Longevity Chronicles
Chapter 528 - 360: Jade-faced Immortal Man is Backstabbed, Ancestor Dragon's Entire Group Harbors Ulterior Motives

Everyone knew that on the Immortal Demon Battlefield, the situation could change in the blink of an eye.

But such a quick succession of changes as had just occurred was still rare.

The Seven Evil Sects had hardly had time to gloat over the ingenious maneuvers of "Jade-faced Immortal Man Jia Sanyuan" before Tao Qian shattered their excellent situation to pieces.

With the fall of Shangyang City, a huge defeat was evident.

As the cultivators from Ancestor Dragon Society, filled with killing intent and anticipation of battle, looked set to storm the city, the disciples of the Seven Evil Sects all showed faces of utter despair.

Even Alchemist Saint Child Han Xiao and Yang Family's Heir Yang Cang had expressions of dejection. Faced with the daunting Zhong Ziyang and Chen Xiyi, they all drew back, whereas earlier they had brandished swords and used their Evil Demon Magic to brazenly and stubbornly fight against the True Inheritors of the Great Sects, holding their own without falling behind.

Now, realizing that the tide had turned, they didn't dare make a move again, lest they hear someone say, "There's no need to talk about morality with such Evil Demons, let's just join forces and attack them," and then be surrounded and killed.

It seemed Han Xiao and Yang Cang, both being outsiders, felt uncomfortable seeing the Seven Evil Sects' great business collapse yet they still had a way out.

The most unwilling to accept this outcome, however, were Zhao Tianba and Qi Wuxin.

They were both talents from the local province of New Moon, one the heir of the local great Zhao family and the other the Young Leader of the Hundred Sects Alliance.

Even if they fled, there was nowhere to escape.

They watched as the Ancestor Dragon Society broke into Shangyang and began slaughtering the disciples of the Seven Evil Sects.

In their eyes, there was a mix of anger, grief, and resentment, but their sadness was not for the Seven Evils but for themselves.

They foresaw a grim future: after the combined forces of Ancestor Dragon Society, Beichan Temple, and Xuan Dao Sect annihilated the Seven Evil Sects, they would assuredly root out their families and the Hundred Sects Alliance, plundering all their grains and treasures.

The victors, after all, had such privileges.

Compounding their misery was their complete inability to resist. They had been forced to submit to the Seven Evil Sects before, and now how could they possibly stand a chance against the alliance forces that had decimated the Seven Evil Sects?

Even surrendering would be futile, for the root of the problem lied in their differing paths.

When paths diverge, conflict and deadly battles ensue, and the losers are always annihilated.

This had been without exception since ancient times.

Confronted with these dire straits, Zhao Tianba and Qi Wuxin both turned to look at Jia Sanyuan, who was still in the Xuan Yang Huangjing Lake, no longer caring about the disparities or hierarchies between them.

Both of them spoke up one after the other, drawing clear lines.

First was Qi Wuxin, his voice hoarse as he shouted:

"Mr. Jia, the Hundred Sects Alliance was forcefully formed by your Seven Evil Sects, and there have always been many disputes and private intentions among us."

"Now that the grand enterprise has been destroyed, there's no need for the alliance to exist. It would be proper for it to dissolve."

"It's also a matter of fate that my ancestor chanced upon a volume of 'Blood Shadow Scripture.' With this, we started the Side Door lineage of Blood Shadow Sect. Recently, as my whole sect practiced our methods and trained, we traced back the source of our lineage and obtained the Great Fate Technique."

"We eventually learned that the root of our Daoist Skill originated from the Netherworld Demon Sect that mysteriously disappeared in ancient times. Now that the Demon Sect will return, the Blood Shadow Sect will also undergo ancestral return, leaving New Moon to join the Netherworld Demon Sect."

"Fellow Daoists, don't worry about us. Qi Wuxin is also leaving."

…

"What a Jade-faced Immortal Man you are, boasting of your omnipotence, easily reaching the heavens and the earth. Yet how could you be defeated so easily? Poor me, earlier I was blinded by the Devil, my heart scorched by the Evil Elixir, believing you truly had found the Dao of Longevity, earnestly convincing my father to drag our Zhao family onto your Seven Evils' treacherous boat. Now it's my fault my whole family will suffer. I despise you."

