Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 144 The High Priest with the Head, Gongsun Wang of Suspended Mountain
"Li Wushou!"

The Tree Goddess's brow trembled, and she was in excruciating pain.

"who are you?"

How was Li Wushou able to approach his tree trunk silently and accurately locate his vital points?

Having learned from the lesson of Cui Family Village, this time she differentiated into a sub-tree species in Wufang City. She vaguely sensed that her species was destroyed by Li Wushou, but she was unclear about more details.

I thought the other party was taking advantage of Liu Qingmei's influence, but now it seems that it was actually his own ability?
Seeing the Tree Goddess's expression change repeatedly, Li Wushou felt no particular emotion, nor did he feel any need for pleasantries.

With his palm gripping the tree seed, Li Wushou pulled a delicate human head out of the tree trunk with a sudden force.

"Ah~!"

The Tree Goddess let out a shrill scream, and then her entire form withered and turned into a handful of ashes. The beautiful women standing around her also collapsed, turning into withered leaves that fell away in the wind.

At the same time, the ancient tree beside Li Wushou trembled violently, its leaves rustling.

Li Wushou stood calmly under the tree, his eyes fixed on the exquisite human head in his hand.

The veins on the head's neck extended out like tree roots, quickly attaching to the ancient wood. Suddenly, the head opened its eyes, its beautiful pupils filled with resentment.

"Li Wushou, aren't you afraid of what you're doing?"

Li Wushou was annoyed by such coercive words. He wasn't the City God, so what was there to be afraid of?
With another burst of force, the veins and roots below the neck shattered, and emerald green sap flowed everywhere. The tree goddess's fierce roar was interrupted, turning into a painful wail.

Li Wushou was annoyed by what he heard and was about to tear off the head of the Tree Goddess.

Suddenly, the network of earth energy intertwined by the five City God Seals in mid-air began to fluctuate violently. Li Wushou focused his attention and looked down into the ground. Centered on the ancient tree, about nine feet underground, there were five mounds of human heads made up of women's heads!
The mound of skulls was entwined with a large number of tree roots. At this moment, the human head at the very top of the mound slowly opened its eyes, and five streams of light suddenly shot out from its pupils.

Five streaks of light flashed past, breaking through the earth's energy barrier, converging towards the central ancient tree, and finally landing on a token beneath the tree.

The token trembled violently, emitting a piercing buzz, and the two characters "Gongsun" on it shone brightly. The trees in the entire Burial Soul Forest suddenly lowered their crowns, as if they were paying homage!

Li Wushou's heart stirred. Gongsun? So he really is connected to the five surnames and seven clans of Wangxian City!
The head of the Tree Goddess in her hand also sensed something amiss, and then, with an excited expression, it opened its lips and was about to threaten Li Wushou again.

Glancing at the Tree Goddess's head, Li Wushou increased the force in his hand even more, and all the tendons and roots under her neck snapped, completely tearing the Tree Goddess's head off.

Li Wushou remained expressionless; it was best to avoid listening to the Tree Goddess's irritating threats.

After all, as long as he didn't hear it, there was no threat!
The Tree Goddess's eyes dimmed, but the hatred in them remained. This time, she didn't look at Li Wushou anymore, but instead looked expectantly into the ground.

The enormous ancient tree began to wither as the Tree Goddess's head was torn off. The five mounds surrounding it continuously drew the essence of the other trees in the Burial Soul Forest through their roots and channeled it into the ancient tree.

Suddenly, Li Wushou withdrew and retreated, the ground beneath his feet shattered with a roar, and a token engraved with the two characters "Gongsun" emerged from the trunk of the ancient tree.

With a flash of golden light, a figure slowly materialized, about to emerge from the token.

The shadowy figure that was still hunting in the Burial Soul Forest suddenly passed through the trees and landed behind Li Wushou. Immediately afterwards, a dark shadow rose up in front of Li Wushou, obscuring his true face in the darkness.

