PDLP Chapter 88 Moving into the Cave
Chapter 88 Moving into the Cave
"Exorcism tax?"
Lu Qingyun had only heard of the infamous Demon Extermination Tax before, but now even the brokers harbored hatred for it, which shows just how vicious the Demon Extermination Tax must be.
The man with the tooth gritted his teeth and said, "Senior's cultivation is above the sixth level, and he is also a mid-grade talisman master, so there is no need to worry."
"Unfortunately, we are just ordinary people..."
"Just like this child's parents, they were all driven to their deaths by the exorcism tax."
The man with the tooth gave the dull-witted girl a look.
"Once you enter Cloud Mist City, you must pay one hundred spirit stones to leave."
"People outside think that Yunxia City is a place where you can eat your fill and stay warm, and they are desperate to get in, but they don't know that if you stay in Yunxia City, you have to hand over two spirit stones every month."
"Don't underestimate these two spirit stones; two or three out of ten people in this city are ordinary people."
"It's difficult for ordinary people to obtain even one spirit stone, let alone two. If they can't pay the price, one person in the family has to participate in a blood sacrifice to enhance the power of the front-line formation, euphemistically called sacrificing oneself for the country."
"The war between the Great Yun Kingdom and the Demonic Sect has been going on for several years, but the people's livelihood is becoming more and more impoverished. The people have no choice but to sell their labor and their bodies in exchange for a meager survival."
As the man spoke, his fists clenched involuntarily.
"Moreover, if the fighting on the front lines escalates or if any setbacks are suffered, the Great Yun Kingdom will not care whether spirit stones have been handed over or not; they will force every family to offer a blood sacrifice."
"They don't seem like immortal sects; they seem like demonic cultivators."
Lu Qingyun shook his head.
The actions of the Niu family in the Dayun Kingdom are truly chilling.
To everyone's surprise, the broker added, his voice tinged with sorrow: "Demonic cultivators?"
"Compared to the demonic cultivators, it's actually better. At least the Great Yun Kingdom is still fighting against the demonic sect. If it were the demonic sect, the Great Qing Kingdom they support would not care at all and would kill the people whenever they wanted."
"Wherever we go, we kill. When the Deyun Mansion was conquered by the Demonic Sect, those demons killed there for three days and three nights, looting and slaughtering without restraint."
"It's ridiculous that Deyun Mansion has now become the capital of the Great Qing Demon Kingdom. I wonder if the wronged souls under their capital will haunt them with nightmares every night."
Ya Ren still had some kindness in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't have wanted to comfort the girl earlier.
However, Lu Qingyun knew that those members of the demonic sect wouldn't have nightmares. Perhaps the wronged souls of Deyun Mansion turning into vengeful ghosts was exactly what they wanted.
Vengeful spirits are also excellent resources for combating demonic forces.
"If you need anything, senior, please send someone to the brokerage firm to find me at any time. I will do my best to help you."
Lu Qingyun gave him a jade slip.
"When the jade slip vibrates, come over. I will then transmit my voice from it."
"I understand."
The broker was taken aback, and Zhen Zhong took the jade slip.
The fact that he was given the jade slip shows that Lu Qingyun trusted him.
previously.
Lu Qingyun not only paid the 200 spirit stones for the room but also gave him an extra 5 as a reward, which made him value Lu Qingyun's relationship even more.
Although a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator isn't considered a big shot in Cloud City, the fact that he can casually produce over two hundred spirit stones speaks volumes about his wealth.
It should be noted that even Li Fulai, the mayor of a local spiritual vein neighborhood, could only afford to spend five hundred spirit stones a month at the Spring Oriole Pavilion for pleasure.
The broker left.
"What's your name?"
Lu Qingyun asked the girl.
"Shen...Shen Taozhu."
The girl said timidly.
"From now on you will live in the outer hall. You can plant whatever you want in the several acres of spiritual land outside the cave. Do not come to the inner hall. I will give you three spirit stones every month. Prepare your own three meals a day."
"As for your mother, go to the mountains and find a place to bury her."
