He took the gift list handed over by Ah Hu, glanced at it casually, threw it aside lightly, stroked Dahuang's head, and stuffed a large piece of earth dragon meat, a specialty of the wild mountains, into the mouth of the caracal that was squatting beside him with an angry face.
As the lord of a town, the daily life is so plain, ordinary and rich!
As long as he sat in the City Lord's Mansion and did nothing, every day the heads of various forces and chambers of commerce would quietly and gently bring boxes of rare treasures, turning them into simple and low-key gift lists and quietly delivering them to Lu Yi's hands.
There are all kinds of rare treasures, of inestimable value, but what they want are just some extremely ordinary little things in the eyes of the city lord.
For example, during a certain period of time, the city guard patrol team can temporarily ignore a certain neighborhood.
For example, there is a dandy young man in the prison of the City Lord's Mansion who hopes that the door of the cell where he is imprisoned can be opened quietly one night.
For example, there are too many criminals in the town, which has put a huge pressure on the public expenses of the City Lord's Mansion. However, the mine of a large family outside the city happens to lack enough miners, who are willing to relieve the financial pressure on the City Lord's Mansion.
For example, the head of a local tyrant family suddenly died outside, and the eldest son raised by a concubine and the second son raised by the wife fought for the family property, so they sent large sums of money as tribute and asked the wise city lord to make the decision for them.
In short, Lu Yi's life is very comfortable now. In the ninth city of Zhenzi, his words are law and his prestige has reached its maximum.
In such a huge town called the Ninth City, who would dare to disrespect him?
There is a Lord Buddha standing behind him, and he has four Buddhas from his direct master's school as his backers... Moreover, he is famous for his violence and tyranny, and he often beats and kills the entire family of the Buddha of the Prison-Suppressing Lineage.
That's really scary.
In particular, no one could figure out to what level Lu Yi's personal strength had been improved after he refined three Shenglong Pills and an ancient Buddha relic with the help of Monk Yuanjue.
The peak of great bodhisattva?
Or the Buddha realm?
His magical powers and spiritual realm should not be so exaggerated... but his golden body may have reached the Buddha realm?
In such a vast Buddhist community, with trillions of Buddhist practitioners, there are only about 350 Buddhas in total.
If Lu Yi's golden body truly possessed the power of a Buddha, then he could be considered a half-Buddha. In the ninth city of Zhenzi, he would be an absolute overlord.
"Life is so empty and boring." Lu Yi patted the heads of Da Huang and the caracal, threw a few dried fruits to the big parrot, stroked the green snake coiled on his arm, sat beside the lake in the back garden of the City Lord's Mansion, and looked at the alligator snapping turtle with most of its back shell exposed in the lake.
The physique of Dahuang and his companions is quite decent, although they are seven to eight times or even more than ten times larger than their normal counterparts.
Only the alligator snapping turtle has become even more muscular.
He was now coiled in the lake, with the portion of his back shell that was exposed above the water more than three hundred feet in diameter, like a pitch-black hill, emitting pitch-black cold air.
The water in such a large lake became icy cold under the erosion of this black cold air.
However, the alligator snapping turtle's coldness was extremely magical. The temperature of the lake water was already far below the freezing point. The lake water simply became a viscous state similar to spicy soup. It was extremely cold, but it never froze.
Occasionally, the alligator turtle moves its claws and shakes its tail, causing ripples in the dark blue lake water. The water, whose density has increased nearly a hundred times, hits the rocks on the shore. Amid the "splashing" sound of the waves, the rocks are licked away layer by layer by the lake water like melted candies.
Heavy footsteps were heard and Yu Dianhu strode in.
"What's the matter?" Lu Yi kneaded the top of the caracal's head, ignoring his roar and kneading it hard.
"A big fat sheep... uh, no, a distinguished guest." Yu Dianhu licked the corner of his mouth: "Mo Qianqiu, the owner of Chongshan, came to visit with a valuable gift... uh, it was a valuable gift, and I am very jealous."
Lu Yi stood up and looked at Yu Dianhu in surprise.
These days, more and more people are sending gifts to the City Lord's Mansion. Ah Hu, Yu Dian Hu and others have long been overwhelmed by the mountains of rare treasures . Yu Dian Hu was so surprised that it was obvious that Mo Qianqiu really gave a valuable gift.
"Let's go and have a look... um, have someone serve tea, really good tea. Serve that... that bag of 'Molong Danzhu' that was sent by someone yesterday. That tea tastes pretty good." Lu Yi tapped his head lightly and sighed in a low voice: "I am the city lord, and this matter has caused such a commotion. How do I say this? Whoever gave me a gift, I may not remember him?"
In the second courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion, in the flower hall specially used to entertain distinguished guests, Lu Yi looked at Mo Qianqiu with a smile, who had an anxious look on his face.
The Ninth City of Zhenzi, Chongshanhao, is a chamber of commerce that specializes in unconventional businesses, mainly based in the Mohist school. Its shareholders include more than a dozen very powerful families in the Ninth City of Zhenzi and several surrounding towns. The chamber of commerce is extremely powerful.
