Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 34 - 32 Fierce Ghost Dwarf, infant demon death aura

"If one only looked at the information up front, they might think they've hit the jackpot and stumbled upon an incredible opportunity."

"Unfortunately, this sword technique is merely one of the hundreds contained within a sub-volume of a Sect's Great Lifebook Scripture."

"What's even more regrettable is that only the last move remains, yet the cost is still as severe."

"The so-called 'Sword Out No Self' means certain death after the fourth strike, but in reality, after the first strike, one loses all their Source Qi and reverts to being an ordinary human; with the second strike, the body becomes an empty shell; and upon executing the third strike, one ends up completely foolish, in a state worse than death. Who could anticipate a fourth strike, considering it's truly the 'Sword Out No Self'? Wanting to kill the opponent, must one kill oneself first?"

"It's no wonder Old Fox was willing to compensate the final Joyful Money with this volume, and even played some tricks, allowing me to read the entire volume, presumably because he knew only this move remained, which was easy to master."

"Just reading that thin sword manual allowed me to initially grasp that 'Sword Out No Self' essence and also inevitably attracted me with its terrifying power."

"Old Fox probably thought I was still a naive baby in the Cultivation World, easily distracted by secret books without care for Silver Coins."

"But it's all right, one move is still one move, exactly what I urgently need now for fighting and killing."

"As for that terrible cost, being exempted to the point of only being unable to learn a second sword technique is indeed a great fortune."

Several thoughts flashed through Tao Qian's mind, filling him with great pleasure.

Sensing something, he turned his head back to the shop and indeed saw Old Fox, leading a few vixen, quickly packing up the stall.

Before long, they were seen running off, disappearing with heavy bags and bundles.

Tao Qian chuckled to himself, thinking that Old Fox had drawn a major blood debt and was unlikely to appear in Tengshe Town for a while.

"Extortion is never the right way, it's unsustainable."

"Scoring a find, that's the proper business."

"Next stall!"

With great anticipation, Tao Qian once again started his passion for finding bargains.

Before, he only had fifteen coins on him, so poor that he jingled wherever he went, and naturally had little confidence.

Now, with Old Fox's generous donation, and carrying three thousand Joyful Money, he suddenly felt wealthy and powerful, walking as if he carried the wind with him.

Thus, under the illumination of the Green-scaled Demon's phosphorescent light, Tao Qian began moving from stall to stall.

It's unclear why, but in this area, the stall and shop owners were seldom human; most were strange species and demons like "Old Fox," each more bizarre and terrifying in appearance than the last.

Of course, in terms of cunning, they were not inferior to, or even more scheming than, humans.

Tao Qian had thought, with his own information perception resembling an "Extraordinary radar," coupled with the ample Joyful Money, he might not be able to stumble upon a Great Lifebook Scripture.

At the very least, he thought he should collect some decent secret techniques and manuals.

However, fifteen minutes later, Tao Qian was disappointed again.

He finally understood why Old Fox, selling only fakes, not only hadn't been killed but still managed to drift among the various markets.

The reason was crude and frustrating.

Other sellers were somewhat better, but only marginally so.

That old trader used Confusing God Sand to sell all fakes, while other stall owners in the area mixed a large number of fakes with a few real items.

And even those "real" items were tampered with to some degree.

Others might find it difficult to discern, but Tao Qian, with his transcendent information perception, knew everything about them with just a touch.

Over the past few cups of tea, Tao Qian was not only deeply disappointed but also felt he had greatly broadened his knowledge on counterfeiting.

Just talking about those so-called true secret manuals, true skills.

Some books only had one or a few pages that were genuine, the rest being forgeries. If that one page were like the "Secret Demon Sacrifice Body Sword" as a standalone technique, that was still acceptable; purchasing it would still be considered a find.

However, buyers were never as savvy as sellers. Those genuinely authentic pages contained obscure, incomplete mnemonics, or peculiar symbols and mysterious patterns, which were ultimately unusable for cultivation.

This was an immeasurable occurrence.

After strolling around for a while, Tao Qian gradually came back to his senses.

"I get it, this place is essentially the Otherworld, a Cultivation World version of Pan Garden?"

"Even with my cheat-like abilities, finding bargains here is still difficult."

Tao Qian stood in the path, having just finished muttering these thoughts.

Not far ahead, a new stall was just being set up.

The stall owner had an extremely bizarre and eerie appearance.

His small body was like a Fierce Ghost Dwarf, his exposed skin was dark blue and covered with rotting lesions.

His face was most terrifying, filled with tusks, with just two hollow indentations where the nose should be, no eyelids, and a pair of bloody, indefinable eyes that seemed unable to close.

At that moment, no one could distinguish.

Was it a Cultivator mutated into a deceitful object? Or was it originally a demon or monster?

It seemed to have immense strength; upon claiming the spot, it slammed its large and heavy bundle on the ground with a thud.

While spreading it out, a strong earthy smell mixed with a peculiarly eerie whisper impacted the area within a ten-meter radius instantaneously.

Though the impact was fleeting, it still drew the attention of several dozens of clients including "Tao Qian."

Seeing the crowd look over, the stall owner grinned and said in a hoarse voice,

"I just dug these up from underground yesterday, the tomb owner was a Qi Refining Realm cultivator who died from out-of-control mutation. He dug his own grave before dying; books, Exotic Treasures, weapons, and other burial objects are all included."

