Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 224 - 176: Thunder Transforms Life, Longevity Star Elder

In a hidden valley within Yunhua Mountain, immortal trees bore fruit, emitting an exotic fragrance that filled the sky.

Regrettably, under Tao Qian's scrutiny, each and every Immortal Peach appeared more like lumps of flesh. The fuzz on the surface of the Immortal Peaches were in fact dense clusters of flesh buds, and underneath the crystal-clear skin, a large number of maggot-like creatures wriggled in the juicy flesh.

Tao Qian frowned, sighing deeply before suddenly taking a step forward.

He didn't find it disgusting; instead, he reached out with his pale hand and touched the rotting trunk of the Immortal Peach Tree.

Throughout the process, Tao Qian could feel the restlessness and craving of those pink maggots as they violently slammed against the thin skin, attempting to burrow out and voraciously consume his flesh and blood.

At the same time, a record surged forth in Tao Qian's mind.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

[Record Name: Five Lusts Longevity Peach Tree]

[Record Type: Alien.]

[Record: Cultivated from Longevity Star Peach Seeds from the Outer Realm, using the method of the Five Lusts Enchanting Immortal Scripture. This alien species of Immortal Plant surpasses the normal Five Lusts Enchanting Immortal Peach Tree in terms of growth speed, fruit yield, and the efficacy of the Immortal Peaches. It can bear fruit three times a year, each time at least a hundred longevity peaches which can extend life by one month each, with no limit on consumption.]

The first record emerged, and Tao Qian revealed a look of surprise.

If one only looked at this, no one would think Tao Qian's cultivation had failed.

What failure?

It was clearly a great success.

Three times a year, a hundred each time, no limit on consumption.

That is to say, if Tao Qian planted this peach tree and ate the peaches for a year, he could extend his lifespan by twenty-five years.

If he planted all the remaining Peach Seeds according to this method, even if he might be eating nothing but longevity peaches in the future, wouldn't he extend his life by four thousand five hundred years after a year?

The thought flashed in his mind, and Tao Qian immediately shook his head and looked towards the subsequent annotations.

Without a doubt, there must be unimaginable side effects.

"Plant a peach forest and then extend one's life by four thousand and five hundred years? Such a tale is no more than a fantasy."

Tao Qian's thoughts were indeed correct; the annotations quickly burst forth.

[Annotation One: Because this Immortal Plant's source has been corrupted by the method of the Five Lusts Enchanting Immortal, the longevity peaches it bears are also filled with indelible mutated corruption. Any creature that consumes them can extend life, but will also undergo mutation and fall into depravity, becoming parasitized by the worms within the peaches, losing both body and soul, and becoming subject to the control of the tree's master.]

[Annotation Two: The efficacy of these longevity peaches can be stacked, and so can the mutation and contamination. Once a certain amount is reached, even cultivators of the Ultimate Happiness Realm may fall into depravity because of it.]

[Annotation Three: The Peach Blossom spirit that was born alongside this tree is dead; having lost control, it is now voraciously consuming Source Qi and rooting deeper. In about half an hour, it will birth spiritual wisdom and mutate into a being akin to demons and devils.]

[Annotation Four: Exemption from the cost of the first one hundred longevity peaches! Exemption from parasitism by worms!]

The first two annotations came as no surprise to Tao Qian.

The third annotation, however, prompted Tao Qian to take action immediately.

It didn't require much complication; with a mere thought, he severed the supply of Source Qi.

Almost instantly, the previously docile Five Lusts Longevity Peach Tree became violent.

Its tentacle-like branches lashed out, and the rotting trunk in front of him sprayed pus and hallucinogenic juices towards Tao Qian, its master.

After all, the Peach Seeds came from the Outer Realm. If it indeed birthed spiritual wisdom and mutated into a demon, that would indeed be troublesome.

But now, it was still merely a disgusting peach tree.

Tao Qian, without a glance, brought the Jade Hoe crashing down.

One hoe to sever the root!