After Lu Qingyun finished speaking, he tossed three spirit stones and a storage bag into her hand and left the outer hall.
The girl was at a loss and had no idea what to do.
Lu Qingyun completely ignored her, as if buying her was just a way to do good deeds.
Children in this world mature early, even though Shen Taozhu is only seven or eight years old.
However, they are only somewhat childish, not incapable of taking care of themselves.
No one wanted to sacrifice her, no one collected exorcism taxes, so even alone in Dayun, she could survive.
Lu Qingyun placed the bees and other spirit bees in a side hall.
This palace was left behind by a previous cultivator who left several years ago, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Before leaving, he sold the entire cave to a brokerage firm.
The Great Yun Kingdom has no shortage of labor.
Therefore, the palace was built to be quite large, and it was very comfortable to live in.
Lu Qingyun found a hall and activated the spirit-gathering array. Sure enough, the surrounding spiritual energy reached the first-grade high level.
"The Golden Spirit Bee still needs some time to advance. The most urgent task is to improve my talisman skills. On the one hand, it will make my identity as a talisman master more authentic. On the other hand, I may be able to use talisman skills to try to purify the impurities in my body."
Lu Qingyun pondered.
Cultivation was useless. After refining the spiritual source, he had already reached the perfection of Qi Refining. To advance to the half-step Foundation Establishment stage, he needed to refine the three supernatural powers of the Ancient Wood Longevity Technique.
【Ten Thousand Trees Grow】【Spirit-Stealing Wood】【Wooden Puppet】
These three supernatural powers progress step by step.
He must first master the [Ten Thousand Trees] technique before he can cultivate the next technique, [Spirit-Seizing Wood].
However, due to the activation of the "Spirit Stealing into the Body" technique during the initial stage of Qi Refining, his spiritual root was tainted as a result.
This made it impossible for him to master the [Myriad Trees Birth] technique, which uses his body as wood, resulting in a lush and natural form that touches the energy of the surrounding vegetation.
One must first evolve one's spiritual root before one can cultivate.
"Moreover, I don't have many spirit stones left. The two thousand spirit stones I have are not enough to cover the cost of renting a cave for a year. I need to find a way to obtain more spirit stones."
"Niu Gao is in the city, and Mu Shan is hiding outside. Now he has changed his appearance, faked his death to escape, and used the previous spirit plant technique. It is inevitable that Niu Gao and the others will notice. If he can master the talisman technique, he will not have to worry about not having enough spirit stones."
Thinking of this, Lu Qingyun first sat cross-legged to recover the magic power he had previously consumed, and also reviewed the "Tian Tong Dao Lu" written by Tian Tong Dao Ren.
A whole day passed in this meditation.
Lu Qingyun had a general understanding of the low-grade spirit talismans among them.
Because his spiritual plant cultivation level had reached the second stage of the half-step realm, he could draw talismans even though he had not drawn any talismans before.
However, with his fully refined spiritual sense and the superior perspective of his spiritual plant cultivation, Lu Qingyun still managed to draw a barely mid-grade [Swiftness Talisman].
This [Swiftness Talisman] is the very talisman that the young master of the Cui family, whom he killed in the Cloud and Mist Mountains, once used.
It was quite simple to draw; Lu Qingyun only needed to make slight modifications based on his magical senses to refine it into a mid-grade item.
With a flick of the fingertip, the outline was drawn on the end of the talisman paper.
A talisman was immediately drawn.
[Armor Talisman]
Lu Qingyun picked up two talismans, one a [Swift Movement Talisman] and the other a [Armor Talisman], so that he wouldn't have to worry about anyone doubting his talisman skills.
When the tax collector comes to collect the exorcism tax, he can use this to get by.
Yes, even though he is a level 6 Qi Refining Master and a mid-grade talisman master in name only, he still has to pay the exorcism tax.
The only change was that they had to hand over talismans; seven talismans were to be handed over each month, and the tax officials would buy them at market price.
When Lu Qingyun raised his finger again, he realized that he had run out of talismans.
He immediately activated the jade slip, summoning the broker.