Chapter Six: The Land of Peach Blossoms and the Immortal Bonsai
Heavy fog fills the deep valley.
The towering rock walls are also covered with clouds and mist.
On the top of the mountain, there are rows of buildings, exquisite and gorgeous, row upon row, antique, similar to temples in appearance, but they appear in such an inaccessible place, and I don’t know how they were built.
, it is indeed easy to think of an immortal mansion.
"The Jade fragment of the Four Souls is inside, but the person who uses it..."
Stepping down from the back of the dead soul insect, Kikyo frowned and sensed the aura of the jade fragments in the building complex built against the mountain, and quickly locked the specific location. However, what made her a little strange was that for a moment, she
I don’t know who the user of the fragment is.
"Is it a monster? It looks like a human again, but it doesn't look like a fairy."
Because before they were ready to come up, the fruits of the Human Face Fruit Tree suddenly opened their mouths. They retained the memories of their lives, but they were in even more pain and could not be relieved, and they suffered even after death.
The witch chatted with them for a while and found out that they were all victims of the human-faced fruit. They were poor people escaping from war and famine during their lifetimes. She heard that there was a Taoyuan Township here, a land of immortality, inhabited by immortal immortals.
Come to seek immortality and learn Taoism in order to find relief in this troubled world.
However, what they did not expect was that they and others had just escaped from the burning house, and then turned around and plunged into the wolf den. The immortals here did not intend to teach them magic, but regarded them as meat for consumption.
Animals... Some people were eaten directly by immortals, and some were used to feed human-faced fruit trees. In short, it just highlighted the word "tragic".
Platycodon is not sure what the situation is, thinking that it may not be an immortal, but a monster occupying this place, using the name of an immortal to eat people.
After going up the mountain, she was a little unsure now. The people living in the buildings on the mountain were definitely not immortals, but the aura coming out of it was really weird... That's not to say there was no evil spirit.
However, this kind of smell is mixed and impure, obviously coming from multiple weak spirits.
Spirits such as weasels and rats are probably the men behind the scenes. It is estimated that most of them are little spirits who can't even speak. Their combined quality is not enough to give the half-demon beside him a trace of evil spirit.
.
Glancing at Gu Mo inexplicably, Kikyo suddenly realized that she might have underestimated this guy. The monster blood he inherited might be very powerful, and she didn't know what kind of big monster he was. It seemed that there wasn't much in her memory that could match it.
on.
"Don't worry about this, we can just go in and ask each other..."
Gu Mo raised his hand and suggested. He already knew the other party's true identity, but he couldn't say it directly.
Glancing at him calmly, the witch didn't intend to express any opinions on this strange tactic. She just thought for a moment and pointed in a certain direction: "There is a road over there. Let's go first and see if we can explore more.
information, don’t take action directly yet.”
The direction she pointed was a staircase cut into the rock wall, leading to a deeper part of the mountain, and she didn't know what the scene was like inside.
As for how to explore the situation, it is natural to see if we can find other surviving victims, or capture a few little monsters for questioning. If we can learn more about it... the mastermind behind the scenes should still be in the upper building.
, seemed not to notice their arrival, this was a good opportunity.
"Okay, okay, I'll explore the way."
Gu Mo thought about it and didn't intend to persuade Kikyo to change his mind. Firstly, it was difficult for him to directly give out the corresponding information and explain the reasons for his uncertainty. Secondly, this habit of witches was actually quite good.
When facing an unknown enemy, make as many preparations as you can and never be careless.
Circling down the stone steps dug out of the rock, the corridor was dark and there was no sense of tranquility.
Not long after, the two of them walked into an inner room built in the inner space of the mountain. There was a square model like a sand table in the center. The length and width were each as high as a person. The proportions could be seen inside.
Shrunk roads, rivers, villages... and other things.
Around the inner room, there are various large and small jars or pots placed against the wall. The small pots are planted with green plants, but the large jars are sealed, and some have stones pressed on the lids.
, at first glance, it looks like the rural pickles that Gu Mo is familiar with.
I don’t know what is pickled inside, but there is a faint smell of salt in the air.