Although it was his first time planting a tree, he was, after all, a Foundation Establishment True Practitioner. It was not difficult for him to accurately exterminate this peach tree that was mutated from the source.

With a shrill scream, the peach tree, which could increase one's lifespan by twenty-five years with just one year's growth, was uprooted.

And in the blink of an eye, it withered from lush and fruit-laden to a piece of rotten wood that looked as though it had been soaking in the swamp of Evil Water for a long time, with a few still-wet maggots wriggling within, trying to draw some Source Qi or flesh in order to cling on to life.

Tao Qian casually summoned a ball of thunderous fire and threw it on top, and after a series of crackling sounds, nothing was left but ashes.

To destroy an Immortal Plant capable of extending life without showing any hint of regret on his face showed that, although the benefits of this Five Lusts Longevity Peach Tree could be considered rare and valuable, once the "cost" was taken into account, it immediately became unbearable.

If all the costs could have been exempted, it might be a different story, but even with Tao Qian's abnormal soul, he could only exempt a part of it.

Furthermore, since the accompanying Peach Blossom spirit was dead, Tao Qian naturally chose to eradicate the problem at its roots.

If it were Pan Hongniang, the Beautiful Corpse, or others like them who were demons and intermediary beings, they would likely be ecstatic upon obtaining such a peach tree.

But he, Tao Qian, a respectable practitioner of the Spirit Treasure True Cultivation, how could he plant such an improper tree?

The first failure was not surprising.

Tao Qian was not discouraged at all; he still stood in that hidden valley, staring at the ashes, then as if enlightened, he said:

"A fine Longevity Star Peach Seed was turned by me into a Five Lusts Peach Tree; clearly, the problem lies in the stage of 'seed opening and spirit pregnancy.'"

"Once the seed is opened, it directly touches the source, and any contamination that is introduced becomes part of it."

"Hmm?"

"What if I only open the seed, and instead of using the Fertility Technique from the Five Lusts Enchanting Immortal Scripture, I use another method?"

This thought stirred, and Tao Qian felt like he had found the correct path.

He didn't leave the valley but with a thought, summoned Zhong Doudou.

Tao Qian had also realized that he had viewed the matter of "cultivating Immortal Plants" too simplistically before. Coupled with having access to cultivation methods like those left behind by professional peach tree cultivators like Pan Hongniang, he rushed into experimenting upon receiving inspiration, resulting in a somewhat hasty process.

However, this was a normal occurrence. Tao Qian's abnormal soul, in many aspects, could be considered as cheating, and the same goes for cultivating Spirit Plants.

After all, he didn't need to exert much effort; with just a touch, he could understand the essence.

With greatly enhanced spiritual vision, it indeed became more convenient.

As a glimmer of Crystal Light flashed by, Zhong Doudou mysteriously appeared in front of Tao Qian. Before she could act mischievously, Tao Qian instructed her, "Dou Dou, go to Pan Si Immortal's Daoist Field for me, and ask for some Book of Skills regarding the cultivation of Immortal Plants, the transmutation of Spirit Roots, and the breeding of spirits."

"Go quickly and return promptly."

It wasn't long after Tao Qian had spoken that Zhong Doudou returned with a stack of books in hand.

Having an Immortal close to oneself and holding significant authority as a neighbor came with such benefits.

With a silent exclamation in his heart, Tao Qian took the books and immediately began to read through them.

Before long, he had finished reviewing all the Magic Skills, and results beyond his expectations emerged.

"The methods of cultivating Immortal Plant Spirit Roots and breeding spirits from the Spirit Treasure Sect are almost all top-grade and extremely rare."

"However, if I were to cultivate the peach trees following these methods, although I certainly could obtain some extremely fine Immortal Peach Trees, it would be difficult to achieve the effect I desire."

"I can't control them as effortlessly and naturally as Pan Hongniang manages her Peach Blossom Valley, completely dominating it. It seems that there is something to be said for the various heresy and heterodoxy methods within the Cultivation World."

