Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 101 - 94 Cunning Sword Cultivator, Interrogating the Demon

On the mountain path and official road above, the despairing villagers of Wending County, along with a group of soldiers and a host of evil cultivators, were accompanied by the Jiao Demon which had swallowed an Exotic Realm magic artifact, causing its belly to bulge and thus it was still "pff pff pff" spewing maggot eggs, were all now attracted by the shouting, looking on helplessly as a brightly shining sword elixir flew towards them.

They also watched the swaying, clumsy sword cultivator who followed behind.

Tao Qian's demeanor, his choice of words.

On the surface, it appeared flawless, and the intricate precision of the Secret Demon Transformation Technique was not something a mere Jiao Demon could see through.

Yet this Jiao Demon was not of the foolish sort, acting with careful deliberation in its style.

This unexpectedly presented treasure was hardly enough to deceive it.

Until the next moment, in front of everyone, the flying sword cultivator's face suddenly changed, and he shouted, "What's going on, my source Qi is gone; the secret manual in the sword box of that cave didn't say this."

No sooner had his voice fallen than everyone's eyes widened in shock as they saw the sword cultivator's flying movement abruptly halt, and while shouting for help, fell straight down, and in a short while, with a "thud," there was the addition of a corpse with broken tendons and fractured bones on the ground.

A moment!

Two moments!

Whether villagers or the Jiao Demon, all were stunned for an instant.

Clearly, no one could have imagined such an accident unfolding.

The villagers who had foolishly hoped for an "Immortal savior" were now dumbfounded, some even couldn't help thinking at the bottom of their hearts: Are the Immortals cultivating so stupid, and that's why Southern Yue has fallen to such a state?

Fortunately, the Jiao Demon who had decided to become the "King of Wending" naturally had a few sycophants among his troops.

One of them, with glossy black fur and a human face, the Rat Demon, had the quickest response and stood out, his high-pitched voice ringing out in rapid-fire:

"Congratulations to the Great King, best wishes to the Great King."

"Look at that fool, barely entering the Energy-Introducing Realm, showing a youthful face, yet showed no panic or fear towards us, must be a fledgling who luckily obtained a sword cultivator's inheritance, yet knows none of the basic knowledge of the cultivation world, rushing into Energy Introduction and then rushing into treasure refining, recklessly running the Flying Technique without even properly estimating his own source Qi, truly not wronged by his death."

"What's more, the death of this fool is perfect, it's a stroke of luck and opportunity for the Great King. Quickly take that treasure, I will immediately go and search the fool's corpse, and bring the Sword Scripture Secret Manual to the Great King."

This distinctly human-mutated Rat Demon presented his argument with clear logic, quickly convincing the Jiao Demon.

However, the latter did not take the Rat Demon's last suggestion but merely chuckled, and with a strong lash of its tail, intercepted the sword elixir and engulfed it, using its own defenses to neutralize the sharpness of the sword elixir while its huge body rapidly moved in front of the corpse, its seductive and slender eyes fixated on the thoroughly dead Daoist and the continuously flowing blood.

With a slight thought, amid the buzzing sound, dozens of fist-sized fly creatures flew over, turning over Tao Qian's body and searching for a while, soon seeing three fly creatures jointly carrying a book emitting a sharp aura flying over.

Seeing this, the Jiao Demon nodded in satisfaction, and the last thread of doubt in its eyes vanished.

Then its mouth split open again, drooling as it picked up Tao Qian, evidently wanting to indulge in the flesh of the Daoist who had entered the Energy-Introducing Realm.

However, just as it was about to make a swallowing motion, another jaw-dropping incident occurred.

That "corpse," which originally appeared thoroughly dead, at this very moment, suddenly opened its eyes, blinked at the Jiao Demon up close, and the blood-smudged face revealed an extremely brilliant and darkly cunning smile.

Boom!

The Jiao Demon's mind was struck hard, attempting to do something.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The moment Tao Qian opened his eyes, the long-prepared "Nine True Spirit Sound" had already been released.

And it was a full-force release.

Thus, the whole mountain heard the immense Daoist True Sound in an instant.

