Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 106 - 99: Qi Refinement Level 2, Wanted Throughout the Region

Within the territory of Southern Yue, there was a place called "Black Water Fort," formed by several craggy mountain peaks with gaps filled by peculiar, dense forests. Even during the day, the miasma was thick, making it impossible to discern directions, accompanied from time to time by the howls of wild beasts and the hissing of venomous insects.

In such a poor and evil place, ordinary people naturally dared not approach. It was occupied by a group of mountain bandit sorcerers who were bloodthirsty and extremely vicious, practicing a heterodox scripture called "Five Poisons Scripture." They had built the Black Water Fort and usually fed on the five poisons, inhaling and exhaling the miasma of the mountains and forests. Although each of them had gained extraordinary power, they had also turned into things neither human nor ghost.

Unable to reproduce naturally, they often descended to nearby villages and towns to kidnap infants and children, and to plunder wealth. Anyone who resisted would have their village slaughtered.

After the chaos of the Great Demon era, these sorcerers became even crazier, and the Fort's inner scene was no different from a Demon Cave.

However, just half a day ago, these evil men had the misfortune of encountering someone even more ferocious.

After seeing their ways, he opened his mouth and spewed forth a rampage of sword light, swiftly slaughtering them and their stronghold completely.

Now, sitting on a broad stone square within Black Water Fort, Tao Qian was seated on a large slab of bluestone, deeply engrossed in cultivation.

The Xuan Yin Invisible Sword Array was laid out as a guard in all directions, with sword Elixirs revolving around him, ready to unleash a terrifying Sword Intent that could sweep across the battlefield at any moment.

Little Age and Lian Jing'er were each sitting like two little protectors to the left and right of Tao Qian, vigilantly looking around while constantly eating the spoils of the Fragrant Meat Collection. Although most of the abnormal creatures had been destroyed and nothing as good as Jiao Marrow and Jiao Bone was found, there was no lack of things for them to devour.

The two little things feasted joyfully. If it weren't for fear of disturbing Tao Qian, Little Age would surely cry out how delicious it was, while Lian Jing'er calculated how much longer he could receive protective power.

After willfully facing disaster, the Spirit Treasure Method within Tao Qian's body was eager to move, and the Immortal Spiritual Qi continued to grow. He was now wholeheartedly refining his cultivation, as the genuine spirit sound of the Spirit Treasure kept echoing in his mind. The Innate Dao Seed broke open the invisible portal, pulling in vast amounts of Source Qi, which were then refined into Immortal Spirit Qi.

He quickly broke through the number one hundred and eight, and continued to climb upwards.

While he was entering such an exquisite state, suddenly, there was a thunderous noise in the miasma-filled Black Water Fort; no clouds, no fog, yet out of nowhere, there was a gentle and steady sweet rain. Following that, a clear wind abruptly blew outwards in all directions with Tao Qian at the center.

The many corpses of the sorcerers in the Fort had been disposed of cleanly by Tao Qian, leaving behind only traces of blood fog and miasma, and many resentful souls, demonic qi, etc.

But at this moment, all of these were cleansed and dispelled by the sweet rain and the clear wind, turning the desolate Demon Fort into an abode mimicking a Daoist pure land on a Spiritual Mountain.

Even Tao Qian himself did not realize that, following the "Auspicious Cloud Skill," he had unconsciously developed two new Spirit Treasure Divine Powers during his cultivation.

They were the "Sweet Rain Skill" and "Clear Wind Skill." According to the description in the Spirit Treasure Nine True Diagram, Tao Qian had now ascended to the mid-stage of the Qi Refining Realm. If he were to attain the "Spirit Treasure No-leak Body," he could directly reach the Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm. The speed of his advancement in cultivation was so fast that even among the talents of the Major Sects, it was considered rare.

Another thirty minutes passed, and Tao Qian slowly came to his senses.

As he opened his eyes, the sweet rain and clear wind also reached their peak, thoroughly transforming the formerly foul and demon qi-filled Black Water Fort into a marvelous place of clear mountains and beautiful waters.

Tao Qian looked at the scene before him, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he understood the addition of two new divine arts to his abilities.

However, what pleased him even more was the quantity of Immortal Spirit Qi within his body, which had now reached one hundred and sixty-eight strands.