In the ninth city of the town, Chongshan's financial resources were enough to rank among the top ten. Chongshan had built twelve strongholds outside the city and recruited nearly 100,000 private soldiers and guards. The Chamber of Commerce's military force was among the top three among the private forces in the surrounding dozen towns.
Mo Qianqiu was a handsome man who had obviously lived a life of luxury and had never suffered any hardship. The short beard on his chin made him look handsome and elegant, but also had a bit of the steadiness that a head of a large family should have.
But at this moment, his face twitched slightly, and his two feet tapped lightly with a little anxiety, as if the house was on fire and he was sitting on the roof beam anxiously.
"Master Mo, it is obvious that something is on your mind?" Lu Yi picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"To be honest with you, City Lord, I do have something to ask for." Mo Qianqiu was not polite and went straight to the point: "City Lord, do you know what kind of business my Chongshan is doing?"
Lu Yi nodded slowly. As the city lord, he certainly checked the information of several major forces in the Ninth City. As one of the largest companies in the Ninth City, Chongshanhao had influence in many surrounding towns, so he naturally paid special attention to the situation of this company.
Chongshanhao is engaged in a side business.
He specially organized a team to go deep into the wild mountains in the south to survey for mineral veins and search for blessed places and sacred mountains and waters.
Once a mineral vein with great mining value that can provide astronomical profits is found, the Chongshan will set up a formation, occupy the territory, carefully survey the mineral vein, make an estimate of its value, and then auction it for a huge fortune, or hand it over to a large force for mining, take a stake in it, and distribute the high profits on time.
If they find some blessed place, sacred mountain or sacred water, they will circle it, arrange it carefully, manage it meticulously, and carve it carefully bit by bit. After turning it into a fully functional cave for meditation, they will secretly trade it to the forces in need.
These forces in need are either the unfortunate ones who committed serious crimes in Liangyi Heaven and were forced to flee to the south for refuge, or they are "interested people" whose families have their own demands and need to set up secret bases in the wild mountains.
In short, whether it is the mineral veins or these caves, Chongshan's business is always extremely prosperous, bringing them astronomical profits every year.
In particular, even the City Lord's Mansion did not know how many secret residences the Chongshan had set up in the vast mountains, and how many secrets were hidden in them.
Mo Qianqiu held the teacup tightly in both hands; his knuckles turned a little white, and it was obvious that he had used considerable strength.
If not, this set of tea set for entertaining guests was also a set of fairy treasures sent by someone one day, with reliable quality and extremely sturdy, it would have been crushed into pieces by Mo Qianqiu.
Staring straight at Lu Yi, Mo Qianqiu whispered, "My family, something happened in a cave in the south."
Lu Yu raised his eyebrows.
Hearing this, it was known that something had happened in a secret house on the Chongshan that was unknown to outsiders... Lu Wu nodded and said, "Is there something important inside? Or an important person? Can't the Chongshan's own military force solve it?"
Mo Qianqiu's face twitched violently.
He hesitated for a moment, and lowered his voice again: "Lord City Lord, do you know who is behind the Chongshan?"
Lu Yi smiled. He looked at Mo Qianqiu and said leisurely, "Master Mo, just speak frankly. The situation is urgent. Why are you still being mysterious?"
Mo Qianqiu was stunned for a moment, then slapped himself lightly and said with a wry smile, "I am used to using veiled tactics when negotiating business with others. Lord City Lord, please forgive me."
Exhaling, Mo Qianqiu said in a deep voice: "There are important things in the secret house, but those things are rare and precious, but compared with that person, they are not important. Uh, behind Chongshan is Jiang."
"Huh? Jiang? Which Jiang?" Lu Yi looked at Mo Qianqiu in surprise.
"That Jiang family member was left behind by the ancient emperor Jiang Wangu, who almost unified the Liangyi Celestial Clan with his own strength when the Daoist and Buddhist sects had not yet taken shape, after the creation of the world, in the ancient times when the Daoist and Buddhist ancestors were still preaching and the Daoist and Buddhist sects had not yet taken shape!"
When Mo Qianqiu mentioned the name 'Jiang Wangu', his pale face suddenly burst into dazzling brilliance, with an appearance of pride. He looked at Lu Yi and said in a deep voice: "The Mo family of the Ninth City of Zhenzi is actually surnamed Jiang, a branch of the Jiang family. Countless years before the establishment of the Demon Suppression Ridge, the Mo family changed their surnames and specialized in handling some matters for the Jiang family..."
Mo Qianqiu looked at Lu Yi and didn't finish his words.
Lu Yi understood.
Many years ago, a branch of the Jiang family changed their names and surnames, became Mohists, and did some shameful things for the Jiang family. These shameful things were nothing more than murder, arson, robbery, framing others, and making up rumors.
It is not uncommon for a big family, especially a big family like the 'Ancient and Royal Jiang Family', to have such an arrangement.
The ancient emperor.
When Lu Yi was bored and reading some books in Qionghua Mountain, he saw relevant records in some Buddhist scriptures.
