Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 256 Review: The Changes in the Divine Soul Domain

Li Wushou stood still.

As they pondered, the noticeably bulkier shadow quietly returned.

These past few days, the shadowy figure has been switching between exhaustion and overeating, experiencing both pain and pleasure.

With the 30% income promised by Li Wushou, the shadowy figure's condition continued to improve.

Recently, it has been feeling a sudden awakening of its spiritual awareness, as if it were about to awaken. It vaguely senses that this will be a new beginning for it.

Therefore, it searches for prey with even greater effort!
Li Wushou glanced at the dark figure, took two deep breaths, and decided to go to the center of Evil Calamity Island to take a look.

Based on the information previously obtained by Elders Lü and Yuwen, this Evil King is skilled at concealment and can evade the detection of the two Floating Ancestors.

This demonstrates the opponent's capabilities, but it also shows that their strength isn't as terrifying as it seems.

Otherwise, why would you need to hide?
Moreover, since the other party was able to detect that someone was killing evil spirits and collecting star fragments on Evil Calamity Island, why didn't they show themselves and hunt down Li Wushou and the others directly?
It should be noted that cultivators above the Golden Core level who descend upon Evil Calamity Island will be repelled by the field.

The evil spirit king couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet the other party still chose to gather evil spirits.

This also suggests that the opponent's strength is probably not that great, but perhaps they are somewhat special.

Thinking of this, Li Wushou was actually quite excited. The fact that the other party could command all the evil spirits on Evil Calamity Island was enough to prove that the other party was extraordinary.

That ability is truly enviable!
Li Wushou happens to have another opportunity to refine an avatar!

If the Abdominal God can refine the other party into an incarnation, does that mean that the Three Immortals Pavilion will have another large granary where it can grow crops?

He toiled away in Huazhou, supporting the banner and waving the gods, all for the sake of getting a mouth to eat.
Phew~!

Breathe a long sigh of relief.

Li Wushou made up his mind and transformed into a streak of light, heading towards the very center of the island.

He had been distracted by visiting three places in the past few days, which had left him feeling somewhat mentally and physically exhausted.

Although the two incarnations, the Old Snail and the Bamboo Gentleman, do not require his constant control and have their own thought processes, Li Wushou still needs to observe and analyze them from his own perspective from time to time.

It wasn't that Li Wushou didn't trust the old snail and Zhu Junzi, but rather that the painter and the girl were too mysterious. Even Li Wushou couldn't quite see through their methods, so it was normal for the old snail and Zhu Junzi to be deceived and misled.

Fortunately, through these few days of covert investigation, Li Wushou has roughly pieced together some of the details.

In the Land of Misfortune, after swallowing the people of two cities, the Dragon King has retreated to Ehuang Valley and is currently in a stalemate with the True Lord of Haiyuan City.

The entire area under the jurisdiction of Haiyuan City is on high alert.

Logically speaking, this would be extremely disadvantageous for the painter in terms of refining incense offerings.

But this is normal. The artist didn't care about these things at all. The other party seemed to really like the inn in Wushi Town and had already stayed there.

Enjoying wine and listening to traditional opera every day is extremely leisurely.

It seems they have completely given up on refining incense.

However, based on the information returned by the white bone cicadas that the old snail had dispersed to Haiyuan City, Kaiping City, and Guifan City, Li Wushou noticed a clue.

That means your emotions are off!
In Kaiping and Guifan, a total of ten Golden Elixir cultivators perished in the dragon's belly!
These golden pills hold a pivotal position no matter where they are placed, even in Wangxian City.

But the message that came back from the old snail's informants in Haiyuan City was:

Although these families were dressed in white mourning clothes, they did not feel any sadness among the Golden Core families in Haiyuan City.

Some Foundation Establishment families, however, seemed to be living in constant fear, as if the sky had fallen.

These Foundation Establishment cultivators were all from newly established small families, or were rogue cultivators who had obtained some opportunities in Ehuang Valley.

This is very abnormal!

Even if one or two Golden Core cultivators die in the Suspended Mountain, it would be heartbreaking. If it were a family like the Seven Stars, some of the weaker Seven Stars might have lost all their ancestors.

Ten Golden Core cultivators, and they're so calm?
If Haiyuan City truly possessed such strength, then it would have attacked Wangxian City and destroyed Xuankong Mountain much earlier, and there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
Li Wushou always felt that these Golden Core cultivators died too easily!
Whether it was the resistance the Dragon King had shown when he consumed the golden pill, or the current reaction within Haiyuan City.

If these Golden Core cultivators didn't die at all, and only some low-level minions and ordinary people died, then the whole thing makes sense.

Therefore, Li Wushou guided the old snail to conduct an in-depth investigation into the mobilization of foundation-building personnel in Kaiping City and Guifan City over the past few days.

