The game comes true, starting with the wandering spirits and gods.

[Ding! You have picked up a mysterious portrait]

[Quality: Spiritual Item]

[Effect: When you first see the portrait, the person's appearance will be deeply imprinted in your mind.]

The portrait depicts a middle-aged man wearing a gray long gown, with a stubble beard and deeply sunken eyes.

He had never seen this face before in the game.

Zhang Wenhao confirmed it in his mind.

But he felt like something looked familiar... he just couldn't quite place it.

After reading it calmly, he turned his gaze to the Taoist priest, waiting for his explanation.

"This person," the Taoist priest said, putting away the scroll, "is the human messenger chosen by the demons and monsters."

A messenger from the mortal realm? Liu Changshun, the village chief of Cangling Village?

Zhang Wenhao pondered to himself, but it was not appropriate to share what he knew with the people at hand.

"It took me three years and seven talisman arrays to pluck out this person's true nature from a sliver of heavenly secrets."

Despite this, the Taoist priest did not show much regret about his lifespan; instead, he became even more excited.

"If we find this person, we will be able to obtain more information about demons and monsters."

"At that time, we won't have to passively avoid them anymore."

Listening to his generous words, Zhang Wenhao seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that this Taoist priest has not yet turned to evil spirits like those depraved practitioners in the narration.

At least on the surface, that's how it seems.

Zhang Wenhao asked calmly, "Even if we find him, how can you guarantee you'll have a way to capture him and get him to talk?"

Faced with the doubts, the Taoist master chuckled and said, "You're mistaken. Don't forget that my destiny is that of a Taoist master. The Tao follows the natural way in the human world, and things are ever-changing."

"Since we have a way to deal with you, we can certainly deal with it too..."

His subsequent words were quite impolite, but Zhang Wenhao was not angered by them.

"You came empty-handed, expecting me to find someone for you with just a portrait and a few empty words?"

He paused, his hazy eyes fixed on the Taoist priest: "I can't see any sincerity in him."

This statement seemed to be exactly what the Taoist priest had expected.

He wasn't angry; instead, he nodded, stroked his long beard, and his smile deepened.

"Indeed," he said. "If I didn't have any special abilities to demonstrate, I naturally wouldn't be able to gain the trust of the Ancient God of the Green Lamp."

He deliberately drew out his tone, exuding an air of complete control.

After saying that, he slowly turned his head and his gaze fell on the white figure at the door.

The fox demon was leaning against the door frame when she saw the gaze coming towards her and immediately became alert.

Noticing the Taoist's gaze, she felt completely terrified.

It seems that he's going to make an example of himself.

"Damn it, I should have slipped away in the chaos!" she thought with regret.

When this Taoist priest first appeared, his intimidating presence was so great that she dared not make any rash moves.

The Taoist priest looked at her, his smile unchanged, his tone as gentle as if he were coaxing a child:

"Little fox, you've been listening for so long, won't you come in and sit down?"

The fox demon felt uneasy at the call, its claws fully extended, ready for a desperate fight.

However, all of this seemed insignificant to Dao Ye, who paid no attention to it whatsoever.

He suddenly pulled out a talisman, which instantly burst into flames in his hand.

They transformed into strands of golden threads, passing through the fox demon's body.

Zhang Wenhao controlled A Yun to stand aside and watch coldly, without making a move.

These golden threads didn't seem to be aggressive; they merely wandered around the fox demon's body for a moment, and then slowly, they drew something out of her body, like clouds.

Only the mist was outlined by the golden threads.

They slowly condensed in the air, gathered into a ball, and then gradually dispersed, transforming into a series of images.

The scene depicts a snow-capped mountain.

Everything was white, and the boundary between heaven and earth was indistinguishable.

Deep in the snow-capped mountains, there was a little fox that walked on all fours, all white, seemingly waiting for something.

Zhang Wenhao's pupils contracted slightly.

These... are the fox demon's memories?

In the scene, the little fox demon found a conspicuous spot:

Underneath a protruding rock, the snow is thinner and less likely to be buried.

Then she lay down, curled up into a ball, and as if she felt it wasn't realistic enough, she cruelly bit her hind paw.

Blood dripped onto the white snow, a shocking sight.

Soon after, a scholar passed by.

He was dressed in a blue robe, with a scholarly air and a thin face; he was the one Zhang Wenhao later rescued from the bandits.

He heard the wailing sound, followed the sound, brushed away the snow on the rocks, and rescued the "wounded" fox demon.

The little fox raised its head, suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a piece of warm, smooth jade from its throat, which landed in the scholar's palm.

She spoke in a human voice: "Bearing this jade means I'll risk my life for it, and our bond will last until death."

The scholar, oblivious to the cunning in her eyes, still pocketed the jade.

She separated her destiny and tied it to the jade, and to that scholar.

As long as the scholar lives, her fate will be shared. Even after the scholar dies, the entanglements of cause and effect will not easily dissipate.

The screen continued to scroll.

The scholar's life experiences flashed by like a revolving lantern...

He was on his way when he encountered bandits on a dirt road, but was saved by Zhao Cai, who was possessed by Zhang Wenhao.

The scholar, still shaken, bowed respectfully to the weasel, saying, "Thank you for saving me, Weasel Immortal!"

He then took out the jade from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "I have no way to repay Huang Xian's kindness, so I offer this jade."

The scene then shifts again.

The scholar passed the imperial examination with flying colors, adorned in red and colorful ribbons, and rode his horse through the streets.

His career progressed smoothly afterward, serving as a local official for several terms. Unfortunately, his political achievements were mediocre; he was neither a good nor a bad official.

However, he excelled in composing poems and lyrics, and was repeatedly praised by people all over the world.

He married, had children, grew old, and fell ill...

Finally, lying in bed, he closed his eyes amidst the cries of his children and grandchildren and the sorrow of the world.

His destiny, like a shooting star, fell into the shrine of Cangling Village and landed on the statue of the deity enshrined there.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Wenhao suddenly stopped.

The shrine in Cangling Village...

That statue.

Yup!

It dawned on him.

Previously, I had manipulated Zhaocai to ask this scholar for a title, and thus I was also tainted by the Wenqu destiny. The narration shows that the Wenqu scholar bestowed his blessing.

Looking back now, I realize that I not only extracted a part of his destiny, but also took away a portion of his karma and entanglements.

Inside the room, Wei Hongyao was the most shocked. She had never seen such a scene before and stared in disbelief.

At the doorway, the fox demon's eyes gleamed, her initial unease turning to confusion, and finally to shock.

Until the very last scene ended, she finally understood all the reasons behind it all.

In other words, the scholar who "saved him" gave his fate and entanglements, along with those related to him, to the Green Lamp God in front of him!