Longevity Chronicles
Chapter 449 - 312: The Outer Realm Evil Spirit's Spiritual Resonance, Tao Qian Dupes the Four Demons

Tao Qian had originally thought that after surviving that tribulation, the greatest benefit would be the fortune bestowed upon him by the Human Dao, or the Divine Talismans granted by the Heavenly Venerate.

However, upon hearing Master Yuan's guidance, he suddenly realized.

The "All Techniques are Unstained, Immune to All Evil" wonderful body that he now possessed was the real great advantage.

Everything else was external, merely assisting tools.

The Spirit Treasure Sublime Body, on the other hand, was the Dao Foundation, and it was the most extraordinary kind.

"No wonder, back when I was in the Golden Radiance Arena selecting among the three methods, my master had said, if I chose the Third Method, I would have a much easier time during the Daoist Transformation Tribulation compared to others. So, it was referring to this."

"Now it seems not only is the Daoist Transformation Tribulation easier, but if I have the chance to break through to the Tribulation Immortal Realm in the future, this Spirit Treasure Sublime Body could also lend some assistance."

"Wonderful, indeed wonderful! Not bad, not bad at all!"

Tao Qian muttered to himself, his face revealing his joy.

However, very soon, he turned his attention back to the unfolding scene.

Although Tao Qian had used the Demon to create chaos and exploited the greed of the group of Evil Cultivators, at most times, strength was still the fundamental aspect.

The Grave Mountain Three Demons were already extremely powerful.

The one acting now was even the heavyweight Elder of the Seven Evil Sects, "Jiu Yan Supreme," who held sway over this place.

As a Cavernous Mystery Complete realm, and receiving praise from Master Yuan, he was truly a powerful person.

With just a single Nine-Colored Smoke River, he had effortlessly killed a third of the rabble, and the remaining forces, including those Four Cavernous Mystery Evil Demons and Loose Cultivators, were deterred and dared not to move rashly.

If this continued, all the Treasure Pills would be dragged back into the Corpse Bone Tower by Jiu Yan Supreme.

After a major upheaval and chaos, this group of Demon Cultivators would only share a few dozen Treasure Pills, and although they had some treasures and mechanisms to compensate, from the perspective of the group of demons and devils, it was still a major loss.

But without the prowess to match, none dared to foolishly rush to their deaths.

"Continue the attack! All of Golden Sand Sect have perished, leaving only Iron Demon Master and Master Stone Corpse. Though Jiu Yan Supreme is fierce, he is trapped inside the tower because of his alchemy and therefore cannot harm us."

"That's right, if we can break through the Cavernous Mystery defenses and dismantle that Corpse Bone Tower, who knows, there might be great gains and opportunities."

"All the Treasure Pills have been snatched back, can you all bear this? The Great Dao is right in front of our eyes."

"If we can seize the opportunity to kill Jiu Yan Supreme, there will surely be great benefits."

"Well said, Daoist, why don't you lead the charge?"

"Daoist looks so ugly, how can you have such beautiful thoughts? If I charge forward, wouldn't that be akin to seeking death?"

"Heh, you know it yourself too."

...

Hidden among the Demon Cultivators, Tao Qian listened to these conversations and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

This mob actually possessed no insignificant strength; if they were to swarm up together, although they might not necessarily trouble Jiu Yan Supreme, Iron Demon and Stone Corpse would undoubtedly die, and many of the Treasure Pills could presumably be snatched back.

The price to be paid for such an action, however, would be the death or injury of half of their number yet again.

None of them was a fool, and they all came to this understanding, which is why no one was willing to be the first to charge.

Tao Qian had already put away the Toad God Tile by then, a treasure that was extremely useful. He reckoned that if he threw it into the Corpse Bone Tower, he could likely knock Jiu Yan Supreme unconscious with a single hit. Even if that weren't possible, he could at least make him see stars and become dizzy, unable to maintain the Nine-Colored Smoke River.

However, to avoid revealing too many traces, Tao Qian decided not to act in such a way.

He only glanced at the repulsive Corpse Bone Tower, musing to himself: "Given the time, Zhong Ziyang and Lin Bujue should have successfully obtained what they wanted and slipped away silently."

