Longevity Chronicles-Chapter 311 - 227: Picking Divine Skills, Shameless Duobao
Within the secluded courtyard of the Jin Mansion, in the tranquil chamber belonging solely to Fairy Yunrong.
Tao Qian sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, and gazing upon the slightly heavy yet incredibly exquisite and lively female cultivator, Kitten, in his arms, he couldn't help but fall into self-doubt.
The pursuit of pleasure was the same!
Him, Tao Qian, mentioning it seemed quite awkward and very much libertine behavior.
Yet when Yunrong spoke, it sounded so natural, neither obscene nor frivolous.
Moreover, napping in someone's arms would seem crude and disrespectful when done by others, quite sleazy indeed.
But when Yunrong did it, it seemed just like an elegant affair.
Tao Qian was only stunned for a breath's time, having felt a certain temptation, he directly gave up resisting and resignedly thought, "A Transcend Mortality Realm Kitten is nothing even my Master wouldn't raise, I didn't expect I would be the one to have it first."
As the thought settled, his hands involuntarily landed on the body of Daoist Yunrong in his embrace.
He only heard a soft moan, as Yunrong, whose true form had been grasped by Tao Qian, let out a comfortable noise and then burrowed even deeper into his arms.
"Infinite Venerable, I still have fates to overcome, I must not indulge, I must not indulge."
After advising himself, Tao Qian couldn't resist but stroke her a few more times.
Only then, with difficulty, did he withdraw his hand, not attempting to meditate and cultivate.
Instead, he formed a Secret Demon magic hand seal, using his Divine Soul to call out to the Red Lady Demon hidden within Lady Mei's body, who was also in the Demon City.
Tao Qian had no contact with that Tribulation Leader, delaying his entry into the tribulation.
However, to prevent any unforeseen changes, he still sent a Demon to hide within her, to stay constantly aware of her situation.
At the same time, he could probe into some truths within the Ninth Prince's Mansion.
Not long after he called out, he soon heard the fierce yet adorable response from the Red Lady Demon at a distance:
"This woman is fine; she is just being held under house arrest."
"She spends her days crying, non-stop, cries when she sees a moth burn itself in the candle flame, and cries when she hears someone else suffers outside... But she cries so well, I cannot eat her brain and heart, but feasting on immortal dew is not bad either; if only she didn't fall asleep from crying too much, the Red Lady would definitely make her cry all the time."
"Don't know what treasure her body is, but her tears are so delicious."
"Master, if you allow me to take a bite out of her, I'd reduce one Demon Pill for you."
Upon hearing this, an image of the Red Lady opening her mouth with fangs glistening immediately popped into Tao Qian's mind.
Don't be fooled by this little devil's presentable appearance, cute and seemingly clumsy.
She was indeed an Outer Realm Demon, and in the Ten Thousand Demon List, she ranked even higher than the likes of the Star Zha Demon and the Substitute Demon.
If she took a bite, Lady Mei wouldn't have a life left.
"No!"
Almost immediately, Tao Qian refused.
"This woman is the body of the Jiangzhu Immortal Grass; her tears are equivalent to the Jiangzhu Immortal Honey."
"Being able to eat it constantly is already immensely lucky, and you still think about biting her?"
"Keep babbling, and I'll subtract both your Demon Pills."
"Take good care of her, and inform me immediately if anything changes."
Having said that, Tao Qian was too lazy to haggle with the little demon and cut off contact by dispersing the Demon Seal.
Who would expect that as soon as he woke up, he immediately found his other hand, which was meant to be empty, had involuntarily touched Fairy Yunrong's body once more.
After instinctively stroking a few times again, Tao Qian had to forcefully pull away.
Turning his head to look at the other corners of the quiet room, Shan Jiu was also asleep, steadily releasing a greenish radiance, while Little Age and Lian Jing'er were each diligently cultivating. With cultivation techniques to practice, these two talented and exceptional alien beings saw their powers advancing by leaps and bounds.
In contrast, him, the Great Master Tao, was getting involved in various side activities.
"Tao Qian, oh Tao Qian, you must not indulge, you must not indulge."
"Now that I have a place to stay, I should indeed start practicing a thing or two."
"Speaking of which, although I am an inheritor of the Spirit Treasure and have received the Ancestor Master's teachings, and the Great Lifebook Scripture is stored in my mind, strictly speaking, I haven't yet cultivated any of the Spirit Treasure Great Divine Powers."
"My strongest method against enemies is currently the Buddha Bird Relics, yet that belongs to the Buddhist Sect."
