I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

“This spell is very simple; it only requires touching the other party. But conversely, if Byron becomes aware of this, he might attack us first.”

Sia said quickly.

They had already seen those evolved mud monsters in the ruined city ten years ago; just looking at them was enough to make a person's internal organs burst out and turn them into glass flowers.

Ten years have passed, and no one knows what form this mud monster has evolved into.

Lu Ban and Xi Ya carried the old butler out of the mourning hall and laid him down in the next room before heading straight to Byron's room.

However, before that, they needed to discuss it with Stone, and no one knew what Stone and Byron had talked about.

The two had just arrived in the corridor where the house was located when they saw Stone walking towards them.

Lu Ban saw that Stone's expression was solemn, as if he had just learned something serious.

"I have something to tell you."

Stone said with great seriousness.

"What a coincidence, we also have something to tell you."

Lu Ban responded.

The three exchanged glances. The storm outside the window continued unabated, its cacophony drowning out most of their whispers.

“You may not believe it, but I met Daoist Heming.”

Stone said in a deep voice.

"We believe."

Lu Ban immediately patted his chest and said.

"Don't be anxious. The one I met may not be the real Daoist Heming. He said that the will of Daoist Heming exists in this Stormy Manor. It is the will of Daoist Heming that is trying to destroy his own physical body. When the night of the summoning of souls arrives, the will of Daoist Heming will kill us."

Stone explained simply.

Xi Ya and Lu Ban exchanged a glance.

"Byron is Crane Cry Daoist. He merged himself with the mud monster in an attempt to become an Old One. He was thwarted by the ruler of the ruins, a true Old One, and a part of his soul was bound in Stormy Manor. This is the source of the anomalies we encountered."

Stone further explained.

Upon hearing Stone's words, Sia and Lu Ban exchanged another glance.

You might not believe it.

Lu Ban said seriously to Stone.

“We also encountered Daoist Heming. He said something similar to us, but in reverse. Daoist Heming’s body was the culprit behind the Night of Summoning Souls.”

"?"

Stone sensed something was wrong.

Chapter 643 The Perfect Solution

The two sides quickly exchanged their observations and experiences.

"So, the problem we're facing now is that both sides' Heming Daoists believe they are the legitimate successors and want to defeat the other side?"

After listening to Stone's story, Xia concluded.

On one side is the Crane Cry Daoist, who has transformed into a mud monster. He believes that he is the true Crane Cry Daoist, while what remains in the Stormy Manor is merely a wisp of will. He believes that as long as this wisp of will is eliminated, he can become his complete self and then attempt to sublimate.

On the other side is the Crane Cry Daoist, who has abandoned his physical body. He exists as a concept, hiding in the Stormy Mountain Villa, wary of the old rulers of the ruined capital, and also to prevent his remains from being used to usurp his power. As long as these remains are completely destroyed, he will have the opportunity to ascend the ladder of the old rulers and become an indescribable great being.

The two statements are completely contradictory, and deciding which one to believe becomes the biggest problem.

“If we didn’t have Stone’s abilities, it would be difficult to investigate the whereabouts of God’s internal organs, and thus we wouldn’t be able to find Byron in the underground wine cellar. At that point, we should have discovered Browning’s situation and thus met the Crane Cry Taoist who had taken over Browning’s body.”

Sia analyzed.

"Similarly, if we don't notice Browning's body after contacting Gao De, we will only encounter Crane Cry Daoist on Byron's side, accept his proposal, and act with the goal of resolving the will residing in Stormy Manor."

It's like having two options in a game; different choices lead to different paths and ultimately, different endings.

The problem is that their game had a bug, and both options were selected at the same time.

"I think the Crane Cry Taoist we met might be the real one."

Sia spoke first.

"I think the concept of sublimation he mentioned is very much in line with the style of the Great Old Ones, and the spell he provided is indeed beyond imagination. It is hard to imagine that the existence of this knowledge is just a will."

"At the same time, Gaud and Byron were not telling the truth. He brought Byron into the Night of the Dead, which is consistent with Browning's statement that if our mission is to survive until the end of the Night of the Dead, then those who want to hold the Night of the Dead are our enemies."

Upon hearing Sia's words, Stone pondered for a moment before speaking.

"However, the will of Crane Cry Taoist in Stormy Mountain Villa once tried to kill the people here, whether it was the successful Gao De or the failed Lily and us. He was malicious from the beginning, like an evil spirit entrenched here. And since he has taken over Browning's body, he shouldn't be doing these mysterious things."

