Such a tragic scene immediately caused everyone on the roadside to scream in surprise. Xu Dao was slightly startled, and Su Jiu and the three people beside him were no exception.
Discussions started buzzing, and Xu Dao calmed down, only to find that in addition to pity, there were also sounds of applause in the voices of the people around him.
"Okay, these witches deserve to be arrested!"
He looked carefully and realized that the women being dragged had some strange looks. They had animal eyes, hair of different colors, and the nails on their hands were sharp claws. Part of their lower bodies were naked, and their tails were exposed. They were very strange.
It is a pure human form.
Xu Dao suddenly understood why some passers-by called these women "witches". But he narrowed his eyes slightly, and doubts arose in his heart.
Because he used his eyesight, although he saw demonic auras on these women, he did not see the resentment of recent murders or cannibalism in each other. Moreover, the group of captured demonic women were of various shapes, including cat ears, fox ears, pig ears, etc.
They are not the same alien race, but more like Su Jiu, a living person with demon blood like the swordsman.
"Master, what is this?" Su Jiu and the swordsman also noticed the clues. In addition to doubts, their eyes also showed fear. They must be unable to grasp the situation here and worry that they will also be regarded as monsters.
.
Xu Dao glanced at the two of them and said calmly: "Don't panic."
In addition to observing the woman being dragged along, he naturally also looked at the disciples of Lei Zhao a few times. As a result, among the opponent's team, he also found living people with demon blood implanted in their bodies. All of them had amazing energy and blood and strong bodies.
Like a cow.
It's just that the other party concealed it well. Like Su Jiu Swordsman, he never showed his demonic appearance.
After thinking about it for a while, Xu Dao figured out that this group of powerful men were probably eyeing the bodies of these women with demon blood, and then found an excuse to torture them.
As for the deeper reasons, he didn't bother to care about it. Anyway, the matter had nothing to do with him for the time being, and since he was new here, he didn't know the reason, and it was not easy for him to intervene.
Following the cry of hounds and falcons, a group of more than a dozen Lei Zhao disciples dragged the "monsters" they had hunted and entered the city in a show of force, leaving only a puff of smoke for the people queuing outside the city.
After this incident, Xu Dao secretly understood in his heart.
Although it has left the southwest boundary where demons and ghosts are rampant, the capital of the Wu Kingdom, with its Taoist palace as its headquarters, is obviously not a good place.
Thinking of this, Xu Dao shook his head again. Just like what happened just now, whether this place is a good place or not has nothing to do with him.
"I just hope that the Erhai Taoist Palace will not disappoint me and help me find the authentic Taoism."
He withdrew his gaze, woke up Su Jiu and the other three who were in shock, and ordered them to continue driving into the city to prevent others from jumping in line and delaying their entry into the city.
Because the carriage was entering the city, Xu Dao and the four of them waited in line for almost half an hour before entering the Wu capital.
Among them, trivial matters such as interrogation by soldiers did not cause any setbacks because the four of them were well-educated.
But when he was about to enter the city, Xu Dao inadvertently glanced at the giant dragon-veined thing on top of Wudu.
I don't know if it was his imagination, but it seemed like something was peering at him in the clouds, which made his calm mind start to stir again.
Soon, Xu Dao knew that this feeling was not his illusion.
………………
After entering the city, Wudu was densely populated, with many gatherings in the streets and alleys, and cars and horses flowing like dragons. It was far more prosperous than any place Xu Dao and the four had seen before.
What was even more eye-opening to them was that monks could often be seen in the city.
In addition to the occasional dignitaries riding exotic horses on the road, there are people with magic powers stationed on every street to maintain the order in the city. There are also Taoist priests from the Demon Dang Hall running around.
What are you busy with?
In addition to avoiding this, the mortals in the market are all accustomed to this scene, and they are worthy of being in the capital.
After finding a hotel to stay, Xu Dao sent Su Jiu and the others to do some chores, while he walked out of the hotel alone, preparing to learn more about the situation in Wudu.
Because he didn't bring Su Jiu with him, Xiao Nizi complained, but Xu Dao couldn't explain too much.
After all, he planned to change his appearance and directly inquire for information as a Taoist priest. If he brought a follower, there would be an additional risk of exposing his identity, which might affect his future plans.
Xu Dao first wandered around a few streets in the market, asking for some information from mortals, and then wandered around until he came to the ghost market in the city.
This Wudu ghost market is different from the ghost markets in other places. It is not secretive at all. It is open on all sides of the city, relying on the east, west, north and south to lay monster halls. It covers a huge area, and everyone in the city has something to do with it.
Hear.
Fortunately, the Wudu Ghost Market also has a formation, making it difficult for non-monastics and dignitaries to enter. Xu Dao did not have to queue up to enter the ghost market.
