Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 152 The Art of Sealing Spirits? I know a little bit!

Xiao Panshan accepted the order with a complicated expression.

Then he stood outside the Three Immortals Pavilion with a determined look on his face.
"Greetings, Civil High Priest!"

Li Erniu bowed to Xiao Panshan, who had just come over to give Li Wushou two thin shirts.

It's getting hot as July approaches, so his wife has been rushing to make a few items these past few days.

These past few days, a diligent young maid has been hired to run the Three Immortals Pavilion, so he doesn't need to pay much attention to anything else.

After delivering the clothes, he was just about to go home when he saw Xiao Panshan standing solemnly outside the mansion, which startled him. He thought something terrible had happened!
Upon seeing the high priest in charge, Xiao Panshan put on a smiling face, cupped his hands in greeting, and warmly inquired:
"Manager Li, are you going out to get busy? Is the High Priest home?"

Li Erniu repeatedly said he dared not, and tried to lead Xiao Panshan into the mansion, but Xiao Panshan waved his hand and refused, telling him to go about his own business.

Li Erniu felt uncomfortable with Xiao Panshan's polite attitude, but he couldn't refuse him, so he let it go.

As Xiao Panshan watched Li Erniu leave, he couldn't help but say, "Good luck!"
What others strive for with great effort, this simpleton obtains effortlessly.

Shaking his head, Xiao Panshan rallied his spirits and stepped into the Three Immortals Hall.

After a short while, Li Wushou arrived at the City God Temple with Xiao Panshan.

Li Wushou was mentally prepared for the new City God's invitation, and he never expected Mu Tong to be able to endure it for so long.

Mu Tong looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old, but she was exceptionally calm and composed when it came to handling matters. This pleased Li Wushou greatly, as Mu Tong was a figure he had painstakingly helped to establish.

In the back hall of the City God Temple, Li Wushou, along with Xiao Panshan, respectfully bowed to Mu Tong.

For some reason, Mu Tong felt a tightness in her heart, and then invited the two to sit down.

Because she had held the child before, and because she had studied with the Martial God at the Three Immortals Hall.

Li Wushou felt less awe and distance from Mu Tong's status as City God, and therefore treated her quite casually.

This made Mu Tong feel much more comfortable, and she didn't want to put on airs like a city god. For a moment, the two chatted like old friends.

Xiao Panshan, who was sitting next to him, was in a very awkward position!

Although I knew that the new City God's attitude towards High Priest Li Wushou was unusual, this was just too unusual!
He finally understood why, despite valuing Li Wushou so highly, the City God Liu had promoted him to the position of Civil Official and then passed the City God title to Mu Tong.

Because he discovered that his position seemed to be completely unimportant to Li Wushou!

But as the conversation unfolded, the three of them became serious.

Li Wushou's good mood vanished. Originally, Mu Tong's recognition by the Dragon King and her securing of the position of City God should have been good news for him.

But what's going on right now?
Is there a shortage of incense offerings? Is the annual tribute being doubled?
With the lifting of the Heavenly God imminent, what positions should the Five Directions City take?
This coincided with his guess after receiving the news from Wu Qinghe, but guesses are just guesses, and when it was actually confirmed, he still felt a bit unhappy.

And is the incense offering in Wufang City really that scarce?
Li Wushou felt like he had been tricked, like he had finally won over a rich young lady, only to find out she was actually destitute.

Moreover, for some reason, after hearing that the annual tribute would be doubled, Li Wushou always felt as if the other party was taking money out of his pocket.

This Liu Qingmei has really done a lot of harm, leaving behind such a mess.

Just a few days ago, he was urging the old beggar to eat more incense offerings. The old beggar was eating very little, which made Li Wushou roll his eyes. Now, this retribution has come.

He found it strange at the time; given the old beggar's personality, how could he eat so little?

So this old man had already noticed the shortage of offerings in Wufang City, hadn't he?
Li Wushou was furious, his brows furrowing in anger.

