23: Petting cats

Seeing the sky, Ji Mo decided to rest here for the night. Having eaten the monster beast pill, Ji Mo didn't feel hungry. He took a bath in the lake and returned to the cave to continue Cultivating.

Tomorrow, he would go to the other Trial Grounds.

On the second day, as planned, he cleared out the Yao Beasts along the way, and the other mission locations were undisturbed.

There was only one guardian beast, and its strength was not strong. The strongest was a Level 3 Middle Stage sabertooth tiger. Now that his Physical Body strength had increased, a few punches would turn the tiger into a cat.

This tiger also had its intelligence greatly opened; it actually lay on the ground, exposing its fluffy belly, choosing to surrender.

Given that Ji Mo really liked petting cats when he was on Earth, and now had such an opportunity to pet such a big cat, Ji Mo couldn't bear to kill it and took it in. It would be good to have it as his mount.

Riding the big cat, stroking its fluffy big head, and occasionally pinching its ears, Ji Mo was in a leisurely mood. He wasn't in a hurry to travel and slowly made his way back.

Along the way, he casually killed any Yao Beasts he encountered. Low-level monster beast pills only increased strength by tens or hundreds of jin, which Ji Mo didn't value. He wanted to see what effect they would have if given to Yao Beasts.

After the big cat consumed it, its strength and Aura visibly increased, with terrifying effects.

Yao Beasts are inherently difficult to tame, and the big cat's surrender to Ji Mo was due to circumstances. However, after eating the monster beast pills, it couldn't be driven away even if he tried.

It clung to Ji Mo, acting coquettishly and rubbing against him. Ji Mo couldn't do anything about it; after all, he liked petting cats!

He took out over 20 monster beast pills from his inventory and gave them to the big cat.

"The big cat had an Epiphany!"

Its Aura continuously climbed, reaching a Level 3 Late Stage Yao Beast. Its body also grew a size larger; its massive head was now half the size of Ji Mo's body. It then rubbed against Ji Mo repeatedly.

If Ji Mo's own strength hadn't been powerful, he might have been sent flying by the big cat.

Ji Mo felt that after the big cat advanced, its intelligence seemed even higher, and it became increasingly submissive to Ji Mo. Whatever Ji Mo said, it could understand, which made Ji Mo like it even more.

He couldn't bear to drive it away. Although its strength was a bit lacking, keeping a cat and petting it during Cultivation made his mood better, didn't it?

Ji Mo decided to stay for another day and have the big cat take him to places with many Yao Beasts to accumulate more monster beast pills.

He would bring them back for Sister Xi to consume. He thought that with so many Medicinal Pills, Sister Xi would have a chance to enter the eighth Realm.

After another day of frenzied sweeping, Yao Beasts above Level 2 in this area were almost completely "looted" by Ji Mo.

His harvest from this trip was remarkably abundant; not only did he accumulate a considerable number of monster beast pills, but he also gained a full harvest of various Spirit Medicines.

Seeing that his harvest was already quite substantial, Ji Mo decided to return to Wushuang City.

When he rode the sabertooth tiger to the gates of Wushuang City, he was, as expected, stopped by the city guards.

After all, the sabertooth tiger he was riding was enormous and exuded a powerful Aura, its strength equivalent to the peak level of the Houtian Realm.

Such a conspicuous presence naturally prompted the city guards to step forward and question him thoroughly.

Ji Mo was patient and explained in detail to the city guards that the sabertooth tiger had been successfully tamed by him and would not cause harm.

Upon hearing this, the city guards sternly warned Ji Mo to ensure that this pet would not harm anyone within the city.

Ji Mo quickly agreed to everything, then rode what he called his "big cat" leisurely towards his residence.

"Hiss! Look, it's a Level 3 Middle Stage Yao Beast, a sabertooth tiger!"

A sharp-eyed passerby on the street was the first to exclaim, drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.

"You should sense it more carefully; this isn't a Level 3 Middle Stage, but clearly a Level 3 Late Stage Aura!"

Someone nearby, with a more sensitive perception of Auras, quickly corrected them.

"Which Family's Disciple is this young man from? Such a display is truly astonishing!"

Another passerby, with a face full of surprise, couldn't help but speculate.

The crowd on the street, upon hearing this, all turned their astonished gazes towards Ji Mo and his sabertooth tiger.

After all, in Wushuang City, a place where Innate powerhouses rarely appeared, the sudden appearance of such a powerful beast pet was too eye-catching and instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.

However, Ji Mo paid no mind to the gazes directed at him and continued to ride the sabertooth tiger unhurriedly back to his residence.

After simply settling the sabertooth tiger, he couldn't suppress his inner urgency and eagerly went next door to find Ji Ruoxi.

After not seeing her for many days, as soon as Ji Mo approached, he keenly noticed that Ji Ruoxi's Aura had significantly improved, having steadily stepped into the Houtian Sixth Realm Middle Stage.

It seemed that the Profound Rank Cultivation Technique he had given her earlier had indeed greatly aided her Cultivation.

Ji Mo smiled as he walked into Ji Ruoxi's small courtyard and called out, "Sister Xi, I'm back!"

Ji Ruoxi walked out of the house, and seeing Ji Mo, her eyes were filled with pleasant surprise:

"Xiao Mo, you're finally back! You didn't encounter any dangers outside these past few days, did you?"

