Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 384 Flesh and Blood Metamorphosis, Holy Embryo and Holy Spirit
Li Wushou sped along, crossing vast stretches of flesh-and-blood forests.

As they went deeper, a sound like the beating of a drum reached their ears.

The blood and flesh essence in the world became increasingly restless, and Li Wushou, hiding in the body of the hungry ghost, felt his own flesh and blood throbbing constantly.

Although his invisible golden core had just devoured a large number of puppets, it had not yet digested them and was still under suppression.

Therefore, this is not a mental or psychological influence, but simply a physical or bodily disturbance.

It's as if one's own flesh and blood are slowly separating from one's mind and spirit, giving birth to one's own thoughts.

Realizing this, Li Wushou simply let go of his mental control over his physical body, wanting to see what was going on.

The next instant, his heartbeat paused, then resumed, but it merged with the drumming sound of heaven and earth. In the instant the two overlapped, fleshy tumors grew on Li Wushou's body.

These lumps, about the size of an infant's fist, emerged from the flesh and began to wriggle, with the faces of effigies slowly appearing within them.

Li Wushou looked around at himself and realized that he looked somewhat similar to the doll-like aggregate made up of heads in the blood and flesh swamp earlier.

What kind of sound is this that can affect his physical body?
Li Wushou was also somewhat surprised by this!

Moreover, it seemed to affect more than just the physical body; he could sense that as the tumors grew, the doll's face became clearer and clearer.

A mixed soul was born inside the puppet, clamoring to merge with Li Wushou.

His own mind gradually became agitated by the puppet's roar.

Even the puppets he had devoured within the invisible golden core began to roar, as if trying to break free.

Li Wushou raised an eyebrow, reached out and yanked a puppet out of his body, crushing it in mid-air. The next instant, more tumors grew on his body, each puppet in the process of being conceived.

The puppet that grew out of his body had the same characteristics as the puppet in the previous blood and flesh swamp!
With a sudden thought, my heart stopped beating, breaking free from the thunderous pounding of my heart.

In an instant, the mind regains control of the body!

Stand still in the void and silently recite "Food is the most important thing in the world".

The fleshy tumor on the body was swallowed back into the body, and the puppet inside the invisible golden core was also partially digested before the restlessness of the body and mind subsided.

But for some reason, Li Wushou felt that his connection with heaven and earth had become even deeper.

This seems to be a form of assimilation?
Could it be that if I stay here long enough, I'll be assimilated into a citizen of the Holy Land?
Li Wushou was puzzled, but he knew this was not a good thing; it seemed the puppets here weren't so delicious after all.

With a sudden thought, he continued rushing towards the direction of his heartbeat.

After entering the Holy Domain, we did not see the Blood Buddha or the other Nascent Soul cultivators. They are very likely at the source of that heartbeat, exploring the secrets of this Holy Domain.

Before long, the flesh and blood forest beneath their feet was no longer silent, but seemed to come alive and began to writhe. A large number of puppets emerged and kept bowing in the same direction.

Li Wushou stared intently, and the sky in the direction the puppet was bowing was blood red.

The sky is like a membrane, and a huge, bluish-black fascia hangs down, with a heart as big as a small mountain hanging from it. The restless heartbeat comes from this heart.

Around the heart, Li Wushou finally saw the Blood Buddha and the other Nascent Soul cultivators. There were fewer than Li Wushou had estimated, only eight of them!

These people had solemn expressions, their eyes fixed on their hearts.

Occasionally, puppet heads would emerge from their bodies, clamoring to merge with them, clearly indicating that they too had undergone the same flesh and blood mutation.

They kept their minds focused, and the doll heads on their bodies were more or less numerous.

But unsurprisingly, no one erased the heads of these puppets, allowing them to accumulate on their bodies.

These people must have understood the pattern that the puppets would multiply after they were killed.

However, there is one exception: the Blood Buddha!
Although Li Wushou was familiar with the Blood Buddha, this was the first time he had seen him in person.

Contrary to his impression, the Blood Buddha wore a black and white kasaya, had a fair complexion, no hair or eyebrows, and apart from his long ears that reached his shoulders, he looked like a refined young master from a noble family.

They looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, and it was hard to tell if they were male or female.

Li Wushou did not see a doll's head on him, nor even a tumor. Standing outside that heart, compared to the other Nascent Soul cultivators, he looked like a holy monk!
The moment Li Wushou approached, before anyone else noticed, Li Wushou realized that the Blood Buddha's gaze had already turned towards him, his eyes deep and devoid of any emotion.

The two exchanged a glance, and Li Wushou's gaze was already caught in a whirlpool.

Turning his gaze away, Li Wushou suddenly felt a surge of apprehension.

How dangerous! How domineering!
With a quick glance, Li Wushou could not detect any aura from the other party. Although the other party was standing here, it seemed as if he was independent of heaven and earth.

Li Wushou had only ever sensed this transcendent feeling in one type of person: the Great Venerable!
Although the Blood Buddha lacked the overwhelming sense of pressure that Wu Zhuangyuan possessed, the feeling it gave him was no less than that of the Sparrow Lord who revealed his incarnation in the Five Directions City.

