Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 727 The Towering Jianmu
The starlight arrived extremely suddenly, but the Nuo shaman's reaction was also extremely fast.

Almost the instant the starlight flew out, the Nuo shaman burned his shamanic energy and offered it as a sacrifice to the Nuo robe he was wearing. This caused the thick tree roots that were coiled around the ground to surround him, forming a tangled sphere.

"boom--"

The violent, sharp starlight collided heavily with the resilient tree root sphere, creating a powerful surge of psionic energy.

Several wizards who were not far away and were also tending to the towering trees in this secret realm were instantly affected.

As the psionic energy was swept away, their skin was torn open and they exploded into a bloody mist.

The intertwined tree roots on the ground instantly transformed into bloodthirsty venomous pythons, roaring as they sprang up, tearing open holes and gaps in the trees, and frantically devouring flesh and blood.

The piles of bones among the tree roots were also blasted into dust by this surge of spiritual energy.

The tree roots that had been entangled and protected the Nuo shaman were shattered one after another by the sharp starlight!
Unfortunately, the starlight did not last long; it vanished without a trace in just a few breaths.

At this moment, countless fragments of bones and tree roots fell like raindrops.

The sphere formed by the tree roots, though mostly shattered by the starlight, still successfully protected the Nuo shaman, preventing him from being killed.

After the starlight completely dissipated, the remaining tree roots receded from the Nuo shaman's body like a receding tide.

Only at this moment did the wizards who had not been affected dare to approach.

The perceptive shaman immediately took off his own shamanic robe to drape over the Nuo shaman, and asked with concern, "Great Shaman, are you alright?"

"I……"

The shaman opened his mouth, but after uttering only one word, the hideous shattered on his face with a "crack" and turned into dust.

Immediately afterwards, a series of soft "poof" sounds erupted from his face and body.

A series of crisscrossing wounds immediately appeared on his body, with blood spurting out with a "plop plop".

Although the tree roots blocked most of the starlight, some starlight still penetrated through the gaps between the roots and injured the Nuo shaman.

Although he wasn't killed outright, he was left in a state of being torn to pieces and covered in wounds.

The shamans surrounding the Nuo shaman were immediately splattered with blood.

The tree roots on the ground smelled the blood and immediately began to stir.

Seeing this, the shamans didn't bother to wipe away the blood splattered on their bodies, nor did they dare to. They quickly made hand seals, chanted incantations, and summoned their magical artifacts. While suppressing the bloodthirsty tree roots, they also released multiple healing spells to stop the bleeding and heal the Nuo shaman.

Although the restless tree roots were suppressed, the healing spells failed to have the desired effect. Instead, they aggravated the Nuo shaman's injuries, causing him to bleed more and his wounds to reopen.

"Hiss..." The Nuo shamans grimaced in pain and shouted in unison, "Stop! All of you, stop!"

He clearly felt that the starlight had not only struck him and left him covered in wounds, but had also penetrated into his body.

The magic cast by the wizards was contaminated by the starlight as soon as it touched him, and then became chaotic. Not only did it lose its hemostatic and healing effects, but it also caused secondary damage to his body along with the starlight.

"Chaotic divine power has invaded my body! Quickly retrieve the Mirror of Pure Shadow!"

Only after the Nuo shaman gave the order did a shaman obey and go to retrieve the treasure.

The Nuo shaman gritted his teeth, enduring the torment of both body and mind, and said in a ferocious voice, "What a cunning rat! It actually used the power of the gods to block my pursuit! To communicate with the gods, one must make all sorts of arrangements and preparations in advance. The people outside didn't even notice. They are utterly useless!"

He pointed to a wizard and, panting, ordered, "Immediately notify the outside world to search the entire city! It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send him away. Those rats can't possibly get rid of the deities immediately. As long as we follow the fluctuations of divine power, we can find them!"

"Yes!"

The chosen shaman quickly clasped his hands in acceptance, immediately took out his shamanic artifact, and contacted the people outside the secret realm to convey the shaman's orders.

This Nuo shaman was naturally skilled in communicating with and invoking the gods, and immediately made arrangements based on the shaman's characteristics and weaknesses.

Unfortunately, he misjudged one thing—the way pokeweed communicates with and invokes the gods is quite different from that of ordinary Nuo shamans.

The pokeweed has a soul-offering altar and a special incense given by the Third Sister, which greatly simplifies the process of communicating with and inviting the gods, and makes sending off the gods equally easy.

As long as there's enough incense, everything is negotiable!

At the same time, upon seeing the divine tablet of Venus shining with starlight on the sacrificial altar, Shang Lu immediately realized that the power that had been tracking him through the Shadow Gu had disappeared.

"It's done! Star Lord is indeed powerful. I just don't know if he managed to kill that person."