Under normal circumstances, it's impossible for Kaiping and Guifan to be entirely composed of ordinary small families at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The managers and stewards of each merchant guild are basically all at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Sure enough, after some investigation, the clues were easily found.

Two days before the Heavenly God Assembly was held at the Suspended Mountain, major merchants from Kaiping and Guifan cities summoned their core personnel to Haiyuan City to report on their work.

These people perfectly avoided the Dragon King's massacre of the city.

This basically confirms that there must be something wrong with those ten Golden Core cultivators!
The artist must have had prior contact with Haiyuan City to be able to remain so calm and collected.

Because after the Dragon King ate Kaiping and Guifan, it was as if he had swallowed the bait that he had buried long ago.

When Li Wushou confirmed this, he felt an unusual headache.

But if he were the Dragon King, he probably couldn't do any better than the Dragon King.

Originally, Li Wushou thought this would make raising the gods to heaven quite difficult, but Zhu Junzi's discovery made him even more uncertain about the painter's purpose.

After discovering the aged An Chengping at Anjia Farm, Zhu Junzi immediately returned to Wangxian City.

The first thing he inquired about was who the artists had painted for during the artists' convention.

Because the painter suddenly appeared as a candidate for the Heavenly God of the Void Clan, he has been a hot topic in Wangxian City during this period.

The other party's fame in Wangxian City naturally became a topic of much discussion.

Strangely, many people only know that the artist painted portraits of others, but few remember who those portraits were.

Zhu Junzi inquired about this with many people, but still couldn't find the answer.

Therefore, the only option is to target the already deceased Liu Mu.

The Liu family was, after all, one of the most prominent families, so Zhu Junzi didn't dare to be too presumptuous. Fortunately, Liu Mu's residence was not in the core area of ​​the Liu family, and after some effort, Zhu Junzi still managed to enter Liu Mu's house.

From the complaints of the other party's sixteen widows, Zhu Junzi finally found a clue.

That is, Liu Mu did indeed participate in the painters' conference. Whether or not she was painted by the painters is unclear to them, but Liu Mu did call out the name of a fox spirit named "Zhihua" every day after that day.

Even though Liu Mu is dead, they still feel indignant about it.

To be on the safe side, Zhu Junzi also checked Liu Mu's bedroom.

Li Wushou also didn't see a painting, but to his surprise, Zhu Junzi also discovered a half-built silkworm rearing room.

This connects to the matter of An Chengping, proving that the painting by the artist Yan Qiubai was indeed problematic.

The owner of the painting ages inexplicably, the painting disappears, and the silkworm room...
What exactly is this artist trying to do?
If the schemes within the Land of Misfortune were aimed at winning over the Dragon King through the path of incense offerings, then bribing Elder Yun was to collect more star fragments on Evil Calamity Island.

Both of these were for the purpose of raising up the heavenly gods, so Li Wushou could still understand.

So why create such bizarre paintings of people like An Chengping?

The artist and the mysterious girl's purpose was probably not as simple as just raising the gods.

And that mysterious girl has disappeared!
Li Wushou only confirmed this fact later through the perspectives of both the old snail and the bamboo gentleman.

That day, he was the first to board the golden flying boat and head to Evil Calamity Island. He thought the mysterious girl would follow the painter into the Land of Misfortune, but the old snail only saw the painter there. Later, through inquiries with Zhu Junzi, he learned that the mysterious girl had followed the heads of the families on the North Shore down the Suspended Mountain and entered Wangxian City.

But it has already vanished without a trace.

This was extremely unpleasant for Li Wushou; he hated the feeling of constantly guessing.

The artist and the mysterious girl harbored ulterior motives, which strengthened Li Wushou's resolve to go to the very center of Evil Calamity Island.

Almost all the remaining evil spirits of Evil Calamity Island are still gathered there.

He absolutely refused to miss out!
Once he has finished devouring and digesting Evil Island, Li Wushou will be much more at ease, no matter what schemes the painter and the mysterious girl may have.

As they sped along, the jungle beside them gradually thinned out, and the woodland beneath their feet quietly transformed into a black swamp.

Li Wushou occasionally saw some evil figures wandering in the swamp.

After traveling for a while, they encountered more and more evil spirits and monsters. Many of their natural enemies, who had fought each other to the death in the jungle, also gave up and lived together peacefully in a swamp.

This amazed Li Wushou. The Evil King's control over these evil spirits and monsters was truly strong, even managing to make them abandon their instincts.
Li Wushou unleashed a three-zhang-long Heaven and Earth Domain, merging himself into the void to resist the influence of the magnetic force.

Since arriving in this swamp, Li Wushou felt that the direction of the magnetic force had changed. It was no longer diverging or pulling, but had become something similar to gravity.

Moreover, the closer you get to the center, the stronger this gravity becomes.

This suggests that the fragment of the star must be buried deep beneath this black swamp, and it should be located in the very center of the swamp.

