“Yunmeng Sect, there’s never been anyone here.” Li Ming’s skin crawled with goosebumps, and his lips twitched. “How is that possible? If there’s no one here, then what’s the story with the Taoist master…”

Li Ming's hands and feet were ice-cold despite the sweltering heat, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

I vaguely remember the first time I met my Taoist master.

He was covered in blood, yet he chuckled and said that he had a full forehead and excellent bones, making him suitable for cultivating immortality. He asked if I was willing to become his disciple and the sole heir of the Yunmeng Sect.

This is such a good thing, it's like a pie falling from the sky.

Li Ming did not hesitate to become a disciple. His Taoist master gave him a wooden plaque with dragon patterns and took him to the Yunmeng Sect.

Just as I arrived at Yunmeng Sect, my Taoist master died.

And Li Ming could never leave again.

Now, the black dog actually says it's never seen a Taoist master? Are you kidding me?

Li Ming stared at the black dog still biting his trouser leg and said with a serious face, "Did something go wrong with your cultivation of the 'Soul Nourishing Technique' and 'Menstruation,' causing memory confusion?"

"Woof woof..." The black dog shook its head.

"How could that be?" Li Ming looked into the black dog's eyes and said solemnly, "If I remember correctly, my Taoist master died after bringing me here. I made a coffin for him. On the day of the burial, you couldn't accept it and kept digging at the grave and pulling at the coffin, crying so sadly. Don't tell me you didn't do this?"

Black Dog loosened his grip on Li Ming's trouser leg, momentarily at a loss for words.

After leaving the forbidden area of ​​the sacred mountain, it inexplicably came to the Yunmeng Sect and stayed there for a long time without being able to leave.

I'm so bored, I'm about to suffocate.

Many years later, it suddenly saw a young man appear in the Yunmeng Sect, and it wept with joy.

But it was soon discovered that the boy had a problem; he kept talking to himself.

As he spoke, tears streamed down the boy's face. Then, the boy acted strangely and made a coffin.

The black dog couldn't understand what the boy was doing, so it kept observing.

Two days later, Black Dog discovered that the boy had dragged the coffin to the back mountain and buried it, saying "May the Taoist master rest in peace" as he buried it. At that moment, Black Dog thought that there was something wrong with the boy's mind.

It's clearly an empty coffin, how sad!

So the black dog decided to dig up the grave to show him his true face, but it got beaten up and cried on the spot. It wasn't crying tears of joy, but because it had met a fool.

After all these years, I've finally encountered a living creature, only to find it's an idiot.

After that, the black dog ignored Li Ming and drooped its ears.

As they spent more time together, they noticed that Li Ming's condition was gradually improving, and they stopped mentioning the Taoist master.

Now, the black dog really couldn't hold back anymore. It couldn't communicate before, but now, although it can't speak, it can write, and it felt it was necessary to tell Li Ming about this.

So it wrote the Three Character Classic on the ground, recording what it had seen and heard.

After reading the Three Character Classic written by the black dog, Li Ming rubbed his temples, vaguely feeling that something was wrong. From his perspective, there was indeed a Taoist master.

From the black dog's perspective, it didn't see anything and even said it was talking to itself.

For a moment, Li Mingbu was stunned.

If there really wasn't a Taoist master, Li Ming would find it a bit terrifying.

So who was he talking to at that time?

Thinking of this, Li Ming broke out in a cold sweat. After a moment's thought, he said, "Black Dog, get out of the way. I'm going to dig up the grave now. I want to see if there's a Taoist master here."

Li Ming waved his hand.

Spiritual energy surged forth, quickly enveloping the tomb. With a loud boom, the tomb cracked open, sending soil flying and dust billowing everywhere.

A moment later, the coffin came into view.

The coffin was made of wood from the orchard, and it hadn't rotted, which was to be expected.

With a push, Li Ming sent the coffin lid flying off and crashing to the ground.

He and the black dog approached at the same time.

The coffin was empty and clean, with nothing inside, as if nothing had ever been there before.

Ten thousand years have passed. If the Taoist master's bones and clothes had decomposed into air, Li Ming could understand it. However, one thing is certain: they cannot decompose over time.

That is the magic weapon.

At the time of the burial, the Taoist master was wearing a spatial magic item called a Sumeru Ring on his hand, a white pendant around his neck, and jade bracelets on his ankles.

These magical treasures are no longer available.

The coffin was empty; there was nothing inside.

That can only mean one thing: there was never a Taoist master.

Li Ming rubbed his eyes and temples, wondering what he had actually been talking to.

He pondered for half an hour but still couldn't come up with any clues. In the end, he went back to his empty castle and lay there, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, feeling that something was wrong.

Is there really no Taoist master?

Lost in thought, I fell asleep without realizing it.

...

midnight.

Li Ming had a nightmare.

He dreamt that he appeared in the forbidden area of ​​the sacred mountain, in a daze, with blood-red eyes and his whole body covered in red hair.

He was terrified.

He wanted to wake up from his dream, but he couldn't wake up no matter what he did.

It was as if something was constantly driving him, preventing him from becoming clear-headed, and wanting him to continue wandering aimlessly in the forbidden area of ​​the sacred mountain.

At this moment, the dragon-patterned black box slowly flew out of the Sumeru Ring, its dark luster bursting forth and enveloping Li Ming's body.

Li Ming clenched his fists, trying to clear his head, but he just couldn't.

Gradually, breathing became difficult.

My consciousness gradually became blurred.

Just as he was about to dissipate, Li Ming gritted his teeth and bit his tongue until it bled.

Whew...

Li Ming finally woke up, his forehead covered in sweat, and saw the glow of the black box with dragon patterns enveloping him.

Isn't this thing in the Sumeru Vinaya?

How can I come out on my own initiative?

Li Ming found it unbelievable.

Just as he was about to reach for the dragon-patterned black box, two green lights suddenly appeared in front of him, which was particularly eerie. Li Ming instinctively threw a punch.

"Woof woof woof..."

The black dog barked wildly, but unexpectedly, it was punched by Li Ming.

It's so bitter.

The black dog barked loudly, its face full of grievance.

They got beaten up for no reason.

What kind of mess is this?

Li Ming stared at him with mixed feelings: "Luckily I went easy on you, otherwise I would have smashed your dog head in... By the way, what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"

The black dog tried to speak, but was unable to, so it used its cultivated power to write words in the air:

A black box flew up, startling me, so I came to take a look.

I never expected you to hit me.

I'm so tired!

"Don't scare me like that again."

Li Ming reached out and picked up the black box with dragon patterns that was hanging over him. As he studied it, he said, "I just had a nightmare. Did you hear me say anything strange?"

The black dog continued writing: "Yes, yes, yes."

Li Ming stopped fiddling with the dragon-patterned black box in his hand and asked, "What did I say?"

The black dog continued writing: "Repeating the same words."

Li Ming asked again, "Have I been repeating the same things over and over? What exactly are they?"