Free Web NovelChapter 377: Chapter 364: An Arduous Search to No Avail
Gu Ming was thinking about these things.
Meanwhile, Elder Huo forwarded his chat history with the old professor, completely unedited.
’Elder Huo sends messages like this?’
Gu Ming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The messages included not only the professor’s profile picture, contact name, and nickname, but also a jumble of miscellaneous chat records completely unrelated to the kitten.
It gave him the distinct impression of an elderly person fumbling with their phone and accidentally leaking private information.
Gu Ming took a closer look.
Elder Huo had claimed an interest in the cat and offered to help try and catch it.
The professor had immediately sent over the kitten’s preferences, physical characteristics, and appearance, along with a list of the elixirs it drank during its developmental stage and even some photos.
This made things much more convenient for Gu Ming. He quickly thanked him, "This is a huge help. I owe you one, Elder Huo."
"It’s nothing, just a small favor," Elder Huo said dismissively.
This time, Gu Ming didn’t rashly forward this inside information to Teacher Tang.
He first processed the information himself, memorized it, and then deleted the messages.
Afterward, Gu Ming bought the necessary medicinal ingredients for the medicinal soup the stray kitten often drank, as well as the sliced Golden Fruit it liked.
In the morning, the delivery had arrived in the lockbox at his villa’s entrance.
He took them out and started simmering them in a pot.
When he returned that evening, he ladled out the medicinal soup and took it back to the area known for strange phenomena.
He went early, not waiting for Teacher Tang’s Pet Beast or bringing Lu You. Just like the day before, he only brought his own Pet Beasts.
His search was fruitless, and the medicinal soup began to cool.
He went back to reheat it. By the time he came out again, it was already nine in the evening. Teacher Tang arrived as expected, left the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul with him, and then went to the library to study.
Only after possessing him did the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul realize that Gu Ming had brought the medicinal soup and slices of the Spiritual Fruit the kitten liked.
"Good stuff. We should have a chance this time," the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul said.
But even after Gu Ming led it around for an hour, they still made no progress.
The Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul expressed its disappointment, left on schedule, and headed to the library.
The following nights were all the same.
This continued until the night before his expedition with the club.
Gu Ming had all but given up hope.
’Logically, I’ve already wandered through its likely haunts several times. It’s strange that I haven’t attracted its attention.’
’It should have already finished one round of foraging; by now, it ought to be getting hungry again.’
’Or maybe we just weren’t fated to be.’
As Gu Ming was lost in thought, the time ticked past ten o’clock.
Usually at this time, the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul would say, "Looks like tonight will be fruitless. Let’s go to the library."
But Gu Ming wasn’t ready to give up. "I still have one last card to play," he said.
"What card?" the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul asked.
"The Divine Invitation Ceremony. To ask for the Spirit God’s blessing."
The Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul immediately cried out, "Aren’t you afraid of having your sanity drained dry?"
Gu Ming was, in fact, a little worried, which was why he had held back from playing this card.
Ah Ji, at his side, also sensed his master’s intentions. It wagged its tail gently and nudged its head against Gu Ming’s pant leg, as if to persuade him not to take such a risk for a temporary gain.
After all, Spiritual Power would always grow over time.
It wasn’t in a hurry to become Gu Ming’s Contracted Beast.
A contract would certainly allow them to become intimately close and connect their minds directly.
But it also understood the dangers of the ceremony and didn’t want its master to take that risk.
Persuaded by both the ghost soul and his pet, Gu Ming could only give up on the idea.
But then again... Gu Ming tilted his head and asked in confusion,
"How come I haven’t seen any of those couples on dates in this deserted spot today? That’s a little strange."
As he spoke, the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul suddenly said, "Wait, the atmosphere here feels wrong!"
Alerted by the ghost soul, Gu Ming immediately focused his senses. At first glance, the scene before him seemed no different from usual: a scattering of trees, overgrown flowers and grass, and a secret lake hidden in the woods not far away.
Looking up, the dense canopy of leaves blotted out the sky, obscuring both the campus high-rises and the stars. Even the Flying Pets that were usually everywhere had vanished.
