"If it weren't for the fact that my demon elixir has not yet recovered, no one would dare to touch this treasure. Even if that Master Wu Yuan was in front of me, he wouldn't even breathe a sigh of relief when he took it!"
Recalling the past when he rode on the purple smoke and overlooked the heavy mountains, and when he held the black-patterned purple-gold gourd in his hand and galloped around, the Toad Taoist couldn't help but nodded while holding the gourd, and the corners of his mouth curved back, revealing a smile.
"Master... hurry up, it's almost midnight." Lu Liangsheng called him softly.
snort…
snort…
Um
Hearing him being called, the toad with his face upturned slowly opened his eyes and glanced at his apprentice calmly, "You only remember your master at the critical moment."
He closed the gourd with his webbed hands, lifted it up and placed it on his thin shoulders. He pointed it at Zuo Zhengyang, who had his eyes and mouth tightly closed, and muttered some incantation that no one else could understand.
“Here!”
A circle of intertwined black lines on the gourd body lit up with purple-gold magic light, and a whistling sound came from the gourd mouth, shooting out a purple light, shining on Zuo Zhengyang's face. After a few breaths, wisps of black air penetrated along the bluish skin, and while curling up outwards, it flew along the purple magic light and into the gourd mouth.
On the other side, Lu Liangsheng removed the magic circle and looked at it carefully. He had never seen his master use the gourd before. At most, he would stuff some pills into it, or use it as a weapon to hit people. This was the first time he saw his master use this magic weapon seriously.
'I live with my master, so I can use it too... I'll ask for the formula next time.'
As he was thinking, two breaths passed and the blue color from the poison on Zuo Zhengyang's face gradually faded away, his lips also had a little blood color, and the corpse gas and stench that permeated his body were all sucked into the gourd.
The Toad Taoist exhaled, put down the gourd on the table with a bang, and shook it vigorously twice. People around could vaguely hear the sound of wind and thunder inside.
Gurgle~~~
The toad patted the purple gold gourd twice as if it were a treasure, and laid it flat with great pride. In the blink of an eye, a pill that was bigger than the mouth of the gourd rolled out with a "pop" sound, and it was shiny black in the reflection of the firelight from the candlestick.
"This is the corpse pill. If an ordinary person takes it, they will be poisoned and transformed into a corpse. If a cultivator eats it..."
The Taoist's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "How was it after eating?"
"Dead from poison."
The Toad Taoist held the corpse pill and snorted: "Except for the Daluo Jinxian who descended to the earth, no one in the world can solve it!"
As he said this, he tossed his flippers, opened his mouth and swallowed the pill in one gulp. Then he sat down with satisfaction, touched his white belly and smacked his lips.
"But for me, it is a great tonic!"
The corner of Lu Liangsheng's mouth twitched. He was in no mood to listen to his master's stories about the past. He went over to feel Zuo Zhengyang's pulse and put his other hand between his eyebrows to transfer some magic power to stabilize his life.
Hmm…
A faint moan came out of Zuo Zhengyang's mouth. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the people around him. He wanted to get up, but was held down by Lu Liangsheng.
"Qian Wei has just recovered from a serious illness. He should not move without permission. He should have a good rest. Fellow Daoist Yan has already explained the whole story. Leave the rest to us."
As he said this, he called Zhu Ganglie to help, and carried the dazed Zuo Zhengyang to the room on the second floor. Then he went down to the hall, passing by his master who was still telling Taoist, Shelong and Yan Chixia about his glorious past.
The scholar walked to the door and looked at the night outside.
"I wonder if Sui'an has brought the news to the palace."
The night wind blew under the eaves, and the woods on both sides of the mountain gate rustled. Qi You also came down to join in the fun. When the hall was bustling with activity, Lu Liangsheng suddenly turned his head and looked at the woods outside.
Outside the mountain gate, there were noisy voices and the sound of horses' hooves. The light of torches illuminated the shadows of people running up the mountain path.
"Master—"
The moment Li Sui'an's voice rang out, the branches of the forest rustled slightly, and a figure holding a green sword flew down. He ran a few steps and came to the stone steps outside the attic hall. He bowed to Lu Liangsheng, who was standing at the door with his hands behind his back.
"Master, the message hasn't been delivered yet, but I met the emperor..."
While they were still talking about what happened on the way, on the mountain road over there, a group of guards came up hurriedly with swords and spears in hand. Yang Jian walked in the middle, while Yang Guang lay on the back of one of the guards.
"His Majesty."
"National Master!"
After seeing Lu Liangsheng, the emperor felt relieved. After all, he was attacked by a creature that was neither human nor ghost, and the other party was even invulnerable to swords and guns. Everyone was still a little panicked.
After entering the attic, Lu Liangsheng asked the guards to put Prince Jin on the two tables where Zuo Zhengyang had been lying before. The Toad Taoist widened his eyes and looked at his apprentice.
"Come again?"
"National Master... this... this giant toad is also a demon?"
Yang Jian knew that there was a pig demon here with the Imperial Master, so he was mentally prepared. But when he saw a toad talking on the table, he was also surprised.
"That's my master."
Lu Liangsheng did not hide it, but he had no time to explain. He took Yang Guang's pulse and used his magic power to probe his internal organs, but found no aura of evil stars or corpse poison.
"Your Majesty, Prince Jin is fine. He was just infected by the evil star before, which damaged his spirit. He will be well again after a while."
"I see. I thought my son had some other serious illness."
After hearing Lu Liangsheng's answer, Yang Jian was relieved. However, he couldn't help asking about another matter: "Master, do you know the origin of the thing that attacked me on the way here?"
Lu Liangsheng made a gesture of invitation, invited the emperor to sit down, brought tea over, and said: "It is a corpse demon, but I am afraid it is a corpse demon. As for why, Your Majesty, I guess he may be someone from the Southern Dynasty, and Your Majesty also knows him."
"I know him?" Yang Jian held the teacup to his lips and paused for a moment, "Southern Dynasty..."
He closed his eyes slightly in thought, then suddenly widened them and looked at the scholar opposite him.
"But the little emperor's master, Chen Fu?"
Putting the teacup on the table, Lu Liangsheng nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. He was seriously injured by me that day and his body could not support him. He wanted to use unconventional magic to transform his body into a corpse demon so that his soul would have a temporary place to rest. After all, only he would have such an obsession and transform into a demon to assassinate Your Majesty."
When it comes to governing a country and fighting wars, Yang Jian is very good at it, but when it comes to things like monsters and demons, he is at a loss. "Grandmaster, what should we do next? I can't hold court in the temple and handle state affairs, right?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry."
On the opposite side, the scholar did not say anything else. He stood up and walked to the door. The guards who were guarding outside immediately dispersed to make way for him, and looked at the imperial teacher who came out and bowed their heads.
Lu Liangsheng walked through the middle and stood under the eaves, looking into the night, pinching his fingers to make incantations, and speaking words that spread out, reaching the surrounding woods, fields, city walls and houses.
"Where is the patrol here? Report to the city god immediately. A demon has entered the city. Capture him as soon as possible—"
The guards standing outside the house suddenly felt a chill all over their bodies. They shuddered unexpectedly, and at the same time, a series of eerie voices were heard from the empty night sky.
"Night patrol, obey the orders of the national teacher!"
In the darkness of the night that no one else could see, a blurry shadow bowed and saluted, then turned into a wisp of cold wind and floated away.