Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 27 - 26 Mortals Stumble upon Tengshe Mountain, Plague Golden Toad Speaks Human Language

Outside the Seeking Immortal City lay a range of mountains.

The further one ventured into the depths, the harder it was to see any traces of human habitation; crossing several more mountain peaks, one could hardly find any sign of people at all.

In the previous years, there had been a town named Tengshe Town, built against the mountains, conveniently located at the intersection of Seeking Immortal County, Wending County, Shou City, and Shanli County. Travelers and traders passing through were plentiful, making it a prosperous place.

Unexpectedly one day, the town suffered from a demon calamity. A horde of demons passed through and, in a single night, slaughtered the entire town to the ground.

If that were all, there would be refugees, disaster victims, willing to resettle there.

However, after that night in Tengshe Town, strange occurrences frequently happened. Mortals who stayed there would inevitably die violently within a few days.

As such, the town rapidly fell into desolation.

Until it was occupied by a heterodox force known as Joyful Tower, and it was unknown by what means they cleared all the evil spirits and eerie entities from Tengshe Town.

A few days later, Joyful Tower announced that Tengshe Town had been opened as a workshop, welcoming guests from all directions.

In the entire Longevity Heavenly Dynasty, Joyful Tower wasn't considered among the top powers, but within Southern Yue, it was still a local overlord.

Thus, it didn't take long for Tengshe Town to revive.

Within Southern Yue Province and the surrounding provinces, "Tengshe Town" was known as a place of exchange and commerce.

Most low-tier cultivators loved to delve into such workshops.

Just like commonplace markets, mostly consisted of ordinary people.

Tao Qian recalled the descriptions from the Nameless Secret Manual, soon traversed the wild forests and valleys, and arrived at the dark foothills.

And as he neared his destination, Tao Qian's Extraordinary Perception began to violently react.

"Thump, thump, thump,"

A series of throbbing sensations merged into one.

It made Tao Qian feel as if there were giant bells and drums resonating in his mind.

After a great deal of effort, Tao Qian suppressed his perception.

When he regained his senses, his figure had already emerged from the dense forest, appearing beneath the flickering lights.

At the same time, Tao Qian also saw a large number of "companions."

Coming from all directions, there were beings of various forms.

The reason he didn't refer to them as human cultivators was that among those Tao Qian could see, those with human shapes scarcely accounted for half.

The rest of the lifeforms were non-human.

There were demons with a few pieces of cloth hanging on them, chests bared, holding weapons; giant apes gnawing on chunks of bone and flesh; Evil Ghosts with twisted limbs, moving forward with shrieks; Alien Charms lifting red lanterns, dressed in red bridal garments; Snake Women with disheveled hair, moving forward with a Beautiful Head atop them... these were still considered normal.

What truly surprised Tao Qian were some "Abnormalities."

Even now, as his gaze touched those alien entities, his heart skipped with fear, almost compelling him to turn around and flee.

He wanted to record these abnormal appearances into his memory immediately.

But after merely blinking, he found he had forgotten them all.

Such Abnormalities weren't many, disappearing at the foot of the mountain in a flash.

When Tao Qian tried to take a closer look, he only caught a glimpse of one of their figures.

She was a woman with skin as pale as snow, her beautiful body exposed, and a visage akin to that of a holy Snow Woman, yet no presence in the vicinity harbored lecherous thoughts toward her form.

For upon that body's surface, densely packed, were countless pores from which red parasitic worms resembling "pork tapeworms" extended, each reaching several meters in length, writhing in the air, and emitting a "hissing" sound.

With each step she took, the pristine white feet immediately birthed a bright red, vivid mist with a strong fragrance underneath.

The scarlet mist carried her forward, and if one were to ignore her naked form, it would seem as though some fairy was passing by.

If someone came too close, hearing too much of those alien sounds and smelling too much of the exotic fragrance,

they would immediately fall to the ground, their eyes bulging as they vomited, along with the acidic water from their stomachs, a mass of insect eggs surged forth.

