Longevity Chronicles
Chapter 429 - 297: Nine Provinces' Twelve Treasures, Great Freedom Buddha's Son

Gao Ren City, or rather, the once Ganyue City.

Twenty thousand survivors, like walking corpses, were seeking revenge, venting their anger.

Though they were gnawing, they were not truly swallowing.

Still, to prevent any accidents, Tao Qian had his Demon lieutenants and the likes of Little Age and Shan Jiu carefully watch over them.

In this eerie atmosphere, Tao Qian began to examine a poison sack he held in his hand.

That thing, called the "Hundred Plagues Bag".

It was an organ inside Gao Wan's body, but also a magical treasure, and could even be used for storage.

At this moment, Tao Qian, following the guidance and records, soon pulled out a special object, also a magic artifact, named "Red Corpse Hundred Punishment Umbrella".

The moment he touched it, Tao Qian knew its secrets.

This treasure was a true demon object.

Not to be used in battle, nor for defense.

Its only purpose was for punishment.

Within, it had over a hundred cruel punishments set: skinning, bisecting, quartering, along with the Five Punishments, death by slow slicing, hanging, boiling, castration, foot amputation, needle insertion—all imaginable tortures. Commoners couldn't withstand it for even a moment before confessing everything. Even cultivators, if thrown into the umbrella, their Divine Souls restrained, unable to use their powers, would not last long.

"The remnants of the Zhu Royal Family who had fled here were tortured for seven days and were nearly wiped out, yet still they revealed nothing."

"Even Gao Wan himself knew that these people likely had no idea where the Ancestor God Treasure Fragment was, but he chose to continue the torture."

"There was no other reason; Gao Wan was a brute; mere killing could not satisfy his desire for cruelty, only personally administering torture could relieve him."

With this thought, Tao Qian casually opened the large umbrella with a black background and embroidered with blood flowers.

Along with a flash of blood light, three surviving members of the Zhu Royal Family were flung out.

No surprises, they were all women.

A mother and two daughters, all with good looks and figures.

Despite being covered in scars and fainting amidst the blood mist, they were still quite enticing.

Tao Qian pointed at the forehead of the older, beautiful woman.

At once, a record emerged.

"So it's the consort of one of the Imperial City's Zhu princes, the consort of Gui King, Wanrong, and her two daughters, Zhu Biyin and Zhu Jinchun."

"Before the great change in the Imperial City, the Emperor had summoned all his royal kinsmen to the palace, and the Gui King was one of them."

"After the Zhu Dynasty was surrounded and destroyed by eighteen armies, the royal kinsmen scattered and fled, with this branch of the Gui King choosing Tiannan Province."

"Only to fall victim to the Gao family upon entering this province."

"The entire family of the Gui King was tortured to death by Gao Wan, leaving only the best-looking mother and two daughters."

"How pitiful that the Gui King indeed did not know the whereabouts of the Ancestor God Treasure."

Muttering this, Tao Qian's gaze fell directly onto the mouth corner of the consort of Gui King, Li Wanrong.

There, was a mole.

"Divine treasures conceal themselves!"

"If a treasure does not want to be found, unless compelled by a powerful cultivator with mana, or summoned by secret technique, no amount of effort will secure it."

"Having said that, this treasure has chosen quite a tricky hiding spot."

After saying this, the mole on the corner of Li Wanrong's mouth detached itself.

With a flash of faint light, it transformed into an object that landed in Tao Qian's hands.

This object was cast in bronze.

With a round opening, double handles, a deep belly, and a ringed foot.

The surface was even engraved with ancient runes, proving to be an ancient and simple bronze gui.

In the Ancient Era, it was a container for cooked food, used to hold grains like millet, sorghum, rice, and barley.

The moment the treasure was in his grasp, marvelous scenes unfolded.

Though the gui was empty, Tao Qian could still smell an extremely strong fragrance of grains which whetted his appetite.

It should be noted that Tao Qian was now "Perfect Transcend Mortality," having entirely shed his mortal body and now a Taishang No Leaking, Spirit Treasure Sublime Body, he no longer needed any common food for longevity.

Just this sign told him it was a good treasure.

Indeed, in the next moment, the record that had intrigued Tao Qian burst forth:

[[Record Name: Valley God Gui.]]

[[Record Type: Magical Treasure.]]

[[Record: One of the Fragments of the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique, upon falling into the realm of Tian Chao, it transformed into an Exotic Treasure among the "Nine States' Twelve Treasures." This treasure is part of a complete set of twelve components; when assembled, it has a power not inferior to the Mountain and River Map, and possibly even greater. This is one of the components, the Valley God Gui, containing the wonders of the Five Grains and agriculture. Holding and refining it can save All People from famine.]]

[[Note One: This treasure possesses the ability to hide divinely. Unless it acknowledges its owner, even cultivators of the Ultimate Happiness Realm can only predict its vague location, and even if they arrive in person... due to being recognized by Human Dao Destiny, it can be refined in a moment.]]

[[Note Two: Although this treasure does not possess offensive power, it has many wonderful uses: defense, array formations, alchemy. Yet its true great use is in cultivating the Five Grains foodstuffs, spirit seedlings, and holy seeds. Besides that, any lifeform or dead thing can be thrown into it, refined by the treasure to remove impurities, yielding pure foodstuff.]]

…

Upon reading the second note, Tao Qian pondered for a moment, then immediately started to act.

He who hesitates in taking what heaven offers will reap only regret.

This treasure was meant to be the good fortune that Tao Qian had lost but now regained.

"Having lost the Ancestor Spirit and the Mountain and River Map, but compensated with a Valley God Gui, I suppose I can reluctantly accept it,"

Tao Qian got a bargain yet played coy, muttering this to himself.