Ordinary mortals among the villagers could still bear it, but those evil cultivators present were instantly petrified on the spot, and the numerous fly creatures fell down like rain.

The Jiao Demon took the hardest hit, its body and divine soul both experiencing about a breath's worth of freeze.

At any other time, even in the midst of battle, with its strength, it would still have a chance of survival.

But unfortunately, this was too close.

Not even half a breath was of any use.

From within that seemingly subdued sword elixir, suddenly sprang forth a full "ninety strands of Spirit Treasure Immortal Spirit Qi," and in an instant, they exploded, driving the sword elixir.

Boom!

Visible to the naked eye, an extremely terrifying, robust sword light burst forth, as if it could pierce through heavens and earth.

Under this sword light, the Jiao Demon's much-prided shell was as fragile as paper mache, and those nearby evil cultivators and undying demon soldiers were caught in the aftermath, not even managing a cry of agony before they were thoroughly annihilated.

Even the Jiao Demon could only let out a greatly unwilling roar before its demise.

It couldn't comprehend until its death, if you Daoist had such divine skills, why would you need to employ such a shameless, deceitful tactic?

A fair fight might not necessarily fail to slay him, right?

You righteous cultivators, especially those who refine swords, don't you always favor head-on confrontations?

Unfortunately, Tao Qian had no time to answer his questions.

Only after the sword light's rampage ended did Tao Qian stand amidst a mass of corpse pieces, murmuring with a face full of regret, "The Jiao Demon He Ying, who had just entered the Foundation Establishment Realm and mutated from a Human Cultivator into a demon, was skillful at flattering and won the favor of the 'Naked Saintess' to be bestowed Wending County. He was meticulous by nature but somewhat greedy… Directly killing him would be too difficult, yet getting close and using up most of my Spirit Treasure Immortal Spirit Qi to launch a sword light sneak attack greatly increased the success rate."

"It's just that this 'Selfless Sword' really isn't sentimental, not even leaving a whole corpse, unnecessarily complicating my search for the spoils of war."

While grumbling, Tao Qian reached out with his perception and then extended his hand. To his surprise, the sword elixir that had caused the destructive scene flew back to him, directly sticking to a black and red patch amidst the scattered flesh on the ground, appearing like a piece of Jiao Scale made of glaze.

As soon as he received it, he knew that this acquired scale was actually the storage treasure of the Jiao Demon, its interior space not too large, messily filled with many items, including the exotic realm magic artifact resembling a cannon.

Now was not the time to tidy up the spoils of war, so Tao Qian immediately put away the Jiao Scale.

Just as he lifted his head to do something else, he suddenly saw a vast crowd of thousands, nearly ten thousand civilians, all kneeling before him—the "Immortal" standing amidst the corporeal debris—thanking him.

Despite witnessing everything with their own eyes, they couldn't help but think that this seemingly ordinary Immortal was indeed quite cunning.

But cunning is good, a cunning Immortal is a good Immortal…

Tao Qian naturally could not know the thoughts of the civilians. He let the crowd stand up, then suddenly flew towards the end of the squad, where a heroic-looking young man who was called "Zhang Zhenwu" led a group of soldiers, hesitantly holding their fire guns, considering whether to take the opportunity to finish off the several dozens of Evil Cultivator magicians who were still alive yet frozen.

Seeing Tao Qian fly over, they all prepared to salute him.

However, time was of the essence and Tao Qian had no time for small talk. His Puppet Body rapidly gathered insight into the situation within Southern Yue.

Iron Buddha Mountain was fairly isolated, so the Puppet Body couldn't capture the newly arrived demons to interrogate them one by one, inevitably missing a lot of details.

But right now, the opportunity was perfect.

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Tao Qian looked at Zhang Zhenwu and his group, getting straight to the point by asking, "I've been in seclusion for many days, and have not participated in worldly affairs. I hadn't expected the demons to have become so rampant. Tell me, what's the current situation in Southern Yue now?"

At Tao Qian's question, everyone felt an overwhelming sadness, and without regard for the presence of an apparent cultivation expert, they chaotically described their perspectives on the present state of Southern Yue.

