Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 176 Taxes. (Third update!)

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que immediately glanced at the other party. This cultivator in fine clothes had not used a [Concealing Breath Talisman], and his aura was at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

He nodded and replied briefly, "Yes."

As he spoke, he took the bamboo skewer out of his storage bag and shook it.

Gui Dongfeng glanced at the bamboo slips, nodded slightly, and then said, "The caravan is still being prepared and will not depart until noon. Please wait here for a moment, fellow Daoist."

"Furthermore, upon completion of this mission, each fellow Daoist will be rewarded with ten spirit stones. However, those who slay more ghosts or make meritorious contributions to escorting the convoy during the mission will receive additional rewards."

"As for the details of the escort, Senior Lu will arrange them for you all after he comes out."

Zheng Que nodded and said, "Okay, thank you, Steward Gui."

After giving these instructions, Gui Dongfeng said no more, nodded to Zheng Que, and returned to the entrance of the city lord's mansion, standing with his hands at his sides.

Next, Zheng Que, like the other cultivators, found a corner to stand in and waited silently.

As the sun's shadow shifted and time ticked by, several more cultivators who had accepted missions arrived while Zheng Que waited.

Zheng Que noticed that, unlike the cultivators who had taken on the Shu Family Fort mission last time, the cultivators in front of him were generally much stronger, mostly at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

There were also several other cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining with the same cultivation level as him.

As for those with the [Concealing Breath Talisman] on them, although their specific cultivation levels couldn't be discerned, the jade pendants hanging from their waists, the folding fans they held, and the gilded crowns they wore on their heads... were all quite extraordinary, clearly talismanic artifacts!
These cultivators' speech and behavior did not resemble those of a rogue cultivator who was short of ten spirit stones.

They also participated in this mission, most likely for some other reason...

As Zheng Que pondered, it was already noon.

Bang!
The tightly closed gates of the city lord's mansion finally opened, and a convoy of vehicles slowly drove out of the mansion, accompanied by a strong gust of yin energy.

At the very front of the convoy, pulling the carts, were four enormous corpse puppets!

Although these four corpse puppets still retained a rough human shape, they were over three zhang tall, their bodies were jet black and shiny, like some kind of polished metal, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard constantly as they moved. Their bodies were filled with intense yin energy, and even a cultivator could see wisps of black energy constantly dissipating.

They were covered with various runes, wearing heavy shackles, and working together to pull a large carriage. Several flags were planted on top of it. The largest one had the word "Peace" written on it, and the next one had the word "Jia" written on it. They all fluttered in the wind.

Behind this carriage were two ten-foot-tall corpse puppets pulling a plain-looking carriage. The carriage was also decorated with colorful flags, but instead of the word "Peace," it had a number-like "B" fluttering in the wind.

Amidst the creaking of the well pulley, carriages, drawn by the corpse puppets, continuously departed from the city lord's mansion. Except for the lead carriage and its distinctive corpse puppet, the others were almost identical: "C", "D", "E", "F"...

Following the order of the ten Heavenly Stems, ten carriages filed out and meandered across the square. The Yin energy of the corpse puppets gathered and surged, instantly causing the temperature of the entire square to drop significantly.

After all the carriages had come out, several figures in fine clothes, surrounding a cultivator in a blue robe, strode out of the main gate of the city lord's mansion.

The cultivator in the green robe had white hair and beard, a gaunt face, and bright, star-like eyes. He wore a leather belt around his waist, straw sandals, and a whisk in his hand. He had the air of a celestial being, and his powerful aura made all the cultivators present feel awe.

Nine levels of Qi training!

Zheng Que was immediately shocked. This escort mission involved a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining?

At this moment, the many cultivators who had been patiently waiting in the square saw the cultivator in the blue robe and stepped forward to bow respectfully, greeting him, "Senior Lu!"

The Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator surnamed Lu nodded slightly and asked one of the Qi Refining Seventh Level cultivators, "Feng Jian, how is the investigation into the city's affairs progressing?"

Feng Jian glanced around and immediately replied, "Reporting to Senior, we have found some clues."

Perhaps because there were too many people around, it wasn't convenient to go into details, so Feng Jian stopped after saying that and didn't continue.

The senior Lu did not press further. He looked around and said loudly, "Gentlemen, I am Lu Maohong, and I am honored to serve as a retainer of the City Lord's Mansion."

"I will personally lead this mission."

"Next, I will explain the arrangements for this trip."

"The entire convoy, including the Class A carriages, consisted of a total of ten carriages."