He was indeed a fierce man. Just as Mo Qianqiu had said, when the Buddhist and Taoist sects in Liangyi Heaven had not yet taken shape, the Taoist and Buddhist sects were still preaching, and all the powerful people from all sides were listening devoutly, this old man brought a group of fierce clansmen and powerful subordinates, and relying on his natural divine power, he forcibly broke through almost the entire Liangyi Heaven.
In the midst of thorns all over the ground and surrounded by countless jackals, tigers, leopards, demons and evil spirits, Jiang Wangu almost established a unified human dynasty.
That was also the glorious peak in the history of Liang Yi Tian, ​​when the human race was closest to unification.
As the Taoist ancestors and the Buddha passed away, great men from Taoism and Buddhism emerged one after another, established sects and schools of all sizes, some preached the doctrine, some taught the Dharma, some occupied the mountains and became kings, some occupied the land and became the most respected. The human power established by Jiang Wangu fell apart in just a few hundred years, and Jiang Wangu was killed by an unknown strong man.
However, the Jiang family resolutely joined the most powerful Taoist master at that time and preserved the Miao heritage.
Afterwards, Taoism and Buddhism experienced ups and downs, with great men falling and new ones rising.
The Jiang family moved around in the Taoist sect, changing several backers in succession, relying on various means to gradually grow and develop. Today, the Jiang family is already one of the most powerful families in the Liangyi Tiandao sect.
"A hundred years ago, a surveying team of the Chongshan found a 'Huangtianyunfu' in a territory that had just been opened up from the chaos in the southern wilderness." Mo Qianqiu looked at Lu Yi with deep eyes: "'Huangtianyunfu', this is an absolute secret known only to the Jiang family... Jiang Wangu, the ancestor of the Jiang family, got a ray of Huangtianqi, which stimulated his natural bloodline..."
Lu Yu interrupted Mo Qianqiu hastily: "Master Mo, do you think it's convenient for me to listen to these things?"
Mo Qianqiu smiled bitterly at Lu Yu and said, "Why can't I listen to you asking the city lord for help? Besides, I can only tell this to the city lord... Because the city lord's backers are too strong, so strong, the city lord doesn't have to worry about me killing people to silence them after hearing this secret, right?"
Lu Yi nodded slowly. This made sense.
Mo Qianqiu continued with a bitter smile and said, "Another thing is that the city lord does not have the 'Ancient Royal Bloodline' of the Jiang family in his body. The aura of the emperor is useless to the city lord... With the city lord's background, there is no need for him to covet the Jiang family's opportunity. Therefore, there is no reason for the city lord and me to conflict. What do you think?"
Lu Yi nodded: "Master Mo has explained it clearly. Then, please continue. I am also curious about what kind of trouble you have encountered!"
As Mo Qianqiu told the story, Lu Yi's face gradually became a little uncomfortable.
This is such bad luck!
The Jiang family was able to almost unify the Liangyi Celestial Clan in those days. Jiang Wangu, as a mortal, almost possessed the strength to fight against sages because of the ancient imperial bloodline in his body.
It was an extremely domineering and mysterious bloodline that contained infinite power and incredible talents.
Jiang Wangu got a ray of the Emperor's Qi left over from the creation of the world, which stimulated all his blood and gave him such magical power. As the Jiang family multiplied from generation to generation, the ancient imperial bloodline was still in their bloodline, but it had gradually changed from dominant to recessive.
The current members of the Jiang clan are at most a little more talented, a little more aptitude, a little smarter, and a little more understanding than ordinary people. Apart from that, there is no difference between them and normal mortals or serious cultivators.
Therefore, when Mo Qianqiu discovered an Imperial Heavenly Fortune Palace and a Qiyun Spirit Point in the exploration team, and found that there was a trace of Imperial Heavenly Qi gestating and growing inside, Mo Qianqiu brazenly wiped out the entire team and completely covered up the existence of the secret palace.
Now, in that cave, Mo Qianqiu’s most beloved youngest son and three of his most precious grandchildren are practicing.
Absorb the energy of the emperor, revive the ancient imperial bloodline, obtain supreme magical powers, and master the supreme power of the ancient emperor.
Lu Yi understood.
He looked at Mo Qianqiu and said in a deep voice, "Something happened in the secret house. And you didn't dare, nor were you willing to inform the Jiang family of the existence of this secret house... I even suspect that you have concealed the existence of this secret house from other members of the Mo family, right?"
Mo Qianqiu agreed with Lu Yi's statement.
Lu Yi made a few "tsk tsk" sounds: "So, there is a problem over there, and you feel that you can't solve it by yourself and must ask for help... But the Jiang family is very likely to severely punish your "betrayal", so you dare not ask them for help. As for the Mo family... You would rather ask an outsider like me for help than share the benefits with your own relatives?"
Mo Qianqiu smiled bitterly: "City Lord, please don't think that I am greedy and selfish... It's just that there are many people in the Mo family who are secretly communicating with the Jiang family. If they find out about the secret house, I'm afraid I will be stabbed."
Reaching out his right hand and gently slashing at his neck, Mo Qianqiu said in a deep voice: "I have thought about it for a long time and found that in the vast Liangyi Heaven, the only one who can help me, who can save me, and who I dare to ask for help and am willing to ask for help is you, the Lord of the City."