But as this thought crossed his mind, a message from the man himself arrived.

Zhong Ziyang's voice, unusually urgent, came into his ears:

"Mr. Lin Daoist, there has been an unexpected development here."

"The Seven Evil Divine Machine is quite peculiar, existing between life and death. It seems like an inanimate object, but in reality, it is a living thing, an Outer Realm Evil Spirit, containing a trace of primeval Demon Nature. After I inspected its mechanism body and took some flesh and dust to make predictions, I unexpectedly saw a terrifying scene: mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the pus of the Great Abyss."

"This object, while utilized by Alchemists and the Seven Evil Sects, actually harbors dark intentions, clearly classified as an Outer Realm Evil Spirit, making use of the Alchemists to sneak here. We cannot allow it to proliferate within this realm."

"Lin is currently casting a spell, using a spirit ghost to steal an Evil Talisman from the body of Jiu Yan Supreme, inside which is recorded the hiding places of all 'Seven Evil Divine Machines' within New Moon Province."

"Daoist, act quickly too and strive for more time. It would be best if you could get that group of Demon Cultivators to break into the tower... You need not worry about leaking your fate and energy, I have methods to cover for you."

"Hm?"

Hearing these voices, Tao Qian seemed to see the urgency on Zhong Ziyang's face.

To provoke such a reaction from this Taishang True Inheritor, it was clear that the Seven Evil Divine Machine was indeed not an ordinary Outer Realm evil object.

Subconsciously, Tao Qian reached out for the Toad God Tile, aiming to hit Jiu Yan Supreme's back of the head.

But after further thought, he quickly changed his mind.

The tile was useful, but after all, with the Corpse Bone Tower and Forbidden Techniques in the way, it was unlikely to score a hit in one attempt.

Moreover, such an action would not be sufficiently disruptive.

Whatever he had in mind, his gaze suddenly fixed on the smoke river in the sky, and with a smile, he said:

"Three Poisons and Six Dusts hold great power against the mortal Human Race and Evil Cultivators."

"But the Heavenly Demon is formless, not bound by these, solely influenced by greed. This, too, is easily handled. As a half Secret Demon Child who dabbles in Summoning and Controlling Demons, suppressing the greed of these demons to make them devote themselves single-mindedly, what difficulty would there be?"

Before Tao Qian's thoughts even settled, he was already acting.

He took out the Demon Gourd from his robe and immediately released hundreds of Heavenly Demons, then he pulled out Thunder Fire Gold Pills, Yin Thunder Pearls, Fire Spirit Pearls, Lead Yang Bombs, Red Crow Balls, and such from the Holy Embryo Bag.

Tao Qian had plundered all the way from Southern Yue, and with the protection of the elders from his sect, and after entering Demon City, he had not refrained from robbery and murder. While treasures such as the Buddha Bird Relics, which Protect the Dao, were rare, he had all kinds of pills that could explode with thunder and fierce fire.

Thus, his argument held persuasive power, and there was no chance of exposing his foundation.

After dividing the pills, Tao Qian ordered them to each choose a weak demon or evil cultivator and seize their bodies.

Once successful, they didn't need to do anything else; they would split into two groups. One would cast spells and fly into the colorful, splendid Smoke River in the sky, while the other would storm the Corpse Bone Tower.

Speaking of the Star Zha Demon, Joyful Demon, Substitute Demon, Decree Demon, and Red Lady—the group of Outer Realm Demons under Tao Qian's command.

In the initial stages, casualty rates were extremely high.

Especially during their time in Southern Yue, either they were captured by the Alchemist Saint Child or by the Devil God Princess. Of ten demons sent on missions, nine wouldn't return; it was a tragic situation.

However, the situation changed later. Tao Qian's cultivation soared, and his divine powers became stronger. Not only did the death rate of the demons greatly reduce, but Master Tao also became increasingly generous. The little bit that slipped through his fingers was more than enough for the demons to feast on.

Now, the demons had been tamed so thoroughly they probably couldn't be driven away even if one tried.

"Indeed!"

"Following the Master's orders."

"The Master is generous."

The flattery finished, the group of demons worked with high efficiency and silently seized more than a dozen demon bodies in the Qi Refinement Realm.

