Strange occurrences were just like with other people, they all happened during nightmares. Every morning, when Zhang Jianxing woke up, his entire body was drenched in stinky sweat, covered in wet mud, sore all over, as if he hadn't rested all night and had been working nonstop at a construction site.

This situation had persisted for three months with no improvement. As the other villagers of Twilight Forest Village had experienced similar incidents, Chen Aijiao and Zhang Jianxing had learned their lesson. They dared not seek help from Mutated Beings out of fear of unforeseen consequences.

Repeated purchases of Dao Talismans in hopes of suppressing the evil spirits had also proved ineffective.

Xiao Mu listened carefully and discerned that what Zhang Jianxing was suffering from was nearly the same as what other villagers had described to Zhao Jingyan, all occurring during nightmares: waking up drenched in stinky sweat and caked in mud, as if having endured a night of hard labor at a construction site.

Xiao Mu was very clear that this situation meant these ordinary people were definitely having their Spiritual Consciousness taken away in their dreams by Divine Spirits, and they were truly put to work.

And the ones who were making use of these ordinary people could undoubtedly not be the Mutated Beings from the Alliance, as they had no need to act so covertly.

Apart from the Alliance's Mutated Beings, only two possibilities remained for those driving these ordinary people: outsiders from beyond or traitors from the human world and the celestial realm.

Among the two possibilities, Xiao Mu hoped it was the former.

"It would be best if it were outsiders. Yet, whether we can find the traces of the Variant Cultivator is unknown."

"There should be a great chance of finding them, after all, in Twilight Forest Village the activities of outsiders are not very frequent, yet Variant Cultivators are often lurking around. It should be that every activity involves Variant Cultivators."

"Daoist Zhao, this is my home."

About half an hour later, Chen Aijiao led Xiao Mu to a courtyard, an ordinary farmhouse that was neither very large nor too small, encompassing roughly three to four hundred square meters.

A two-story building with eight or nine rooms, the courtyard was paved with red bricks, and on the sides of the central road, there were old Peach Trees, Apricot Trees, Pepper Trees, and more.

Hearing the sound of the house door, a young girl, around twenty years old, came out from inside.

The girl was of average looks, her face vaguely resembling Chen Aijiao's, with a slightly plump build, but her youthfulness was endearing and gave off an easy-to-approach vibe.

"Mom, you're back, how many Dao Talismans did you buy?"

Upon seeing her mother, the girl immediately asked Chen Aijiao and turned towards Xiao Mu with a startle, "Who is this Daoist?"

"Yu Min, this is Daoist Zhao, whom I've invited to help exorcize your father."

Chen Aijiao stopped her electric bike, introduced Xiao Mu and her daughter to each other, "Daoist Zhao, this is my daughter, Yu Min."

"Hello!"

Xiao Mu nodded respectfully towards the girl, taking the opportunity to observe, and discovered that this girl was also a Mutated Being, albeit with relatively low strength, only at the third stage of the Mortal Realm and a martial artist at that.

"Hello!"

The girl, Zhang Yumin, courteously nodded in return, and then turned to her mother, signaling quietly, "Mom, come here for a moment."

"Daoist, could you please wait here for a short while? I am very sorry!"

Chen Aijiao apologized to Xiao Mu with a smile.

"Don't worry, Layman, please go ahead!"

Xiao Mu casually crossed his arms behind his back, turning his head to admire the various trees planted in the courtyard.

"I'll be back in a moment."

Chen Aijiao apologized again to Xiao Mu before heading towards Zhang Yumin.

Zhang Yumin pulled Chen Aijiao towards the main hall, where the mother and daughter spoke in hushed tones inside the room.

With Xiao Mu's sharp hearing, without intending to eavesdrop, he could still vaguely hear some of their conversation.

There was clearly a disagreement between mother and daughter. Chen Aijiao was convinced of Xiao Mu's strength after witnessing his abilities and believed that he was more than capable of healing her husband, Zhang Jianxing.

Zhang Yumin, however, was worried because of the precedents set by other villagers in Twilight Forest Village. She was unsure of Xiao Mu's abilities and did not wish to put her father at risk.

However, the argument between the mother and daughter didn't last long. Once Chen Aijiao mentioned that without treatment, Zhang Jianxing could only survive for at most another year, Zhang Yumin eventually relented to her mother's faith and agreed to let Xiao Mu help cure her father.

"Daoist, I apologize for the long wait."

Chen Aijiao came out from indoors, apologetically addressing Xiao Mu.

Following behind her was Zhang Yumin, who simply listened to her mother speaking with Xiao Mu and remained silent. Yet, her eyes kept sizing up Xiao Mu, as if trying to glean the measure of his strength.

