Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 336 - 244: Heart Lamp Green Flame, Secret Demon Entwined

In the cultivation world, fighting with spells and tricks was never a matter of honor or fairness; it was all based on one's own methods.

Hence, Tao Qian felt no psychological burden in resorting to the tactics of feigning weakness like a pig to devour a tiger or launching surprise attacks.

Who would have thought that this "Ogre" so underestimated his enemy, and as a ghoul who indulged in cannibalism and committed countless atrocities with his refinement of evil techniques?

On closer analysis, from the moment Tao Qian made his move, the ogre was doomed to die.

Failing to see through the Secret Demon Transformation Technique meant falling victim to ambushes by the Nine True Spirit Sound and Silent Divine Thunder. This thunder skill was so insidiously toxic that it instantly blew him up, leaving him no chance to withstand the crushing blow of the Nine Toad Bead masquerading as a Dragon Ball—even though this bead was categorized among the auspicious treasures, it was extraordinarily brutal when used to bash someone.

Before his demise, Li Qingpan felt as if he had been hammered by the weight of a dozen mountains.

His "Hunger Ghost" body had quite the origin, derived from the Hunger Ghost Path Chapter of the great book of the Ghost Path, the Six Paths Reincarnation Scripture. It was fed with the flesh and souls of myriad living beings, not only capable of releasing the Nine Nether Yin Wind that froze the souls and bodies of the living but also able to swallow tens of thousands with its gaping hunger ghost mouth. Its green-haired corpse bag was incredibly sturdy—to the point that not even divine weapons or exotic treasures could harm it.

Alas, the origin of the Nine Toad Bead was even greater.

With just one smash!

Years of cultivation, wealth, and life all came to an end, turning to ash.

Witnessing this terrifying scene in the sky, the crowd of demon cultivators simply watched in horror, while also finding it extremely satisfying. freewebnσvel.cѳm

The group of ghost cultivators from the Six Paths Sect were the ones who suffered, as they never expected such an abrupt change of events.

The tides had turned, and now it was their turn to flee for their lives.

Unfortunately for them, Tao Qian had long known what kind of characters these cultivators, who specialized in refining and controlling ghosts, were. Since he had already taken action, how could he possibly allow them a chance to live?

While Tao Qian was assassinating Li Qingpan, Yunrong was also dealing her ruthless hand below.

She became increasingly reluctant to show her human form, using only her pair of enchanting green eyes to gaze at all the Six Paths Sect ghost cultivators in the field.

Soon after, a sound that to onlookers seemed no different from heavenly music, yet to the ghost cultivators it was a life-taking demon sound, began to echo.

"This is the Charm Demon's Heart Lamp Green Flame, a kind of heart-inquiry fire."

"If you can withstand it, you may escape and live another day."

"If not, then join Li Qingpan on the path to Huangquan."

As the magnetic and charming female voice faded, those Six Paths Sect cultivators hidden in the ghost fog seemed to be suddenly struck by some terrifying attack, crying out in unison, flailing their limbs as they tumbled out of the black mist.

Onlookers were immediately faced with the grotesque sight of all the Six Paths Sect ghost cultivators, each one more deformed than the next, all with defects.

It was clear they were all victims of the practice of refining evil techniques. Before refining ghosts or driving them away, they had to feed their own bodies to the ghosts. Those with good fortune might only lose a nose or an eye, but the less lucky ones would not only have their faces completely devoured but also suffer damage to their organs and vital parts. It would be polite to say they were merely ugly, but in reality, these ghost cultivators were no different from fierce ghosts.

Those who could be heartless enough to practice such refining techniques were hardly of benevolent nature.

Being villains by nature, they naturally could not withstand the Green Flame Heart Inquiry of the Jade Ring Mountain lineage.

So when the blood moon vanished and the ghost fog dissipated,

the grounds around Zhang Mansion were littered with charred corpses.

Due to rumors of Demon City's exotic treasures, a group of ghost cultivators sent by Beimang Mountain's Six Paths Sect came to seize these treasures. They had once been casually dealt with by the Tianjiang Immortal upon stepping foot in Demon City, and now they had been ruthlessly eliminated by Tao Qian and Yunrong—all were dead.

Those demon cultivators who had come to watch the excitement all retreated.

Especially some of those demons who believed they could not pass the test of "Green Flame Heart Inquiry," despite their coveting of the Hunger Ghost Demon Body painstakingly refined by Li Qingpan, dared not reach out their limbs. Surely they could still pick up some bits of flesh and ghost bones, right? Although fragmented, they could sell those in the Medicine King Temple or Ten Thousand Demon Square for some fragmented silver to spend.

