There were two other people walking along the winding road along the river bank. They were a modern young man wearing casual clothes and a cool woman wearing a witch costume, but they were walking in another direction.
Time after time, the morning light shoots towards the earth like a sword, gently disintegrating the remaining breath of the night. No matter what happened last night, the sun will rise as usual, and it seems that nothing can be overcome in the end.
"Let me ask you something first...are you planning to collect the Jade fragments of the Four Souls?"
The Witch Goddess looked calm and seemed to have recovered from the blow last night, at least it was not visible on the surface. She walked quietly in front and asked questions at the same time.
"It depends on the situation. If I encounter it, of course I will collect it..." Gu Mo's thoughts were spinning rapidly, but he still gave such an answer. He actually didn't really want the fragments of the Four Souls Jade. It's just that this is not the right time to say that you have no interest at all.
Although Kikyo is definitely willing to hear such words, it also means...she won't even have the only reason to go together.
"You want to harness their power?"
The miko's expression did not change at all, and she continued to ask while walking ahead. She had asked this question before, but the intention of asking it again now was obviously different from her previous intention.
Gu Mo pretended to think seriously for a while, but still shook his head: "If possible, I don't want to take this risk. You also said that each additional piece of fragments will bring more powerful power, but with it What will come is probably even more terrifying evil pollution.”
He blinked and added intentionally or unintentionally: "I don't necessarily need to use the other fragments to collect them, but if I don't collect them, someone will definitely come to me with other fragments in the end... …”
The miko walking in front nodded lightly. This reason makes sense. It is not to obtain more, but to take the initiative to prevent others from threatening... If this person's purpose of collecting other fragments is so simple, then I and him There seems to be no conflict with the fundamental positions.
Of course--
Regarding the question of whether the other party's statement is true or not, she needs to verify it personally later. She cannot unconditionally trust it simply because of a few questions and answers.
"Speaking of which, Kikyo, can you sense the other fragments of the Four Souls Jade?" Gu Mo breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked.
"Yes, but it can't be too far away, it must be nearby..." The witch nodded lightly.
As long as her location is not far from a certain Jade fragment of the Four Souls, she can detect the existence of the Four Souls Jade fragment with her own senses. Unlike the situation where monsters and monsters sense the active power of jade and are attracted to it, even if the fragment of the Four Souls Jade is just dormant quietly, no one notices it.
Its power has not been used by anyone, and no power or breath has escaped. No one should be able to detect the situation, but the exact location will be directly sensed by Platycodon.
This is a special ability that no one has. It is probably the strange ability that she acquired when she reincarnated with the Shikon Jade and reincarnated together again five hundred years later... From this perspective, Higurashi Kagome Also possessing this strange ability, the protagonist group also relies on it to travel around the country and collect scattered fragments.
Gu Mo nodded thoughtfully, and then said nothing more. He could also divine the location of other fragments through contact with the Jade fragment of the Four Souls he held, but that was a rough and vague idea. The result is fuzzy, making it difficult to pinpoint a specific location this way.
It is estimated that there are many mages, monsters, etc. who can do this kind of thing. After all, they always have a general direction to look for, and they cannot really just wander around, look for needles in haystacks, and purely rely on luck to collect fragments... But Even so, it's still very difficult to collect.
To be honest, if you really want the fragments, it would be a good idea to ambush Inuyasha and the others now... At this time, they have collected a lot of fragments, which seem to be as big as a small piece of jade, which is probably close to one-third of the full version. If you grab the pieces of one directly, you will become rich.
Gu Mo thought like this and stopped talking. The air between the two of them became quiet again unconsciously.
In fact, from late last night to now, the two parties have walked all night, but they have said less than twenty sentences to each other... As they walked along, neither of them discussed what happened last night, nor did they discuss it. He didn’t say anything else, and seemed to have formed a silent understanding——
It seemed that just because of Gu Mo's previous invitation, Kikyo also made up his mind to leave, and the two of them naturally set out on the road together.
——But it could also be that Kikyo was in a bad mood at the time, failed to think things through, and the decision she made was affected by her fixed mindset...
