Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 307 - 223: Soul Search to Spy Secrets, Seeking Joy in the Bustling Market

"The Ninth Prince possesses impressive cultivation skills, and even had Cultivators sent by the Taishang Demon Sect to guard him. However, the scene was chaotic at that time, and the Dragon-locking Needle is an invisible object, activated by mere thought, making it nearly impossible to guard against."

"Along with the screams, the Ninth Prince's Protective Demon Light shattered, and his Dragon Root was pierced by eighty-one Xuan Nu Needles. It was bad enough that his accumulated Essence Blood was completely drained, but the root of his Dragon Root was also locked by the Exotic Treasure. If he could not break the curse within eighty-one days, for the rest of his life, he would be incapable of walking the great path of Human Relations."

"Due to this catastrophe, the Ninth Prince fell into a rage, repeatedly attempting to lead a military campaign against Xiao Chenzhou, the father of Princess Taiping, leader of the branch of the Taiping Army advancing towards West Capital."

"Unfortunately, the majority of the Ninth Prince's forces were naval, with no land forces to command, leaving him completely helpless against Xiao Chenzhou."

"Because of this, the Ninth Prince has recently become increasingly deranged. Rumor has it that his hosting of the treasure convention was exactly for the purpose of gathering rare and exotic treasures from around the world to remove the eighty-one Dragon-locking Needles and heal his offspring root."

"Of course, the convention was merely a front. The Taishang Demon Sect has extraordinary means and already has the method to resolve the Dragon-locking Needle issue, requiring only the collection of all necessary spiritual materials."

"…

'The Returning Immortal Mirror was right; this Princess Taiping, Xiao Chunjiao, is indeed ruthless. It's unclear what the Ninth Prince did to offend her.'

Tao Qian continued to read through He Sen's memories while also unable to help but express his amazement.

The power involved in this major incident further broadened Tao Qian's horizons.

When he was in Southern Yue, Tao Qian saw a branch of the Taiping Army emerge from within the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva to assist Tang Xianzong in a joint attack against Ji Xianxian.

That army belonged to Zhang Yuanji, who was also a leader of a branch of the Taiping Army, dubbed the 'Primordial King.'

From He Sen's memories, it seemed that their power was no less than that of Xiao Chenzhou, the Prince of West Capital.

This indirectly reflects the current chaos and frailty of the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty. A self-proclaimed prince of the Taiping Army dared to have his daughter assassinate the reigning Ninth Prince and even succeeded, yet the Ninth Prince was unable to do anything about it.

Utterly preposterous!

After his amazement, Tao Qian continued to dig deeper.

As Record had said, He Sen indeed held a high place in the esteem of another 'Saint Heir' of the Alchemist sects, Huang Chong.

He had indeed many secrets and important information in his mind.

Tao Qian quickly browsed through them while summarizing.

In not too long, he had a rough understanding of the current situation in Demon City and, compared to other well-informed Cultivators, Tao Qian knew many more secrets.

It was while Tao Qian began to unearth secrets related to the 'Saint Child' called Huang Chong, that an ominous sense of danger manifested without warning.

The next moment, a muffled 'boom' was heard.

In front of Tao Qian, it was as if a watermelon had burst open, with blood, flesh, and shattered bones spraying in all directions, along with some strange pale brain matter.

There was also a faint light flickering, obviously carrying some abnormalities.

If touched, it may be harmful.

However, Tao Qian had sensed it early on and had disappeared from the first floor before the explosion, managing to completely avoid it.

At the second floor staircase, Tao Qian frowned slightly as he looked at the scene that seemed like a dye workshop married with a violent crime.

The explosion of He Sen's Divine Soul and head, although somewhat unexpected, also made sense.

From He Sen's point of view, Saint Child Huang Chong not only possessed Cavernous Mystery Realm cultivation, but he was also elegant and charming, endowed with extraordinary wisdom, cunning, and masterful at the art of uniting and leveraging others' powers to achieve his own goals.

He seemed to be stronger than Qin Wuxiang; it was normal for him to meddle in the Divine Soul of his loyal subordinates.

Although Tao Qian didn't get a detailed look at Huang Chong's information or learn the internal structures of the 'Alchemist Organization', his arduous Soul Search yielded significant rewards.

Apart from learning about the origins and consequences of the Ninth Prince's emasculation, he faintly became aware of another major event brewing in Demon City.

Moreover, after grasping those memories, Tao Qian's own Cultivation Tribulation Technique and Human Dao Destiny within his body began to stir.

Without a doubt, he was touching upon a disaster.

"According to He Sen's memories, the Ninth Prince was not only prepared early on to refine the 'Six Desires Demon Pill' to heal his offspring root, but he was also concocting a great conspiracy."

"That conspiracy is the source of the current chaotic situation in Demon City."

"Many forces in the Cultivation World learned through various channels that the Ninth Prince possesses a treasure of immense power."

"The power of that treasure is incredibly terrifying. Anyone who gets a hold of it can refine it to completely control a territory comparable to Demon City, where they can follow the saying and enforce their will, killing or sparing at their heart's desire."

"Even though many forces suspect this could be a trap set by the Ninth Prince, as seeking after Demon City equates seeking skin from a tiger, when greed takes over, it's not so easily dispelled."

"This conspiracy involves several other major forces apart from the Ninth Prince himself."

"The first is the absurd warlord from Ancient Qin Province, Zhang Jiudeng, who, to demonstrate his commitment to the alliance, even sent his only son Zhang Baisui to Demon City as a hostage."