When she disappeared at the foot of the mountain in a manner difficult for anyone to comprehend,

all the demons, evil spirits, practitioners of heresy and heterodoxy, and other cultivators at the scene heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

Tao Qian was also among them.

Encountering this incomprehensible "abnormality," the many demons gathered at the foot of this mountain suddenly seemed almost endearing.

But soon enough, the true ferocity of the demons displayed itself.

For there was a wolf-shaped devil that suddenly discovered a group of humans had infiltrated amongst them.

Not cultivators, but actual humans.

A total of seven, four men and three women, their appearances not lacking in any way, their skin soft and tender, clearly not from impoverished families.

They were all wearing the most fashionable student attire of the day.

The boys in modified robes, quite proper and cultured.

The girls in short jackets and long skirts, looking all the more pitiful in their panic—had they encountered human bandits, they surely would have provoked evil thoughts.

But this place was filled with devils, and evil thoughts did arise, just not of that kind.

Not that kind of desire, but rather a craving for flesh.

The wolf demon let out a howl, drawing the attention of the demons, cultivators, and alien species in the area.

Its fearsome wolf head, with fresh meat still stuck between its teeth, approached the group of students directly, its fetid breath spraying forth as its greedy desire was unabashedly revealed.

The surrounding demons also began to crowd in.

Some of them even spoke in human tongues:

"Tonight I had a whim, left home thinking something good would happen, and here it's come true, I'm about to gorge myself," one said gleefully.

"Look at these few, tender all over, their skin so soft and smooth, they must be top-grade amongst mortals," another commented hungrily.

"Brothers all sniffed out the scent right, here in Tengshe Town, we can eat mortals, but not cultivators, don't eat the wrong thing and give those freaks at Joyful Tower an excuse to catch us. Otherwise, you won't just lose your essence blood source qi but even your soul will be extracted to make into a Desire Soul Slave, tortured ceaselessly for a hundred years," another warned.

"It smells right, no mistake, my innate divine ability allows me to hear these tender young ones' thoughts—they're students from nearby Wending County, stirred by a few volumes of immortal tales, duped by some worldly society sorcerer, and they've actually come to Tengshe Town seeking to consult with immortals," another disclosed.

"Great, just great, my belly is so empty, and it just so happens I need these delicate, tender kids to fill it up," another proclaimed hungrily.

Those who could speak were clearly old demons.

They exchanged words that made the students tremble in fear, and with a tacit understanding, they closed in, facing off with the human cultivators.

Though ignored for a moment, there was indeed a significant number of human cultivators among them.

There were dozens of them, clothed in various garb, including Daoist robes, casual attire, and even fashionable cultivators in barbarian clothing with crew-cut hair.

Among this group of cultivators, one clad in a Daoist robe, carrying a black iron umbrella, and holding a wooden sword, furrowed his brows and looked at the students surrounded by demons, with a few already so frightened that they had wet themselves.

The Taoist did not waste words, nor did he immediately come to their rescue. Instead, he hummed impatiently at the crowd of demons.

He raised his hand, pointing to the pavilion that all who ascended the mountain must pass through.

In the pavilion, a huge black shadow crouched.

Tao Qian peered closely, his pupils contracting slightly. The shadow was unmistakably a huge Plague Golden Toad, as big as a water buffalo, its body covered in festering sores, emitting a foul stink, with a large coin embedded in its forehead.

Memories corresponding to this creature surfaced in his mind.

"The Plague Golden Toad, the guardian beast of Tengshe Town."

"To enter Tengshe Mountain, one must prove to this beast that one is not a common mortal."

"There are no restrictions on the method of validation, but those who fail will be devoured by this creature."

Just as Tao Qian recalled these facts, the umbrella-carrying Taoist spoke up.

"If this were anywhere else, we might not be able to meddle with you demons and monsters."

"However, this place is within the bounds of Tengshe Town. Whether these children can be eaten is not up to us to decide. You should ask the Plague Golden Toad first."

As the Taoist's words fell, the group of demons instantly felt stifled.

At the same time, the Plague Golden Toad, seemingly asleep beneath the pavilion, suddenly awoke.

