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

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Gou An left the noodle stall with satisfaction, preparing to begin his search for Cunling Manor.

Unfortunately, after asking around in the town for a long time, Gou An learned that Cunling Manor was not usually located in a small town like this.

Only in big cities!

The nearest major city is more than a hundred miles north of the town.

It is called Qianfeng City.

This annoyed Gou An.

This town is already quite far from the Monster Mountain Range; if I continue to go further in, I will be even further away.

While the Transformation Technique and the Concealment Technique can allow him to disguise himself as a human, Gou An cannot maintain this state indefinitely as time goes on.

Just then, Gou An finished eating and clearly felt that his body's breath had reached its limit, and he needed to find a place to release it immediately.

So they took Lai Pi by the hand and walked out of the town, heading towards the deserted wilderness and forest.

Once he was sure he was far enough away from the town and no one was around, he unbuckled his belt and quickly transformed back into his original form.

Clothes that used to fit well are now starting to become loose.

At the same time, the energy that had been trapped inside his body began to leak out wildly.

"That feels so good!"

Gou Ancong crawled out from under his clothes and lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Lai Pi, lying on the side, said, "Brother Gou, turning into a human is so tiring, why don't you just stop turning?"

"You don't know anything!" Gou An didn't offer any further explanation.

Although turning into human form is uncomfortable at this stage, it is only the physical body that is uncomfortable.

For someone with a complacent and unassuming nature, the human form is more satisfying than the dog form.

The two dogs rested in the woods for a long time before Gou An prepared to take Lai Pi on his way again.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the once-quiet forest.

"Don't let him get away!"

"You little brat, stop right there!"

Then came a commotion.

Gou An immediately perked up and looked through the gaps in the grass toward the direction from which the sound came.

In the woods not far away, a boy of about ten years old was running ahead.

Three fierce-looking adult men were chasing after it.

How could the boy outrun them? Before long, the big man kicked him from behind, sending him crashing to the ground.

"I'll let you run!"

The boy was grabbed by the neck by a big man and slapped twice.

"I'm warning you, if you dare cause trouble again, I'll break your legs next time!"

The boy's face immediately became red and swollen, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

But the boy did not give in and still looked ready to die.

His attitude surprised the three grown men.

One of them sneered, "This kid is a bit different from the other children!"

"Hmph!" another person snorted. "Whether it's the same or not doesn't matter. What matters is whether the drug trial can be successful."

As they spoke, they began to forcibly drag the boy away.

Gou An, seeing this scene, seemed to be deep in thought.

"Drug testing?"

What medicine?

Is it the same kind of pill I took last time?

Gou An became somewhat interested.

So he said to the scoundrel beside him who didn't dare to breathe, "Let's go, we'll follow them."

Lai Pi was a little scared: "Brother Gou, they don't look like good people."

Gou An rolled his eyes at it and retorted, "They're not good people, but we are?"

"We're not human..." Lai Pi muttered.

Seeing that Gou An had quietly followed Lao Lao, Lai Pi, though unwilling, had no choice but to follow behind Gou An.

At this moment, Gou An did not transform into human form, but hung at a distance behind those people.

Instead of entering the town, they continued walking further away from it.

They walked until evening.

The sky gradually darkened.

Finally, they arrived at a secluded mountain hollow.

Nestled in this mountain valley is a rather large courtyard.

The courtyard looked rather dilapidated and old, clearly indicating its age.

The three men dragged the boy, who was bound hand and foot, into the courtyard. Then the gate closed, and there was no further movement.

From a distance, Gou An could only see lanterns lit up in the courtyard.

The lanterns cast a dim light, making the courtyard appear somewhat eerie and sinister.

"Brother Gou, what are we doing?" Lai Pi asked cautiously, lying behind Gou An.

Gou An ignored him, but carefully scanned the courtyard and the surrounding environment with his eyes, and sniffed the air.

The valley was very damp, and there was a faint musty smell coming from the direction of the courtyard.

It should look like an abandoned house that should have been deserted for a long time.

"You stay here and keep watch!" Gou An said to Lai Pi, then disappeared in a flash.

Before Lai Pi could react, he discovered that Gou An had already disappeared.

"Brother Gou..."

Lai Pi looked around and felt a chill run down his spine, causing his whole body to tremble involuntarily.

At this moment, in the backyard of the mountain valley.

Several children of average age were kneeling in a row.

A number of adult men stood around them, surrounding them.

There was a room directly opposite the backyard, with the door ajar.

A flicker of firelight could be seen through the crack in the door.

Everyone in the backyard waited quietly, and no one dared to make a sound.

A long time passed.

The door suddenly creaked open slowly.

The sound was shrill.

A withered, large hand pulled the door open, and out stepped an old man with white hair and beard, thin as a bone, and a sinister look in his eyes.

Upon seeing the old man appear, all the strong, adult men present shouted in unison, "Master!"

The old man nodded slightly and walked step by step toward the kneeling child.

Its gaze swept over the group of children, with scrutiny and inquiry.

At this moment, a person next to him suddenly cupped his hands to the old man and said, "Master, there are seven people in total, all selected according to your requirements."

"Four boys and three girls, all under the age of twelve."

The old man ignored the words of his disciples and walked over to the children, reaching out to place his hands on their heads one by one.

After patting the heads of all seven children, the old man suddenly turned around and glared at the disciple who had just spoken.

The disciple was so frightened that he immediately lowered his head and dared not move.

"Didn't I tell you? They all belong to the fire element!" the old man said, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

"Why are there only five?"

The old man's voice wasn't loud, but it frightened the surrounding disciples into silence.

"Reporting to Master!" The disciple's voice trembled, "Time was too short, and we couldn't find so many children with the fire element in a short time."

The old man's eyes turned cold, and he suddenly raised his hand and grabbed at the air.

The disciple's neck suddenly caved in, as if bound by an invisible force.

As the old man slowly raised his hand, the disciple's feet also left the ground.

He was suspended in mid-air, his face flushed, on the verge of suffocation.

"The task I have given you must be completed!"

The old man's voice was fierce, and his narrow eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Click!

The disciple's neck snapped instantly, and he fell to the ground, already dead.

"Hopefully, others won't repeat the same mistake next time!"

The old man's gaze swept across the entire room.

All the disciples nodded in agreement, none of them daring to utter a single extra word.