The miko also immediately noticed the bonsai placed on the ground in the center of the inner room. She looked around to make sure there was no danger, then walked quickly over and came to the bonsai, looking at the three-dimensional bonsai inside.
A smaller version of the beautiful landscape.
"What a mysterious spell, it seems to have been written by an immortal..."
Frowning her beautiful eyebrows slightly, Platycodon grandiflorum was a little confused. With her sharp eyes, she could naturally tell at a glance what kind of treasure this seemingly bonsai thing was.
Could it be said that there really is a Taoist immortal living here? But why would such a being do such violent and cruel acts? Logically speaking, even a monster and immortal would not be able to do such a thing... It seems that everything here
Absolutely weird.
"How magical, it makes me healthy..."
A strange light flashed in Gu Mo's eyes. This thing was really exciting. He was also fascinated by it and naturally wanted to see it.
"Be careful, don't stare all the time, and it's best not to get too close, otherwise you will be sucked in..."
The witch reminded me.
"What are you afraid of? Don't you still have Platycodon?" Gu Mo said with a smile. He came to the front of the bonsai and carefully looked at this square creation. He saw that it was surrounded by stone walls as high as a person in length and width. The topography inside was lifelike.
, they are all landscapes reduced in equal proportions, with a village in them.
The houses seemed much smaller than matchboxes, and the villagers, no larger than ants, were like small black dots, moving slowly on the roads and fields.
He clicked his tongue in surprise, and seemingly unintentionally used his body to cover the sight of Platycodon next to him. He stretched out his fingertips with his other hand and lightly touched the stone wall in front of him, and his passive identification ability was immediately activated.
An independent attribute page is mapped on Gu Mo's retina. On that translucent energy light screen-like interface, only he can see the flow of information flowing——
"Fairy Bonsai·Taoyuan Township."
"Origin: Musashi Country Taoyuan Mountain."
"Quality: Rare."
"Effect 1: Taoyuan Immortal has exhausted all the essence of his knowledge to create a strange treasure. The essence of bonsai is a subspace created by immortal magic, which can accommodate multiple different creatures to carry out activities in it. (Currently used capacity: 245/
1000)"
"Effect 2: The subspace created by magic can simulate different environments that are relatively isolated. By interfering with and transforming bonsai in the outside world, the internal environment can be changed, causing corresponding changes in the subspace. (Currently used capacity: 491/1000
)"
"Effect 3: The subspace created by magic has its own unique space-time structure, but it still depends on the real world to exist. The natural laws tend to be basically consistent with the external environment. Energy consumption can temporarily interfere with the basic physical rules to a certain extent.
”
"Effect 4: The subspace created by magic has its own unique space-time structure, but it still exists dependent on the real world. The speed of time passing is basically the same as that of the external environment. Energy consumption can temporarily interfere with the speed of time to a certain extent.
”
"Additional effects: The materials used in the bonsai are quite precious, and are incorporated with the spells and spells of Taoyuan Immortal. The durability is greatly enhanced and can withstand more blows."
"Remarks: The land of peach blossoms, the otherworldly place that everyone longs to pursue in troubled times, is just a bonsai in the fairy garden."
…………
Sure enough, it is also a gold-level treasure.
Gu Mo was enlightened, but he had also been exposed to different gold-level things, so he naturally knew that the classification of quality was a general concept. Within the same quality level, there were still distinctions between ranks and grades—
—
Just like the comprehensive evaluation of the scene he received, it is also a B-level, but there are also differences between B and B-.
There are also items sold in stores, or two different items. One item only requires one bronze key to redeem, while the other item may require three bronze keys to redeem. Of course, they are all of bronze quality.
classification, but there are also huge gaps between them.
The difference in value is often an important reference for measuring quality.
And this thing is indeed very valuable, but it is probably at the standard gold level. It is still not as good as the top quality Loki mask. It is so powerful that it is unreasonable... Of course, Gu Mo will not be angry because of this.
Disliked, he directly tried to collect it.