Li Wushou stared solemnly at the figure before him.

He was dressed in a loose, crescent-colored black robe embroidered with delicate blue silk patterns. His black hair was tied up and secured with a crown inlaid with emeralds and gold. His face was not visible, but his posture was exceptionally upright, exuding an aura of majesty.

"Looking for my beloved!"

The Tree Goddess's head looked at the figure emerging from the tree trunk, and was extremely excited. It struggled to fly into the other's arms, but was firmly held in Li Wushou's hand.

The figure emerging from the tree trunk didn't even glance at the Tree Goddess, but instead asked Li Wushou, who was carrying the head:
"I am Gongsun Wang from Xuankong Mountain. Who are you, fellow Daoist? Why have you destroyed my breeding grounds?"

Li Wushou remained silent. So it was the Suspended Mountain? He had thought that coming from Wangxian City was already the highest level, but he didn't expect that she was a member of the Gongsun family who had joined the Suspended Mountain. No wonder the Tree Goddess looked like no one dared to touch her.

Just a breeding ground? That doesn't sound like a good thing!
Li Wushou sensed trouble, but he had already made plans for it.

This is why, after finishing his business in Wufang City, he rushed back to the Sanxian Hall to retrieve the City God's Seal and acted alone.

Li Wushou couldn't get rid of this pent-up anger if he didn't take this opportunity.

He originally wanted to weigh things further, but Liu Qingmei's death, whether real or fake, gave Li Wushou an excellent scapegoat.

He must get these things done before the civil official Mu Tong takes over the City God Temple, so as to reduce a lot of trouble for the City God Temple.

The same considerations were behind tonight's attack on the Blood Buddha Temple with the City God's Seal and the killing of Six Eyes. If anyone asks, Li Wushou can simply say it was a contingency plan left by Liu Qingmei within the City God's Seal.

After all, apart from the City God, no one else can use the City God's Seal. What does all this have to do with me, Li Wushou? I'm just a tool!

You ask me what my backup plan is? How would I know? It's the City God who has refined a wisp of pure Yang energy!
Therefore, when faced with Gongsun Wang's inquiry, Li Wushou did not intend to exchange pleasantries. He raised one arm high, his mind sank into the City God Seal in the sky, and slammed it hard into the Burial Soul Forest!
This force was even greater than the force used when the Blood Buddha was smashed in the Blood Buddha Temple!
The five mounds of Jingguan buried underground instantly exploded, and a large number of ghost infants howled in the forest. The Tree Goddess's huge tree trunk crackled and fissures appeared on its body.

"Outrageous! The City God's Seal? Liu Qingmei? How dare you!"

Gongsun Wang felt the City God's Seal pressing down from the sky, and was filled with shock and rage!
He never expected that the City God Liu Qingmei would have such audacity, actually directly wielding the City God's Seal to destroy his breeding grounds!
Although the figure in front of me doesn't look like Liu Qingmei, who else could wield the City God's Seal but her? What a charade!
Gongsun Wang was furious. He formed a hand seal in front of his chest, and a large amount of wood spirit energy gathered in front of him, transforming into a blue head that looked very similar to the Tree Goddess.

Immediately afterwards, Gongsun Wang tilted his head back, his neck grew thicker, and he opened his mouth and spat out another woman's head.

Unlike the blue head of the Tree Goddess, this head is clearly that of another woman, and it is red!
Just as Gongsun Wang was about to vomit again, Li Wushou lifted the City God Seal and slammed it down once more!
"Boom! Boom! Bang!"

With three consecutive strikes, Gongsun Wang's seal was broken, the two heads surrounding him exploded, and the token engraved with the words "Gongsun" also shattered and fell silently from mid-air.

With a flash, Li Wushou disappeared from the spot. Just as Gongsun Wang's phantom was about to speak, Li Wushou threw a punch, instantly turning the phantom into nothingness.

Li Wushou stood in mid-air, his finishing blows becoming increasingly skillful!

