Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 353: Grand Festival Day, Canglan’s Ambition
The old man's corpse looked around at everyone.

His eyes, filled with white shadows, held a sinister smile. He could see the dramatic change in everyone's expressions, which gave him a sense of amusement.

He clapped his hands, and a cracking sound came from the temple facade behind him.

"Follow the light and enter your room."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, a beam of light shone from inside the temple, and the tense atmosphere among the crowd was inexplicably warmed.

The people standing in the front row exchanged glances and walked into the temple.

The lamps illuminated a path inside the temple, leading directly to the side rooms.

The side rooms are located on the right side of the temple, divided into two rows of thirty-six rooms each. As people approach, the doors automatically absorb the physical aura of the recommenders who are near them.

The same biographical information recorded on the gold card upon entering the city flashed across the door, and then his name appeared on the nameplate on the door.

Li Wushou found this scene novel; the capital city was indeed very secure.

He walked slower and slower with the group until he fell to the very back.

As Li Wushou passed by the old man's body standing at the door, he took out two gold beads from his pocket and respectfully handed them to the old man.

The golden pearl contained a rich incense energy. It was a pearl nurtured by the Di Mermaid God and was very beneficial for condensing Yin Spirit. Although it could only serve as a snack for Li Wushou, it was still very useful for this old Yin Spirit who had not yet established his divine position.

Therefore, the old man's eyes widened the moment he saw the golden pearl.

Without making a sound, the old man tucked the gold beads into his robes and looked at Li Wushou, asking:
"You come from the Di River?"

This old man also came from Jinjing River and was a respected figure who had previously recommended him. He had heard a little about the Di Jiao God.

Li Wushou nodded slightly and complimented, "Your Highness has truly discerning eyes!"

Seeing Li Wushou's attitude, the old man was even more delighted. Compared to the bunch of fools who rushed into the temple gate just now, this was the true potential of a god!

He was delighted inside, but sternly reprimanded her:

"I am merely a guide sent by the Second-Level Yin God Kingdom; how could I be called a 'Supreme God'?"

Li Wushou scratched his head, feigning embarrassment, and replied:

"I saw that you, senior, were a vast and powerful spirit with an extraordinary aura. I mistook you for a deity. Please forgive my poor eyesight."

The old man was overjoyed, his lips curving slightly upward, but because the corpse was stiff, the smile he revealed was somewhat eerie.

Clearing his throat, the old man replied:
"It's normal for you to be mistaken by your mortal eyes. Who are you looking for, this old man?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wushou's expression turned serious. He didn't rush to ask questions, but instead spoke sincerely:
“Senior, I must dare to correct you on this matter. Although I am but a mortal, I am always the most accurate judge of people. Senior, your divine demeanor has already been revealed, and it is only a matter of time before you are granted a divine position. I have no particular reason for seeking you out; I have only come to pay my respects out of admiration for your demeanor.”

The expression on the old man's stiff face changed somewhat lately. After Li Wushou finished speaking, the expression on the other party's face was still shifting from displeasure to joy, and then it completely blossomed.

Look at their behavior! Listen to what they say!
If I had been as insightful as the other person earlier, I wouldn't have taken so many detours over the years.

The old man, a spirit of the underworld, even began to reflect on his own life.

He patted Li Wushou on the shoulder, his heart filled with emotion, and saw Li Wushou into the temple, murmuring:
"Don't fall asleep at midnight tonight. I'll take you out of the temple to see the world."

Li Wushou was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then gave the old man a grateful look and entered the innermost room of the side room.

After Shui Sheng's name appeared on the door panel, Li Wushou entered.

Looking at the wisp of Yin spirit energy he held in his hand, Li Wushou showed a surprised expression. He had only intended to take advantage of the time while bribing the old man of Yin spirit energy to capture his Yin spirit energy and parasitize him.

