Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 202 - 199: Catering to Wealth, VIP Treatment

Chapter 202: Chapter 199: Catering to Wealth, VIP Treatment

"Is this a treasure ship? Even the flagship of the Great Yan Ocean Fleet, the ’Great Fortune,’ isn’t much different, right?"

Accompanied by dense fog, the enormous ship that appeared before Wang Yuan was 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide, its wide deck resembling the training grounds of a military camp.

On the deck stood three hill-like large cabin structures at the front, middle, and back.

The bow featured a two-story transparent structure, the main deck in the middle was made up of a single-level cabin forming the central structure, and the stern had a towering three-level structure, divided into five layers from the bottom of the hull to the top of the cabin.

The ship boasted nine masts that resembled heavenly pillars, with a total of twelve hard sails hanging from them.

Standing on the deck of this colossal behemoth, the only feeling was one of insignificance.

Wang Yuan, who had been "invited" aboard the ship, looked around but did not see a single person on this treasure ship, which should have been manned by hundreds.

Blinking his eyes, the ship within the "Unsightly Observation" suddenly transformed into something else entirely.

The hull was riddled with holes large enough to sink it, and the wooden planks were covered with various types of marine parasites—barnacles, tube worms, bryozoans, mussels, algae...

In the holes and corners, bunches of slender black tentacles grew, gently drifting as they would in seawater.

It was as if the ship, which had sunk to the bottom of the sea years ago, had resurfaced from underwater.

At that moment, a series of faint static noises suddenly emanated from the "Heart Communication Conch."

Unfortunately, due to the rule of the "Precept Taboo," which allowed usage only once every three days, he could not make out any clear information.

Wang Yuan slightly frowned but calmly pulled out the "Small Book of Life and Death," lightly wiping the column under the "Heart Communication Conch" that read "Master: Wang Yuan."

The writing instantly changed to read, Master: ...Xing’er.

With this seamless switch, the usage restriction of the "Deceit Object" was consequently reset.

"Zizzle zizzle! Zizzle!"

This clever maneuver immediately caused the static inside the "Heart Communication Conch" to become even more disordered.

After making a full rotation, it finally obliged to work diligently for the unscrupulous "Supreme Emperor."

Although Wang Yuan still couldn’t directly hear what it was saying, he soon heard the sweet voice of the fox spirit translating simultaneously:

"One,... once the Great Yan Treasure Ship appears, it will ’invite’ everyone within a twenty-li radius onto the ship..."

Boarding the ship was already a foregone conclusion. The first taboo had barely started being read before it immediately disappeared.

"Great Yan Treasure Ship? I was running on the sea and unexpectedly bumped right into this ’Weird’?"

After a slight shock, Wang Yuan then breathed a sigh of relief.

Back when the Deceit Market first opened for trading life spans, he had specifically researched this fellow peer in the "Weird" world. As long as one was not greedy, it was not very dangerous.

Then, Xing’er began to relay more of the taboos:

"Two, the treasure ship will assign a rating based on each boarder’s ’financial capacity’: iron, silver, gold, and jade tokens, with the available balance indicated above.

Based on the rating, it guides you to spend on different floors: Heaven, Earth, Mystical, Yellow.

(The highest level that boarders can attain is: Dao General and Realm Mage within the Yin God Realm; the maximum lifespan of a mage is 150 years, pricing computation also considers both wealth and lifespan.)"

Wang Yuan also acknowledged a reality.

Value-wise, daoist soldiers, magicians, and ordinary people clearly differ in rank and value.

For example, the most direct is "Qi Fortune." The Qi Fortune of ordinary people typically curves around beams ranging from [-2-0].

But a magician, however lowly born, once they can "receive the talisman to reach enlightenment" and become a Red Seal, their Qi Fortune immediately escalates to being encapsulated in a "Red Light Shielding Life" [1].

After advancing to the "True Qi Realm," they gain another point, with further accumulations thereafter, and if they can advance to become a "Sage," their presence is so valued it necessitates ’Purple Qi Comes from the East.’

Wang Yuan was no exception; after being initiated into the True Qi realm, his Qi Fortune leaped to [2], which explains why an elephant can trample a puddle flat rather than drown in it.

Whereas ordinary people deceived by the "Deceitful Heart" could not even detect the anomaly of this ship.

In recalling it to others, it would merely seem like some amazing encounter.

"Three, do not count steps when moving up or down stairs (one might step into empty space by mistake, entering a different area, and because they cannot afford the corresponding treasures, instantly die; can be used for assassination)."

"Four, the value of goods aboard the ship is extremely high; merely touching implies a must to purchase. If not bought, one can never leave the ship.

(Deceitful Heart induces one to forget themselves upon boarding; restraint from greed is necessary, or else slowly squander the last bit of one’s lifespan.)"

"Five, the Great Yan Treasure Ship was born from the concept of ’Sea Transport Trade’; as long as maritime trade exists, it will continue to persist.

