Abundant Martial Arts Virtue
Chapter 598 - 476: The Black Cat Appears!

Chapter 598: Chapter 476: The Black Cat Appears!

"Brother Wu, why do you want to stay on the mountain? There’s nothing fun up here, could it be... an emotional issue?"

The old man asked, puzzled.

—This young man was well-dressed, behaved gently and with manners, and could fight with his bare hands; he was likely not from an ordinary family.

So the only reason had to be "emotional issues."

"I am heartbroken and wish to stay here for a while, seeking the protection of the Divine Master of Ning Shen Temple," Wu Xiaode said.

The old man fell silent for a few breaths.

If those bandits return... this young man might not be afraid, but we...

No.

Tomorrow I must install surveillance cameras.

Besides—

"Young brother, if you don’t mind, you can stay with us for a while, we have guest rooms."

The old man said.

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Wu Xiaode said with a smile.

Suddenly.

A loud "clang" resonated and rows of ice crystal letters suddenly appeared in his mind:

"You drove away the bandits."

"Justice has been served, and for this, you’ve gained Merit points: 1 point."

"It seems something related to you has changed, please explore on your own."

Wu Xiaode was slightly startled.

I’ve just arrived in this world and don’t know anybody—

In this world where Soul Power is completely sealed, what could possibly relate to me?

He thought for a moment and then stood up, saying,

"I’ll go out for a walk and come back soon, please make yourselves at home."

"Okay, okay," the old man said repeatedly.

Wu Xiaode walked out of the temple gate and all the way to the steps leading down the mountain.

He tentatively took a step forward.

No fog appeared.

It seems that doing good deeds that benefit the Virtual World allows the World Will to loosen its restraint on me!

Wu Xiaode’s heart leaped with joy, and he continued to walk down the stairs heading to the base of the mountain.

Not long after.

He arrived at the midpoint of the mountain and saw a pavilion, with a few houses next to it that read:

"Beverages, snacks; hot water for instant noodles."

It was too late, and the doors were all closed.

Wu Xiaode passed by the pavilion and continued to walk down the mountain.

Fog suddenly surrounded him.

He lost his sense of direction and started feeling unwell.

But this time, his skin didn’t become wrinkled, nor did he feel like he was on the verge of death.

In summary—

I can’t go any further.

Wu Xiaode took a step back and returned to the pavilion, sighing.

point of Merit, just to reach this pavilion?

What good is that!

As he was thinking, he suddenly saw a shadow appear on the pavilion.

Under the moonlight.

The shadow leisurely approached, perched on the top beam of the pavilion, looking down at Wu Xiaode.

—It was a cat, entirely black with eyes that emitted a white light.

"The fact that you can gain Merit... that’s quite nostalgic, so I came to have a look at you,"

The black cat spoke human language.

"Do you know where I come from?" Wu Xiaode asked.

The black cat narrowed its eyes and said softly, "Accumulating Merit, that’s something only immortals from the Primordial Era could do. In the past, after cultivating three thousand virtuous deeds, you became worthy of immortality. And you, being on this mountain—"

"Perhaps you’re an immortal from the Queen Mother of the West’s retinue?"

Wu Xiaode was startled, then immediately overjoyed, saying,

"You’re right. In fact, I am the Divine Master of the Ning Shen Temple in Kunlun Mountain. I encountered a deceitful World Will. It should have been here instead of me, but it swapped me in as a substitute."

The black cat nodded but didn’t speak.

—It agreed with this!

Wu Xiaode said, "Since you also know this is a mistake, would you let me go back? I don’t want to spend even a second more in this world."

The black cat shook its head, saying, "Anyone who comes here can only live out a life as an ordinary person, you should let go of that thought."

"Is there really no way at all?" Wu Xiaode asked.

The black cat’s eyes narrowed again, and it shook its head, "Surviving in this world is not easy. I advise you—huh?"

It stared at the two weapons at Wu Xiaode’s waist and fell silent for a long while.

"What’s wrong?"

Wu Xiaode was confused.

"Do you prefer the saber or the sword?" the black cat asked, swishing its tail.

"I know a bit of both," Wu Xiaode replied.

"Then... do you have any lineage in your swordsmanship?" the black cat asked again.

"No lineage, only taught one move," Wu Xiaode answered truthfully.

"Normally, I shouldn’t inquire about your abilities, but can you reveal a little about your swordsmanship?" the black cat asked casually.

Wu Xiaode hesitated.

—Was this about establishing a connection?

The "Lone Journey Amidst Wind and Snow" saber skill was passed down by the All Worlds Sword Saint Li Chengfeng, who awaited someone’s return to his era to combat the Heavenly Demon.

And the Secret Sword "Long Moon Sparse Shadows"?

Could it be—

Wu Xiaode didn’t draw his sword but only started to speak, "Remembering the old days on the bridge at noon, among those who sat, many were heroes—"

Before he finished speaking, he saw the black cat’s swaying tail suddenly stop moving, and then, its fur puffed up all at once.

"It’s you."

The black cat said with a deep voice.

"Me?" Wu Xiaode was utterly bewildered.

