Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 199 You don't need to pay me back, it was originally mine!
The Dharma body is majestic
Standing between the valleys

The surrounding world was cleansed and cleared, no longer shrouded in mist. Faced with Li Wushou's question, the Dharma Body remained silent.

Seeing this, Li Wushou slowly raised his finger and pointed it at his brow. He had no interest in playing any more riddles.

He had already captured the White Bone Cicada, but the pervasive incense smoke remained and did not dissipate. The White Bone Cicadas and White Bone Lions on the five mountain peaks continued to kowtow incessantly. Coupled with his previous guess, it was clear that the person in charge of the altar was someone else.

As for the candidate, Li Wushou had already guessed.

Since the other party is unwilling to be honest, then we'll have to settle things with our own strength.

At that moment, the Dharma Body, which was standing quietly in the valley, slowly bowed its head, and its head slowly drooped down from the clouds.

Phew~!

A gentle breeze suddenly arose in the mountains. The Dharma Body took a deep breath, and incense flames gathered towards it from all directions. Even the incense flames that had been suppressed in the White Bone Palace by Li Wushou's Dharma Domain flowed towards the Dharma Body like a stream.

The face on the Dharma body became even more lifelike.

His eyes locked onto Li Wushou, and his Dharma body slowly spoke:
"Boy, who are you?"

The finger that was pointing towards the center of the brow paused, but the mist lingered there, complementing the cloud-like patterns on the forehead.

Li Wushou looked up at the revealed Dharma body and thought to himself, "As expected."

Long beard, a single horn like a bamboo shoot.

Who else could it be but the old snail at the foot of the mountain that tricked him?
No wonder he, who was well-versed in the acting skills and manners of beggars, was fooled by the old snail's few words.

The other person's words carried a subtle yet seductive power.

Coupled with subconscious awareness and an inherent indifference, both the old beggar and Li Wushou subconsciously ignored each other.

It was only when he was on the mountaintop that Li Wushou realized what was happening, after hearing the trembling in Zhu Junzi's ribs and the seductive sounds coming from his abdomen.

The two sounds are completely different in tone, but the inexplicable meaning they convey is almost identical.

At this point, Li Wushou hadn't really thought much about it. At most, he thought that the old snail and Zhu Junzi were from the same lineage and knew some similar methods.

It wasn't until inside the mountain, when Li Wushou saw the Bamboo Gentleman using its white silk roots to suck up flesh and blood, that Li Wushou realized something was wrong once again.

He sensed the scent of incense in the white hairs.

The white hair was originally the white hair of the bamboo gentleman, and it did not originally have the scent of incense.

And Zhu Junzi showed no trace of being a Shintoist from beginning to end.

This alerted Li Wushou.

After realizing that the white silk containing the power of incense could easily integrate into his body, Li Wushou secretly took it to heart.

Just then, Chen Gou'er said that the smell of the bamboo stalks was somewhat familiar. After leaving the cave, he saw the white bone cicadas covering the mountain and began to worship the gods.

Li Wushou finally realized that this Bamboo Gentleman must be a puppet!
There must be a religious figure behind him.

It was this person who used divine means to refine the White Bone Cicada clan, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract Li Wushou's marrow fluid, producing celestial dew to control the guests, and then nourishing Li Wushou's bones in return.

After the five white bamboo groves transformed into white whiskers and burrowed into his skeletal body, Li Wushou became even more certain of this.

At the same time, he also understood where the incense power in the roots of the white bamboo came from.

It is true that the bamboo gentleman is not good at the way of incense offerings, but the thousands of white bone cicadas in the white bamboo forest worship day and night, which is a different story.

Faced with all this, Li Wushou could no longer guess how he was any different from Xiao Panshan.
But would he use divine means to possess his own skeletal body?
After realizing this, Li Wushou calmed down, since he had made some preparations when he left the cave.

So just now he simply made the skeleton stay there obediently, allowing the five white bamboo dragons to easily burrow into the skeleton.

Thinking that I would have to eat anyway, this would save me some trouble.

Seeing the old snail's Dharma body lower its eyes and ask a question, Li Wushou couldn't help but smile.

"Who am I? I'm here to wish you a happy birthday, Master Zhu!"

"Hmph~!"

The old snail's Dharma body gave a soft rebuke, which echoed continuously in the valley like thunder.

He stared at Li Wushou, feeling somewhat apprehensive. The other man's strangeness and difficulty were still fresh in his memory.

This centenary of Zhu Junzi's birth is also the most important day for him in planning the sacred relics, so he cannot afford to be careless.

Therefore, he has been guarding the entrance at the foot of the mountain for the past few days, observing the guests coming and going to offer birthday greetings, and remaining vigilant.

Whenever he encountered a new face, he would step forward to test it. This Li Wushou was no different from the previous guests who had been fooled on their first visit.

He naturally didn't take it to heart, but ever since the other party went up to the mountaintop, things became increasingly strange and unpredictable.

Just now, they unexpectedly captured the White Bone Cicada, the puppet body he had refined with his mind.

Even though the other party was standing right in front of him, he could no longer sense any trace of the puppet white bone cicada's aura.

This is not something that can be achieved through simple immortal techniques.

Moreover, the sudden appearance of the phantom and the domineering incense offerings poured down from it made him even more wary.

