The word "soul tax" means as the name suggests, it is an act, or obligation, of using the soul as a tax to pay to practitioners.
Monsters are rampant in the entire Western Sea, and Taoists are also crazy. The reason why mortals are not dead is not because Taoists are born out of mortals, but only because the souls of mortals can be used by Taoists and demons, and they survive like poultry.
Xu Daosouhunlai, a Taoist named Xu, already knew about the "soul tax". But now that he heard others talking about it and saw the tragic scene of the "vegetable market" with his own eyes, his heart was still heavy.
But he didn't remain dazed for long on the spot. He just glanced at it a few times and then started walking.
There were discussions one after another, some were evaluating the taste of the food, some were bargaining, and some were inspecting the goods on the spot... There was an endless stream of people coming and going.
Xu Dao also vaguely saw that "vegetable people" and "animal people" are not only commonplace for Taoists in Xihai, but have also become indispensable things in daily life.
He suppressed the chill in his heart and continued walking in the market, trying to buy some books to learn more about the customs and customs of the West Sea. Searching for souls is not swallowing souls after all, and there were many omissions and misses in what he looked at.
But Xu Dao was disappointed. Most of the items on the street stalls were demon bones, demon blood, ores, live birds, and other items. There were also some charms and inferior magic weapons for sale, but there were no books on martial arts and no travel notes.
He walked hundreds of steps and still didn't see anything related to writing on the stall.
This surprised Xu Dao. He thought for a moment, and then his consciousness came out and landed on the top of a Qi Refining Taoist disciple on the street.
The man was wearing a gray cloak, and his face was hidden under the brim of his hat, but he could be recognized as a pure humanoid, and he was also a member of the Immortal Path.
"Foundation-building Taoist!" The other party immediately looked panicked and stood on the street looking around.
Xu Dao was not polite to the other party, but directly asked: "I want to ask you a few questions, how come this shark island is full of broken scales and unsightly trinkets. If you want to buy some good things, such as elixirs, how can you
Where should things like utensils and classics go?"
When the gray-robed Taoist disciple heard this, the panic on his face faded slightly, and he quickly suppressed his concentration and whispered: "Reply to this Taoist Master!"
"Xiao Dao has just come to this Shark Island, and the situation on the island is not very clear. But if Dao Chang wants to buy good things, he has to go to the shops run by the sharks. All the goods sold here are scattered goods, and there is a lot of traffic.
He is a casual cultivator and has nothing of value, and the sharks on the island also strictly prohibit everyone from trading high-quality goods or large quantities of goods privately."
"If there is really a demand, everyone will negotiate the deal first, and then do the deal secretly. This can avoid Sharman Island from imposing taxes, but there is the possibility of gangsters taking advantage of others..."
The Taoist disciple was so impressed by Xu Dao's spiritual consciousness that he poured out all the little knowledge he had about the Merman Island. Fortunately, it was better than the Taoist disciple named Lai.
After asking the question, Xu Dao did not embarrass the other party. He directly withdrew his spiritual consciousness from the other party and dropped two words: "Thank you."
The gray-robed Taoist disciple was immediately flattered. He felt that the sense of oppression had disappeared. First he breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked around. Regardless of the people coming and going around him, he gave a deep bow in front of everyone, and then turned around and walked in the direction that was fast.
Walk away.
Xu Dao was standing in front of a vendor looking at the materials. After looking at the materials, he continued to walk on the street and feel the surrounding environment.
It didn't take long for him to follow the information given by the "good Samaritan" and turned around a few streets and came to a valley. There were fishmen guarding the valley here, and there were quite a few in the late stage of Qi refining, so the Taoist priests came and went.
Much less.
In the valley is the core market of Meren Island, which is dedicated to the exchange of bulk goods or Taoists in the late stage of Qi refining and above.
As for books, they can only be sold in the valley on the Merman Island. They are prohibited in other places, even if they are used by mortals, and those caught will be severely punished.
This is not only true for the Shark Island, but also for other islands in the sea. This made Xu Dao puzzled, but he understood it after a little thought:
"It seems that although the resources for cultivating in the West Sea are abundant and the power is scattered, every island still chooses to suppress casual cultivators with all their strength, and even private transactions of books are prohibited."
When Wu was still in the state, although various forces in the state of Wu also suppressed loose cultivators, they did not reach this level.
This Xihai is different. The faces of all the forces are really ugly. Fortunately, the non-commercial cultivators in Xihai can endure it. However, Xu Dao also understands that the reason why the non-commercial cultivators can endure is for no other reason than that they are not as powerful as others.
