Chapter 109: Minor Success (Part 3)
Monster Beasts don’t understand human language.
Mo Hua had come to understand this clearly.
In the following two days, the Cat Monster seemed to be frightened by Mo Shan, always cowering in its iron cage. Even when let out, it refused to leave the cage, let alone attack Mo Hua.
No matter what Mo Hua said to it, it couldn’t understand and would only stare at Mo Hua with a vicious but somewhat cowardly gaze.
Only when Mo Hua fed it meat would its gaze soften a little.
This way, it was impossible to train the Water Passing Step.
After contemplating for two days, Mo Hua finally came up with a solution.
He starved the Cat Monster for two days, and when it was famished, its eyes glowing green, he fed it dried small fish specially prepared by Liu Ruhua.
These dried small fish were also Monster Beasts with bad-tasting meat and a strong fishy smell, not eaten by cultivators but loved by fish-craving cats.
After that, Mo Hua strung a few dried fish on a string and hung them around his neck. He pointed to the dried fish, then to the Cat Monster.
The message was roughly, “If you want to eat the fish, come and snatch it yourself.”
The rules were similar to when he sparred with Bai Zisheng, except now the opponent had changed from Bai Zisheng to the Little Demon Cat.
Even if the Cat Monster didn’t understand human speech, it understood now.
So, the Cat Monster, formerly timid, began to snatch the dried fish hanging from Mo Hua’s neck in an effort to appease its hunger.
It clearly remembered Mo Shan’s intimidating gaze, so it didn’t dare to harm Mo Hua in the slightest; its target was only the dried fish on Mo Hua’s neck.
In this way, in the secluded side chamber, human and monster shadows chased each other in a crisscross pattern.
After “sparring” with the Cat Monster for a few days, Mo Hua couldn’t help but admit that Monster Beasts were indeed much stronger than cultivators.
This Cat Monster only had the cultivation of the initial First Grade and wasn’t known for its strength, but its speed was very fast, and its movements were exceptionally agile, not even inferior to a typical Sixth Layer Qi Refinement cultivator.
The Cat Monster’s attack patterns were richer and even more cunningly peculiar than those of cultivators.
If the attack was up close, a Body Cultivator would mainly rely on fists and feet, while a Spiritual Cultivator would rely on long-distance spells. Their behaviors and actions were traceable.
But the Cat Monster could use its teeth, claws, and tail to attack, with tricky angles that were unpredictable.
Furthermore, the Cat Monster had a natural talent activated by demonic power. It could blur its figure for a short time, making it almost impossible for eyes to discern. Mo Hua could only sense the position of the Cat Monster by pushing his Divine Sense to the extreme.
And this was only at the initial First Grade. If it were the mid or late First Grade, its speed would be even more unimaginable.
No wonder Monster Hunting Teams generally required around ten Monster Hunters to form a team.
How powerful would a Second Grade Monster Beast, comparable in Cultivation to a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, be?
Wouldn’t most cultivators be obliterated upon contact?
Mo Hua shivered uncontrollably.
“I must learn the Water Passing Step well, so that even if I can’t defeat them, I can at least run away.”
Mo Hua thought silently to himself.
Sparring with Monster Beasts was also a process of practice makes perfect.
At first, not familiar with the Cat Monster’s moves, the dried fish on Mo Hua’s neck would often end up in the mouth of the Cat Monster not long afterward.
The Cat Monster would then lie in its cage, leisurely chewing on the dried fish and licking its paws, from time to time casting a glance at Mo Hua with a look of smugness and scorn.
As Mo Hua gradually became familiar with the Cat Monster’s attack patterns, he could vaguely guess whether the Cat Monster was preparing to unleash a claw strike, a bite, or to lash out with its spiked tail.
The first time he encountered the Cat Monster’s innate ability, he was caught off guard, but after witnessing it several times and developing predictions, Mo Hua gradually began to see through its movements with his Divine Sense.
The process of the Cat Monster getting its dried fish became increasingly difficult.