"I’ll make some preparations, fast or slow, it will take a day or two to be ready, and then I’ll come back for you," said the black cat. With that, its figure shot up into the sky, stepping into the moonlight and disappearing from view.

Only Wu Xiaode was left standing there.

He stood alone for a while, then spread his hands and said,

"Hey, wasn’t it said that Soul Power couldn’t be used in this world?"

There was no response.

Sigh.

Forget it.

Let’s go back up the mountain first, rest for a night, and wait for this cat to return.

Maybe it really has some connection to this swordsmanship.

Wu Xiaode looked at the road leading down the mountain and saw that the rugged path was obscured by fog, completely impassable.

...

The next day.

The sunlight was just right.

The old man in charge of the monastery sent someone down the mountain early in the morning to buy surveillance equipment.

The others were also bustling about, either sweeping the courtyard, doing their morning practice, or chopping firewood behind the mountain.

Wu Xiaode, however, had nothing to do.

He drank a bowl of porridge and simply moved a chair to lean against the wall and bask in the sun.

No one bothered him.

But sitting for a long time got a bit boring.

"Elder Zhao, what’s the origin of the immortals enshrined in your temple?" he asked.

He went to ask the old man.

The old man had just taken care of an important customer offering incense and had no time for him, so he just passed him a book.

"There aren’t many entertaining activities on the mountain, just these traditional classics. You can read it if you have nothing else to do," said the old man.

Holding the book, Wu Xiaode returned to sit down at the base of the wall.

He read books extremely fast.

A book of several hundred thousand words, he could finish in almost an hour.

After reading the whole book, he couldn’t help but fall into thought.

This book...

Was called "Journey to the West".

He remembered the first time he entered the Inner World of Kunlun Mountain, that peach tree had said something to him.

"In ancient times, when heaven and earth sought to enlighten all beings, the essence of sun and moon was refined into a life form that sought immortals and the Tao and eventually became true. It was then sent into the Immortal Peach Orchard of Kunlun Mountain, where it ate all the life-extending Immortal Peaches before it was released to face countless hardships and battles until it finally achieved success."

"That was a tale from the last era."

So the monkey who ate the peaches was the Great Sage Equalling Heaven?

On the Inner World of Kunlun Mountain, within that vermilion temple, the door at the center originally bore five big characters, wouldn’t that be "Heavenly Monkey King Mansion"?

Then...

Are there any records about the master of Ning Shen Temple?

With this thought, Wu Xiaode no longer sought the sun, standing up again to look for the old man.

"Are you looking for records related to the master of Ning Shen Temple?" asked the old man, somewhat surprised.

He had just seen off an incense-offering visitor and was standing in the middle of the grand hall, replacing the lock on the Merit Box.

"Yeah, since the statue of this divine being has been destroyed, I wanted to see how this immortal got along," said Wu Xiaode.

"It is said that this Divine Spirit was in charge of marriage connections because he had many followers himself—of course, this is just a legend, there are no accurate records, they have been lost," the old man said.

"What about The Queen Mother of the West?" Wu Xiaode was not convinced.

"Only that she is a most noble Divine Master, overseeing all divines, but there aren’t any detailed records," said the old man.

As more familiar visitors came to offer incense money, the old man hurriedly went up to greet them with a smile.

Wu Xiaode zoned out for a while, then turned to look at the statue of The Queen Mother of the West.

Wait a minute—

What’s that?

Wu Xiaode walked over to the plaque beneath the statue of The Queen Mother of the West.

On it was written:

"Great Venerable, The Queen Mother of the West, master of the Inner World of Kunlun Mountain, unattended at the moment of transmigration and reincarnation, died and her path ended."

Unattended!

How could it be, he was clearly protecting her!

—No, that’s wrong. He’s been trapped in this Virtual World.

But Shen Feixue was by Shen Xiujun’s side! With her strength, did she also fail to protect The Queen Mother’s reincarnation?

Wu Xiaode’s mind flashed with thoughts as he hurried to the spot where his own statue was.

Of course, his own statue was no longer there.

But next to where his statue had been, there was a statue of a woman, and the plaque below it shockingly read:

"Consort of the master of Ning Shen Temple, Fairy Shen Xiujun."

"She was a natural-born Saint, but unfortunately, she had a Heavenly Demon parasitize within her body, which had always been suppressed with the help of the master of Ning Shen Temple, thus keeping her safe."

"When the master of Ning Shen Temple went missing during a great disaster, the Fairy was heartbroken beyond measure, and ultimately fell victim to the Heavenly Demon, fading away like vanished incense and shattered jade."

Wu Xiaode stared at the plaque, reading it over and over, a surge of murderous intent suddenly emerging in his heart.

Damn it.

Is this event written here about to happen?

...No, more precisely, time itself has died, so the timelines of All Worlds are parallel.

If he can’t return—

"The disappearance of the master of Ning Shen Temple" will immediately trigger a chain reaction across All Worlds!

But there’s still a chance!

Because time has died, as long as he can return, everything will be restored!

To go back...

That’s right, Merit!

Mert could attract the black cat.

And since he had been able to obtain Merit, it meant that this world still recognized immortals.

If he could fill up three thousand Merit points—

Maybe there was a chance!