Could it be that the Blood Buddha is about to break through to the Great Venerable realm?
Moreover, he couldn't detect that irresistible sweet scent of flesh and blood on the Blood Buddha. Was it because the body was flawless, or was there something wrong with the Buddha's body?

As Li Wushou pondered, the other Nascent Soul cultivators also noticed his presence. One of them, a faceless Taoist with puppet heads growing from his neck, suddenly called out to Li Wushou, "Lord of Hungry Ghost Mountain, you've come too?"

Li Wushou nodded slightly and replied politely, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wuxiang!"

Li Wushou had seen information about this Taoist priest from both the talisman master and Zhizhu. He was one of the four giants of Luofu City, and his forces had many business dealings with Hungry Ghost Mountain.

Of course, the other party wasn't the only one with whom he had business dealings. Li Wushou greeted the other four people in the same way:

"Greetings to Fellow Daoist Ba, Fellow Daoist Qu, Fellow Daoist Lu, and Fellow Daoist Tianning!"
Baron, Qujiang, and Lu Xingzhi were the other three giants of Luofu City.

According to the feedback, Wuxiang and Qujiang are forces cultivated by Fubo Domain, while Balong and Lu Xingzhi are backed by Fengling Dao.

As for Daoist Tianning, he is based on Tianning Mountain, south of Luofu City. Like Hungry Ghost Mountain, he is a unique force in Luofu City.

He wandered between the Sealed Spirit Path, the Fubo Domain, and the Central Domain.

As for the remaining two, he didn't recognize them, but he assumed they were from the Central Region, so Li Wushou didn't greet them.

The people from Luofu City responded politely to Li Wushou's greetings, and then they all looked at Li Wushou with some curiosity.

The Taoist Wuxiang suddenly asked with some doubt:
"Mountain Lord, are you not afraid of the Holy Embryo's erosion?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention turned to Li Wushou.

Li Wushou did not rush to answer, but instead asked in return, "What is the Holy Embryo?"

Seeing that Li Wushou was confused, the Taoist Wuxiang didn't mince words and directly explained:

"This sacred domain, submerged in the Domain River, is constantly nourished by the essence of flesh and blood, and the originally dilapidated heart of heaven and earth is activated and slowly recovers."

This heart is the heart of the sacred realm, and also the heart of a former great being.

At this moment of revival, it is about to give birth to a sacred embryo, which is the spirit of heaven and earth. Eating it will allow one to glimpse the Dao of the Great Venerable.

As for its erosion, do you see this world gradually turning into flesh and blood, and our physical bodies as well?

Upon hearing this, Li Wushou's bloodshot eyes flashed with greed, and he murmured:

"Can one glimpse the Dao of the Great One by consuming it?"

This behavior was very much in line with his identity as a hungry ghost. Wu Xiang and the others knew the temperament of hungry ghosts, so they didn't show any emotion. However, the two people from the Central Region were somewhat disdainful of Li Wushou's sudden emotional outburst.

These strange creatures who attained enlightenment must have had extremely poor mental states!

Li Wushou noticed their disdain but ignored it, and laughed heartily at Wuxiang Daoren:

"So this is the erosion of the Holy Embryo? I thought I had food poisoning!"

As he finished speaking, he opened his mouth and spat out the fleshy skin that had been roaring, which hung down to his lips, with fleshy growths clinging to the skin.

“I ate some of these tumors, but they grew even more. Although this is a good thing, as it allows me to keep eating, I felt something was wrong, so I put them in my stomach for now.”

Everyone then realized what was happening.

The Taoist Wuxiang was somewhat disappointed. He had thought that the hungry ghosts would have some way to deal with it, but he hadn't expected that they were affected in the same way as them.

Just then, the Blood Buddha, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke and asked:
"Hungry ghost benefactor, may I ask when the Holy Envoy of the Azure Lotus will return?"

Li Wushou quietly turned around, looked at the Blood Buddha, and asked in return with an unchanged expression:

"The Azure Lotus Envoy? Fellow Daoist Azure Lotus has come too? I haven't seen him."

Upon hearing this, Blood Buddha glanced at Li Wushou, nodded slightly, and did not ask any further questions.

Looking around at everyone, he spoke softly:
"The Holy Embryo is about to be born. Since the Holy Envoy of the Azure Lotus does not know when he will return, this humble monk wishes to invite the Hungry Ghost Benefactors to gather the Nine Palaces to induce the birth of the Holy Embryo and share the Dao Fruit together. What do you all think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene suddenly became quiet.

As the Holy Embryo throbbed more rapidly, the alienation affecting everyone became more and more pronounced.

Dragging this out will do no good for anyone.

At this moment, they are still confident that they can eliminate the flesh mutation after leaving the Holy Land. If they delay any longer, things may change. It is better to act decisively and quickly.

Compared to the Azure Lotus Envoy, they preferred this not-so-bright hungry ghost.

After a moment's hesitation, the two from the Central Region replied:
"good!"

(End of this chapter)