"The master is about to pass away" - upon hearing these words from Uncle Chen's mouth, Lu Guijiu showed a look of astonishment. He asked anxiously, "Uncle Chen, what happened to my father?"

Just as Uncle Chen was about to say something, he noticed Zhang Jingmo standing beside Lu Guijiu. He said, "This is..."

Lu Guijiu said, "This is my master."

Hearing this, Uncle Chen's eyes lit up. He quickly knelt down and called out, "I beg the immortal master to save the master's life!"

Zhang Jingmo said, "You may rise first, and lead me and Guijiu inside to take a look."

Uncle Chen knew that this matter could not be explained in just a few words. While wiping his tears with his sleeve, he welcomed Zhang Jingmo and Lu Guijiu into the manor.

As soon as Lu Guijiu stepped into the Lu Manor where he had lived for four years, he felt an unpleasant desolate atmosphere. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the plants in the manor had all withered. It was now the thriving spring when all things come back to life, but whether it was flowers or grass in the Lu Manor, they all exuded a decaying yellowish color.

As Uncle Chen walked inside, he said to Lu Guijiu, "Young master, you've returned at just the right time."

Lu Guijiu asked, "Uncle Chen, what exactly happened in this manor?"

Only then did Uncle Chen recount the entire matter.

It turned out that some days ago, a wandering Daoist priest passed by the Lu Manor, wanting to come in to ask for some food. Since Lu Guijiu's father had already sent Lu Guijiu to the Lingxu Sect, he had always been very amiable towards these Daoist priests.

But who would have thought that after staying in the manor for a few days, the Daoist priest became enamored with the comfortable life and refused to leave.

Lu Guijiu's elder brother had a violent temper. Seeing this, he directly set fire to the place where the Daoist priest was staying. He originally only wanted to scare the Daoist priest, but he didn't expect that when he rushed into the room to extinguish the fire, the Daoist priest who should have been inside had disappeared.

This was the cause of the matter.

After hearing this, Lu Guijiu said, "Disappeared? Could it be that he was some kind of demon? Did he burrow into the ground?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Chen quickly made a gesture of silence. He said, "Young master, you mustn't speak carelessly about this..."

Lu Guijiu frowned, "Why can't I speak carelessly?"

Only then did Uncle Chen recount what happened next.

It turned out that after the Daoist priest disappeared, strange things began to frequently occur in the Lu Manor. First, the plants in the manor withered for no reason, and even the best gardeners could not find the cause. Then, the people in the manor began to develop a strange illness, with unbearable itchy skin that could not be cured no matter what. Finally, the itchy skin turned as hard as stone...

At this point, Uncle Chen showed an expression of being unable to bear to look.

Lu Guijiu said, "Did my father also contract this strange illness? Why not move out of the Lu Manor?" He had entered the Lu Manor and walked for a while, but only saw Uncle Chen, a servant. It seemed that the other servants had already moved out.

Uncle Chen sighed, "The master wanted to leave, but he couldn't walk out of this door..."

Whenever Lu Guijiu's father tried to cross this door, the door would retreat as if it had grown feet, and Lu Guijiu's father could never catch up to it - at this point, even those who held out hope knew that the Lu Manor had encountered something evil.

Then, Lu Guijiu's father sent people to request Daoist priests at a high price, wanting to perform rituals to subdue the demon. But those self-proclaimed immortal Daoists couldn't even enter the Lu family's doorway, let alone perform rituals...

As Uncle Chen spoke, he led Lu Guijiu to the door of Lu Guijiu's father's room. He knocked on the door from the outside and gently called out, "Master."

It took a long time before a voice came from inside the door. As soon as Lu Guijiu heard it, he knew that the voice belonged to his elder brother. "Come in," the voice said.

Lu Guijiu pushed the door open and entered. As soon as he went in, he saw his elder brother sitting on a chair, looking haggard and on the verge of death, and his father lying on the bed, his life and death unknown.

Lu Guijiu's elder brother, Lu Chengrong, never expected to see his younger brother at this time. His originally lifeless face showed a look of panic, and he said angrily, "Guijiu, why have you come back?"

Lu Guijiu said, "Brother! I've come back to help you drive away the demon!" He had a very good relationship with his brother, so seeing them in this state, his heart was naturally filled with grief and indignation. He found it hard to imagine what the scene at home would have been like if he hadn't returned.

However, Lu Guijiu didn't know, but Zhang Jingmo did.

Because in that previous life, Lu Guijiu had never returned, and it was only many years later, when he happened to pass by this place and wanted to go home to take a look, that he heard some idle gossip - the Lu family had offended an immortal and was turned into stone, and it was said that they were still breathing when they turned into stone...

No wonder this matter became a heart demon that was difficult for Lu Guijiu to overcome on his path of cultivation.

Lu Guijiu went over to take a look at his father on the bed. Upon seeing this, the flames of anger in his heart burned even more fiercely. He saw his father lying stiffly on the bed, with only his eyes able to move. Those eyes revealed urgency and sorrow - even though his mouth was closed, Lu Guijiu knew what he wanted to say, nothing more than wanting his only remaining son to leave quickly to avoid being implicated.

Lu Chengrong said wearily, "Guijiu, don't make a fuss. Listen to me and leave quickly. You are the last hope of our Lu family..."