"The second is the Alchemist Organization, namely Saint Child Huang Chong. This is quite normal; those Saint Heirs from the Alchemist Organization, like Qin Wuxiang, enter the world with the purpose of selecting someone to support for the Dragon Court."

"Qin Wuxiang chose the tyrant Ji Xianxian, but failed due to Bai Qin's calculation."

"Huang Chong, apparently, has chosen the Ninth Prince, planning together with the Taishang Demon Sect, to support him in ascending to the throne."

Tao Qian's mind flickered with thoughts, as he sorted through the complex memories obtained from a soul search.

He then glanced at the horrific crime scene before him, tugged at the corners of his mouth, and muttered,

"Divine Soul self-destructed, I guess it won't be long before Huang Chong finds out that He Sen has been soul-searched by me."

"But knowing that, what does it have to do with me, Master Tao?"

As soon as he finished mocking himself, Tao Qian's figure had completely vanished from the dilapidated Western-style building in Japan.

...

Sleeves sweeping people in, another soul search for secrets had resulted in a good and complete Transcend Mortality Cultivator, the local leader of the Changchun Society, He Sen, dying miserably inside a Western-style building in Japan.

Tao Qian, who had done such a thing, was now effortlessly blending into the night market of Demon City with three youngsters in tow.

The nightlife in this bustling city wasn't for the commoners, but a portion of the wealthy could enjoy it, and many commoners were part of it—only as part of the backdrop of this grand scene, serving others for a living.

Of course, there were also many who were not satisfied with their lot.

On Tianjing Road, the most prosperous commercial street in Demon City, there were one grand building after another, like the Demon City Royal Bank, Hundred Beasts Restaurant, Ultimate Happiness Stage, Yong'an Department Store, Hongsheng Silver Building... and so on.

Many who came to make their mark in Demon City would first stop here to look around and dream of their future.

Just like now, at the street corner opposite the Ultimate Happiness Stage, a group of youths chewing on sugar cane and eating steamed buns sat with eyes gleaming at the vibrant scene before them.

Among them, a few were casually dressed with unkempt appearances, and although each was a Cultivator, their Cultivation was truly meager, merely at the Energy-Introducing Realm.

Tao Qian took a whim to sit with them, hiding his own Cultivation, because they had all emerged from the General's City.

All with eyes filled with envy at the Demon City grandeur that their rural territories could not match.

Thinking they were speaking softly so no one could hear, they didn't expect Tao Qian to hear everything.

"Just look at Demon City, it's so beautiful, so much better than our hometowns. Look at those dancing girls' big butts, tsk tsk, imagine one of them sitting on your lap and shaking, the feeling must be so much more satisfying than with a female zombie, and no need to worry about being absorbed."

"Shh, what nonsense are you spouting? These are living people, how can you compare them to Floating Corpses?"

"Heh heh, no matter how good this place is, what's the use? We can't afford the good food, and the pretty women look down on us. If only Master hadn't strictly forbidden us from using Mana, then... huh huh."

"I say we just do it secretly. They're just ordinary civilians; how could they withstand my hypnotism Secret Skill?"

"If you want to find death, go by yourself, don't drag your brothers into it. You really think this place is the same as our rural territories? This is Demon City, not only is it the Ninth Prince's territory, but it's also crawling with Ten Thousand Demons, and countless other Cultivators."

"If anyone dares to commit a serious offense here and disturb the order, don't say our small Energy-Introducing Realm shrimps—even those of Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, or Transcend Mortality would die just the same."

"Brother is right. When we left, Master also said Demon City is getting more and more dangerous and told us not to court death."

"We came out to gain knowledge. The higher-ups in our sect have important matters to attend to, so let's not hold them back. Being turned into a zombie would not be good."

Listening to these crude words, which also revealed no secrets,

Tao Qian was not disappointed. All Techniques Sect was a truly loose and Heterodox Sect filled with mixed characters, with most secret affairs handled by a group of higher-ups.

These few Energy-Introducing Realm shrimps weren't even cannon fodder.

He was just curious why he had the sudden urge to sit here.

As the question arose, the answer immediately followed.

Another sleazy-looking Cultivator was eagerly whispering,

"Quick, look across at the Hundred Beasts Restaurant; two great beauties have come out."

Upon hearing this, the pack of youths all looked in that direction, with the sound of them slurping their saliva immediately rising.

Tao Qian also turned his gaze, and right then his expression drastically changed.

He saw a large group of people leaving the Hundred Beasts Restaurant, surrounding two women with much fanfare.

One woman, trying to be fashionable, was wearing the recently popular white gauze dress in Demon City and was adorned with various jewelry. However, all these items could not obscure the radiance of her extremely beautiful face, as her skin was snow-white and her eyes full of life, innocent and spoiled.

The other, slightly older, had an elegant demeanor, beautiful looks, wearing a large-sleeved blouse and the Double Ring Immortal Bun hairstyle—somewhat exaggerated fashion that suited her perfectly.

Especially when she inadvertently revealed a pair of small tiger teeth, she was charmingly cute and had an extraordinary charm that made countless people look over involuntarily, resulting in more than one traffic accident.

However, none of these were the key points.

What truly changed Tao Qian's expression and made his breathing quicken was the feeling that emerged when he saw the woman at the back.

That woman was not human; she was a Devil.

Before Tao Qian had time to react, Yuan Gong's voice, filled with schadenfreude, came from something in his arms:

"Hahaha... lucky boy, you're in for a treat."

"This lady is an Alien Species Cat Demon, naturally gorgeous, and what's more, she's a rare virgin."

"Hurry up and court her, or you will regret missing the opportunity."