He shook his head and soon walked into the valley, where a square pool of water appeared in his eyes, spread out like a honeycomb.
Each pool is filled with blue water, and there are jellyfish the size of millstones floating on the water, like floating bridges for people to step on.
Entering this valley, Xu Dao finally sensed the existence of subtle spiritual energy, but what made him look strange was that the concentration of this spiritual energy was not as good as the inferior spiritual places that occasionally appeared in the mountains and fields of Wu State, let alone White Bone Mountain.
, Sheshan, and even Erhai Taoist Palace.
Even for Qi Lian Taoist practitioners, practicing in this kind of spiritual place and meditating continuously for a year will still be difficult to accumulate Taoism for the next year. It is even more difficult for Taoist priests who build foundations, and they may not be able to save even one month.
Xu Dao did not conceal his aura, but only concealed his face. As soon as he came in, many eyes fell on him, many of them were passers-by, and they left as soon as they touched him.
There were living creatures in several pools, all staring straight at him, and making charming noises in their mouths: "Hey! Another rare guest came to Erdao today. The Taoist priest looked at him, come quickly.
I am a guest here to relieve my fatigue."
"The slaves here have a full range of living souls, whether they are vegetables or livestock, they are all available. Young and old, they can all be slaughtered and inspected on the spot."
The living creature that spoke was half-human and half-fish, but unlike the fish-man who guided Xu Dao to the island, she was not a human in the lower half and a fish in the upper half. Instead, she was reversed. Perhaps she should be called a "mermaid", more like a human.
The thick fish scale tail is hanging in the pool, stirring the blue light in the pool and splashing water, falling on these mermaids, which is particularly attractive.
What's even more special is that when Xu Dao looked around, he found that the mermaids all looked like women, with beautiful faces, charming eyebrows, and their words and smiles were like water dripping from them.
These charming mermaids are the real ruling class on the Mermaid Island. Their names are not mermaids, but "mermaids". There are only females in the group and no males.
As for those ugly fishmen, they are shark girls and fish monsters, or even baby boys born after the mating of living people. They are born with defects in their blood, so they are not noticed by the shark girls, and they have not broken through to the realm of foundation building.
possible.
However, Xu Dao just heard from passers-by that the murlocs on Merman Island have also made a breakthrough in recent years. They swallow a pill that turns yang into yin, first changing their gender from male to female, and then
Start breaking through to the realm of foundation building.
In addition to the shouts of the sharks, bursts of laughter also entered Xu Dao's ears. He lowered his eyes and looked over, and found that there were white bodies squirming in many pools. People and fish were intertwined and intertwined.
, I don’t know if it’s a human or a fish.
It was the shark girls who were jumping up and down with the guests, playing and fighting, and from time to time their heads would come out of the water, singing loudly, causing water to splash everywhere, and the scene was extremely ugly.
Xu Dao seemed not to have entered a place of trading, but to a place of fun and entertainment.
Before he could react, a familiar shark girl emerged from the pool next to his feet. She had hair like water grass and skin like pearls. She was smiling and smiling. Although she was only a Qi Refining Taoist disciple, she was also very mature.
Dare to seduce Xu Dao:
"Little Taoist Priest, come here, let me help you wash off the dust on your body."
The shark girls are charming, and unlike their ugly fish-men of the same race, they are actually quite knowledgeable and reasonable in their speech. What they only know is bed curtains and books, and they know bed etiquette.
Xu Dao looked at the lively scene, raised his eyebrows, ignored the other party, and walked straight to a wooden house that smelled like books.
Entering the wooden house, another shark appeared in his eyes. The other person was no longer naked, but was dressed in wisps of clothes, silk and other things, and had his hair combed into a bun, creating a somewhat ladylike appearance.
.
Although Xu Dao is not a junior brother, he is well-informed in Wu Kingdom, but seeing one beautiful monster after another today is really an eye-opener.
Fortunately, he still remembered the purpose of coming here. After looking at the dressed Shark Girl for a few times, he moved his eyes away and fell on the goods in the store.
This wooden house mainly sells animal skins, talisman paper, talisman ink and other items. It looks like a shop for the Four Treasures of the Study, but Xu Dao looked around for a few times and found what he needed without asking.
Several volumes of books were placed next to a stack of talisman papers, with several large characters mentioned on the covers: "Strange Stories from the Western Sea", "Records of what I saw and heard at sea in the past twenty-four years", "Illustrated illustrations of the artifacts of Tiangong Island"...