In this way, he could also learn more about the situation of the grand sacrificial ceremony in half a month and the information about entering the subsequent five layers of kingdoms through this old man of the Yin God. These were things he urgently needed.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise. He thought he would have to stay in the side room for another half month, but he didn't expect that the old man of the Yin spirit could take him out!
This made Li Wushou less eager to parasitize the other party, since he could continue to interact with him at night and absorb more of his aura, making parasitism easier.

Who said this place is eerie and gloomy?
The people here are still very simple and honest!

At midnight, the temple remained as quiet as ever.

After a thrilling day, everyone was already asleep.

Midnight arrived quietly, and a slight clicking sound came from the door frame.

Li Wushou got up and opened the door. The old man of the Yin spirit stood outside the room with a smile.

Under the moonlight, the old man's body appeared much more lifelike than during the day, as if he were still alive.

Li Wushou glanced at the moon in the sky and noticed that the moon was different from the one he saw in the outside world.

Although it was still high in the west, it was now somewhat hazy, as if shrouded in a veil, and contained the power of incense. The fact that the old man's corpse became agile must be related to this moonlight.

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Wushou took out a bag of golden beads and handed it to the old man of the Yin God. There were about ten beads in total. Before the old man could speak, Li Wushou whispered:
"What merit do I, Shui Sheng, have to trouble a future deity to broaden my horizons? Senior's sincerity makes me feel extremely humbled. Please do not refuse and put my mind at ease! In the future, when I reside in the Yin God Kingdom, I will look up to you and enter the God Kingdom. This can be considered a token of my gratitude."

The old man with the Yin spirit took the golden pearl, and he vaguely felt as if he had ascended to the realm of gods!

My fondness for Li Wushou has reached its peak!

Originally, the purpose of entertaining Li Wushou was to befriend the Di Jiaoshen, since Li Wushou's ability to casually produce two golden beads indicated a close relationship with the Di Jiaoshen.

But at this moment, his utilitarian thoughts vanished, and he felt that Li Wushou was his confidant!
He warmly pulled Li Wushou along, and the two walked outside side by side. The moment they stepped out of the temple gate, the restless mind of the old Yin God was easily possessed by Li Wushou.

Through Li Wushou's constant hints and guidance, before even leaving the square of the Twelve Dragon Kings Temple, Li Wushou had already grasped a great deal of information about the Grand Sacrifice Day.

The old man, a spirit, was named Pu Liang, and he had been transforming spirits for over fifty years.

According to him, the grand sacrificial day is presided over by the King of Canglan, and on that day the sun and moon will appear in the sky above the capital.

The entire sacrificial ceremony will have three parts:

The first was that all twelve dragon kings entered the capital to offer sacrifices and incense to the twelve waterways;

After the offering of incense was completed, the capital city was bustling with activity. Then came the second part: the three heavenly gods performed a divine burial for the person who had recommended the person to enter the capital.

The number of spirits transformed by a spirit burial is uncertain, but it is generally around half.

The final step is to worship the Creator Canglan. The newly transformed Yin God, together with the Yin Gods of the entire capital, offers incense and sacrifices to the Creator Canglan with the entire Canglan Kingdom.

Pu Liang looked somewhat melancholy as he spoke.

In his entire life, he only entered the highest level of the capital on the day he first arrived. That grand ceremony was the most glorious moment of his life, and so were the 99% of the Yin gods in the entire capital.

Everyone has dreamed of becoming a god in one step, but after waking up, they only spent their whole lives burning incense in the underworld until the underworld god's lifespan ended and they turned into nothingness.

This is also why the capital was established as a physical kingdom; the Yin God Kingdom was too empty and boring.

If they are not allowed to experience even a trace of human life, many spirits will not be able to withstand it for long before their minds collapse.

Li Wushou listened quietly to Pu Liang's reflections, while his mind was constantly processing the information about the Grand Sacrifice Day. From this, he noticed something strange.

