Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 310 - 307: The March 3rd Flat Peach Banquet

Chapter 310: Chapter 307: The March 3rd Flat Peach Banquet

As the sun set,

the entirety of Taoyuan Mysterious Realm gradually dimmed, but this quaint ancient street, even the whole town, became increasingly lively.

The little incident caused by the "mad" young man during the day was like a breeze blowing, causing leaves and flags to flutter slightly, and after the wind passed, not a trace was left.

It did not change anything, or "awaken" any of the local elders and folks.

The shining lights from the numerous shops and stalls along the street gradually blended into one, making the whole street very bright, as if shrouded in a layer of bright yellow light.

The air was filled with the intoxicating scent of pine and sandalwood, plus the aroma of wine and dishes from the taverns on the street side, heavily enough to feel a bit stuffy.

Well-dressed tourists were calling out to friends and family, moving in groups with brilliant peach blossoms pinned in their hair, showing off as they walked through the market.

They greeted everyone they met with, "May the Goddess Festival bring you luck!"

The common people living in this paradise all worship the West King Holy Mother as their Divine Lord.

This domain outsider, who had tainted one of the supreme Divine Positions of Red County Divine Land, naturally also usurped the powers and legends associated with the Queen Mother of the West.

In charge of Undying Elixir, Meat Body longevity, flesh-joining life exchange, and hosting the Flat Peach Banquet, her birthday is celebrated on the third day of the third month when she would hold a grand Flat Peach Banquet in Taoyuan, inviting all beings.

Because Flat Peach represents fortune and longevity,

thus, this day was also called "Holy Mother’s Goddess Festival."

Beginning from the first day of March today, until the night of the third day after tomorrow, Taoyuan will hold a grand celebration that goes on day and night without rest, incredibly lively.

Of course, not every scene on this street was harmonious.

"Giggles... Mom, come on, come catch me! Ahh!"

A child with a funny topknot, looking lively and clever, was hopping and skipping ahead but accidentally stepped on pebbles, tripping and falling over.

The woman following behind hurriedly stepped forward, slapping the dirt from the child’s clothes while tenderly picking up the child’s... head that had fallen to the ground and reattaching it for him.

The child then broke into laughter, tears forgotten.

"Pancakes! Pancakes!"

On another side, a short man less than five feet tall was hawking pancakes on the street, but in the load he carried, there were only the heads of several beautiful people.

These heads, with eyes full of frivolousness and brows hinting at "bad relationships," giggled as though completely unaware that they had become merchandise.

Then there was the one selling candied haws, with a skewer of blood-dripping human eyes; the comb seller, with combs stabbed into pieces of scalped hair;

The meat seller, with a string of steaming intestines hanging from his neck; the vendor selling braised pig’s knuckles, holding a platter with a few human hands...

The other passersby moved about as normal, as if they could not see any of these horrifying things at all.

Everything was out of place, yet harmonious!

Standing by the window of his own bedroom, Wang Yuan withdrew his gaze, imitating Huang Wu’s movements as he naturally tucked a strand of hair that had fallen beside his temple back behind his ear.

He sighed lightly,

"My first day in Taoyuan Mysterious Realm has been rather peaceful. The premise is, you have to completely ignore those weird things that pop up from time to time."

Even though Wang Yuan was currently using Huang Wu’s body and did not have the ability "Eyes as Dark as Qing Cyan",

once his True Spirit escaped its obscured state, the Taoyuan he saw became all the more real.

Especially those Deceit Monsters mixed among the pedestrians, which might appear as completely normal people to others, with pancakes as pancakes and candied haws as candied haws...

Yet Wang Yuan could see all Demons and Ghosts just as clearly as that "mad" young man during the day.

It was precisely this realistic vision that had kept Wang Yuan from acting rashly up to this point.

He obediently heeded Lady Peach Fairy’s warning, daring not to reveal that his True Spirit was Unobscured.

After all, times have changed, and "Huang Wu" was not Boss Wang, lacking the capital to treat all lower-tier Demons and Deceit Monsters as mere small fry.

"Fortunately, by the third of March, for the Flat Peach Banquet, I don’t need to actively leave here to find people. Everyone else’s True Spirits, whether they are obscured or not, will definitely come to town to pay homage.

At that point, I can naturally regroup."

Thinking this, Wang Yuan turned to look at the other side of the town, where stood an enormous peach tree, like a mountain in its own right.

"In the Canghai, there is Dushuo Mountain, upon which grows Big Peach Wood, stretching and winding for three thousand miles, and within its branches to the northeast lies Ghost Gate, where a myriad of ghosts come and go!"

This was the mythical Big Peach Wood.

Unfortunately, just as Luofeng Mountain was occupied by Earth Mother Dark Sky, Dushuo Mountain was clearly taken over by another powerful entity.

And, given the close connection between this place and "Peach God Tao," West King Holy Mother, a name both unexpected and reasonable emerged in Wang Yuan’s mind.

An "old acquaintance" he had never met before.

"Daughter, come down to eat!"

Just then, a call that sounded inexplicably cold interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Mom! I’m coming!"

