Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 305 - 221: Rising to Fame by Fighting 1 Against 4_3

The cultivators only saw the treasure bead that flew out from Tao Qian's bosom suddenly transform into an extremely colossal Three-legged Golden Toad.

Since they were within the borders of Demon City, to prevent attracting even greater trouble, the Golden Toad held back its golden light.

After leaping, it violently stomped down, accompanied by a dull thud.

Liu Hongsheng, who had attempted to ambush Tao Qian, saw his bloodied Rat Demon true form immediately suffer severe damage as a well-formed rat head had its skull and facial bones directly crushed, and its colossal body stamped into the ground, sending dust flying into the air.

What was worse, before it hit the ground,

The underside of the Three-legged Golden Toad collapsed inwards as it forcefully sucked in.

In a flash, specks of heavy and dazzling treasure light separated from Liu Hongsheng's body and rushed towards the toad's belly.

Everyone saw it clearly, inside each speck of treasure light, there lay a treasure.

Also being absorbed along with it was a fitting golden aura, which was none other than the wealth energy from Liu Hongsheng's body.

"Ahh, no!"

"Fellow Taoist, please close your mouth, stop already."

"I was wrong, I fully submit, Fellow Taoist, do not absorb my treasured wealth energy."

Within the ruins of Medicine King Temple, a severely injured Rat Demon was wailing.

Earlier, when it suffered from the Demon Suppressing Sword Intent, not a single piece of good skin remained on its body, but it hadn't made such a pitiful noise then.

However, being sucked in by that Three-legged Golden Toad this time, for the Demon City giant merchant, it truly seemed like a catastrophe.

Unfortunately, Tao Qian had long seen through this Rat Demon's two-faced and fickle nature.

If the occasion arose, Tao Qian would not have been able to resist mocking him.

But now, time was of the essence.

Tao Qian did as he said he would, giving the Rat Demon a true double catastrophe, then paid him no further heed.

At this point, the three cultivators of the Cavernous Mystery Realm had already broken free from the entrapment of the Nine Toad Bead's divine skill. Just as the three regained their freedom, looks of anger appeared on their faces all at once.

Intent on taking a harsh action, they wanted to capture this Secret Demon Child that had caused them such embarrassment.

But in an instant, that infinitely majestic Three-legged Golden Toad re-transformed back into a treasure bead, an exceptionally enormous one.

As if a Taiyin Star had descended upon the world, it directly charged towards the three of them.

The Black Armored General, the Xiu Family Elders, and the Heterodox Witch, Jiang Ruyu... all three genuine Cavernous Mystery Realm cultivators, let out exclamations in unison, and each was staggered by the impact of the treasure bead.

Their encirclement instantly had a gap created within it.

Without waiting for everyone to react, around the bright full moon, the heavenly stars suddenly appeared without warning.

Soon after, the earth trembled faintly as a dazzling stream of starlight passed over.

That strange cultivator, along with the three little ones, vanished in the blink of an eye.

Nothing was left except a mocking voice that echoed in the space,

"No need to see me off, friends. I am on my way."

...

As the words fell, the moonlight and starlight gradually disappeared as well.

Within the region of Medicine King Temple, aside from the loud wails and screams of Liu Hongsheng, the Great Demon, the rest of the noise ceased to exist.

However, the thousands of cultivators, demons, and alien species at the scene truly started to get excited.

Although no one dared to speak aloud, the atmosphere became completely agitated.

While passing messages to each other silently, they also quietly raised their heads to look at the several Cavernous Mystery Realm Great Cultivators in the sky.

Including the Black Armored General, all of them were engulfed in silence.

They indeed wanted to continue the pursuit of Tao Qian, only none were adept with escape skills; if they truly went after him, they wouldn't even catch a glimpse of Tao Qian's shadow.

The only glimmer of hope lay with Master Jing Yin from Lotus Heart Temple.

Seeing several people looking over, the elderly nun's expression remained unchanged; she was completely still, speaking only in a slow and steady voice,

"Amitabha!"

"Don't look at this poor nun. The technique that the Secret Demon Sect Daoist just used was the Star Zha Escape Technique. If there were a brother from the Great Freedom Temple here, it would be more convenient. The Heart Light Escape Technique could certainly stop that Daoist. Although I have also cultivated the Step-by-Step Lotus, I cannot catch up to a Star Zha Demon."

