Longevity Chronicles
Chapter 425 - 294: Ten Birds Hundred Herbs Thousand Corpse Soup, the Entire Gao Family Are Beasts

Outside Gao Ren City, a tide of refugees surged.

Originally, each of them resembled walking corpses, numb and listless, but upon hearing the unimaginable offer proposed by the middle-aged man standing in front of the Elephant Demon and Wolf Demon, clearly a willing accomplice to the beasts, the refugees seemed to come back to life, stretching their necks, green light flickering in their eyes. Some raised their hands to signal, some shouted desperately, others simply handed over their children.

Tao Qian completely failed to comprehend this scene.

If he was not mistaken, those so-called Meat Pigs were destined to be eaten by the Demons inside the city.

"So it's to say, the refugees would rather enjoy ten days of good life and then be eaten as Meat Pigs, than to keep clinging to existence here."

"Which province is this, and to what depths has the world decayed?"

Tao Qian originally thought the offer was horrifying enough.

But he was wrong once again.

The middle-aged man, squinting, banging on the gong, whipped around with a whip to beat back the hands of the refugees touching his body, while he continued to say:

"What are you fighting for? What are you all fighting for?"

"The great master's birthday celebration is upcoming, and of course, Gao Ren City will hold a carnival, presenting plenty of opportunities."

"Apart from the Meat Pigs required for the great master, there are some other side tasks."

"The young lady desires new clothes, needing five hundred quality hides, stinking men can keep away, only women needed, within three days. During this period, you will be pampered with fragrant nectar and allowed to bathe and burn incense, to ensure you indulge in fairy-like luxury before death. Those willing, go to the side for inspection. If your skin is without scars or birthmarks, you can enter the city."

After uttering this, the man didn't stop, but rather summarized all the tasks at once.

"The second young lady wants to string a necklace out of jade bone, sizes must be standard. Those willing, go there for bone measurement. If the size is right, you can enter the city, with a term of seven days. Apart from ample fish, meat, rice, and noodles, you can consume an additional immortal elixir called [Jade Bone Powder], which after consuming, can make your skull glow, extremely beautiful."

"The third young lady has ordered a plate of stir-fried human hearts, must be tender and fresh. A hundred people needed, with a deadline of twenty-four hours, under eighteen can join. You can enjoy a meal made completely from all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and precious medicinal herbs, a delicacy not even we can enjoy. Those willing, go to the side and line up."

"The fourth young lady recently lost her appetite, ordering us to cook a pot of [Ten Birds Hundred Herbs Thousand Corpse Soup], needing over a thousand people, with a period of forty-eight hours. Each person can wash themselves clean and will receive a Marrow Cleansing Elixir, which cleanses you thoroughly and makes you feel completely refreshed. Afterwards, you can drink immortal dew and eat precious medicinal herbs during each meal, including liquor, leading a life like that of Immortals."

…

Upon reaching this point, the man paused, then continued to speak:

"The real grand opportunity is coming now, listen up, everyone."

"The young master recently wants to play a hunting game, needs at least tens of thousands of people, no restrictions on gender or age, and no set time limit. You'll just be thrown into the Cannibal Forest behind the city walls, intermittently, various delicacies will be thrown in. The young master only fancies the hunt in the evening, and after hunting dozens of people, he'll be satisfied... Those willing, line up to enter the city."

After the man had said everything, the copper gong sounded Dong Dong Dong resoundingly.

Then, the more than ten thousand chosen people began jubilantly entering the city.

The remaining refugees, although full of regret, didn't dare to resist, and once again became like walking corpses, reverting to their original state.

At this moment, Tao Qian suddenly understood the meaning behind the name "Gao Ren City."

To exploit and discard, there was no better way to phrase it.

The anger and killing intent in Tao Qian's eyes began to climb wildly.

Upon descending to this place, Tao Qian immediately concealed his presence.