"The swordsmanship used to bully the Cavernous Mystery Demon not long ago is good, but that's from the Demon Path."
"Tsk tsk, it's also thanks to my short time in cultivation; if it were slightly longer, the Spirit Treasure Ancestor might come looking for trouble."
As these thoughts tumbled forth, Tao Qian naturally began considering first cultivating a Spirit Treasure Divine Power.
Thus, he immediately closed his eyes to focus, his Primordial Spirit leaping into the vast Sea of Consciousness, starting to pick a suitable Divine Power Skill from among the numerous chapters of the Great Book to practice.
And about practicing the Basic Method to increase mana and immortal energy?
In this area, Tao Qian was rather special.
He had to use the Third Method to break through the Taishang Treasure No-leak Body and advance into Transcend Mortality before it makes sense to begin cultivation.
Then he would officially step into a Transcendent state, barely deserving to be called an Immortal.
After that, perhaps his cultivation or retreat might take months, years, or even more than a dozen years, perhaps even longer.
Before that time, he only needed to worry about the many calamities and troubles; the tempering of mana and immortal energy within his body would be taken care of by the Taishang Treasure No-leak Body.
Meanwhile, Senior Brothers like Xuu Xun and Lu Xi, who had pathways defined through the Ancestor Master's teachings, might step into Cavernous Mystery upon exiting a single retreat.
Tao Qian originally thought that it would be very straightforward to find a powerful Divine Power from the Great Book and cultivate it.
It should have been quite simple.
Yet quickly, he realized it wasn't that easy.
"This Great Book really is too vast, and there are too many chapters; I've already learned small skills such as the Sweet Rain Skill and the Clear Wind Skill ahead of time."
"Skills like the Spirit Treasure Enchantment Secret Technique and the like, I can also learn without much effort whenever I wish, without any delay."
"But regarding grand Divine Powers such as the Inversion of Heaven and Earth Great Five Elements Hand Seal, with my meager cultivation and limited time, how can I possibly learn them?"
It wasn't long before Tao Qian fell into a state of distress.
He had only flipped through a small portion of the Great Book and was already dazzled by the vast choices.
Although he discovered many enticing Divine Power Skills, most of them were beyond his ability to practice.
"It's not a matter of cost, but those Divine Skills all have their own high cultivation standards, such as requiring the Transcend Mortality Realm, or even the Cavernous Mystery Realm."
Tao Qian was indeed eager for his abnormal soul to grant him an exemption.
Unfortunately, the answer was cruel—no exemption was possible.
Take the Inversion of Heaven and Earth Great Five Elements Hand Seal, for example. Once mastered, it's ridiculously overpowered.
With a single palm strike, the world turns upside down, and everything in that area comes under your control—truly an immortal means.
But Tao Qian could not master it. Not only did mastering this technique require preparing many treasures, but there were also numerous conditions. Most important was the very first standard: one needed to be at Perfect Transcend Mortality or higher.
Seeing these few characters and hearing the answer "no exemption possible" in his mind, Tao Qian could only watch the Divine Skills he coveted drift away.
As for another skill that Tao Qian coveted even more and was desperately excited about, the Universe in the Sleeve, the answer was even crueler.
"Can't master it unless you're at the Ultimate Happiness Realm?"
"Hmm? But didn't Senior Brother Xuu release the Universe in the Sleeve once on Eight Immortals Island? Could it be that there is a pocket-sized version that circumvents the restriction?"
"That's useless to me. I'm not a disciple of Aunt Ma Yi, so it's not my turn."
"Using a Divine Skill to collect the entire population of the Imperial City into your robes... With such might, such swagger, it seems I won't be able to do this for the next few years."
"But it doesn't matter. I can pretend with the Holy Embryo Bag. Though it's not as good as Aunt Ma Yi's, it might even be stronger than Senior Brother Xuu's Universe in the Sleeve."
Thinking of his Master, Tao Qian's mind went to the Holy Embryo Bag.
Suddenly recalling something, his expression changed subtly, and he quickly summoned Yuan Gong out of the bag.
Before this old-timer of the Secret Demon Sect got angry, Tao Qian pointed to Yunrong in his arms and preemptively changed the subject, transmitting his voice to say:
"Yuan Gong, do you know of any formidable figures in the lineage of Jade Ring Mountain?"
"According to Sister Kitten here, there's even some granny above her, including me in her calculations."
"Although Master is a bit stubborn, his love and care for his disciples are undeniably genuine. He should stir up my destiny as soon as I enter the world, and I shouldn't be calculated against."
