There are at least three forces in this Stormy Villa.

Taoist Heming was naturally one of them. He took over Browning's body and hid here.

The other group is the actual controller of the Ruined City, the real Old Ones walking on the earth, the living gods.

The last party is the existence that Taoist Heming needs to suppress by using the paintings of the ancient capital and the power of another Old One.

"What do you want?"

Shia asked.

Making a deal with a being that has lost its human identity sounds crazy, but as the chosen one, sometimes crazy decisions are the right ones.

"My remains are hidden in this rainstorm villa."

Browning said generously.

"I told you before that I once fought against the gods walking in the abandoned city. At that time, I tried to transform my body and get closer to the gods with a strong body. Unfortunately, I failed. That's why I left some legacy."

"Are you referring to the matter of ascending to heaven and overcoming the tribulation?"

Xia Ya had been in a foreign land for so long that she was naturally familiar with the experiences of Taoist Heming. She had heard the story of how he was struck by lightning while sitting under a big tree and then transcended the tribulation and ascended to heaven dozens of times.

"That's right."

Browning nodded, as if he was not surprised that Xia knew about this.

"So, that lightning was really struck by the Old One here?"

Lu Ban asked without thinking.

This divine punishment is truly a divine punishment.

Probably, when Taoist Heming was preparing to take a further step and elevate himself, the boss of the Wasted City seized the opportunity and directly fired a thunderbolt from the sky, which crushed Taoist Heming's body to ashes, which is why he has become like this now.

Before, Lu Ban always thought that Taoist Heming gave up his physical body in order to reduce his own pollution. Now it seems that he did have his reasons.

"Ahem, actually, I had expected this."

Taoist Heming maintained his elegance, he said.

"I realized at that time that the more skilled I was at tempering my body, the more I wanted to resist everything physically, the more I could feel the limits of my flesh and blood."

"What do you want to say?"

Xia couldn't help but ask.

"He means that he is no longer a human being."

Lu Ban helped to answer.

"...I was already prepared to give up my body, but that guy accelerated the process."

Taoist Heming was silent for a moment before he changed the topic that was about to be diverted by Lu Ban.

"It was also because of that lightning that I was strongly polluted, and at the same time, I was able to glimpse some forbidden knowledge, which allowed me to transform myself into a concept and remain in the world. That guy must have noticed this, so he suppressed my sect and disciples throughout the Wasted City, trying to erase my name from this world."

"As for the corpse that was struck by lightning and was most contaminated, it has become my biggest concern."

After hearing what Taoist Heming said, Lu Ban finally figured out the goals of these three forces.

Taoist Heming wants to solve the problem of his own remains. This corpse carries a lot of pollution and is closely related to him. It may affect him under the influence of some of the Old Ones. For example, if the remains are revived through some kind of will, then they will compete with him for the title of "Taoist Heming", causing his own concept to be weakened. Therefore, Taoist Heming's biggest goal is to completely solve the problem of the remains.

Prior to this, Taoist Heming used the power of other Old Ones in the identity of Browning to suppress the Relics, but with Browning's weakening and some unexpected situations, he had to find a way to break the impasse.

As for the big guy in the abandoned city, the Old One who walks on the earth, his goal is to completely annihilate Taoist Heming, cut off his path to becoming an Old One like him, and eliminate future troubles.

In the end, the one who was suppressed and wanted to cause trouble was the remains of Taoist Heming himself.

"You want us to just grind your bones and scatter your ashes and get rid of your remains?"

Lu Ban asked.

"...My remains have been influenced by the Old One. All they lack is an opportunity to replace me. The deal I want to make with you is naturally in exchange for guaranteeing your lives and giving you some special knowledge. Please destroy my remains."

Taoist Heming said.

"It means the same thing."

Lu Ban briefly summarized.

"But why should we help you?"

Xia Ya had no good feelings towards Taoist Heming. The benefits of helping him were unpredictable, and it might offend the Old Ones of the Wasted City, who was a real big shot who could drive people crazy at the mere sight of him.

"Soul summoning is a ritual. When the soul summoning night comes, [Heming Taoist] will revive. At that time, all of you witnesses will be devoured by my remains and become your own power."

Taoist Heming answered, paused, and continued speaking.

"Also, I don't know how much you know about those monsters. Those monsters made of mud come from the followers of an Old One. Their master is sealed, and the followers are used by the One in the Abandoned City for experiments in order to develop a more powerful race. In other words, He is trying to use other methods to approach some supreme existence."

"When I tried to summon these creatures, I thought that was the answer, but after turning myself into that, I realized it was just a trap."

After hearing what Taoist Heming said, Xiya reacted immediately.

"You transformed yourself into that sludge monster?"

"It seems you know a lot."

Taoist Heming nodded.

"That's right. That thing would devour human consciousness and eventually disguise itself as a human. I saw through this and tried to control it. I succeeded, but even this was anticipated by the other party, and I ultimately failed. My remains are a sludge monster with a personality similar to mine."

"and……"

Taoist Heming glanced at the black and white portrait of Browning.

"I live here, but I can't find any trace of it. I can only feel that it is reviving little by little. After I failed to suppress it with the power of another Old One, I thought of this. I pretended to be dead to lure the other party out. I even found him, disguised as that pathetic speculator. I killed him easily, but I know very well that it still exists."

"Did you kill Goder?"

Shia asked back.

"Yes, it is very easy to kill him. I just need to control his body and choose death. He tried to hide himself, but in the face of life and death, he was eventually exposed."

Taoist Heming explained.

Lu Ban suddenly understood why this Storm Villa magnified human emotions and caused many people to have hallucinations and even prepare to commit suicide. It was probably the Heming Taoist who was trying to find the disguised remains.

However, Lu Ban soon discovered something.

"Wait, bro, you said you took control of his body and killed himself, so what did you do with his internal organs?"

Hearing Lu Ban's words, the expression on Taoist Heming's face froze slightly.