"Jia Sanyuan, today I, Zhao Tianba, cut off my grace and righteousness with you and cancel karmic ties."

"Fellow Daoists, my Zhao family will now relocate and leave New Moon Province. In the future, we will do good deeds and abstain from evil acts. I hope you won't pursue us."

"With this parting, Zhao Tianba is also leaving."

…

These two statements resounded, unavoidably seizing everyone's attention.

Well, both the righteous and the evil had now witnessed what fickle and shameless truly meant.

What seemed like ordinary words actually concealed some Profound Mystery.

One was making a direct cut and revealing his own foundation as a deterrent. Although hidden for many years, the terrifying reputation of the Netherworld Demon Sect was true, being one of the original sources of the Demon Path. Present demons sects like the Evil Sect and Demon Buddha Temple were considered its successors, with only the Secret Demon Sect and Taishang Demon Sect having histories comparable to it.

The much-coveted Great Book 'Blood God Scripture' was from this Demon Sect.

Now hearing the secret, that the Netherworld Demon Sect was about to return?

This piece of news made many cultivators take subconscious note.

The other, Zhao Tianba, was trying to erase the bad deeds of his Zhao family in one fell swoop, at the same time shifting the blame for the collusion with the Seven Evil Sects onto Jia Sanyuan.

To those uninformed and quite naive, it might seem like the Zhao family was a conscientious noble family, only momentarily fooled by the Jade-faced Immortal Man, and perhaps forgivable.

Unfortunately, there were no such naive and kindhearted people present, not even a purely virtuous hero like Lin Bujue. Hearing this, they couldn't help but reveal a sneer, their killing intent not diminishing but instead increasing.

Zhao Tianba knew this and uttered these words merely to make a clean break.

He was also displaying weakness, bargaining for some "relocation" time for the Zhao family.

Having said this, he turned and fled without even a struggle.

And thanks to the Ancestor Dragon Society being preoccupied with slaughtering the Seven Evil Cultivators, nobody paid him or Qi Wuxin any mind, focused as they were on the matter at hand. They planned to settle scores later, allowing the two to escape unchallenged.

Jade-faced Immortal Man Jia Sanyuan!

A few hours ago, he was still full of confidence, virtually the Young Master of New Moon Province.

Now, he had been backstabbed by his allies.

But he was no ordinary individual. He ignored the words of Zhao Tianba and Qi Wuxin as if they were within his expectations.

His naked and repulsively mutated body bore a pair of crimson eyes that fixated on Tao Qian inside Shangyang City.

The chill and hatred in those eyes seemed almost tangible.

The one previously suffering such treatment was Ying Qingdi.

Jia Sanyuan himself thought that his real opponent was Ying Qingdi, and that the one who could break through the city he defended would surely be this Reincarnated Ancestor Dragon.

Who could have expected a secret from the Toad Sect to emerge halfway through the fray?

He couldn't help but wonder whether this too was a deadly scheme by the Ancestor Dragon Society.

Could it be that Ying Qingdi had deliberately drawn all his attention as a decoy while the real trump card, the game-changer, was this person?

At this thought, Jia Sanyuan immediately turned his head to look at Ying Qingdi.

Just at that moment,

the previously besieged and beleaguered Ying Qingdi, tangled with a large number of exploding mutated dragon beasts, suddenly smiled, raising his hand to take out a large golden plate.

This object was glittering in gold, exceedingly bright as if forged from gold, surrounded by an aura of rainbow light, incredibly wondrous—it was Ying Qingdi's prized treasure "Yellow Heaven Evil Mirror."

"Freeze!"

With the treasure mirror in hand, Ying Qingdi abruptly spoke.

Immediately after, numerous splendors, each the size of a walnut, flew out of the mirror, rolling through the air, transforming into yellow-robed attendants.

Each of these attendants found a dragon beast, saying "May the Ancestor Dragon Soul bless you" before embracing the dragon beast and exploding together, descending to Huangquan.

Booming sounds erupted, resonating simultaneously within two to three breaths.

The yellow light and bloody mist dissipated, and the sky was abruptly clear.

The previously deceased yellow-robed attendants all revived, returning back into the treasure mirror.

The Trapped Dragon Self-Destruction Array, which could give any Perfected Cultivator of Cavernous Mystery a headache, was so effortlessly broken by Ying Qingdi.