Lu Yi grabbed the gift list on the small coffee table beside him and gently opened it.
Sure enough, it was an extremely generous gift.
No wonder, these days, Yu Dianhu, who is used to seeing rare treasures, would say "a big fat sheep has come to the door". To be honest, the gifts recorded on this gift list are enough to arm an elite army of 3,000 people, composed entirely of True Immortals above the Tenth Heaven Realm, from head to toe!
If it is not used to arm the True Immortals, but is used to train ordinary cultivators, then it will be enough for at least 20,000 Heavenly Man Realm cultivators to directly condense the True Immortal status and break through the True Immortal realm.
Lu Yi has occupied the Taoist temple in Qionghua Mountain for some time. Among the Taoist monks under his command, there are less than 10,000 True Immortal-level Taoist soldiers, and their cultivation realm is almost all below the tenth level!
"This gift list... is a little light." Lu Yi threw the gift list aside casually. "I am not very clear about how powerful the Jiang family is. But I know the name of the Ancient Venerable Emperor Jiang Wan Gu. The blood relatives he left behind are also one of the most powerful families in Taoism. You can imagine how powerful they are."
"If I help you, I will offend them. If something happens in the future..."
Mo Qianqiu looked at Lu Yi with deep eyes: "This gift list is just the private property I can take out now. If the Lord of the City is willing to help, after the matter is accomplished, the entire Chongshan, including my clan members, will belong to the Lord of the City."
Lu Yi looked at Mo Qianqiu in shock: "What? Are you planning to abandon Taoism and join Buddhism?"
Mo Qianqiu gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "If I do something like this, the Jiang family will definitely not tolerate me... I am just a collateral bloodline, but I dared to be contaminated by the aura of the emperor. I must be guilty of a capital crime and there is no chance of escape. My family will also be killed to prevent threatening the Jiang family's legitimate position."
"When I found the secret house, I had already thought about joining the Buddhist sect, but I had not yet decided which one to join."
Mo Qianqiu stood up, knelt down in front of Lu Yi with a thud, and bowed down to him with great respect: "Now, I have found a wise master... If the Lord City Lord does not mind, I, along with my clan members, are willing to serve you at all costs!"
Lu Yu stroked his chin, looked at Mo Qianqiu, and nodded slowly: "Interesting, interesting, if that's the case, it would be really against the will of heaven if we don't take the benefits that are delivered to our door. Let's talk about it, what exactly is going on with the secret house?"
At noon, Mo Qianqiu left in a hurry.
Lu Yi was reviewing his conversation with Mo Qianqiu, carefully analyzing in his mind every word, every look, every body movement of Mo Qianqiu, as well as his blood, the fluctuations of his magic power, and every other perceptible state.
Um……
There is nothing false.
All his worries, all his panic, and even the fear hidden in the deepest part - the fear of the possible consequences if the Jiang family discovered what he had done, were all real.
And Mo Qianqiu had no ill will towards him.
"So, unknowingly, I have become a big supporter in the eyes of others!" Lu Yu was sitting in the flower hall and suddenly burst out laughing.
But, it's understandable.
Behind him stood a huge Buddha, Baoguang Merit Buddha. Although Baoguang Merit Buddha had only four true disciples, all of them were at the Buddha level. Among the more than 300 Buddhas in Buddhism, there were more than 20 powerful Buddhas who were attached to Baoguang and were driven by him, and only outsiders knew about it.
Plus the three new Buddhas of the Zhenyue lineage!
With such a powerful force behind him, Lu Yi is indeed qualified to be the backer of many people and the background of many forces!
"A little too immature." Lu Yi began to reflect on himself.
The golden body has reached the Buddha realm, and it is also a strong level among Buddhas. However, his magic power, Taoism, magical powers, various means, and even the followers around him, and even the cultivation of the Taoist monks, are too weak.
The power of a party cannot be supported by just one person.
"A snake cannot survive without a head, but a head alone is not enough either." Lu Yi looked back to the north thoughtfully, "A mere lord of a town can amass a huge amount of wealth in just a month. So, if I can become the lord of the Demon Suppression City... and place a few more lords of town towns, I can make a fortune..."
To scrape the land is to collect resources.
If you have the necessary resources, you can cultivate experts.
Lu Fu's own combat power is now considerable, but the people around him are still too weak.
While he was thinking, Yu Dianhu strode in with a droopy face: "A few poor bastards came, do you want to see them?"
Lu Yu looked up and asked in astonishment, "How poor are you?"
Yu Dianhu pursed his lips and said angrily: "You want to get it for free!"
A cup of tea later, not in the flower hall in the second courtyard for receiving guests, but in the lobby of the City Lord's Mansion in the first courtyard, Lu Yi sat behind the desk, overlooking the three monks with bleak faces below.
Bloody kidney, soul-catching knife, thorn finger!
This is the leader of the three villages outside the ninth city of Zhenzi.
