Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 157 A God Within a Body? A Paper Body!
"Not a Nascent Soul cultivator?"

Upon hearing the old beggar's words, Li Wushou inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

The fleshy nests that grew from the necks and spines of those two flying skull demons, and the tiny people hatching inside them, were extremely similar to the Nascent Souls described in Wu Zhuangyuan's stories.

It's no exaggeration to say that he was amazed when he saw how easily those two flying skull demons condensed the little man.

He also had an urge to immediately cut off his head and then eat his own body.

After all, like those two flying skull demons, he was also missing his internal organs, and it shouldn't be a problem for him to have his head cut off, right?

Besides, his own flesh should be more fragrant than theirs. There's no reason why these two flying skull ghosts can do it but he can't!
At that moment, Li Wushou admitted that he was tempted, but the old beggar's words poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"So what is this?"

The old beggar pondered for a moment before replying:
"This family must be quite extraordinary among the Luotou clan. This method must be a religious practice, similar to the combination of flesh and blood with yin spirits, and it is full of sinister energy."

This must be related to their ancestral god, and these two must have left a catalyst in the ancestral land of the Luotou clan in order to awaken the true spirit.

Therefore, this cannot be a Nascent Soul; it's more likely an intelligent evil spirit.

Li Wushou hummed in response, somewhat disappointed.

Even with a damaged physical body, the dream of stepping into the Nascent Soul stage is shattered.

Seeing Li Wushou's expression, the old beggar knew exactly what he was thinking and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

He really wanted to say that for Li Wushou, cultivating this Golden Core or that Nascent Soul was just something to do casually, and there was no need to be so entangled in it.

But since Li Wushou had finally found something he was interested in, he didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm.

So the words that were on the tip of his tongue turned into, "This method is only useful to them in the Land of Misfortune, there's nothing to be interested in! It's different here from outside. And it's not a good thing for those two flying skull demons either."

Li Wushou nodded. The old beggar had mentioned this issue before. The underlying nature of the Misty Land was different inside and outside. Many things were similar, but many things were also very different. Therefore, there was nothing to delve into further.

After calming himself down, he was about to invite the old man from the Luotou clan in front of him to sit down and rest, and wait together for the fog to clear.

Suddenly, I remembered the old beggar's muttered remark, "This child looks a bit old?"

He was only preoccupied with the Nascent Soul matter just now, but now, reflecting on it, he realized, what does "somewhat old" mean? Is it used to describe a person?

Is there something strange about this child?

Although Li Wushou also found the child strange, the old beggar's words piqued his curiosity, so he asked the old beggar for his opinion.

The old beggar didn't utter a sound, but slowly began to speak:
“This child’s body is new, and the soul that just spoke with you is also new, but the other gods within him are old, and there are two such gods within him.”

Li Wushou didn't quite understand what he was hearing, but for some reason, he thought of the changes in the child's body after the head was separated from the body.

A human face on the stomach, claw-like feet, and a head that had flown off the body.
He seemed to understand something vaguely; these mutated states should be related to the old god within the body that the old beggar had mentioned.

And what is the spirit within the body?

Li Wushou felt increasingly confused the more he learned about the child; such an eccentric child was a rare sight indeed.

His interest in this family was growing, and he was thinking of having a deeper discussion with the old beggar when he saw the old man with the broken head, who was holding the heads of his son and daughter-in-law in front of him, suddenly let out a long sigh.

Li Wushou composed himself, refocused his gaze on the old man, and asked with some curiosity:
"What's wrong, sir? Your son and daughter-in-law should have successfully summoned the spirit."

The old man, cradling the head, turned to face Li Wushou and said with a somewhat melancholy expression:

"What the wandering sorcerer may not know is that the less children under the age of ten in the Luotou clan know about the Luotou clan's flying skull before the head is removed, the greater the reward they will receive if they succeed in the head removal ceremony."

"I just concealed my grandson's memory, but now I'm having trouble explaining his parents' condition. They're both not feeling well right now, and I don't feel comfortable letting them act alone. Oh well, what should I do!"

Upon hearing the old man's words, the old beggar inside the Three Immortals Pavilion suddenly let out a sneer.

He then walked out of the Three Immortals Pavilion and asked the Paper Goddess to boil water and make tea.

Li Wushou, whose mind had been withdrawn from the Three Immortals Pavilion, paid no attention to these things. He just kept thinking to himself that he had gained some more strange knowledge points.

It's one thing to have a ritual for severing one's head, but there's also this kind of saying? They are the severing clan, but they don't let their children know that they can fly their heads. Why is that?
Li Wushou was very curious, but he didn't even think about the old man's problem.

After all, it was too much trouble for him, and it wasn't originally his business.

Just as he was about to express his inability to help, Chen Gou'er inside the Three Immortals Pavilion suddenly covered his head and asked:
"What is this old man saying? I can't understand a word he's saying?"

The old beggar, picking at his ear, showed no intention of answering. Seeing that Chen Gou'er was about to jump up again, Li Wushou could only take over the conversation, replying in his mind:

"The old man is worried that his grandson saw his parents with only one head left, and that they had become flying skull ghosts, which would affect his grandson's head-removal ritual."

After listening, Chen Gou'er looked at Li Wushou with a puzzled expression and said:
"Is this old man that stupid? Why not just cut off his grandson's parents' heads too? Out of sight, out of mind, wouldn't that be perfect?"

"Indeed!"