It was only when he noticed this that Gu Ming realized a mysterious aura had settled over the area, seemingly severing its connection to the outside world.
His inspiration began to flare, and a system notification suddenly popped up.
"You and the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul have wandered to this place. A strange little cat nearby is being drawn over by the medicinal aroma you are carrying."
’It’s here,’ Gu Ming thought.
The Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul’s warning had been the prelude; the system’s confirmation sealed his judgment.
He immediately had his three Pet Beasts—Ah Ji, Ah Kun, and Cyan Treasure—surround him. He set down the insulated container he was holding, opened the lid completely to let the medicinal aroma waft out, and placed a plate of sliced Golden Apples beside it.
In an instant, a ghostly shadow flashed through the woods, as fast as lightning.
Gu Ming saw only a blur, and in the next moment, the medicinal soup in the container and the fruit slices on the plate had vanished without a trace.
"Over there!" the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul suddenly shouted.
Without a second thought, Gu Ming followed the ghost soul’s direction and threw a fierce punch.
VWOOM.
This was the first time Gu Ming had ever fought using a Pet Beast’s Possession Ability.
His arm was wreathed in armor of violet-black smoke. The moment he punched, the air seemed to freeze as violet-black ripples spread out, followed by a chain of booming explosions.
A hundred meters away, in the direction of his punch, a large tree suddenly split apart and burst into a conflagration of purple flames.
The stray kitten’s figure was revealed within the blaze. Wreathed in flames, it quickly fled into the distance.
Seeing this, Ah Ji immediately transformed into a shadow and gave chase with its Shadow Escape Technique.
"It’s been marked by my Soul Flame! It can’t be extinguished. Go after it!"
the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul said.
This was equivalent to placing a mark on the target’s soul. No matter how strong the kitten’s Talent was or how skilled it was at Concealment—having hidden for so many days—there was no possibility of it escaping the mark of a Six-star Ghost Pet Beast.
Gu Ming immediately sprinted after his Pet Beast. Along the path, the trees on either side became grotesquely twisted. The weeds underfoot grew rampant, their color a dark, blackish green that exuded a bizarre aura.
In a daze, he felt as if he had stepped into a Different Space.
This further convinced him that Wenquxing University did indeed hide a secret spatial rift.
It was so well hidden that not even High-star Beastmasters had ever detected it.
And this stray Ghost Kitten clearly possessed an exceptionally keen Space Talent.
Furthermore, the purple flames burning on its body were like a lighthouse in the darkness.
Even though Gu Ming could no longer see the kitten or keep up with Ah Ji,
his inspiration was flaring violently. He could clearly perceive the direction the kitten was fleeing from hundreds of trees away.
After running for more than a thousand steps,
Gu Ming saw Ah Ji stopped on the ground, wagging its tail as if asking for punishment.
"It’s okay," he said, patting Ah Ji’s head while catching his breath. "I know where it is."
Gu Ming looked toward the depths of the forest, obscured by countless trees. The kitten’s Physical Ability was spent, and it was stopping to rest.
’It’s stopping? Now’s the perfect chance. I have to keep running.’
Gu Ming took out a spare Elixir he carried. This was one he had scrounged from Teacher Tang back at the company—a future, integrated version of medicated food, free of Pill Poison.
After taking it, boundless energy surged into his legs, and he no longer felt any fatigue.
"Go!" Gu Ming said.
The Soul Flame burning on the kitten was intimately connected to the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul on his arm. It couldn’t escape.
Cyan Treasure and Ah Kun used their abilities on either side, helping to clear a path.
Hacking his way through the overgrown path, Gu Ming spent another two minutes before finally reaching his destination.
It was a bloody scene, difficult to describe.
Gu Ming saw many Pet Beast corpses hanging from withered trees. They were all bodies of the stray kitten.
They were identical, as if cast from the same mold.
But according to Gu Ming’s heightened inspiration, they were all unique individuals.
"What’s going on here?" Gu Ming couldn’t understand what he was seeing, so he could only ask the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul on his arm.