He had already taken control of the sacred bone and was just waiting for his avatar to take over so that he could completely refine it. He didn't want any more complications. If the white bone cicada was lost, he could just refine another one. He had refined all the white bone cicadas on the mountain, so he could always refine one that suited his taste.

Having made up his mind, the old snail slowly spoke:
“Since you’ve come to offer birthday wishes, and what happened earlier was just a misunderstanding with no real grudge, how about we let it go?” Li Wushou nodded casually, seemingly quite agreeing with the suggestion.

The old snail calmed down a bit. He wanted to end the conflict here as soon as possible. It would be best if the other party could shake hands and make peace. As for his displeasure, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Just as he was about to speak to ease tensions, he saw Li Wushou, who was nodding, take a few steps in mid-air, casually toss a few pebbles he had picked up from somewhere, and then suddenly speak:
"I came to celebrate your birthday, but before I even went up the mountain, Zhu Junzi tricked me out of two of my best spines."

Then the earth's energy surged forth. I first offered a dozen or so spines to the Bamboo Gentleman to plant white bamboo. Then I took the lead and rushed into the cave to help the Bamboo Gentleman suppress the earth's energy and quell the chaos.

After you came up, how did you treat me? You ignored me and immediately unleashed a barrage of white bone cicada arrows at me, and then slashed at me with your seven-legged sword!

"But you say it's a misunderstanding, so it is! Since it's a misunderstanding, how about Zhu Junzi compensates me for my losses, and we can let this misunderstanding go?"

The old snail's aura faltered. What the other party had said made him the one in the wrong today?

However, he didn't have time to argue with Li Wushou about who was right and who was wrong. Suppressing his anger, the old snail asked:
What compensation do you want?

Li Wushou, unperturbed by the sight, slowly extended two fingers and said in a deep voice:

"Don't worry, I'm a very fair person. Just agree to two requests: first, compensate me for this palace of bones beneath my feet; second, let me reclaim the seven cuts. How about it?"

"Hahaha"

No sooner had Li Wushou finished speaking than the old snail in the sky raised its head and let out a loud laugh.

The laughter stopped abruptly. Pointing at the skeletal body, he leaned down to look at Li Wushou, his face mocking yet his words chilling as he asked:

Why don't you just tell me to compensate you with this sacred body?

Li Wushou was taken aback, then slowly shook his head.

The old snail's Dharma body revealed a slight smile, showing that it still had some self-awareness!

But then Li Wushou slowly said, "This skeleton? He doesn't need you to compensate him; he was originally mine!"

Upon hearing this, an eerie silence fell over the mountaintop.

Even with the wisdom of an old snail, it took a long time for it to recover.

"Are these bones yours?"

Li Wushou nodded, and seeing that the old snail's Dharma body was still in astonishment, he greeted it quite politely.

"If you won't give me this compensation, then I'll have to take it myself!"

The moment he finished speaking, Li Wushou stood above the Bone Palace, his hands forming a hand seal, and the three seeds he had just thrown around the Bone Palace began to take root.

Two of the three seeds came from the man and the monkey in the forest, and the third was his own blood seed.

The palace of bones was filled with the scent of incense; he couldn't possibly let it go.

The tree sprouted, and this time the plant was different from the previous one. It was more like flesh and blood than a plant. Apart from not having the scent of incense, it was somewhat similar to the sacred tree of the Luotou clan.

The fleshy branches spread rapidly, extending from three directions, firmly binding the palace of bones to the fleshy branches.

From a distance, it looks like a den of flesh and blood.

The old snail's face darkened, and with a sudden thought, the earth began to shake violently.

A large amount of incense sank into the palace of bones, and then the palace of bones tore at flesh and branches, about to soar into the sky.

Seeing this Yin-Yang Dharma Domain pressing down, Li Wushou once again pinned the White Bone Palace to the mountaintop.

The palace of bones trembled continuously, and the once magnificent palace disappeared, turning into a giant white jade snail shell in the blink of an eye.

Li Wushou was taken aback, and then he couldn't help but be speechless.

No wonder the other party was so angry, it turns out it was his shell?

If that's the case, then it's even more inappropriate to return it to the other party.

Sensing that the incense smoke inside the snail shell was growing stronger, Li Wushou touched his brow, and the Three Immortals Pavilion, along with the low mountain, appeared, replacing Li Wushou and pressing down on the White Bone Palace.

He leaped into the air, grasped a wisp of incense smoke in mid-air, and charged towards the old snail's Dharma body.

The old snail sensed the domineering aura emanating from the incense smoke at the Three Immortals Pavilion once again, and its heart trembled.

Seeing Li Wushou rushing towards him with incense in his hand, he sensed something was wrong and for a moment forgot about his snail shell.

The Dharma Body formed a mudra with both hands, and the space in front of him suddenly distorted.

With a single step, the Dharma Body passed by Li Wushou and rushed straight towards Li Wushou's skeletal body.

The moment it approached the skeleton, its limbs and spine suddenly flashed with dazzling white light. The old snail's Dharma body rushed forward and directly merged into Li Wushou's skeleton body.

Suddenly, a phantom appeared in the empty skull, with a human-faced snail floating inside.

The skull's jaws snapped open, and it roared at Li Wushou, "Boy, no matter who you are, I'll kill you!"

Li Wushou slowly turned around and casually returned the incense stick in his hand to the Three Immortals Hall.

Looking at the ferocious, skeletal body, a smile appeared on his lips.

Did we finally get in?

(End of this chapter)