The Treasures on board are not acquired through conventional trade but automatically gather from ocean-going vessels that suffer mishaps, transferring their goods to its own cargo hold.

Thus, there is an extreme aversion to plundering treasures and intentional destruction of vessels (yet it does not forbid fighting among visitors, which can induce unaware peers to violate the taboos)."

"Six, Hidden Taboo:

In the ship’s trade rules, everything has value. The goods a person consumes in the rest of their life, such as silk, porcelain, food, tea... can offset their lifespan at settlement.

(Warning: Among all on board, only one individual at a time can enjoy this treatment! It provides an excellent opportunity for assassination!)"

Wang Yuan felt that this "Heart Communication Conch" most likely came from a seasoned assassin from Killing Temple itself, rather than high monks from other temples.

Always thinking about "relentlessly destroying others," it was designed to train its holder into a professional assassin capable of using any means to accomplish their kills.

Right after the Heart Communication Conch had made the rules clear, the Great Yan Treasure Ship’s "asset assessment" for Wang Yuan also arrived.

A standing scale appeared out of nowhere at his feet, and the numbers on it suddenly skyrocketed.

From one to ten and then to twenty... Iron Token and Silver Token almost flashed past.

In the blink of an eye, it broke through the Golden Token and the Jade Token, which marked the Red Seal limit of 150 years of life span, and then...

Crack!

Wang Yuan stomped the scale to pieces.

He stood blankly atop the heap of wreckage, and the first thought that came to mind was the taboo against damaging the ship, as he muttered to himself,

"I’m not one to falsely accuse others! It was clearly a quality issue with this thing!"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him as if he had thought of something.

He silently took out the Deceit Object, the Money Box, which he had brought along as a safekeeping measure and as a trump card.

This box contained an entire Deceit Market; the Xue family’s century-long accumulation of wealth, weapons, armor, firearms, and the most valuable commodity... life span!

Although the Cloud Tower Ghost Market had not been open long, there were plenty of skeptics when it first opened, and the quality of the customers was extremely high, several Red Seal Mages had embarrassingly failed.

Even being completely devoured was not uncommon.

Even though there was some loss of the life span collected in the middle, it wasn’t as straightforward as consuming as much as was taken in.

But the accumulated life span of the Mortal Realm had reached 678 years, and the life span at the Red Seal Realm was a full 243 years, far exceeding the limit of a Yin God Realm Mage.

No wonder the scale had burst right away.

Before Wang Yuan could think further,

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

Suddenly, fireworks in myriad colors burst above his head and then formed a huge line of text.

"Welcome ’Supreme V.I.P.’ to our ship!

The V.I.P. may freely travel across the four major zones of Heaven, Earth, Mystical, and Yellow, enjoying a 20% discount on all expenses! We wish the boss prospers in business and wealth floods in!"

Then the text dissolved with the wind, accumulating into a blinding "splendor" above Wang Yuan’s head.

It didn’t end there; four stunning beauties, pallid but extraordinarily beautiful, carried a sedan chair out of thin air.

They bowed deeply, inviting the V.I.P. to ascend the sedan.

"This..."

A poem suddenly came to Wang Yuan’s mind: in poverty, unnoticed in the bustling market, wealthy in the deep mountains, relatives abound. If you doubt it, just look at the wine at the banquet, each toast first honors the wealthy!

Unexpectedly, even this bold-faced Great Yan Treasure Ship, which had eyes only for "money," pulled such a two-faced act.

But.

I like it!

Sitting in the smooth-gliding sedan chair heading towards the ship’s pavilion, Wang Yuan suddenly called out:

"Lady Immortal!"

"Here, Dharma Master!"

"Look at their cutting-edge experience.

Remember it, when we return, we must also establish this tiered VIP membership system. ’Need’ is not the driving force of consumption, ’keeping up with the Joneses’ is!"

"Yes, Dharma Master. Rest assured, we will make it even better than this!"

Wang Yuan leisurely shook his head and casually threw out a bundle of talismans, blasting them into the air:

"Yin Spirit, Yin Spirit, share life and death with me. In the realms of Yin and Yang, be bonded as brothers. If I face peril, alert me beforehand, open up the channels between heaven and earth, Netherworld inclusive! Hurry, as per the decree!"

Whoo, whoo, whoo...

Instantly, countless ethereal ghosts on gusts of wind charged towards the entire Treasure Ship.

Counting steps as they ascended the stairs, they soon spread across all areas of the Treasure Ship, sending every bit of information back to Wang Yuan.

The Ghost Ear Listening Technique!

Just then, a voice suddenly sounding by his ear made Wang Yuan’s heart jolt.

"Your Highness King Jing, let this humble one personally purchase this ’Green Jade Cloud Dragon Incense Burner’ to prove that my claim of acquiring treasures without paying with life span is no empty boast!"

"Mr. Zheng, please go ahead. This king is watching closely."