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

The door opened, and there was a woman dressed in coarse linen clothes.

His skin was dark, his temples were gray, and his face and hands were covered with the marks of overwork.

"You are... Uncle Liang's wife?" Lu Ming quickly recalled the person and recognized her.

"Yes, yes, Abbot Lu has a good memory... Um, Abbot Lu is busy?" The woman bowed slightly, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, her smile full of flattery.

"No rush." ​​Lu Ming noticed the woman's anxious and conflicted state of mind, stepped aside, and said gently, "What do you want to say? Come in and talk."

The woman subconsciously shook her head, but then seemed to remember something and abruptly stopped, her smile becoming increasingly stiff. "No... that Abbot Lu."

Can I ask you for a favor?

"Speak freely," Lu Ming readily agreed.

"Please save my child!" After saying this, the woman seemed to have all her strength drained away, and she instantly knelt down on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Lu Ming was taken aback. He glanced back at Da Jin, who was curiously peeking out. After a brief moment of thought, he immediately reached out and helped the woman up.

"There's no need for that. We're from the same hometown, so it's only right that we lend a helping hand."

"Speak up, I will do my best..."

An incense stick later, at Liang Shuisheng's home.

"You mean, he's been like this for two whole days?" Lu Ming looked at the child on the bed, whose face was ashen and whose eyes were lifeless as he stared at the ceiling, his gaze gradually becoming serious.

"Yes, I don't know what happened. I went fishing in the river and came back like this. I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way."

Liang Shuisheng stood to one side, his forehead furrowed into a deep frown, trying to suppress his restlessness and speak calmly.

"Has a doctor examined you?"

"I've seen them, but they all said it was because you were frightened. They only prescribed a few calming medicines, but now you can't even take the medicine... You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"You go ahead with your work, I'll get it ready for you."

After saying that, she turned and left the house without waiting for Lu Ming to refuse.

Lu Ming shook his head helplessly, then bent down again, flipping through the scattered memories of medical skills in his mind while reaching out to check on the child's condition.

There were no external injuries, the eyes did not react to bright light, the skin was cold, and a light press would leave a dent...it was no different from a dead person.

Upon discovering this, Lu Ming's expression became much more serious.

This situation is unlikely to be a simple case of illness.

Thinking of this, he glanced back and, seeing no movement at the door, quietly began to circulate his internal energy.

In an instant, a phantom image of a fierce tiger quietly appeared behind Lu Ming, and his eyes turned into tea-gold pupils filled with black stripes.

When Lu Ming looked at the child again, he was shocked!

On the child's back sat a blue figure that looked exactly like him, but with a particularly ferocious expression. Its arms were deeply embedded in the child's chest, as if it were pulling something out.

【Water Ghost Clone (Monster)】

[Realm: None]

[Talent: Life Swap]

Upon noticing Lu Ming's gaze, the blue-faced boy turned his head 180 degrees, glared fiercely at Lu Ming, and opened his mouth as if to roar.

But after seeing Lu Ming's appearance, the roar turned into a scream, and he jumped off the bed to run away.

Lu Ming also came to his senses at this moment and slapped down with his palm without hesitation.

With a soft thud, the green-faced boy was smashed into a puddle of water.

"Is that... over?" Lu Ming sniffed the water stains on his hands; the strange, fishy smell made him frown repeatedly.

Just as he was about to check on the child, he suddenly heard a deliberately hushed conversation coming from next door.

"Who told you to invite Abbot Lu here?!" It was Liang Shuisheng's voice.

Lu Ming was taken aback and subconsciously focused his attention to listen.

"Then tell me, is there any other way? Isn't Shanwa your child?"

Can you just stand by and watch him die?!

"Didn't I say I'd go borrow money and then take Shanwa to the capital to beg the immortals of the Jade Flower Sect for help? What's the rush?!"

"How far is the prefectural city from us?! Can Shanwa hold on?" The woman's voice trembled with tears.

"Isn't Abbot Lu the one who came back from seeking immortality in the prefectural city? Even if he didn't become an immortal, he must have some of the skills of an immortal."

Why can't we ask him for help?

"You...sigh! Master Lu only cares about becoming an immortal in this life, and he is also very concerned about his reputation. Even when you send him some food, he will secretly slip the money back."

How could he not come if you invited him?

But do you really not know whether he possesses supernatural powers or not?!

You've forgotten how he looked when he returned from the prefectural city. If it weren't for everyone's help to comfort him, he would have jumped into the well long ago!

Now that he has finally recovered, everyone is hoping that he will get better and repay the kindness that Old Lu the Immortal showed him back then.

Now, what if he gets carried away and tries to kill himself again?

"Then, what should we do?"

"What else can we do? Invite him to a meal and don't embarrass him."

"Keep an eye on him, don't let him steal the money again. He doesn't even have a proper job. If this continues, he won't be able to keep the ancestral home, he won't be able to find a wife, and the Lu family line will truly end..."

