Central spiritual core inside, spiritual energy on the outside. Only the spiritual energy is consumable; the spiritual core is the source and cannot be used directly. After the spiritual energy is depleted, the spiritual core will gradually nurture new spiritual energy over time and through meditation. Meditation not only increases spiritual power but also tempers the spiritual core; finding a balance between the two is key.

“Whew...”

Brian Carter let out a long breath, casually dispersing that wisp of spiritual power into the mountains, leaving only the glowing yellow spiritual core like a thin thread, slipping back into his body.

He turned his head slightly and found a small cat snuggled up beside him.

Brian Carter stared at it without moving.

A cat’s body temperature is higher than a human’s. It was hard to say whether the calico cat was borrowing his warmth, or he was borrowing the calico cat’s. In any case, at this moment, it was sleeping right next to him, making him feel a long-lost sense of being relied upon and trusted. Seeing it sleeping so soundly, seemingly without a care in the world, his own heart felt much more at ease.

He really couldn’t bear to move, so he decided to sleep like this tonight.

Later that night, there were faint disturbances from mountain spirits, but none came to bother Brian Carter. Places rarely visited by people often become paradises for spirits and monsters, but without the constant presence of humans, the harmful demons and ghosts also disappear without a trace.

Even though he woke up from the cold countless times, for Brian Carter, it was still a peaceful night.

The next morning.

There was mist in the mountains, but it all lay below the cliffs.

Brian Carter sat with his back against the cliff wall, eating breakfast while watching the calico cat beside him play with stones using its paws.

Today’s meal was better than the previous days.

After all, he’d passed a checkpoint yesterday, and that place was quite lively. Brian Carter bought some steamed buns, all with meat fillings—some with pork, some with egg. Even though he was past the age of growing, he still needed meat.

As the calico cat played, it suddenly seemed to discover something, ran to the edge of the cliff, peeked out, then turned back to Brian Carter and said:

“It’s turned red!”

“What?”

“It was green yesterday!”

“What?”

“The trees!”

“Hmm...”

Brian Carter looked in that direction.

Sure enough, the trees that had been growing on the cliff had all turned red overnight, as if it were already late autumn. The pale stone walls and the rolling white mist below, set off by the crimson leaves on the cliffs, made the scenery much more exquisite.

Brian Carter didn’t seem surprised, just admired the view:

“Today is the start of autumn.”

“Start of autumn?”

“It means autumn has arrived.”

“Cold weather.”

“Pretty much...” Brian Carter broke open a new steamed bun. “Does Lady Calico want some bun filling? It’s meat.”

“Hmm?”

The calico cat turned to stare at him.

Its right paw pushed a stone to the left, and its left paw tried to stop it but missed, so the stone fell off the cliff, making it freeze for a moment.

“It fell down!”

“Do you want the meat filling?”

“This morning, while you were still asleep, Lady Calico went over there and caught a little bird to eat,” the calico cat said, a bit regretfully. “But I only managed to catch one.”

“That’s good.”

This was a very worry-free cat.

Brian Carter quickly finished the bun, stood up and bent over, saying, “It’s so cold up here, let’s go down the mountain.”

“Lady Calico feels cold too.”

“Let’s go.”

Brian Carter bent forward as he walked, and the calico cat crawled at his feet, looking up at him as it moved.

“It’s so cold here, and it’s hard to walk. Why don’t you go down below?”

Brian Carter smiled but said nothing.

At this time, the mountain mist still hadn’t cleared. One side of the cliff was carved with images of ghosts and gods, the other side was a bottomless abyss, with only white clouds and no visible end.

On the stone wall beside them, someone had inscribed a poem:

Though I faced death nine times in the southern wilds, I have no regrets;

This journey is the most extraordinary of my life.

It was still early, the morning light golden, the mountains and rivers stretching for miles in the mist, small bridges and flowing water, villages faintly visible. Such a primitive mountain village scene was rare in later times, and in such beauty, he could almost forget he was in a backward place.

...

From afar, the sound of hawking and vendors’ cries could be heard, and Brian Carter knew that he and Lady Calico were in luck—they’d come upon the market of a nearby village.

Markets like this in villages usually only happened every few days, or even once every ten days or half a month.

Coming to such a lively place, the calico cat inevitably became a bit reserved, no longer as lively as it was on the mountain paths, and stuck close to Brian Carter’s feet, making him constantly worry about stepping on its paws or tail.

Unfortunately, they were still a bit late; the market was about to disperse. Though some vendors were reluctant to go home, they couldn’t find anyone selling fish.

When they heard the same hawking again, it meant they’d made a full circle and come back to where they started.

“Taoist, what are you looking for?”

The calico cat looked up at Brian Carter.

“I told you, I’m not a Taoist.”

“Then what are you?”

“It’s complicated,” Brian Carter thought for a moment and explained, “I just grew up in a Taoist temple. I practice magic and read Taoist classics, but I don’t follow Taoist teachings or worship Taoist deities. Even my master is, at best, a fake Taoist.”

“I don’t understand.”

The calico cat was extremely sincere.

“It just means we’re cultivators who happened to occupy a Taoist temple and wear Taoist robes, that’s all,” Brian Carter said.

“Why did you occupy someone else’s temple?”