The standoff had lasted just over a few breaths when the ragtag bunch, startled and wanting to flee, was stopped.

But at that moment, an unexpected change occurred.

Instantly, a familiar laugh of a Heavenly Demon and the cackling sound were heard from within the group of demons, along with the bitterly vengeful words of the Outer Realm Demon.

"The old demons of the Seven Evil Sects are trash. Using the bodies of the Human Clan as bait to lure us into this world, you then stole our demon thoughts and demonic Qi for alchemy and took back the bait, leaving us just watching... In all the world, where is there such a good deal? We are Outer Realm Demons, and if we don't make your efforts come to nothing, how could our powers be shown?"

"And you mob of madness, a mere Cavernous Mystery demon cultivator unable to move a muscle has scared you all off; a complete waste, that's what you are."

"Come on, let us lend you a hand."

Before the voice had even finished, everyone saw the demon cultivators around them suddenly turn into dozens of streaks of light.

As if they were each about to end their own lives, they plunged straight into the center of the Nine-Colored Smoke River.

As the group of demons and devils looked on puzzled, the Smoke River exploded.

Various Thunder Fire Pills exploded in madness, and Tao Qian secretly fueled the flames with "Silent Divine Thunder."

Naturally, the Nine-Colored Smoke River wouldn't be easily destroyed.

However, numerous large tears appeared inside it, and several hundred treasure pills caught up in the turmoil found an opportunity to shoot out of the river and escape once more.

On the ground, the Iron Demon and Stone Corpse were about to take action.

They were suddenly faced with dozens of evil demon cultivators who, without a word, self-destructed.

While a low-level cultivator and a bunch of Thunder Fire Pills were far from enough to trouble the two Cavernous Mystery, they provided more than enough nuisance and distraction.

"What a waste the Golden Sand Sect is, concocting some elixirs, they've caused so many Outer Realm Demons to smuggle themselves in. They deserve death."

"Quick, we must fight a swift battle before more changes occur."

The two evil demons had sharp instincts; once Tao Qian made his move, he would never leave room for mistakes.

Besides these two groups, more demons like the Illusion Demon and Heart Demon were released to amplify the greed of the group of demons and devils.

The mob that had been ready to withdraw now rushed back in, clamoring and jostling for position.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Thunder Fire Pills, Tao Qian arranged for a Substitute Demon to seize the body of an old loose cultivator, who happened to grab a treasure pill.

The old man, holding the demon pill with disbelief, murmured,

"This... this is clearly a Nine Revolutions Primordial Demon Pill!"

"It's a demonic elixir, only possibly crafted by the Taishang Demon Sect's alchemical Exotic Treasure, the Primordial Demon Cauldron."

"It turns out that the sect got hold of this cauldron. Rumor has it that whoever obtains this treasure can feast on hundreds of pills daily. A Cavernous Mystery cultivator can reach Ultimate Happiness in a few months, even a Daoist Transformation..."

The old man didn't finish his sentence when he suddenly fell victim to a deadly attack from a high monk.

A heavy Iron Zen Staff smashed into him, blowing him into a mist of blood.

The old monk, one of the Four Demon Cultivators, took this action, naturally, upon hearing a secret and aiming to silence the old man.

Unfortunately, his reaction was too slow.

The other three evil monks turned their gazes toward him, their eyes filled with intense greed.

The Primordial Demon Cauldron!

Such a coveted Dao treasure, even if it meant taking risks, had to be contended for.

The Four Demons exchanged glances, no longer holding any reservations, and with great coordination, they charged toward the Corpse Bone Tower together.

The Iron Demon and Stone Corpse, just freed from the explosion of the Thunder Fire Pills, hadn't recover before they saw the dreadful faces of the Four Demons and the terrifying powers they wielded.

...

"A man dies for wealth as a bird dies for food; how true that is," Tao Qian mused from his hiding place, looking at the work he had orchestrated.

The reason why those Four Cavernous Mystery loose evil demons were fooled so easily was simple; at that moment, Tao Qian had quietly used a True Word Secret Decree which simply stated "The Four Demons' wisdom declines," and it was done.

p.s.: There will be another update later.