Longevity Chronicles
Chapter 445 - 308 Straw and Mud Fill the Human Shedding, 7 Evil God Mechanisms Hide a Great Secret_2

Tao Qian's eyebrows also furrowed tightly as he internally concluded something was amiss.

The walking corpses he had seen outside Gao Ren City had been contaminated by the gases arranged by the Gao Family.

Yet the citizens of Gao Ren City were only stained with filth and were driven to such a state by extreme hunger and cold, so they could recover momentarily upon eating the essence of the five grains.

But these people he was looking at now, Tao Qian judged at first sight:

"Useless!"

"These people, they must have been completely hollowed out."

"Even if I were to use the Valley God Gui to refine more of the essence of the five grains and supplement it with miraculous spiritual elixirs for treatment, I'm afraid it would be utterly ineffective."

Both Lin Bujue and Zhong Ziyang heard Tao Qian's telepathic message.

The latter's expression turned grave as he sighed:

"To establish factories with secret techniques and then use the Human Clan as fodder to refine all kinds of spirit pills and magic artifacts."

"The method of undermining the foundation of the Human Clan is said to have originated from the Seven Evil Sects, yet I fear that it is actually the handiwork of alchemists."

"The Seven Evil Sect used Golden Sand City as the initial test site, and the alchemists took New Moon Province as theirs."

"We reacted when it was far too late. The blood and flesh factories were spread throughout all the big and small cities of New Moon Province, especially in Golden Sand City, and in the capital city Shangyang, where one couldn't see a wisp of white cloud for thousands of miles, nor smell a bit of fresh air from the vast lands."

"If it were just that, it had been fine, but what is most shocking is the harm this method causes to the Mortal Human Race."

"Even drugs like Blessing Paste couldn't devastate people to this state."

"They don't even qualify as human anymore. They are... shells that are being hollowed out little by little."

No sooner had Zhong Ziyang finished speaking than Lin Bujue directly summoned a green-skinned spirit ghost to capture one of the dazed Mortal Human Race and bring him over.

To the naked eye, he was a robust man with a simple and honest face, standing in front of the three of them.

Anyone could imagine it.

This man must have sold himself here to provide for his family's sustenance.

Had there been no famine, with such a robust physique, he should have lived to his seventies or eighties without issue.

But as true practitioners, they could see at a glance: the man's life span was less than a month, he was days away from sudden death.

Lin Bujue's face was filled with anger as he reached out and directly lifted off the man's skull cap.

Inside, it was empty without a trace of brain or marrow, stuffed only with a clump of dry straw.

Lin Bujue suppressed his rage and said with restraint:

"In this secret realm, there is a factory called the Spirit Marrow Factory, whose master is the elder Cui Yuanyou of the Golden Sand Sect. He obtained a secret technique from the Seven Evil Sects, which allows harmlessly extracting the human brain marrow, and when mixed with various spiritual herbs, it creates a substance named 'Spirit Marrow Paste,' which is extremely tempting to all kinds of Demons and Evil Cultivators."

"No, even ordinary people or animals, upon eating this paste, may obtain many benefits."

"Common folks, however, risk severe illness if they partake."

"Only the Demons and Evil Cultivators face no repercussions."

"Apart from the so-called Golden Sand specialties like Fragrant Meat Elixir and Human Soul Elixir, what truly sold well beyond the borders of the province were items like this."

Having said this, Lin Bujue seemed to want to show Tao Qian thoroughly.

Once again, with a simple extension of his hand, he effortlessly opened up the robust man's chest and abdominal shell.

Inside, a horrifying change was revealed:

The five viscera and six bowels were all hollow, filled only with foul and rotten mud of five colors and six forms.

The spinal column and ribs had also vanished without a trace, replaced by someone with pieces of bamboo and wood.

Even Tao Qian, who had braced himself, changed his complexion completely at this sight.

Where could this still be called a person?

How could such a being be considered alive?

Lin Bujue had been aware of these details, but he still could not hide the rage in his heart as he spoke word by word:

"Within this secret realm, there are also the 'Refining Factory,' the 'Human Bone Factory,' the 'Blood Sausage Factory'... and so on, under the charge of Golden Sand Sect's Wang Yuan, Tuoba Shan, Diao Kui, Cai Hong, and other elders."

"They, along with the previously mentioned Cui Yuanyou, collaborate to start from the brain marrow at the top of the skull and work their way down, squeezing and exploiting a person until they turn into such a state."

"A robust man of the Mortal Human Race!"

"If he were sold off to be consumed by Demons and Evil Cultivators, he wouldn't be worth much wealth or provisions."

"But by using such a method, the profit is increased by dozens or even hundreds of times."

"After killing a person, not even their dead body is returned to their family."

"These beasts only hypocritically throw a bag of rice and flour and a few copper coins to the man's family and send them on their way."

"When they have used up everything, people are sent to deceive and persuade them. Whether it's the wife and children or the parents, they dupe another person into coming, making them sign a contract beforehand to dissolve any evil power.

"Golden Sand Sect, Seven Evil Sects, Alchemists... they've all gone mad!"

