Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 361 - 258: Kongchan Arhat, the Grudge of Blocking the Path

Tao Qian listened attentively to the story of love and conflict between his Master and the Supreme Elder of the Taishang Dao Sect.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Gong suddenly started making a fuss.

Instinctively wanting to stop him, Tao Qian quickly harbored a hint of suspicion.

"When I left the sect, Master specifically instructed me to come to Demon City, mentioning great benefits and opportunities."

"Now it seems, he really calculated everything accurately. The so-called great benefits, could it be the treasure born from the Fragment of the Ancestor God, the 'Mountain and River Map'?"

"If I could get my hands on this item, it would indeed be a great opportunity."

"But to obtain it, I would have to confront the Ninth Prince, Zhu Qi, and thereafter face Master's mortal enemy, the one called 'Taishang Primordial Demon Manifestation Saint True Monarch,' the Old Demon."

"An existence of that level could crush me with a single finger."

"Could it be, has Master really been protecting me from the sidelines?"

While contemplating, Tao Qian started looking around with Yuan Gong, as if trying to trick Master Duobao into appearing.

Unfortunately, despite the noise made by the old and the young, they couldn't even summon the sight of Master Duobao's stout legs.

Their naive demeanor, however, was fully observed by Yunrong.

This Kitten shook her head, leapt out of the warm embrace of Tao Qian, lay down on a meditation cushion in the quiet room, and quietly enjoyed the scene.

Unable to trick Master Duobao into showing up, Yuan Gong was quite puzzled.

As a Sword Cultivator, although he is a senior with high cultivation and terrifying power, unfortunately, he lacks the talent for scheming.

"This doesn't make sense; such life and death matters are not a joke."

"Although Master Duobao is formidable, at such close range, if Lingwa discovers you, this sly boy, he couldn't rescue you in time."

"Don't even think of relying on me, Old Ape; I have been dead for so many years, the grass on my grave is probably a thousand feet tall, even this projection of my Divine Soul can barely withstand a single curse killing thought from Lingwa."

Muttering this, the smoke-formed face of Yuan Gong suddenly changed dramatically.

With furrowed brows, he turned his head to stare at Tao Qian and then began to grumble calculatingly about his own survival without any hesitation.

"This is bad, really bad. If Lingwa, this shameless Old Demon, discovers us, it's one thing for you, kid, to suffer, but it would also implicate me."

"I knew dealing with that Master Duobao would mean not losing at best, definitely no profit to be had."

"This old bastard wouldn't be thinking about forcing me to use the Secret Demon Sect's 'coffin money' to clean up your mess, would he?"

"Forget it, he's dreaming, that black-hearted old irredeemable..."

Yuan Gong, seemingly remembering something, then proceeded to curse profusely.

This old demon head of the Secret Demon Sect from years ago insulted Master Duobao with an array of unique swear words.

Caught in the middle, Tao Qian felt it wasn't his place to forcibly stop the old man.

Evidently, Yuan Gong, convinced he had guessed Master Duobao's intentions, was thoroughly furious, continuing his tirade and spilling more of Master Duobao's dark past.

Initially, Tao Qian wanted to stop him, but later, like Yunrong, he found himself engrossed in listening.

The tales were unbelievable, but Tao Qian somehow felt his Master could really have done such things.

Using the Returning Immortal Mirror to peep on the Female Bodhisattvas of Guanyin Temple, only to be caught and having several of them block his retreat at Penglai Sea.

Initially triumphant when entering Ultimate Happiness, flaunting the Heavenly Punishment Sword to challenge the Taishang Daoist Sect Master, only to be sent flying tens of thousands of miles with a mere flick of a horsetail whisk.

During a Daoist and Buddhist debate, after losing a verbal exchange to a high monk from the Great Freedom Temple, he forcefully challenged the monk to a duel, not in killing but in saving people, and lost again, losing face twice before ultimately having his sister, Fairy Yunhua, use a Big Array to salvage some dignity.