"Although the Qi Refining Realm doesn't categorize stages by the quantity of Immortal Spirit Qi," he reflected, "having more means greater combat prowess and a better chance of advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"I won't speak of anything else. Now, if I were to cast sword technique, I could slash with one hundred and sixty-eight swords. If I were to fight against that Jiao Demon or Pig Demon again, even in a head-on battle, it wouldn't necessarily be impossible to slay them."

With thoughts of that Pig Demon in mind, Tao Qian's heart stirred, and he retrieved an object from within the Mustard Seed Talisman seed.

It was a meaty sac, incredibly pungent, and a fresh, vibrant pink, faintly glowing with a pale light. A strong and abnormal aura was also emanating from it.

Faintly visible among the crevices of the flesh, there remained some ancient seal script characters, small as black tadpoles.

These characters were originally covering the meaty sac, but they had been eroded by the Sword Qi, having lost eighty to ninety percent of their integrity. If it weren't for Tao Qian's heightened perception, he might never have discerned the significance of these characters.

This was the Basic Method cultivated by the Foundation Establishment Realm Demon called Zhu Wuxin, known as the "Cannibal Scripture," a Secret Technique.

This demon had also been a member of the Human Clan, who by chance obtained this Lifebound Scripture and could not resist the temptation to cultivate it.

Over a hundred years, he devoured countless humans, mutated and fell into corruption, and also advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

As vicious as he was, he had transformed his stomach into a Storage Treasure Bag, and even branded his Basic Method on it, so he could contemplate and practice cultivation at all times.

However, it was precisely because of this that the object had a significant defensive power. Though every other part of Zhu Wuxin turned to mince, the pig's stomach had remained intact. It was merely that most of the Cannibal Scripture had been destroyed, combined with being sticky and gooey, it was even three times smellier than pig dung.

As for the destruction of that Evil Demon Magic, Tao Qian naturally did not regret it at all, casually calling forth the Sweet Rain to wash it clean, and sent his Divine Thought to probe inside.

As soon as he entered, his expression took a turn for the worse. Most of what lied inside were the food and drink Zhu Wuxin had stored, even more complete and disgusting than the goods in the Wanquan Meat Shop.

He directly took them out for disposal, only then, in the deepest part of this object, he found two items of value.

One artifact was called "Pig Demon Sand," palm-sized, blood-colored, vivid and dripping, seemingly composed of individual grains of red sand, appearing bizarre to an extreme. But upon contact, Tao Qian understood this artifact to be a kind of Exotic Treasure, possessing many wonderful uses; it could be used to refine Elixirs and practice certain Power Divine Skills, among various other applications.

Yet the other item was what truly caused Tao Qian to show a look of astonishment.

It was a massive Magic Artifact, the weapon with which Zhu Wuxin fought, called "Cannibal Rake," a nine-tooth nail rake made from a mineral called Wuchen Iron, weighing a thousand jin and exuding an extremely terrifying oppressive aura. The blood-red inscriptions engraved on it indicated if wielded, it could unleash some frightening spells.

"It's also fortunate that I first used the Nine True Spirit Sound to freeze that creature's Divine Soul Body, and then dispatched him with the Selfless Sword Intent. Had he actually taken up this nail rake to fight me head-on, I would have had to resort to the Xuan Yin Invisible Sword Array to force him down."

"However, if that had happened, many of the Demon, Evil Cultivators inside the Fragrant Meat Collection would have surely escaped..."

"Hmm?"

Tao Qian was contemplating at this point.

Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred that he had not anticipated.

His complexion drastically transformed, and in his mind, a thumping as intense as war drums surged forth.

Accompanying it was a shiver.

Tao Qian, sitting on the bluestone, now seemed as if chilled to the bone, his body involuntarily shaking with cold tremors.

Such a familiar sensation immediately informed Tao Qian of what he was experiencing.

Waive the price!

Tao Qian's soul was abnormal, and every time he skipped the price related to cultivation, he would shiver with cold.

Normally, one shiver was enough.

However, unlike ever before, shivers came one after another, as if he had no intention of stopping.

A massive influx of abnormal information exploded in Tao Qian's mind at that moment.

