Longevity Chronicles

Although Tao Qian's cultivation realm was indeed not high, one might even say it was quite low,

his recent battle achievements were indeed astonishing.

First, he slaughtered the Fragrant Meat Collection!

Then, he withstood the continuous manhunt by the Devil God Army for a full two days, during which he turned around and slaughtered countless Evil Cultivators and Demons!

In the last half day, he even toyed with a giant troll baby demon and beheaded it in front of many demons at the Joyful Pavilion!

Afterwards, he fled ten thousand miles, truly ruthless and carefree.

With these achievements as his foundation, and numerous Evil Cultivators and that infant demon as stepping stones, in the Cultivation World of Southern Yue, no one regarded him as a mere Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

Whenever mentioned, especially among the demon groups, the comments were mostly along these lines:

"Oh, that person must be a child of the Demon Path, don't be fooled by his upright actions, but his nature is cunning and ruthless, usually appearing in the guise of a Qi Refining Realm cultivator, showing weakness then seizing the opportunity to deliver a deadly blow, truly shameless."

"Perhaps he was a Righteous cultivator before obtaining the inheritance, but he clearly fits better with the Demon Path, otherwise, it's unexplainable how he could cultivate those Divine Power Skills of the Secret Demon Sect so brilliantly."

"I suspect this child must have uncovered his true nature after receiving part of the Secret Demon Sect's inheritance, hence appearing both righteous and evil. As long as he continues to cultivate the Secret Demon Magic, he will eventually fall and become a lawless Demon Head of the Secret Demon Sect."

...

At the Boundary Stele, several Transcend Mortality Cultivators looked rather displeased at the moment.

Officially, they were under the jurisdiction of Ji Xianxian, but secretly, they belonged to the Saint Child Qin Wuxiang.

Reminded by the leading Old Immortal, they all recalled the information related to the strange cultivator who had taken Xiao Meiniang hostage.

Although unaware of the details, they were acquainted with the overall battle achievements.

If it were only him alone, they would have no concerns.

They would have directly activated the Ten Extremes Array and killed him, despite his strong battle record, as they were all experienced Old Cultivators. How could they not see that the person's cultivation realm was far from Transcend Mortality, and his beheading of the infant demon must have been a fluke relying on those strange Divine Power Skills of the Secret Demon Sect.

But now, that he had captured Xiao Meiniang for blackmail immediately put them in a dilemma.

None doubted that the "Master Xiao" held in Tao Qian's hands was fake, firstly because of the extremely noticeable infant mother's energy and secondly due to Master Xiao's mutated and fallen appearance. If it weren't really her, it would be impossible to simulate just by conjecture.

Although it was very unsettling to be threatened, they had a mission, and the lead Old Immortal, frowning, stepped forward and addressed Tao Qian loudly:

"This woman is indeed the fugitive we have been tasked to capture, yet, unexpectedly, she has fallen into Daoist's hands."

"Just right, please transfer her to us."

"We are from the Forbidden Immortal Hall of Southern Yue. Currently, Governor Ji is about to deploy an 800,000-strong Demon-suppressing Army to stabilize the demon influences in Southern Yue. We are merely concerned that this woman may leak crucial military information, hence our mission to capture her."

"Daoist has indeed made a contribution by capturing her. After transferring her to us, we will surely reward Daoist."

"At that time, whether it's cultivation techniques, cultivation resources, they will be plentiful."

"Or if Daoist wishes to join some major sects or schools, there is no problem at all. With Governor Ji's recommendation, perhaps you could secure a position as a True Cultivation Disciple."

The Old Immortal thought he spoke very diplomatically, clearly stating the official position and promising substantial rewards.

To prove his point, he even summoned thousands, nearly ten thousand Demon-suppressing Soldiers stationed in the shadows.

With their strict military discipline and the terrifying aura they exuded, these soldiers were already a symbol of the Southern Yue officials, impossible to fake.