Wang Yuan, settling into the new role assigned by Taoyuan Mysterious Realm, quickly answered, lifted his skirt, and walked down the stairs in a pair of delicate red embroidered shoes, entering the first-floor hall.

The noisy sounds of people immediately enveloped him with waves of heat rushing towards him. As it landed on Wang Yuan, all he felt was a cold, chilly wind.

Wang Yuan’s "home" was actually an inn that also served as a tavern.

"Huang Wu," as a foreigner, was arranged by Taoyuan Mysterious Realm to assume the identity of the only daughter in this family of three.

A family jointly ran an inn with a name that was very close to the Underworld—the Dragon Gate Inn!

Bypassing a group of guests who stole glances at himself from time to time, Wang Yuan calmly sat down at a small table reserved for him by the attendants.

After greeting his "father" and "mother," he picked up his rice bowl and started to eat.

Of course, in this Deceit Realm, one naturally couldn’t expect to be served any exquisite delicacies.

All the dishes in front of Wang Yuan were, in fact, made from peaches, just like the food of the other diners in the tavern, abundantly available everywhere.

Peach roast chicken, peach braised goose, peach lion’s head meatballs, peach rice porridge...

Randomly assigned at birth, under the spell of the "Peach Blossom Spring," life in this place had been artificially molded into a fake paradise.

Wang Yuan was, however, relieved that the food he ate was at least normal peaches that could sustain life, unlike the rubble, incense ash, and grave soil eaten by those who strayed into the Ghost Realm.

But to just eat peaches and pretend to taste and express the flavors of various vegetables, fruits, and meats—that really required some acting prowess.

And that was precisely Wang Yuan’s strength.

Not only did he enjoy his food immensely, but he also kept adding dishes to his "parents’" bowls.

"Eat! You should eat too! Today’s food is stir-fried really well, very authentic!"

However, while eating, Wang Yuan heard his "parents" murmuring to themselves:

"Can she see it?"

"Can she really see it?"

"If she can see it, then we can eat her!"

"She smells so good; oh, how I struggle to resist!"

In Wang Yuan’s view, their eyes had turned into horrifying black bloody holes, their bodies charred and fissured as though they had been burned by a great fire.

The furniture around them looked the same, as if it had been burned to charcoal.

Clearly, they were originally two "burning ghosts," later corrupted and tainted by the power of the Deceit Realm, and turned into their current state.

Being passively "reincarnated" was just an appetizer in this realm of trickery.

During the day, this place seemed filled with sunlight and vitality, as if it were a true paradise.

But at nightfall, it would transform into a completely different, eerie place.

Those affected by the "deceptive spell," their true spirits obscured, are completely unaware of the truth and live in ignorant bliss.

In reality.

The "people" living here wore various clothes, spanning from the Great Zhou to the current Great Yan, a time span of over two thousand years, yet few have detected anything amiss.

On the one hand, ancient people gradually multiplied, and later generations preserved their cultural customs.

Even more importantly, many "people" had long been digested into parts of the Deceit Realm after death, maintaining their "deathly appearances" and becoming minions of the Taoyuan.

So it wasn’t just that "Taoyuan is deceitful," but "deceit is everywhere"!

Every deceiving entity monitors the actions of the living, and once a living person peeks through the falsehood and behaves inappropriately for the times, they will swarm over.

The dangers within the Deceit Realm are not confined to the [Yaochi Golden Boys].

At any rate, that young person who exposed himself recklessly after uncovering the truth and acted insanely was never seen again after being captured by the [Yaochi Golden Boys].

"Do not expose yourself!" is the "Precept Taboo" for all those whose True Spirit remains unobscured.

As long as one’s acting is good, there is no need to worry about being consumed.

"Father, mother, why aren’t you eating? Don’t have an appetite?

Come, here’s a chicken leg for you, and a lion’s head for you, eat more, I don’t really like the woody ones."

Although that pair of "parents" harbored all sorts of bloody and vicious thoughts like predators, yearning to devour their daughter,

they felt colder and colder inside as Old Master Wang kept calling them *dad* and *mom*.

Especially since they couldn’t understand what he meant by "I don’t really like the woody ones."

Perhaps they were puzzled.

But one just needed to ask any of Old Master Wang’s "senior brothers," "uncles," or "Taoist fellows," and the truth would be immediately clear.

Daring to respond to King Yama’s call of *mom and dad*, it’s akin to the Old Longevity Star eating arsenic—tiring of living.

If it were someone else caught in the Taoyuan Deceit Realm, there would be practically no hope of escape, only to be manipulated like a puppet through repeated obscuring of their True Spirit under the [Cycle of Reincarnation Law].

Sooner or later, they would become prey to these Deceit Beings.

But for Wang Yuan, as long as he recovers the Small Book of Life and Death and his own body, he’ll be able to turn the tide at will and transform the Flat Peach Banquet into an... "All Deceit Banquet."

Just as the "parents’" bodies began to tremble instinctively, suddenly, a voice like the sound of heaven rang out.

"Bring this young master a top-tier room!"

Hurriedly standing up to welcome the guest.

Seeing the person at the door, Wang Yuan’s brows slightly raised.

The face was completely unfamiliar, but the aura was somehow familiar!