Chapter 3

On the desolate ancient path, a small figure approached from afar and soon came near. Upon closer inspection, it was a snow-white kitten, no more than fifty centimeters long, with eyes as clear as water and as bright as mirrors, filled with a mysterious allure, very captivating. The first impression this cat gave was that of being peculiar, but it was unknown where the cat came from or where it was going.

This cat was none other than Yang Zhen, who had traveled from the 21st century. Since his arrival, Yang Zhen had already lived in this world for a month. Although he hadn't yet determined whether this world was indeed the world of "Journey to the West," it seemed highly likely based on his observations over the past month.

Yang Zhen had once witnessed a scene where a monster devoured a family. The monster transformed from a half-human, half-beast form into a demonic beast, then swallowed the family whole and left calmly on a gust of demonic wind.

Moreover, the humans in this world were not unfamiliar with monsters. Although they were terrified of them, this did not stop them from discussing "monsters" as a common topic of conversation. While wandering through human cities, Yang Zhen often heard people talking about "where and where monsters are causing chaos" and sometimes the government would post notices seeking skilled individuals to subdue the monsters.

Although Yang Zhen wanted to live in human cities, he had to flee for some reason. Sometimes, being too cute wasn't a good thing. When Yang Zhen was discovered in the human city, people always wanted to catch him and keep him as a pet. Although Yang Zhen was now in the form of a cat, he had no desire to be kept as a pet, which was truly terrifying.

After leaving the human city, Yang Zhen suddenly remembered the vow he had made upon his arrival—to cultivate and become human. Like the monster he had seen before, although it was only in a half-human, half-beast form, it was still much better than the current animal form.

With a clear goal, Yang Zhen took the first step towards achieving it—finding a master to learn from. Although the store had many skill books for pets, there were no cultivation techniques. Therefore, for the current Yang Zhen, the first step was to find a renowned master to guide him. Once he had some cultivation, the skill books in the store would be useful.

Yang Zhen, a newcomer, knew nothing about this world. He had no idea where to find a master. With no other options, he could only travel around. Whenever he encountered a beautiful mountain, he would climb it to search for the legendary immortals, or at least a powerful monster.

In this way, a year passed in the blink of an eye. Yang Zhen didn't know how far he had traveled, but he knew that when he was hungry, he ate mountain beasts and wild fruits, and when he was thirsty, he drank mountain spring water. Each day, he wandered and sought immortals, living a simple but free and easy life.

Over the past year, Yang Zhen had countless times thought about giving up, but he remembered that when Sun Wukong sought Dao from Patriarch Subhuti, it took him nearly ten years. If he couldn't even last a year, he would be no better than a monkey.

Moreover, those who had achieved cultivation were all people of great wisdom, great perseverance, and great fortune. Putting aside wisdom and fortune, if Yang Zhen lacked perseverance, how could he talk about cultivating into an immortal? The immortals would surely look down on him.

Thus, Yang Zhen gradually became more determined in his quest for the Dao, and his sense of urgency faded. Instead, he approached his search with a mindset of "traveling" and sought his own opportunities.

As he walked, Yang Zhen faintly heard cries for help from a distance. Upon closer listening, it turned out that another monster was attacking a human village. Over the past year, Yang Zhen had often encountered such situations. He found that the monsters here were very rampant, and incidents of monsters eating humans occurred almost daily, with no immortals managing the situation. Occasionally, some Taoist priests or monks would come to subdue the monsters, but they were often defeated by the powerful monsters.

Sometimes, Yang Zhen even doubted whether this world was indeed the world of "Journey to the West." The conspiracy theories he had seen online suggested that the monsters in the "Journey to the West" world were weak, but why were the monsters here so rampant, seemingly unafraid to kill and burn?

Running quickly, he saw a tiger-headed, human-bodied monster killing people in a small village. Behind the tiger, several strange-looking small monsters were carrying the bodies.

Although there were young and strong men in the village, armed with axes and shovels, fighting the tiger monster, the tiger's cultivation was not weak. With one swing of its club, those who dared to resist were sent flying and spitting blood. The tiger then used the club to crush them one by one, and the small monsters would carry the dead bodies back to the cave to savor later.

When Yang Zhen arrived, he saw this scene.

"Meow!"

With a light meow, Yang Zhen spat out the Three Pure Fires, spraying them at the leading tiger monster.

Although the tiger's cultivation was much higher than Yang Zhen's, and even the small monsters carrying the bodies had higher cultivation, they could not withstand the burning of the Three Pure Fires. Before the fires even reached their bodies, the tiger's fur began to burn in the intense heat. When the Three Pure Fires truly reached the tiger, it had no chance to resist and was burned to ashes.

Yang Zhen, hiding in the shadows, controlled the Three Pure Fires to make a large turn in the air and burn the small monsters.

Without the Three Pure Fires, Yang Zhen would not have been a match for the leading tiger monster, let alone the small monsters. However, the Three Pure Fires were an extremely high-level flame, even the invincible Sun Wukong could not withstand it, let alone these low-level small monsters.

After extinguishing the Three Pure Fires, the tiger and the small monsters were all burned to death. Although Yang Zhen was now a monster in this life, his essence was still human. He had received human education during his enlightenment, so even though he was in a cat's body, he still considered himself a human. Therefore, whenever he saw a monster eating humans, he would help if he could. Even if these people might be eaten by other monsters after he left, Yang Zhen still wanted to do his part to help those who had no means to resist.

It was for this reason that Yang Zhen gave up the idea of learning from a powerful monster. He believed that as long as he kept searching, he would surely find an immortal willing to take him in.

After killing these monsters, Yang Zhen set out again on his journey to seek immortals and the Dao.

Another five years passed. During these five years, Yang Zhen's determination to seek the Dao became even stronger. No matter how difficult the situation, he never thought of giving up. In this way, he had unknowingly undergone a transformation, completely shedding his former otaku mentality and becoming a cat dedicated to the Dao.

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