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

"Remember, you're using Lord Jinyang's body, so don't do anything reckless!"

Gou An thought for a moment and couldn't help but offer another reminder.

"Don't worry, that Demon King Huangku is a Nascent Soul stage demon, not easy to deal with. Why would I act recklessly?" Xuan Kongzi habitually reached for his beard but grabbed nothing, and in the end just touched his chin.

"Also..." Xuan Kongzi opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Gou An frowned immediately.

Xuan Kongzi suddenly turned his tiger-headed head towards the door and whispered, "There's someone outside!"

Before Gou An could react, Xuan Kongzi made a hand seal and pointed towards the door, instantly sending out several white threads that subdued the person outside.

A moment later, the person outside, under the control of Xuan Kongzi's silk threads, walked in step by step like a puppet and closed the door.

Once Gou An could clearly see who it was, his brows relaxed.

"It's alright, she's the steward of my manor. She usually cleans the alchemy room and helps me out. I can trust her!" Gou An said to Xuan Kongzi.

"Oh?" Xuan Kongzi's gaze remained fixed on Niu Cuihua, as if he were analyzing something, before he released the control of the silk threads.

After regaining her freedom, Niu Cuihua immediately knelt down and explained, "Master, I just saw that the light in the alchemy room was still on and wanted to come and see if you needed any help."

"It's alright, get up!" Gou An said, "You must keep your mouth shut about this, understand?"

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will keep my mouth shut!" Niu Cuihua nodded quickly.

Gou An waved his hand, preparing to let Niu Cuihua leave.

"Wait a minute!" Xuan Kongzi suddenly called out to Niu Cuihua.

"What's wrong?" Gou An asked, puzzled.

Xuan Kongzi stretched out his tiger paw and pressed it on Niu Cuihua's head. The powerful aura made Niu Cuihua dare not move at all.

"The matter was accomplished in secrecy!" Xuan Kongzi turned to Gou An: "The more people who know, the greater the risk of leaks. It's better to kill him!"

Niu Cuihua was shocked when she heard this, but her body was out of her control and she couldn't even utter a sound of begging for mercy.

"Kill it?" Gou An frowned immediately. "Wouldn't it be unnecessary? It was just a little demon that had forcibly transformed using a transformation pill."

"It's absolutely necessary!" Xuan Kongzi insisted, adding, "Moreover, from my observation, she's not a simple little demon."

"What do you mean?" Gou An was even more puzzled.

Her eyes immediately went vacant, and then her expression turned extremely painful.

"Come out!" Xuan Kongzi shouted, and the silk thread that had pierced Niu Cuihua's body pulled out a dark, lumpy thing that was wriggling desperately like an octopus.

The moment the object was pulled out, Niu Cuihua's body went limp, as if she had fainted.

"What the hell is this thing?" Gou An was shocked when he saw it.

"You didn't even know someone had planted spies around you?" As Xuan Kongzi said this, a ball of spiritual fire spewed out from his tiger's mouth, instantly burning the black mud-like thing to ashes.

"What exactly happened?" Gou An was still a little confused.

"This little bull demon under your command has clearly been controlled by other cultivators using secret techniques," Xuan Kongzi explained. "And this control method is extremely subtle; even the person being controlled is unaware of it."

"Huh?" Gou An frowned and began to carefully recall the details of the past.

"But don't worry!" Xuan Kongzi added, "Because this method of control is very covert, it's impossible to transmit messages at all times. Only when the person behind the scenes actively casts the spell can they obtain information from the outside world through the senses of the controlled person."

"I noticed it in time, and before she could get close, I interrupted the person behind the scenes from casting a spell, so our conversation was not leaked."

Upon hearing this, Gou An breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good!"

"However!" Xuan Kongzi's gaze returned to Niu Cuihua, who had fainted on the ground, and he said, "I'm not sure if she still has that thing on her, so let's kill her!"

"Kill him?" Gou An thought for a moment, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

After all, Niu Cuihua had been with him for so long, she could be said to have devoted herself wholeheartedly to him.

Moreover, according to Xuan Kongzi, she didn't even know she was being controlled and was suddenly about to be killed, so she wasn't mentally prepared.

"If Grandpa can't bear to part with it!" Xuan Kongzi smiled, seemingly seeing Gou An's dilemma, and said, "It can also be placed in the Palm Heaven Diagram. That diagram can isolate the soul imprint, and it will surely be able to isolate these control techniques as well."

"Then put her into the diagram!" Gou An immediately accepted the latter method and quickly took out the Palm Heaven Diagram to put the unconscious Niu Cuihua into it.

There just happened to be a shortage of manpower in the project, and Niu Cuihua was a good worker, so it wouldn't be a waste.

"But there's still one more thing!" Xuan Kongzi looked at Gou An and said, "Now that this informant has been taken out, the person behind the scenes is very likely to try to plant new informants for you. You'd better be careful in the future."

"I understand!" Gou An nodded, already having a pretty good idea of ​​who had planted the spy.

Xuan Kongzi glanced at the sky outside again; it had already brightened a bit more.

"It's getting late, I should be going!" Xuan Kongzi said, and then opened the door.

He didn't leave immediately, but instead used his divine sense to perceive his surroundings.

After confirming that no one was watching him, he turned to Gou An and asked, "Grandpa, is there anything else?"

"That's all!" Gou An simply added a reminder: "Act convincingly, don't give yourself away."

"Don't worry!" Xuan Kongzi smiled confidently, controlling Jin Yangshan Jun's physical body to transform into a gust of black wind and fly away.

Gou An waved his hand and closed the door again, then breathed a sigh of relief.

The thought that there might be other spies planted around me filled me with dread.

None of the monsters left behind by the old fox in the mansion can be trusted, not even the newly purchased demon slaves.

Therefore, the only ones we can trust now are the monsters brought from the snowy region.

After careful consideration, Gou An finally decided to summon Pigsy from the Palm Heaven Diagram.

"Dao Lord!" Pig Ninth was suddenly summoned and was a little confused, but he immediately clasped his hands respectfully upon seeing Gou An.

"I have a new task for you to handle!" Gou An said.

"Please speak, Daoist Master. My words carry great weight in the Heavenly Palm Diagram now!" Pig Ninth patted his chest confidently.

"No!" Gou An shook his head: "Liu Dayong is enough for now in the Palm Heaven Map. I need you to assist me outside."

"Huh?" Pigsy Ninth Brother was immediately reluctant to leave. "The City of Ten Thousand Demons? Although I am a demon, this place is completely unfamiliar to me!"

"Because I can't trust anyone else, only you and I can put my mind at ease," Gou An said. "And the treatment I'm giving you is much better than what's shown in the Palm Heaven Diagram."

"This!" Pig Ninth was clearly still somewhat unwilling, after all, the world in the picture was safe without the threat of a major overhaul.

Unlike the outside world, where great cultivators can easily become cannon fodder, a minor demon like him could easily become cannon fodder.

"Furthermore!" Gou An saw through Zhu Lao Jiu's concerns and added with a smile, "I have more than twenty beautiful female demon servants in my manor. From now on, they will all be under your management. You can do whatever you want; I won't interfere."

"Rest assured, Dao Lord!"

Pig Ninth, who had been somewhat hesitant, didn't hesitate for a second after hearing these words. He immediately knelt down on one knee, clasped his hands in a gesture of apology, and made a promise.

"I, Pig Ninth, swear to be loyal to the Dao Master to the death, and from now on, my word will be law!"