A cat that lingers beside a saint

Hearing this, Su Bai hesitated.

It's not that he doesn't want to see her, but rather that he's too afraid.

Although, if he were to recognize these immortals and gods in Heaven, then he would be able to do whatever he wanted in Heaven.

But Master didn't say he had any fellow disciples.

This means that the master did not want him to recognize the gods and immortals of Heaven.

Yang Chan glanced at Su Bai in her arms, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile, "God of Wealth, Little Cat Daoist's cultivation is still shallow. Although the world seems peaceful, it is not without its flaws. If this matter gets out, I'm afraid Little Cat Daoist will suffer an undeserved disaster."

Who was Zhao Gongming? As the senior disciple of the outer sect of the Jie Sect back then, he immediately understood the implications of Yang Chan's words.

If everyone knew Su Bai's identity, with his current cultivation level, he would probably be unable to withstand the harm from those demons and monsters, or even those with malicious intentions.

If anything happens to Su Bai, he won't be able to explain it to his teacher.

Most importantly, this is the teacher's last and only disciple.

Thinking of this, Zhao Gongming's originally rosy face gradually dimmed.

"Is the teacher... still angry?"

Su Bai glanced at him and asked, puzzled, "What are you angry about?"

"We have left the Jie Sect and entered the Heavenly Court. The Jie Sect has completely disappeared. Our teacher must be furious."

Su Bai chuckled and licked his paws, saying, "What's there to be angry about? Master said, 'Master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to you. What kind of person you are, what kind of path you take—that's all your own choice.'"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gongming's eyes immediately turned bloodshot.

Yes.

Before the Investiture of the Gods war began, the master had told them to quietly recite the Yellow Court Classic in their caves, but in the end, none of them could endure it, which ultimately led to the complete disintegration of the Jie Sect.

The path we take is the one we choose.

They can't blame Heaven, they can't blame others; they can only blame themselves for not listening.

Zhao Gongming remained silent.

But I was also a little happy.

Having served as the God of Wealth in Heaven for so many years, enjoying the offerings of incense from the mortal world every day, the professional smile on his face had become a habit, but his heart remained completely unmoved.

But now, upon seeing Su Bai and exchanging a few words with him, his once unmoving primordial spirit was surprisingly excited.

Zhao Gongming rubbed his hands together, about to call him "Senior Brother" again, but then he remembered there were so many people around, so he said instead, "This is the first time I've met Daoist Cat so formally, so I have to give him a little something as a gift."

As he spoke, Zhao Gongming began to rummage around his body. After searching for a while, he awkwardly pulled out a gold ingot from his pocket and said, "Now that I am a celestial being, I have nothing else of value on me except this."

"This item was personally crafted by me. Once you accept it, Little Cat Daoist will be rolling in wealth and will find money on the street from time to time. Of course, besides money, there may be other surprises as well."

Zhao Gongming didn't say it explicitly, but judging from his expression, this small gold ingot was clearly more than it appeared.

Su Bai hesitated for a moment, then reached out his paw to take the gold ingot, and stared at it carefully for a while.

A moment later, it opened its mouth wide and took a bite.

……

The Ginseng Fruit Festival is about to begin.

Inside the Wuzhuang Temple, the various immortals and gods mostly sat on the ground, and there was no dissatisfaction among them.

In fact, a large part of the reason why these immortals and gods came to the Ginseng Fruit Gathering was to verify their own cultivation and the Dao they had comprehended.

It's important to understand that for these immortals and gods listed on the Investiture of the Gods, improving their cultivation level was an extremely difficult task.

Although their cultivation level couldn't be improved, they considered it a good thing if their realm could be raised.

As for the so-called ginseng fruit, it makes no difference to them whether it exists or not.

Zhen Yuanzi sat in the seat of honor, leaving a space between them. As Qingfeng and Mingyue emerged carrying two golden platters, Zhen Yuanzi smiled and said, "Fellow Daoists, let's begin here."

"Excellent!" the gods responded in unison.

Almost everyone present received a ginseng fruit, and since Zhen Yuanzi already had some in stock, everyone was naturally given a share.

When the ginseng fruit arrived at Yang Jian and the others, a ginseng fruit also appeared in front of Su Bai, which caused a slight puzzlement in the eyes of everyone present.

There was no dissatisfaction, no resentment, just some confusion.

The gods and immortals had actually noticed this kitten long ago.

Especially when Zhao Gongming was chatting and laughing with the kitten, and even when Zhao Gongming gave them a gold ingot formed from his own merits, they had already inadvertently become curious about him.

Why would a kitten that has never taken human form, has never refined its essence into qi, and looks nothing special be able to participate in the Ginseng Fruit Gathering?

Among those present were gods and Buddhas who had come from the Western Paradise, as well as immortals from the Heavenly Court, and of course, a few intelligent people among them.

Sitting next to Zhao Gongming was a righteous god of the Thunder Department of the Heavenly Court, known as the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation of Thunder in the Nine Heavens. Like Yang Jian, he also had an eye on his forehead.

His eye can see through all demons and evil spirits in the world; no demon or monster can escape his divine eye.

But for some reason, when he looked at Su Bai, he could never see through Su Bai's background.

Wen Zhong leaned slightly towards Zhao Gongming and whispered, "God of Wealth, who is this little cat?"

Zhao Gongming smiled without saying a word. "Go ahead and guess. Even if you go blind with your eyes, you still won't guess."

Zhao Gongming noticed that when they first met, he could still see through the sword around Su Bai's neck, but now he could no longer see through it.

This means that the teacher intervened and blocked the sword.

With their level of cultivation, it would be virtually impossible for them to see through their teacher's handiwork.

Zhao Gongming remained silent, which only fueled Wen Zhong's growing itch.

"Uncle-Master!"

"Can't you just give me a hint?"

Zhao Gongming smiled faintly, glanced at Wen Zhong, opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again.

"You money-grubbing old bastard, believe it or not, every year on the fifth day of the first lunar month, I'll send the Thunder God to strike, and scare your followers to death."

Zhao Gongming wasn't annoyed and said with a smile, "If the Heavenly Venerable wants to unleash thunder, it depends on whether His Majesty grants it."

Wen Zhong was speechless.

Although he was somewhat annoyed, he was, after all, once the Grand Tutor of the Shang Dynasty. Even if Zhao Gongming didn't say anything, he could still find some suspicious things in it.

It's clear that Zhao Gongming knew something, but he couldn't easily reveal it.

Looking at Zhen Yuanzi's attitude towards the kitten, it's clear that the cat's origins are not simple.

The fact that Yang Jian and Yang Chan were by his side, and that their gazes toward the cat were so kind and smiling, indicated that they had a very close relationship.

He got it!

These are the newly accepted disciples of the Chan Sect!