Unfortunately, their lives were still the priority, and they vanished without a trace.

Only the bolder ones quietly picked up scraps of flesh and bones in the outer residential areas and ditches. Earning silver was a joke—such items were greatly useful for alchemy or refining. High-level cultivators might scorn them, but for the lower-tier cultivators and demons, such a chance could excite them for months.

Tao Qian naturally ignored this as he let these cultivators clean up the remnants, thus keeping the mortal human race free of contamination.

As for the pieces of corpses in the territory of Zhang Mansion, Shan Jiu would take care of them.

The most stunned, as if in a dream, was certainly Zhang Baisui. From being on the brink of being devoured by hungry ghosts to being completely unscathed, it spun around in just a few breaths.

Fast, too fast.

He sat there dumbfounded on the ground, letting Jin Xiuju hold him.

The voices of the cultivators and demons from the periphery drifted away while entering his ears.

"Zhang Jiudeng's family's good-for-nothing second generation is really lucky. He wasn't killed by that Cavernous Mystery Realm ghost cultivator, but instead, it was Li Qingpan who was unlucky, ending up killed instead."

"Eh, eh, what's the origin of that Dragon Demon? How is it possible for someone from the Transcend Mortality Realm to kill one from the Cavernous Mystery Realm? Could it be an old dragon from somewhere pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger?"

"It's not entirely impossible. That Dragon Demon has a top-notch dragon seed; its Bloodline Divine Power is extremely fearsome. Plus, Li Qingpan had been crippled by one of the Three Immortals of the Great Wilderness, and his divine skills were greatly diminished. Just now, he was subdued by a Buddha Treasure from Vajra Temple and then suddenly attacked by a powerful Dragon Seed, it does make sense."

"Make sense? Heh, I think you all don't know the background of that Dragon Demon. Let me tell you, it made a name for itself previously during that bloodbath at Jin Mansion..."

"Lately, there are more and more powerful figures in Demon City, the march of time and tide ah. For us small-fries, it's both risk and opportunity. I just saw a guy step in dog shit, and he actually picked up one of Li Qingpan's half-broken eyeballs. Completely capable of refining a 'Ghost Eye' with that, what a lucky bastard."

These voices, along with the girlish fragrance of Jin Xiuju, finally brought Zhang Baisui back to his senses.

He quickly realized what had happened and also knew what he had to do.

In fact, everything that had happened at Jin Mansion before, as well as the strengths of the two tributes from Jin Mansion, he had already had them investigated clearly, just without an excuse to ally with them.

But unexpectedly, an opportunity had now arrived.

Just then, Tao Qian transformed back into human form and with a wave of his hand, he collected Li Qingpan's headless Hunger Ghost Demon Body back into the Holy Embryo Bag.

As soon as he landed, Yunrong was in his arms.

Zhang Baisui walked up with Jin Xiuju and said with a cupped-fist salute,

"Many thanks to Senior Jin Lin and Senior Yunrong for coming to our aid. I will never forget the debt I owe you for saving my life," Tao Qian gratefully expressed.

"Now, Xiuzhu and I are truly a pair of lovebirds linked by fate. We will marry as soon as possible, and I'll never fail her."

"Just the two of us here are completely alone and isolated, with only both of you seniors as support. I hope you can stay a few more days so my wife and I can express our gratitude," he implored.

Upon saying this, Zhang Baisui, the second-generation warlord, immediately tried to kneel with Xiuzhu to kowtow to Tao Qian and Yunrong.

Had Tao Qian been beside them at another time, he could have stopped Zhang Baisui's motion with a thought and the casting of a spell.

However, at this moment, he did not do so; instead, he proactively reached out to hold Zhang Baisui back.

The moment they touched...

Tao Qian verbally agreed to his request while secretly casting a spell.

However, very quickly, a little demon with armor and a command flag in Tao Qian's sleeve, its face scrunched up in frustration, relayed feedback to him:

"Master, it looks like I won't get a taste of that Demon Pill you rewarded me with. This guy has treasures protecting his Divine Soul, and my 'Cognitive Modification' isn't affecting him."

"Why don't you first strip the treasures from his body, Master? Then I can give it another try."

No sooner had the Decree Demon finished speaking than it was shoved aside.

Then, a new Demon Child swaggered forward. This one had a truly bizarre appearance.

It looked like a pale, twisted, noodle-shaped figurine with a funny, smiling face, and its lanky arms and legs flailed comically as it moved, as if it might topple over at any moment.

