Chapter 65 "I want to be human..."

  "Are you kidding me?"

  Shu Bailin was in a daze and wanted to remind Ning Feng: Hey, you're facing the wrong direction.

  The idea burst forth irrepressibly and he himself couldn't help but laugh.

  "How is it possible?"

  Shu Baili suddenly came back to her senses and looked at Liu Laozhuang in horror.

  The old landlord was still lying there, looking like a dead man, and still weighed a thousand pounds. The eight strong men who had carried him out were still panting like oxen at this moment.

  "I've been thinking..."

  He stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly oblivious to the countless gazes gathered on him, and continued: "If it's really this old mulberry tree that's haunting us, then why is it that for such a long time, except for Old Master Liu, others have only had minor incidents, mostly just being startled? The Liu family members were frightened, but none of them were injured."

  "Why?"

  "If it had no grudges or grievances, why did it first target the old master and then continue to entangle him; if it had grudges or hatred, how could everyone else be unharmed except for the old master?"

  "What can you teach me?"

  Ning Feng said so, for a moment, I don't know how many people looked at each other in dismay, it makes sense.

  What he didn't say was that the things Tianyunzi had entrusted to him, whether it was stopping the demon or the tragic Wen Chou, were indeed a test for Ning Feng, but Tianyunzi had never disregarded human life and used others' lives as whetstones for Ning Feng.

  In other words, if it was really the old mulberry tree that was haunted, before Ning Feng arrived, I'm afraid several lives would have been lost. If there were a few more people like Liu Laozhuang who were in such a state, then the problem would be big.

  The affair of Hu Mengniang, the fox spirit, also served as a warning to Ning Feng.

  Subduing demons and monsters is no mistake, but it can't be used as a knife for others.

  Ning Feng finished speaking, the old mulberry tree swayed violently, as if it was stirring up something; Liu Laozhuang still only had eyes that could move, silent and speechless.

  An awkward silence, onlookers exchanged skeptical glances: Had he gotten it wrong?

  Ning Feng waved his sleeve and continued, "The old mulberry tree has a hollow body, it's been dug out all the way to the roots, I'm afraid its days are numbered."

  "At that moment, I thought to myself, perhaps the old mulberry tree, which had absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and become a dwelling place for spirits, had itself given rise to a yin spirit."

  "With spirituality, one cherishes life, knows love for life, and is unwilling to die. Thus, a thought emerges: borrowing form!"

  Ning Feng said this, Shu Bailin suddenly shivered as if she had been struck by lightning and blurted out: "Taiyin Borrowing Shape Technique?!"

  Human cultivators, after achieving the Yuan Shen through deep cultivation, if their physical body is damaged, they can use the method of seizing another person's body to prolong their life. Except for the fact that their lifespan cannot be changed, everything else remains the same as before, and this is called: Seizing a New Abode!

  Yaozu, especially those formed from plants and trees, find it difficult to shake off their original bodies. The first to be accomplished is the yin spirit.

  Yin spirits can only be active at night and will immediately disintegrate into nothingness once exposed to sunlight.

  If the main body is damaged before it can move freely, they will often adopt a method, that is, the yin spirit escapes and finds a human or animal body to occupy by force, called: Taiyin Borrowing Shape Method.

  The spirits of plants and trees are limited by their innate nature. After becoming a demon, they will naturally understand the method of borrowing forms from Taiyin, which is a kind of compensation from the Heavenly Way.

  Taiyin borrowing shape method has low requirements for cultivation, and the success rate is far lower than that of Duoshe method. The incompatibility between yin spirit and flesh body lasts for a long time, and it's easy to encounter various problems in between.

  In fact, the great demons that are rampant in the cultivation world today have almost none who relied on Taiyin Borrowing Shape Method to achieve success, even in the tens of thousands of years of cultivation history, there are only a handful.

  "Wait, there's a problem..."

  Shu Bailin tapped his head and, as the person who understood Taiyin Borrowing Shape Technique best besides Ning Feng, immediately thought of a crucial point.

  "If this 'Liu Laozhuang' is the old mulberry tree that has employed the Taiyin Borrowing Shape technique, then what was it that we encountered yesterday, and now that master is still inside the old mulberry tree?"

