After conquering the Empress, I proved my Dao with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Furnace!

They followed Liu Rong, hoping that if they gained anything unexpected, they could share the spoils among fewer people.

"Right."

Luo Wen said in a deep voice, "Then you can wait here. We'll be right back."

He didn't think too much about what Ma Laoqi said.

As Qin Chuan watched the three men who were about to take Liu Rong away, he narrowed his eyes, hesitating whether or not to tell them.

Ever since he learned that Liu Rong had a problem, the more Qin Chuan looked at Liu Rong's pale face, the more he felt that the other party was wooden and like a stiff puppet.

Living people all have shadows; only the dead and ghosts do not.

He couldn't explain what Liu Rong was, but he was definitely not a living person!

Just as the group was about to open the door and leave, Qin Chuan saw a strange smile on Liu Rong's face.

Looking at that smile, Qin Chuan became even more certain that there was something wrong with this person.

Although it is unknown what methods the other party used to isolate their aura.

After hesitating for a moment, Qin Chuan said, "Luo Wen, Liu Rong doesn't cast a shadow. There's something wrong with him!"

"shadow?"

Upon hearing this, not only Luo Wen, but also Ma Laoqi and Zhong Sanniang were taken aback and subconsciously looked down at Liu Rong's feet.

After not seeing any shadows, the three of them felt a chill run down their spines.

Liu Rong was a burly man, so his shadow should have been larger than the rest of them.

But beneath his feet was nothing, absolutely nothing.

At this moment, all sorts of terrifying speculations suddenly arose in their minds.

What exactly is going on with Liu Rong?

As doubt arose in their hearts, they suddenly remembered the secret that Liu Rong had inadvertently revealed earlier.

The matter itself was full of loopholes, and upon closer examination, the three of them immediately realized that there was a problem.

"Liu Rong, what's wrong with you?!"

Once he came to his senses, Ma Laoqi's face turned cold, and he looked at Liu Rong with hostility.

Without answering Ma Laoqi's question, Liu Rong swayed and rushed forward.

"Want to run?"

Seeing this, Ma Laoqi grinned maliciously and immediately drew his sword and slashed at the enemy.

He had already confirmed that the other party definitely had a problem.

Just as his knife was about to fall on Liu Rong's head, Liu Rong's body suddenly swayed strangely a few times.

A plume of black smoke actually appeared!

Immediately afterwards, a black shadow darted out like lightning and rushed towards the temple gate.

"You've got a trick up your sleeve! You dare to play us? You're asking for it!"

Seeing this, Ma Laoqi felt both relieved and furious.

Fortunately, Qin Chuan reminded them, otherwise, who knows what might have happened if they had gone out with Liu Rong.

The thought that I almost went to the brink of death because of a moment of greed made me realize how dangerous it was.

Enraged, Ma Laoqi flashed his blade and flew towards the shadowy figure.

"when!"

Just as the shadowy figure was about to rush out of the temple gate, the broadsword pierced through the figure's body and pinned it to the door.

"what!"

A piercing scream suddenly came from the shadows.

Only then did the people present realize what it was.

This was actually a mythical beast that resembled a raccoon dog, but for some reason it could speak human language.

Suddenly, after the raccoon died, a white shadow flew out of its body.

With lightning speed, Ma Laoqi grabbed the white figure tightly.

"Spare me! Fellow Daoist Ma... spare me!"

The white phantom transformed into a human form and frantically begged for mercy from Ma Laoqi, trying to buy himself a way out.

"Liu Rong? What happened to you? How did you become like this? And where are you trying to take us now that you're possessing this mythical beast?"

Ma Laoqi's face was icy cold, his usual drunken, hazy appearance completely gone, replaced by a fierce look. "Speak! Or you'll die right now!"

Upon hearing this, the white-clad figure quickly offered an explanation.

"Fellow Daoist Ma, I was forced into this. I had no choice. If I didn't comply, I would vanish into thin air and my soul would be lost!"

Listening to the various pleas and explanations from the figures, Qin Chuan frowned, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"What's going on? How could a perfectly healthy person turn into something like a ghost?"

Remembering the reminder from the Wang family patriarch, Qin Chuan silently asked him, "Do you know what this thing is?"

"I don't know!" the Wang family patriarch replied without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan's face darkened, and he said coldly, "You'd better think about the consequences of opposing me. If you help me, I will definitely give you your freedom when my cultivation is sufficient in the future."

But if you intend to oppose me, even if I don't kill you now, you'll still suffer some physical pain!

Upon hearing this, the Wang family patriarch behind the mask trembled, his face turning grim.

He couldn't help but think of the scene where Qin Chuan tormented him last time.

"Humph!"

After a moment of silence, the Wang family patriarch said coldly, "I'm not afraid of you, I'm just telling you some things you don't know, so that you, this ignorant child, can broaden your horizons!"

As he spoke, he said in a deep voice, "This Liu Rong must have turned into a 'Chang Gui' (a type of evil spirit).

"Ghost?"

Ignoring what the Wang family patriarch had said earlier, Qin Chuan frowned, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

He had heard the story of someone becoming an accomplice to a tiger; the legend says that a person who is killed by a tiger becomes a ghost.

Qin Chuan hadn't expected that this would be useful to cultivators as well.

Seeing Qin Chuan's shocked expression, the Wang family patriarch continued with a smug look, "To put it bluntly, this 'Chang Gui' is someone whose soul was killed by some kind of mystical beast or strange thing, but instead of dissipating, it was bound by that strange thing and became its servant."

servant!

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan suddenly realized what Liu Rong in Ma Laoqi's hands was.

No wonder this thing wanted to lure them out; it was probably under the instructions of that strange entity.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan frowned.

If something can imprison the soul of a cultivator at the eighth level of the Profound King realm as a servant, then it must be something extraordinary.

It's even extremely dangerous!

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan listened intently to the outside of the temple, but apart from the sound of the wind, there was no other noise outside.

"I hope I'm just overthinking it, and that thing won't dare to cause trouble here..." Qin Chuan's eyes flickered.

At this point, everyone learned from Liu Rong that he had been instructed to trick them into leaving the temple.

"Spare my life? How could I possibly spare you!"

Ma Laoqi sneered, "They actually wanted to trick us into going out to our deaths, what a bunch of idiots!"

With that, he shouted angrily, completely disregarding their past relationship, and immediately squeezed hard.

The ghost that Liu Rong had transformed into let out a shrill scream before vanishing into thin air.

Turning his head to look at the raccoon's corpse on the ground, Qin Chuan suddenly realized.

The ghost that Liu Rong transformed into first possessed the raccoon dog, and then, through some strange means, transformed into human form while concealing its presence.

"They do have some skill. If it weren't for the fatal flaw of not having a shadow, I probably wouldn't have been able to spot anything..."

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan sighed.

"Young man, thank you so much this time!"

After taking a swig of wine, Ma Laoqi spat it onto the ground and looked at Qin Chuan.

Before Qin Chuan could answer, he turned to look at Song Ping not far away and sneered, "Brother Song, now you can tell me what you didn't finish talking about before?"

……