"No trouble at all. Has the Layman made a decision? If so, may I see Layman Zhang?"

Xiao Mu turned around, shifting his gaze from the trees, and looked at Chen Aijiao with a serene expression.

"Yes, I've decided, Daoist Zhao Jingyan, please come in!" Chen Aijiao spoke with determination, gesturing for Xiao Mu to enter her house's grand hall.

"Please don't mention it!"

Xiao Mu entered the grand hall.

The grand hall was tidied very cleanly. To the right, avoiding the main entrance, there was a set of sectional sofas, positioned opposite to a large TV.

"Daoist, please take a seat! I will go call him out. Yu Min, pour some tea for the Daoist!"

Chen Aijiao asked Xiao Mu to sit down on the sofa and simultaneously instructed Zhang Yumin to pour tea.

"There's no need, I don't drink tea, Zhang Layman, no need for the trouble!"

Xiao Mu promptly stopped Zhang Yumin who was about to pour the tea.

"Please wait a moment, Daoist!"

Chen Aijiao walked towards the master bedroom, pushed the door, and entered. Soon after, her voice could be heard from the master bedroom, "Jianxing, Jianxing, wake up— I've invited a Daoist to have a look at you."

"Daoist?"

A weary, not yet fully awake man's voice emerged from the bedroom, seemingly startled and suddenly sobering up with unease, "Daoist, Aijiao, why have you asked for a Daoist? Do you not know what happens to those who have sought out Mutated Beings in the village before?"

"This Daoist is..."

Chen Aijiao quickly lowered her voice to comfort her husband. Since Xiao Mu wasn't trying to eavesdrop, he didn't know the specifics of what was said.

However, from their tones, it was clear that under Chen Aijiao's persuasion, Zhang Jianxing gradually calmed down and finally decided to ask for Xiao Mu's help for treatment.

The sound of footsteps approached, and two people emerged from the room—Chen Aijiao and a man of a similar age to her.

However, the man was visibly too weary, his complexion as pale as a corpse, and he seemed very weak.

"Cough cough! Daoist Zhao Jingyan, hello!"

The man's gaze fell on Xiao Mu and he greeted him politely.

"Layman Zhang, please have a seat. Your condition..."

Xiao Mu stood up from the sofa, extended his hand to invite Zhang Jianxing to sit down on the sofa, and took the opportunity to examine him.

Under his Spiritual Eye, Zhang Jianxing's condition was clearly displayed.

He was just an ordinary person with nothing out of the ordinary from the outside, the only difference was a thin layer of black light on the surface of his Soul light.

The scene was like a person wearing a thin raincoat over their skin.

The difference was that, while a raincoat is used to shield from wind and rain, the layer of black light on the surface of Zhang Jianxing's Soul light could control his Spiritual Consciousness itself, making it leave the body.

Xiao Mu's gaze extended further, following the black light. He noticed that this black light had a Spirituality extending outward, stretching towards an unknown place.

Without a doubt, it was a Mutated Being behind this who relied on this extending Spirituality to control the black light and through it, controlled Zhang Jianxing's Spiritual Consciousness.

Petty Tricks!

A hint of disdain appeared at the corner of Xiao Mu's mouth.

If it were an ordinary Mutated Being encountering this Soul light control, they might be helpless, but to Xiao Mu, a cultivator of the Taoist Law, it was hardly anything.

He observed the black light carefully. Within the dim Halo of the black light, there was a hint of a Divine Aura.

Xiao Mu sensed carefully and discovered that this Divine Aura was quite strong, at the level of Divine Spirits, meaning that the caster held a position at the Divine Spirit Level.

"Whoever is behind this is no weak Mutated Being. It is actually a Divine Spirit!"

This new discovery left Xiao Mu somewhat stunned, but soon, he also noticed that the Divine Aura left on the Soul light was very weak, not even one percent of a normal Divine Aura.

"Could it be, a Divine Spirit performed the operation on Zhang Jianxing, used its divine authority to control Zhang Jianxing's Spiritual Consciousness, yet didn't control him personally and handed him over to an ordinary, non-Divine Spirit Mutated Being?"

"If it were you, Divine Spirit, you might indeed cause me a bit of trouble. Non-Divine Spirits think they can stop me?"

Xiao Mu suddenly felt disappointed. Non-Divine Spirits were too weak; although they were easy to kill, the information they provided was also limited.

"Daoist Zhao Jingyan, have you found anything? How is it? Can my family be cured?" Anxiety laced Chen Aijiao's tense voice, betraying her unease.

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