Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 295 - 214: Human World Purgatory, Pregnant Woman Gives Birth

Tao Qian left his sect to enter the world, primarily for the Third Method and for cultivation.

But at the same time, he had some other objectives, one of which was to find a reincarnation body for his uncle, one of the Spirit Treasure Eight Immortals, Master Jade Toad.

The convenience lay in the fact that he didn't have to search laboriously himself.

As soon as he entered the Mortal World, Master Jade Toad's True Spirit would naturally sense it, but what Tao Qian hadn't expected was.

On the first day he entered this world!

Had Uncle Jade Toad already chosen a reincarnation body?

And so coincidentally, within the boundaries of Demon City.

Although quite surprised, Tao Qian still had to shoulder the responsibility.

Following the guidance of Uncle Jade Toad, Tao Qian led three youngsters, crossing streets and alleys, quickly traversing those several miles.

"Is it here?"

Tao Qian frowned slightly as he looked at a large slum in front of him.

Indeed, within the territories of Demon City, aside from the freakishly flourishing, even extravagant districts, there were also many slums.

It hadn't always been so numerous; the situation had worsened as the dozens of provinces under the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty fell into great disarray, with warfare everywhere and various disasters and calamities seeming to never cease, naturally giving rise to a large number of poor. Although most died in their own lands, many had made their way to Demon City.

The ruler of Demon City, the Ninth Prince of the current dynasty, had recently become brutal and cruel.

In the past, however, he had been quite protective of his reputation.

Not only did he not drive away or slaughter the refugees, but he also built many shelters and distributed food and porridge.

Compared with the "General's City," the countless ramshackle wooden huts before Tao Qian could truly be considered slums.

A mix of dragons and snakes?

No, this place was akin to purgatory.

As the four people stepped into it, an extremely complex, filthy stench hit them in the face. They could barely find a good spot to set foot on, as it seemed to have rained heavily the night before. The many crisscrossed paths were very muddy, and scattered heaps of golden towers were visible.

Mud mixed with excrement made a thin, slippery soup, steaming with the stench of urine and feces.

Although Tao Qian had seen even filthier scenes at the Fragrant Meat Collection, the shock brought to him by this place was greater.

For besides the feces and urine, there were no demons here, only humans, one after another, all thin and sallow, their eyes emitting a murky yellow or green light.

Men, women, children, and the elderly were all present.

But it seemed as if they had no life, no hope left.

They existed like walking corpses, and only occasionally did Tao Qian catch glimpses of a glimmer of instinctual desire to survive in their eyes.

Tao Qian moved forward, silent.

Along the way, voices from inside the ramshackle huts, sounding weak, were clearly heard by Tao Qian:

"Mom, Gou Dan is probably beyond hope. You and dad should exchange me for something. I heard Heiwa say that a child my size can be traded for three kilos of meat at the market."

"Sha Zhu, listen to dad, don't become a Medicine Person. Dad is giving up, you are the last seedling of the Liu Family. Dad can't let anything happen to you, dad will go to see your mother first, take good care of yourself..."

"Big brother, Erni is so hungry, so hungry, I think I see dad and mom, they've come to get me..."

"Wife! Are you still alive... no breath? Dead? Good if you're dead, then you don't have to suffer with me. Rest assured, I'll be right there, I dragged you into fleeing the famine, I can't abandon you now; I'll be right there."

"Woman, listen, the couple from next door, Heiwa and his wife seem gone, we can make our move now, you guard the door."

...

The last sentence entered his ears just as Tao Qian was proceeding forward when he suddenly stopped.

At the same time, he saw a couple of starving husband and wife sneak out of a shabby wooden shelter.

Behind their door, the figures of two children, a boy, and a girl, flashed by.

The middle-aged man held a blood-stained firewood knife in his hand, while the woman's cheeks were hollow, her eyes emitting a green light, and she was crouching, ready to sneak into the neighbor's house.

But abruptly, they saw Tao Qian and the other three.

It was odd, neither of them screamed, they just both froze for a moment, and then, because of the number and stature of Tao Qian and his companions, a wary look appeared in their eyes.

But neither of them backed down, the man gripping the firewood knife even tighter, exchanging glances with his wife, and then he looked at Tao Qian, pursed his lips, with a hoarse voice said,

"Half?"

After uttering these two words, he added a few more sentences.

"We want Heiwa's wife, Heiwa is for you."

"There may be more of you, but I have a knife, and I'm not afraid of you."

These sentences entered his ears, and Tao Qian's face suddenly turned sour.

Although the middle-aged man's speech was not very coherent, it was easy to understand.

He was divvying up flesh.

Tao Qian still remembered the last time he had experienced something similar, it was at the Iron Buddha Temple, within the Fragrant Meat Concentration.

At that time, those who wanted to share the meat with him were Evil Cultivators and not ordinary members of the Human Clan.

Tao Qian looked at the middle-aged man before him, thin and sallow, holding a firewood knife, pursing his lips, determined and unyielding.

On the surface, his body showed no abnormalities, but at that moment, inside Tao Qian was a tempestuous stir.

The Infinite Tribulation Method given to him by his Master was operating on its own, the life force drawing, causing the Human Dao Fortune to surge again, a strong, silent urge reverberating within Tao Qian's mind.

Vaguely, Tao Qian sensed both calamity and opportunity.

