Big Bodhi

Chapter 59: Lin An

"Cousin-uncle, what happened to you?"

An incredulous voice came into his ears. Ji Yuenian opened his eyes, and all he saw were more than ten disciples of the Nascent Profound Realm. They were standing below with a respectful look on their faces. The person who spoke just now was a rebellious young man, and closest to himself.

Countless unfamiliar memories poured into his mind. Ji Yuenian was silent for a long time, but a little doubt gradually filled his eyes.

Wasn't this fourth level temporarily clouding up his original memory?

Thinking of the inexplicable smile of the Peak Master Xingyuan when he got down from the chariot, Ji Yuenian figured out what was happening at the moment.

Although the fourth level did not take up much weight in the overall ranking of the examination, it could reflect the disciple's attitude towards the clan very clearly. In some aspects, it was extremely important.

Peak Master Xingyuan, Li Shixuan, should be afraid that he would encounter some accident and may not be able to meet his expectations in the final level. So played some unknown tricks to prevent his memory from being temporarily erased. In this fourth level, it was no different from cheating!

"I'm fine," Ji Yuenian raised his head and looked around at the dozen or so disciples who had entered the Profound Realm for a week, "Let's go, it's time for us to go to Lin'an Town."

In this illusionary realm, he was an old man who had returned to the original realm. His name was Zhao Yan, and his position was an ordinary deacon among the outer sects, now he was taking his disciples to collect spiritual taxes in Lin'an.

"Yes, Lord Deacon."

The disciples responded in unison, and their faces were filled with excitement.

A rebellious young man stepped forward and whispered beside Ji Yuenian: "Cousin-uncle, this Lin'an Town is desolate and secluded, and so far there is no sight of human. Is there any problem?"

Ji Yuenian glanced at him and knew that his name was Zhao Mu, a descendant of Zhao Yan's clan.

"Don't worry, just go straight into town."

Because of his memory, he knew very well that the most important thing about this trip to Lin'an Town was the collection of spiritual tax, and there would be no other variables.

"Yes, Cousin-uncle."

Zhao Mu answered, and then instructed the disciples who were left behind, "Walk faster! Do you want the deacon to wait for you?"

Lin'an Town was so desolate that almost half of the spiritual fields and grains planted outside the town had withered away. Even when Ji Yuenian and his party entered the town, the street was deserted, with very few people in sight.

"Where is the Lin'an Town guard!?"

Zhao Mu with his Profound Energy leaped and stood on the stone platform in the center of the town. His voice spread throughout Lin'an Town.

As Zhao Mu's voice fell, the rustling sound came from all directions.

And many pitch-black bugs emerged, rushing towards Ji Yuenian and others!

"Black-armored stone worms, they like to eat spiritual grains, and spiritual rice," Ji Yuenian's cultivation surged out. He casually condensed a solid blue light curtain, looking down at the black insects that pounced on the light curtain, "Lin'an town looked so desolated, it seems to have a lot to do with these black-armored stone worms."

"Lin'an Town guard, is here, Lord Deacon."

A feeble voice came over from a house dozens of feet away, an elderly man lifted a tile, climbed out from the roof, and bowed to Ji Yuenian and others.

At the same time, the sound of tiles being lifted was heard one after another, and not long after, the mortals in Lin'an town were either standing or sitting on the roofs.

These people were all pallid, skinny, and seemed like they were dying. The reason some people "sat" on the roof was that they had no strength to stand up at all. Even the effort it took to climb the roof had nearly caused their deaths.

Zhao Mu's complexion changed slightly, he reprimanded: "You're the Lin'an town's guard? Why didn't you report that there was a black beetle infestation in this town? You deserve death!"

The old man laughed bitterly and said, "Calm down. These black insects come and go without a trace. They eat most of the spiritual fields and valleys outside the town, and sometimes they even eat the living! Fortunately, they do not seem to climb high, as long as we hide by climbing the top of the beams of our houses when the insects come, we can save our lives."

"I'm asking why you didn't report it! What should we do with the spiritual tax of the upper clan when the spiritual grain and spiritual rice are all eaten up?" At every word, Zhao Mu's face became colder and colder.

The Lin'an town's guard looked bitter and shook his head, "Although the previous deacon left a jade talisman for communication, I accidentally lost the instruction on how to use it, so I can't activate it at all."

He was just an ordinary mortal, and to activate the communication jade talisman one needs a very special method.

"Forget it," Ji Yuenian spoke softly, "Town's guard we're here to collect spiritual tax. According to the law of the Taiyu Holy Sect, insect plagues can be regarded as a disaster. For the time being, this factor is excluded, and you only need to pay 80% of all spiritual grains and spiritual rice for the past ten years."

Every ten years, the Taiyu Holy Sect would collect 80% of the spirit tax from the countless territories under its rule. This has been the case for tens of thousands of years and was one of the sources of the sect's cultivation resources.

The Lin'an town's guard's face turned hideous, he directly knelt on the roof trembling, and said, "I'm guilty, Your Highness!"

Before Ji Yuenian could say anything, Zhao Mu beside him asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Tears welled up in the eyes of Lin'an town's guard, sobbing: "There was an insect plague some time ago, these pitch-black insects poured into the town, it not only swallowed up most of the spiritual tax accrued over the years but also took the lives of many of my townspeople!!"

Ji Yuenian frowned slightly and said, "Didn't I just say that the insect plague can be regarded as an accidental disaster? The sect only needs the remaining 80% of the spiritual tax in Lin'an town, given the circumstances."

"Lord Deacon, please," the town's guard trembled, kept kowtowing on the roof of the house. His forehead seeping blood. "If it was before the insect plague, once our Lin'an town paid 80% of the spiritual tax, then the remaining spiritual rice and grain were enough for us to survive. But now it has become tough to even survive, if the sect takes away 80% of the remaining spiritual rice,... I'm afraid our whole town will starve to death ah!"

The people who were standing on the rooftops knelt and kowtowed to Ji Yuenian and the others.

"You and the rest go gather the remaining spiritual rice, spiritual grains and spiritual grasses in the town and take stock of them."

Ji Yuenian shook his head and turned towards Zhao Mu and the others and ordered.

"Yes, Lord Deacon!"

Zhao Mu and several of the disciples were all surrounded by Profound Energy, rushing out of the light shield, and stepping into the dense sea of pitch-black insects.

These insects could eat mortals, but they couldn't do anything to the living beings who had ignited their Heart Fires. They only felt a bit gross when they looked at the insects.

Among the disciples, a charming girl dressed in red showed a look of reluctance and did not move forward, but went up to Ji Yuenian and said, "Lord Deacon, it looks like they don't have much spirit grain left, why don't we take less this time and help them eliminate the insect plague, and then make up for it in the next ten years."

Ji Yuenian glanced at her sideways, and thoughts churned in his mind.

The woman had already violated the sect rules by disobeying orders, and this was obviously a trap.

If he followed her advice, then his evaluation in this fourth level assessment would drop drastically!

"How dare you!"

Ji Yuenian's Profound Energy in the Realm of Returning to the Truth surged violently, and it directly wrapped around the girl in red!

<em class="chakra-text css-0">Boom!