Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

A day later, as dawn broke.

The steward gathered the eight refugees who had been recruited into the manor together and prepared a sumptuous breakfast.

Wow, they even have white rice porridge!

"It smells so good, is this a steamed bun?"

"It still looks like minced meat!"

Seeing the sumptuous breakfast spread out before them, the group couldn't help but swallow hard, but none of them dared to touch it.

"Don't be shy, everyone!" The butler beckoned to the group, inviting them to come and sit down.

"I'd heard that wealthy families ate well, but I never imagined that we servants could eat so well too."

"Yes, I can't even bear to think about it."

"Grandma, it smells so good!"

"Don't move yet."

Once everyone was seated, the butler, seeing that no one had started eating, grabbed a meat bun and stuffed it into his mouth: "Eat up, everyone! Eat your fill. I have something to tell you all today."

Seeing that the butler had started eating first, everyone hurriedly began to eat as well, enjoying their meal immensely.

"Butler, what tasks will you assign us after we finish eating?" One of the men patted his chest confidently and said, "I'm strong enough to do anything."

"Just follow the master out of town and listen to his instructions along the way!" the butler replied casually.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the steward led them out through the back door of the mansion.

Two carriages were parked at the entrance, and everyone was told to get into the carriages.

As soon as they left the town, Master Zhang and Master Lingdao were already waiting for them on horseback at the town gate.

The refugees were all riding in a horse-drawn carriage for the first time and found it all very novel.

Master Zhang rode forward on his horse and said to them, "I'm taking you all with me on this trip to the county town to make some supplies. I'll also make a new outfit for each of you while I'm at it."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Everyone was pleasantly surprised to hear this.

"Hold on tight!" the butler reminded them, waving to the coachman that they could set off.

Master Zhang and Lin Daoshang rode ahead on horseback, while eight refugees followed closely behind in a carriage. At the very back of the procession was the carriage driven by the steward, carrying the resurrected Madam Zhang.

Throughout the journey, everyone in the carriage was excited, and some were even looking forward to a wonderful life ahead.

Master Zhang, who was walking at the front, looked worried: "Immortal, we shouldn't be exposed, will we?"

"They're just a few refugees. If they die, they die. What are you afraid of?" Master Lingdao showed no concern whatsoever.

"That's true, but if the authorities find out, I'll be in trouble." Master Zhang frowned slightly, and his hands holding the reins were already sweating.

"Why don't you just say you encountered bandits?" Master Lingdao continued, "These refugees were going to die anyway, and you've already done a good job by letting them die with a full stomach."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang did not know how to respond and could only remain silent.

The convoy continued its journey, turning from the main road onto a forest path, and then from the path into a desolate, overgrown forest.

The carriage stopped, and the eight people inside leaned out to look around. They were all puzzled to find that they were not in the city but in a deserted wilderness.

"Everyone, please dismount!" Master Lingdao called out to the crowd as he dismounted from his horse.

The eight refugees were confused but dared not refuse, so they obediently got off the carriage and came to Master Lingdao.

Master Zhang stood behind Master Lingdao, but dared not look at these people, appearing somewhat guilty.

"Master, weren't we going to the city? Why are we here?"

When asked, Mr. Zhang simply turned his head away, pretending not to hear.

"Now listen to me!" Master Lingdao said to the crowd, "You just need to be obedient. This place is a Feng Shui treasure. We came here to perform a ritual to remove the bad luck from your bodies, so that you can have a peaceful and smooth life from now on."

The crowd was skeptical, but no one raised any questions.

"Look behind you!" Master Lingdao pointed.

In the direction he was pointing, there was an octagonal shape made of stones arranged on the ground.

Master Lingdao led everyone to the graphic and pointed to its eight corners.

"Each of you take one seat and sit cross-legged!" Master Lingdao said, nodding to the steward in the distance. The steward then helped Madam Zhang down from the carriage and walked step by step to the center of the octagon to sit down.

"Alright everyone, close your eyes and relax!" Master Lingdao said to the crowd. "It will be over soon. After the ceremony, you will no longer feel pain!"

After saying this, Master Zhang turned away, not daring to look.

None of the eight people had any doubts; they sat obediently in place, waiting for the so-called ritual to avert disaster.

What no one noticed was that a pair of eyes were secretly watching them from the woods not far away; it was Gou An who had been following them all along.

Gou An didn't come to rescue them, but rather to see what this old man was up to. He had a feeling it wasn't as simple as he claimed.

Soon, Master Lingdao flipped his hand and took out a black whisk.

He waved his hand gently in the air, and the octagonal pattern made of piled stones began to tremble slightly, even emitting bursts of white light, isolating the inside from the outside.

The little boy was the first to open his eyes. He seemed a little scared and wanted to go find his grandmother on the other side.

"Grandma!" The little boy got up, but was bounced away by the light shield and fell heavily to the ground.

