Longevity Chronicles

The Immortal Island was flat and open, and its master was a Great Man with the head of an elephant, draped in a dark cyan Daoist robe.

He was clearly an Elder of the Spirit Treasure Sect, and by his appearance, his true form seemed to be that of a Spirit Elephant. As a mutated being entering the Dao of cultivation, he not only attained the Spirit Treasure Method, but he also possessed at least the cultivation of Cavernous Mystery.

Perhaps because of this, this Immortal Master had bred a large number of his own kind on the island.

There were Ancient Elephants with massive bodies covered in hair, White Elephants with snow-white bodies and eyes aglow with Spirit Light, and Armored Elephants with scales and armor, their horns like sharp spears... They lived in groups, breeding and multiplying on this island, a sight that would take anyone's breath away.

Without any buffering, without any forewarning.

The moment he took in the whole scene, Tao Qian suddenly witnessed a sight of extreme terror and disgust:

The Immortal Master sitting cross-legged on the highest elephant platform, for some mishap in his cultivation, abruptly opened his eyes, and within them was an intense and undissolvable bloodlust and desire to devour.

With a bellowing roar of "Moo," the Immortal Master suddenly revealed his true form.

No, it was his mutated true form.

It was a grotesque giant elephant, half flesh, half bone, and in between the bones and flesh, mounds of maggots writhed crazily. With a shake of his body, a white sea of maggots poured down like a flood.

Hearing that their Ancestor had changed, numerous Elephant Demons with awakened Spiritual Wisdom rushed towards the towering Elephant Mountain.

They suddenly saw a terrifying elephant head emerge from the mountain, with blood-red eyes like twin blood moons hovering over the Immortal Island. Its large ears unfurled like membranous wings, and with tusks thrusting into the sky, the rough and robust elephant trunk extended limitlessly with a hiss, scooping up the approaching herd of elephants and stuffing them into its mouth.

Chewing sounds that would shake one to their core and turn their teeth sour rang out immediately, echoing throughout the Immortal Island known as "Spirit Elephant Dojo."

In a short while, aside from the mutated and fallen Spirit Elephant Elder, no other life remained on the island.

Blood mist lingered all over the island; a stench rose in the air, with corpses of giant elephants everywhere, maggots mounded like hills, and swarms of flies as dense as clouds. Where was the wonder of the Spirit Elephants to be found? This was nothing short of hell on earth.

And more terrifying was that the Immortal Master, having eaten all the Elephant Clan on the island, roared without care, seeking to break out from the Immortal Island in search of more prey.

Only moments later, blocked by forbidden techniques, he stomped his feet in a roar and crushed half of the Immortal Island under his feet.

With a flap of his membranous wings, he actually leapt into the sky, like a demon from purgatory soaring above the clouds, with that monstrous mouth capable of swallowing a hundred thousand from the Human Clan agape, the entire world seemed to roll over because of this...

"Hiss,"

Tao Qian woke up in the midst of drawing a sharp breath.

In his mind, a tremulous and lingering voice echoed:

"Let the Young Master know, this happened ten years ago."

"The Spirit Elephant Immortal Master mutated due to a mishap in his magic skill, and in one night he devoured his own hundred thousand descendants, along with his kin of the Elephant Clan."

"A being like the Spirit Elephant Immortal Master is called within our Sect... the Absolute Immortal!"

"The Ancestor once said, all matters of cultivation come with a price."

"If one has fallen to such a state, then the only option is to struggle desperately for a chance to survive."

"Because our clan is quite special within the Mountain Gate, inside the clan there is a list called [Absolute Immortal List], where the Alcohol and Meat Immortal Master, Li Changle, is included."

"Those who have reached the state of Absolute Immortal typically do not show themselves to others. They either get confined by the Sect due to their inability to suppress their mutation, or they hide in their own Daoist Field using various methods to suppress the mutation and decay, waiting for the 'Ten Thousand Immortals Coming' event, and at that grand assembly of the Ten Thousand Immortals, they struggle for a sliver of chance to live."

"As such, normally, the Absolute Immortals would not harm the Mountain Gate or the disciples, but there are always exceptions."

"Hundreds of years ago, there was an Immortal who mutated too quickly, and because the Magic Skill he cultivated was too powerful, after losing control, he directly devoured many disciples and destroyed seven or eight Immortal Islands, eventually being subdued and killed by a Second Generation Ancestor."

"Since then, the rules concerning the Absolute Immortals have become even more strict. Many of our clan members have been devoured for peering into the secrets of the Absolute Immortals, which is why everyone panicked upon hearing that the Alcohol and Meat Immortal Master had come to visit that day."

As these voices fell, Tao Qian's doubts were immediately answered.

At the same time, some of his views were being reshaped.

Tao Qian stood outside the Bie Fu, his brow slightly furrowed as he looked at the remaining five Devil Pearls in his hand.

"In Seeking Immortal County, I began my cultivation, witnessing many oddities and brutalities, completely understanding that first iron law of the Cultivation World: all matters of cultivation come with a price."

"After that, whether it was the Joyful Pavilion, the Iron Buddha Temple, or the Fragrant Meat Collection, all deepened this impression."

"Until I faced the Third Calamity, and Dou Dou led the Heavenly Punishment Three Immortal Treasures to me, guiding me into the Spirit Treasure Sect. After entering the Sect, I saw scenes of the Immortal Family wherever I went. I originally thought that in such a Major Sect of the Daoist way, I might avoid the style of cruel cultivation and step into a truly ethereal and carefree journey of Cultivation."

"Clearly, I was mistaken."

"Even the Spirit Treasure Sect is the same, and perhaps even more terrifying."

"Well then, it's time I completely cast away those fantasies from my previous life."

"This Cultivation World, in essence, might just be what I saw in Southern Yue, the Iron Buddha Temple, the Fragrant Meat Collection."

With thoughts flashing through Tao Qian's mind, and with curiosity and a notion not to waste, he moved his hand.

Suddenly, he tossed the remaining five Devil Pearls into his mouth and swallowed them.

The moment they entered his mouth, they dissolved instantly, and five streams of chillingly cool, sweet breath surged up.

The familiar feeling of lightheadedness followed, and his vision began to fog.

The world shifted in an instant.

Swiftly, Tao Qian found himself standing beside a Nursing Woman Bird Demon, peeking together at a new Immortal Island.

This time the owner of the Immortal Island was an Elder of the Sect called "Willow Immortal."

She first appeared to Tao Qian as a fairy clad in a green dress, lovely in appearance.