Longevity Chronicles

Chapter 103 - 96: The Bizarre Fragrant Meat Collection, Tao Qian Suddenly Encounters the First Disaster

In the wilderness forests, along a narrow trail.

Suddenly, there appeared a delicate fragrance, unique to that of an infant's body, followed by a faint glimmer of light.

Tao Qian appeared, a Soul Summoning Banner and Soul Summoning Bell floating in front of him, leading on either side Little Age and Lian Jing'er, who were dressed as "Little Zombies."

After briefly determining his bearings and comparing them to the map of Southern Yue etched in his mind, Tao Qian couldn't help but frown slightly.

Despite traveling all day, he was still within the boundaries of Southern Yue.

It wasn't that the Small Innate Nascent Soul Escape Technique was lacking in strength, but rather the current situation in Southern Yue was complex, filled with Demon Arrays and traps laid by demons everywhere; some were set up to capture mortals, others were aimed directly at cultivators, the former were considered blood food, the latter akin to resources.

Tao Qian himself possessed formidable combat potential, but it would not be wise to become entrenched in a demon ambush, so he had to resort to using the Escape Skill amongst the narrow margins, hence the slow progress was to be expected.

Even so, his speed of travel was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

"With another day or two, I should be able to leave this Purgatory of the human world behind," Tao Qian thought to himself, deciding to take Little Age and Lian Jing'er to find a secluded area to rest and recuperate.

The Source Qi used for travel had been stored in an Exotic Treasure given by Master Xiao during his time in Peach Blossom Spring, and it didn't consume a single breath of Tao Qian's own Spirit Treasure Immortal Spirit Qi.

But frequent use of the Escape Skill, whether for Tao Qian himself or for the two youngsters, had left them all feeling fatigued.

Just as Tao Qian was about to use his Divine Thought to

A group of Demon Evil Cultivators quickly descended the mountain.

As they passed through a dense forest, Tao Qian suddenly felt the darkness recede and a flood of light rush towards him.

Before him was an utterly flat wasteland, but astonishingly, there was a bustling and exceedingly long market.

Cramped small booths or makeshift shops huddled together, thousands of lanterns hanging at all heights. From above, it would appear as though a bloated fire dragon had appeared on the Earth's surface.

As they approached, Tao Qian and everyone in the group smelled an incredibly potent alien fragrance.

It smelled like the feasts in the Mortal World, but with entirely different types and intensities of aroma.

Tao Qian was led into the market by the two Pig Demons and looked around.

On the right, a black-maned Pig Demon was holding a shining Bone-cutting Knife, skillfully butchering a fresh corpse on a chopping board like a chef carving an ox, with various parts being placed neatly in front as the blade fell rapidly.

On the left was a smoked and barbecued meat shop with a scavenged iron stove full of hanging meat pieces or entire corpses. Underneath it, pine firewood burned fiercely, and the smoke mingled with the meat's fragrance wafted out together.

Tao Qian struggled to suppress his thoughts and looked down slightly, only to inadvertently notice the ground.

Unidentifiable flesh mingled with skin and bones, mixed with blood, had become a layer of vile-smelling sludge. Vicious maggots writhed within, while red-eyed flies swarmed over it like clouds. Bones piled up in the ditches along the sides, occasionally blocking the blood streams trying to wash over them, and intestines occasionally floated past on the water's surface…

At that moment, Tao Qian seemed to lose all sensation.

He simply followed the two Pig Demons and was led to the so-called "Wanquan Meat Shop," the true Wanquan's establishment.

Inside the large tent, there was both raw and cooked meat, their combined aromas nearly piercing the heavens.

With about a dozen helpers inside the tent, including Pig Demons and Dog Demons, a bristle-haired Pig Demon came up to greet the new customer, handing Tao Qian a "menu" made from two-legged sheepskin.

Before Tao Qian could discern the items listed, the helper began to proudly introduce the bestsellers:

"Daoist has chosen wisely by coming to Wanquan Meat Shop—our Fragrant Meat Collection is second to none when it comes to selling meat, no one dares to claim the first place."

"Our boss has recently grilled meat for the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva on Iron Buddha Mountain and poured wine for the Naked Saintess. The great giant troll baby demon has even gifted our boss a Bone-removing Magical Artifact Knife, so powerful and heaven-piercing it is."

"Look at these customers, they're all regulars who keep coming back."

"Well then, Daoist, would you like me, Zhu Tiedan, to recommend you some of our signature dishes?"

Following the Pig Demon's guidance,

Tao Qian looked inside the shop, where rows of tables were neatly arranged, almost all filled. Half were occupied by Demons, the other half by Cultivators coming from unknown places. Aside from the obviously mutated and Fallen Demons, there were also various Side Door practitioners like "fortune-telling masters," "Fengshui Mages," and "Ghost Refining Daoists."

Those seated at the tables were feasting ravenously, eating with abandon and dripping with grease.

Their eyes emitted a green glow, devoid of any trace of humanity—just raw, primal, fervent desires remained.

Seeing Tao Qian taken aback by this scene, the Pig Demon guessed that the Corpse Chasing Daoist might be experiencing this for the first time.

He gave a sinister smile, moved closer, and then said:

"Daoist need not be too troubled. This is how the world is nowadays. Smell this soul-capturing fragrance; don't tell me you haven't felt an appetite."

"Inside the word 'meat,' there are 'two people,' with one wrapped around another. All living beings are eating the flesh of others."

"You should give this some careful thought—isn't this the way it is?"

Hearing these words, Tao Qian's Divine Soul trembled violently.

An inescapably firm thought emerged in his mind.

"Catastrophe has arrived!"

"My first calamity is surely here in this place."