Pu Liang described the sun and moon appearing in the same sky twice, once the first time and once before, but the brightness of the sun and moon described in the two instances was quite different.

When describing the first time, Pu Liang said that when he transformed the Yin God to offer sacrifices to the Creator Canglan, the sun and moon in the sky were unusually bright, so bright that they could not open their eyes.

However, when describing the last time, he said the light was the same as usual.

Li Wushou initially thought it was because the other person was in a different mood and perceived the scenery differently, but after asking, Pu Liang replied:
“On the day of the grand sacrifice, the sun and moon are indeed not as bright as before. In the first few years after he entered the capital, the sun and moon shone brightly on the day of the grand sacrifice, but for the next fifty years they were just like any other day.”

This is quite intriguing.

When offering sacrifices to the creator Canglan, the incense from the entire Canglan nation for the whole year is used, and after the sacrifice, the sun and moon shine together!

So, for the next fifty years, the sun and moon no longer shone during the sacrificial rites. Does this mean that the incense offerings during those fifty years were used elsewhere?
Fifty years is not a short time, and the amount of incense offerings accumulated during that period is not small!

According to the information conveyed by Wu Zhuangyuan, this dilapidated divine realm will collapse soon. Li Wushou guessed that this was very likely the reason why the other party did not use incense to offer sacrifices.

The worship of Canglan is also a worship of heaven and earth, to make the world more stable.

But if the gods do not worship heaven and earth for fifty years, the collapse of the divine realm is inevitable!
The King of Canglan, as the chief priest, must have been fully aware of this, but since the other party still did it, there must be a reason why he felt it was worthwhile.

So it seems that Canglan really didn't die!
But their condition is definitely not good. They abandoned the broken divine realm and accumulated so much incense offering. Is this to get rid of the past and be reborn?
As the treasure that enabled Canglan to achieve its Dao, Canglan will certainly not give up the Eye of Canglan.

Therefore, on this grand sacrificial day, Canglan will inevitably appear to take away the Eye of Canglan.

Wu Zhuangyuan saw through this, so he informed the gods of the twelve continents to seize the Eye of Azure on the day of the grand sacrifice.

Li Wushou deduced the situation and felt that it was almost certainly true.

If Canglan had no way to escape, he wouldn't have diverted so much incense offerings and stood by while the divine realm collapsed.

Li Wushou felt that returning to the True God realm was a bit difficult, but there was no guarantee that the other party wouldn't want to raise a new Destiny Star in the Sixth Heaven.

Scheming to revive Xuandu, burying the divine realm and re-establishing the destiny star?
If everything is as Li Wushou thinks, these true gods are truly terrifying!

After reflecting on Canglan's ambitious aspirations, Li Wushou also felt a sense of admiration.

Just then, a slightly exaggerated female voice suddenly rang in my ears:

"Hey, isn't this Uncle Pu? Aren't you supposed to be guiding those greenhorns at the Dragon King Temple? What brings you to my Hundred Flowers Pavilion? Oh, and here's a handsome young man here too?"

Looking up, a middle-aged woman, her spirit possessing a heavily made-up corpse, rushed to Pu Liang's side, waving a handkerchief.

While joking with Pu Liang, he looked at Li Wushou with great interest, as if he wished he could swallow Li Wushou whole.

Pu Liang reached out and pulled the woman into his arms, pinching her back with his hand, and laughed heartily:
"This is my young master, who has just arrived in the capital today. Don't you dare make a move on him. Find a few pretty actresses and have them show off their skills so that my young master can broaden his horizons!"

The moment he finished speaking, a golden bead fell into the woman's chest.

The woman was taken aback, then a glint of shrewdness flashed in her eyes, and she agreed:

"Uncle Pu, just you wait and see! Plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, come down quickly, we have a distinguished guest."

A moment later, Li Wushou looked at the pile of beautiful corpses surrounding him and his mouth twitched.

What a sight to behold!

(End of this chapter)