293: Have you had enough fun?

"But what should we do now?"

Looking at these Murong Family Cultivators, whose Divine Sense was clearly damaged, Lu Ming felt a headache coming on.

It could not be helped; his magic power was simply too vast. Their Sea of Consciousness was so small that having their memories searched by him was bound to leave sequelae.

However, Lu Ming did not intend to do anything to these people.

If he killed them all, who would deliver the Golden Core Pill back? Surely not him!

As for them having seen him, that was easy to resolve.

Just as he was about to communicate with the human emperor banner, Lu Ming suddenly remembered the Black-Robed Old Man who was still trapped by the gray mist.

"Why hasn't it ended after so long?"

He frowned slightly, feeling a bit impatient, and split off a wisp of Divine Sense to probe into the gray mist.

Immediately, his face darkened.

Inside the narrow space shrouded by the gray mist, the scene was quite "lively."

At this moment, the Black-Robed Old Man was disheveled, his Daoist robe tattered, and he was being held by the shoulders on the left and right by the Dark Official and the Red Official.

Mu Han was holding a bone thorn exuding Yin Qi, unhurriedly poking bloody holes of varying depths into his body.

The Wonderful Brush Scholar was floating in mid-air, using an ink brush condensed from Soul Power to earnestly draw some kind of twisted rune on the old man's face. With every stroke, the old man would shriek, and his Divine Soul would dim a little more.

"Facts prove that a Teleportation Array cannot be drawn on a living person."

The Wonderful Brush Scholar looked at the array pattern that had collapsed once again and sighed.

The Black-Robed Old Man had long since lost his initial ferocity; his eyes were filled only with despair and pleading. Yet, he was held so firmly that he could not move, unable to even self-destruct his Golden Core.

"Have you had enough fun?" Lu Ming's cold voice rang out in the mist.

The Banner Spirits froze.

"If you've had enough fun, then hurry up and kill him!" Lu Ming grew increasingly irritable, though he had forgotten that it was he who had ordered the Banner Spirits to inflict punishment.

And the Banner Spirits did not have much experience in this regard, so one could only do "physical punishment" and the other "mental torture."

However, even if Lu Ming remembered, he would not admit it.

They played too wildly; he did not know who they learned that from.

"Oh right, there's no need to keep this person's Divine Soul; feed it all to the Wonderful Brush Scholar."

Just as Lu Ming was about to withdraw his Divine Sense, he suddenly remembered something.

The Wonderful Brush Scholar's Comprehension Ability was indeed outstanding. During this period, his understanding of the Teleportation Array had become increasingly refined, and he even had many ingenious ideas.

And this ability made Lu Ming see investment value.

Therefore, he decided to pour in some resources to cultivate him into a Golden Core Banner Spirit, hoping that the Wonderful Brush Scholar could better utilize his strengths.

"We respectfully obey the Master's decree!"

Upon receiving the order, the Dark Official and the Red Official exerted force simultaneously. With a crisp "crack," the Black-Robed Old Man's bones were shattered throughout his body.

Mu Han's bone thorn also pierced directly into his Dantian, crushing the Golden Core.

The Wonderful Brush Scholar opened his mouth to the side and inhaled sharply.

A struggling, wailing phantom figure was forcibly pulled out from the old man's remains and then vanished into the Wonderful Brush Scholar's mouth.

"Mmm~"

The Wonderful Brush Scholar let out a satisfied sigh. The soul light around him fluctuated violently, and his aura climbed steadily at this moment, rapidly breaking through the boundary of Foundation Establishment Perfection to reach the False Core realm!

On his body surface, dense and complex Dao symbols appeared, each character emitting an eerie light.

However, at the very moment he was about to fully step into the Golden Core level, the upward trend came to an abrupt halt.

The Wonderful Brush Scholar opened his eyes, a trace of regret flashing in them: "Still a sliver short; the Origin is not yet perfect."

Lu Ming's Divine Sense swept over, and he frowned slightly.

It seemed that one Early Golden Core Stage Divine Soul was not enough to allow the Wonderful Brush Scholar to fully transform.

Previously, he had fed the soul-searched Chu Guhong to the Wonderful Brush Scholar, helping him break through from Mid-stage Foundation Establishment all the way to Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.

