Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 159 Strange Atmosphere, Nighttime Investigation of the Sacred Tree
In the wooden house on the mountaintop
Li Wushou sat cross-legged in front of a low table, occasionally swallowing his food.

This is a unique flesh worm found in the Land of Misfortune. Each one is the size of a baby's forearm and often makes a crying sound like a baby, so it is called the Crying Infant Worm.

Although this crying baby worm is not good-looking and is covered with sharp spines, its flesh is extremely delicious and juicy.

Li Wushou took the opportunity to throw a few into the Three Immortals Pavilion, where the old beggar and Chen Gou'er ate them with their mouths oozing pus... no! their mouths oozing juice!

Although the juice looks very similar to pus, the taste is completely different.

To make the meal more enjoyable, Li Wushou swallowed the crying infant worms whole, and thus ate with great pleasure.

The fog outside thickened, indicating that night had fallen.

Li Wushou was treated as a distinguished guest of the Luotou clan and was accommodated in this wooden house not far from the ancient tree.

He was still pondering the scene he witnessed when he first arrived at the Luotou clan that day.

From his conversation with Losang in the ancient temple, he had assumed that although Losang's family held an unusual position in the Luotou clan, it shouldn't be too high. Otherwise, why would his son and daughter-in-law be ordered to leave the clan?
But unexpectedly, Losang was the high priest of the Luotou clan!
The position of the Grand Priest in the Luotou clan was similar to that of the Civil God in the City God Temple of Wufang City, a position of extraordinary importance.

Because the ancestral god of the Luotou clan does not manage worldly affairs like the City God, but is in a state of slumber for many years.

However, this high priest, who held the most power in the Luotou clan, was ordered to leave the clan for nearly ten years.

What taboo had his son and daughter-in-law broken? Li Wushou was very curious!

However, judging from the welcome that the Luotou clan members gave to Losang, this high priest had extremely high prestige in the Luotou clan and seemed not to have been angered at all by the taboos committed by his son and daughter-in-law.

All these behaviors are permeated with a sense of disconnect.

The rift became even more tangible the moment Lowen and his wife stood still on the platform.

The red-haired middle-aged man at the head of the group, who was welcoming the High Priest's return, suddenly erupted, his entire body radiating murderous intent. The flesh and blood around his neck, wrapped in his collar, writhed as if his head would be severed from his body at any moment.

This was done in public, and there were quite a few children under the age of ten from the Luotou clan.

The people behind him quickly stepped forward and persuaded the red-haired middle-aged man to go back.

The high priest stood silently to one side. Mr. and Mrs. Luo Wen looked ashamed, while Luo Fan, the child, glanced at his parents with some worry before reverting to his mature demeanor.

Later, Li Wushou learned that the red-haired middle-aged man was the Martial and Criminal Minister of the Luotou clan, and that he had been in charge of the Luotou clan during the time when the Grand Priest was ordered to leave the clan.

This is even more interesting. A figure second only to the High Priest so deeply hates the Luo Wen couple, which suggests that the taboo committed by the Luo Wen couple back then must be related to him.

Even the Minister of Martial Justice was a direct victim, or one of the victims.

Because the Luotou clan members who had just revealed their murderous intent were not only the Martial and Execution Minister.

But this man, during the nearly ten years that the High Priest was ordered to leave the tribe, did not think of becoming the High Priest himself. Instead, he immediately expressed his heartfelt welcome to Losang's return.

Li Wushou had clearly seen the joy on the other person's face just now, and it couldn't be faked.

Is this Losang a saint? Is he worthy of such adoration?

To be honest, Li Wushou was somewhat skeptical!

Because Li Wushou was still thinking about something else. It was agreed that once he arrived at the Luotou clan, he would make up the remaining ten taels of gold. But Luosang only helped him arrange a place to stay before going off to take charge of clan affairs.

Although the baby-crying insect tasted good, the ten taels of gold were not even mentioned!

How could he possibly believe that the other person was a saint?
After thinking it over, Li Wushou decided to go out and see when Losang was going to arrange the ten taels of gold for him.

Of course, there's also the matter of incense offerings. The fifteen taels of gold were windfall, but Wufang City was the real golden goose that kept laying eggs. Li Wushou could tell the difference.

When Li Wushou left Wufang City, the message from Wangxian City had already reached Wufang City.

This year's tribute has doubled and will be held three months earlier in September. This means that Li Wushou has less than three months left. Making more incense is the most important thing for entering the Land of Bewilderment.

They took the paper goddess out of the Three Immortals Hall and cut out a paper figure in the shape of Li Wushou to sit in the room.

The old beggar lit three incense sticks inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, and a dark shadow enveloped him at the same time. Li Wushou took a step and disappeared into the wooden house.

The platform at the summit is extremely wide.

The Luotou clan living up there consisted of about thirty or forty households, totaling nearly two hundred people.

Most of these people were elders of the Luotou clan or descendants of prominent figures.

The majority of the rest of the tribe carved out houses on the back of the giant mountain and lived in mid-air.

Li Wushou quietly walked out of the wooden house and looked around. Every household had two red lanterns hanging in front of their doors, and inside the lanterns were naturally blood-red fireflies.

This Luotou clan seems to have a unique method for cultivating blood-red fireflies.

The blood-red suspension staircase during the day gave Li Wushou a sense of awe and wonder.