Gu Mo still felt that this unfolding was slightly unreal. He was walking on the rugged road, feeling the air where the witch passed by in front of him, and the faint scent of medicine that was left behind briefly. He was thinking like this in his mind. Then, a strange thought came to mind.
After all, he actually didn't expect it to turn out like this. In fact, just yesterday, he had given up on his original idea and was ready to hit the road by himself. But he didn't expect that in just one day, the situation would take a turn for the worse.
Although he had already considered this possibility when the old monk appeared, he didn't expect it to go so smoothly... Especially the moment when Platycodon said "Let's go", he almost didn't react. The words I came here were spoken to myself.
Because he knew that platycodon might cause her to make up her mind to pick up the long bow and arrows and embark on a journey to the Warring States Period. But he didn't have too much hope for her to join his team, because in her original destiny, the miko chose to be alone.
Even when facing Inuyasha and others, she did not choose to go with them... Although it must be due to the existence of Higurashi Kagome, Kikyo's behavior style can also be seen from it.
——So it’s not strange that Gu Mo has such thoughts and doubts now.
——After all, Kikyo can make her own way, just like her original destiny.
However, it is always easy for people to fall into a misunderstanding, that is, when facing a certain problem, if someone gives some specific choices for this problem, the thinking of the person concerned will seem to be limited, and they will subconsciously feel that they have to do it. Make a decision among the specific choices given.
Either choose this or that, you have to choose one...
Completely forgetting that besides these choices, there may be more room for free operation, and I don't necessarily have to choose among them.
This may be the case for Platycodon. In Gu Mo's opinion, she was shaken by her situation first because of the old monk's words, and then because of the instinctive fear shown by Xiao Ye later, which intensified her melancholy at that time. Her state of mind prompted her to hastily and truly make up her mind to leave.
The last thing is the invitation that Gu Mo sent before, which is also a subtle influencing factor——
She refused the invitation because she didn't want to leave the village, and when she wanted to leave the village, she didn't necessarily have to accept the invitation. It's just that the miko was probably in a wrong mood at the time. She was too sad, hasty and melancholy, so she didn't think too much about it, and subconsciously made a choice between "staying in the village" and "accepting the invitation to leave"...
Gu Mo looked thoughtful as he tried to analyze the witch's psychological activities at that time.
But at this moment, the miko walking in front suddenly stopped and stood still.
Gu Mo, who was walking behind, was careless and kept walking absentmindedly, and almost hit the car directly. Fortunately, he reacted in time and stopped the car at the last moment. The miko looked back at him with a strange frown, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she pointed at the river next to her——
"Look at the one in the river." She said calmly.
Um?
Gu Mo blinked his eyes and looked in the direction that Platycodon was pointing. He saw a dark object rising and falling among the waves on the rushing river in front of him, and it happened to be floating by the two of them. .
After seeing clearly what that thing was, he suddenly exclaimed: "Huh? Wait, is that thing a human head? Did something happen upstream of the river?"
He watched the head sink and float on the water, and then an idea flashed through his mind, as if he thought of something, and he shook his head repeatedly to deny his subconscious reaction: "No, this seems to be the Human Face Fruit. "
Kikyo opened her mouth and was about to explain, but found that this person had already reacted in time. She was not surprised and just nodded slightly: "It's the human face fruit... There must be such a demon tree growing upstream. I don't know how far it has grown. I may have eaten a lot of people.”
As she said this, her delicate brows knitted together tightly.
Because I saw several "human heads" floating down one after another from the river upstream, and there seemed to be more floating down behind.
These fruits are as big as footballs, with human facial features on the surface, and the skin is the same color as skin, and there are even hairs on the top...
If there weren't any wounds or blood stains, it would really look like a decapitated human head... At this moment, such "human heads" are floating down one after another from the upstream...
Platycodon couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. The fruits produced by the Human Face Fruit are all shaped like human heads, hence the name.
But if it wants results, it will eat people. Because it is a man-eating demon tree, those who are eaten will be transformed into the fruit of the human face fruit... It is not ruled out that someone occasionally dies near the demon tree, so that this demon tree can bear fruit in twos and threes, but right now it is just smooth. There are so many ripe fruits flowing down...
Maybe someone is specifically feeding the demon tree, or maybe the demon tree has become a climate.