The eight refugees were now trapped in place by the light barrier, like a transparent prison.

Upon hearing her grandson's voice, the eighty-year-old woman also got up, but was immediately thrown off by the light barrier and couldn't get out at all.

"The earth sinks into the darkness, the four fields return to nothingness..."

At the same time, the Spirit Dao Master began chanting incantations, and as he chanted, the light within the formation began to rotate rapidly.

Gou An looked from afar, his eyes flashing with golden light.

At this moment, it can be clearly seen that the energy of the eight refugees is constantly being drawn out by the formation, then swirling and converging, and finally flowing into Madam Zhang in the center of the formation.

"Grandma!" The little boy seemed to feel uncomfortable and burst into tears, repeatedly punching the light barrier that was trapping him.

Finding herself trapped, the old woman could only shout to her grandson, "Don't be afraid, the gods are doing this for our own good!"

But no sooner had he uttered those words than the youngest boy suddenly stiffened and fell straight to the ground.

Gou An could see clearly that the energy being drained away by the formation was their life force!

"Tiger!" The old woman saw her grandson lying on the ground and shouted anxiously in the direction of Master Zhang, "Master, my grandson has fainted."

But Mr. Zhang simply covered his ears with both hands, closed his eyes, and refused to listen or look.

The next second, the emotionally distraught old woman also collapsed to the ground.

Then came the third, the fourth, and the fifth, with screams echoing one after another.

As all eight selected refugees fell, the energy within the formation spun faster and faster, eventually being absorbed entirely by Madam Zhang.

"Alright!" Master Lingdao suddenly spoke, stopping his actions, and the formation also stopped operating.

Mr. Zhang slowly turned around and looked at his wife.

"Is it ready?" Master Zhang asked anxiously.

"Alright, go and take a look!" Master Lingdao nodded.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Zhang immediately ran over to his wife.

At this moment, Madam Zhang's eyes were closed and she remained motionless.

"Madam, how are you feeling?" Master Zhang shook her shoulder, trying to wake her up, but there was no response.

Master Zhang tried calling out several more times, but the result was the same.

"Immortal, there's no response!" Master Zhang turned to look at the Spirit Dao Master behind him, looking bewildered.

"Don't be in such a hurry!" Master Lingdao's lips curled into a slight, enigmatic smile. "Call it a few more times!"

Having no other option, Master Zhang had to turn back and call out again.

This time, Madam Zhang finally opened her eyes slowly, but her gaze remained empty.

"Madam, can you hear me?" Master Zhang asked cautiously.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang's gaze slowly focused, eventually meeting Mr. Zhang's eyes.

When he noticed his wife looking at him, Mr. Zhang finally smiled, thinking that his wife had truly regained her senses.

The next second!

Madam Zhang suddenly opened her mouth, revealing a mouthful of blood-red sharp teeth.

"Huh?" Master Zhang was stunned on the spot.

Pfft!

Madam Zhang bit down on Master Zhang's neck, tearing off a large chunk of flesh.

Mr. Zhang's eyes widened instantly, his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't even let out a scream; his face was full of shock.

The steward and the coachman from the Zhang family who had come with him were terrified when they saw this scene and turned to run away.

But after swallowing the blood and flesh in her mouth, Madam Zhang immediately locked her gaze on the fleeing people. Then, she got down on all fours and chased after them like a wild beast, moving at an extremely fast speed.

Soon, the butler and the coachman were also tackled by Madam Zhang and killed instantly, becoming her food.

Even the horses pulling the cart were not spared; they all fell into pools of blood.

Before long, only Lingdao Shangren remained alive in the entire forest.

"Come here!" Seeing that it was about time, he beckoned to Madam Zhang.

Madam Zhang, who was devouring flesh and blood, immediately stopped and rushed to Master Lingdao's side.

However, she no longer possessed her former dignified demeanor. Her mouth was full of blood, with bits of flesh hanging from it, dripping with blood, making her look extremely bloody, like a wild beast.

"Not easy!" Master Lingdao chuckled coldly, looking at Madam Zhang with great satisfaction: "After nurturing this mother body for so long, it's finally a success!"

Gou An was also amazed when he saw this scene.

So, after all this time, this spiritual master was creating monsters?

But what's the point of him researching this?

Although Madam Zhang had transformed into this ghostly form, her strength was only slightly greater than that of an ordinary mortal, at most equivalent to the Qi Refining Realm, Meridian Opening stage.

Among monsters, it would be at most a fourth or fifth tier monster.

They deceived Master Zhang again, and went to great lengths to find eight people with different destinies, and this is the result?

Gou An felt for a moment that his efforts had been in vain.

Soon, Master Lingdao turned and left, followed closely by the mutated Madam Zhang.

Gou An watched them walk away slowly, but still felt that things might not be so simple, so he continued to follow them, preparing to take another look.

If we can't figure it out, we'll have to capture that spiritual master and interrogate him thoroughly.