The two Demons' bodies seemed horrifying, but they were merely Little Demons at the peak of Qi Refining Realm.

And those humans serving as accomplices, were merely in the Energy-Introducing Realm.

Naturally, none could detect him.

However, as he was new to the province and unaware of the local details, Tao Qian suppressed his anger for the time being.

He took out the Demon Gourd, shook out a Heart Demon, and commanded it to gather some relevant memories from the minds of the many refugees around, and report back.

Before long, Tao Qian got his answers.

"This place is Tiannan Province, one of the larger provinces of the Northern Land."

"The many provinces of the Northern Land are in chaos, Demons are rampant, and the world has decayed. Not only is Tiannan one of them, it is also the most chaotic and horrific of the provinces. Even the wandering refugees from other provinces dare not approach Tiannan Province, preferring to take detours. There's still a chance for life that way, but once you enter this province, it's a fate worse than death."

"The refugees from other provinces can flee, but those from this province can only struggle to survive in Purgatory, or otherwise... seek a swift death."

"Gao Ren City, formerly known as Ganyue City, is a small transportation hub. Many surrounding mountains produce medicinal herbs, and the city thrived on the resources. The city itself had a population of three or four hundred thousand, and if you include the surrounding villages, the total reached about six hundred thousand."

"Until the Gao Family arrived, this family, this clan, they're all beasts."

"They began with massacres in the city and the villages, slaughtering the population down to only two hundred thousand. Aside from those who turned their backs to join them as minions, the rest were driven out of the city, becoming homeless refugees."

"The Gao Family is a Cultivating family, perhaps due to their Cultivation Techniques, the Gao family, from those young ladies and young masters to servants and guards, each one has a Demon body, vile and Fallen."

"Only the City Lord, what you might call the 'great master' Gao Wan, still maintains a human form."

"The Gao Family treated the remaining two hundred thousand refugees as stockpiled provisions, grouping and raising them outside the south and north city gates, in filthy marshlands, setting up a Group Demon Arrow Qi Enchantment Array. It bewitched the minds of the two hundred thousand refugees, corrupting their bodies, to prevent them from escaping or committing suicide."

"When the time came to use them, they sent out a swarm of Chang Ghosts under their command to 'enjoy' them under various pretenses."

Learning this, Tao Qian's brows immediately furrowed.

A thought came to mind.

"Previously, Xiu Zhonglin from the Xiu Family boasted about his experiences in front of me."

"He pointed to a grotesque, maggot-like creature of the Ultimate Happiness Realm, referring to it as Gao Daoist."

"In the over two thousand years of history of Longevity Heavenly Dynasty, there indeed was a short-lived Gao Dynasty. Could these people occupying Gao Ren City... be the descendants of the bloodline from the Alchemist Gao Family?"

At this thought, Tao Qian immediately knew.

The truth is likely not far off.

With his current Cultivation Realm, an impulse must mean it's the real deal.

At the same moment, Tao Qian silently passed through the city gate. Those Forbidden Arrays and similar setups might work against other cultivators, but detecting him proved difficult.

Although he hadn't started a fight yet, this one move by Tao Qian already showed the unique abilities he gained after advancing his realm.

Even without using mana or activating divine skills,

his body was like a vessel to which all techniques were unstained, clearing all impurities and in an instant, he was inside the city.

Outside the city already smelled foul, one would assume it would be somewhat better inside, but soon he noticed that the stench inside the city was ten times worse than outside. The scene before his eyes almost made Tao Qian unable to suppress the burgeoning killing intent.

Before him was a bustling cityscape, streets lined with teahouses, taverns, lodgings, butcher shops, and pastry shops... All kinds of buildings were present.

Every aspect familiar to the mortal world such as markets, trade, loitering, drinking, conversing, fighting, and so on, were all here in full.

The only difference was that the "people" here were not actually people.

All were demons, roughly thousands in count, and most couldn't even be considered cultivators.