Full of vigor and arrogance, it pushed aside the Decree Demon and stepped past him, its funny face turning stiffly to speak:

"What a waste of space, little goblin. You make Master uncomfortable even when he mounts you, and now you can't even help Master control others or eavesdrop on secrets—an easy task."

"Master shouldn't have given you that Demon Pill. It should be mine."

"Just watch my methods, Master. It doesn't matter what protections this fellow has, they're no match for my entwined embrace and heart kneading for a few hours."

After spouting this strange declaration, the noodly little figure became transparent.

It leapt out of Tao Qian's sleeve and grew as it caught the wind, taking shape behind Zhang Baisui.

Its long limbs stretched out immediately, wrapping itself entirely around the body of the second-generation warlord. Meanwhile, its comical face rested gently on Zhang Baisui's shoulder, its mouth moving ceaselessly in silent muttering.

This was not the end of its actions.

The Demon Child's supple little hands had somehow slipped into Zhang Baisui's Divine Soul, doing something unseen, all that could be observed was wriggling, kneading movements.

Soon after, Tao Qian heard a new piece of feedback:

"Master, it's done."

"This boy may have many treasures protecting his Divine Soul, but my 'Chan Xin Demon' is not a vegetarian."

"Now that it's successful, Master must reward me with more Demon Pills."

"Agreed!"

With his secret plan a success, Tao Qian couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile.

He contemplated inwardly, "The Magic Skills of the Secret Demon Sect are indeed useful. The Ten Thousand Demon List is a great find, and the Summoning Demon Technique is even more mysterious. If I weren't already one of the Spirit Treasure True Inheritors, I might have actually wanted to try being a Secret Demon Child myself, reviving the Secret Demon Sect... That sounds quite appealing."

Amidst Tao Qian's distracted musings, the peculiar Demon Child attached to Zhang Baisui was known as the 'Chan Xin Demon'.

In terms of rank, it was on par with the Decree, Heart, Eye, and Power Demons.

However, in terms of rarity, it far surpassed these others.

Tao Qian was increasingly fond of dredging up such bizarre and unheard-of demons from the "Ten Thousand Demon List", using demons so obscure that not even widely-traveled Cultivators had ever heard of them.

Their unfamiliarity made them particularly useful; they couldn't be countered.

The Red Lady Demon was one, and the Chan Xin Demon was another.

"The reason this demon can stay hidden is due to its peculiar Demon Thought. It doesn't emit even the slightest hint of malice. It brazenly attaches to its target, ignoring Exotic Treasures and Forbidden Techniques, even High-level Cultivators struggle to notice it," Tao Qian thought.

"'Entwined embrace and heart kneading,' in effect, is somewhat similar to the Decree Demon's 'cognitive modification,' but it's slower to take effect, more covert, and with no lasting ill effects."

"After today's turn of events, Zhang Baisui will inevitably contact his warlord father—a powerful figure in his own right. To covertly learn the secrets I seek from their conversation, ordinary methods would definitely fail."

"I thought that if both the Decree Demon and Chan Xin Demon failed, I would have to resort to employing the Substitute Demon."

"I'd have to take Zhang Baisui away and control the Substitute Demon myself to interrogate him... Such an action, due to the influence of calamity, would likely expose me to great risk. Although I'd probably learn the secrets I seek, I might also come to attention and officially enter into tribulation—too soon for my liking."

"Luckily, the Chan Xin Demon was successful."

"Without incident, results should be forthcoming."

These thoughts churned inside Tao Qian.

Completely unaware that he had been parasitized by a Demon Child, Zhang Baisui also had his own calculations in mind, particularly about Tao Qian and Yunrong.

"Heh, those idiots from Tianjiang Dao Sect died a fitting death. Without their demise, I would've had no excuse to enlist these two powerful Cultivators with noteworthy backgrounds."

"I've heard from Tianjiang Dao Sect that this female demon called Yunrong, not only is she from the Transcend Mortality Realm, but she also hails from Jade Ring Mountain—a cultivator's holy land teeming with the Devil Clan."

"It was a pleasant surprise to recruit this woman, but the really important one is the Dragon Demon called Jin Lin, from Overseas Immortal Island. He killed a Cavernous Mystery being while still in Transcend Mortality, and considering his feats within Jin Mansion, tsk tsk, after today, the entire Demon City's Cultivation World will know how formidable the Dragon Demon is."

"No rush, no rush. Now that they're both by my side, I have plenty of tactics at my disposal. If I can sway such martial prowess to my side, my father would never again say I'm unfit for great responsibilities."

With this thought in mind, Zhang Baisui couldn't help but feel joyous.