"If this continues, within a short time, the strength of dozens of provinces in the Northern Land will skyrocket, and it may not be long before they can crush the ten or so provinces in the Southern that are ahead of us."

"When that time comes, the Alchemists will once again unify the entire region, they must restore, revert to imperial rule, and revive the dynasty name."

"Brother Zhong, Mr. Lin Daoist, we need to quicken our pace. If we delay any longer and this abominable method spreads throughout the Northern Land Provinces, even if we capture New Moon Province, we'll be powerless to turn the tide."

Clearly, even Zhong Ziyang hadn't expected Lin Bujue to say such words.

Shock and horror appeared on his face.

Meanwhile, Tao Qian, after Lin Bujue finished speaking, suddenly felt a great turmoil within him.

Human Dao Destiny, premonitions of the heart, Ancestor God Treasure... all were surging.

In a trance, Tao Qian seemed to see something.

At this moment, he finally had some enlightenment: why Lingbao Tianzun didn't throw him back through the Mountain Gate, but instead re-invested him into the land, using the Ancestor God Treasure as a lure, keeping him within the territory of the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty.

The purpose, he feared, was precisely this.

After pondering for a moment, Tao Qian suddenly reached out, pointing a finger at the brow of the man who was nothing but a skin bag.

Lin Bujue and Zhong Ziyang didn't pay it any mind, thinking he was sensing through Secret Techniques.

In his mind, a Record that made Tao Qian's soul thunderously resonate erupted:

[Name: Human Shedding.]

[Record Type: Alien.]

[Record: This was originally a member of the Mortal Human Race. However, their blood, flesh, viscera, bone marrow, brain, soul, and desires... all have been taken away. Nothing remains but a skin bag filled with straw, muck, bamboo strips, and wood chunks, no longer human. Even so, this Human Shedding still has a layer of utility; it has been branded and will be thrown into the "Ten Thousand Spirit Demon Machine" in half an hour, where it will be forged and smelted. Every time a certain quantity of Human Shedding is fed into that machine, one furnace of Ten Thousand Spirit Demon Elixirs will be produced. This elixir, containing the spirits of all things, has great effects, one of which is to erase the price of a Great Cultivator's Cultivation.]

[Note One: Such Secret Techniques, using the Mortal Human Race as nourishment, originated from the Outer Realm and were obtained by the Ancestor Emperor, later falling into the hands of the Alchemists. After the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique collapsed, the Alchemists activated this method.]

[Note Two: The core of this Secret Technique is a special mechanistic creation called the Ten Thousand Spirit Demon Machine. Once the Original Machine is forged, it can give birth to a second, the second to a third, and the third to nine... in an endless cycle, interconnected. This location is a Secret Realm within Golden Sand City, and within a thousand feet, there is a Second Generation Demon Machine owned by the Seven Evil Sects. That is why it is known as the "Seven Evil Divine Machine."]

[Note Three: The first furnace of Ten Thousand Spirit Demon Elixirs will be born today.]

...

Even though the Record ended abruptly there, it was enough.

In Tao Qian's mind, it was as if thunder was rolling.

He was not a foolish man; the secrets he glimpsed from the Record were enough for Tao Qian to deduce the Alchemists' plan.

To unify the Seventy-two Provinces again and restore the name and imperial rule?

Indeed so, but that was only part of it.

What the Alchemists wanted was far more than that.

Tao Qian withdrew his finger and turned his head, suddenly saying to Zhong Ziyang:

"Mr. Zhong Daoist, I've heard that Great Sects like the Taishang Dao and Spirit Treasure Sect once had a pact with the Alchemists not to intervene in the affairs of the mortal world."

"I wonder if this pact can be circumvented."

"The Alchemists are vile. In New Moon Province, they use the Seven Evil Sects as a vanguard. In other provinces of the Northern Land, they likely have also supported some pawns. At the same time, they misuse this kind of Secret Technique to harm the Mortal Human Race... Even if the Ancestor Dragon Society captures New Moon Province this time, I fear it still won't be able to stop the Alchemist's conspiracy."

"It would be best to nip this in the bud once and for all."

"If we could ask the powerful ones of Taishang Dao to take action and directly eradicate that group of old monsters of the Alchemists, would it not be perfect?"

Zhong Ziyang was still immersed in Lin Bujue's most recent words, and upon hearing what Tao Qian had to say:

Without much thought, he immediately shook his head and replied:

"It cannot be circumvented!"

"That pact was not made with the Alchemists but with the Ancestor Emperor."

"Even if the Alchemists' group of the Daoist Transformation Realm old monsters enter the world, it would not be considered a breach of the pact... Huh?"

A High-level Cultivator, upon touching upon some critical matter, will have epiphanies and sense premonitions.

Tao Qian was somewhat special, more sensitive than most High-level Cultivators.

But Zhong Ziyang was also not weak.

Especially since he cultivated the [Taishang Great Yan Divine Skill], which excels in Prediction. Once reminded, there must be resonances in the depths of his soul.

In an instant, his face changed drastically, and he exclaimed:

"Not good!"

"This bunch of old beasts, they... they want to re-enter the world, they want to become Emperors again using the Daoist Transformation Realm."