Becoming a leader of the immortal path begins with sowing the seeds of inner demons.

Chapter 17: The Inner Demon Is Hard to Bear

"Meow...cough cough, meow~~"

Meow~~~

"Meow?"

"Coming, coming, no need to call."

Several days later, in the evening.

Zhou Family Garden.

Lu Ming, carrying a food box in one hand and her skirt in the other, jogged to the base of the wall.

Da Jin emerged from the darkness, eagerly opened the food box, but was somewhat disappointed after glancing at it.

"Dad, why didn't you bring any dried fish for Meow?"

"What are you eating, dried fish?" Lu Ming tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it directly into Da Jin's mouth. "These chickens are all fed with spirit rice."

"You should avoid foods that lack spiritual energy in the future, as they will affect your cultivation, you know?"

Big Golden Mouth moved its beak twice, and with a "pop," it spat out a clean, brand-new chicken bone. Although it looked a little disappointed, it still plunged headfirst into the food box.

In the quiet garden, the sound of Da Jin wolfing down his food was particularly clear.

Before long, the food box was completely emptied, as clean as if it had never been used.

Lu Ming picked up the food box, took out a spirit stone from his pocket, and handed it to Da Jin. "Go and pay the city gate tax tomorrow. Don't forget."

Remember how you look when you go to the government office, so that the people there can recognize you.

"Just drop the spirit stones and leave. No need to do anything else, understand?"

"Okay." Da Jin took the spirit stone and stuffed it into the fur on his belly. Suddenly, he looked up with a somewhat aggrieved expression. "Dad, when can Meow come back to your side?"

The cat can't sleep alone at night.

Lu Ming scratched his head awkwardly.

It wasn't that he wanted to hog the food; after all, they had lived together for quite some time, and Da Jin treated him like a father, so there was some affection between them.

The main problem is that each identity is accompanied by a cat, which is too easy to arouse suspicion.

Therefore, Lu Ming plans to retain his identity as a scholar for the time being.

The reason for sending Da Jin to pay the city gate tax was to prevent the disciples from causing trouble in the future.

During this period, he rented a room in an inn for a long time. Da Jin used the extra copper coins he had to pay the bills every day, and told the outside world that the scholar had gone out to find a teacher.

Although it would be difficult for ordinary cultivators to associate a beauty who is indistinguishable even from a Golden Core cultivator with an ordinary scholar, caution is still necessary.

Before one's cultivation level reaches a certain point, one should try to avoid accidents as much as possible.

While he was thinking, Lu Ming saw that Da Jin was disappointed, so he took out some loose spirit stones from his pocket and handed them over as well.

"Don't skimp on yourself. Buy whatever you want to eat, and come find me if you need more."

You must practice diligently every day and not be lazy!

"Really?!" Da Jin's eyes lit up, and the whole cat pounced on Lu Ming's face, knocking him to the ground.

"Dad, you're the best!" Da Jin was about to shovel the spirit stones onto his belly when he suddenly stopped, stared at them with wide eyes, and tilted his head to ask, "Dad, you gave me all the spirit stones."

What will you do?

Lu Ming struggled to crawl out from under Da Jin's belly. Hearing this, his anger subsided, and he laughed, "If you cultivate well, I'll be satisfied."

Da Jin nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Now he has a general understanding of spirit stones.

One spirit stone could feed him dried fish for a whole month.

It's very valuable, so it's hard to get.

Based on the storytelling and snippets he overheard while strolling the streets, it's hard to believe that his father could produce so many things so easily...

"Father, are you someone else's kept man?"

"???" Lu Ming was stunned.

He grabbed the cat's face and said righteously, "What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Your father has all of this because of my handsome face, understanding personality, and pleasant conversation; that's how I stood out from the crowd."

"Meow?" Da Jin became more and more confused as he listened. Wasn't this just like the storyteller's tale?

"You're still young, you don't understand." Lu Ming released his hand and said earnestly, "You only see my sweetness, but you don't see what I have to endure."

