Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 66 - 64: Nascent Soul God Mirror, Meeting Lin Xiaohua Again

In the courtyard of the herbal medicine shop owner Jia Qiang, a crowd of people witnessed a miracle unfold. After confirming that the evil insect was dead and Li's sister-in-law had survived, everyone wept with joy.

Especially Boss Li, who was so excited he wanted to kowtow to Tao Qian.

Tao Qian quickly helped him up. Both Boss Li and Jia Qiang had been quite helpful to him since his rebirth, so saving someone was the right thing to do.

However, upon recalling the information related to the "human-faced insect," Tao Qian couldn't help but advise both families.

The evil insect was tricky; it could only be killed by catching it off guard. Should word spread and put all the county's human-faced insects into a "stress-induced" state, at least ten thousand people would die, resulting in a true disaster.

The disciples from the Major Sects of the Forbidden Immortal Hall must also have learned this after several treatments, reluctantly letting things be.

A county-wide panic was indeed preferable to more than ten thousand deaths and injuries.

As for rescuing one by one?

Not to mention Tao Qian, an Energy-Introducing Realm Cultivator, even a Foundation Establishment Realm expert would be worn out by the effort.

Having given his warning, both families hurriedly assured they understood and would not leak any secrets.

Tao Qian didn't linger in the pharmacy, and after leaving, he headed straight towards the Star-picking Pavilion.

On the way, especially when passing through the area known as "People Market," Tao Qian's expression looked very troubled.

Has the world suddenly slipped into a dark and chaotic era?

In his mind, an exceedingly critical note arose involuntarily.

"Due to the stress state of the human-faced insect, one cannot conduct a mass extermination or gather forces to kill them. It seems that one could only lure the insects out to eliminate them."

"However, such naturally auspicious spiritual creatures are exceedingly rare, like the ginseng baby, Ganoderma People, and others—where could one possibly find them?"

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, a burst of inspiration struck Tao Qian, and he paused.

A newly made "friend" surfaced in his mind.

Tao Qian squinted his eyes, pondering:

"It's uncertain whether that Wild Leek Demon 'Shan Jiu' from Wild Man Mountain counts as such auspicious spiritual creatures. If so, that would be wonderful. It is stated in the Record that he possesses an almost undying vigor. As a friend, he surely wouldn't mind if I cut off a small part of him."

"If it really comes to repaying the cost, my puppet body could pay."

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"Look for an opportunity to test it out."

Having made up his mind, Tao Qian moved on, soon reaching the exquisitely beautiful Star-picking Pavilion, the premier building in Seeking Immortal County.

Tao Qian had come to gauge the strength of the righteous side.

Moreover, Boss Jia had mentioned that a female fairy, daring to confront the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva before heading to the provincial city, had issued a Summoning Immortal Decree. This decree had successfully drawn numerous cultivators within three days and was still effective, continuing to attract Cultivators from throughout Southern Yue.

Such bustling activity in the cultivation world was something Tao Qian loved to join.

Sure enough, as he approached the Star-picking Pavilion, he had to momentarily suppress his excitement.

Otherwise, his mind wouldn't be at ease, sensing too many transcendent beings, making it feel as though there was a noisy drum beating inside his head.

He had encountered this reaction before in Tengshe Town and had experience dealing with it.

When he closed off this special sense and looked around, the road leading to the Star-picking Pavilion was particularly wide. While other streets in Seeking Immortal County were deserted due to the disaster of the evil insects, with hardly a ghost in sight, this road was filled with figures, almost forming a crowd rushing towards the splendid pavilion.

These people, appearing in various forms, most dressed as normal monks or Taoists, but there were also bizarre and malformed oddities.

Many Cultivators indeed regarded commoners as nothing, looking down on them with disdain. Although there was no cruelty in their eyes, there was also no sympathy or pity, treating the disaster victims as if they were ants frozen by the roadside.

Yet, their eyes, when fixed on the Star-picking Pavilion and the large stone arch with the decrees and rewards before the wide square, revealed greedy desires.

In an instant, they fell from being experts on the Great Dao, who had seemingly forgotten their emotions, back to vulgar mortals rolling in their desires.

Tao Qian mingled among them, also looking up at the grand archway.

After a few glances, he understood the reason. Not everyone was qualified to accept the "Summoning Immortal Decree" and enter the bustling Star-picking Pavilion.

On the archway, a bronze statue of an innocently smiling baby was hanging. The baby was holding a downward-tilting mirror in its embrace.

Whenever someone approached, the bronze baby would speak in a childlike voice:

"I am the Nascent Soul God Mirror. Cultivators who have reached the Energy-Introducing Realm Destiny Defining Fetus Stage or those with Special Abilities who have cultivated special Magic Skills, all may pass through here, go up to the Star-picking Pavilion, and discuss the Great Dao with other Cultivators."

"If you are simply a common Energy-Introducing Realm Cultivator or a cultivator who has not even passed the stage of manipulating Source Qi, please step back."

Despite this bronze baby's voice being uniquely pleasant, the blatant discrimination against lower-level Cultivators still sparked significant discontent.

Fortunately, the next moment, the baby spoke again: "This action is not out of disdain for you all, but because this summoning is to combat a group of extremely fierce demons. If those with lower cultivation join in, they might very well lose their lives for nothing. The Ten Thousand Infant Sect is not willing to bear this cause and effect; hence, please forgive us."

Once these words were explained, the unrest was quickly suppressed.

Many Cultivators who met the requirements openly mocked those who did not, with crude words like 'ants' and 'useless chickens, go back.'

In the crowd, many Cultivators laughed and walked out, directly facing the Nascent Soul God Mirror, as if considering this a chance to show off.