"Soul-Catching Knife, Thorn Finger, these names are so-so. What's the matter with this Bloody Kidney? Shouldn't it be 'Blood Kitty'?" Lu Yu tapped the table with his fingers and curiously asked the three 'poor bastards' mentioned by Yu Dianhu.
Well, coming to someone's house without bringing a gift list, and not even having enough money to pay for tea from the door guard, in Yu Dianhu's opinion, this was indeed the height of poverty.
But... they are not here to give gifts, they are here to report a case!
A skinny middle-aged man, nearly a foot tall, with a strong smell of blood, came forward with a dry laugh and said, "My Lord City Lord, please forgive me for making fun of you... I am the chief of the Blood Waist Village... Hehe, when I was young, I liked to fight with people, I liked... to attack people's kidneys, so I got this nickname."
Lu Yi took a look at the man. He was filled with blood and murderous aura. There was a faint black aura lingering behind him, and there were a lot of strange faces flickering and swaying inside.
This guy is practicing the magic technique.
The bandit nickname "Blood Kidney" probably doesn't just like to steal people's kidneys, right?
However, everyone knows what kind of existence those villages outside the towns are. It is not enough to describe them as harboring filth and dirt. They have some messy nicknames, but it has nothing to do with Lu Yi.
"Forget it. Whatever name you want to give it is none of my business." Picking up the teacup placed on the side and taking a big sip of tea, Lu Yi frowned and said, "These days, the Ninth City of Zhenzi is peaceful and prosperous. People from all directions live and work in peace and contentment. All industries are thriving, and livestock are thriving... You come here for no reason. What case do you want to report?"
Xueyaozi lowered his head and said respectfully, "Yes, yes, yes. After the Lord City Lord took office, the Ninth City of Zhenzi has indeed changed its appearance and become more prosperous. I and others should not disturb the Lord City Lord... But, this concerns nearly ten thousand lives... Really, I have no choice but to trouble the Lord City Lord!"
Lu Yi frowned: "Nearly ten thousand lives? Imprisoned miners?"
Lu Yu knew what business these villages outside the city were doing on a daily basis. A major case involving nearly 10,000 lives had occurred all of a sudden, and all Lu Yu could think of was that one of their mines had been attacked by evil demons and monsters from the south, and they were blocked at the door!
"No, it's... nearly 10,000 innocent civilians, all of whom are our village's militiamen and guards!" The head of the Soul-Snatching Sword Village stepped forward and said hurriedly, "The troops of our three villages have encountered an accident in the mountains to the south."
Lu Yu raised his eyebrows and said coldly: "According to the law of the Demon Suppression City, you..."
The chief of the Thorn Finger Village also hurriedly stepped forward and said, "According to the laws of the Demon Suppression City, as long as we pay taxes on time, the City Lord's Mansion will have the responsibility to protect our safety... Lord City Lord, here are the tax documents for our three villages in the past hundred years!"
The three of them took out a thick document book in unison.
Lu Yi was stunned for a moment, then he hooked his finger and three notebooks flew onto the desk at the same time.
The Demon-Suppressing City does have this rule - as long as anyone pays taxes to the City Lord's Mansion on time, the City Lord's Mansion will be responsible for protecting their safety if they encounter danger.
To put it more frankly, in the wild mountains of the south that suppress evil spirits, the Demon-Suppressing City is the official agency with the largest fist and the strongest power. As long as you are willing to pay the protection fee, the City Lord's Mansion will protect you!
Of course, if you are reluctant to pay the money, then you can build a stockade outside the city, raise men and horses, and do whatever you want. That’s up to you... But that’s tantamount to giving up the protection of the City Lord’s Mansion, and you can just leave your life and death to fate!
As far as Lu Yi knew, nine out of ten villages outside the major towns did not pay any fees to the City Lord's Mansion!
Flipping open the document book of Xueyaozi in front of him and taking a quick look at the tax records of Xueyaozi for the past hundred years, Lu Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Ha, a large village of nearly 100,000 people, for a full hundred years, the total tax revenue paid is only 3,000 high-grade immortal crystals?"
Three thousand top-grade immortal crystals!
What a huge sum of money!
The fairy tea Molong Danzhu that Lu Yi used to entertain Mo Qianqiu just now has a market price of eight thousand top-grade fairy crystals per two ounces, which means the discounted price is eight hundred thousand top-grade fairy crystals per two ounces!
Xueyaozi is a large village of one hundred thousand people, with at least hundreds of True Immortal cultivators and at least tens of thousands to twenty thousand other cultivators. They have occupied at least dozens of mines and mineral veins outside the city, and have an unknown number of industries. The total annual income must be in the tens of millions!
According to the official fixed tax of 10% of the Demon Suppression City, Xueyaozi has paid a total of 3,000 high-grade immortal crystals in taxes in the past hundred years... Is this considered paying taxes?
"Blood Kid, are you teasing me, the Buddha?" Every time Lu Yu called himself 'the Buddha', he was angry, mad, and ready to be unreasonable. He smashed the three books in front of him into pieces with a slap, stood up suddenly, blood and energy rising from his body, and a three-headed, six-armed, angry Buddha phantom quietly emerged in the blood and energy.
The entire lobby was suddenly filled with terrifying pressure.