Then, immediately, an unforeseen new complication arose that he had never anticipated.

The record hadn't gotten it wrong; this treasure that had driven Gao Wan mad with his inability to find it, Tao Qian was able to refine in the blink of an eye.

But what it didn't mention was that there would be changes during the refining of the treasure.

As the dazzling radiance churned on top of the pile of corpses, Tao Qian instantly refined a new Ancestor God Treasure, and at the same time, a blurry map flashed through his mind.

On the atlas, eleven light spots twinkled, each spot representing one Ancestor God Treasure.

Together, they formed the so-called "Nine States' Twelve Treasures."

When Tao Qian contemplated it, each light spot even transmitted detailed location information and ways to obtain the treasures.

With the Valley God Gui in hand, Tao Qian couldn't help but freeze, blinking his eyes, his pupils brimming with astonishment:

"Well, I'll be!"

"What happened to the divine treasures hiding their essence? Could it be they only conceal themselves from everyone but me?"

"Moreover, this development, why does it feel so much like the treasure-hunting games of my previous life, 'fragment plus one, fragment plus one, and another plus one...' "

Overwhelmed, Tao Qian criticized and did not even spare himself.

At this moment, he also realized that this was probably the profound intention of the Heavenly Venerate.

The gains after transcending the tribulation, are they still not over?

Human Dao destiny, is just one aspect.

What followed was the Ancestor God Treasures.

Such as, this Valley God Gui.

Now aware of the situation, Tao Qian found himself struggling with difficulty.

"I was influenced by the Nine Toad Pearl, my original plan was to immediately return to the Penglai Sea."

"Wandering outside, one encounters tribulations from time to time, not to mention my disciple and I have too many enemies. One careless step could mean the destruction of my life and cultivation, while going back to Ascending Immortal Island and petting cats feels like paradise."

"Yet now, these Ancestor God Treasures that can rival the Mountain and River, the 'Nine States' Twelve Treasures,' are right in front of me, just awaiting a little effort to be easily obtained."

"Wouldn't it be a pity to miss this opportunity?"

"Keep in mind that treasures like the Buddha Bird Relics, Nine Toad Pearl, and Holy Embryo Bag can be called Protecting Dao Treasures, and the Nine States' Twelve Treasures are evidently even stronger."

"What should I do?"

Just as Tao Qian was racked with indecision,

Suddenly, a serene radiance flashed in the air in front of the pile of corpses, and it was Lian Jing'er, with a Treasure Wheel hanging behind his head, who appeared abruptly.

He swung his hand, and the Treasure Wheel behind his head immediately projected a series of scenes.

In the images, it was conspicuously shown that four groups were approaching Gao Ren City from different directions.

And each group was composed entirely of cultivators and demons.

The reason was simple to discern: these people all travelled using Evasion Light, rushing over like arrows of streaming light.

At the same moment, Tao Qian heard Lian Jing'er's mechanical voice explaining,

"From the southeast, northwest, all four directions of Gao Ren City, people are coming."

"Detection of qi energy has been conducted, and comparisons with the Primordial Human Record have been made."

"Conclusions are being drawn..."

Others would find Lian Jing'er's actions at this time rather abnormal.

Could this Mechanical Species really determine the information of these four groups coming this way solely by remote observation?

In fact, it could, even determining the cultivators' realms was not difficult for Lian Jing'er.

This was one of his Innate Divine Abilities.

And the other information was obtained with the help of the "Primordial Human Record," which belonged to the National Salvation Congress, but really was a painstaking collection by the Primordial Sect from within the seventy-two provinces of the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty.

It recorded the renowned figures, whether populous humans or those in the Cultivation World, and was stored within the Secret Realm of All People.

In short, the Primordial Sect's database.

Back in Demon City, Tao Qian got on good terms with the National Salvation Congress and even cooperated closely, eventually allowing Lian Jing'er to represent him in the database search.

However, what even the National Salvation Congress didn't know was how formidable Lian Jing'er's talent for carrying information was; not only the record was completely noted by him.

Of course, those worthy of the Primordial Sect's attention could never be ordinary people.

Even someone like "Gao Wan" was not listed in the records.

Tao Qian had not originally thought that these four sudden visitors had the credentials, until the next moment, Lian Jing'er's mechanical voice again spoke:

"There are fifteen people heading towards the East City Gate, all cultivators, mostly at the Foundation Establishment Realm, with one at the front at the Perfect Transcend Mortality Realm. Through comparison, this person's identity has been confirmed,"

"Yang Tingjian, one of the Great Freedom Temple's Buddha's sons, has entered the world.

"Rumors say that although he is a Buddha's son, he had the ambition to enter the court and save the country. After stepping into the world, he has visited more than a dozen provinces and was ultimately thoroughly disappointed with the court. He once denounced the then governor of the Ancient Yu Province, Huang Gongzhao, during a Daoist and Buddhist convention, claiming he would find a Bright Lord to assist and must overturn the Zhu Dynasty to establish a new one."

"Upon uttering such treacherous and heretical words, Huang Gongzhao did not pursue his rebellious intentions. Instead, he instructed those present not to disclose the information, saying that since Yang Tingjian had great ambition, he should be allowed to demonstrate it."

"After several years of scrutiny, indeed, he chose a small warlord from the Ancient Yu Province, Si Xixin, to support, allegedly from the extremely ancient Si Family that dates back a thousand years."

"A Hidden Cultivator from the Primordial Sect evaluated him, saying he had grand talent and breadth of vision, destined for greatness."

"As of the Demon City incident, Si Xixin's influence still accounted for less than one-tenth of Ancient Yu Province, with under his command, only tens of thousands of valiant soldiers."

...

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