Meanwhile, Tao Qian suddenly noticed some secretive individuals appearing around, all wearing uniforms embroidered with trigrams, Elixirs, talismans, and scissors.

Each of them approached the Cultivators who did not meet the standards, extending profoundly sincere invitations.

As they spoke, they made various grand promises, offering many benefits.

Tao Qian silently listened for a few moments and immediately deduced in his heart, "These fellows must be the people from the Changchun Society."

While eavesdropping, suddenly the childish voice of the bronze baby was heard again.

This time, it even made the mirror emit a beam of Spirit Light, clearly projecting two reward quests onto the archway.

"Everyone, please look at these two reward quests first," the voice announced. "One is about the evil insect disaster currently plaguing Seeking Immortal County. If any Daoist here has a solution, you may take the copper token hanging in front of the list. Forbidden Immortal Hall has prepared Books of Skills, alien treasures, and only seeks the method to eliminate the disaster. However, please first understand what the evil insect is and any difficulties involved. Do not act rashly; if you take the copper token and have no solution, there will inevitably be punishment."

"The second quest involves the Great Demon 'Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva,' who has captured our disciple from the Ten Thousand Infant Sect, Du Du. His fate is unknown. If any Daoist here can gather some information about his situation, or find out Du Du's current condition, you may also take the copper token from the list. At that time, our sect will generously reward you, and a Great Cultivator from our sect will personally receive you."

…

As these words were spoken, Tao Qian could clearly hear many cultivators in the crowd breathing rapidly.

Greed glinted in their eyes.

However, soon after, when they saw the dangers involved, they all sighed with pity.

The first quest needs no further explanation; the "human-faced insect disaster" in Seeking Immortal County is something even the disciples from major sects in Forbidden Immortal Hall cannot handle. How could these summoned Loose Cultivators from the wilderness have a method to deal with it?

The second one was even more horrific and twisted. Who was this Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva? Perhaps many cultivators did not know before, but after the recent shocking "Secret News" spread across the world, who didn't know his origins and terrifying Cultivation Realm? This was truly a Great Demon.

As the emotions of the Loose Cultivators shifted, nobody noticed:

A glint of light flashed through Tao Qian's eyes in the crowd.

"The first quest still has some doubts, so it's hard to say."

"But the second quest, there is indeed significant room for effort, especially since I have an undercover person at the Iron Buddha Mountain…"

"Moreover, this person can closely contact and somewhat blend into the higher ranks of the main hall. That Nongyu Immortal, Pan Hongniang, if deliberately investigated, might indeed know some secrets that even the strong cultivators from the Infant Sect cannot find."

A few thoughts flashed by, but Tao Qian did not step forward to accept the quests.

Instead, he planned to first return to his bookstore to ponder carefully before making any plans.

Just then, a member of the Changchun Society approached.

Tao Qian pretended not to see and turned to leave.

Join the Star-picking Pavilion?

There was no need to rush this matter. He was still assessing the situation. If he felt that Seeking Immortal County was in danger of collapsing, Tao Qian planned to leave first.

Life was tough, and having lived anew, Tao Qian was curious to see if he could succeed in cultivation and achieve Great Freedom and great liberty.

Besides, the world was so vast and immense, he truly wanted to go out and explore.

While thinking about these broad and indiscriminate thoughts, Tao Qian turned and headed towards Vegetable Market Street.

However, his movements were still noticed by the people from Changchun Society.

One of them, a young cultivator wearing Changchun Cloth with a cunning rat-like face and an unusual aura, was exactly like the street vendor Tao Qian had feared most in his previous life.

With a professional fake smile, the man reached out to stop Tao Qian and said,

"Fellow Daoist, may I take a moment of your time to introduce you to our Changchun Society?"

"This place is like a big family filled with harmony, love, and mutual help and support…"

Before he could finish his practiced spiel,

suddenly, a loud shout came from the other end of the street: "Damn Changchun Society, a bunch of bloody scammers!"

Although the voice was thick with illness, it unexpectedly carried very far.

Immediately, the summoned cultivators "hurrahed" and turned to look toward the source of the conflict.

Clearly, not only mortals liked to gather around during exciting events—cultivators also enjoyed it.

Tao Qian smiled at the Changchun Society cultivator, who was left with a surprised and embarrassed expression, then turned to look in the direction of the commotion.

Besides enjoying a spectacle, Tao Qian felt a strange familiarity when he heard that voice.

Lifting an eyebrow, he thought inwardly, "Could it really be such a coincidence?"

To confirm, Tao Qian once again activated his exceptional inspiration.

The next moment, enduring the drumming noise in his mind, his gaze sharply locked onto a middle-aged cultivator in the distance who was fighting with several Changchun Society cultivators.

This individual must have a sensational personality, for he wore a dazzling and surprisingly captivating red Daoist robe.

Even while cursing, it did not affect his dashing figure.

His appearance was unexpectedly not handsome, merely heroic and upright, with deep and spirited eyes, instantly giving people a genuine impression of trust and goodwill.

Immediate recognition!

Tao Qian confirmed his guess, that familiar palpitation and the style of cursing.

Without surprise, his identity was almost apparent.

"It's him, the big leg I hadn't managed to cling to."

"The enthusiastic expert I met in the terrifying Immortal Pond, skilled in handling ghosts and someone who likes ghosts… Senior Lin Xiaohua."

ps: A few important announcements: first, the launch date has changed to July 1st, proving two extra free chapters as a benefit; second, I'm seeking monthly tickets, needing to achieve two thousand this month which is crucial for the Longevity Chronicles as it may decide the fate; third, there are more updates to follow, so don't say the fish stories are too short.