Ji Mo smiled and waved his hand:

"Don't worry, Sister Xi, what dangers could there be? How about you, is the Profound Rank Cultivation Technique going smoothly? I see your Aura has improved quite a bit."

Ji Ruoxi nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a smile:

"Mm, this Cultivation Technique is indeed miraculous; Cultivating it yields twice the results with half the effort. I feel that at this rate, it won't be long before I Breakthrough to the Houtian Sixth Realm Late Stage."

Ji Mo took out some Medicinal Pills. "Sister Xi! This Medicinal Pill is a Dragon Breath Pill.

This Medicinal Pill can enhance Aptitude and increase foundation. These are spiritual qi pills, which can quickly restore Spiritual Qi and also improve Cultivation.

These are monster beast pills, which can enhance your Physical Body and strength.

Later, you should first take the Dragon Breath Pill, and then take these other Medicinal Pills. This should allow your Realm to Breakthrough to the eighth Realm.

Don't worry, I refined these Medicinal Pills using a special method, so there are no side effects."

Ji Ruoxi looked at the pile of Medicinal Pills in shock.

"This is too valuable, Brother Mo, you should take it yourself!"

"Don't worry! I have plenty. Hurry and take them; I'll be your Protector."

"Oh, right, let me introduce you to a companion. big cat, come in!"

The big cat heard the sound and squeezed its head through the door, but got stuck, looking at Ji Mo and Ji Ruoxi with innocent eyes.

Ji Ruoxi was startled at first, overwhelmed by the Aura before her.

Then, both of them were amused by the scene.

"Never mind, you go out first!"

The two also walked out of the courtyard. Ji Mo said to Ji Ruoxi,

"This is a Yao Beast sabertooth tiger I encountered in the Wushuang Mountain Range. It looked quite cute, so I took it in as a beast pet."

He then said to the big cat, "This is my sister. If I'm not around, you listen to her and protect her. Don't let her suffer any harm, understand?"

The big cat obediently nodded. Ji Ruoxi was very surprised.

"Brother Mo, is this big cat's intelligence so high?"

"Initially, it was the guardian beast of a Spirit Medicine. I was planning to kill it, but this big cat lay on the ground and started acting cute. Seeing its high intelligence, I tried to take it in.

I'll leave some more monster beast pills for you. When I'm not around, you can feed them to the big cat; it can help it evolve. It's precisely because it saw these Medicinal Pills that it's so obedient."

"big cat, you protect Sister Xi in the courtyard. Keep her safe."

"Sister Xi, hurry and take the Medicinal Pills to Breakthrough. I'll go hand in my mission first and see about exchanging some Cultivation Techniques."

Saying that, he casually tossed a monster beast pill to the big cat, which then happily trotted to the courtyard gate to act as a guard.

Ji Mo walked towards the Mission Hall with a hint of anticipation.

Upon entering the Mission Hall, he skillfully handed over his mission to the Disciple in charge.

After some verification, Ji Mo successfully received a good amount of contribution points, which made him even happier.

Leaving the Mission Hall, Ji Mo went straight to the Martial Pavilion.

Unexpectedly, Elder Mu was on duty at the Martial Pavilion today. Ji Mo quickly slowed his pace, respectfully walked forward, and bowed deeply to Elder Mu, saying:

"Elder Mu, this Disciple wishes to exchange for a Martial Skill."

He carefully handed over his Sect token.

This Sect token is issued to every Disciple upon entering the Sect and records in detail the contribution points accumulated by the Disciple.

Elder Mu looked at the young man before him with a gentle gaze and slowly said:

"You've gathered enough contribution points for the exchange so quickly? Tell me, what level of Martial Skill do you wish to exchange for?"

"Elder Mu, what level of Martial Skill can this Disciple exchange for with these contribution points?"

Ji Mo's eyes were full of curiosity as he humbly asked Elder Mu.

Elder Mu smiled slightly, seemingly seeing through Ji Mo's confusion, and patiently explained:

"With your current contribution points, you can exchange for other types of Profound Rank Low-grade Martial Skills. If it's a Body Tempering type Martial Skill, you could even exchange for an Intermediate one."

Seeing Ji Mo's curious expression, Elder Mu continued:

"There are simply too few people who practice Body Tempering Martial Skills. After all, without the support of a major power, making progress in this area is as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

It is precisely because of this that the contribution points required to exchange for Martial Skills in the Body Tempering area are much lower than those in other areas."

Upon hearing this, Ji Mo was overjoyed. Wasn't this exactly what he had been dreaming of?

He was just about to exchange for a Body Tempering type Martial Skill.

"Elder Mu, I want to exchange for a Body Tempering Martial Skill!" Ji Mo said with a firm tone.

Elder Mu, upon hearing this, couldn't help but look at Ji Mo with surprise and kindly reminded him:

"Young man, have you thought it through? Once the contribution points are deducted, they cannot be recovered."

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Mu, this Disciple's mind is made up!" Ji Mo's attitude was resolute, without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing this, Elder Mu said no more, skillfully deducted the corresponding contribution points, and then returned the Sect token to Ji Mo.

Ji Mo tightly held the token, his heart filled with excitement, and turned to walk quickly towards the Body Tempering area.