At this moment, Li Wushou was still far from the center, but the gravity exhibited here was already faintly approaching that of the largest piece of star fragment in Li Wushou's hand.

How big is this fragment of starlight?

Even Li Wushou, after a brief assessment, couldn't help but be somewhat taken aback!

Because the largest one in his hand is almost the size of a millstone, and given its current size, could it be a small mountain?
Is it still a fragment?

Just then, Li Wushou's mind stirred, and ripples appeared in the void not far ahead.

Upon closer inspection, I spotted two familiar figures.

Elders Lü and Yuwen stood silently in the void, gazing at the very center of the swamp.

At this moment, the two men looked hesitant and resentful, and they were exchanging words.

Li Wushou thought for a moment and decided to go and meet up with them.

After all, the evil king doesn't know what's going on yet, so the more people there are, the more targets there will be.

If something really goes wrong, Li Wushou isn't sure if he can outrun the Evil King, but he'll definitely outrun Elders Lü and Yuwen.

As soon as he got closer, Li Wushou's face darkened.

Because of the closer distance, Li Wushou's soul was also able to capture their conversation.

He had thought the two were discussing strategies for collecting star fragments, but it turned out they were just cursing him.

What ingratitude, what betrayal of trust, what disregard for the overall situation?
With a cold face and without saying a word, Li Wushou silently appeared seven or eight feet behind the two of them, now within their respective domains.

They thought the two would notice the touch of the Dharma Domain immediately.

To Li Wushou's surprise, the two of them, whether they were too engrossed in their insults or something else, failed to notice for a moment.

This startled Li Wushou, who was about to lash out; something seemed off about his domain.

Having just absorbed two mouthfuls of the shadowy figure's Yin energy, Li Wushou's golden core had been trembling slightly. He had initially thought it was because his golden core had become too sweet.

Upon closer inspection, Li Wushou actually saw a human-shaped phantom within his golden core.

Is this a phantom of my own soul?
By confining the domain to about three zhang through the illusory image of the divine soul, one could vaguely sense a feeling of dominating the three-zhang world.

This was not the illusion Li Wushou had when he first broke through to the Golden Core stage, but rather a sense of complete control. The flow of spiritual energy and the spatial patterns seemed to be right before his eyes.

Li Wushou had a feeling that if his soul were stronger, he could control the spiritual power of this three-zhang-wide space at will and understand the spatial patterns within it.

Is this what a Nascent Soul is?
But why is it only three zhang?

After Li Wushou discovered that he had concealed himself through this three-zhang-long Heaven and Earth Domain without even being detected by the two first-level Golden Core cultivators, he conducted an experiment.

After expanding his three-zhang domain to six zhang, the two continued to chatter silently like the gossipy women at the village entrance, clearly still unaware of what was happening. However, Li Wushou had lost the sense of control he had felt earlier.

This clearly does not conform to Li Wushou's understanding of the Nascent Soul stage.

So what is this?

A three-zhang Nascent Soul cultivator?

Li Wushou was somewhat amused and exasperated, but he was still just one step away from reaching the next level. He would wait until his spiritual soul advanced further before making any progress, and maybe he would directly reach the Nascent Soul stage at that time?
Seeing that Elders Lü and Yuwen were still venting their anger, Li Wushou suddenly opened his domain with all his might.

The domain of the Dharma has increased from nine zhang to eighteen zhang!

Elders Lü and Yuwen instantly felt a chill run down their spines.

Their expressions changed simultaneously, and their minds tensed instantly.

"Is it that evil spirit king?"

Elder Lu looked warily toward the center of the swamp.

Elder Yuwen's expression was also somewhat unpleasant. This place was still far from the center, so how could they have targeted them so quickly?

Just as he was about to respond to Elder Lü, he suddenly heard a clear, cold echo in his ear:

"it's me!"

Elder Yuwen and Elder Lü were both taken aback, then exchanged a glance and asked in surprise:
"It's you?"

"It's you?"

The two of them immediately realized that someone was behind them!
The Dharma Domain unfolded and attacked from behind.

In the next instant, he used his magic domain to create distance.

Although their attacks were hasty, they contained the power of the Dharma Domain. With their combined strength, even a Golden Core expert as strong as Elder Lü would suffer severe injuries.

But when the two of them saw the figure standing behind them, their expressions changed instantly.

"High Priest? Run!"

"Hiss! Dodge quickly!"

But it was too late. The two attacked with incredible speed, instantly reaching Li Wushou.

The two men turned pale. Oh no!

Saying a few words is fine, but if they really hurt Li Wushou, they won't know how to explain it!
Li Wushou raised an eyebrow at the sudden attack from the two.

With a thought, the domain of law contracted back to three zhang, and the world was now under his control.

As his divine sense focused on the violent power churning the void, Li Wushou inexplicably felt a sense of being able to easily smooth it over. He uttered a soft shout, like the cry of the Dao:

"Destroy!"

(End of this chapter)