Although they only exchanged glances from afar, Shang Lu was able to tell that the Nuo shaman hiding in the secret realm inside Wushan was no ordinary person and was definitely stronger than him.

This time, they caught him completely off guard. If they hadn't eliminated him, they wouldn't have had such a good opportunity next time.

Moreover, eliminating such a person would be of great help to subsequent rescue operations. Even if they cannot be eliminated, severely damaging them would be excellent.

Of course, although that was what he thought, Shang Lu did not make any demands.

The fact that the gods are willing to bestow their power to help is already a great favor. To make further requests? Do you really think they can grant every wish? Even if they did, it would require a sacrifice!

Although the deity's condition had improved, he was still sometimes awake and sometimes insane. Therefore, Shang Lu dared not make any requests unless absolutely necessary. He simply bowed to the spirit tablet of Venus to thank Him for His righteous assistance, and at the same time, he was in no hurry to put away the altar of offerings, allowing Venus to slowly enjoy the incense offerings.

However, things didn't go as planned. A moment later, Shang Lu received a warning from San Niang.

"Someone's coming! Quickly put away the sacrificial altar!"

At the same time, the paper figures and ink dots that Shang Lu had hidden at various street corners also sent him a message—a wizard was leading soldiers, carrying remnants of magical artifacts, to search house to house.

"That was a quick reaction. It seems that the Nuo shaman is still alive."

Shang Lu sighed inwardly at the pity, and immediately bowed to the spirit tablet of Venus, intending to apologize and send the spirit off.

Before he could speak, the incense sticks on the sacrificial altar burned out at an extremely fast speed.

Immediately afterwards, the starlight that had been twinkling on the talisman faded and disappeared.

Upon seeing this, Shang Lu was taken aback.

He truly hadn't expected that Venus would be so understanding; she left on her own initiative without him having to explain or apologize, saving him a lot of trouble.

After seeing Venus off, Shang Lu immediately put away the Soul Offering Altar, took out the Taotie Handle, and let it devour the remaining aura in the area.

Third Sister had already stirred up a cold wind, blowing it throughout the entire courtyard of the post station.

When the sorcerers under King Ba, leading their magical beasts and carrying their remnants of magical artifacts, finally found the post station, everything had already been restored to normal.

Finding nothing unusual, they quickly left to search elsewhere.

Inside the room, Shang Lu kept his ears perked up, eavesdropping on the sounds outside.

He breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that the search party had left. He had just discovered the whereabouts of Da Zhu and Zi Shu Xun Shou, and he couldn't reveal his location at this moment. Otherwise, they would have no choice but to try to escape from Wushan, and there would be no way to rescue them.

Just as Shang Lu was about to say something, he suddenly felt a tremor in his heart. His mind seemed to be alerted by the Heart Sutra, which seemed to say "The highest good is like water." At that moment, San Niang urged, "Quickly enter the dream!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Shang Lu closed his eyes and activated the "Heart Sutra of Supreme Goodness Like Water," falling asleep instantly and entering a dream.

A moment later, a strange eyeball entered his dream.

It's Meng Ling!

The dream spirit stayed in Shang Lu's dream for a while, and only left after confirming that he was "sound asleep" and had been dreaming for quite some time.

As soon as Meng Ling left, Shang Lu opened his eyes.

With the image of a deity and the Heart Sutra, Pokeweed can not only control when to sleep and when to wake up, but also control his dreams.

Even the dream spirit, born from dreams, couldn't see through the deception and was fooled by him.

"First they searched for the magical energy fluctuations of the summoning gods, then they used dream spirits to find out who wasn't asleep... It's a clever method, with each step perfectly linked!"

Shang Lu sneered repeatedly. If it weren't for the Soul-Sacrificing Altar, the Taotie Handle, the Third Sister, and the "Heart Sutra of the Highest Good is Like Water," he might not have been able to hide it tonight.

The Ba King and his powerful clans have been able to monopolize cultivation for so many years, they must have some tricks up their sleeves!
In the following time, Shang Lu became alert, keeping watch on his surroundings and preparing for any possible situations.

But nothing happened in the latter half of the night, and they made it to dawn without any major incidents.

After some people in the inn woke up and started making noise, Shan Jun and Yun Jun led Gongshu Ling and Bai Lingxu to Shang Lu's room.

Upon entering the house, Shan Jun and Yun Jun immediately set up various measures to prevent peeping and eavesdropping.

Immediately, the mountain king asked impatiently, "Boy, what happened last night?"

Before Shang Lu could answer, Bai Lingxu asked in surprise, "What happened last night?"

He slept very soundly last night and was completely unaware of the noise outside.

It's no wonder that Senior Brother Bai lacked vigilance; it was entirely due to the secret methods of the Mountain Lord and Cloud Lord that he, Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others fell into a deep sleep to prevent them from being exposed due to panic.