Li Wushou nodded slightly, unusually agreeing with Chen Gou'er's opinion.

Outside the Three Immortals Pavilion, the old beggar who received the tea from the Paper Goddess instantly felt a vein throbbing on his forehead; he still couldn't let his guard down. The old man with the severed head, carrying the severed heads of his son and daughter-in-law, naturally didn't know that the wandering sorcerer he thought was standing before him had already found the best solution. He simply looked at Li Wushou with some distress and asked for his help:

"I wonder if the wandering sorcerer has any way to make my son and daughter-in-law look like ordinary people, as long as they insist on returning to Luotoushi."

Li Wushou waved his hand, about to explain Chen Gou'er's method, because in his opinion, this method was the most direct.

When the old man from the Luotou clan saw Li Wushou waving his hand, he thought Li Wushou was going to refuse, and quickly said:
"As long as my son and daughter-in-law can live like ordinary people until their deaths, I will surely repay them handsomely!"

As they were talking, the old man walked to his son's clothes, took out a gold ingot from the clothes, and handed it to Li Wushou.

Li Wushou swallowed the words that were about to come out. This gold ingot was worth nearly five taels, which is almost fifty taels of silver. Even if Li Wushou worked himself to the bone as the chief priest of the City God Temple, he would only earn twenty taels of silver a month.

To his even greater surprise, after handing the gold to Li Wushou, the old man with the shaved head spoke again:
"I left in a hurry, and this is all the gold and silver I have. If you, wandering sorcerer, can help me and escort my whole family back to Luotou safely, I will give you another ten taels of gold!"

Li Wushou felt his breathing become heavier. Inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, Chen Gou'er's eyes were already bloodshot, and he was jumping around excitedly.

He kept urging and shouting, "Do it! Li Wushou! Take this job!"

Li Wushou naturally wanted to accept, but what method could he possibly have?
Chen Gou'er scratched his head anxiously and began to persuade the old beggar to transform into another person, and then he would eat the flesh of another person and transform into another person.

The old beggar refused without even thinking; he didn't want to waste his offerings on such a thing.

Although the Luotou clan and the place where Li Wushou planted his bones are on the same road.

However, this old man from the Luotou clan has many problems. Going to the Luotou clan to watch a good show might be a good idea, and you might even be able to sneak some incense offerings. In clans with ancestral gods, there are plenty of incense offerings.

But there's no need to expose him and Chen Gou'er to the other side, at least not now.

Although he was indeed envious of those fifteen taels of gold!

Just then, the paper goddess, who was standing beside the old beggar and carefully serving him, suddenly interjected timidly.

“Gentlemen, if you want to make these two flying skull ghosts invisible from the outside, you can actually use the origami method to cut out a paper body for them, which should be able to conceal them somewhat.”

Upon hearing this, the old beggar's eyes lit up instantly.

Chen Gou'er leaped out of the Three Immortals Pavilion, patting the Paper Goddess's shoulder repeatedly and praising, "Little paper doll, you're really good! I can't bear to eat you!"

"Thank you, Third Master!"

The paper goddess kept thanking Chen Gou'er, her face showing gratitude. She was relieved that the two ounces of flesh inside her body had been saved.

Li Wushou immediately addressed the old man with the shaved head:
"Your father's deep concern for his children and grandchildren is truly touching. Seeing this sincere affection, I will do my utmost to help you!"

After saying that, he quietly stuffed the gold ingot into his pocket.

Then, ignoring Chen Gou'er's shouts for money, Li Wushou sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands forming a mudra in front of his chest. Suddenly, a sapling sprouted from the open ground in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, the saplings have grown quite tall, swaying in the wind.

Li Wushou stopped his hand seals after nearly piercing the roof of the ancient temple.

Then the hand seals changed again, this time much faster than before.

Two sheets of white paper suddenly flew out of his sleeve and took root in the newly grown tree. Like sucking blood, the two sheets of white paper continuously absorbed the essence of the tree.

In an instant, the tree withered and decayed, turning into ashes, while two sheets of white paper unfolded and grew longer and longer.

Li Wushou reached out and waved his hand, and the white paper rolled up on its own and fell to his side.

Chen Gou'er had seen the figures of the man and woman before. After Li Wushou promised him an extra five taels of gold in his savings, Chen Gou'er worked with great enthusiasm in the Three Immortals Pavilion, kneading flesh and blood to bring the figures of the two people to life.

Li Wushou compared the paper figure to the one that Chen Gou'er had created, and continued to cut out the paper body, becoming more and more adept at it.

Seeing Li Wushou's miraculous ability to conjure trees with a flick of his hand and then refine them into paper, Luo Tou Shi felt even more apprehensive.

This wandering sorcerer was indeed no ordinary charlatan; he possessed several hidden tricks up his sleeve.

And at this moment, the other party is actually using this piece of white paper to fold a body?
Today's events have been one after another, leaving the old man of the Luotou clan somewhat speechless. However, it seems there is still a chance to salvage the situation.

The old man watched Li Wushou's actions closely, finding the method of folding paper into a body quite novel.

But as he looked on, the old man's expression became strange.

Looking at the ugly paper figure in Li Wushou's hand, with its square belly and unevenly sized arms and legs, the old man couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The other party is probably trying to fold a paper figure to make it look real, right?

Did I understand it wrong?

I'll post one chapter first. I'm on a business trip to Shanghai today, so the next chapter will be tonight. Sorry, everyone.

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(End of this chapter)