A normal Loose Cultivator, seeing these soldiers and hearing these conditions, would probably be tempted immediately.

Unfortunately, Tao Qian was indeed not quite normal.

Hearing these words, Tao Qian just scoffed and then, the Hundred Refinement Sword Pill exploded with sharp sword light, gruesomely severing a fair and enticing arm from Master Xiao.

This abrupt scene immediately elicited exclamations from the few at the Boundary Stele.

Then they saw this Secret Demon Child, pointing at them and cursing:

"A bunch of hypocritical cultivators, why so much nonsense?"

"Hurry up, stop this broken array for me, no, reverse it directly, don't think I'm unenlightened. I have read about your broken array in the manual. Blow out that 'Xuanpin Tai Miao Wind' for me, restore all these poor folks."

"I can't stand you cultivators who are high and mighty yet completely devoid of humanity, pretending to bully the common people, each one unfit to be a human being."

"I give you ten counts. If you fail, I'll directly behead this woman. After all, she can't last much longer and is quickly mutating into a demon."

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

After finishing speaking, Tao Qian didn't wait for their response and immediately began counting down.

In front of him, the Hundred Refinement Sword Pill was eagerly moving, the daunting sword intent hanging directly over Xiao Meiniang's head, about to strike down.

They, having been dispatched by Qin Wuxiang, were all experienced and meticulous in thought.

How could they not see that the cultivator before them, caught between righteousness and evil, was utterly unafraid of anything, a truly irreverent Demon Child.

"Damn, this guy must be a reckless youth after obtaining the Secret Demon Inheritance, harboring dissatisfaction with cultivators, and his lawless nature fits perfectly with the Secret Demon Sect's Method. Clearly a Demon Child, yet always engaging in acts of upholding justice, not minding that it doesn't suit his identity as a Demon Cultivator."

"What to do now? If we don't comply, he might indeed kill Xiao Meiniang. If we do, the benefits of the Xuanpin Pearl that we could have shared will be vastly diminished."

"Why not let him kill her? Afterwards, we'll slaughter all of them cleanly, providing companions for Xiao Meiniang's death. Although we couldn't capture her and bring her back, at least we have completed the task of preventing her from reaching Guanyin Temple."

Among the group, a middle-aged cultivator with a pale face and clean eyes, seemingly as modest as a gentle gentleman, suddenly spoke such harsh words.

However, immediately, the leading old immortal raised his hand to stop them,

"Do not forget the capabilities of the Saint Child. Although he has tacitly allowed us to secretly appropriate some treasures and resources, the primary condition is that we must prioritize completing the mission."

"If we put the cart before the horse and, for the sake of a few Xuanpin Pearls, allow Xiao Meiniang to perish, creating a 'Meiling Tragedy' intentionally, we might not make it back to the Governor Mansion before the Saint Child executes us."

"Let it be, let it be. Heaven has the virtue of loving life, so let's spare the lives of these mundane mortals."

"Even though this will cost us half of the Xuanpin Pearls, rescuing Xiao Meiniang would mean successfully completing the mission, and the Saint Child will surely reward us."

These few sentences successfully persuaded the other cultivators.

Although a few still coveted the Xuanpin Pearls and harbored resentment against Tao Qian, their hands did not stop moving.

After a few breaths, the start point was still the Meiling Boundary Stele.

"Boom"

A gust of invisible wind harshly blew in all directions.

This wind seemed to carry endless profound meanings, constantly generating life.

In just an instant, all the previous screams and howls ceased, and then those who had mutated and fallen began to slowly revert to their original forms.

Seeing this unfold, the Secret Demon Child holding Xiao Meiniang instantly grinned broadly and shouted, "Wonderful, wonderful! This damn Xuanpin Tai Miao Wind, just as described in the records, brings refreshment to the spirit, returning to the truth.

While he rejoiced, those near the boundary stele were in a bad mood.