The three village chiefs, Blood Waist, Soul-Snatching Knife and Thorn Finger, seemed to be crushed by a huge mountain. They heard the sound of bones breaking inside their bodies, and fell to the ground with a few thumps. One by one, they were flattened. Hideous cracks appeared on their bodies, and blood gushed out like springs.
"City Lord, calm down, calm down... We are here, we are here to pay the tax!" None of the three men, Xueyaozi, were physical cultivators. Although they all had a cultivation base of more than 20th level of True Immortal Realm, their bodies... could only be considered weak.
Faced with the three-headed, six-armed wrathful Buddha image that Lu Yi realized after integrating the ancient Buddha's relics, and faced with this terrifying, pure power suppression, how could the three village leaders withstand it?
It was as if the pressure from heaven fell on their heads, and the three of them were almost crushed into meat patties. They could only cry and beg for mercy hysterically.
"Pay back taxes?" Lu Yi asked coldly, "Where is the head of the tax department? How should we pay back taxes that have been in arrears for a hundred years?"
Under the City Lord's Mansion, there are many departments such as the Demon Suppression Department, the Prisoners Department, the Taxation Department, the Immortal Treasure Department, etc. Lu Yi has limited available manpower, and most of them are muscular men. There are very few smart people who are smart enough to take on heavy financial responsibilities.
Therefore, the important task of the Taxation Department was given to Jieying Toudao concurrently.
Hearing Lu Yi's question, Jie Yin Tou Tuo frowned, his old face wrinkled. He took out a thin, palm-sized document with less than three pages, and said dryly: "In the Demon Suppression City, there is no such thing as paying back taxes."
Lu Yu looked at Jie Yin Tou Tuo in astonishment: "No?"
Jie Yin Tou Tuo shook his head slightly, this is really not the case!
The Demon-Suppressing City system is not a proper official organization, but a military defense line set up by the Buddhist and Taoist sects to seal the Southern Wilderness and suppress monsters and evil spirits.
Here, Buddhism and Taoism are mutually restrained, and all parties are mixed with good and bad forces, which is extremely complicated. If you set too strict rules and regulations, the water will be too clear to fish, and you can still expect the children of aristocratic families like Yelu Ting to "take the initiative to train"?
Therefore, the Demon-Suppressing City has some crude systems that are full of loopholes, leaving countless loopholes for people to take advantage of and gain benefits.
For example, the tax system is a simple one-tenth tax system.
You have earned 10,000 top-grade immortal crystals this year, and you voluntarily pay 1,000 of them. Then the City Lord's Mansion has the responsibility to protect you and safeguard your rights when you are harmed.
Of course, if you pay three thousand resources to the City Lord's Mansion, then you will be the City Lord's VIP guest. If you encounter any trouble, the City Lord's Mansion will definitely take the initiative to take your side.
If you earn one million top-grade immortal crystals a year, and you are unwilling to pay taxes to the City Lord's Mansion because of your wealth and power, then it's up to you, as long as you are not found out. Therefore, those big forces who are unwilling to pay taxes have gone to build their own villages outside the city.
But if you don't pay taxes, and you really encounter an emergency or trouble and urgently need help from the City Lord's Mansion... then I'm sorry, the City Lord's Mansion can just laugh it off and say, "The weather is nice today," and leave you aside!
Because of such a crude system, there is no concept of "tax payment" in Demon Suppression City.
"Is that so?" Lu Yi scratched his bald scalp and said faintly, "You don't pray on weekdays, but you come to study at the last minute... Tsk, you guys are really capable of that."
Xueyaozi struggled and pulled out a shining ring from his sleeve with great difficulty: "Lord City Lord, Master Fahai, I, I deeply realize the mistakes I made in the past years. Today, I voluntarily pay a tax of one million top-grade immortal crystals... I only ask Lord City Lord to save my life!"
The leaders of the Soul-Snatching Blade and Thorn Finger villages also trembled and took out a shining ring.
Lu Yi looked at the three people lying on the ground, bleeding all over, and suddenly sneered: "A few personal belongings... that's all. You burned the incense devoutly at this moment, and the Buddha will forgive your past sins. However, a million top-grade immortal crystals are a little short. You can only atone for your sins, but you can't..."
The three men from Blood Waist, who were extremely single, each took out a ring.
Obviously, they were mentally prepared.
Lu Yi laughed and motioned to Jie Yin Tou Tuo to take the six rings. The suffocating blood and energy pressure in the hall suddenly eased. The three Xue Yaozi let out a wail, their immortal power circulated, their bodies recovered, and they stood up tremblingly.
"Tell me, what happened to your people? Since you have paid taxes, you are the honest citizens of the Ninth City. As the city lord, I have to protect you." Lu Yi smiled kindly and amiably, looking at the three people covered in blood like a real 'parent official', like a father or a mother.
One day later, in the wild mountains, a small team was moving quickly through the mountains.
The team of more than a thousand people was composed of elite soldiers from the three strongholds of Blood Waist, Soul-Snatching Knife, and Thorn Finger, and the three stronghold masters led the team personally. In addition to the personnel from the three strongholds, Lu Yi of the City Lord's Mansion was also on the battlefield, and he brought with him more than a dozen old brothers such as Ah Hu and Yu Dianhu.