"Moreover, the Night of the Summoning of Souls was probably Browning's dying wish. God and Byron were just taking advantage of this opportunity to infiltrate. Of course, I don't know how humans can become Great Old Ones, so I don't know which path is closer to the Great Beings. But based on my understanding, I think Byron is more trustworthy."

Both of them seemed to have their own ideas.

"Did Byron tell you how to break free from the will of the Crane Cry Taoist?"

Instead of responding directly, Xia asked a question.

"He gave me a ritual so that, as long as Browning's location is known, I can bind him to a certain space through prior preparation, and then Byron will deal with him personally."

Stone replied.

"Similar to the method we obtained."

Hia was lost in thought.

"Perhaps this mission is to help us figure out who the real Daoist Heming is. If we can't figure it out, it will lead to failure and destruction."

“Indeed, but it’s hard to believe them based on just their word. Perhaps we could switch places: I’ll go see Browning, and you can go see Byron?”

Stone said as he pondered.

Both statements contain suspicious points, but also have aspects that can be trusted.

Perhaps only after both parties confirm it will we be able to get the answer.

Looking at the two of them, Lu Ban rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment before suddenly speaking.

"We think we may have fallen into a trap."

"what?"

Stone looked at Lu Ban.

"You've been thinking about which side is the real Daoist Heming, but the problem is, we don't actually need to figure out who the real Daoist Heming is."

Lu Ban glanced at Xia and Stone, both of whom still looked confused.

"Now we know one thing: everything in this Stormy Manor is caused by Daoist Heming. Whether it's his remains causing trouble or his ghost causing trouble, it's all Daoist Heming's fault."

"We estimate that it will be very difficult to distinguish which side is the real Daoist Heming and which side is the evil one who wants to kill everyone based on words or actions. There is no way we can solve this problem."

"Then why don't we deal with the person who raised this question?"

Hearing Lu Ban's words, Xi Ya frowned slightly, but quickly realized what he meant.

"You mean we'll distrust everyone and just eliminate Daoist Heming directly?"

"what?"

Stone was taken aback, thinking that the proposal was far too outrageous.

But then he thought about it again and realized that what Lu Ban said made a lot of sense.

The Crane Cry Taoist on Stone's side gave a solution to the Crane Cry Taoist on Lu Ban's side, and the Crane Cry Taoist on Lu Ban's side also told him how to deal with the Crane Cry Taoist on Stone's side.

If both sides act simultaneously, both Crane Cry Taoists will be killed.

Without Daoist Heming, regardless of who is real or fake, the Night of Summoning Souls will not come in the end, and a huge hidden danger in the ruined capital will be resolved.

Very reasonable!

"In the end, we don't need to help Daoist Heming at all. As long as we eliminate both sides, we will have perfectly handled Daoist Heming's request."

Lu Ban clapped his hands, feeling that what he said made perfect sense.

The three of them briefly discussed the feasibility and quickly reached an agreement.

Lu Ban had watched Qin Tiantian play games many times, and she was very skilled at this tactic of accepting a quest from an NPC and then killing the NPC to get the benefits. After watching her play many times, Lu Ban learned it himself.

True to their word, Lu Ban and Xi Ya arrived at the house where Byron was imprisoned.

The servants were still guarding the door. Lu Ban knocked on the door and heard Byron's reply from inside.

He turned the doorknob and went inside, where he saw Byron looking out the window boredly, a wine glass in his hand swaying slightly, looking utterly dejected.

“We’ve already heard about you from Stone.”

Lu Ban spoke, which made Byron look over.

That nonchalant attitude vanished instantly, and Byron scrutinized the two men with sharp eyes.

"So, what is your answer?"

Byron asked.

"We have decided to cooperate with you."

Lu Ban reached out his hand to Byron.

Chapter 644 Uniqueness

Stone touched the revolver in his holster.

He saw the mourning hall located on the other side of the corridor.

To Stone's surprise, he had passed by here before but had never noticed that there was this hall at the other end of the corridor.

It seems that changes in perception are indeed hard to guard against.

Having prepared for the binding and sealing, Stone stood at the entrance of the hall and saw the black coffin inside, its lid already lifted, Browning's black and white portrait, and the offerings that had been eaten down to just chicken carcasses.

Uh, the last one seems to have a problem.