Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 121 - 112: Hearing All Secrets in the Cave, True Master Wishes to Go to Guanyin Temple

Within the boundaries of Meiling, a terrifying scene was gradually dissipating.

Infant spirits swarming the skies had not lasted even half an hour in the "Xuanpin Heavenly Gate Ten Absolute Array" and were quickly slaughtered by ten types of terrifying calamities.

On the ancient path stretching across the mountain, many commoners and cultivators, although not affected by the array,

all had extremely grim expressions at this moment.

Especially the female cultivators from the Daughter Palace, whose faces were exceedingly grim, barely able to conceal their disgust for the group of cultivators guarding the boundary stele.

This was understandable, although those myriad infant spirits were not real infants.

They all possessed the characteristics of living beings and died in agony amidst their cries.

Unless one was a heartless Evil Cultivator, it was impossible for ordinary people to remain calm after witnessing such a scene.

Nevertheless, no one dared to act, even a blind and deaf person could feel the terror emitted by those few cultivators, let alone the horrifying array capable of unleashing ten calamities.

In a certain hidden valley within Meiling, inside a roughly made cave newly dug out,

Tao Qian sat cross-legged at the entrance of the cave, looking distantly as the array slaughtered the last infant spirit, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"What a terrifying array, as expected, that Mysterious Saint, Ji Xianxian, had quite a few tricks up his sleeve, no wonder he dared to watch the Devil God Army grow stronger."

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"This, indeed, is a true battle between good and evil. The previous campaigns of Master Xiao against Iron Buddha Temple were just a small interlude, I guess."

He had just finished sighing when a soft moan suddenly came from behind him.

Tao Qian turned around and saw that Master Xiao, who had reduced to a girl's size, had awakened on the makeshift couch.

As soon as Master Xiao woke up, she immediately felt that her originally weak and empty body now had an influx of pure infant mother source energy, replenishing some of her depleted vitality.

Unfortunately, her injuries were too severe, and this small amount of energy was barely enough to make a difference.

Upon waking, her first realization was that Tao Qian had not followed her instructions to leave the place.

Her brows furrowed first as she looked at Tao Qian, who had turned around and resumed his original appearance, then she sighed:

"Do you, junior, really think you're capable?"

"Before you think so, first take a look at the state of this True Practitioner here, at this predicament."

"You must realize that I am a Cavernous Mystery Realm cultivator. Although I am not skilled in slaughter, I am not something a mere Qi Refinement Realm junior like you can compare with."

"If you do not wish to die and have your dao dissipate, you'd better leave early."

"And rest assured, I hold no grudge against you. In fact, I find having a minor Qi Refinement Realm cultivator like you following me to be utterly useless and a burden."

Master Xiao's words were logical and convincing.

To ease Tao Qian's guilt and encourage him to leave, she even deliberately provided him an out.

However, what Master Xiao didn't know was that while she had been unconscious and fallen into Tao Qian's arms,

most of her secret information had been exposed due to the drop in her realm, and Tao Qian had spied much of it.

He was fully aware of her current status and predicament.

Thus, at this moment, Tao Qian didn't even need to closely observe Master Xiao's expression; after hearing a few sentences, he knew she was pretending to be strong.

Of course, she really didn't believe Tao Qian could do anything significant.

A mere Qi Refinement Realm cultivator, utterly useless, merely a burden… if Tao Qian were truly just an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator, this statement would be perfectly correct.

Unfortunately, Tao Qian was not.

Hearing Master Xiao's sigh and her driving him away, Tao Qian avoided a direct answer but abruptly asked:

"Master, when we parted that day, you said you were going to the Infant Sect to report, hoping to punish Ji Xianxian, to save millions in Southern Yue from disaster. Yet as I traveled, the situation in Southern Yue not only failed to improve, but worsened. I saw countless devils devouring humans, with Great Demons and Great Devils taking over mortal cities to establish Earth Devil Countries."

"Could Master tell me what exactly happened that led the situation to deteriorate to such an extent?"