"Even if I could catch up, I wouldn't want to. Although that Daoist has cultivated the Secret Demon magic, there's no resentment or evil spirit emanating from his person. This poor nun can befriend him, but will not become his enemy."

"Huang Lian'er, this karma has ended. I hope you take advantage of the market to accumulate good deeds. This poor nun will take her leave."

After her final words, Master Jing Yin suddenly stepped forward; a green lotus burst forth beneath her feet, swiftly enveloping her form, and in an instant, she vanished from sight.

Master Jing Yin departed decisively, and seeing that pursuit was hopeless, the others also chose not to linger.

The Black Armored General left most readily, not even leaving a word, hastily rushing towards the Ninth Prince's Mansion, presumably to report the night's events.

The Elder of the Xiu Family watched the waning moonlight and stars, muttering to himself in puzzlement,

"The Secret Demon Sacrifice Sword, the Star Zha Demon... To possess both techniques simultaneously, this individual must indeed be a True Inheritor of the Secret Demon."

"But the might from that treasure bead was clearly the Toad Pearl, an exotic treasure of the Nine Toad Sect. Such an item cannot be possessed by anyone not deeply blessed. How did it fall into the hands of a Secret Demon Child?"

"And there's also that bag of treasures at the outset, its aura dazzling, its charm extraordinary."

"This individual clearly has only reached the Foundation Establishment Realm in his cultivation, but the treasures he possesses are far from ordinary. Truly strange, strange indeed."

After a few more sentences, he too emitted a burst of black light, which enveloped him and caused him to vanish as well.

Then, there was the Red-footed Witch, Jiang Ruyu, who gazed long into the direction where Tao Qian had left, a flash of interest appearing in her eyes.

Soon after, she shrugged her shoulders and turned to Huang Lian'er, saying,

"Why the long face, Huang Lian'er? The only real loser here is the Changchun Society."

"And your White Lotus Sect has picked up a great bargain."

"With this event, the Medicine King Temple Market can be said to have truly established its reputation. Manage it well, and in the future, you may catch the eye of your sect leader. Perhaps soon you'll be able to step into the Cavernous Mystery Realm and call me Daoist as well."

After a pause, the witch suddenly seemed to recall something.

Her gaze sharply dropped to Liu Hongsheng, who was still tumbling about in the ruins.

She immediately let out a charming laugh, then said sympathetically,

"The most unfortunate one, however, is Mr. Liu Daoist. First, he was ravaged by the Demon Suppressing Sword Intent, then swallowed by the Toad Bead."

"He lost not only a lifetime's collection of treasures but also his fortune and luck."

"Unless there's some unexpected twist of fate, in the coming days, Mr. Liu Daoist will suffer continuous disasters. His banks will face runs, his factories and companies will go under, one after another. His wealth as a giant merchant of Demon City will shrink by a sizable fraction, perhaps even over ninety percent, reducing him to a small merchant at best."

"Pitiful indeed; that Secret Demon Child is mysterious in his origins, peculiar in character, and vindictively thorough. He promised to afflict Liu Daoist with two disasters, and indeed there were two—not a smidgen missed."

"Anyway, if I encounter him again, I won't put on airs about being in the Cavernous Mystery Realm. Speaking gently might even allow me to extract some essence of the Secret Demon Child."

In the end, the Red-footed Witch acted coy, then transformed into a beam of white light and left the territory.

Once the influential figures had gone, the suppressed atmosphere instantly burst forth.

A flood of discussions broke out.

The several thousand excited cultivators and devils, having witnessed a "major scene," began picking lotus seeds while calling over friends, spreading word of the night's events far and wide.

Within a few hours, many cultivators throughout Demon City were aware of a skirmish that had taken place at the Medicine King Temple Market, knowing that Demon City had gained a highly skilled killer who also possessed exotic treasures—a child of the Secret Demon Sect.

Though Tao Qian had not revealed his name, it was safe to say he had achieved sudden fame overnight.

If he were to step forward now and recruit a group of cultivators under the banner of the Secret Demon magic, it would be effortless.

ps: There's only this chapter today; I'm going to catch a train home later, and I won't arrive until midnight, so there won't be time to write more. But this chapter is over five thousand words, almost equivalent to two chapters combined, plus I will still post three more tomorrow, so that should be commitment enough, yes? Hence, no scolding me, alright?