Lo Kang pressed his temple, his brows knit tightly as if he were suffering from an intense headache.
Suddenly, the old man spat out froth, kept convulsing without stop, and his eyes rolled back, resulting in him unconsciousness!
Lo Kang, upon suddenly realizing the urgency, lowered his hand and shouted, "Carry the deputy head into the room quickly and contact Yong Shu immediately!"
The few people hurriedly helped the old man to his feet and, led by Lo Kang, walked towards a room.
In a flash, I was the only one left on the grassland.
My palms were sweating. I retracted the female jade tablet and subconsciously gripped the copper mace.
No, that's not right; it's the Gaotian staff.
A faint warm sensation arises.
Usually, the Gaotian staff is cold, and it won't give off a scorching temperature until it faces fierce ghosts. At first, I couldn't bear this heat and thought that the Gaotian staff was not as high in level as the SiGuMingJing.
As my cultivation of the Tao deepens, the Gaotian staff becomes more and more intuitive to me.
The warmth at this moment is entirely different from the scorching heat. It's as if the Gaotian staff has waited for its owner and is overjoyed.
Coldness surges from the bottom of my heart, and it feels like ice is forming on my body...
The door opened suddenly, and quite a few people came out, with Lo Kang being the last to walk out.
He walked straight to me, wiping away the sweat on his forehead continuously, and said, "What a coincidence! I had no idea what happened earlier. I felt like I was possessed by a ghost. They all say that I saw the deputy head and Li Daozang fighting, and that the deputy head used something called 'peeling-corpse substance' and called a soul, but did not attract an attack."
"Li Daozang, are you alright?" Lo Kang asked me carefully.
Soul?
Possession?
I listened very carefully to Lo Kang's description of the "peeling-corpse substance."
Without pausing, I shook my head and said, "I'm fine. It's him who has the problem. He's been affected and controlled; it should be considered as a case of being possessed by a ghost."
Luo Kang's face turned pale and red alternately, but it wasn't directed at me. After a moment, he looked embarrassed and hesitated to say something, which I could tell that he knew something that he didn't want to reveal.
At that moment, Laogong appeared on my shoulder, lowering his voice and shouted, "Kid, being evasive and reluctant to speak is nothing but a cowardly act!"
"Get straight to the point. If there's nothing, quickly pour a bowl of hot tea for my master and warm him up. Your deputy head, oh dear, he smells so bad like he hasn't bathed in three or five years."
"No, there's no need to drink tea. The deputy head is mysterious and harmful, and also steals things. Who knows what you guys from the Luo family are up to. Our master, it's urgent. Let's run!"
Laogong's tone was more sinister and also had an urgency in it.
I took a deep breath and turned to feign an exit.
"Don't..." Luo Kang, alarmed, rushed forward two steps to block me. His face looked even more awkward.
"I know only a little and not completely. It's something that must be told to Yong Shu when he returns and discussed with Daozang Li." Luo Kang explained to me.
Laogong grunted, clearly showing impatience.
I then followed Laogong, without responding to Luo Kang, and turned to leave.
"That Luo Muye has gone mad. After using the 'peeling-corpse substance' that he brought back, he slowly went mad. The deputy head is also mad. I don't know the details! Daozang Li, you can't leave!" Luo Kang gritted his teeth: "I have contacted Yong Shu, and they all don't know that the deputy head came here. By dawn, he will return and pick you up with him to enter the Luo family to discuss important matters!"
My heart gave a sudden jolt.
My father... went mad?
Peeling-corpse substance...
It's actually equivalent to him being possessed by the ghost of the Highest Path of Tao?
This soul of the High Heaven Daoist is necessarily a residual soul, and its cultivation level is not as high as the souls in the High Heaven Daoist's cultivation realm.
Before he was knocked down to a lower realm by SiGuMingJing, his complete soul was unseen by anyone, except for me holding the Gaotian staff and having the qualification to return his soul through the body, I could see him.
The soul of the High Heaven Daoist here, Laogong can see it, and so can the others.
Thinking about this, my breathing became more and more urgent, almost unable to control it.
Luo Kang made another gesture of invitation, indicating that I should enter the room where I first came.
He was much more anxious than I was, as if he feared I would leave, and he didn't notice the change in my emotions.
Taking a deep breath and staying calm, I followed Luo Kang into the same room where we first entered.
Luo Kang really listened to Laogong's advice and poured me a cup of tea.
I sipped the tea lightly, and the bitter and astringent taste dispelled some of my drowsiness.
Suddenly, someone rushed into the room and approached Luo Kang, whispering to him for a moment.
Luo Kang's face paled in shock, and he immediately stood up to follow the person away.
I noticed that he should have entered the room of the deputy head.
Laogong appeared again on my shoulder, his eyes darting back and forth, glancing at my face. He whispered softly, "Grandfather, the facial features have vanished."
I pondered thoughtfully.
There is a trace of the soul of the High Heaven Daoist on this deputy head. The purpose of the High Heaven Daoist is the Gaotian staff, and the thing I want to throw away is none other than this!
However, after being disturbed by the female jade tablet, it's clear that this incident will not happen now.
A few minutes later, Luo Kang came back again.
However, not only Luo Kang, an old man was also following behind him.
The old man was extremely emaciated, with bloodshot eyes, yet he completely changed from the former dullness and slowness. Instead, his demeanor exuded a hint of clarity and alertness!
"I am Luo Zhizhong, the elderly one, honored to meet Daozang Liu. Pardon my manners!"
The old man's pronunciation was very precise, with strong vitality. When he looked at me, he showed deep gratitude.
Luo Kang also had an uncontrollable joyful expression.
I nodded to indicate agreement, stood up and returned the courtesy with a closed fist.
Luo Zhizhong looked a bit awkward, then, he sat down next to me on another chair, and sighed deeply.
"Xiao Kong told me some things earlier, and I almost didn't recognize him. It felt like the eight years of confusion were like a dream."
"Daozang Liu came to the High Heaven Daoist Establishment for the sake of his cultivation. Xiao Kong was lucky! The High Heaven Daoist Establishment isn't ordinary. My nephew, Luo Muye, obtained this thing when he was younger and returned to our family. However, he soon became crazy."
"It's very effective. If it can bring possession, it would definitely be the best..."
As Luo Zhizhong was speaking, he suddenly made a light "hmm" sound, as if he had not touched anything.
His face slightly changed, Luo Zhizhong quickly searched his body, beads of sweat as large as beans pouring down from his forehead!
He stood up abruptly and forced himself to calm down. He asked me to wait for him.
After that, he quickly ran into the grassland, almost crawling on the ground while searching.
Luo Kang followed him outside, and the two of them talked for a few sentences before joining in the search together.
A few minutes later, they rushed back into the previous room again.
In the end, both of them still found nothing.
Luo Zhizhong returned to the room and sat next to me, with a tightly tensed face.
Luo Kang hasn't returned yet, he is searching the ground with a few others.
I, however, understood the situation.
It was the peeling-corpse substance containing the residual soul of the High Heaven Daoist, which had been lost!
I didn't speak to Luo Zhizhong anymore, breaking his train of thought. Instead, I lightly touched the chair arm and quietly cultivated.
After a long while, Luo Kang walked into the room and said dejectedly, "Deputy Head, it's like we've encountered a ghost. No one has left, and the peeling-corpse substance can't just evaporate into thin air. I've searched their bodies."
Luo Kang slightly looked at me, although he tried hard to conceal his expression, the skepticism couldn't be hidden.
