Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 357 - 255 Tao Qian Shakes People, Secret Affairs of the Heavenly Demon

The vast Demon City was overwhelmed by a rain of blood. Though it lasted only for a few dozen breaths, and the government quickly responded, dispatching the Heavenly Demon Army with various methods to clean up the blood rain and the chunks of fat and flesh thoroughly. With the support of organizations such as the Changchun Society, White Lotus Sect, and Cao Gang, public opinion was tightly controlled.

Nonetheless, the event caused no small disturbance.

It was fortunate that this was an age of unprecedented upheaval and transformation, and such strange phenomena were not rare.

After all, in the vast Longevity Heavenly Dynasty with its sixty-seven provinces, omens and celestial phenomena were beyond counting, occurring every single day.

Aside from Ninth Prince and his cohort who incited the trouble, Tao Qian had become the only one within Demon City who knew the truth.

But at this moment, Tao Qian had no time to attend to other matters.

Because on his body, the manifestation of a "Big Belly" was still not enough, unusual conditions continued to multiply.

The second abnormality soon took shape—this time, it was the eyes; a pair of new pupils forcibly emerged.

Tao Qian's occasionally effective High Spirit Vision, due to this change, became permanently available.

"Double pupils, hmm, this is acceptable," he sighed in relief upon recognizing the new abnormality.

This change was actually rather favorable, even powerful and domineering.

Infant Sect Master Li Shantong, who effortlessly crushed the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva and another Cavernous Mystery Demon with a simple gesture, also possessed double pupils. Although Tao Da, True Master, had stolen the show that day, he knew his place: it was the childlike Li Shantong who was the true force to be reckoned with.

Having gained double pupils and thus securing High Spirit Vision made Tao Qian feel as if he had stumbled upon a fortune.

However, he quickly realized that the third anomaly was approaching.

This time, it was the face.

It was a transformation similar to "plastic surgery." The moment he sensed the tribulation energy moving toward his face, Tao Qian immediately felt something was amiss.

Raising his hand, he conjured a Mystic Light Mirror and saw an oddly shaped face reflected within.

At first, the face seemed peculiar, but upon closer observation, Tao Qian himself could perceive something special about it.

He even had a strange illusion: with this face, whatever he set out to do, he could succeed.

"A countenance blessed by fortune... is this the Dragon Face?" Tao Qian furrowed his brows and hesitated.

From the memories of his scholarly predecessors, he knew that each time the ruling Imperial Family of the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty changed, each founding Emperor, or the ruler who restored the dynasty, would have certain special features. The most common was the peculiar face that Tao Qian now bore, which could also be referred to as Dragon Face.

"They really think quite highly of me, do they? Are they intending to thrust me into a rebellion?"

"Big Belly, double pupils, Dragon Face... If someone proficient in physiognomy or divination saw me now, they would probably kowtow immediately, eagerly following me to gain the merit of supporting a dragon."

Tao Qian's latest self couldn't suppress the urge to mutter critiques under his breath.

Fortunately, he had already experienced the shock of his previous Long-eared Parallel Teeth transformation and quickly grew accustomed to it.

With a thought, he reverted to his original appearance using the Secret Demon Transformation Technique.

These anomalies were merely signs, telling Tao Qian that his tribulation was on its way.

His attention immediately returned to more serious matters. freewёbnoνel.com

"Blood rain falling on Demon City signifies that this territory could be destined for millions of corpses; it's almost certain that Zhu Qi, that twisted Ninth Prince, requires a Blood Sacrifice for the refining process of the 'Mountain and River Map.'"

"Since he can't conduct a Blood Sacrifice with the proper citizens of Demon City, knowing fully well that, no matter how twisted, he can't afford to lose his subjects, did he deliberately lure refugees from other provinces?"

"In this world, what's never in short supply, is refugees."

"But what about the cost?"

"Even if they are refugees, a mass Blood Sacrifice of millions at once—that backlash and cost, even someone at the Daoist Transformation Realm might struggle to bear it, right?"

Pondering this far, Tao Qian fell into doubt.

Then, Yuan Gong, who materialized from a wisp of red smoke at his side, spoke eerily, "As long as he doesn't kill them himself, it's possible to shift the karma. Taishang Demon Sect is most adept at these sorts of tricks, a group of underground little demons."

Yuan Gong's words, like an epiphany, immediately reminded Tao Qian of another piece of news from the Cloud Token Letter: the Ancient Yue Province government asked Ninth Prince to treat the Yue King well while putting forth various conditions for ransom.

Tao Qian's expression changed as he suddenly said, "I understand now, damn Zhu Qi."

"That psychopath captured his own fourth brother and is eyeing not just his Hidden Dragon Blood and Flesh but also his Fungus Demon Army. With their leader captive, the leaderless forces will stop at nothing to attempt a rescue."

"Is this guy planning to form a human defensive line outside Demon City using the refugees, deliberately guiding the Fourth Prince's forces to slaughter them, and then conduct a Blood Sacrifice with the Mountain and River Map?"

In a few words, Tao Qian felt he had guessed a significant part of Zhu Qi's plan.

And it was the most crucial part.

Yuan Gong nodded in agreement, then revealed a vital ancient secret, "The Ancestor God Forbidden Technique was established by the ancient Emperor who swept through the eight desolations. It was also a time of demons and chaos, gods and ghosts cohabiting, where suffering beings were commonplace—phenomena like blood rain occurred every few days... To speak of it, that Emperor did indeed establish extraordinary achievements. Without the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique, the numbers of the Mortal Human Race within this territory would never be what they are today."

"Since the Mountain and River Map is a Fragment turned by the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique, the conditions for its refinement must be shared."

"That devil calling himself Zhu Qi must be planning to recreate those times... to accelerate the refinement of that treasure. Otherwise, normally speaking, an Exotic Treasure of such a high order would take several years for someone in the Ultimate Happiness Realm to refine, and that little demon would need at least decades."