Xu Dao was already very familiar with ghost markets. On the way to Wudu, he had also seen ghost markets in other cities in other prefectures and counties, and they were all similar.
Therefore, looking at the streets full of practitioners walking around with spiritual lights all over the place, Xu Dao, besides having expectations in his heart, just wanted to find out more about the Erhai Dao Palace.
After walking a few steps, he saw an attic and walked in.
The title of the pavilion is: "Fengwen Pavilion".
It is said that this pavilion was founded by a Taoist priest. There are branches in the ghost streets around the city. Its main business is to sell news and inquire about things. It also employs a group of scholars to write and sell some hot news about current affairs in Wuduzhong.
It is said that although it is a pavilion run by Taoist priests, and its main customers are Taoists, it is also very popular among ordinary people, and its business is extensive. Many Taoists have heard about it in other states and counties.
After he entered, he was too lazy to talk nonsense and directly took out a stack of talisman money, and was respectfully invited into the private room by the Taoist disciples in the pavilion.
Walking into the private room, in addition to being served with tea, water and delicious food, a good-looking female shopkeeper came over.
When the other party saw Xu Dao for the first time, he did not look at the string of talismans in his hand, but stared at his young face with slightly bright eyes.
The female shopkeeper held a whisk in her hand and walked barefoot to Xu Dao. Before Xu Dao could speak, she bowed and saluted:
"Pindao has met the guest official."
The Taoist robe she wore was large, but the collar was loose. She walked in fashionably and could not tell what was going on, but when her chest was lowered, everything could be seen clearly.
Xu Dao was looking at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall when his peripheral vision was flickered and his eyes slipped away involuntarily.
Originally he could still hold his own, but after the female Taoist asked him to salute, she didn't even stand firm, so she rushed to his side, holding a whisk to sweep away the dust for Xu Dao, looking like a maid.
Xu Dao was no longer the first brother. He chuckled and threw the more than a thousand talisman coins he was carrying on the table next to him. Then he hugged the female Taoist and sat on the Taishi chair and started playing with it.
"Guest officer!"
The female Taoist whispered softly, twisted a few times, and sat on his lap, letting him do whatever he wanted. At the same time, she inadvertently swept down her sleeves and collected all the talisman coins thrown by Xu Dao.
In the sleeves.
Playing on the occasion is playing on the occasion, Xu Dao will not forget the purpose of his trip. After joking with the other party casually for a few words, he said bluntly:
"Pindao is a loose cultivator from other places who came here to seek Taoism. Your Majesty is well-informed. Could you please introduce Wudu and Erhai Taoist Palace to Pindao?"
The female Taoist was not surprised when she heard this. She glanced at Xu Dao's young face and felt happy: "Not only is he a young man, but he is also a victim."
She had seen many people who had traveled thousands of miles to come to Wudu to inquire about the Taoist palace. Moreover, these people were generous, willing to spend money, and had the opportunity to make a long-term deal.
Just last month, three or four Taoists who had the same situation were deceived by her, and they stopped looking for her again after they were so cash-strapped.
There was also a young man who was unwilling to give in. He stayed in Wudu for three years and completely ran out of money. In the end, he had to take over the task in the Demon Dancing Hall and never returned, so he never appeared again.
In front of her.
The female Taoist suppressed the joy in her heart, and Jiao Didi said: "Your Majesty, you have come to the right place. We have good news about our store, and there are connections..."
His dragging voice did not indicate any path, but it was enough to make people like Xu Dao who came seeking the Tao excited.
Xu Dao heard this, and casually took out a talisman coin from the earthworm flag, and ordered: "Haosheng, let me introduce you. Let's start with Wudu. Tell us all the important people, people, secrets and so on."
"He is still a powerful magic weapon!" The female Taoist discovered that what Xu Dao was holding was not a storage bag, but a hairpin-shaped magic weapon. She was even more delighted and quickly agreed: "Yes, yes, yes."
Driven by Fu Qian, the female Taoist immediately introduced the secrets of Wu Du to Xu Dao in detail, saving Xu Dao a lot of effort. Among them was news about Wu Du's dragon vein.
It turns out that the strangeness that Xu Dao noticed when he entered the city was not an illusion, but that every Taoist priest in the foundation-building realm would arouse the dragon energy and be "targeted" by the dragon veins when entering the city.
Not only Taoist priests, but anyone who is a cultivator and has true energy or demonic energy in their body will be paid attention to by Dragon Vein in advance.
It's just that the intensity of this attention is very small. Only when the Taoist commits a crime or is arrested by the Demon Slayer Division, the dragon energy will fall down and attach to it, making it easier to trace and suppress the murderer.
In other words, when you enter Wudu City, you are actually entering someone else's jar. There is no need for a large formation to rise. The Wudu Dragon Veins can activate the magic power to suppress the Taoists in the city, making it difficult to hide and hide.
