailing after it, bringing along a calamitous force as it smashed towards this piece of overgrown land.
Yue An watched as that comet-like thing came closer and closer, streaking through the sky above him and causing the ground below to violently shake, before landing on…
The fishbone in Yue An’s mouth fell to the ground; an expression that was part vacant, part shocked and part wronged appeared on his adorable face. His fur bristled, and, without the thought of even burying the remains of his food, he turned and immediately bolted towards his den.
Unfortunately, the result was already clear.
Yue An crouched beside the dark grey, oval-shaped thing that had descended from the sky and was radiating astonishing heat. Looking at the remains of the den that he had lived in for so many decades after building it with great difficulty, he almost wanted to cry.
Not having time to mind the grey ash that stuck onto his fur, the cat circled the burnt, blackish ball a few times. Finally, he got tired and stopped. He meowed a few times with that tender voice of his; he was extremely aggrieved. After feeling wronged for a few seconds, he unsheathed his claws and began clawing savagely at the charcoal ball that had smashed his den.
Yue An was a demon. The fighting ability of demons was quite amazing, and their bodies were extremely formidable.
He furiously scratched at the burnt remains; the terribly charcoal ball was easily clawed through as if it was paper. Yue An scratched at it for a while and then felt the sensation under his paws change, as if he had touched something.
Suddenly, a low click came from within the foreign object.
Yue An’s ears twitched, vigilantly standing upright as he looked at the giant charcoal ball that had opened up from within after revealing a crack. He retracted his paws, pulling back a step to see the true appearance of the thing that had been wrapped up inside the burnt ball.
It was an egg-shaped thing that emitted a milky white light——but it wasn’t an egg, because it was slowly opening, exposing what it had been protecting within.
What was revealed was a human.
One that was tattered, drenched in blood, and had a hole in his abdomen. One that was about to stop breathing. This human still had a trace of vitality in him. In fact, with unyielding willpower, he was even trying to slowly open his eyes.
Alarms went off in Yue An’s heart. When he clearly saw what was in the egg, he turned and fled without hesitation.
However, it was already too late.
At this moment, the cat whose ninth tail was about to grow felt the guidance of the heavens and unavoidably heard what the human on his last breath most earnestly wished for.
…
Yue An pretended to not hear, desperately running for his life. But while running, he felt his rear getting light and turned his head to see a tail lightly fall to the ground.
Yue An’s steps stopped. He was trembling as he swung out all his tails and counted them in disbelief. After counting, he wailed with grief and indignation. Staring at the tail that had fallen and the human whose injuries were recovering at a rate that could be seen with the naked eye, he felt like he was going to faint.