"The carriage with the character '甲' will be personally guarded by me and other servants from the city lord's mansion. As for the other nine carriages, they will be handed over to you, a total of forty-nine fellow travelers."

"The forty-nine cultivators will be divided into eleven teams of five, each responsible for one carriage. Their actions must be coordinated; no one may act independently!" "The remaining four cultivators will be divided into two teams, taking turns patrolling the entire convoy. Any discoveries must be reported immediately; there must be no errors!"

"This task is related to taxation, so I hope everyone will work together to complete it as soon as possible so that everyone can relax!"

Upon hearing this, Gui Dongfeng and the other cultivators from the City Lord's Mansion were the first to respond: "We will obey Senior Lu's orders!"

Seeing this, the other rogue cultivators also chimed in sparsely, "We will obey Senior Lu's orders..."

Lu Maohong looked around at everyone and nodded, saying, "Next, please enter the caravan according to the team list set by the City Lord's Mansion and guard your respective carriages."

"Remember, if any one of the carriages malfunctions, the entire group of cultivators will be punished!"

Upon hearing this, a young cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior Lu, since that's the case, this junior would like to discuss with my younger brother..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Maohong shook his head slightly and said calmly, "The teams have already been assigned by the City Lord's Mansion and cannot be changed."

"If you are unwilling, then you may as well not go on this mission!"

The young cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining smiled awkwardly and cupped his hands again, saying, "Since the City Lord's Mansion has made arrangements in advance, this junior will naturally accept the order."

This little incident quickly passed. Among the people who had accompanied Lu Maohong, someone took out a roll of roster from their sleeve and began to assign tasks: "Mu Jia, Miao Yi... Wang Wu, these five are responsible for guarding the 'B' car."

"..."

"...Qiu Shiyi...Quan Cong...these five are responsible for guarding the 'Ji' character vehicle."

Soon, Zheng Que heard his name: "...Yuan Zhi, Linghu Yuniang, Miao Xirong, Shi Shaoshan, and Zheng Que, these five are responsible for guarding the 'Geng' character carriage."

Without hesitation, he immediately followed the other four cultivators who came out of the crowd and quickly walked to the carriage with the "Geng" character flag and stood down.

Before long, all the monks in the square were put into the motorcade.

Starting from the back of the group, Lu Maohong checked each person individually, calling aside the cultivator with the highest cultivation level in each squad for a private instruction. Only when he arrived at the "A" shaped carriage did he lift his robe, climb onto the carriage shaft, and announce in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

At his command, the entire convoy began to move slowly.

The cultivators in the group followed suit.

The streets the convoy was traveling through appeared to have been cleared in advance; there was no one along the way, and the journey was unimpeded.

Amidst the smooth progress, a sense of impending doom permeated the air. Many cultivators, affected by the atmosphere, remained silent, with only the sound of cartwheels audible.

Soon, the convoy arrived outside the city. The wind carried the scent of grass, trees, and earth, filling the air and invigorating the spirit.

After walking for a while, everything was peaceful and the atmosphere gradually relaxed, and whispers began to emerge in the group.

Beside the carriage with the character "庚" on its back, a cultivator who was eight feet tall, with dark skin and carrying a long sword glanced at his four companions and immediately said, "I am Yuan Zhi, and my cultivation level is Qi Refining Level 7."

"The next task requires everyone's concerted efforts, so let's get to know each other so that we won't be unfamiliar with each other when the time comes."

Upon hearing this, the other cultivators nodded and introduced themselves one after another: "Linghu Yuniang greets fellow cultivators. My cultivation level is Qi Refining Level 6."

"My name is Miao Xirong, and my cultivation level is Qi Refining Level 5."

"Shi Shaoshan, Qi Refining Level 5, greets fellow practitioners."

Zheng Que then introduced himself as well: "I am Zheng Que, and my cultivation level is Qi Refining Level 5."

After everyone finished introducing themselves, Yuan Zhi, who was in the lead, raised his hand and took out an array plate. The array plate was about a foot in diameter and was covered with various runes, which shimmered with a faint light. He looked at his companions and said, "The five of us are responsible for guarding this 'Geng' shaped chariot. This array plate was given to us by Senior Lu. It can control the chariot-pulling corpse puppets and the array formations inside the 'Geng' shaped chariot."

"As Senior Lu just instructed, the taxes in the 'Geng' carriage need to be checked from time to time to ensure they are correct."

"Let's take advantage of the peace and quiet in the area and confirm this together."

As he spoke, he activated the array plate and opened the car door...

(End of this chapter)