Mo Qianqiu brought two trusted warriors with cultivation levels above the twenty-seventh level, and mixed into the team as the chief clerk of the City Lord's Mansion. The three village chiefs were a little surprised by this, but did not raise any questions.
Well, in addition to Mo Qianqiu and the other two who had ulterior motives, there were also five old men who had been a little restless recently due to the seasonal changes, and they also came along.
After traveling through the mountains and forests for a whole day and marching more than 3,000 miles southward through the rugged and roadless mountains, when it was getting dark, the team found a cave with traces of a campfire, set up camp, and prepared to spend the night.
This is a common safe base for exploration teams entering and exiting the wild mountains. There is a water source in the cave, and a lot of neatly chopped firewood is stored. There are even some first aid pills stored in several man-made caves deep in the cave, and even some emergency formation plates, talismans, thunder beads and other disposable equipment.
Lu Yi looked around curiously.
It was completely dark outside. Even a great bodhisattva would not dare to wander around in the wild mountains at night. There were too many inexplicable dangers and too terrifying existences. Batch after batch of exploration teams had used countless lives to sum up the rules of staying safe at night here. Those who dared to offend had already paid the price.
A thin layer of smoke enveloped the cave entrance, blocking the light from the campfire inside the cave and preventing it from leaking out.
On the bonfire, the fragrant soup in the soup pot was boiling, and several pieces of animal meat had been roasted to a golden brown. Several True Immortals in charge of the barbecue were carefully sprinkling spice powder on the barbecue.
Blood Waist, Soul-Catching Knife and Thorn Finger came up to Lu Yi and respectfully offered him the best wine.
"We are deeply honored that the Lord City Lord has come out in person." Bloody Kidney said in a very chivalrous way: "I really don't know how to thank you... As long as we can rescue the brothers trapped in the mountains this time, we will obey the Lord City Lord's orders in the future."
Lu Yi waved his hand and said calmly, "No need to be polite. After all, this concerns the life and death of tens of thousands of 'good people'. I just took the position of city lord and made such a big mistake. It would not be good to spread it out, so it is right for me to go there in person."
"Yes, yes!" The chubby, white and fat leader of the Soul-Catching Knife Village looked like a pampered landlord. No one would have thought that he would have such a vicious nickname as 'Soul-Catching Knife'.
After hearing what Lu Yu said, Soul-Snatching Knife filled a glass of wine for Lu Yu and said earnestly: "If the Lord of the City comes out personally to rescue my brothers, it will be absolutely easy and foolproof... Oh, just say it, this person is so unlucky that even drinking cold water makes his teeth ache. Who would have thought that they would actually run into a group of 'barbarian' women?"
Lu Yi smiled brightly: "Oh? 'Barbarian' woman? Tell me, what's going on!"
The Thorn Finger, who looked old and shabby, with dark skin, wrinkles all over his face, hunched back and bow legs, said hurriedly, "Oh my god, this is all caused by Guoshanfeng and his group of unlucky guys!"
Thornfinger doesn't look very good, but he is quite articulate.
He described in detail how the exploration team of the three villages in the mountains received a letter of request for help from the allied village Guoshanfeng, and gathered people to rush to reinforce, but ended up encountering a group of extremely powerful "barbarian" women, and were all captured... Only a few lucky ones with the most nimble legs and feet managed to escape the pursuit of the group of terrible women and escaped back to the village with great difficulty. He recounted in detail how the exploration team of the three villages in the mountains received a letter of request for help from the allied village Guoshanfeng, and gathered people to rush to reinforce, but ended up encountering a group of extremely powerful "barbarian" women, and were all captured... Only a few lucky ones with the most nimble legs and feet managed to escape the pursuit of the group of terrible women and escaped back to the village with great difficulty.
Although those lucky ones escaped the pursuit of those women, they were also seriously injured. Therefore, it took them several months to luckily escape from the mountains.
The three village chiefs were extremely anxious, knowing that they were powerless to fight against that group of terrifying "barbarian" women, so they thought of asking for help from the City Lord's Mansion!
They originally only hoped to get a team of elite assistance from the City Lord's Mansion, but they didn't expect that Lu Yi would come in person!
Lu Yi drank the wine in big gulps, took a bite of the barbecue handed to him by Ah Hu, and nodded slowly: "I see. Yesterday in the lobby, you said that a group of people were trapped in the mountains. So this is the reason... What is the origin of the mountain wind?"
Xueyaozi snorted coldly: "Guoshanfeng... we do have some friendship. However, unlike our three villages, he has a big backer behind him. He has well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. He is quite powerful. Among the many villages outside the ninth city of Zhenzi, Guoshanfeng's strength can be ranked in the top three. Therefore, our villages usually regard him as the leader!"
After looking at Lu Yu's expression, Xue Yaozi lowered his voice and said, "Of course, we will follow the city lord's lead from now on. As for Guo Shan Feng... Humph, if it weren't for their request for help this time, how could we, with so many talented people in our three villages, have fallen into this trap?"