Xu Dao became interested, stepped over, and stretched out his hand to pick up one of the books, "Strange Stories from the Western Sea". However, a barrier of blisters immediately appeared on the surface of the books, blocking his fingers.
The shark girl also stood in front of him, looking at Xu Dao with a smile, opening her red lips, tapping the book and saying: "We pay first and then take it out, no private viewing."
The mermaid who spoke was only in the late stages of Qi refining, but his words were charming at most, without any hint of shrinking.
Xu Dao was interrupted, and when he saw the other party speaking so rudely, he frowned slightly. He snorted coldly, and with a flick of his finger, he broke the barrier surrounding the books.
Several books floated up on their own and landed in front of Xu Dao.
The delicate and powerful magic power of this hand caused the originally calm Shark Girl's complexion to change slightly.
Xu Dao flipped through three books and asked without raising his head: "What's the price?"
Shark Girl came back to her senses, no longer as casual as before, and said quickly: "These two books are worth 100 coins, and the middle book "Sea Insights" contains some spiritual insights and is worth 300 coins."
As she spoke, she bent down and made a big salute, completely exposing her fair breasts.
Hearing the price, Xu Dao's brows furrowed again, and he was a little stunned: "A little spiritual enlightenment, just a little can be worth two hundred dollars? The prices in Xihai are really outrageous."
Moreover, what he took was not spells or exercises, but just general books. Xu Dao instantly understood one of the great benefits of banning book trading.
Fortunately, as a foundation-building Taoist priest, he didn't pay much attention to this little money. He didn't put down the three books. He even asked the other party: "Is there anything in the store that has not been put on the table, no matter rare or rare?"
No, give them all to Pindao."
When the shark girl heard what he said, she exclaimed happily: "Yes, yes." Her scaly tail flicked and moved downwards.
Suddenly there was a sound of water in the store, and bubbles the size of a human head emerged, holding books one after another inside.
Dozens and hundreds of books from Xihai were scattered and suspended in front of Xu Dao, moving slowly and regularly to facilitate Xu Dao's inspection.
Such an exquisite spell cannot be controlled by a Taoist disciple. It should be a formation that has been arranged in a shop or in the valley and can be activated. No wonder the other party's attitude changed slightly when Xu Dao easily popped the blisters just now.
Xu Dao looked at it and quickly looked away. He tapped a few blisters, gathered them to his side, and asked, "What's the total price?"
The shark girl was even more surprised: "A total of one thousand and seventy coins, please wipe off the fraction for the Taoist priest and count it as one thousand talisman coins!"
Hearing the price, Xu Dao raised his brows slightly. He flicked his sleeves, and a stack of scarlet money talismans jumped out of his sleeves. The jingle bells rang, and they were stacked into piles, nine piles in total.
These scarlet talisman coins were collected by him from three Taoist disciples named Lai. There were more than 800 pieces in total, but at the moment they were not enough to pay for several books.
And Xu Dao's own talisman money has already been consumed in the fairy garden. Even if there is any left, he will not take it out easily.
Thinking about it, Xu Dao was considering whether to barter, when laughter suddenly sounded from behind him:
"You are a little maid, even Taoist Master Zhuji dares to neglect you. You are really spoiled! You should be beaten."
Snap! The sound of Scale Tail hitting the wooden board was heard.
Xu Dao glanced back with his consciousness and sensed that a shark girl with slender tail and palace clothes was walking towards him. She had a plump appearance, rippled brows and eyes, and her aura should not be underestimated. She belonged to Zhu.
The basic level of cultivation.
The shark girl in palace clothes came over, pointed at the books in the store, picked a pile of them, and sent them to Xu Dao's side.
She bowed and saluted, and said: "My Taoist friends first landed on the island, and my concubines were negligent. I regard these classics as a courtesy. I hope my Taoist friends can accept them."
Xu Dao turned around and looked at the other person, not looking flattered at all. He guessed that Sharman Island had finally come to test him out after meeting him.
He was not polite, rolled up his sleeves and accepted the stack of books that were several times thicker, saying, "Thank you for the relief."
"If nothing happens, Pindao will go back and rest first."
After saying that, Xu Dao rolled his sleeves and walked out of the store. When the shark girl in palace clothes saw it, she was a little startled and hurriedly said: "If you have something to do, my fellow Taoist, please stay."
Xu Dao turned around and looked at the other person with squinted eyes.
The shark girl in palace attire leaned forward again, not annoyed at all, and said with a charming smile: "The Shark Island is poor, I would like to become a good friend of the Taoist, and I respectfully invite the Taoist to be the guest of the island."