Tao Qian quietly listened, silently comparing their words with the information obtained by his Puppet Body and quickly drew a new conclusion:

"The situation in Southern Yue is very bad, indeed, with nearly more than half of the markets and counties suffering from invasions by demons and Evil Cultivators, and numerous ones have already fallen. However, in certain territories with Major Sects and in the provincial capital region, order still exists, although those areas are also constantly harassed by invading demons."

"Due to these circumstances, in the last half-month, the same voice has emerged from all over Southern Yue, stating that only Governor Ji Xianxian—who has defeated the Devil God Army, Taiping Army, and many other rebellions—can save Southern Yue Province now."

"The court should hand over all powers in Southern Yue, including military authority, to Governor Ji, allowing him to lead his hundreds of thousands of Demon Suppression Army to quell the uprisings."

"Up to this moment, no one in Southern Yue Province has a reputation to rival Ji Xianxian's; he has nearly become synonymous with the 'Savior Governor'."

"Millions of civilians in Southern Yue believe that once the imperial edict is issued, Governor Ji will surely be able to stabilize the chaos."

This thought crossed his mind, and Tao Qian suddenly turned to face the surviving group of demons and Evil Cultivators.

He laughed coldly and said, "You lot who were lucky enough to not die should consider yourselves fortunate. I just so happen to be in need of some information. In a moment, I will free your Divine Souls, and those among you who have the most and most truthful information will be allowed to live. Of course, if you wish to fight me, the choice is yours as well."

As soon as his words fell, Tao Qian indeed gave a low shout, undoing the effect of the Spirit Sound.

However, the sword elixir immediately hovered over their heads.

Originally, a few of the demons were eager to act, but as soon as they sensed the sharp Sword Intent and recalled the extremely tragic demise of their "Jiao Demon Lord," as well as the seemingly ordinary but crafty and shameless Sword Cultivator's terrifying methods before them, they all quickly became as docile as quails.

Among them, the smarter and more cunning Evil Cultivators immediately began to speak up, seeking that slim chance of survival.

"True Master, you may ask me whatever you want; I am a Loose Cultivator by origin. Before being recruited by the Jiao Demon, I would always wander around Southern Yue, so this is where I am most knowledgeable."

"Bah! True Master, don't believe him. I know the most; I am a Cultivator from the provincial capital who had to join the demon forces due to mutation. My heart has always leaned towards the Human Clan."

"True Master, look at me! My big sister's brother-in-law's nephew is a high-ranking member of the 'Abnormal Catcher' in the Devil God Army. I am privy to the inside scoop here."

"With such a distant relationship, who would believe you? True Master, you should look at me. I was once a member of the Devil God Army; it's only because I offended the officials that I became a deserter. If true Master wants to know the internals of the Devil God Army, you should ask me."

Listening to this chaotic cacophony, Tao Qian couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile.

The Sword Intent radiating from the sword elixir became more and more terrifying as Tao Qian said:

"Don't rush; we'll take it one at a time. I'll first choose one to interrogate, and in the meantime, the rest of you will suffer another bout of the Spirit Sound. This way, I can ensure that all of you speak the truth."

"Let's start with you. You're from the capital, right? Do you know the current situation there?"

The one Tao Qian chose was the Rat-man with a sleek, oily hide.

It was unclear what technique he cultivated to transform into such a state, even his nature seemed to have changed significantly.

The most obviously revealed trait was his "admiration for the strong."

Filled with elation at being chosen, before even waiting for Tao Qian to ask, he started off with a round of pleasant flattery.

But thinking back, he had acted similarly towards the Jiao Demon not long before.

Tao Qian quickly used the Spirit Sound to freeze the rest of the demons, then began his questioning.

And regardless of the questions Tao Qian posed, the Rat-man was sincerely terrified, providing exhaustive answers.

But within the exchange, Tao Qian's brow grew increasingly furrowed.

PS: Character cards for Sui and Lian Jing'er have been released. Previously, I also released the Bodhisattva and others, but forgot to mention it. Brothers and sisters, you can go and give some love, and while you're at it, compliment Fat Fish. Please don't scold me anymore.