"Under the attack of 'Demon Crystal Soul Searching Technique,' waiving the price."

"Under the attack of 'Blood Shadow Reflection Divine Skill,' waiving the price."

"Under the attack of 'Rashamon Demon God Soul Capture Technique,' waiving the price."

"Under the attack of 'Gathering Evil Soul Searching Technique,' waiving the price."

...

It took dozens of breaths before Tao Qian stopped shivering.

At that time, his expression was extremely solemn, and thoughts were tumbling in his mind.

"I seem to have chosen the most suicidal way of transcending disaster. That day, whether it was killing a few pig butchers or waiting for half an hour to save a few fresh humans when new ones were brought to the market, while it would have triggered corresponding consequences, it was still a way to lead disaster and transcend it, and the tribulation wouldn't be so serious."

"I didn't do any of that, I just followed my heart, and slaughtered the entire meat market, hence my first disaster is terrifyingly fearsome."

"Just now, those were all Prediction Techniques targeting my soul. I indiscriminately slaughtered those demon and evil cultivators, and indeed many of them had strong backgrounds. When their descendants or disciples died, they all started using divine powers like Prediction and Soul Search to directly pursue and capture me."

"Thankfully, my unusual soul can exempt some of it, but not all of it. For the next two days, although the demons won't be able to know my exact location, a very vague idea of my whereabouts, I'm afraid, can't be hidden at all."

Thinking of this, Tao Qian immediately communicated with the Puppet Body still on Iron Buddha Mountain.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Tao Qian received a surprising new message:

He was being hunted.

More precisely, it was the image of the "Corpse Chasing Daoist" that Tao Qian had transformed into, which was wanted by many demon and evil cultivator forces within Southern Yue.

A Human Clan Cultivator, relying on some magical treasure, dared to slaughter the demon market?

In the eyes of the Devil God Army and other demon and evil cultivator forces, this was an intolerable provocation.

Moreover, many of the little demons and little cultivators who were sliced into mincemeat in the market were tied to many powerful people.

Thus, the bounty order concerning him was spread throughout most of Southern Yue within a mere half-day.

Although the Warrant listed information such as "Human Clan Sword Cultivator, Qi Refining Realm," the level of the rewards offered was outrageously high.

As long as he was killed or captured and brought back.

Whoever it was would receive a reward that could even be compared to slaying a Transcend Mortality Realm Human Clan Cultivator.

Not to mention the invisible benefits of getting in good terms with those great demons and evil cultivators.

In this half-day, many wandering demons and evil cultivators within Southern Yue were all boiling with excitement.

Chasing a Qi Refining Realm Human Clan Cultivator!

And they even provide a location!

Many demons saw this as a pie falling from the sky.

Such an opportunity had to be seized.

The message from the Puppet Body was that many demons and evil cultivators had already set out toward the area where Tao Qian was currently located.

If they were swift on foot, perhaps they'd already arrived?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Tao Qian's mind once again felt a palpitation.

But this time, it was a genuine sensation of "abnormal creatures" feedback.

Looking through the not too distant space, there were at least a dozen strong strands of demon and demonic qi, speeding toward Black Water Fort at an incredible pace.

Tao Qian suddenly stood up and retrieved his Sword Array and sword Elixir.

Recalling the content on the Warrant, as well as some exemptions his strange soul had made from the price.

He couldn't help but smile wryly, then touched the foreheads of the two little ones, and with a twinkle of light, they simultaneously transformed into a rosy-cheeked, innocent young novice monk.

As for himself, he swayed and turned into a shabby old monk wearing a patched monk's robe.

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The three of them did not flee but sat down directly.

"Amitabha!"

As soon as Tao Qian chanted this Buddhist name, the mountains and forests roared, and clumps of devil fog and demon clouds surged over, revealing demons, behemoths, and various figures of sinister sorcerers who looked like humans but lacked humanity, inundating the Stone Square in a rustle.

Just upon landing, one beast immediately stood up, measuring three meters tall, glaring with crimson eyes and a human skin pelt around its waist. The fierce tiger demon leaned close to Tao Qian and asked in a deep and gruff voice,

"Old monk, how long have you been sitting here?"

"Have you seen a Corpse Chasing Daoist pass by this place?"