"emmmmm...this thing is really curious."
Gu Mo was already squatting by the river, pulling out a long metal fishing rod from his jacket pocket, hooking a fruit with the line and dragging it back.
Throwing aside the fishing rod created by projection magic, he grabbed a tuft of hair and picked up the fruit. He looked at the human facial features growing on it and the closed eyes. For a moment, he felt a strange illusion in his heart, like He had really beheaded someone, and he was holding the other person's head in his hand to examine it.
This feels so perverted.
"The Human Face Fruit is the fruit of the demon tree. Although eating it can temporarily gain strength, it will cause you to lose your mind..." The witch behind her looked at it quietly and said calmly.
"Don't worry, I don't want to eat this kind of thing..." Gu Mo twitched the corner of his mouth. He was not so crazy. This is not the ginseng fruit of Immortal Zhenyuan. He dared to look like this. How confident he must be. !
I took a look at the attributes marked by the system, and it was basically what Kikyo said.
Throwing away the fruit in his hand, he turned around and looked in the direction of the witch: "Then let's go take a look. We are going this way anyway."
…
…
On the other side——
In the previous village, Higurashi Kagome and her party had followed the clues to this place, but they had failed because their target left overnight late last night, and now they don’t know how far they have gone. The distance will naturally prevent them from meeting each other.
"Miko-sama is really a good person..."
"Why did you just leave without saying a word to us?"
"I didn't see Miss Kikyo go out today, so I felt something was wrong, and so did Mr. Mo..."
"It's all the fault of those two monks yesterday! It must be their fault! Damn it! I should have broken their legs right then!"
Faced with the visit of Inuyasha and his entourage, it was discovered that they were inquiring about the whereabouts of their beloved miko. The villagers, who were already mad, thought at first that they were just like the two hateful bald donkeys yesterday, and they couldn't help but express their feelings. It was so violent that he almost rushed up with a hoe and a dung fork.
After finally explaining clearly, the misunderstanding was eliminated, and the villagers also complained bitterly, indicating that the miko-sama had left overnight last night. While they were lamenting and sighing, some were gnashing their teeth and hating the profession of monk.
After all, when they think about it, it's all because of the two bald donkeys from yesterday! Otherwise, the beloved Miss Kikyo will not leave!
"Why do I always feel like they want to beat me to death..."
Master Maitreya had a stiff smile on his face, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The villagers from all directions looked at him very unfriendly, which made him feel huge pressure.
The silver-haired half-demon wearing a red fire rat fur and a pair of dog ears on his forehead was silent and looked at the village in front of him quietly.
"Inuyasha..." The girl in the sailor uniform behind didn't know what she was feeling. She got clues about the two monks in the early morning and was about to find them. Inuyasha wanted to come by himself and didn't want them to interfere...or should I say , because he didn’t want her to interfere.
Taking a deep breath, she was about to say something when she realized that Inuyasha had already walked forward.
Several people looked at each other, glanced at each other, and then walked up. Not long after, they arrived in front of a house at the edge of the village. Although it seemed different from other houses in the village, there was a faint medicinal fragrance lingering in the air. Kagome Higurashi suddenly realized that this was Kikyo's previous residence?
"Who are you?!"
Just at this time, the door curtain of the room was opened, and a little girl who was a little lost walked out of it, followed by a group of other half-sized ghosts, all of whom seemed to be in low spirits and quite depressed.
When she went out, she saw several strangers standing in front of the house. The little girl immediately became vigilant and asked warily. After all, the person opposite was either a strangely dressed person or a half-demon or monster with obvious demonic characteristics. However, she did not see the other party negotiating with the villagers. They will naturally be on guard subconsciously.
Without saying anything, Inuyasha looked through the window and glanced at the empty room. He sighed: "Let's go... Kikyo has left here and will not come back."
"You're talking nonsense! Sister Kikyo will definitely come back!"
When the little girl heard this, she immediately blurted out angrily and shouted loudly.
She was frightened last night. After all, she was still a child, so she couldn't blame her for her instinctive reaction at that time. But after the two left, she realized what she was doing, and she immediately felt regretful and upset. Even though she was immature, she still vaguely understood that it was probably her behavior at that time that made the miko sister leave sadly.