Its pair of bloodshot eyes, resembling two red persimmons, abruptly stared over.

That eerie gaze swept quickly across all present, including Tao Qian.

As both a cultivator and an abnormality, disguised as a "Half-human Half-dragon" and hiding in the corner of shadows, Tao Qian naturally did not trigger any reaction from the sore-covered Golden Toad.

In the end, it was indeed those few young male and female students who caught the Golden Toad's attention, causing its red eyes to brighten.

In an instant, a long, scarlet tongue shot out.

Skipping over the crowd of cultivators and alien species, it directly wrapped around the seven people and pulled them into the pavilion.

They were dumped onto the ground, and then the Golden Toad spoke in human language,

"Within ten breaths, prove you are not common mortals."

"If you are from the cultivation world, please proceed up the mountain."

"If not, I regret to inconvenience you, but you must stay in my stomach for a while."

Who would have thought? This festering Golden Toad spoke in such an elegant, almost polite manner.

But quickly, the students, who were thrown into disarray, came to their senses.

Their hearts screamed, "To stay inside this monster's stomach for a while would mean turning into a soup of pus and minced flesh, wouldn't it?"

These seven people were already terrified, and now, overwhelmed by the stench emanating from the Golden Toad, were about to cry and faint.

Fortunately, at that moment, the umbrella-carrying Taoist let out a sigh.

He walked over first, followed by the rest of the cultivators, who tacitly blocked the view of those eager demons.

The Taoist approached the pavilion, bowed to the sore-ridden Golden Toad, and then took something resembling an elixir from his bosom and placed it in his palm. His lips moved slightly as if engaging in a transaction with the Golden Toad.

Quickly after, one heard a "swoosh."

The elixir in the Taoist's palm vanished, and a pleased voice of the festering Golden Toad echoed:

"Passed!"

"To continue up the mountain or to leave, please do as you wish."

As soon as the voice ceased, the crowd of demons realized they had been fooled.

They bared their teeth at the cultivators in anger, but the cultivators, paying no mind to them, headed straight up the mountain.

The umbrella-carrying Taoist turned to the students before leaving and said,

"Seeking the path of immortality is not something you can achieve, and the world of cultivation is not as wonderful as you imagine."

"Hurry home, lest you suffer a disaster and lose your lives. I won't be able to save you a second time."

With that, the Taoist also ascended the mountain.

The group of demons, though extremely dissatisfied, respected the rules and could only growl to vent their frustration.

One of them, a Half-human Half-sheep demon, spoke with a raspy voice:

"No matter, let that meddlesome Taoist be. Ultimately, any loss is his own."

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"In a moment, the feast will begin. I heard that Joyful Tower has captured some fresh game from the Western Territory, certainly more appetizing than these urine-soaked children."

Having said this, the Sheep Demon stopped eyeing the seven students greedily and turned into a black shadow, dashing toward Tengshe Town up the mountain.

The others nodded in agreement and followed suit.

However, a few demons still lingered.

Like the initial Wolf Demon, its eyes green with malice and dissatisfaction.

They exchanged glances, staying put.

Watching those seven students, terrified and supporting each other, staggering down the distant mountain path to escape.

As the students were about to leave the area of Tengshe Mountain, each demon smirked, poised to follow.

Sadly, these demons failed to notice.

At some point, one among the crowd had vanished from the spot.

Just as they sprang into action, a dazzling red light blazed from the direction the students fled, accompanied by a reckless barrage of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning.

By supreme coincidence, the light passed over the students and collided directly with the few demons.

"Roar!"

A thunderous sound of a Bo Dragon echoed through the tempest.

In that instant, not only did those lower-level demons stiffen in the air, but even the festering Plague Golden Toad shuddered uncontrollably, filled with dread.

The horrific force of the collision instantly sent the few demons flying.

Midair, they broke bones and spat blood, dying on the spot.

With their dying breaths, they glimpsed a figure filled with primal ferocity, haughty and scornful, as if it held no regard for any demon—a Half-human Half-dragon silhouette.

They also heard the disdainful voice of this alien creature:

"Where did these little devils and monsters come from? Get lost."