Xiao Panshan was still reporting the incense offerings to the City God when he suddenly felt the hall quiet down. He looked up at the City God and saw him staring at High Priest Li Wushou with a somewhat nervous expression.
Upon closer inspection, the High Priest's brows were furrowed, as if he were somewhat angry, and he was startled and calmed down.

After cursing the old beggar in his heart, Li Wushou realized something was wrong and quickly composed himself, asking Xiao Panshan about various details.

The conversation lasted until midnight, and Li Wushou felt extremely tired after returning to the Three Immortals Pavilion!
It's not physical exhaustion, it's mental exhaustion!

Even though Xiao Panshan thoughtfully arranged a late-night snack before he left, it did little to improve his mood.

According to Mu Tong, when the merchant ships head to Wangxian City in a few days, she will go ahead and take the existing incense from the City God Temple to Wangxian City.

The matter of summoning the gods concerns the future foundation of Wufang City. She needs to investigate the current situation to avoid choosing the wrong side and causing Wufang City to be destroyed.

As for the matter of incense offerings, that was secondary. She would try her best to collect more incense offerings in Wangxian City. If it was really not enough, it would just mean that she, the City God, would be replaced.

Li Wushou clearly could not accept this idea and immediately expressed his opposition.

He raised the banner of the City God Temple so that it would provide him with a continuous source of income, not so that another farmer could simply pick eggs from his basket.

However, he also agreed with Mu Tong's decision to go to Wangxian City first, as Wufang City did need to learn more about the matter of raising the Heavenly God.

When it comes to gathering information, no one is more suitable than Mu Tong, who has a naturally gifted divine eye.

Even if the City God's power is greatly reduced after leaving Wufang City, at least his safety is not compromised in Wangxian City. Besides, does Wufang City have any other manpower?
As for the continuation of the family line, that's something he and Xiao Panshan will have to figure out!
Three Immortals Pavilion

As soon as Li Wushou stepped into the room, he grabbed the old beggar who was still fast asleep and lifted him off the bed.

"Speak! Did you already know that Wufang City was running out of offerings?"

The old beggar rubbed his eyes, angrily retorted, "Li Wushou, what's wrong with you? How would I know about this?" Li Wushou looked at the old beggar's face and instantly understood—this old bastard really knew!

He grabbed Chen Gou'er and shoved his hand against the old beggar's back. Before Chen Gou'er could even regain his senses, he heard Li Wushou's voice in his ear:

"Chen Gou'er, ten taels of silver! Bite this old bastard to death, and I'll give you ten taels of silver right away, cash!"

Chen Gou'er instantly snapped back to reality and opened his mouth wide!
"Shut up! Chen Gou'er! Ah~! Li Wushou is just incense offering, what's your rush? Besides, didn't you tell me to eat it?"

Li Wushou, his face cold, pointed at Chen Gou'er and shouted, "Quick! Bite him to death!"

A quarter of an hour later, the private room of the Three Immortals Pavilion quieted down, and Chen Gou'er was overjoyed, clutching five taels of silver!

As for why it's five taels?

That's because the old beggar was only half-dead from being bitten!

The old beggar lay groaning under the incense table, rubbing the bite marks on his body, glaring at Li Wushou and Chen Gou'er with resentment.

"We've already set up the banner of Five Directions City, but the current situation is clearly beyond our expectations. That 'Heavenly God' thing at Suspended Mountain sounds like a real problem! Should we just run away?"

Chen Gou'er ignored the old beggar's words, but Li Wushou narrowed his eyes.

The banner he raised should rightfully belong to him; he may not need it, but no one else can take it from him!

And after all that effort to finally lift him up, he's just running away now? He can't bear the shame!
He's not like that shameless old beggar; he's still young and has his own sense of propriety.

More importantly, he wanted to leave Huazhou, not run away from Huazhou!
With a muffled groan, Li Wushou replied to the old beggar, "Tell me about the incense offerings!"

