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

Half an hour later.

Gou An was following Luo Meng and the others to collect herbs in the forest.

There are indeed many precious medicinal herbs in Black Stone Ridge, including quite a few spiritual herbs of varying ages.

Before long, everyone had gained something.

But just then, a tiger's roar suddenly broke the silence of the forest.

Before anyone could react, the tiger in the forest had already appeared near where Gou An and the others were.

Upon seeing the tiger's shadow in the forest, Luo Meng quickly drew his bow and nocked an arrow, then said to the men behind him, "Retreat quickly, we've encountered something big this time."

The tiger approached the group, and when it emerged from the forest, they realized that the tiger was enormous, comparable to a whole bull, and was no ordinary wild animal.

"This guy, he's probably turned into a monster!"

Even though Luo Meng was a seasoned hunter, he was terrified by the tiger in front of him.

Gou An looked into the tiger's eyes and immediately recognized that it was controlled by Xuan Kongzi.

"You guys go first, I'll hold him off!"

Gou An snatched a spear from the person next to him and charged forward, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

"Brother..." Luo Meng tried to stop Gou An, but it was too late.

So, in full view of everyone, Gou An took his spear and pounced on the tiger, looking as if he was ready to die, but the next second he was slapped to the ground by the tiger.

Before anyone could react, the tiger grabbed Gou An and ran off, disappearing into the forest in the blink of an eye.

Once out of sight of everyone, Gou An climbed onto the tiger's back.

"Senior, why didn't you say so earlier that you could control this thing? It would be so convenient!" Gou An rubbed his head. Although the pat hadn't hurt or itched, it had messed up his hairstyle.

"Where can you find so many demonic beasts outside the Demonic Beast Mountain Range?" Xuan Kongzi's voice rang out from the tiger's mouth: "Moreover, once those cultivators discover you, you will inevitably be surrounded and killed. The bigger the target, the less safe you are."

Just as Xuan Kongzi was about to release the tiger from his control, Luo Meng's voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"You beast, stop right there!"

Gou An was taken aback as he dismounted from the tiger's back.

"I already told you, your method is too troublesome. I'll just go and deal with him myself." Xuan Kongzi was a little angry. He controlled the tiger to turn around and kill Luo Meng who was chasing after him.

Whoosh whoosh!

Before Gou An could stop him, Luo Meng fired several arrows from a great distance.

Two arrows missed, but one struck the tiger's torso.

Although this tiger already possessed a demon core, Gou An could sense that it was only at the second tier.

Even though it was controlled by a Nascent Soul cultivator like Xuan Kongzi, it was only its physical body that was controlled; its power was not enhanced.

Although Luo Meng was a mortal, he possessed top-tier physical strength among mortals, coupled with his superb martial arts skills, and his arrow actually pierced the tiger's skin.

"Don't kill him!" Gou An grabbed Xuan Kongzi.

"If we don't kill it, things will go wrong!" Although Xuan Kongzi was hit by an arrow, it was the tiger that was injured, so he naturally didn't feel any pain.

But Gou An couldn't bring himself to do it, since Luo Meng clearly wanted to save him.

Even if you became a demon, you couldn't bring yourself to kill someone who wanted to save your life.

"Then what do you want to do?" Xuan Kongzi asked, his tone somewhat displeased.

Before Gou An could answer, Luo Meng darted out from the forest, leaped high into the air, and landed gracefully on a boulder.

From his vantage point, he drew his bow and aimed at the tiger below.

Luo Meng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Gou An standing safely beside the tiger: "Brother Gou, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you."

Gou An's lips twitched, and he said bluntly, "You shouldn't have come along."

"What are you saying!" Luo Meng stared at the tiger, ready to shoot an arrow at any moment: "You came with me. If I watch you get carried away by this beast and do nothing, I really can't feel at ease."

"Don't worry, even if it costs me my life, I will save you today."

After saying this, Luo Meng flicked his wrist, and the arrow shot out.

But the arrow struck the tiger directly in the eye and pierced through its entire skull.

The tiger died on the spot!

"Huh?" Luo Meng was surprised that the tiger remained motionless and let him shoot.

Upon seeing the tiger fall to the ground, he was overjoyed: "I really am a genius!"

Before Luo Meng could land on the rock, a faint white thread suddenly fell from the sky and struck his neck directly.

Luo Meng was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes changed, turning into the kind of vicissitudes and gloom that Xuan Kongzi had.

"You can even control people?" Gou An asked, somewhat surprised.

"I'm trapped inside the mirror. The power I leave in the outside world is only enough to control mortals!" Luo Meng replied, but his voice belonged to Xuan Kongzi.

"Then let's take him with us!" Gou An replied, "Wouldn't it be safer to have a mortal with us?"

"No!" Xuan Kongzi immediately rejected the idea: "Mortals whose bodies are being controlled are easily seen through, which would be even more troublesome."

But Xuan Kongzi controlled Luo Meng's body to take an arrow from a quiver and pointed it at his own neck: "Just kill him, it's the easiest way."

"Don't kill!" Gou An immediately grabbed Xuan Kongzi's hand.