Dajin raised its paw, grooming its fur which Lu Ming had ruffled, and asked curiously, "Dad, is it hard for you?"

"It's harder than you can imagine," Lu Ming sighed softly.

Now he finally understood why those cultivators, even if they had no shame, would change their appearance to become pageboys.

The Zhou family is very rich... or rather, they are a money-making machine.

The Zhou family's ancestors were ordinary stonemasons. One year, while quarrying in the mountains, they accidentally saved a middle-aged man who was unconscious.

The stonemason was kind-hearted and took good care of him for six months.

The person being cared for was the founding patriarch of the Yuhua Sect.

Afterwards, to repay the kindness, the cultivator, after establishing himself in Yuhua Prefecture, directly handed over the task of mining spirit stone veins to the Zhou family.

The Zhou family takes three parts of the mined spirit stones, while the Yuhua Sect takes seven. This has been going on for hundreds of years.

Even though the founder of the sect had passed away after his lifespan had run out, this rule remained unchanged.

Just by basking in this small bit of wealth, Lu Ming felt like he was living the life of a god.

In order not to be misled by wealth and status, Lu Ming would take time out of his busy schedule every day to supervise Feng Zai and Da Jin's cultivation, so as to reflect on himself and ensure that his inner demons would not cloud his judgment.

But no one can tell about this hardship.

It's hard to overcome inner demons...

Lu Ming looked sentimental and was about to speak when Da Jin asked in confusion, "Dad, what are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing, what's wrong?"

"I don't know why, but just now Meow suddenly wanted to bite you." Da Jin shook his head vigorously and asked blankly, "Dad, does this count as a cultivation deviation?"

Dad, can cats have inner demons too?

What should I do if my cat has inner demons?

father?"

"..."

"Who's there! Come out!"

A clear, cold female voice suddenly came from afar. Lu Ming and Da Jin were both alert. After exchanging a glance, Da Jin disappeared into the air, carrying the food box and leaping over the wall.

Lu Ming quickly straightened his dress, looked at the moon, composed himself, and revealed a sorrowful expression.

With a rustling sound, Zhou Jiangyuan emerged from the darkness, staring coldly at Lu Ming, and frowned, saying, "Lin Yue?"

What are you doing here so late?"

"The moonlight is so beautiful tonight," Lu Ming said softly, his voice as gentle as the moonlight itself. "Just as beautiful as the moonlight I see at home."

Coupled with the underhanded tricks he secretly employed, Lu Ming seemed to be bathed in moonlight, detached from the world and independent.

Zhou Jiangyuan was momentarily lost in thought, but when he spoke again, his tone was no longer as stiff as before.

"Are you homesick?"

Lu Ming slowly turned his head, his eyes slightly red, and said with an embarrassed smile, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, sister."

Zhou Jiangyuan's expression darkened, and he slowly stepped forward.

As the two drew closer, Lu Ming's expression remained unchanged, but his mind was extremely tense.

Why did Zhou Jiangyuan suddenly come here?

Wasn't she supposed to be in seclusion for ten days?!

Or did she already see through something?

They were careless; after a few days of peace, they let their guard down.

While pondering, Lu Ming secretly activated the moonlight, his eyes turning cold.

Fortunately, he had already let Da Jin figure out the retreat route. If he had been found out, the other party would not have been able to catch up with his shadow!

It's just a pity about this identity...

At this moment, Zhou Jiangyuan was already standing in front of Lu Ming.

The two stared at each other for a long time before Zhou Jiangyuan suddenly said softly, "I've heard about what happened to you."

Lu Mingxin's heart skipped a beat, and his whole body tensed up.

"Poor thing, you must have suffered a lot?"

Eh?

Lu Ming was somewhat bewildered.

Isn't this about demanding an explanation?

"I like this too." Before Lu Ming could react, Zhou Jiangyuan reached out and gently removed the grass leaves stuck to Lu Ming's head.

"But don't lie on the ground anymore. Ask the mansion for a reclining chair."

What would it look like if such a good-looking person were all dirty?

Don't be nervous. I'll protect you in the manor from now on.