Master Xiao originally wanted to continue persuading Tao Qian to leave but was suddenly interrupted by this question.

Her face, now that of a young girl, immediately showed anger, feeling ashamed that as a senior, she could not prevent Southern Yue from falling into chaos after her junior had provided crucial information.

After a moment of thought, she replied reluctantly:

"On that day, I returned to my Sect, but before I could enter the Mountain Gate, I was ambushed on the way."

"Besides that strange 'Saint,' there were nearly ten Elders of my Infant Sect. Although they have always been unfriendly towards me and belong to different factions, I could never imagine they would collude with outsiders to capture and imprison me, an Elder of the Infant Sect."

"These Elders represent the major power faction in my Infant Sect, and without informing the other Elders or the Sect Master, they directly negotiated an alliance with that Saint and Ji Xianxian. The condition was that once Ji Xianxian completely controlled Southern Yue, the Ten Thousand Infant Sect would have unrestricted access to various resources within the territory, and when Ji Xianxian eventually ascends the throne, our Sect would be promoted as the state religion."

"Those people were overly ambitious, dissatisfied with just being referred to as the number one Sect in Southern Yue, intending to extend the reach of the Infant Sect beyond Southern Yue, challenging the Twelve Daoist Sects and the major Buddhist Temples. Truly, their ambitions have clouded their Dao Hearts, and I believe none of them will advance to the Ultimate Happiness Realm."

"They originally intended to persuade me; I refused, and a conflict ensued. Fortunately, the cultivation technique I practiced restrained those Elders. After paying a heavy price, I managed to escape."

"But that mysteriously appearing 'Saint,' with his numerous and ruthless methods, even though he wasn't present in person, successfully forced me into such a dire situation, even predicting my last resort and preemptively setting up the Xuanpin Ten Absolute Array here in Meiling."

"The 'Ten Thousand Infant Mother's Umbilical' just destroyed by the Ten Extremes Array was the last usable Magical Treasure on me; left with no choice, I had to seek a chance of survival using the infant mother's spiritual sense."

"It's strange. The method of using my infant mother's spiritual sense to seek a chance of survival can only be used once every twelve years, and has never failed me before, always aiding me in escaping danger."

"Why did it fail this time?"

With that, Master Xiao fixed her gaze on Tao Qian.

Though his cultivation and realm were not high, he indeed brought her unexpected turns several times.

After watching for a moment, she shook her head, whispering to herself, "Impossible. No matter how peculiar this junior is, he hasn't even reached Foundation Establishment. How could he possibly help me? I should not endanger his life; it's better to send him away early."

Although Tao Qian could not hear Master Xiao's thoughts, he could guess a thing or two from her expression.

He chuckled softly and continued without pausing, his brows furrowed as he asked,

"Master, their plans are bound to be exposed one day."

"By that time, aren't they afraid of the other Elders of the Ten Thousand Infant Sect and the Sect Master's reprimand or regrets?"

Hearing this question, Master Xiao sighed,

"The other Elders mostly stay out of affairs. By the time it's a done deal, there really won't be much reprimanding. The real trouble is the Sect Master. Knowing him as I do, if he becomes aware of their plans, he will definitely not agree."

"It's perhaps for this reason that they first had the Third Prince take the Sect Master as his mentor, and then they used some secretive means behind his back to get the Sect Master, who hadn't left the sect for a century, to visit Guanyin Temple as a guest, facilitating their actions."

"Now they are openly supporting Ji Xianxian with that foolish Third Prince as a representative of our Infant Sect... In a few days, a major battle will erupt. Ji Xianxian will sweep through Southern Yue with the force of thunder, eliminating the devils and thoroughly seizing control of this area."

"When things are settled, even if the Sect Master returns, he won't be able to do anything to them; he might even have to reluctantly agree."

Master Xiao paused here.

Her fine brows furrowed tighter, and then she expressed her worry, "Their plan is quite meticulous, but I know there's a huge flaw. If it succeeds, at worst, our Infant Sect will be harnessed to their chariot, and with the Sect Master's skills, there might still be room to maneuver. But if it fails, the tens of millions of ordinary people in Southern Yue are likely to end up as miserable as two-legged sheep."