Sometimes, Mo Hua would be careless, and the Little Demon Cat could snatch one or two fish to fill its belly.
If Mo Hua was fully focused, it basically couldn’t get a single fish and could only stand by the wall, glaring fiercely at Mo Hua.
But this ferocity was somewhat superficial, lacking real impact.
Knowing that hunger was an unpleasant feeling, Mo Hua would deliberately act carelessly, allowing it to have a few pieces of dried fish.
A month passed . Although the Cat Monster wasn’t fully satiated, it wasn’t starving either, and it had grown in size, now five feet long.
That’s when Mo Hua knew it was time, the Cat Monster couldn’t be kept any longer. If it kept growing, there might come a day when it wasn’t paying attention, and it could possibly turn on him.
The nature of Monster Beasts is not so easily changed.
Mo Hua didn’t intend to kill it, rather he planned on following through on the promise to set it free.
Even though the Cat Monster couldn’t understand human speech and was unaware of this arrangement.
One evening, Mo Hua put the Cat Monster into an iron cage, covered it with a black cloth, and took it to the foothills closest to the exterior of Big Black Mountain, just outside Tongxian City.
Monster Beasts and other living things cannot be placed in a storage bag; they must be kept in an iron cage instead.
Mo Hua specifically used the black cloth to cover it, to prevent other Monster Hunters from discovering it and killing it on the spot.
Seeing that there was no one around, Mo Hua removed the black cloth, opened the gate of the iron cage, and released the Cat Monster.
Upon seeing the mountains and forests around it, the Cat Monster seemed stunned at first and then showed a look of joy.
But it did not leave immediately, instead, it watched Mo Hua with a wary expression.
Mo Hua said to it, “I’m keeping our promise and letting you go. But remember, you’re better off not eating people; if we meet again, I will definitely kill you, and if I don’t, other Monster Hunters probably will.”
“Humans actually don’t taste that good. Eating more fish won’t do you any harm.”
“If you don’t provoke Cultivators, with your talent for movement, you should be able to live longer…”
Mo Hua didn’t care whether it understood or not, and rambled on with his advice. Then, he waved his hand at it and said,
The Cat Monster gave Mo Hua a confused look, took a few tentative steps, and when it saw that Mo Hua didn’t stop it but nodded affirmatively instead, its courage grew.
It began walking towards Big Black Mountain step by step, and as it was about to enter the forest, it suddenly sped up and with a “whoosh” sound, darted into Big Black Mountain.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, he had achieved the best of both worlds. His Water Passing Step had reached a minor success, which should be more than enough to handle cultivators of the same realm or deal with Monster Beasts.
And the Cat Monster had been returned to the forest.
Big Black Mountain was so vast, it was unlikely they would encounter each other again. Even if they did, the Cat Monster would have grown, changed in appearance, and he might not even recognize it.
He just hoped it wouldn’t kill other cultivators or die at the hands of other Monster Hunters.
However, that was beyond Mo Hua’s control now.
Feeling light-hearted, Mo Hua whistled as he walked back home with his hands behind his back.
Meanwhile, in the woods of Big Black Mountain, the Cat Monster hadn’t gone far but was crouching in the grass, stealthily watching Mo Hua.
After seeing Mo Hua leave, a hint of confusion appeared in the Cat Monster’s slit pupils. Moments later, its pupils dilated as it committed the sight of Mo Hua’s retreating figure to memory, then it looked around cautiously before stealthily making its way deeper into Big Black Mountain.
The Cat Monster moved through the woods, crossed poisonous marshes, climbed onto rocks, and arrived at a small stream in the mountains.
Seeing that there were no cultivators or other Monster Beasts around, the Cat Monster leaped into the stream to wash off the dust on its body. Moments later, it emerged onto the bank, shook off the water droplets, and its black Pattern became even deeper, while its white fur shone more brilliantly.
Simultaneously, the Pattern on the Cat Monster’s forehead gradually became clearer, slowly revealing the outline of the character —”king.”