"Not bad, looks like you still remember your Tiger Lord." Seeing that Chu Feng recognized him, the old cat grinned with even more wretched amusement.
Remember — how could Chu Feng possibly forget? Back in Luoxia Valley, it was this wretched old cat who had tampered with Zhan Haichuan's burial mound.
All the treasures Zhan Haichuan had left behind in his lifetime had been plundered by this very old cat.
Chu Feng had originally assumed the old cat had long since departed, left the Hundred Refinements Ordinary Realm entirely.
He hadn't expected that not only had it not left, it had come here instead.
"This forbidden land that seals the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods appeared out of nowhere — that has something to do with you?" Chu Feng asked.
"Heh heh, of course it has something to do with your Tiger Lord. If your Tiger Lord hadn't lifted a finger, who else in this Hundred Refinements Ordinary Realm could have tracked down the place holding the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods?"
"Though I'll admit the original owner of this place was no ordinary fellow. Even your Tiger Lord had to spend a full two full years to make this place manifest — what a colossal waste of my time."
"But fortune favors this determined cat. Your Tiger Lord ultimately succeeded."
"Though truth be told, getting the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods this smoothly was largely thanks to you." The old cat grinned as he cast his wretched gaze toward the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods clutched in Chu Feng's hand.
Seeing this, Chu Feng immediately clenched his fist, gripping the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods tightly.
He didn't care whether this forbidden land had been conjured by the old cat or not, but the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods was something he had promised to obtain for the Golden Crane True Immortal.
Naturally, he had no intention of letting this bamboo scroll fall into the old cat's paws.
"You—"
But in the next instant, Chu Feng's expression changed. The hand he had clenched so tightly opened of its own accord, utterly beyond his control, and he could only watch helplessly as the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods drifted from his palm and landed in the old cat's grasp.
In that moment, Chu Feng felt the chasm between himself and the old cat with absolute clarity.
In this old cat's presence, forget about fighting back — even his own body no longer belonged to him. With a mere flick of the old cat's will, he could be puppeted at will.
"Kid, don't take what doesn't belong to you. This thing will bring catastrophic disaster down upon your head."
"So it's much safer here with your Tiger Lord." The old cat held the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods and spoke with a beaming smile.
"You're robbing me." Chu Feng said through clenched teeth, fury burning in his eyes.
"Robbing you? And what are you going to do about it?" The old cat smirked with derision, then continued: "If you've got the nerve, you can always come find me in the future — though I'm afraid a kid like you doesn't have the ability." With those words, the old cat clenched his palm, and the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods vanished without a trace.
Though he had no idea where the bamboo scroll had gone, Chu Feng could be certain it had been stowed away by this old cat.
"Well, your Tiger Lord is leaving this godforsaken wasteland. We won't be meeting again!"
After saying this, the old cat turned his back, waved dismissively at Chu Feng, and began pulling the chain in his hand as he walked toward the blood-red mist.
"Where are you taking her?" Chu Feng asked.
He understood perfectly well that this old cat was an insurmountable mountain to him in his current state. The chances of snatching the Bamboo Scroll of Sealing Gods back from his grasp were essentially zero.
So instead, Chu Feng shifted his gaze to Xue Ji. He didn't know how she had become this old cat's prisoner, but Xue Ji did share some connection with him, and he desperately wanted to know what the old cat intended to do with her.
"You mean this little doll? This doll is an Asura Spirit World Being. As a Spirit World Master, you should know — Spirit World Beings who become masters should transform into Evil Spirits, yet this doll remains in her Spirit World Being form rather than becoming an Evil Spirit." The old cat explained.
"Spirit World Being form?" Chu Feng was startled.
He didn't know what Xue Ji's current state was, but the Xue Ji he had known before had indeed been in Evil Spirit form.
That meant Xue Ji had somehow managed to transform from an Evil Spirit back into a normal Spirit World Being.