He had thought that adding this Golden Core Divine Soul would be enough to break through the barrier, but he had not expected it to still be one step short.

However, this was a small matter; at worst, he could just catch another one.

Anyway, there were plenty of opportunities in the Profound Spirit Domain; Golden Cores were not as rare as in the Southern Wilderness Region.

Withdrawing his Divine Sense, Lu Ming communicated with the human emperor banner through his thoughts.

The banner surface surged, and a figure dressed in a black Dragon robe stepped out slowly. His bearing was as majestic as a mountain; it was none other than Ji Ruge!

"Greetings, Master!"

Ji Ruge bowed respectfully.

"Hmm." Lu Ming nodded, then pointed at Murong Feiyu and the others.

"Use your secret technique to control them. There is only one requirement: loyalty!"

"Oh right, their memories also need to be slightly modified; don't leave any images of us."

Although he could forcibly tamper with memories using his powerful Divine Soul, it came back to what he said before: he was too big... that is, his Divine Soul was too strong.

Furthermore, he was not specialized in this area, so it was easy to leave flaws or even damage the other party's intelligence.

As for refining them into Banner Spirits? Lu Ming had indeed considered it, but ultimately rejected the idea.

Although doing so would be a once-and-for-all solution, it would cause them to lose their subjective initiative; they would only know to act if he issued commands.

Moreover, the characteristics of Banner Spirits were very obvious, easily leading people to associate them with the Soul Devouring Demonic Sect, which was not conducive to long-term planning.

Therefore, professional matters should be left to professional people.

For things like brainwashing and controlling the Dao Heart, Ji Ruge was the one who excelled.

"Rest assured, Master; this is easy."

Sure enough, after understanding Lu Ming's thoughts, Ji Ruge swept his gaze over the dazed crowd and smiled indifferently.

He raised his hands, his ten fingers forming complex seals like butterflies flitting through flowers, and began to chant low, ancient incantations.

A dark golden halo emerged around his body, and the faint sounds of ghosts weeping and Dragons roaring echoed throughout.

Imperial Heart-Suppressing Curse!

This curse targeted the Dao Heart, silently nourishing it. It could plant a thought of loyalty in the deepest part of the Divine Soul, subtly changing perceptions without damaging their fundamental intelligence. It could be called a top-tier secret technique for manipulating human hearts.

However, now that this technique had the blessing of the human emperor banner, it had become even more treacherous and powerful.

Under the shroud of the dark golden halo, the dullness and pain in the eyes of Murong Feiyu and the others quickly faded away, replaced by a kind of near-fanatical clarity.

They looked at Lu Ming as if devout believers meeting a deity, and all knelt down together.

"Greetings, Exalted One! We are willing to die for you!"

"Not bad!" Lu Ming nodded with satisfaction, then asked Ji Ruge.

"Can this curse be entrusted to an external object, and then quietly planted when others refine and absorb it?"

Ji Ruge pondered for a moment and then understood: "Is the Master intending to perform 'Dao Heart Demon Planting'? Using a medium as a bridge, hiding the curse power, and taking root in the Divine Soul when they are unprepared?"

"Dao Heart Demon Planting? That is quite fitting." Lu Ming nodded.

He intended to have Ji Ruge hide the secret technique within the "Golden Core Pill." When Murong Jingyang refined the Medicinal Pill, the curse power would silently infiltrate the depths of his Divine Soul, subtly changing his thinking.

In this way, even if Murong Jingyang achieved the Golden Core, he would only become his most loyal Puppet, and would be unable to notice any abnormality himself.

To put it bluntly, he wanted to be the chess player behind the scenes; he did not want anyone to discover his existence at all.

This plan, apart from harvesting "talent," was aimed even more at the position of the Thirty-Six Blessed Lands.

The commotion from this matter would certainly not be small; he had to ensure that regardless of success or failure, the fire would not burn onto himself.

And Murong Jingyang was the best shield for that.

As for himself, he could stay out of it and sit securely on the fishing platform.

Furthermore, it was impossible for Lu Ming to only cultivate one Golden Core power. He would cast a wide net, which would inevitably attract the attention of some people, so he had to resolve the hidden dangers from the root.