"..." Lu Ming scratched his face.

He is a good person, he speaks kind words, and the events are true.

It's just that putting them together is inexplicably a bit awkward.

So, instead of showing respect, everyone's treating me like royalty, afraid I'll starve... But that's actually a good thing.

From the moment you obtain the "Record of Inner Demons," the more secretive you are about your true self, the better.

However, their conversation served as a reminder that he couldn't go to the Jade Flower Sect in the short term.

If someone remembers their past pursuit of immortality, it might become a hidden danger.

Moreover, one must find a good excuse to go out suddenly.

Thinking of this, Lu Ming looked at the bed.

Seeing that the child, though unconscious, was gradually regaining color in his face and showing signs of improvement, a thought suddenly occurred to him...

"Uncle Liang, your child is fine, but his unconsciousness is indeed a problem."

Don't worry, I'll go to the prefectural city to invite the immortals for you.

Please, don't bother seeing me off. Take this money; it's for the children. Don't be shy about it!

As Lu Ming spoke, he stepped back, smoothly avoiding Liang Shuisheng's politely offered hand. He then stuffed all the copper coins he had received that morning into Liang Shuisheng's arms, turned around, and ran away, leaving the couple standing there staring at each other in bewilderment.

After a long silence, Liang Shuisheng murmured, "They really are from the Lu family..."

Upon returning to Xundao Temple, Lu Ming went straight to his bedroom, shouldered his bag, tucked in the gold melon seeds, and after confirming that nothing of value had been left behind, he grabbed the sleeping Da Jin, strode out, locked the temple gate, and headed straight for the mass grave.

"Dad?" Da Jin was shaken awake, yawning lazily as he asked, "Where are we going... Ugh! What's that stinky smell?"

"Dad, didn't you wash your hands after burying the grave?!"

"...If you're going to help someone, go ahead and do something first, then I'll take you to the prefectural city."

"Exorcise the demon." Lu Ming said, extending his hand to Da Jin. "Do me a favor."

"What?" Da Jin quickly covered his nose with his paws, looking disgusted.

"Go find your bunch of cronies and ask anyone who recognizes this smell."

"...Meow?"

"Once this is done, I won't hold it against you for eating alone."

"It's not that they're eating it all by themselves, it's an offering they're making for the cat!" Da Jin muttered, then glanced at the sky and said lazily, "It's not time yet, they don't come out until tonight."

"By the way, Dad, what's for dinner tonight?"

"..."

late at night.

Mass graves outside Fulin County.

A chilly wind blew through the woods, sounding like weeping and lamenting.

Lu Ming sat cross-legged in the middle of the grave mound, listening to the eerie sounds. He subconsciously activated his internal energy technique, which made him feel a little safer.

Looking at Da Jin lying on the grave mound, yawning boredly, he seemed completely unaware of fear.

If Lu Ming hadn't used dried fish as a threat, he probably still wouldn't know that Da Jin had become the Great Cat King.

As fate would have it, after Da Jin finished his cultivation, he intended to take advantage of Lu Ming's deep sleep to go to the city to find the fishmonger's dog and avenge the old grudge of being yelled at. However, before he even entered the city, he encountered a pack of wild dogs that had come out to forage for food.

Then all the stray dogs were beaten into submission by Big Gold.

In just a few days, Da Jin and his pack of wild dogs ran rampant and quickly unified the mass grave.

All that food was presented by his subordinates.

Even now, Lu Ming still can't connect the round, chubby Golden Retriever with the incomparably brave Great Cat King he described...

"Woof~~~Woof!"

With a long, low hum, countless pairs of green eyes instantly appeared around the mass grave.

A pack of emaciated, filthy stray dogs then slowly emerged from the darkness.

Da Jin suddenly sat up straight, raised its paw and beckoned, "Meow!"

The pack of dogs immediately lay down on the ground, and one of the black dogs almost crawled to Big Golden Foot.

Da Jin looked at Lu Ming, and seeing Lu Ming nod in acknowledgment, it said majestically, "Meow?"

"Woof?"

Big Gold's eyes widened, and it slapped the black dog on the head with its paw. "Meow?!"

The black dog quickly stuck out its tongue, looked up ingratiatingly, and meowed.

Lu Ming: ? ? ?

After a series of conversations that Lu Ming couldn't understand, the dogs took turns coming forward and sniffing Lu Ming's right hand.

Da Jin wagged its tail at Lu Ming with a smug look on its face, "Dad, aren't I awesome?"

Lu Ming had nothing to say and nodded silently.

Just then, a white and spotted dog suddenly got excited, meowed, and ran up to Big Gold.

Da Jin nodded, then shouted to Lu Ming, "Dad, this dog said it smelled something, over by the Yinpo River, a dog disappeared there."

However, two strange people have come over there these past two days; they seem to be looking for this smell as well.

A strange person?

Lu Ming's spirits lifted.

Could he be a cultivator?