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

"Hey, I just heard from Manager Liu, who's in charge of purchasing, that another fish stall has been emptied out."

Two servants, dressed in short jackets, were cleaning up the mess in the courtyard while sharing interesting stories they had heard.

"Another one? How many times this month?" A servant shoveled gravel into a wheelbarrow and asked curiously, "Doesn't the government do anything about it?"

"What do you care? They left money." The first person to speak looked mysterious. "Besides, it's not just the fish stalls, many rice, noodle and meat shops are starting to suffer too."

Do you know what the strangest thing is?

The man wasn't picky about food or appearance; he took as much as he could get, and was paid the price for fresh goods.

Many vendors have become clever and now deliberately display the leftover stock from the previous day outside.

The next day, once all the goods were moved out, they could earn a considerable amount of extra money.

"Is this for real? Then let's..."

"Forget it, now thieves are targeting that area too, and several have already been caught."

I don't want to lose the money I've worked so hard to save for my future wife.

"Too......"

Lu Ming, who happened to be passing by, heard it clearly from a distance and sighed helplessly.

How could he forget to teach Da Jin how to bargain?

Now, things have gotten really bad. Da Jin has become a notorious fat sheep in Yu Hua Prefecture, and everyone wants a bite out of him.

Most importantly, he still has no way to call Da Jin back.

In Da Jin's eyes, he and the ancestor were not the same person.

If you speak rashly, even the simple-minded Da Jin will become suspicious.

Forget it, let's see what Da Jin is doing first, and then figure out a solution...

Just then, Lu Ming suddenly felt someone staring at him.

His first reaction was to look at the servants in the distance.

But the servants were busy working and didn't look in his direction at all.

Lu Ming closed his eyes in confusion, carefully sensing the surroundings.

The gazes didn't disappear; in fact, they increased, and their location was...

Lu Ming suddenly looked up, gazing at the high place.

It was the summer solstice, and the trees and leaves in the courtyard were lush and cast large shadows on the ground.

And the gaze came from the tree!

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, and several thin lines formed from moonlight emerged from his sleeve.

By this time, the two servants had finished packing and left.

In the rising heat, the cicadas' chirping grew even more piercing. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow, rustling the leaves and causing Lu Ming's skirt to flutter.

There was no other sound; the silence was eerily quiet.

Lu Ming did not strike first, because he sensed that there were more eyes on him now.

There was no intention to kill; it was merely observation.

He was surrounded from all sides, in front, behind, left, right, above, and below.

Lu Ming remained completely calm, his mind as still as water, his thoughts exceptionally clear.

He had anticipated this situation and noted it down in the "Guide".

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. With the cultivation world of Kyushu developed to this point, there might be a few peerless experts hiding somewhere, and it's not impossible for him to be discovered.

The current questions are: what is the opponent's cultivation level? How much do we know about him... and where did he reveal a weakness?

Da Jin? Feng Zai? Or Zhou Jiangyuan?

If this last problem isn't resolved, even if we escape today, it will remain a hidden danger in the future.

Thinking of this, Lu Ming let out a breath, and the three dantians connected as one, with moonlight surging through his body like a tide.

He no longer concealed his intentions, sharply surveying his surroundings as he pondered whether to make the first move to test the waters.

"Didn't you have something important to do? What are you doing here?"

Lu Ming turned around abruptly and saw Zhou Jiangyuan standing behind him, holding an empty pot, his eyes scrutinizing him.

Lu Ming was taken aback.

Could it be that I made a mistake in my judgment?

It was Zhou Jiangyuan's gaze... No, wait!

The gaze is still there!

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zhou Jiangyuan was still unhappy that Lu Ming was avoiding eating her meal, but now that Lu Ming looked strange, she stepped forward and asked with concern, "What happened to you?"

Tell your sister, and she'll help you. You don't need to worry about this alone.

"I......"

boom!

A sudden clap of thunder startled countless birds that had been hiding among the leaves to escape the heat.

The weather changed abruptly. A strong wind picked up after just a few breaths, and Lu Ming felt a chill on his face.

"This weather changes so quickly." Seeing that it was about to rain, Zhou Jiangyuan reached out to pull Lu Ming, but just as she was about to do so, she suddenly remembered what had happened earlier, and quickly stopped, urging, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, let's talk about it when we get back."

"...good."

Lu Ming withdrew the moonlight and smiled faintly at Zhou Jiangyuan.

The moment Zhou Jiangyuan turned around, his face darkened, becoming even more gloomy than the weather.

If his senses hadn't been disturbed, those gazes should have disappeared along with the thunder.