He didn't really understand why these supernatural beings talked so much!
When you're facing life and death, what's the point of saying all this?
Holding the head of the Tree Goddess, he looked around and saw that large swathes of trees were withering. Without the support of the five Jingguan (a mound of trees), the Yin Wood of the Burial Soul Forest had also lost its warm nest and entered its death countdown.

"Crack! Boom!"

The enormous tree trunk of the Tree Goddess, which was perched in the center of the Burial Soul Forest, collapsed due to the continuous bombardment by the City God's Seal. The cracks on the tree trunk were too large to support the huge canopy.

The shadowy figure that had been looming over Li Wushou quietly shifted its body and disappeared into the darkness. In the Soul Burial Forest, there were still some grotesque infants wailing.
Li Wushou glanced at it but did not call for a stop. Standing in mid-air, he made an unexpected discovery on the other side of the Burial Soul Forest.

Was that a vanished merchant ship?
Merchant ships were seen sitting quietly on the abandoned dock. Because the Yin wood had withered, they had lost their Yin energy and were now more conspicuous as sunlight shone into the Burial Soul Forest.

Li Wushou stared intently, but the ship was empty; it had clearly been used as food.

However, the interior contained a large amount of goods and grain, which Li Wushou guessed was probably something Zhu Sihai planned to use to win over and consolidate the people's hearts after he became the City God.

This is an unexpected surprise!

Unlike Li Wushou's good mood, the head of the Tree Goddess in his hand looked listless and dejected!
It wasn't entirely because Li Wushou destroyed the Burial Soul Forest, but because Gongsun Wang never even glanced at her from the moment he appeared until the end!

She was already thoroughly tired of the prison-like life in the Burial Forest, and death was nothing to her.

She was originally the most beautiful courtesan in Shanghai, where she met Gongsun Wang when he was young. The time they spent together was the happiest time of her life.

But her good health didn't last long. Her body grew weaker and weaker, and in just over a month, she was on her last legs.

But Gongsun Wang killed everyone in the bustling city to save her. He first cut off the heads of all the women and piled them up into a mound, burying it underground. Then he planted the heads of the others around the area like seeds.

It took root and sprouted overnight, forming the Soul Burial Forest we see today.

And like those people, his head was cut off and planted in the middle of the Burial Forest.

Before she left, Gongsun Wang clearly said that he would come back to see her once she was ready, but she has been awake for so many years and he has never come even once!
"Li Wushou, why won't he look at me?"

The Tree Goddess suddenly murmured, and Li Wushou rolled his eyes.

Upon seeing the mound of skulls underground and the heads beneath the dark wood, he had already guessed the gist of the story! The sudden disappearance of the bustling metropolis in Shanghai was probably related to Gongsun Wang, who referred to this place as a breeding ground!

It's probably a seed of the Tree Goddess that's being cultivated!

The woman's head that Gongsun Wang just spat out was probably from another species; this was clearly his magic!

The story of Tree Goddess and Gongsun Wang is like that of a passionate courtesan in Wu Zhuangyuan's painting who meets a heartless lover. Li Wushou and Chen Gou'er have never been interested in such a drama, but the old beggar always listens with great interest.

Therefore, Li Wushou did not answer the Tree Goddess's question. The Tree Goddess's head looked like a great tonic, but looking at her face, Li Wushou couldn't bring himself to eat it.

After the shadowy figure had finally eaten and drunk its fill, Li Wushou, carrying the head of the Tree Goddess, flew towards Wufang City!
He needed to inform the City God Temple to bring the merchant ships back to Wufang City to stabilize the food shortage.

As for the head, let's go back and ask the old beggar how best to eat it.

So the people in Wufang City who had been awakened by Li Wushou's verdict against the Blood Buddha Temple had only just stepped out of their homes when they saw a high priest in a blue robe fly into the City God Temple from outside the north city!
What the high priest was holding looked like a human head.
(End of this chapter)