Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 55

Only one small mouthful of pale green liquid remained in the bottle. Lin Mianmian poured it down in one gulp. She only felt a cool, light sweetness fill her mouth. Before she could even taste more, her body swallowed it down eagerly, almost by instinct.
What a strange feeling it was. It seemed that before that mouthful of liquid even reached her stomach, it uncontrollably scattered in every direction. It was like a baptism of body and heart, like sweet rain after a long drought, like an old tree blooming new flowers. Even her soul seemed to be moistened… and unsatisfied.
That was right. Unsatisfied.
The comfort, as if her meridians had been opened, lasted only a brief instant. After that came a sudden endless… longing.
To make a not very fitting comparison, it was like a person who had been so thirsty he was close to death, so dazed he could no longer feel thirst. At that moment, someone gave him a bowl of water. After one instant of comfort and satisfaction, what woke in him was the feeling of thirst, the longing for water.
Unfortunately, there was no more.
A-Bai had said before that when she and Yuan Zhaoyang discovered this bottle, there had only been this one bottle. Its source was unknown and its formula unclear. A-Bai had even exposed so much information in order to bring this bottle out and give Lin Mianmian one more choice, one more path. Lin Mianmian believed A-Bai would not lie to her.
But she was so thirsty.
Lin Mianmian bit her lip hard. In the end, she still could not quite restrain the longing in her heart. A little embarrassed, she asked the little white rabbit, “Um… can I pour in some water and drink it?” As she spoke, Lin Mianmian shook the already empty bottle in her hand at A-Bai.
Why was there no reaction?
A-Bai, who had been watching Lin Mianmian closely while preparing to hold her breath in time, jump farther away, and then send a few large water balls to wash stinky Mianmian, froze a little. Still, she quickly nodded her furry rabbit head hard.
If she remembered correctly, back then, she and Yuan Zhaoyang had both reacted as soon as one mouthful entered their stomachs. But… maybe Mianmian’s aptitude was worse, so the reaction was slower?
A-Bai watched Lin Mianmian pour a little water into the bottle, shake it, drink it, then pour in more water, shake it, and drink again.
Back and forth, she drank five or six times. Counting it up, the water she poured into the bottle added up to three or four bottles. Yet Lin Mianmian looked as if she had no sign at all of drawing spiritual energy into her body. A-Bai, who had been watching the progress closely the whole time, grew so nervous that her whole rabbit face wrinkled together.
Yuan Zhaoyang, lying off to the side, was also nervous. At some point, her two cat paws had stacked tightly together. Now they were even slightly damp with sweat. Fried Dough, lying beside her, grew restless after a while and wanted to get up and walk around. Usually, for the sake of acting for Lin Mianmian, Yuan Zhaoyang would patiently cooperate with Fried Dough and walk two circles. But now, how could she have the mind for that? With her whole heart hanging on Lin Mianmian, Yuan Zhaoyang slapped Fried Dough back to the ground with one paw.
“Mianmian, you have already drunk several bottles…” When Lin Mianmian had added water and shaken the bottle nearly ten times, A-Bai finally could not help raising a furry paw to speak.
“I do not know why, but I suddenly feel a little thirsty…” Lin Mianmian drank the last mouthful of water from the bottle. She forced herself not to refill it again. After stopping, she felt rather embarrassed. Wasn’t this behavior about the same as licking a plate clean after finishing the dish, then repeatedly rinsing the bottom of the plate and drinking that water? Cough.
But that sudden dryness and thirst was truly hard to control.
Especially because that liquid seemed to wake not only this body’s thirst, but also some longing deep in her soul. Unfortunately, even if she rinsed the bottle again, the aura she could rinse out grew weaker and weaker. Plain water could only stop the body’s thirst.
Fortunately, that longing seemed to slowly fade as time passed.
“This bottle… can I keep it?” Lin Mianmian, gradually returning to normal, placed the bottle back on the table with a faint blush.
“Ah?” A-Bai felt she had not heard clearly.
The next second, Yuan Zhaoyang’s voice transmission smashed into A-Bai’s heart.
A-Bai thoughtfully glanced at the calico cat not far away, then nodded. “Of course. But this thing’s origin is not easy to explain, so it is best not to let others see it. I will keep it for you first. After you draw spiritual energy into your body and learn to mark a storage bag with divine sense, I will give it back to you. What do you think? Of course, before I leave today, you can use it to drink more water. Speaking of which, do you feel anything special right now?”
Feel…
Lin Mianmian sensed herself for a moment and spoke with some hesitation. “When I first drank it, it felt like my whole body was suddenly moistened.”
