Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 231 - 228 Deceit Realm·Government

Chapter 231: Chapter 228 Deceit Realm·Government

An entire month had passed, and there were earth-shattering changes within Prime Minister Xue’s mansion.

Gloomy winds howled mournfully, with demon fog rolling in waves and the stench of blood permeating the air.

In dark corners, there would occasionally be whispers rustling low, engulfing the vast estate in an eerily evil atmosphere that could send shivers down one’s spine.

If one switched to Wang Yuan’s "Unsightly Observation" vision, the true horror of this place would be revealed.

Awooo—!

In the gatehouse of the front door crouched a pitch-black giant wolf, staunchly guarding the entrance.

Its fur was dark grey, and its body was covered with grinning maws dripping with slobber.

Aside from a few individuals of distinguished status, every person entering or leaving had to offer tribute to this gatekeeping giant wolf, or else they would be devoured in one bite.

Inside the mansion, it was even worse; whether in front of or behind the halls, everywhere were fierce tigers, jackals, foxes, giant rats, weasels, wild boars...

All bore marks of grotesque mutation, standing, lying, or running about with bared teeth and extreme ferocity.

What was more horrifying were the bones and skeletons littering the steps, filling the flower beds, piled up like mountains.

Now and then, hungry wolves carrying wailing civilians from the city would arrive to feast, carelessly throwing leftover bones on the ground, adding to the already high bone mountain.

If an ordinary person dared enter this mansion, it would be akin to walking into Tiger Mountain or a wolf’s den, where a single misstep could lead to becoming a part of the putrid pile of bones.

The demons that infested the mansion had transformed Prime Minister Xue’s resplendent abode, the power hub of Dengzhou Prefecture in reality, into a horrifying "Deceit Realm - Government."

On the surface, it was dazzling with worldly wealth, yet in essence, it was exceedingly vicious.

Suddenly, a shrill voice sang out:

"Lord Prefect has arrived!"

"Lord Deputy Magistrate has arrived!"

"Lord Judge has arrived!"

With the streets purified with water and proclaimed by gongs, three pompous processions wound their way towards the mansion.

The moment they stepped onto the mansion’s front street and entered the "Deceit Realm,"

those carrying the litter, striking the gong, bearing flags, umbrellas, and silence placards... nearly all turned into various ferocious beasts without exception.

The curtains of the sedan chairs were thrown back, and a fierce tiger, a corpulent rat, and a gaunt fox all emerged, draped in the imposing garb of officials, strutting pompously.

The cunning and malignant glint in the eyes of these three beasts was unmistakable, revealing their true selves in the "Deceit Realm," where they thrived like fish in water.

"The officials greet the three dignitaries!"

Subordinate officials, who had arrived early at the mansion gate to welcome their superiors, were without exception various demons and monsters of fierce appearance.

Rules were already established; once a month, everyone had to pay homage to Dengzhou’s "Local Emperor" Young Master Xue.

Once inside, jackals and leopards carried in treasures dripping with blood to be delivered to an accounts room managed by old foxes.

In short, the mansion was rife with corrupt officials and ruthless enforcers, with everyone acting like swindlers and scoundrels, dressed in fine clothes but beastly at heart!

"Deceit Object - Official Robe, ability:

In flattery and sycophancy, lying through their teeth, deceiving their inferiors and superiors, double-dealing, arrogance, bullying using one’s position, disregard for the law, greed, and lechery...

among these twelve characteristics of ’city foxes and country rats.’

As long as an official exhibits three of these traits, upon worshipping the "Deceit Object - Official Robe," or having ever worshipped it before, they will gradually become corrupt as the Deceit Object strips away their Dragon Energy and Official Energy.

They will transform into a true ’city fox and country rat,’ ’a beast in clothes and crowned beast,’ turning into the weird servants of the Deceit Object!]

Dengzhou Prefecture, seated by the Linhe and Seaside, also adjoins the junction of the Grand Canal and the Turbid River, boasting heavy commerce and dense populations. In the hierarchy of counties, many are ranked high.

In each county government, the total number of officials, clerks, and menial workers is nearly two hundred.