——Although this belongs to the old immortal, but the old immortal has been killed, he will naturally not be polite to the Taoguo man who now occupies the magpie nest.
And if such a precious thing is placed here, isn’t it meant to tempt him?
Then...
No response, collection failed.
Gu Mo suddenly frowned. Is it because this thing is still running and there are living people inside, or is it because of other reasons? For example, it is like the barrier of the dog general on the iron broken tooth.
, except for Inuyasha, others generally cannot use it.
Maybe this bonsai cannot be moved because of the old immortal’s spell?
Well, it seems to be a very possible thing. Otherwise, Taoguo people should also move it to a place where they can see it at any time, right?
With this thought flashing through his mind, he simply stopped trying to treat this thing as an equipment prop and put it in his inventory. Instead, he leaned down slightly, grabbed the stone wall of the bonsai with both hands, and then suddenly
Use force! All the muscle power bursts out at this moment.
As a matter of course, the bonsai remains motionless.
Sure enough, this won't work. This thing doesn't look big, but maybe the landscape inside has been shrunk in proportion? Even if I had tremendous strength, I might not be able to move the huge weight of such a landscape.
Because it was expected, he was not disappointed, but straightened up and nodded thoughtfully.
"What are you doing?" The witch next to you asked calmly.
"It's nothing, I want to try to see if I can put this thing away..." Gu Mo blinked, turned his head and looked at her, and said this very calmly, without being embarrassed at all.
The witch ignored him, but looked around, and then walked to the urns on the wall. After a slight hesitation, she reached out and opened the lid. Her face, as delicate as a doll's, immediately showed unbearable expression.
color, because what is pickled inside is human beings.
Gu Mo, who was not far behind him, could see it clearly. He also felt a little nauseous. He couldn't help but twitch his lips. This level of bloody cruelty had reached the point of being a bit curious. For a small child,
The man he was six months ago might even be vomiting out his bitterness now.
"This peach man cannot stay."
Platycodon said coldly, she believed that the peach man here could never be a fairy, but could only be an extremely ferocious cannibal monster.
"I 100% agree with you, Platycodon grandiflorum." Gu Mo nodded repeatedly. It's not a particularly difficult BOSS, but the drop list is so tempting, so of course he can't keep it.
"Let's go and continue to look ahead." The witch didn't plan to deal with these urns for the time being, but turned to look to the other side. On the other side of the inner room with the fairy bonsai, there was another path from the rock wall.
The tunnel opened up leads to a deeper place.
It's deep and dark, I don't know where it leads, and it seems to hide more sins.
However, both of them have no fear. After all, one is the strongest miko of this era, and the other is familiar with the plot and knows everything about this place. Naturally, there is nothing to be afraid of.
They circled all the way down the stone steps. The space in the heart of the mountain was complicated and quite huge. There were many forks in the road, and different corridors led to different directions. It was like walking through a dark underground tomb passage.
, if ordinary people come here, they may not even know the direction, and they may just go around in circles.
However, the witch could easily tell the direction, and she seemed to have a specific goal. Gu Mo didn't ask, just followed her happily.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the end of the last corridor.
It is another inner room built into the mountain, but outside there are railings and carved windows, and you can see the blue sky and the mountains in the distance, which seems to be close to the surface of the rocky mountain wall. This space is even larger.
It's spacious, but there are more urns and baskets placed around it, as well as some baskets filled with skulls.
Kikyo looked around, frowning even more tightly, and soon her eyes were fixed on the corner.
There is a pot there, growing an unknown flower. The flower is as big as a basin in full bloom. In the core of the flower is the head of an old man with a white beard, his eyes closed, as if he is falling into a deep sleep.
"Immortal..."
Whispering to herself, the miko's eyes flashed with surprise as she recognized the nature of the head.
"Who..."
As if he woke up with a start, the white-bearded old man with only one head left in the flower pot opened his closed eyes, looked over tiredly and weakly, and then was stunned for a moment.
"Are you the immortal here? How did you end up like this?" The witch looked at the miserable state of the old man's head and asked calmly.
"Yes... you, you are..."