So, is it possible that more than one person is concerned about themselves?

......

Late at night, the rain continued and thunder rumbled incessantly.

The room where Lu Ming was located was completely dark, and heavy breathing could be faintly heard.

At the third quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), lightning ripped through the sky, and several huge black shadows were suddenly reflected on Lu Ming's gate.

Amidst the lingering echoes of thunder, the door was quietly pushed open.

Several dark figures, each the size of a wild beast, nimbly darted into the room, quickly dispersed, and soon thoroughly searched every place except the bed.

Their movements were light and quick, and under the cover of the rain, they made no noise whatsoever.

After the house was searched, several dark figures returned to the door, lined up in two rows, and squatted on the ground.

At this moment, two larger, dark figures pushed open the door and returned to stand guard outside.

A much larger, more bloated figure suddenly appeared from the void, rushed to the bedside, and with an agility far exceeding its size, silently leaped onto the bed and landed heavily.

With a loud bang, the bed creaked under the strain.

"It's a trap!" The shadowy figure jumped off the bed in a panic when he saw that it was empty, and screamed, "We've fallen for their trick!"

Retreat immediately!

The shadowy figures instantly panicked, swarming around each other trying to leave the house.

The next second, the door slammed shut, and countless long, moon-white lines fell from the roof, binding all the dark figures tightly into cocoons, dangling them in mid-air.

"Let go, meow! Let go, meow!" the largest shadowy figure struggled and roared. "Signal! Charge! Charge!"

"Who are you going to signal to?"

"My...father?!"

Are you alright?

On the roof beam, Lu Ming's figure appeared, and in the dim moonlight, his helpless yet relieved face was illuminated.

"I'm fine. What brings you here, and with...?"

Lu Ming looked at the other "silkworm pupae," hesitating to speak.

Under the moonlight, the shadows revealed their true forms one by one.

The smaller ones are tabby cats, and the larger ones are unidentified mixed-breed dogs. They are all plump and strong, and can be seen as masters who can dominate the cat and dog world.

"Of course I'm here to save you!" Da Jin stopped struggling and excitedly swung on the swing in the air.

"I've been waiting for you for days, but I couldn't find you, so I wanted to come in and take a look."

As soon as you walked in, you saw that wicked woman had knocked you flying.

"And then?" Lu Ming leaped off the roof beam and retracted the Moon Line.

"Then Meow thought you were tied up." Da Jin squatted on the ground, licking the fur of the tabby cat that walked past him, and mumbled, "Meow thought of coming to rescue you."

But fearing one cat wouldn't be enough, they hired some more people.

"You can do this too?"

"The cats learned all that from storytelling!" Da Jin puffed out his chest proudly, his face beaming with praise for the cats. "As long as you give them food, they'll follow the cats."

"What if they don't eat?"

"Then beat them until they're eaten." Da Jin shook its paw, and Lu Ming clearly saw the surrounding cats and dogs shrink back. "Meow, this time we've recruited a lot of people, they're all waiting outside."

If it weren't for your sneak attack, Dad...

"A lot?" Lu Ming raised his hand to interrupt, "What kinds?"

"Basically, it's cats and dogs, and some birds, mice, and stuff like that."

They're no use, so I'll have them gather information and keep watch.

"...They came during the day too?"

"You're here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known where you lived. That wicked woman demolished the house and confused me."

Lu Ming was both amused and exasperated, but a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He affectionately patted Da Jin's head and smiled.

"You're so kind. Dad's alright."

"What do you want to eat later? Dad will treat you."

Da Jin's saliva instantly dribbled from the corner of his mouth, his bright eyes fixed on Lu Ming, "Dried fish!"

"Alright, Dad will take you..."

boom!

The gate shattered with a crash!

Amidst the screech of cats, dogs, mice, and sparrows fleeing, Zhou Jiangyuan looked at the cats and dogs running past his feet and asked in confusion, "I heard some noise outside, so I came to check it out."

What's going on here?

"Shh!"

Da Jin bent over and bared his sharp teeth at Zhou Jiangyuan.

"What a fierce cat." Zhou Jiangyuan's attention was diverted, and he squatted down to take a closer look at Da Jin. "It looks quite lucky."

Whose cat are you?

"Meow......"

Lu Ming reacted quickly, pinching Da Jin's mouth shut and saying calmly, "I don't know, maybe it sneaked in to take shelter from the rain."

"Possibly." Zhou Jiangyuan didn't ask any more questions. He got up and saw that Da Jin was still squatting next to Lu Ming and wouldn't leave, so he smiled and said, "This cat is quite close to you."

"Do you want to raise it?"