"I never would have guessed that a demon like you could be so sentimental!" Xuan Kongzi sneered.

"Who told you that demons can't value affection?" Gou An retorted.

"Fine, you're so high and mighty!" Xuan Kongzi sneered, then asked, "So, tell me, what are we going to do?"

"Release him from control, and leave the rest to me," Gou An replied.

Xuan Kongzi had no way to deal with Gou An, so he just shook his head and sighed, "Your weakness might cost you your life in the future."

"That's my business!" Gou An's answer was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

"Alright, I'm annoyed by this card too!" Xuan Kongzi shook his head helplessly. "Clean it up properly, I'll wait for you up ahead."

After saying this, Luo Meng suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Gou An glanced around and saw a gray bird suddenly take off from a treetop not far away and fly into the distance; it was clearly Xuan Kongzi.

After Xuan Kongzi flew far away, Gou An looked down at Luo Meng, who was lying on the ground and still somewhat dazed.

"How is he?" Gou An squatted down to check on Luo Meng's condition. His pulse was normal and his breathing was steady, but he was a little confused.

Luo Meng's gaze gradually focused as he looked at Gou An: "Brother, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Gou An sighed helplessly, "Why did you follow me here?"

"I'll save you!" Luo Meng slowly got up, seemingly having no memory of being controlled: "What happened to me? I suddenly felt like I fainted, and I don't remember anything."

"You came to rescue me all alone, aren't you afraid of encountering any accidents?" Gou An suddenly asked, "What will happen to your wife, children, and elderly parents if you die?"

"What wife, children, and elderly parents do I have!" Luo Meng clutched his head, still feeling dizzy. "I'm a bachelor, and I owe a lot of gambling debts. If I die, I die."

"Oh!" Gou An couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, "If that's the case, then things are much easier to discuss."

"What do you mean?" Luo Meng looked at Gou An with a blank expression, clearly not understanding.

"Since you have no ties, I'll send you to an interesting place!" After saying this, Gou An suddenly took out the Palm Heaven Map from his pocket.

"Where?" Luo Meng looked at the scroll that Gou An had taken out, even more confused.

Gou An opened the scroll a crack, and white light shot out from inside, enveloping Luo Meng.

The next second, Luo Meng was directly sucked into the space of the Palm Heaven Diagram.

After doing all this, Gou An immediately put away the Palm Heaven Diagram. After making sure no one was paying attention nearby, he turned around and chased after Xuan Kongzi in the direction he had left.

Gou An had previously told Liu Dayong and the others in the picture that he would periodically add more people to the group.

Those who go in must be properly taken care of.

After running wildly, Gou An finally found Xuan Kongzi, who had turned into a wild dog, on the other side of the cliff at the Black Stone Ridge.

"Has the road ahead been scouted? Which direction would be safer to go?" Gou An asked.

Xuan Kongzi saw Gou An, raised his front paw and pointed in a direction: "I just looked from the air. There are cultivators checking the routes ahead, and they all seem to be disciples of sects. The magical artifacts they use to distinguish between real and fake mortals are also very diverse."

"This is the only direction. Although the road is a bit difficult, there are no checkpoints set up by cultivators."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go now!"

Gou An immediately set off in the direction Xuan Kongzi had indicated.

Once you cross this forest, you won't be far from the Monster Mountain Range.

If we speed things up, we can enter the Monster Mountain Range in less than a day.

Once inside, it becomes Gou An's territory, and even if he is exposed, it won't be a big problem.

Xuan Kongzi controlled the wild dogs to lead the way, with Gou An following closely behind.

On the way, Xuan Kongzi asked curiously, "What did you do with that mortal?"

"Kill him!" Gou An replied coldly.

"Killed him?" Xuan Kongzi sneered. "I said I would kill him, but you wouldn't. Now that I'm gone, you've killed him?"

"I regretted it later and realized you were right, so I just killed him!" Gou An said calmly. "But I was merciful, so I dug a hole and buried him, so he can rest in peace."

"Hehe, you're a pretty nice person!" Xuan Kongzi chuckled twice, without any suspicion, and continued to lead the way.

For the rest of the journey, Gou An and Xuan Kongzi did not continue their conversation, focusing solely on their travel.

Just when they were about to cross the most difficult part of the mountain forest, an unexpected event occurred.

Xuan Kongzi, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped. Gou An stopped as well.

"What's wrong?" Gou An asked.

"Damn it, this road is a trap!" As soon as Xuan Kongzi finished speaking, several streams of spiritual energy suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Gou An looked up at the sky and saw that more than a dozen cultivators were suspended in mid-air, surrounding the mountain.

Who is below?

A cultivator arrived on his sword and rebuked Gou An, "Why choose this shabby mountain instead of the good road? Won't that cause problems?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and waved his hand in the air, and a golden sphere appeared out of thin air, shooting down a whole patch of golden light onto the mountains and forests below.

Bathed in golden light, Gou An felt his transformation technique suddenly fail. Yellow dog hair sprouted from his face, his ears became pointed, and his canine teeth protruded, instantly revealing his weakness.

"It really is a demon!"