For ten years I practiced Gu poison in Southeast Asia; all living beings revered me as a deity.

This is a cave located on a mountain ridge.

It was very dark.

It was darkness that seemed to want to swallow up the surrounding light.

Dozens of candles were lit in this gloomy darkness.

However, the light source of these candles was not bright; the faint light emitted by the candle flames made the darkness feel even more profound.

"Is it... really here!?"

Luo Feng's face turned pale, and he muttered to himself.

Ding ding dong!

The sound of the boat-shaped xylophone, like the flowing sound of a stream, along with the melodies accompanied by different instruments, quietly spread throughout the open space.

—The demon dancer really did catch up.

Luo Feng and Master Sena both fell silent.

As the sound of musical instruments drew closer to the cave, an eerie atmosphere filled the air.

For some reason, Luo Feng's breathing also became rapid.

At this moment, he sensed an inexplicable evil aura, and that malice was seeping into the cave bit by bit. Cold sweat poured down Luo Feng's back, and he even felt a fear similar to that of a rabbit about to be preyed upon.

"Don't be afraid."

Master Sena's eyelids drooped slightly, but his expression remained calm.

"Seven banners were erected outside the Black Sheep Cave, forming a barrier. That ghost dancer outside can't get in for a while... Of course, it can't hold for too long either."

"Isn't there any other way?"

Luo Feng asked another question.

"some."

Master Sena's voice became a bit more serious.

"I have been painstakingly refining the Tiger Transformation Mantra for many years, and the evil spirit within me has already grown quite powerful. Although I may not be a match for that ghost dancer outside, I might be able to injure her if I exert all my strength. However, even if I succeed, I won't live for long; it's a desperate attack!"

"this?"

Luo Feng's expression changed drastically.

"Ati, listen to me."

Master Sena said in a deep voice, "Perhaps your mother didn't tell you one thing, and that is that you are my biological son."

Luo Feng wasn't too surprised; he had some suspicions when he got the crescent-shaped comb.

"Some things happened back then, so I couldn't get to know you and your mother. I could only arrange for you to live in the village. For such a long time, I didn't care about you and your mother. This is also a regret for me."

Master Sena sighed: "Now that I've taken this body, I wasn't going to live much longer anyway... For my son's sake, I can't just stand by and watch that ghost dancer attack you. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because it concerns your life."

Then, the black-clad Ajarn, who was also Ati's biological father, gave him instructions.

"Even if I go all out, I can't kill the Ghost Dancer. This evil spirit is extremely powerful and has existed for hundreds of years. At most, my strength can only injure it and make it back down... However, it might come back again in a few months and target you once more."

Master Sena told him that his only way to survive was to go to a village called "Wankao" in the northeast and learn the spell binding techniques of Lanna witchcraft from Master Putaoon who lived in the local temple. Only then could he fight against the existence of the Ghost Dancer.

"Master Putao is my mentor. This string of amber beads was a gift from him when I completed my apprenticeship... Ati, if you carry this string of beads as a token of your arrival, Master Putao will naturally accept you and allow you to stay in Wankao Village, or he will teach you Lanna magic."

"However, the process of learning witchcraft is inevitably accompanied by crises and risks. Without the corresponding courage, it is probably difficult to persevere. There are quite a few people in the world who give up halfway. My son, if you do not have firm faith, it is best if you never leave Wankao Village in your entire life."

After saying these words, Master Sena pointed to the spot where he was sitting cross-legged.

"After I leave the Black Sheep Cave, son, you will sit on this altar protected by talismans and magic candles... Also, before I return, no matter what commotion or sound there is outside, you must not leave here before sunrise... Just protect my physical body and hold on until dawn."

After speaking, Master Sena took out an incense stick from somewhere, lit it, and stuck it in the ground.

Smoke rose straight up, illuminating the faint glow of the flames. Master Sena placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.

After completing this simple action, he took a deep breath, inhaled the smoke into his mouth and nose, and then, as if adjusting his breathing, slowly exhaled.

Suddenly, the candlelight around them turned a ghostly green, and as the candlelight flickered, a ghostly green hue permeated the cave.

Click!

A blood-red crack appeared on Master Sena's head—a crack that ran down his spine from the top of his head, as if his body were an empty shell, torn apart by an invisible force.

First, a wisp of dark smoke billowed out from the top of his head.

It was something like a dark fog, the black fog churning and gradually spreading outwards.

Luo Feng was shocked to see this scene and his eyes widened.

Then, a huge, jet-black tiger head slowly emerged from the crack in the fleshy shell. Attached to the tiger head was a blood-red spine with ring-like segments, like those of a centipede, bloody and segmented. From that bizarre structure, there were even curved, sharp bony legs like ribs growing out.

"A tiger...and a centipede combined?"

He was speechless.

The scene was so bizarre and terrifying that he remained motionless, sitting stiffly in place.

In the blink of an eye, the bizarre centipede with a tiger's head, its body shrouded in black mist, swayed its long, ribbon-like body and floated into the air with strange movements, moving its peculiar legs as it flew into the sky.

Luo Feng immediately thought of the legendary "Flying Head Curse," which could separate a person's head from their body. Wizards who practiced this curse would perform the ritual at night, causing their own heads to detach from their necks, carrying their trachea and internal organs, and fly out of their bodies to commit evil deeds, such as sucking the blood of humans and animals.

"I don't know how they cultivated it, it feels very evil, not some proper magic..."

Seeing the tiger-headed centipede leave, Luo Feng quickly sat down behind Master Sena's fleshy shell, in the center of the circle of candles, which was the location of the altar.

He stood behind the other person and could see that the body had a crack running from the head to the back of the spine, like the shell of an insect after it sheds its skin.

"...Should I hold out until the sun comes up?"

Luo Feng sat down and looked down, noticing intricate patterns drawn on the ground beneath him with some kind of black powder that looked like charcoal. A circle surrounded a lit candle, containing delicate figures that resembled neither words nor pictures.

"Is this the rune array?"

He rubbed his hair and muttered to himself.

According to Master Sena, the Black Sheep Cave contains his arrangements, which appear to be a protective array.

However, it seems that even when staying in the cave, strange things still happen.

I have to stay here obediently all night.

"Hopefully nothing goes wrong..."

Luo Feng didn't dare to think too much and obediently sat down.