In an instant, the world before Lu Jingyao’s eyes changed completely. The ferocious, ghostly face and the bizarre old man vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
The room grew quiet again. The chilling breeze that had poured inside also stopped. It all felt like a skin-crawling, bone-chilling nightmare.
"What just happened?"
Lu Jingyao couldn’t help but rub his eyes and look around the empty room.
The doorway was empty. Only moonlight shone in from outside, spreading a layer of silver across the floor.
There was no figure, no ghostly face, nothing out of the ordinary. He couldn’t help but mutter, "Was all of that just a figment of my imagination?"
Just then, two familiar figures walked in through the door. Lu Jingjun strode forward and was the first to speak. "Jingyao, why are you just standing there in a daze? Stop letting your mind run wild. You need to pull yourself together."
Lu Jingteng, who followed close behind, also tried to console him. "He’s right. If you keep spiraling like this, Junior Brother Niu will never be able to rest in peace. You have to carry on his dream and keep fighting."
"Besides, Dad will be worried sick about you. Think about it. These past few days, he hasn’t said a word, but deep down, he’s more anxious than anyone."
Lu Jingyao watched the seemingly real scene before him, took a deep breath, and nodded. "You’re right. I understand now. I won’t give up on my dream. Brother Niu would want me to live a good life, too."
The moment the words left his mouth, the white ghostly figure reappeared. It materialized silently behind Lu Jingteng and Lu Jingjun, as if sprouting from the very void.
The next second, two transparent Ghost Claws thrust forward from behind Lu Jingteng and Lu Jingjun, instantly piercing through both of their chests.
Two pale hands burst from their chests, fingers slightly splayed and dripping with red blood.
The bodies of Lu Jingteng and Lu Jingjun went rigid, their eyes bulging.
Seeing this sudden turn of events, Lu Jingyao went berserk. He charged forward like a madman, screaming, "Jingteng! Jingjun! No! I’ll kill you!"
The white ghost merely gave Lu Jingyao a dismissive glance. It was as if a giant, invisible hand had swatted him away; he was sent flying backward, smashing heavily onto the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him.
Lu Jingyao struggled to lift his head, only to watch in horror, his eyes wide with rage, as the ghostly figure lifted his brothers into the air.
Their bodies hung there, limbs dangling limply. Blood gushed from the wounds in their chests, pooling on the floor below.
The next moment, a man wearing a black tunic suit and holding a Wisteria Spirit Staff in his right hand appeared in the doorway. Lu Jingyao’s eyes instantly lit up.
"Dad! Quick, save my brothers!"
He had just finished speaking when he saw the bizarre old man appear from nowhere behind Lu Yun.
Then, the bizarre old man’s withered hand pressed down on Lu Yun’s head, his five fingers sinking into the scalp like iron nails. Veins bulged violently on Lu Yun’s head.
Lu Yun’s body went rigid. His black hair turned white before Lu Jingyao’s very eyes. His skin began to shrivel and wrinkle, as if all moisture was being sucked out of him.
In just a few short seconds, he transformed from a robust middle-aged man into a stooped old man, and finally into a withered, desiccated corpse.
In the final moment, Lu Jingyao watched as Lu Yun reached out a hand, grasping weakly at the empty air. His lips trembled, forming a faint, almost inaudible whisper: "My son..."
"This can’t be happening! Let him go, you monster!!!" Lu Jingyao, in a blind rage, scrambled to his feet and charged forward again. The next second, he crashed into Lu Yun’s desiccated corpse, shattering it. Bones and white hair scattered across the floor.
Lu Jingyao had hit nothing but air. He slammed into the doorframe and fell into the pile of shattered bones.
As he lay on the ground, his hand reflexively clutched a stark white arm bone.
Looking at the frenzied Lu Jingyao, Elder Fakong broke into a bizarre smile. "So, this is what you fear most."
The moment he spoke, the entire room transformed. A blizzard of white Talismans fluttered down from the ceiling, while more surged out from the walls and up from the floor, as if countless invisible hands were scattering funerary money.
In an instant, a towering, illusory image of the Lifeless Mother stood in the center of the room, wreathed in cascading layers of glowing white lotus shadows.
Immediately after, a bizarre chant echoed through the room: "The Lifeless descends to command thy heart. Cast out thy thoughts, revere the Mother. Without birth, without end, return to truth for all eternity..."
Lying on the floor, Lu Jingyao was in agony from the pervasive Spell, clutching his head tightly with both hands.
Less than three seconds later, the pain and madness suddenly vanished from Lu Jingyao’s face. His twisted expression calmed, replaced by an incredibly confident smile.
He tossed the bone from his hand as if it were trash. "It’s fake. This is all an illusion! You can’t fool me, you charlatan!"
Lu Jingyao’s eyes looked past the swirling white Talismans and locked directly onto Elder Fakong.
"My father’s power is absolute! There is no one in this world who could possibly harm him!"