  Shu Bailin looked at the old mulberry tree swaying excitedly behind him, then at Liu Laozhuang's face, which revealed a gloomy aura, and his mind became a mess.

  "Old mulberry tree, you've borrowed the form of the old master's soul. By a coincidence, the originally extinguished soul of the old master has been transferred to your spiritual object."

  "Thus, there was a vengeful spirit that disturbed the Liu household, yet none of the Liu family members were truly harmed."

  "Liu's family members are all descendants of Liu Laojia. He frequently appears only to seek help, how could he harm people?"

  Ning Feng took a step forward, and the sun god's light burst forth from his body. His scholar's robe was shed, transforming into a solar law robe, its majesty like that of a brilliant sun, crushing down upon Liu Laozhuang's body.

  "Old Sangshu, you're too arrogant. After borrowing the form, you couldn't control your body for a while. Coincidentally, the Liu family is a descendant of my Taiyang Shen Gong's legacy. They sought help from Shen Gong at the first opportunity. Later, even if you could move, you didn't dare to, did you?"

  "Am I right?"

  Ning Feng stepped out step by step, getting closer and closer, and the children and grandchildren surrounding Liu Laozhuang scattered with a whoosh.

  They were one by one both suspicious and uncertain, with faces ashen.

  Ask anyone who has thought about serving for many days and shedding tears like a river, only to find out that it's actually a monster, their reaction won't be much better than theirs.

  Liu Laozhuang remained silent as usual.

  Who is right and who is wrong?

  Everyone present was asking themselves and also inquiring with those around them.

  On one hand, there were deeply rooted ideas. On the other hand, there was the judgment of Taiyang Shen Gong's disciple that sounded reasonable at first glance. Which one should be believed?

  What if the letter is wrong?

  Ning Feng's judgment is, after all, a one-sided statement without solid evidence.

  Sensing the eerie atmosphere hovering over Liu's village, Ning Feng furrowed his brow, knowing things couldn't go on like this.

  He is here to show off, not to be a target of public criticism.

  Before the villagers of Zhuang and the Liu family could ask questions, Ning Feng suddenly spoke up: "Old Sangshu, if you don't appear now, Ning Feng will inform the sect and our seniors will arrive immediately."

  "When that time comes, Ning Feng will have the Central Orthodox Sect's elder bring you back to the sect, and the elders of the Divine Palace will make a judgment. No matter what the outcome is, I suppose no one will suspect anything?"

  Ning Feng looked around and everyone nodded, as if they were afraid of nodding too slowly, causing a misunderstanding.

  Who dares not believe, who dares dissent?

  Liujiachangzi was originally built by an outer disciple of the Sun God Temple and has a close connection with the temple. People who grew up in Liujiachangzi have been listening to the legend of the Sun God Temple since childhood, and they have long regarded the place where the temple is located as a residence for immortals, where everyone inside is an immortal being.

  Can immortals make wrong judgments?

  Ning Feng's gaze suppressed the atmosphere, and he nodded slightly before continuing: "As for Ning Feng himself, he will sit in this place to suppress the original body of the old mulberry tree. Even if there is a mistake in judgment, it won't cause disaster."

  "Give you three breaths of time, if you don't come out after three breaths, even if it means being despised by your elders, I'll have to send a message for help."

  With a whoosh, Ning Feng's hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve, rose up, with two fingers holding a golden Sun God symbol that shone even more dazzlingly than gold in the sunlight.

  "Hiss~"

  Shu Bailin sucked in a breath of cold air, his heart full of admiration, "This is really too despicable, too shameless, this is bullying old Sang Shu for not having seen the world, deceiving him?"

  "What a transmission symbol, it's clearly the Sun God Symbol!"

  The question is, who knows?

  No one doubted Ning Feng's words, it was obviously extremely feasible and absolutely foolproof.

  Everyone nodded in unison, like a hundred little chickens pecking at grain simultaneously.

  One!

  The gentle breeze whispers out a sound.

  Two!

  All eyes were on Liu Laozhuang.

  Three!