Once during a battle in the Outer Realm, Master Duobao almost got swept away by an Evil God called Calamity Star; the female fairy from Jade Ring Mountain kindly lent him the Haotian Divine Mirror to escape the predicament, and upon returning, he shamelessly declared in front of her, "This treasure is destined for me," infuriating the female fairy by calling his effrontery shameless.

...

Tao Qian heard many more secrets and confirmed some of his own suspicions.

For instance, the Secret Demon Sect had not entirely collapsed. Besides dispersing their Great Lifebook Scripture among the Demon Thoughts of the Outer Realm Heaven Demons, they had also left a considerable and sturdy 'coffin money,' at least capable of handling that Taishang Primordial Demon Manifestation Saint True Monarch.

Another was that bringing Yuan Gong along was actually part of a transactional deal.

"Judging from the Record triggered when touching the [Yuan Gong Statue] inside the Mountain Gate, the purpose of this projection of Yuan Gong's Divine Soul was not only to find a suitable successor for the Secret Demon Sacrifice Body Sword Technique."

"The bigger, more important part was to cultivate a suitable Secret Demon Child for the Secret Demon Sect."

"I! It seems I have already been shortlisted."

"Who knows, one day, I might really have to go undercover to the Secret Demon Sect."

"Heavenly Venerate above, if that day comes and you are displeased, go find my Master; it's all his scheming."

While Tao Qian mentally shifted the blame, Yuan Gong continued to dig up more of Master Duobao's dark history.

Just as he broached another topic, Tao Qian suddenly sharpened his spirit, catching every detail keenly.

"Many years ago, an ancient battlefield relic was opened," Tao Qian recounted, "the treasure light burst straight into the Outer Realm Abyss. To vie for the treasures, Daoist, Buddhist, demons, devils, and even those major clan factions all came in droves."

"Duobao had calculated in advance that many treasures within the relic were destined to belong to the Taishang Demon Sect."

"That cunning old man even collaborated with several bald monks from the Demon Buddha Temple set numerous life-path traps, repeatedly duping the cultivators of the Taishang Demon Sect, causing them to lose several divine treasures, which he then divided up with those bald monks from the Demon Buddha Temple. Collaborating with the Demon Sect, he often boasted shamelessly of being a true Daoist practitioner."

"At that time, who came on behalf of the Taishang Demon Sect was none other than Lingwa, this unlucky fellow, who originally possessed an exotic treasure known as the 'Thirty-Three Heavens Great Freedom Demon Relics,' destined for him as the Primordial Demon Saint True Monarch, which could have helped him ascend to the Daoist Transformation Realm, and manifest the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Dao Body."

"Regrettably, he was duped by Duobao and Kongchan from the Demon Buddha Temple. The Heavenly Demon Relics were split in two, one piece falling into the hands of that shameless bald Kongchan, who refined it into an Arhat clone... Clearly, it was Duobao's conspiracy, but actually, Lingwa hated Kongchan even more, as this obstruction was an enmity that could not coexist under the same sky..."

Yuan Gong paused at this point, seemingly coming to a realization.

He abruptly halted recounting Duobao's dark history and lowered his head, locking eyes with Tao Qian.

Clearly, both of them had the same guess.

However, at this moment, when Tao Qian suddenly saw a sliver of opportunity, his face showed joy.

On the other hand, after guessing some of the reasons, Yuan Gong's expression was one of frustration.

After a pause, Tao Qian spoke, half to salvage Yuan Gong's dignity and half to seek advice:

"Knowing the grudge between the Demon Buddha Temple's Arhat Kongchan and the Primordial Demon Saint True Monarch, I also have plans, just diverting the trouble eastward will do."

"But it seems there isn't a convincing reason to lure that Arhat out?"

"Moreover, this place is far away from the Demon Buddha Temple's mountain gate, how should I connect with that Arhat Kongchan?"

Tao Qian spoke of his desire to cooperate with the demon cultivators, yet his expression did not show anything amiss.