Among these two hundred, there are only three actual officials: the County Magistrate, County Governor, and Chief Clerk, with ranks of seventh, eighth, and ninth grade, respectively.

Clerks only register with the Ministry of Personnel without a formal grade, while most menial workers don’t even get government provisions, volunteering for unpaid labor but extorting money by flaunting their authority.

Needless to say, the staff of the Prefecture Government is even larger.

According to the corruption rule of the "Deceit Object - Official Robe,"

starting with the fourth-ranked Magistrate Xia Ying, as long as the senior officials of each county are corrupted, all the subordinates and henchmen below them will inevitably be implicated.

Over the span of a month, the entire officialdom of Dengzhou Prefecture had turned into a playground for beastly demons.

These demons each reported for duty punctually every month, all worshipping Xue Mansion and Young Master Xue together.

It was clear that Dengzhou was just the initial test case.

If the operation proved successful, the power of the "Deceit Object - Official Robe" might soon expand to neighboring Dongchang Mansion, Wuding Prefecture, Yizhou Prefecture...

Effortlessly taking control of the local military and political power, the only unknown was the limit of this "Deceit Object," and how far its influence could reach.

As a row of beasts in fine garments took their seats one by one in the garden of the Xue Mansion,

inside Xue Mansion’s Chunnuan Pavilion, where Young Master Xue resided,

"Mr. Xue, a servant just reported that two more from the ’No-Life Dao’ have disappeared."

Dressed in a golden pomegranate dress with a sheer overcoat, Lady Huaiyu sat on the edge of the bed, innocently kicking her petite feet, though her tone was somewhat indifferent.

In fact, Mr. Xue Donglou had heard such reports too many times over the past month and had not reacted too strongly to it.

He merely glanced at the sky outside the window and sat up in bed, resignedly saying,

"Which taboo did they break this time?"

Lady Huaiyu looked at Mr. Xue, who was naked, and the beautiful girl beside him, with a smile that was not quite a smile, and responded,

"Just a moment ago, the Old Almanac was updated, ’Taboo: Homosexual acts between males.’

The two companions had not yet had the chance to separate and already met their fate in the Netherworld."

Hiss!

Xue Donglou couldn’t help but look at the beauty lying beside him and secretly rejoiced, fortunately, fortunately, it wasn’t "taboo": the joy of men and women.

He was even more grateful that his own orientation was normal.

The person beside the pillow was none other than the widow Yu Youling of this body’s cousin, Xue Dongjun.

Because she had no disgraceful history, she escaped the massacre that day.

When Xue Donglou, who was wearing his cousin’s body, returned, he naturally took this "self’s" legitimate wife back into his household.

This was his first time enjoying the robust body provided by the "Daoist Soldier", with a beauty in front of him he naturally savored the taste, and even the bright light of day could not stop his soaring mood.

Even though it wasn’t harmful to him, Xue Donglou couldn’t help but frown deeply, his heart already filled with deep hatred for that "whale" stirring the "fate" of the ocean of qi fortune.

"Who exactly is that person, and why has my identity in the mortal world of nearly supreme Qi Fortune as the Water Virtue Flood Dragon still not managed to kill him after a whole month?

Why is he still causing trouble to this day?"

In fact, Wang Yuan didn’t know that during this month, with the aid of seven or eight mini "calamities" every day, his Taoist ability had advanced by leaps and bounds.

In just a few short months, he had caught up with the years, even decades of hard cultivation of other cultivators.

Xuankong Flying Temple, Third Dong, and the pitiful Xue Donglou, who got terribly cheated by these Old Six, also suffered through various peculiar "taboos", bloodied from head to toe.

Because in the game rules of the "Old Almanac", the ebb and flow of "fate" induced by "suitable" and "taboo" is absolutely fair.

One side encountering misfortune ensures that the other side will not have an easy time either.

To balance out the unexpected tribulations made for Wang Yuan, an equal tide of fate would certainly also flood over them.

So, as the tribulation energy gathered and dispersed, Wang Yuan’s "Killing Tribulation" turned into someone else’s time and again, and presented itself in the form of "taboo".

The various "taboos" were simply unbearable.

This was still the consequence of Xue Donglou using his own noble life as the Water Virtue Flood Dragon to block most of the backlash.