With that, he kicked aside the surrounding bones and said with utter confidence, "If Dad hadn’t appeared, I might have actually fallen for your tricks, you old bastard! So it was you charlatans all along—the Lifeless Lotus Sect."
The smile on Elder Fakong’s face slowly froze. He couldn’t imagine how someone could possibly break free from the yin energy of a Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant.
’The Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant draws out a person’s deepest fears. It’s not something you can simply choose not to fear. You can’t just wake up by telling yourself it’s fake.’
’The more you try to resist, the more ferocious it becomes. The more you try to escape, the more it clings to you.’
’He’d lived for most of his life and had seen countless people fall to this technique, including Grandmasters of Huajin and Masters of Magic. Most of them simply broke down when faced with a Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant.’
’What really shattered Elder Fakong’s composure was that this Lu Jingyao was just a worthless piece of trash, not even a Mingjin Martial Artist. How on earth did he manage to break free from the Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant’s yin energy? Where did I go wrong?’
’Could it be? Is that old monster Lu Yun really so terrifying that he could instill such unshakeable confidence in someone trapped deep within an illusion?’
The smile vanished completely from Elder Fakong’s face, leaving only a cold, sinister gloom on his withered features.
"Good, kid. I didn’t expect you to see through it. But your luck runs out now."
A white Talisman shot from his sleeve, landing precisely on Lu Jingyao’s forehead.
This wasn’t like the flimsy illusion from before. This was a Technique capable of forcibly rewriting memories, causing its target to sink endlessly into terror.
In the end, you would no longer be yourself—just a walking corpse serving the Lifeless Mother.
Lu Jingyao’s body suddenly went stiff. His gaze lost focus, and then his consciousness faded completely.
Seeing that Lu Jingyao had lost the ability to resist, the corner of Elder Fakong’s mouth curved back into a smile.
He lifted his withered hand and made a light flicking motion in the air, controlling the Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant to float silently over.
The ghostly white shadow paused in mid-air, then shot into Lu Jingyao’s body, merging with him as one.
Elder Fakong began to laugh sinisterly. "Heh heh heh... I wonder what that old monster Lu Yun’s reaction will be when he wakes up tomorrow and finds one of his precious sons missing?"
’I must be the first person to ever snatch someone from right under the nose of a Grandmaster of Divine Intent. If word of this gets out, my status in the Holy Sect is sure to rise.’
And so, Elder Fakong turned smugly and started for the door. "Let’s go. Come back with me to see the Sect Leader."
Possessed by the Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant, Lu Jingyao began to walk, following along mechanically.
The lights in the master bedroom on the first floor of the villa were brightly lit. Ever since breaking through to become a Half-step Manifest Saint True Monarch, Lu Yun no longer required sleep. He usually just sat in his room with his eyes closed, resting his spirit.
At the same time, Lu Yun’s fragmented Divine Thought would occasionally extend outward, sweeping over every blade of grass and every tree within a thousand-meter radius.
The very next second, he snapped his eyes open, a flash of purple light streaking through his pupils.
This was followed by the sound of a terrifying heartbeat. It was no mortal heartbeat, but a dull, deafening boom, like someone beating a drum next to his ear in the dead of night.
’What’s this?’
Lu Yun’s brows knitted together. He suddenly felt a strange palpitation, an indescribable, mystical sensation.
’Not good. Something’s happened. This is a premonition!’
Without a moment’s hesitation, he erupted in a brilliant purple light. He flew up from his bed, then shot through the window and vanished into the distance.
An impossibly powerful Divine Thought spread out madly from Lu Yun in all directions. This Divine Thought was so strong it could affect reality itself.
This caused all people and animals within a one-thousand-meter radius to feel an indescribable sense of pressure at that very moment.
Meanwhile, on a wide path in the West Courtyard, Elder Fakong was hurrying along with Lu Jingyao in tow.
The next moment, his expression changed drastically. His withered body went rigid as the danger-premonition ability of a Grandmaster of Huajin began screaming warnings in his mind.
’Not good! I’ve been discovered! It’s that old monster, Lu Yun!’
When Elder Fakong looked up, he saw a pillar of purple light flying toward him at astonishing speed.
His pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, and his heart nearly leaped out of his throat.
When Elder Fakong tried to grab Lu Jingyao’s shoulder, he discovered to his horror that he couldn’t move at all.
It wasn’t that something had grabbed him, but that the very space around him was pressing in on him from all sides.
The feeling was like fighting against the world itself. If you moved an inch, the world would press down. If you struggled, the world would tighten its grip.
Lu Yun descended from the sky, landing behind Lu Jingyao with a dark expression.
Even from a kilometer away, he had already sensed the yin energy surging from his son’s body.
At that moment, a ferocious, ghostly face suddenly appeared on the back of Lu Jingyao’s head, seeming to struggle desperately to lunge at Lu Yun.
But no matter how much it struggled, it was useless. Lu Jingyao’s body was like a container, trapping the ghostly figure firmly inside.
As Lu Yun raised his left hand, purple light surged in his palm. He then pressed it down on the crown of Lu Jingyao’s head.

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