“Moistened?” A-Bai looked blank. Wasn’t she supposed to start feeling the flow of spiritual energy in the air?
“Yes. Like white fungus. Dried white fungus… mm, dried shiitake mushrooms… soaked in water. That kind of moistening.” Lin Mianmian tried to make a more fitting comparison.
A-Bai understood. Then she became even more confused.
Likewise, Yuan Zhaoyang, who was tightly clenching her little paws off to the side, also sank into thought. It was supposed to be “Drink it, and draw spiritual energy into the body,” right? Why was there no reaction? Where was the problem? Had it been kept too long and lost effect? Was Mianmian’s spiritual root aptitude too poor, so one mouthful was not enough? Or… was it because Mianmian was human, and this thing only worked on demons? Also, what in the world was that feeling of being soaked and expanded?
Lin Mianmian, who had drunk the liquid, did not look like she could immediately draw spiritual energy into her body at all. The cat and rabbit’s minds spun through countless thoughts. Unfortunately, this thing had come from nowhere in the first place, and for the moment, they truly had no clue.
“Mm… so after drinking this, about how long does it take to draw spiritual energy into the body?” Seeing A-Bai stay silent for a long time, Lin Mianmian took the initiative to ask.
A-Bai froze again. Only after a while did she remember. Oh, she had only told Lin Mianmian that after drinking this mouthful, she would draw spiritual energy into her body. Lin Mianmian probably had not understood that “drinking it” and “drawing spiritual energy into the body” were supposed to happen at the same time.
That was good too…
The rabbit and cat exchanged a look with unusual harmony.
A-Bai coughed twice. Unable to bear meeting Lin Mianmian’s expectant eyes, she casually looked somewhere under the table. “This, after drinking it, once it digests a little, it should be about time.”
Yuan Zhaoyang: “…” Terrible acting. Could you bring out even one-tenth of the acting you use when you tell me you did not sneak out to eat mortal-world food?
A-Bai, who received Yuan Zhaoyang’s mocking voice transmission, also felt gloomy. If you have the ability, then stop curling up to the side pretending to be a good cat. If you have the courage, you come face this little girl’s eyes, full of expectation and fear of disappointment, and tell her, hehe, we succeeded as soon as it entered our stomachs.
“You… and Senior Sister Yuan, how long after drinking it did you draw spiritual energy into your bodies? Mm… if it is convenient to say.” Lin Mianmian had spent plenty of time with A-Bai by now. Seeing the little rabbit tilt her head away and refuse to look at her, Lin Mianmian’s heart inevitably thumped and slowly sank. Even so, she still hoped for a thread of hope.
Usually she was so silly, petting a cat every day without recognizing a cat demon. Why had she suddenly become clever now? This question struck the center exactly. Answering it meant either lying or hurting her.
A-Bai lowered her head and quickly exchanged several rounds of voice transmissions with Yuan Zhaoyang. Then she sighed and lifted her head. “As soon as we drank it, we sensed the spiritual energy around us. We sat down and drew spiritual energy into our bodies.”
She knew it.
That was why the little rabbit had hesitated earlier and then avoided her gaze.
Lin Mianmian pressed her lips together, not knowing what to say. Only after a long while did she speak. “My aptitude is too poor. I wasted your and Senior Sister Yuan’s kindness…”
“No, no, no.” A-Bai shook her head. “Maybe this thing has been stored for too many years and lost effect.”
I thought too simply and gave you hope too easily, only to disappoint you again. Yuan Zhaoyang looked at the little girl not far away who was forcing herself to stay calm but still could not hide her disappointment. Her heart felt as if it had been pinched, sour and aching.
This was a feeling Yuan Zhaoyang had never had before. She also had not expected that once this feeling began, there would be a first time and then a second.
Seeing that the magical liquid that had let them draw spiritual energy into their bodies with one mouthful truly had no effect on Lin Mianmian, Lin Mianmian could only continue staying in the outer valley. The little girl had taken quite a blow today. A-Bai also did not have the face to bring up sending the calico cat away, so she could only start fixing the array in the courtyard that Yuan Zhaoyang had deliberately broken.
“Do not worry. I will not give up on myself just because you fixed the array.” Lin Mianmian crouched beside A-Bai, who had her head down repairing the array on the ground. Lin Mianmian turned her head and glanced at the little calico crouching with Fried Dough on the cat climbing frame not far away. “In a few days, send them away.”
A-Bai, who had fixed the array in a few quick moves and was only one final step from finishing, was so shocked she almost made a mistake and caused the array to explode.