Rather, due to the power flowing in their veins and the cultivation techniques passed down through their families, these people of the Gao family all had the ugly, ferocious forms of demons.

There were not only Wolf Demons and Elephant Demons but also snakes, sheep, dogs, tigers, pigs, and the like—it truly encompassed everything.

If it weren't for the absence of any energy detection, Tao Qian would have almost thought this was another "Tuo County," another place in chaos because of Bai Qin.

What was both laughable and chilling

was that they regarded themselves as the Human Clan, as citizens.

They worked from sunrise to sunset, conducted petty trades, and led simple lives.

In the morning, they'd step out of their houses, eat a basket of two-legged sheep meat buns, rinse with a bowl of finely brewed sheep blood, meander to East Street to buy small toys made of sheep bones and skins like rattles, kites, and masks to entertain children, and then to the fabric stores in West Market to fetch a few yards of smooth sheep wool fabric for clothing...

If one didn't observe the dense yellow fog hovering over the city, or see the crimson ghost clouds that had solidified in the sky,

they might just think it was an ordinary city that was well-organized, and where the residents lived and worked in peace and contentment.

Even Tao Qian was momentarily stunned for half a breath.

Before this, he had been pondering another matter in his mind:

"Was it the Heavenly Venerate's intention not to send me back to Penglai Sea, but to cast me here instead?"

"Is something big going to happen in this Gao Ren City?"

"Or perhaps, is it related to my cultivation?"

If he considered these, what Tao Qian should be doing right now would be to discreetly explore the entire city for clues.

But Tao Qian didn't wish to do so.

He couldn't restrain himself for even a moment, especially when the scene unfolding at the luxurious and majestic City Lord Mansion entrance suddenly entered his sight, igniting the anger and killing intent that had been simmering deep within Tao Qian, erupting violently out of control.

Right in front of that luxurious City Lord Mansion, a whole family was showing off their close bonds.

A middle-aged couple decked out in fine clothes was sending off their youngest son to hunt along with their four daughters.

If they were human, then this scene could have been captured in a beautiful painting, a perfect depiction of "Lord Gao Sending His Young Son on a Hunt".

But though they were originally human, they were no longer so.

In that procession, every one of them was a demon, a ghost, or a devil, all decked out in full armor, fierce and menacing with an aura of death.

Look at the City Lord's wife, a fine figure of a large female vixen, with a big pale face, dark circles under her eyes, a yellow brow, a stench so foul it spread for miles, yet still she insisted on rouging her cheeks and layering her body haphazardly with various silken garments.

Then look at the four City Lord daughters; the eldest miss was a sharp-mouthed monkey-faced Rat Demon, the second young miss featured a long-necked and long-faced Horse Demon, the third young miss had pointed-mouth green eyes of a Wolf Demon, while the youngest miss sported double horns on her forehead, a Cow Demon.

In their midst was a small Pig Demon, corpulent with oily skin.

This Pig Demon sat atop a carriage carried by eight cultivators who were shackled at the hands and neck, their spirits crushed.

The chubby little Pig Demon, impatient, gestured with a wave of his hoof—for his mother and sisters to stop their prattle.

With his trotters, he gave a formal courtesy to the only member of the Human Clan in front of the large red door—an adult dressed in imperial robes with an imposing stature and a face full of lewdness.

In a deep and throaty voice, he said,

"Father dear, I'm off to have some fun."

"Don't go sneaking into my room to play with my concubines while I'm away."

"If you do that, when I succeed your position, I shall surely pay you back."

Even for Tao Qian, who had seen countless absurd things and been through many experiences,

at this moment, in this city, he felt as though his entire worldview was being reshaped, the world turned upside down, unbearable to witness, and unwilling to acknowledge directly.

Killing intent?

No, not just that, Tao Qian at this moment only had one idea, which was to destroy everything within this city, all those demons, this perverse order, wipe them out completely.

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