"Guijiu." Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Zhang Jingmo.

Zhang Jingmo said indifferently, "What demon do you think this is?"

Lu Guijiu said, "Master, I seem to have seen this situation in 'Strange Tales of Lingnan'."

Zhang Jingmo said, "And?"

Lu Guijiu frowned and said, "It's just that I don't know what object in this manor the demon's original form is disguised as."

Zhang Jingmo didn't say anything. He walked to Lu Guijiu's father's side and, ignoring Lu Chengrong's vigilant gaze, reached out to feel Lu Guijiu's father's neck. "There's still hope to save him."

Lu Guijiu's face showed a look of joy, while Lu Chengrong, in addition to being pleasantly surprised, was a bit puzzled. He said, "Guijiu... who is this..."

Only then did Lu Guijiu remember that he was so focused on talking to his brother that he forgot to introduce his master. He said, "Brother, this is my master, surnamed Zhang - he's very powerful and treats me very well."

Lu Chengrong finally showed a joyful expression upon hearing those words. When his father sent Lu Guijiu away years ago, he only knew that Lu Guijiu went to a place where mortals couldn't go. After that, he completely lost contact with Lu Guijiu.

Now, two years had passed, and Lu Guijiu suddenly returned home. Not only did he come back, but he also brought an immortal master who seemed to possess great abilities...

Before Zhang Jingmo could say anything, Lu Chengrong knelt down with a thud. Using his somewhat stiff body, he kowtowed repeatedly, wanting to beg Zhang Jingmo to save their Lu family.

However, Zhang Jingmo's next words chilled Lu Chengrong's heart. This immortal master, with a cold face and a cold heart, calmly said, "I will not take action."

Lu Guijiu also became anxious and called out, "Master."

Zhang Jingmo said, "Lu Guijiu, these are your family members."

Lu Guijiu puffed out his cheeks like an angry hamster. If it were any other time, seeing Lu Guijiu like this, Zhang Jingmo would have probably softened his heart. But today, he had no intention of letting Lu Guijiu off the hook.

He said, "If you can't protect them, who else can you expect to do so?"

Lu Guijiu asked in a trembling voice, "Then, Master... can you at least save my father?"

Zhang Jingmo nodded. Seeing Lu Guijiu's eyes light up, he added, "If he takes my elixir, he can indeed recover his health. But if the Stone Demon is not eliminated, he will revert to his original state within three days."

Lu Guijiu pursed his lips, knowing that Zhang Jingmo was not trying to scare him. His master was definitely serious.

Lu Chengrong listened to these words in a daze, but he roughly understood Zhang Jingmo's meaning. He looked at Zhang Jingmo with a frightened expression, then at his little brother, who was only six years old. He couldn't believe that his brother could eliminate the so-called Stone Demon and save their Lu family.

However, Lu Guijiu seemed to know Lu Chengrong's worries. He reached out and held his elder brother's cold hands, then looked at his father lying on the bed, already on the verge of death. He said solemnly and seriously, "Alright."

In Zhang Jingmo's eyes, a hint of warmth finally appeared.

The moment he stepped into the Lu Manor, he saw through the entire situation. A third-rate Daoist priest and a mediocre Stone Demon had turned this mortal family's life upside down.

What use was holding power in the mortal world? After a mere hundred years, one would be reduced to a handful of yellow dirt, and all past glories would vanish.

If Zhang Jingmo had taken action, they might have already been on their way back to the Linxu Sect.

But Zhang Jingmo did not intervene. Not only did he not take action, but he also did not give Lu Guijiu any hints. He wanted to see how far this six-year-old child could go without his help, whether he could root out the Stone Demon, and whether he could find the Daoist priest who had harmed their entire family.

Due to the Stone Demon, only Uncle Chen, a servant, remained in the Lu Manor.

So there was no meal to offer - Zhang Jingmo had long abstained from food and didn't mind, but Lu Guijiu had to suffer a little and eat Bigu Pills for a few days.

Usually, Lu Guijiu ate the finest spiritual grains and spiritual beast meat. He had never tasted the flavor of Bigu Pills.

So that night, Lu Guijiu sat by the bed, sighing.

Seeing this, Zhang Jingmo asked, "Are you afraid? If you're afraid, tell your master, and I'll help you catch the Stone Demon and save your father."

Lu Guijiu shook his head and sighed again.

Zhang Jingmo said, "Then why are you sighing?"

Lu Guijiu said, "I smell the noodles Uncle Chen cooked for me!"

Zhang Jingmo: "..."

After saying this, Lu Guijiu's eyes lit up, and he looked at Zhang Jingmo pitifully, as if begging him to let him eat that bowl of noodles.

Zhang Jingmo didn't know if Lu Guijiu was too carefree or had already figured out a solution. Not only was he not worried about his suffering father, but he was also thinking about a bowl of noodles.

However, regardless of which one it was, Zhang Jingmo didn't care, because he would only give Lu Guijiu one answer: "No."

If he wanted to eat noodles, there was no way.

Lu Guijiu wrinkled his face. He felt that the Bigu Pills were really not meant for humans to eat. After eating them, although he wasn't hungry, his whole body felt empty, and even his usual energy seemed to be lost.