Soul-Snatching Knife patted his bulging belly and sighed, "Even if one or two teams are trapped, it is impossible for the three villages with more than 10,000 people to be wiped out! Guoshanfeng... is really a scam!"
The caracal was crawling at the entrance of the cave, sharpening its claws on the ground out of boredom, with sparks flying everywhere. Suddenly, its long fur stood up, and it slowly arched its body. Its eyes spewed out white cold light, and it stared straight at the entrance of the cave shrouded by a faint smoke.
With a "puff" sound, the thin smoke barrier that only had a simple one-way function of isolating breath and light trembled, and dozens of sturdy men dressed like monks but with short hair a few inches on their heads strode into the cave.
"Dear donors, it is extremely dangerous to climb the mountains at night. Please help me if I can!" The leading monk, who was eight feet tall and had a sturdy build, holding a shovel as thick as a bowl and looking murderous, raised his left palm and bowed slightly to everyone in the cave.
"Convenient, convenient. We are all Buddhist disciples. It is of course convenient when we are away from home!" Lu Yi glanced at the monks and said with a smile: "Brothers, come and sit by the campfire? There is wine and meat here. Do you mind if I host you?"
The big monk took a look at the barbecue on the campfire, then looked at the several wine jars beside Lu Yi, and snorted heavily: "Buddhist scum... I, a poor monk, must observe the precepts!"
This group of awe-inspiring monks walked to a corner in silence, without lighting a bonfire, and sat on the ground in a circle. They concentrated their minds, made seals with their hands, and began to recite scriptures silently.
Lu Yi's face twitched.
A monk who observes the precepts?
They don't eat meat, don't drink alcohol, and seem to adhere to the precept of not eating after noon. This group of monks really seem to be 'great monks' who 'observe the precepts'.
However, the murderous aura of these monks was so strong. Could it be that the only thing they didn't uphold was the precept of not killing?
Xueyaozi and the others stood up indignantly, wanting to cause trouble for the monks. Lu Yi waved his hand to stop their impulse. When you are out and about, and you have serious things to do, there is no need to cause trouble.
In particular, Lu Yi looked at the barbecue in his left hand and the fine wine in his right hand.
Well, Lu Yi secretly admitted that he really seemed like a scum of Buddhism...
There was a loud thunder outside and dark clouds rolled in, instantly covering the bright moon in the sky.
A strong fishy smell of water poured into the cave, and torrential rain poured down without any warning.
A light sound of breaking through the air was heard, and the restriction at the entrance of the cave shook again. Nearly a hundred monks dressed in black tights, wearing black masks, with long hair dancing in the wind behind them, and with a cold aura like ghosts and evil spirits, quickly rushed into the cave.
The group of people entered the cave without saying hello to Lu Yi and other earlier comers. They found a secluded corner and sat down. They lit two bonfires and sat around them quietly like stone statues, without any sound.
"That's it, it's a bit rare." The Soul-Catching Knife made a slight gesture, and the monks who were eating meat and drinking wine beside the campfire gathered in groups of three or five, ready to respond at any time.
"My Lord City Lord, these wild mountains are vast and boundless. Not to mention our limited manpower, even if we scattered tens of millions or hundreds of millions of people, they would be like a drop in the ocean. In these mountains, it is normal to not see anyone for three to five months... Tonight, this place is a bit noisy!" Xueyaozi whispered beside Lu Yi.
Lu Yi smiled and shook his head: "It's better to be noisy, it's better to be noisy, um, lively, lively... neat and tidy, lively!"
Another earth-shattering thunder sounded outside. Through the thin smoke barrier, one could see a ball of lightning and fire as big as a hill falling from the sky. It swirled chaotically in the air for a while, and then struck a towering forest dozens of miles away.
The earth shook violently and the cave shook suddenly.
A raging fire broke out in that patch of forest, and a ball of fire shot up into the sky. In the light of lightning and fire, one could see a giant red-scaled python as thick as a small house suddenly raising its upper body and spraying a tongue dozens of feet long into the sky.
Bolts of lightning and fire fell from the sky and struck the giant python's head hard.
Balls of lightning and fire were like fireworks, surrounding the giant python and making it roll around.
The giant python's head exploded, and the upper half of its body gradually burned under the crazy training of thunder and fire, and finally burned violently.
Lu Yu's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "This long worm must be as powerful as a 20th-level True Immortal... but it was struck to death by the thunderbolt. The danger of this wild mountain is indeed as well-deserved as its reputation."
In the rain outside, a gentle female voice came: "Hey, sisters, hurry up, there is a cave here where you can stay and take shelter from the rain... Oh, if there is hot water, it would be best if we can take a good bath."
Human figures, like butterflies flying through flowers, penetrated the smoke and quietly entered the cave.
There were more than 300 of them, all dressed up beautifully, like the daughters of wealthy families going on a spring outing. They were all very pretty and looked fragile.
As soon as they entered the cave, the rich fragrance of flowers filled the air.
Crouching at the door, the caracal with a fierce face shuddered and then sneezed violently.