  Before his words had fallen, Ning Feng made a gesture as if he was going to shake the Golden Sun Symbol. A sigh suddenly echoed out.

  "Ah~"

  "Why must you, bitterly pursuing."

  "Ah~"

  At that moment, countless people shouted out loud, and with a whoosh, the Liu family scattered in all directions, like a river flowing around a rock in its midst, splitting into two streams and running towards the crowd gathered at the Zhuang Min gathering place.

  That voice was surprisingly from Liu Laozhuang's mouth.

  When everyone's heart was raised to their throat, a vague shadow appeared on Liu Laozhuang's body.

  A vague shadow in the shape of an old man with hair hanging down to the ground, leaning on a cane, trembling and eerie, more strangely, his whole body emits a dark green glow, and his falling hair is rooted to the ground like roots.

  Old mulberry tree!

  Undoubtedly, as Ning Feng judged, the sick tree had long been replaced by a fake one, and it was an old mulberry tree that had used the Taiyin Borrowing Shape Technique.

  When the old mulberry tree left Liu Laozhuang's body, it was full of nostalgia and reluctance to part with everything. It took three steps back, like a traveler who wanted to leave his hometown but would never have the chance to return in this lifetime.

  "Why, why must you force me?"

  The old mulberry tree finally came out, facing the wind, and asked indignantly.

  "Taiyin borrows a form, steals human bodies, and invades humans with evil spirits. How can we cultivators of immortality tolerate this?"

  Softly and quietly, she spoke up, not wanting to say anything more to him, just wanting to directly summon the Sun God Symbol to burn this demon into ashes.

  "You're amazing! You truly live up to being a disciple of the Temple of Gods! I, an old man, admire you!"

  "But you're not entirely right either!"

  The old mulberry tree stood with a crutch, its words tinged with sorrow and indignation.

  Ning Feng's interest was piqued instead, and he asked, "May I ask what went wrong?"

  Both sides knew that a big fight was inevitable, it's just that before the battle, there were doubts or wanted to pour out their hearts, and didn't immediately take action.

  Others didn't know, but Shu Bailin was very clear about it. Didn't he always retreat and then retreat again until he disappeared into the crowd?

  "The old and worn-out is too yin to borrow shape, it's not about being frugal with one's life."

  "Oh~"

  "I was born here, grew up here, and fortunately lived for a thousand years. I watched the small village grow from nothing to something, and generation after generation of people grew up under my knees. I have feelings for them."

  The wind was silent, listening to the old mulberry tree's agitated words.

  "A hundred years ago, a strange snake emerged from the ground and spent decades breaking my root system, destroying my body, and finally bursting out of my body. It was only then that I, an old man, managed to barely restrain it within me, preventing it from escaping."

  "It sucked the children as food, the old man desperately stopped it, and fought with it. He protected a village of children without any harm, and finally trapped the strange snake to death inside his body."

  "I regard this village and these people as my own family, as my own children."

  Everyone was moved by this, and Ning Feng's expression also changed slightly, and he bowed his hands in respect.

  No matter how the old mulberry tree is now, at least in the past thousand years, it has never caused trouble; at least decades ago, it was desperately maintaining the people on the village.

  "But I refuse to accept it!"

  "What right?"

  The old mulberry tree roared: "Liu Mingxuan has become a human being, with relatives and friends coming and going, with wives and concubines in groups, with children and grandchildren around his knees. What is he still pursuing the void and elusive Taoist way for? He is indifferent to his family members and cannot even see him once in half a month?"

  Liu Mingchuan, also known as Liu Laozhuangzhai's name.

  "What right does he have, to treat with contempt the things I yearn for but cannot attain?"

  "Why can I only admire from afar and be willing to give up everything for him, while he can casually discard it without a care?"

  "You don't cherish it, I'll cherish it for you!"

  The old mulberry tree gazed with anger, its swaying motion coming to a stop, its body sinking into stillness.

  The mulberry branches and leaves droop low, as if they can't lift their heads after being scolded by the old mulberry tree, speechless.

  "I want to be human..."

  The old mulberry tree suddenly withered and fell down, "I'm going to die soon, I just want to be human one last time."

  "I want to be human..."