If it were someone from the Shenxiao Sect or Taishang Dao, they could never say such things.

Fortunately, Yuan Gong was used to it and knew that his disciple was giving him a way out.

He was peers with Duobao True Master, Kongchan Arhat, and Primordial Demon True Monarch, and while the latter three were still at large, he was left with only a projection of his divine soul.

It could be said to be pitiable; he had just come to a realization, even his act of revealing the other party's dark history was calculated by Duobao as a "hint" for Tao Qian.

Realizing these, it was no wonder he looked frustrated.

Fortunately, he had survived these years by relying only on a statue for life prolongment, Yuan Gong had long lost the stale air of pedantry.

Changing his mind, he immediately answered Tao Qian:

"Lingwa arranged for his disciple to refine the Ancestor God Forbidden Fragment, apparently planning to take another path, breaking the Daoist Transformation Tribulation to refine that Six Desires Heavenly Demon Body."

"It's essential to know that Demon City isn't named so for nothing."

"In this place, countless demons are hidden, and it has connections with the Outer Realm's Thirty-Three Heavenly Demon Realm. If his disciple successfully refines that laborious Mountain and River Map, using the Ancestor God's immense power with the entire Demon City territory's Ten Thousand Demons as nourishment, he must ascend to Daoist Transformation."

"Whether it's Duobao or Kongchan, both know Lingwa's small-mindedness. When the time comes, the first to bear the brunt will be Kongchan. Both possessing a piece of Heavenly Demon Relics, they are already mortal enemies, and whoever ascends first, the other must perish."

"You only need to inform this Demon Buddha Arhat, even if it's thousands of mountains and rivers away, he must hurry over to obstruct Lingwa's ascension again."

"As for how to communicate?"

"That's the easiest part. Kongchan is the Arhat with the most mixed refining methods in the Demon Buddha Temple. Besides his own Demon Buddha Scriptures, he's also learned a few divine skills from the Guanyin Temple's Bodhisattvas; even flaunted his Thousand-Handed Guanyin Dharma Form before us back in the day, which was truly nauseating."

"I'm certain he's also learned our Secret Demon Sect's Summoning Demon and Refining Demon Techniques, he surely hasn't summoned the Joyful Demons to his bed chamber infrequently."

"In this case, just summon a 'Buddha Fragrance Demon' from the Outer Realm, refine it using your Control Demon Technique, and let it go to deliver the message."

"Buddha Fragrance Demons can enter from the Outer Realm, move unhindered between Guanyin Temple, Demon Buddha Temple territories, and can even directly locate cultivators who have refined and used the Summoning Demon Technique."

"The real thought is instantaneous, tens of thousands of miles are but a trifle, even the Great Freedom Heart Light Escape Technique can't compare to going through the Outer Realm path."

After Yuan Gong finished speaking, Tao Qian's eyes lit up.

He had heard of the Buddha Fragrance Demon before.

But who knew it also had such uses?

Indeed, in terms of utilizing demons, the Secret Demon Sect claimed to be second, yet no one dared to claim first.

Heartened, Tao Qian was about to start summoning demons when,

suddenly, the quiet room's doors burst open, and a Cloud Token Letter from the National Salvation Congress shot in.

Tao Qian caught and opened it, and immediately, good news jumped out:

"Yin Qiye has sworn a demon oath, to give Rashamon Girl and All Heavens Secret Demon Scripture Formless Chapter to him, he agrees to betray the Ninth Prince."

"Good!"

With dual happiness approaching, Tao Qian could not suppress the smile on his face. freёnovelkiss.com

Without any intention to delay, he put away the Cloud Token, thanked Yuan Gong, and concentrated to meditate.

This time it took a bit longer, as aside from retrieving a scroll of the "Formless Chapter," he also had to catch a "Buddha Fragrance Demon."

ps: Asking for monthly tickets, to continue the rush on the first, striving to complete this part in one breath.