Seeing this scene, Jia Sanyuan's spirit trembled, almost spitting blood, and was even more confirmed in his thoughts.

Struggling, he roared,

"What magnanimous heroes, so sly and ruthless, to play me like this, it's the utmost shamelessness."

"Ying Qingdi!"

"Do you really feel at ease, letting all the fame and credit go to the Toad Sect Secret?"

"Be aware that prestige is of utmost importance. That man joined your Ancestor Dragon Society midway, superficially a man of high morals, holding the power of obtaining two Ancestor God Treasures consecutively, and with the merit of breaking Shangyang City. I see he also has quite a good relationship with Zhong Ziyang, Chen Xiyi, and others... If he harbors bad intentions to take your place, I'm afraid he could succeed."

"If I were you, I would eliminate him right now, cut him down and that's that."

"Sss!"

Upon hearing these words, the crowd couldn't help but raise their heads to look.

Especially Lin Bujue, Zhong Ziyang, and others, their eyes trembled, their spirits shaken.

What a Jade-faced Immortal Man!

On the brink of death, he did not forget to set a trap.

If it were a ruthless character hearing these reasoned and well-founded words of provocation, even if they did not strike Tao Qian on the spot, they would likely become suspicious, and ultimately they would not be able to resist plotting to harm him in the future.

After uttering these words, he still felt it was not enough.

In secret, he immediately transmitted a message to Ying Qingdi,

"Mr. Ying Daoist, what a clever tactic, this time you have won, I, Jia Sanyuan, have nothing to say."

"As per our previous tacit agreement, I will lead my cultivators back to the Seven Evils Cave Heaven and hand over New Moon Province to you."

"Afterward, you need to secretly give me two million mortals for my Seven Evil Sects to use in alchemy."

"Do you remember this agreement? Do you acknowledge it?"

...

Superficially a leader of the Righteous, yet covertly conniving with Evil Demons to seize lands using tyrannical methods combined with cunning schemes.

In the eyes of Jia Sanyuan, Ying Qingdi should be a terrifyingly ambitious character.

Thus, at this critical juncture, he chose to openly sow discord, planting seeds of enmity, hoping to use Ying Qingdi's hand in the future to eliminate the culprit behind the downfall of the Seven Evil Sects—the sudden emergence of the Toad Sect's Secret, Master Skull Smashing Lin Runiu.

Behind closed doors, however, he demanded that the ambitious fulfill their promise.

He guessed that Ying Qingdi must be unwilling, but constrained by the deal, he would probably agree for now, and make other plans upon success.

This way, he and the Seven Evil Sects still had room to maneuver, a chance for vengeance.

If Ying Qingdi was indeed such a person, Jia Sanyuan's plot might just succeed.

Unfortunately, he could never imagine

that Ying Qingdi was mad.

What Jia Sanyuan saw as "secret collusion" was seen quite differently from Ying Qingdi's perspective.

Even at this very moment, the words entering his ears, laden with threats, might even be... praise in the ears of Ying Qingdi?

Regardless of what it was, Ying Qingdi's face showed no change after listening.

Instead, he turned the "Yellow Heaven Evil Mirror" towards him.

All the while laughing loudly and righteously declaring,

"Hahaha... Demon Jia, you wait until you're at death's door to think of stirring up discord, isn't it a bit too late?"

"Do you think that I, Ying Qingdi, have fought across dozens of provinces and initiated dozens, nearly a hundred uprisings, just to compete for lands? To become a vulgar Emperor?"

"What I am doing, it's all for this nation and its people."

"I believe that Brother Runiu and all other Daoist friends also hold the same aspirations as I."

"I have never been attached to this position; whether it's Brother Runiu or any other Daoist who wishes to take it, just utter a word, and I, Ying Qingdi, will surely abdicate."

"Jia Sanyuan, no use struggling anymore, just go to your death."

Ying Qingdi's words echoed across the skies of Shangyang City.

As people like Tao Qian listened, their brows furrowed slightly, absorbed in thought.

And others like Yin Susu and Xu Wenkai, upon hearing this, their eyes were filled with admiration, truly taking his words at face value.

Some even went further, starting to think about how to seize the fruits of victory, to make Ying Qingdi willingly abdicate, to divide the lands, and steal supplies and treasures.

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