The leading old immortal, restraining his patience, shouted to Tao Qian, "Daoist, we have done as you said, can you send this woman over now?"

His voice was gentle and resonant, even carrying a bit of an immortal-like aura.

But Tao Qian could tell that the killing intent in his words was nearly condensing into substance.

"This old thing must be furious. If I refuse again, he'll surely start the formation and kill all life here in one fell swoop."

"I wonder what Basic Method these people actually cultivate. On the surface, they are Righteous cultivators, but their actions are no different from those of Evil Demons."

"They play the game of transferring costs quite well."

Tao Qian muttered to himself inwardly with disparagement, but outwardly he nonchalantly nodded his head.

Then, carrying Master Xiao on one side, he said,

"I always honor my promises. What I say, I do."

"Though this woman is quite beautiful, had it not been for this affair, I might have taken her back home to be my bride."

"But since I've promised you, it's fine."

"Just now we had some conflicts; you won't take advantage of me later, will you? Though if you do want to ambush me, that's fine too. I always operate with the justification first. If you strike first, then I, in response, have good reason to counterattack and kill you, and take this woman back as my bride. That would also be quite reasonable, right?"

Tao Qian's somewhat jumbled words entered the ears of the few men.

It only made them chuckle inwardly, even surer now that he was just a greenhorn who had lucked into the Secret Demon Inheritance.

And from the leading old immortal came the voice transmission that confirmed what they were going to do next.

"We are close enough now. The sensing magic artifact given by the Saint Child has also been verified. This guy is just a Middle Stage Qi Refining Realm little demon, with nothing but flashy Secret Demon magic to his name."

"All the fame he's earned comes mostly from relying on external objects besides the Demon waste."

"Once he hands over Xiao Meiniang, just kill him directly. Wasting half of the Xuanpin Pearls, he deserves to die."

As the last voice transmission fell, Tao Qian, carrying Master Xiao, precisely landed in the boundary stele area.

Bang!

Tao Qian, merging sword and body, rocketed down, crashing onto the ground. The impact seemed a bit too strong, and the gourd hanging at his waist was shaken loose, its lid loosening slightly. Soon after, an extremely enticing pink smoke poured out, and within the smoke appeared several naked, alluring witches.

This sudden change was about to prompt the men to strike.

But unexpectedly, the little demon, with a pained expression on his face, casually threw "Xiao Meiniang" aside, then ran towards the gourd while shouting, "No, my wives, don't run away..."

Seeing this scene, the few men, along with the Demon-suppressing Soldiers, all could not help but show amused expressions.

Truly a little demon, seemingly standing up for right, yet still consorting with Demons.

Yet among them, no one noticed, as they laughed, that each of their gazes uncontrollably fixed themselves upon the gourd.

What emerged from inside was no longer just naked, charming, black-skinned witches.

But various scenes, perfectly matching their innermost desires, so vivid that even Transcend Mortality Cultivators could not distinguish them.

At the same moment, what appeared in Tao Qian's eyes was:

An enormous demon with an illusory body that had unknowingly appeared in this area, its external form resembling a colossal human brain devoid of a skull, covered with numerous tentacles connecting to the spirit of everyone present.

As the "Heart-Residing Demon," capable of peeking into the cultivators' most fundamental desires, succeeded, a vast number of Outer Realm Demons such as Joyful Demons, Glutton Demons, Alcohol Demons, Power Desire Demons, and others, reluctantly emerged from the gourd.

Then with extreme precision, each found a cultivator to latch onto, nourishing their demonic nature to satisfy the desires of these Transcend Mortality Cultivators.

As for the Demon-suppressing Soldiers, they were all handed over to several "Joyful Demons."

Accompanied by a series of clattering sounds of military gear and armor hitting the ground, several robust Demon-suppressing Soldiers, under the command of the black-skinned Joyful Demons, started to engage in numerous indecent acts.