Although the night fog was deep, many members of the Luotou clan were still awake. Clearly, the return of Losang's family had caused a great stir in the Luotou clan, keeping many people awake all night.

After briefly determining the direction, Li Wushou headed towards the ancient tree in the center. This ancient tree was enormous, much larger than the Tree Goddess's original form in the Burial Soul Forest.

During the day, Li Wushou learned that this ancient tree was born alongside their ancestral god and was called the "Sacred Tree of Wisdom" by the Luotou clan!
Ever since Li Wushou granted a plot of land to the Tree Goddess within the Three Immortals Pavilion, he has become extremely sensitive to trees, often able to see the interior of a tree and the distribution of its root system at a glance.

However, Li Wushou could not see through the "Sacred Tree of Wisdom" of the Luotou clan even when he used his ability.

This was not because Li Wushou lacked ability, but because Li Wushou felt that this was not a tree at all, or rather, not a conventional tree.

Because this tree was filled with the scent of blood, flesh, and incense, it gave Li Wushou the same feeling as the golden statue of the City God he saw when he first visited the City God Temple.

Of course, if he had focused his attention, he could have seen the general outline, but the sense of dread he felt during the day prevented him from making any rash moves.

Beneath the sacred tree stands a solemn ancestral shrine, where the Grand Priest and the Minister of Justice entered during the day.

It was completely quiet here at the moment, with no tight security as I had imagined, and I didn't see a single person.

"Let's go in and take a look. Something's wrong with that ancestral god; he seems to be dying. He only sensed the arrival of outsiders during the day and glanced at them!"

The old beggar inside the Three Immortals Pavilion noticed Li Wushou's hesitation and muttered something while picking his ear.

Upon hearing this, Li Wushou was shocked. Was he about to die?
A glint flashed in his eyes, then Li Wushou composed himself and concealed his presence as he entered.

The ancestral hall is a spacious courtyard with a large incense burner in the center, somewhat similar to the incense hall in the City God Temple. Incense is still burning on the burner at this moment.

Through the open gate, Li Wushou looked toward the main hall of the ancestral temple.

In the center of the main hall sits a statue of a deity.

The statue holds a head aloft with its left hand outstretched, while its right hand rests on a large knife, the tip of which is pressed against the incense table.

After realizing that no one was around, Li Wushou decided not to go in, but instead went around to the back hall.

At this moment, a row of red lanterns hung under the eaves of the back hall, illuminating the courtyard in a blood-red hue.

But after searching around, Li Wushou only saw two night watchmen dozing off, their heads half-drowsy, and he still couldn't find the Grand Priest or the Minister of Martial Justice.

Not here? How is that possible?

Li Wushou had been keeping his eyes fixed on the ancestral hall since daytime, and the Grand High Priest and the Minister of Martial Law had not come out after entering.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wushou began to search the back room carefully.

Finally, in the empty space not far behind the two night watchmen, a strange sensation arose.

It was an aura similar to the barrier effect cast by the Five Directions City God Seal within the Five Directions City.

Carefully bypassing the two guards, Li Wushou stood outside the barrier. He exhaled a cloud of mist, which slowly merged into the barrier before him. A moment later, the barrier opened a gap, and Li Wushou quietly slipped inside.

He had received the old beggar's true teachings on how to use the smuggling barrier, and he was very skilled at it.

The two guards from the Luotou clan did not notice anything unusual.

Li Wushou entered the barrier, but contrary to his expectations, it was a corridor extending downwards.

The corridor was extremely deep, winding and leading to who-knows-where in the mountain.

Exploring downwards, after a short while, judging by the height of the giant mountain, Li Wushou should have reached the vicinity of the mountain's heart.

Turning a corner along the corridor, the view suddenly opened up to reveal a mountain room, its size comparable to the main hall of the City God Temple.

What comes into view are three stone walls, with small pits carved out of them by hand, similar in style to shrines, except that instead of statues, they contain human heads.

It was a wall of three heads, which even made Li Wushou feel a little uneasy.

These heads were clearly flying skull demons transformed from the Luotou clan, because Li Wushou could see a small figure resembling a nascent soul inside their necks.

Just as Li Wushou was about to look away, he suddenly saw two familiar figures on the wall of human heads directly in front of him. They were Luo Wen and his wife, who, like the other flying skull ghosts, had their eyes closed.

Directly below that wall of human heads was a circular pool of blood. The thick, pungent smell of blood made Chen Gou'er, inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, sniff incessantly, as if he were about to wake up from a dream.

The old beggar, quick-witted and agile, hurriedly smeared some incense ash under Chen Gou'er's nose.

Li Wushou felt somewhat relieved, swallowed hard, and continued to observe.

In the center of the circular blood pool stood a tall figure, which looked quite similar to the statue in the ancestral temple, and was also headless.

But instead of holding his head in his hands or drawing his knife, a crystal tree, just like the "Tree of Wisdom," grew on his neck.

The High Priest of Losang and the Minister of Martial Law, whom Li Wushou had been searching for all night, were now kneeling at the feet of this figure.

This is the first chapter; the other chapter will be released shortly.

Also, thank you to Li Wenxuan for the 10000 coins reward, you've gone to so much trouble!
This is the first helmsman of this book. Thank you for your support!

I would also like to thank all the other friends who have supported me all this time.
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(End of this chapter)