"What kind of flaw?"

Tao Qian replied inquisitively. After pondering deeply, he felt that Ji Xianxian's plan had a good chance of success; he did not see any significant flaws unless there were some unknown secrets.

Sure enough, Master Xiao soon gave an answer,

"The Devil God Army!"

"Currently, the Devil God Army is rampaging through over a dozen large provinces. That Mysterious Saint and Ji Xianxian, in order to succeed, have even colluded with one branch of it willingly, allowing their main force to march deep into the heart of Southern Yue."

"Not enough with that, they even allowed Tang the Divine General and many Great Demons to join forces, even attracting numerous Great Demons from nearby provinces."

"Ji Xianxian's original intent was to grow stronger by nurturing foes, forcing the court's hand, then clearing away the demonic aura and ascending to the top."

"However, they did not anticipate that the Devil God Army might bite back, especially a general called Tang Xianzong, who is known for his extraordinary means and shrewd mind, and who also married the Daughter of Devil God. He would not be content with the little gain Ji Xianzian was offering."

"If in the final battle, the Devil God Army were to turn the tables and directly annihilate Ji Xianzian..."

"Then, Southern Yue would be doomed."

As Master Xiao revealed the inside information, Tao Qian's face could not suppress a look of shock.

Since capturing Hong Youhu, the cloud of doubts that had hovered in Tao Qian's mind had now completely cleared.

Now, Tao Qian fully understood what had happened in Southern Yue, and why it had progressed to such a state.

While Tao Qian was shocked, Master Xiao didn't stop.

Although she held no expectations that this junior in front of her could offer any help, having faced adversity for many days, she truly wished to confide a bit more, continuing,

"I ventured into Meiling this time intending to go to Guanyin Temple to request the Sect Master's return."

"With the Sect Master's influence, perhaps we could even persuade the Bodhisattvas of Guanyin Temple to lend a hand, especially since that dreadful Beautiful Corpse is now wreaking havoc in Southern Yue."

"It would be great if I could make it there, but unfortunately, my injuries are too severe."

"That Saint truly is mysterious and skillful, and I don't even know which Hidden Sect has raised such a True Practitioner. From his memories, it's apparent that such Saints exist not only here but also in other great provinces."

"One would think that in the Cultivation World, only a few of the super Great Sects from Daoist and Buddhist Sects could have such a foundation, truly puzzling... hic!"

"Hic!"

"Hic!"

Master Xiao, lost in thought, suddenly let out three abrupt hiccups.

Immediately, the fragrance of milk permeated the narrow makeshift cave.

Though Tao Qian was morbidly curious to see how this senior Master would blush in embarrassment, he thought better of it and averted his gaze, explaining,

"Earlier, Master bestowed many fine items, particularly the Pregnancy Stone and the Jade Grip that can transform Nascent Soul Source Energy, which have been of great help to me as a junior."

"However, I couldn't use the 'Infant Mother Origin Pearl'. Seeing that the Master was severely injured, I thought this item could help restore some of your vital energy, so I took the liberty of administering it to you."

After Tao Qian finished, there was no response in the cave.

Tao Qian only felt a gradually dangerous gaze fixed on him.

To spare the senior Master from dwelling on the embarrassment and thus keeping him on her bad side,

Tao Qian quickly changed the subject,

"Master, you might have used a Magical Treasure to block the might of the Ten Extremes Array and temporarily confused them."

"But since your true body hasn't appeared, wouldn't they soon realize?"

This tactic indeed worked, as soon as Tao Qian finished,

Master Xiao immediately tensed up, rarely raising her voice, and once again urged Tao Qian,

"You're right, such a disguise won't last long. Those rats will soon catch on. You'd better leave quickly, don't let me bring you into this mess and needlessly hinder your Dao Path."

"Go now, go now, I do not wish to see you again."

...

ps: Hic! Master Xiao asks for monthly tickets!