Hearing the news, Xu Dao couldn't help but sneered a few times: "What a dragon vein. This kind of effect is much more convenient than ordinary formations."
Although he had already guessed and prepared for this when he entered the city, when he heard that the situation was indeed the case, he still couldn't help but frown.
And according to what the female shopkeeper of Fengwen Pavilion said, in addition to externally suppressing murderers, this dragon vein can also internally bless the dragon energy in people, enhance the Taoist's magic power, and assist them in capturing monsters and thieves.
After thinking carefully for a moment, Xu Dao said secretly in his heart: "Sure enough, when you first arrive, you should keep a low profile first, otherwise you may step into a trap accidentally."
He gathered his thoughts and said to the female Taoist: "Let's talk about the Taoist palace again."
After another round of questions and answers, the other party also gave Xu Dao a lot of understanding about the Erhai Dao Palace.
What surprised him a little was that based on what he knew before, he originally thought that the Erhai Taoist Palace was a sect like the White Bone Temple and the Yaksha Sect. However, after listening to Fengwen Pavilion's introduction, he discovered that this was not the case, but a changed one.
"Palace system".
The so-called "gongguan system" was inherited from the Shengtang Dynasty.
Before the Taoist sect was reformed at that time, it began to have close ties with the secular court. Many Taoist sects no longer wandered away from the world and chose to practice in the world.
Governments in various places also built mountain gates for the Taoist sects who joined the world. The small ones were called temples and the big ones were called palaces. There were people from the Taoist sect stationed there, so that the Taoist sects could subjugate demons, educate the world, and select Taoist seeds.
Taoist boy, Taoist disciple, Taoist priest, Taoist master... all the titles were decided at that time.
Among them, Taoist priests in the foundation-building realm are those who have truly embarked on Taoism. They are qualified to preach Taoism, establish Taoist temples, and leave behind a lineage of cultivation.
Taoist masters in the golden elixir realm are also called "Taoist priests". They are people who are expected to live forever. They are qualified to teach Taoist priests, spread Taoism all over the world, and build Taoist palaces.
But in today's world, thousands of years after the end of the Tang Dynasty, the "gongguan system" is different.
There has been no change in the "Taoist temple". As long as a Taoist priest can build a house and build a temple, he can subjugate demons and demons in various places, and he can preach to mortals and receive karma. He belongs to a small family and a single lineage.
But the "Tao Palace" has undergone great changes.
During the Shengtang period, many palaces and temples belonged to the same Taoist lineage, or had incestuous relationships. The Taoist temples were qualified and had the obligation to recommend their disciples' Taoist seeds to practice in the Taoist palaces, and even inherit the Taoist lineage and become true disciples.
The palace observers are just equivalent to the branches of Taoism and Xuanmen entering the world, and they are just small and large semicolons.
But after experiencing the destruction of the Holy Tang Dynasty, the world's Dao lineage was cut off, and the situation was completely different.
The "Tao Palace" is no longer a branch of Taoism and Xuanmen, but an organization that Taoists picked up, inherited and rebuilt from various Taoist traditions during the Shengtang Dynasty.
Take Erhai Dao Palace as an example.
Its general framework is still the same as that of the Shengtang Dynasty, but at the beginning of its establishment, its relationship with the court was more similar to official learning; internally, the Taoists in the Taoist Palace had equal status, and it was more similar to a place for exchanges on Taoism.
However, after another thousand years of development, the status of the Dao Palace was transcendent, already superior to that of the Wu imperial court, and large and small disciples were re-developed in the Dao Palace.
But no matter what, the Dao Palace in today's world can no longer be viewed from the perspective of the sects of the past.
In addition to the new Taoist palaces that have developed within a thousand years, there are still some Taoist sects and mystical sects in this world whose inheritance has not been cut off. However, these Taoist sects and xuanmen have been withdrawn from the world and no longer open Taoist palaces in the mortal world.
Xu Dao thought about it carefully and found that the Tao Palace in this world was very similar to the university organization in the previous life, except that the university in the previous life had only knowledge but no power, while the Tao Palace in this world is knowledge, and all the power belongs to itself.
When the female Taoist from Fengwen Pavilion saw him thinking deeply, she smiled and said:
"If you want to be admitted to the Taoist Palace, you have come to the right place in this pavilion. Not to mention that the master of this pavilion is a Taoist priest in the Taoist palace. He cherishes talented people. The pavilion also knows the preferences of other Taoist priests very well.
Each one has a dedicated person responsible for collecting and recording.”
"As long as the guest officer can be favored by any Taoist priest and be accepted as a disciple, he has entered the Taoist palace and become a member of the Taoist palace!"
"It's just..."
The female Taoist's clothes were wide open, her fingers were placed on her neck, and she was stroking them gently with three fingers. She was staring at Xu Tao's flying flags, hinting nakedly.