"The good stuff is already processed by Joyful Pavilion. These are the leftovers, cheap to sell."

It was hard for Tao Qian to imagine how a dwarf fierce ghost could pitch its goods.

Until that moment, he saw it with his own eyes.

The scene was inexplicably comical, which diluted the sense of horror somewhat.

However, there were no ordinary humans here; no one cared about the vendor's appearance.

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In the Cultivation World, what strange things weren't there?

Although any cultivator or demon with a bit of intelligence wouldn't easily believe the words of the Fierce Ghost Dwarf,

out of curiosity and by fluke, there were still about fifteen customers who gathered around.

This naturally included Tao Qian.

It wasn't that he believed what the Fierce Ghost had said, but at that moment, Tao Qian had a very distinct and familiar "throbbing sensation."

A pleasant surprise?

With anticipation, Tao Qian even walked to the forefront.

After positioning himself in front of the stall, his gaze immediately fell on a large pile of items on the ground.

Indeed, as the Fierce Ghost vendor had said, there were books, exotic objects, and weapons, each emitting a faint abnormal aura.

Could they all be genuine?

Before entering, Tao Qian might have thought this.

Having been disappointed many times before, Tao Qian was extremely experienced in discerning abnormal auras.

He casually picked up a "Jade Ring" streaked with crimson and triggered his Extraordinary Perception instantly; however, the format of the information in his mind was about a different item.

[Record Name: infant demon death aura.]

[Record Type: Exotic Treasure.]

[Record: The Heterodox Sect has a Great Book "Infant Scripture." Anyone who has cultivated this Lifebound Scripture and entered the "Qi Refining Realm," once perished, the land where their body decays will be contaminated by corpse blood. If ordinary items are buried among it, after several days mutations and some abnormal traits will occur, though it won't last long. It will dissipate in a few days, but during this period, it will cause concealed harm to the holder. If one's cultivation is insufficient, they will mutate and die violently.]

[Note one: The burier themselves will suffer more severe contamination. If they persist in this act long-term, anyone whose cultivation has not reached the Qi Refining Realm will undoubtedly die.]

[Note two: During the burial process, if the body comes into contact with corpse blood, mutations will secretly arise that night. If not removed within three days, no medicine can cure it.]

...

"Bang"

With astonishing speed, Tao Qian threw the Jade Ring back.

At the same time, looking at the information perceived in his mind, his expression turned very ugly, his eyes revealing a strong disgust.

This change naturally caught the attention of the other customers.

Simultaneously, the stall owner's bloody, fierce Ghost Eyes glared over.

With claws glowing a faint blue hue, it suddenly targeted Tao Qian, the voice hoarse and full of malice, "Customer, if you have damaged my treasure..."

Tao Qian was already prepared to deal with the maliciousness of this Fierce Ghost Dwarf, but who could have expected.

Before it had even finished speaking, a terrifying change occurred suddenly.

Its originally shriveled blue belly suddenly swelled, as if something alive was wriggling inside.

Accompanied by a series of gulping sounds, the Fierce Ghost Dwarf could no longer hold back.

"Ugh"

Along with a loud retching sound, the Fierce Ghost violently turned sideways to the ground, and with a "splash",

A large number of bizarrely shaped "Insect Eggs" mixed with mucus and pus blood poured out like a waterfall from the mouth of the Fierce Ghost vendor.

The mucus pus blood clearly had corrosive properties; as soon as it hit the ground, it sizzled and quickly eroded a water pit.

What was more horrifying was that as soon as those insect eggs emerged, they immediately began to hatch.

With the first "crack" sound, a vile insect with a body consisting of small, cystic flesh pieces, equipped with eyes, mouth, and nose, and fringed with velvety tentacles, broke through the egg membrane and crawled out.

As soon as it was born, this disgusting insect began voraciously consuming the mucus and pus blood.

Despite the presence of cultivators and demonic beings, everyone was quite frightened by this sight.

However, the Fierce Ghost vendor, unruffled, took out a red fruit from his bosom without hesitation, stuffed it into his mouth, and began to chew quickly, juice splashing about.

Half a breath later, the Fierce Ghost bent down and opened its mouth again, and a drop of red saliva was about to drip from the corner of its mouth.

However, the next second, with a "boom", a visibly high-temperature scarlet flame surged down, completely covering the water pit.

Inside, the sounds of sizzling combustion mixed with the cries of the insects and a putrid smell that drifted slowly through the air, enough to make one want to vomit out meals eaten days ago.

This incident occurred rapidly and ended just as quickly!

Seeing that people were looking over, the Fierce Ghost vendor, while wiping his scorched lips, grinned and said:

"My apologies for making you laugh."

"This is an old problem of mine. In my youth, I received teachings from a strange person, but who would have thought that something would go wrong during cultivation, transforming me from an ordinary Confucian youth into what I am now."

"I take risks descending into tombs, competing with beings like the Pangolin and Mountain Worm for burial objects, and traveling through all the markets, all to earn more Joyful Money in hopes of obtaining better manuals or Exotic Treasures and Immortal Items, longing to restore my original appearance."

"There's always a price to pay in cultivation."

"You need not sympathize with me too much. Please continue to choose; if you see anything you like, speak to me. I might give you a discount as an apology for the disturbance."

While speaking, the Fierce Ghost Dwarf even gave the cultivators and demons a Confucian bow.

With these words, his credibility shot up instantly.

Aside from Tao Qian, the majority seemed to believe him.