“What? Didn’t you say we would wait until after you drew spiritual energy into your body and could not raise them anymore before sending them away?” A-Bai quickly steadied her paw, finished the last step, repaired the array, and lifted her head with a shocked face.
“At first, I was thinking that even after I drew spiritual energy into my body, if they could not follow me inside to live, I could still keep raising them here and often come visit them. But yesterday… just as you said, this place is already unsafe. Even with this array, what use is it? They have a great-uncle at Core Formation, connections inside the sect, good spiritual root aptitude, and soon they will have higher cultivation. Judging by their arrogant and overbearing behavior, although they were the ones who started yesterday’s matter, they were also the ones who suffered a hidden loss in the end. This grudge has been formed. This barrier only prevents people from openly forcing their way in. What about secretly? The cultivation world has so many things and so many methods. If someone wants to do something, how can it be stopped? If I keep being unable to draw spiritual energy into my body, perhaps because of the sect rule that disciples cannot kill each other, they will not do anything to me openly. But Rice Ball and Fried Dough are only cats from the mortal world. If they keep following me…” Lin Mianmian looked at the little calico, and the little calico happened to be looking at her too.
Lin Mianmian’s eyes reddened in an instant, uselessly. “Whether they will take revenge or not is a fifty-fifty thing, but I cannot gamble with my little Rice Ball.”
The calico slowly pressed a paw over her heart.
Why did it suddenly hurt?
What was this? Why did her eyes suddenly heat up?
A-Bai could not help rubbing her eyes and face with her furry paws. “All right. As long as you have thought it through.”
“Tomorrow.” Lin Mianmian pinched her palm and hardened her heart, changing her mind. “I will pack things for them tonight. Send them away tomorrow. Since they have to go, leaving earlier is safer.”
“All right.” A-Bai nodded.
“I am not leaving,” Yuan Zhaoyang transmitted to A-Bai.
A-Bai pretended not to receive it.
“I am not leaving. Tell her to send me away after she draws spiritual energy into her body.” Yuan Zhaoyang jumped down from the cat climbing frame, walked to A-Bai, and stared.
“You only sent me a message before saying you can form your core now, so you broke the array plate and gave me a chance to bring the bottle over. She drank this thing and still had no reaction. Maybe she will not draw spiritual energy into her body for decades. Are you planning to wait another few decades, until your lifespan is almost used up, before forming your core?” The little rabbit quietly looked at the calico before her.
“At least wait a little longer. Maybe she will draw spiritual energy into her body soon. Those people are so bad. She is here alone. Alone… without even a cat to keep her company… all alone…” The calico took two more steps toward the little rabbit. A layer of mist spread through her eyes, making them look wet and bright.
I only sent that message because I saw Lin Mianmian was the only one left who had not drawn spiritual energy into her body, and I wanted her to drink that thing a little sooner…
A-Bai had never seen Yuan Zhaoyang like this. How could she not feel that Lin Mianmian was pitiful too? But if she had to watch Yuan Zhaoyang, who had already been delayed at perfect Foundation Establishment for more than eighty years, be able to form her core yet refuse to do so and continue spending away her lifespan, A-Bai could not do that either.
A-Bai tightly closed her mouth. Her refusal was written all over her.
And so Lin Mianmian, who was sunk in the sadness of parting and trying hard not to cry, saw the little calico somehow jump down from the cat climbing frame and run over. It faced the little white rabbit in a long, strange stare. Then… the little calico’s eyes suddenly grew wet. It scraped up a patch of dust from the ground, flung it all over the little white rabbit, and ran away.
“A… A-Bai…” Lin Mianmian could not quite react. Her first response was to reach out and pat the dust off A-Bai’s fur. “It did not do it on purpose… really… Should I wash you?”
Heh. She absolutely did it on purpose.
That cat face was clearly angry from embarrassment. You cannot understand it?
Then again, I cannot understand the two of you either. What is all this? It is not as if this is life and death.
A-Bai lifted her head and looked faintly at Lin Mianmian. “It is fine. Speaking of which, although that pair of siblings yesterday comes from a medium-small cultivation family, their great-uncle is indeed a Core Formation elder of the Five Elements Sect’s Array Peak. Your thinking is right. If they succeed in cultivation later, and if they are narrow-minded, they might truly come take revenge on you. If they cannot hurt you, they may hurt your cats. Even though I am also Core Formation, you have heard the saying: there are thieves who steal for a thousand days, but no one can guard against thieves for a thousand days. Tomorrow, I will come pick them up.”
“I know.” Lin Mianmian nodded.