"Who is the Peach Fruit Man? We heard from the fruit of the Human Face Tree at the foot of the mountain that the immortals here are called Peach Fruit Man, and they want to use humans to refine the elixir of immortality." Gu Mo continued to ask, pretending that he knew nothing.
He looked like he was trying to get information from the old immortal who was living on the opposite side.
"Peach Fruit Man..." The white-bearded old immortal smiled bitterly, "I am Peach Fruit Man's master. He was originally one of my disciples, and he is just a human being."
"A human?" Kikyo raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, but he has turned into a monster now. His evil thoughts are very strong... I originally thought that he was just naturally indolent, but as long as he practiced hard, he could correct it, but I didn't expect it to be completely wrong. I was very wrong.
Wrong." The old immortal sighed, feeling heartbroken when talking about this matter.
"He took a peek at my secret book while I was out. In addition, after several years of practice, he also knew a little bit about the magic of immortality. He also happened to get a fragment of the Four Souls Jade during that time... I'll come back
I was unprepared and drank the water and wine he gave me, which was poison brewed from the human face fruit..."
"After that, he ate the body of my master, but he also coveted the secret of the elixir of life and wanted to know the correct method of making it from me, so he kept my head in this way, hoping to
It was only after I was forced to reveal this secret that I can survive until now with a sigh of relief..."
The old immortal started talking nonchalantly, explaining why he became like this and how this spiritual mountain where the immortal lived in seclusion became a lair inhabited by cannibal demons.
"That's it." Platycodon grandiflorum nodded gently, then turned to look at the surrounding jars and the human heads and skeletons piled directly into the baskets, "Then these are-"
"The Peach Fruit Man couldn't get the secret of the real elixir of life, so he tried to imitate it. He wanted to use the effect of the human face fruit to imitate the elixir of life... These, these are all during this period, because he came up the mountain without knowing the inside story, and suffered
Those who fall into his cruel hands." The old immortal continued to sigh.
His careless mistake and failure to clean up the family in time not only ruined his lifelong hard work, but also harmed the entire Taoyuan Township.
The other disciples who were originally accepted were also poisoned, and those who continued to go up the mountain to learn from their masters were also eaten by the Taoguo people one after another.
But it’s also because of the fragment of the Four Souls Jade. If Taoguo Ren doesn’t get that fragment, then no matter how evil he is, and no matter how careless the old immortal is, he can’t cause any trouble. The gap between the two sides is real.
It's a little too big.
"I understand..."
The shrine maiden thought about it and asked seriously, "Peach Man has become a monster, and there is also a Jade fragment of the Four Souls. Is that all there is?"
"Are you preparing to deal with him?" The old immortal hesitated a little, "He also has my ancient cane staff and wine gourd in his hand. They are both treasures that I have made with all my efforts. They are not easy to deal with..."
"Don't worry about this. The more powerful the magic weapon in Peach Man's hands is, the more I want to deal with him." Gu Mo said with a serious face.
The witch glanced back at him strangely. What kind of strange statement is this? Do you like to challenge the strong to surpass yourself?
"If this is really the case, please avenge me and the people who were eaten..."
The old immortal said very tiredly. He persisted until now, neither succumbing to the peach man, nor choosing to commit suicide. It was not because he was greedy for life and wanted to survive, but because he was waiting for a time to correct his mistakes.
.
"It's just that I have nothing to repay you, and I can't give you the secret of the elixir of life. It's really not a good thing... But apart from this, you can take everything else on this mountain, as long as you get rid of the Peach Man
This is a disaster."
"Old senior, you are wrong to say that... We slay demons and do justice for heaven, not for reward, but for the justice in our hearts!"
Gu Mo shook his head seriously and said righteously.
"By the way, is that bonsai fixed? Can I take it with me?"
"..."
"..."
Kikyo frowned, came closer, and bumped him covertly with her elbow.
Faced with such a turning point, the old immortal smiled helplessly, but he didn't care much. He just said seriously: "Of course this is possible, I can give you the magic to control it now...
...and my other magical skills, they are all recorded in the secret book. Except for the peach fruit man, they are all yours."