Not because of this unexpected incident in front of him.

This issue concerning the starving husband and wife was extremely easy to resolve.

For them, Tao Qian's Divine Power was almost indistinguishable from the "Immortals" of myth.

What truly stirred Tao Qian's heart, prompting him to start seriously contemplating, was the entire slum.

And the tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand, starving people here.

Equally perceptive to the unfolding events was someone who had now awakened:

One of the Spirit Treasure Eight Immortals, Uncle Jade Toad's True Spirit.

He had been observing from the side and, sensing Tao Qian's thoughts, his True Spirit within the Toad Pearl immediately began scratching its head and lamenting incessantly.

After hesitating for just a moment, he finally spoke up with a psychic message:

"Nephew Tao, do not act rashly. If you now follow your heart and attempt to help the disaster victims in this slum, once you begin to take action, it means you have entered into tribulation, and it is a completely new tribulation at that."

"If you can overcome it, you will surely gain great benefits, perhaps a new Divine Power or an Exotic Treasure."

"However, there are tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of refugees in this slum. The life-and-death matters of so many people create an immeasurably vast cause and effect."

"With your abilities, you may solve hunger for a meal, or perhaps a day, but what about after that?"

"Can your slight frame withstand the backlash that follows?"

"To act and fail to see it through could also drag others down with you, possibly making things even worse. Isn't that creating more karma?"

"Human affairs require human methods to resolve... Attempting to solve it with your own mana is tantamount to a Tribulation Immortal stepping in, who will sooner or later also meet the fate of death and Dao dissipation."

Uncle Jade Toad's earnest entreaties enlightened Tao Qian somewhat, yet they did not sway his emotions.

But just as he was about to take action, a sudden change occurred.

The Sublime Dharma within him suddenly fell silent, and his Human Dao Fortune relayed a blurry vision.

Tao Qian was first taken aback, then his expression turned contemplative.

Then, to the starving couple in front of him, he said:

"Dead bodies carry disease; even if you eat and fill your stomachs, you won't live more than a few days."

"Wait just a bit longer, and there will be people coming to provide disaster relief, distributing rice, flour, porridge, and big steamed buns, along with some work that pays."

"If you go now and line up, you can take a good spot."

Having said those words, Tao Qian then continued to lead the three children deeper into the slum.

The middle-aged husband and wife, after being stunned for a moment:

Bizarrely, actually believed Tao Qian.

"Go back and look after Erni and the elder child, I'll go see."

The man shoved the firewood knife into his wife's hand, then trudged through the dung and yellow mud, heading for the outskirts of the slum.

Not long after, the wife inside the house suddenly heard a commotion of gongs and drums along with the constables' loud announcements.

"Dang dang dang!"

"Good news, good news, His Highness the Ninth Prince is matchlessly kind and is opening the granary to provide aid for three consecutive days."

"Rice, flour, porridge, big steamed buns, we have it all, hurry and come to collect."

"Those with able-bodied people at home can also take on some work; wages will be paid."

"Long live His Highness the Ninth Prince, long live, long live forever."

Hearing this, the wife holding her children tightly and gripping the firewood knife:

Froze, then murmured to herself:

"Can it be true?"

"That damned Ninth Prince, he's really providing aid?"

...

While the entire slum was boiling over with excitement due to the Ninth Prince's grand aid gesture:

Tao Qian had arrived at a larger but even more dilapidated shack, where seven or eight half-grown kids were holding kitchen knives, wooden sticks, stones, branches, and the like, guarding the door.

Inside the shack, the cries of two girls, filled with sadness and panic, could be continuously heard.

"Wuu wuu wuu, big brother, mama is gone, mama has stopped breathing."

"What do we do, big brother? It's been 15 minutes, mama has died, and our tenth brother hasn't been born yet but is already dead."

The young lad taking charge outside looked to be about fourteen or fifteen.

Though he still had the appearance of a child and was skin and bones, upon hearing the terrible news from inside, he couldn't help but have reddened eyes, yet he still tried his hardest to hold it together.

Through the decrepit wooden door, he shouted with clenched teeth:

"Cut it out!"

"We were all picked up by mama. She did everything possible to feed us. Her only wish was to give birth to the bloodline of the Chen Family."

"Our tenth brother must not be dead yet, third sister, sixth sister, hurry up and do it, mama won't blame you, as long as you can save our tenth brother's life, mama's spirit in heaven will definitely be happy... "

As the young boy was shouting, suddenly, several of his younger brothers cried out a warning from behind him.

He swiftly turned his head and immediately saw Tao Qian and the three children approaching.

The three little ones didn't matter to him, but Tao Qian's tall figure immediately put him on alert.

Clenching the kitchen knife tightly, he directed it at Tao Qian with an extremely fierce and twisted expression, trying to intimidate Tao Qian:

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Get out of here, or we will fight to the death."

"Freeze!"

Tao Qian had no time to deal with these half-grown kids who were about to attack, so he calmed their spirits and immobilized their bodies with Spirit Sound.

In an instant, he teleported directly inside the shack.

Before he could even see the pregnant woman and the fetus, Uncle Jade Toad's voice echoed urgently in his mind:

"Quick, nephew, cast your spell."

"Both mother and child still can be saved, if you delay any longer, your uncle's Reincarnation Body will be lost."

...