A few thoughts flashed through his mind, and Tao Qian's brow furrowed once more.

If there were any Cultivator present who truly excelled in cultivating Immortal Plants, hearing his requirements would likely cause them great difficulty.

They had to cultivate top-quality Immortal Plants!

It had to be in line with forbidden techniques!

Furthermore, they had to transmute and breed a large number of orthodox and not Fallen Abnormalities—spirits for him to command, to help him control the Immortal Island, once and for all.

In a stricter sense, this couldn't be considered simply planting trees.

Luckily, Tao Qian had no intention of following the rules anyway. With many reference Magic Skills at hand, he quickly found new inspiration.

Moreover, he had a strong premonition that his second experiment might be successful.

With a tint of nervousness, Tao Qian still took out a Peach Seed and tapped it against the Jade Hoe.

But this time, after opening the seed, he did not linger in the Hidden Valley. Instead, with a flicker and shift of his body, he reappeared at the peak of Yunhua Immortal Mountain.

The scenery here bore some resemblance to the Biyou Palace.

In the midst of thunderous roars, countless destructive thunders tumbled down.

These thunders were exactly what he needed.

Among those books, Tao Qian found an unconventional technique called the "Thunder Birth Technique."

This was actually a method for transmuting Spirit Roots, originating from another Great Sect—the Shenxiao Sect.

The Cultivators of the Shenxiao Sect used this Technique to transmute life forms. Their style was similarly straightforward and brutal—whatever Spirit Root or alien object they fancied, if they wanted to create a spirit or charm obedience, they would bombard it directly with Divine Thunder.

One can imagine what the chances of successful transmutation were under this method.

However, this violent method was very suitable for Tao Qian.

After all, there probably wasn't another person in the Cultivation World who could handle it as delicately as him.

With this thought, Tao Qian held the Peach Seed directly in his hand.

At the same time, he sent a wisp of Divine Thought into the seed.

In the next moment, he unleashed the spell, guiding the thunder from above down to him.

Boom!

Boom!

It began—the visible tumultuous thunder struck down, hitting the Peach Seed with incredible precision.

But no matter how precise, holding that seed meant Tao Qian, too, would suffer the repercussions.

Initially, it was just a tingling numbness, which quickly turned into the kind of pain only experienced when struck by thunder. Although it wasn't difficult for Tao Qian to resist, getting struck by lightning was a novel experience for him as well.

The high failure rate for Shenxiao Sect Cultivators using this technique lay in not knowing which bolt of thunder they released would be successful in transmutation.

Perhaps one would work, but the next could obliterate the newly born fragile True Spirit.

The Shenxiao Sect ancestor who created this spell must have been a gambler.

Even within the Shenxiao Sect, few used this method.

In Tao Qian's hands, though, it could not have been more fitting.

Almost exactly when the ninth thunderbolt struck the Peach Seed, Tao Qian's constantly activated Record abruptly changed.

At the same time, Tao Qian's eyes suddenly shot open.

He stopped the spell and halted the lightning.

Then he directly threw the Peach Seed down below, and immediately activated the Ascending Immortal Token with a thought. As the Peach Seed fell, the Three Prohibitions activated simultaneously—water and fire refined it, while fierce wind baked it, ensuring that the Peach Seed still accurately fell within one of the node points of the forbidden techniques in the Hidden Valley.

Just as it entered the soil, a vast flow of Source Qi surged in, and the numerous bottles and jars automatically tipped over, drenching it with a generous amount of Spiritual Liquid and Spiritual Fertilizer.

In just a few breaths, a familiar scene unfolded once again.

Within the Hidden Valley, an extraordinarily delicate and robust Immortal Peach Tree sprouted and grew visibly to the eye, immediately blooming with blossoms that emitted a strong fragrance.

The only difference, along with the spreading fragrance:

The beings born on the tree were no longer naked Peach Blossom spirits.

Instead, it was a somehow Abnormal, yet strangely familiar old man with a round head, large ears, and a short stature that took shape.

ps: Asking for your monthly ticket!