“Do not care too much about what happened with the bottle today either. Even if you cannot rely on spiritual root aptitude, you can still rely on sudden insight, right? Take Meng Tianhe, who drew spiritual energy into his body a few days ago. His spiritual root aptitude is not good either, but he had sudden insight.” As A-Bai spoke, she suddenly shook her head with some regret. “Forget it. Do not learn that kind of sudden insight from him. If you want to learn, learn Wang Minger’s kind instead.”
“What happened with Meng Tianhe? Was his sudden insight? I thought he drew spiritual energy into his body normally…” Lin Mianmian was a little surprised.
“At first, he thought so too. But later, when we looked, we could tell it was sudden insight. It was only that he had cultivated for a long time, so he thought it was normal drawing spiritual energy into the body. As for him…” A-Bai rubbed her face and weighed her words. “He was probably too strongly provoked that day. Although it was sudden insight, his whole person looked gloomy. I do not feel very good about it. His hostility is a little heavy. But for now, he does not look like he has entered the demonic path. I only hope he does not walk the wrong road later.”
Lin Mianmian: “…”
What a pity. He had petted cats for so many days and had clearly gotten much better. It was all because of those people.
“Think and feel more. But do not learn from Meng Tianhe.” As A-Bai spoke, she rubbed her face with some distress. “I cannot explain it well either. Anyway, after the cats are sent away, cultivate in peace. I will come see you often and will not let those people bully you.”
“A-Bai, you really are a good rabbit.” Lin Mianmian was a little touched. She crouched down and gently touched the tips of A-Bai’s ears.
A-Bai shook her ears. “Hey, let us agree first. In the future, when you have no cats to pet, you cannot treat me like a cat and pet me.”
“All right, all right.” Lin Mianmian lightly patted the tip of A-Bai’s other ear.
At the open room door, a calico cat poked out half her face. Her damp eyes looked at the person and rabbit getting along harmoniously not far away, and her little paws dug tightly into the ground.
Just when everyone thought Lin Mianmian would continue spending many years in the outer valley on the dull path of drawing spiritual energy into her body, things unexpectedly changed that very night, catching everyone off guard.
While A-Bai was still there, Lin Mianmian rinsed several more bottles of water with the bottle and drank them. A-Bai only thought Lin Mianmian was unwilling to give up and wanted to shake the bottle a few more times, drink a few more times, and see whether there would be a miracle. In truth, Lin Mianmian kept feeling that although the bottle had already been shaken with water many times, there was still a faint trace of that first tempting scent. If she could drink it, why waste it? She was so thirsty.
And so A-Bai stayed until evening before leaving. Mm, that was right. Before dinner, A-Bai firmly and without hesitation refused Lin Mianmian’s offer to stay for a meal.
Lin Mianmian had drunk water all day and was full from drinking. She had no mind to make food for herself, but she did make a feast for Rice Ball and Fried Dough.
After all… after tomorrow’s goodbye, perhaps… they would never meet again.
Rice Ball… Lin Mianmian wanted to look at little Rice Ball a few more times, but every time she thought of parting, she felt like crying. That seemed like it would affect the cats’ meal. So after bringing the cat food to the two cats, Lin Mianmian returned to the room, planning to cultivate for a while to calm her emotions, then pack the little cats’ luggage.
Earlier, after Lin Mianmian drank the liquid and still had no reaction after a while, A-Bai had also asked Lin Mianmian to cultivate and try to sense whether there was spiritual energy around her approaching like a light breeze. But after Lin Mianmian cultivated for a while, everything around her had still been about the same as usual. There was none of the strange movement A-Bai described.
But that evening, when Lin Mianmian slowly calmed her heart, she felt that today… did seem a little different.
Although it was not like A-Bai had said, with currents from every direction surging toward her all at once, as she breathed in and out, there did seem to be something different slowly entering her body.
In the courtyard, Yuan Zhaoyang was heavy-hearted. The moment Lin Mianmian returned to the room, Yuan collected the cat food from Fried Dough’s bowl and casually stuffed it a few pieces of dried meat. Just as Yuan Zhaoyang slowly ate the tasteless cat food in her own bowl, she suddenly felt that the flow of spiritual energy in the air seemed strange.
An unlikely guess appeared in her heart. The little calico quickly jumped down from the table, rushed to the room door in a few steps, and gently pushed the door open a crack.
She saw Lin Mianmian sitting quietly at the center of the spiritual energy movement, breathing in and out.
Finally…
The little calico slowly raised a paw and covered the heart that had been acting strangely all day, aching from time to time.
This was truly… wonderful.