Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 105 The Taoist Temple on Blank Paper
South of the city

Because the Paper Goddess has not responded to everyone's prayers for a long time.
Several villages near Guanyin Mountain are preparing to join forces to hold a large-scale sacrificial ceremony!

When Li Wushou arrived at the foot of Guanyin Mountain, he could see from afar that various villages were continuously transporting and gathering sacrificial offerings outside the forest at the foot of the mountain.

The offerings were numerous and varied, including nine people: four pairs of men and women, plus a baby boy.

Unlike the Goddess of the Burial Soul Forest, who only favors the souls of infants and women, the Goddess of Paper loves all souls.

The villagers at the foot of Guanyin Mountain are not particularly afraid of this.

On the contrary, most of the time, everyone felt that being sacrificed to the Paper Goddess was a great thing, and Li Wushou saw joy on the faces of these eight people.

He knew why! Because the Record of Evil Spirits of the Five Directions states that there is a saying circulating outside the South City that after the Paper Goddess takes in a soul, she often cuts out paper bodies for these souls, and the sacrificed souls will attach themselves to the paper bodies.

They've simply changed bodies to serve the Paper Goddess.

How wonderful it would be to not go hungry, to be able to protect one's loved ones, and to continue living?
But is there really such a good thing in the world? The Paper Goddess may have such power, but she is not some kind of merciful bodhisattva. She still eats heart, liver, and lifespan!

This is nothing more than a dream woven by a few village chiefs at the foot of Guanyin Mountain for the villagers.

Li Wushou sighed softly, took out the Blood Longevity Talisman that concealed the Divine Eye of the Literary God from his bosom, a drop of blood broke through the membrane and dripped onto the Blood Longevity Talisman, and then a golden eye slowly emerged.

Connecting the perspectives, Li Wushou stuffed the blood longevity talisman back into his bosom and headed towards the mountains and forests.

The further Li Wushou walked, the more he felt that something was wrong with the forest. He focused his attention and looked around, and then he noticed something amiss in each of the trees.

The forests of Guanyin Mountain are very deep, so most of the trees are lush and leafy. On any tree of a certain size, there is a white paper leaf. If you sense it carefully, Li Wushou can also smell an evil scent.

After observing for a while, Li Wushou became even more convinced of his judgment about the area outside the woods.

Most of the souls that were sacrificed were transformed into evil spirits by the Paper Goddess and scattered throughout the forest to solidify her sacred site!

The strange gods sleeping soundly under the City God's bed are all quite troublesome. You can tell from the Paper Goddess that the Tree Goddess is probably just as troublesome.

Moreover, when Li Wushou read the Record of the Five Evil Spirits, he always felt that the City God's attitude towards the Tree Goddess was a bit strange.

Is it a sense of apprehension? A reluctance to provoke?

It was precisely this ambiguous attitude that led Li Wushou to choose the gimmick of "attacking the Tree Goddess"!

After all, Zhu Sihai probably knows what the City God knows, so wouldn't it be more effective to take action against someone that everyone is somewhat wary of in order to attract more attention?

We walked and stopped frequently along the way. The forest was so deep that, apart from some signs of villagers' activities on the outer perimeter, the interior was entirely a world of beasts and insects.

Even if the Paper Goddess hadn't sealed off this forest, it would still take several generations of people at the foot of Guanyin Mountain to cultivate it before it would be relatively safe.

"Don't be greedy. After you've finished drinking the blood, hurry back to the temple!"

"I know, the blood of these wild beasts stinks. If only we could come out of the forest and drink some human blood!"

Two paper-figure Taoist boys with red faces were lying on the body of a wild boar, sucking its blood and chatting idly.

"The goddess said that once the city god is replaced, we can leave the forest. We must drink our fill then!"

"Yeah, yeah! It's so tempting!"

Li Wushou stood not far from the two Daoist boys, somewhat curious about their state. Unlike the evil spirits on the paper leaves in the forest, these two Daoist boys did indeed seem to retain some intelligence, just as the villagers had described. However, from their conversation, it was clear that they had no humanity whatsoever.

The other party has clearly shifted towards becoming a cult god.

Li Wushou silently passed the two men and walked forward.

The golden pupil on his chest trembled violently, clearly indicating that the finish line was not far away!
Before you've gone a hundred steps, you can easily see a white Taoist temple not far away through the shadowy branches and leaves.

The Taoist temple was simple and unique in style, like white jade, perfectly formed by nature. Just as Li Wushou was about to step into the temple, his expression suddenly changed. He looked around and then withdrew his steps.

The trees surrounding the temple are arranged in a pleasing, staggered pattern, resembling a lotus flower when viewed from above.

At each bend of the flower pattern, there grows an ancient tree of the same size, and unsurprisingly, on each tree stands a paper figure that looks very similar to the Taoist boy from before.

Their paper figures, combined with the trees, resemble stone pillars, connecting with the earth's energy through the ancient wood, and then linking together to form a lotus-shaped magic array that envelops the Taoist temple.

At this moment, the Taoist temple seemed to be right in front of him, but in reality, it was still some distance away from Li Wushou. If he rashly entered, he would not only fail to reach the temple, but would also trigger the lotus formation and expose his presence.

Although Li Wushou's current state can deceive the naked eye and the soul, he is unsure whether he can deceive the magic array that connects the earth's energy.

Ignoring the instinctive urging of his golden eyes, Li Wushou calmed his mind and looked into the void in front of him.

What was once an empty space suddenly became filled with dark yellow lines that intersected to form an invisible net.

The other end of these dark yellow lines was held in the hands of the paper figures standing on the ancient trees.

Li Wushou pondered briefly, and without inhaling, his chest suddenly swelled, his abdomen now filled with a large amount of incense smoke. He gently exhaled towards the dark yellow netting.

It was ethereal, colorless, and odorless, merging into the void before my eyes.

The straight lines, intersecting each other, twisted and shifted as the mist merged in, but no matter how the net of lines was adjusted, the end held in the paper figure's hand remained perfectly still.

Once the netting in front of him cleared a space for Li Wushou, he stepped into it.

With one step, the Taoist temple suddenly appeared far away from Li Wushou. Sure enough, what he had just seen was an illusion; this was the correct distance between the temple and Li Wushou.

This civil official doesn't seem to be very bright. He just keeps shouting "Come to the White Paper Taoist Temple immediately!" without explaining the situation. If it weren't for Li Wushou's mysterious perspective, wouldn't he have sent as many people as he came?
Most people would have their blood drained by the paper figures before they even reached the White Paper Taoist Temple!

Not to mention the lotus formation in front of this white paper Taoist temple!
Li Wushou had figured it out: of all the officials in the City God Temple, only the minor priests were reliable.

At least they won't cause trouble for him, the high priest! They even try every day to please him.

Composing himself, Li Wushou finally stood in front of the Taoist temple.

On either side of the temple gate were clearly written:

"Origami can transcend the sea of ​​suffering with three thousand pieces of paper."

"May all beings be guided on the path of compassion."

Above the entrance gate are four large characters: "Baizhi Taoist Temple!"

(End of this chapter)