After saying that, Li Wushou took out another five taels of silver from his pocket and threw it into the air. Chen Gou'er stared wide-eyed, grinding his teeth fiercely. Then he turned to the old beggar, looking ready to pounce.

The old beggar was furious! Those two bastards!
But deep down he was still somewhat happy, not because he was happy that Chen Gou'er bit him, but because Li Wushou didn't mention running away this time.

Having something to care about is good; that's what makes you human!
But he pretended to be annoyed and shouted, "Aren't you eyeing that piece of bone you planted in the Land of Calamity? Anyway, you're going there. Liu Qingmei can refine incense from there, but you can't?"

"But."

Before Li Wushou could finish speaking, he paused in his action of tossing the silver. The silver fell to the ground, and Chen Gou'er darted away, stuffing the silver into his mouth and going to sleep.

Li Wushou was taken aback by the action. He hadn’t seen the child for a while, and the child had become even faster!

But isn't it a bit too discriminatory to the intelligence of everyone present that you suddenly fall asleep like that?

But Li Wushou had no time to pay attention to him at that moment, because he suddenly realized that he had fallen into a mental imprisonment.

His understanding of the Land of Misfortune was still based on the period before the three of them arrived in Five Directions City. During that time, none of the three of them were in good condition, and they found it extremely difficult to make any progress in the Land of Misfortune.

Things gradually improved, but the old beggar was in a hurry to move, which is how he ended up in the southern part of Wufang City.

But things are different now. He cultivated the path of immortality and became a cultivator in Wu Zhuangyuan's stories, transforming into a god-like figure.

He was a figure who commanded a great following in Wufang City. Returning to the Land of Misfortune shouldn't be as difficult as before, right?
Just a few days ago, he was planning how to sneak into the Land of Calamity and retrieve his bones. Now that he thinks about it, it's really embarrassing!
But Li Wushou still argued, "But I don't know how to make incense!"

The old beggar pointed to his nose, "I can!"

Li Wushou naturally knew about the old beggar's group, but what would happen to the Three Immortals Pavilion if the old beggar went along?
If Chen Gou'er is left alone at home, there might be no one left in Wufang City when he comes back.

"What good will you be! What will happen to the Three Immortals Pavilion?"

Chen Gou'er sat up nervously. He understood what the two meant: were they planning to ditch him and sneak back to the Land of Misfortune? Hearing Li Wushou's question, he quickly interjected:

"We can bring all three Immortal Pavilions together!"

Li Wushou refused without even thinking. The Three Immortals Pavilion had quite a lot of things, and the Yin-Yang Diagram couldn't be stored there. Just carrying that square table would be very inconvenient.

"If only there were something big enough to hold the Three Immortals Pavilion!"

Li Wushou muttered to himself with a headache, thinking that he would go to the City God Temple tomorrow to ask Mu Tong if there were any methods for refining incense that he could use.

But then the old beggar lying under the incense table suddenly replied:
"The Three Immortals Pavilion actually has something that can hold it!"

What can be used to house the Three Immortals Pavilion?

Chen Gou'er suddenly jumped off the bed and asked in surprise, "You know, even he can't finish eating at the Three Immortals Pavilion, so how could there be anything that can fit in there?"
"The divine palace of the Sealed Spirit Path can hold it!"

Chen Gou'er was somewhat skeptical and pressed for more information.

"That shrine can hold that female bird-person?"

The old beggar rolled his eyes, ignored Chen Gou'er, and stared at Li Wushou, saying:
"That little girl's shrine is obviously not good enough, but yours is!"

Li Wushou was speechless for a moment. "I don't even have a method to seal spirits, what kind of divine palace do I have!"

The old beggar suddenly stood up from the ground, patted the drool off his clothes, and straightened his tattered clothes.

Standing before the incense table, with his hands behind his back, he spoke with an air of superiority:
"The art of sealing spirits? I know a little bit about it!"

Can you guess what Li Wushou's divine palace looks like?


(End of this chapter)