"With your powerful cultivation and vast knowledge, even my Master respects you highly. Surely you know the secrets behind this."
Tao Qian shamelessly flattered Yuan Gong, dragging Duobao into it to butter up the latter.
Initially disinterested in Tao Qian, Yuan Gong did indeed feel more pleasantly upon hearing this. The suffocation of being forcefully stuffed into the Holy Embryo Bag dissipated somewhat.
However, when he replied, his tone was still huffy, and his words were rather impolite.
With just a few sentences, he hit Tao Qian's sore spot.
"You are just as cunning and sinister as Duobao. Can't you figure it out?"
"You are being played; it must be your cheap Master who sold you out."
"Everyone in the Cultivation World knows that the future Sect Master of the Spirit Treasure Sect must be Daoist Duobao."
"The Spirit Treasure Sect is indeed powerful, but even the mightiest Sect needs allies. Maybe Duobao saw your outstanding aura and profound blessing and decided to use you as a Beauty Trap."
"I do indeed know about the lineage of Jade Ring Mountain. There's indeed a formidable character hiding there, but I'm not going to tell you who."
"Otherwise, if she finds out, it would ruin my plans."
Hearing this, Tao Qian fell into silence.
He had suspected the first two sentences himself.
As a disciple of Duobao, if he could be calculated by someone else, it certainly involved Duobao as well.
However, as for the reasons, Tao Qian didn't think it was anything like a Beauty Trap. Lacking information, he couldn't figure it out.
"Well, so be it, even if it really were a Beauty Trap, it doesn't matter."
"When my Cultivation Realm improves, these confusions will naturally unravel."
Speaking these words, Tao Qian was immediately ridiculed by Yuan Gong.
"Heh, don't pretend to be magnanimous in front of me, you slippery youngster. I don't trust either of you Master and Disciple."
"I can tell something's amiss with you. Knowing your nature, you must be secretly holding a grudge against Duobao, planning to repay him in the future, right?"
Tao Qian quickly shook his head, denying it:
"Yuan Gong, you jest! I, Tao Qian, always honor my Master and value the Dao; I'm not that type of person."
"By the way, Yuan Gong, you were once an old rival of my Master, so you should have some understanding of the many Divine Power Skills of our Spirit Treasure Sect. I recently received the Ancestor Master's Teachings, but my cultivation is too weak. I don't know which Divine Power Skill would be most suitable to cultivate?"
"As a True Disciple of the Spirit Treasure Sect, I cannot be without the Spirit Treasure Divine Power. I beg for your guidance, Yuan Gong."
"Heh, of course I know. I'm not only familiar with the many techniques of your Spirit Treasure Sect, but I also know those of the Taishang Dao."
"But that's your Master's job, what does it have to do with me?"
Clearly, Yuan Gong, the old-timer of the Secret Demon Sect, still held a grudge.
Unfortunately for him, now he was but a tiger that had fallen flat, left only as a wisp of Divine Soul residing within a statue, let alone that he was also burdened with a certain responsibility.
Yuan Gong thought Tao Qian was unaware, yet from the moment this "Yuan Gong Statue" fell into Tao Qian's hands, he had no secrets to hide.
Rejected by the old-timer, Tao Qian didn't panic, simply calmly saying:
"I suddenly feel that learning the Secret Demon Sacrifice Body Sword is quite exhausting and comes with too many costs. Just that Demon Suppressing Sword Intent was extreme enough, making me lose face in public."
"If I were to learn Slaying Strange and Destroying Buddha in the future, wouldn't that be even worse?"
"I already possess the Great Book, so maybe I should slowly learn the Spirit Treasure Divine Power first, then come to you for the Sacrifice Sword Skill."
These light words indeed angered Yuan Gong.
He even turned into smoke, drifting out, his ancient-looking face angry, his red eyebrows like a pair of sky-piercing blades ready to sweep through.
"Sly kid, you're threatening me, I, Yuan Gong..."
Before he could finish, Yuan Gong seemed to remember something and suddenly stopped, looking annoyed.
He pointed at Tao Qian and said indignantly:
"Damn it, I've fallen for Duobao's plot again."
"You, merely at the Foundation Establishment Realm, have just inherited the Ancestor's Teachings and entered the world, with no senior at your side except for this old ghost of mine."
"And the responsibility of teaching you, a True Disciple of the Spirit Treasure Sect, falls on me, an old demon of the Secret Demon Sect?"
"Duobao, how can you be so shameless?"
Obviously, the last remark was Yuan Gong shouting across the void at Duobao Daoist.