However, it is difficult even for an adult to look directly at his or her own problems, to avoid reality and to deny the facts, let alone a child.
So Xiaoye also stubbornly believes that the miko sister will definitely come back, and so will the big brother! Now that she heard the firm words of the stranger across from her, she naturally couldn't bear it anymore and retorted loudly: "Sister Platycodon told me that she would not leave. She will stay here after she gets married to her eldest brother. It’s inside the village!”
That’s what the village chief grandpa said! That’s what everyone said!
absolute! This is definitely what it looks like! Xiaoye thought so stubbornly in her heart! She couldn't accept the fact that the two people just left the village.
"You...what did you say!!"
Inuyasha originally didn't care about the anger of such a little devil, and turned around to leave, but now he turned around suddenly, his eyes widened!
…
…
the other side.
The surrounding fog is misty and the visibility is very low. The sides of the river bank are no longer rocky beaches or deserted open spaces, but have become layers of uneven rock walls. The mountains are towering and the walls are thousands of feet tall, as if they are connected by a river. A deep valley where no sunlight can enter.
"Ah sneeze!"
Rubbing his nose casually, Gu Mo looked up at the big tree in front of him and said, "Is this the one? The Human Face Fruit Tree?"
This is a large tree with lush branches, exuding a sweet fragrance, growing on a protruding shoal on the river bank. The books are covered with fruits the size of a human head. At first glance, they seem to be huge. peaches, but in fact they are all "human heads".
The two of them followed the upstream direction of the fruit drifting until they found this place, and finally saw the source as they wished.
"This is it……"
The witch walked forward and looked up at the human-headed fruits on the tree. She frowned and said softly: "How could this demon tree grow in such a remote place and have the opportunity to eat so many?" A person, and...it’s not a monster.”
The demon tree is very spiritual, but it has not transformed into a real demon. It is still just a plant. It cannot jump or run, nor can it leave the place where it originally took root. It has always grown here.
"Someone is feeding it..."
If she looked up attentively, Kikyo's eyes followed the uneven rock wall and went up into the hazy mist. Although she couldn't see clearly what the scene was like on the mountain, she could feel it. get something.
"There is a fragment of jade on it." The witch said calmly.
"Ha, this is really about Cao Cao. Cao Cao has arrived..." Gu Mo chuckled. He sorted out the plot in his mind and recalled where this place was.
It seems to be a secluded place for immortals called Taoyuan Township, but now it is full of smoke and smoke. The old immortal was unprepared and was plotted by his disciples. Taoyuan Township was occupied by the magpie nest... and the one who got the jade fragment of the Four Souls swallowed it. The ruthless disciple who gained strength by eating the Human Face Fruit and plotted against his master is the Peach Fruit Man who currently occupies this place.
There seem to be a lot of good things here. Excluding crooked things like the Human Face Fruit, the original legacy of the old immortal alone is a very rich legacy.
Gu Mo remembered that there was a garden bonsai that could create a landscape and a cave for people to live and work in this small world. It was originally used by the old immortal to hone the will of his disciples and make them practice hard. Later, it became used by Taoguo people. A place where humans raise meat animals for their own consumption.
In addition to this magical bonsai cave, there are also ancient vine staffs that can enlarge or shrink people or monsters at will, which can suck people in, gourds that also have independent spaces inside, and so on.
In short, they are all very good treasures, and they play a very strong role in conjunction with the ferocity of the peach and fruit people. I remember that the protagonist group and others were in a very embarrassing situation here, and they were almost beaten to death... Wait, why do you feel that they always feel like they are here? Was it like the group was almost wiped out?
Gu Mo thought about it and said casually: "Should we cut down this tree first?"
Kikyo shook her head and pointed upward: "Go up and check the situation first, don't scare the snake..."
She waved gently, and lights appeared around her, summoning several flying snakes with slender bodies and graceful postures, seemingly ready to fly directly up the mountain on the Death Soul Insect.
Gu Mo looked on from the side and raised his hand like a primary school student: "Um - can you give me a ride by the way, Kikyo?"
Facing the witch's calm gaze and looking directly into those Qiushui eyes, he acted very calmly and said without any guilt: "I can't fly."