Mountain Lord and Cloud Lord exchanged a glance but remained silent, afraid of discouraging Bai Lingxu. They simply urged Shang Lu on.

Shang Lu didn't keep anyone in suspense and quickly recounted the events of the previous night from beginning to end, especially emphasizing the secret realm inside Wushan and the situation of the man-eating monster tree.

After finishing his explanation, Shang Lu asked, "Both of you teachers are very knowledgeable. Do you know anything about that towering, strange tree?"

After a moment of contemplation, the mountain lord said slowly, "You all studied ancient history in the Witch Academy, so you should know that there were several kinds of divine trees that reached the heavens in ancient times, right?"

Shang Lu, Gongshu Ling, and Bai Lingxu all nodded in unison.

Bai Lingxu even started counting on his fingers: "There's the Fusang tree, the Ruomu tree, the Jianmu tree..."

Speaking of Jianmu, he paused and looked at Shanjun: "It bends towards the sky and is hidden within Wushan... Could it be that the strange giant tree that Junior Brother Shang saw is the legendary Jianmu?"

"Nine times out of ten!"

"But there's no mention in historical records that Jianmu eats people."

Bai Lingxu frowned and said, "Moreover, these few towering divine trees were all destroyed in that great cataclysm. How come they have reappeared now?"

Although Senior Brother Bai had taken history classes when he was in the Witch Academy, he spent most of his energy practicing various spells of beast witchcraft, as well as socializing and doing business. He did not delve into the dry history.

On the contrary, Gongshu Ling needs to study the various knowledge of ancient weapon crafting through "archaeology," so he needs to have a better understanding of history, Jianmu, and even the secret realm.

After a moment's thought, she made a guess.

"The ancient Jianmu tree existed on Mount Wu. The Jianmu tree that Junior Brother Shang saw was probably the remains of the ancient Jianmu tree. Its original form was destroyed in the Great Cataclysm, and even these remains were corrupted and mutated, becoming more like a ghost tree than a divine tree, which is why it eats people..."

The mountain king nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right, that's what we think too."

Bai Lingxu followed their deductions and analyzed: "So, the tyrannical king hung the Grand Master and the others upside down on the Jianmu tree to nurture it? He wanted to make this broken root and branch grow back into a divine tree, and then take it to the realm of gods?"

Everyone nodded in agreement; based on their understanding of King Ba, it was probably true.

After a few words of discussion, Shang Lu said again, "The most urgent task is to rescue them as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the witch energy in Zi Shu's body is completely drained, they will become the birthplace of Jianmu fruits, just like that corpse driver from Chu."

At this point, a new question suddenly arose in Shang Lu's mind: judging from the reaction of the group of wizards guarding the secret realm, they valued the Jianmu fruit very highly.

What is the use of those Jianmu fruits that are conceived in human wombs?

Is it able to prolong life or enhance one's cultivation?

Is there any connection between this and the strange illness that plagued King Ba and other high-ranking officials?
"That's right, the most urgent task is to rescue them first."

All four agreed with Shang Lu's statement, but rescuing the person also presented several challenges.

"The secret realm inside Wushan is very likely a dangerous place. If you don't know how to enter or exit and force your way in, you will definitely trigger all sorts of strange and dangerous things within the place, leading to your death!"

When Gongshu Ling was at the Witchcraft Academy in Baiyi County, she often participated in the exploration and development of the secret realm. Her familiarity and understanding of the secret realm was no less than that of Shang Lu.

The situation she raised was exactly what was giving Shang Lu a headache.

Last night, although Shang Lu witnessed the "sacrifice ceremony," they could not possibly use a sacrifice to open the Jianmu ominous site.

That method not only involves a lot of noise and requires sacrifices, but it will also be detected by the shaman guarding the ominous place, which is tantamount to forcibly breaking in.

"Why not contact the Snake and have her investigate?" Yun Jun suggested.

Shan Jun chimed in, "Among the twelve hunting expeditions, the Snake is the best at intelligence gathering. She has informants planted in various government offices throughout Wushan. Perhaps she really can find a way."

Shang Lu immediately looked at Gongshu Ling: "Senior Sister, can you contact the Snake Patrol?"

Regardless of whether the Snake's patrol can find a solution, she should be informed of last night's discovery.

Not to mention, Shang Lu was also eager to know whether the Snake's patrol had evaded pursuit and capture.

Although Shan Jun and Yun Jun repeatedly said that there would be no danger during the Si Snake's patrol, Shang Lu was still somewhat worried because he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

"can."

Gongshu Ling raised her right hand, her palm split open, and a jade talisman floated out from her hand.

As the magical light swirled, a human figure appeared inside the jade talisman.

It was indeed the Snake on its patrol, and she was safe and sound.

(End of this chapter)