"Right, there’s also those scoundrels from Xuankong Flying Temple, who dare to use me as a scapegoat when there’s trouble with their own "Deceit Object".

After breaking through Mirror Lake in two days, I will definitely make them pay!"

"Taboo: Anyone who has looked at the Old Almanac and then does something outside of ’recommended’ will immediately attract all kinds of misfortune, and violating a ’taboo’ will result in being consumed on the spot."

After looking at the "Old Almanac" unprepared that day, the smile on Xue Donglou’s face gradually disappeared.

Of course, Xuankong Flying Temple was no good character, and he was naturally no better.

After being dragged into the "battlefield" and figuring out the game rules, the first thing Xue Donglou did was pull in the dozens of demons he brought from the "No-Life Dao".

Represented by the two "Yin God" realm figures like Young Master Huadie, Lady Huaiyu, along with over a dozen at the "True Qi" and "Dharma Seal" realms.

And peculiar ones like Tu Wannian, who practiced intensively in a single "Hidden Fetus Soul Storage Technique" and couldn’t be killed no matter what.

Once a Magician received the "Receiving Talisman", their qi fortune would at least have one "Red Light Shielding Life", surpassing most ordinary people.

But even so, it was only enough to barely balance offense and defense with Wang Yuan.

Who could have imagined that Wang Yuan would play such tricks, proactively inducing "Tribulation Energy" whenever he had some free time, all to earn the reward of Taoist ability after surviving the tribulation.

The taboo they encountered became increasingly severe.

The frequency updated from three times a day to seven or eight times a day, with death upon contact.

Moreover, the demons and heretics already had various complex Precept Taboos. In the conflicts with the taboo, their mutation intensified.

There was even one day when the taboo was: Step out with your right foot first.

Other matters requiring subjective judgment were manageable, but how could one constantly control the involuntary instincts of the flesh?

That day, four from the No-Life Dao sect were sent off in one go.

Among them was even a True Qi Realm Magician.

Known as "Heavenly Broken Foot," the magician, who in fact had only his right leg left, died an unjust death.

The two sides had begun to pull at their limits, either the east wind would prevail over the west wind or the west wind over the east.

The current situation was that the demons had thrown caution to the wind. Unless Wang Yuan could overcome all of them, the Breaking Ground for the "Killing Dragon" was bound to occur!

Xue Donglou was also riding the tiger and found it hard to dismount. He could only keep raising the stakes, his eyes fierce and sharp as knives, as he ordered hatefully:

"Huaiyu, go and inform Master Qianxing that today, while all the officials are paying their respects, we need to invite the ’Old Almanac’ and drag them down with us.

Though these people are greedy and have caused accidents, each one of them was selected out of a hundred thousand through the imperial examinations, each with an extraordinary fate.

The Water Virtue Dragon Scale Armor must not be lost at any cost. Even if we have to break the cauldrons and sink the boats, we must harness the power of the crowd to bring down that sneaky bastard!!!"

"Then I shall congratulate Mr. Xue in advance for winning the beauty," Huaiyu replied.

However, Mr. Xue is currently but a commoner, far from the esteemed status of the princes of Emperor Jianming’s era.

Without the position of a principal wife, it might be difficult to naturally claim the Dragon Energy of Mrs. Long Shao, I wonder..."

Hearing these words, Xue Donglou couldn’t help but lower his head to look at Yu Youling, who was in his arms.

He gently caressed her skin, which was as white as jade. This woman, although already married, was only in her late twenties. With skin that was tender, smooth, frosty, and containing the beauty of jade bones, she was indeed a stunningly gorgeous woman worthy of pity.

Unfortunately, at this moment, inside Xue Donglou, the lower corpse of the Three Corpses, which governed lust, named "Peng Jue," had already been cut off.

Seeing the beauty blush with embarrassment due to the presence of strangers, Xue Donglou’s face suddenly twisted into a strange smile as he asked:

"Youling, do you know what is the most exquisite delicacy in the mortal world?"

Yu Youling felt that her husband had become very different since he came back.

Especially in bed, the variety of techniques was far too much. Even after more than a month, she still found it difficult to adapt to those annoying methods.

But since her husband asked, she didn’t overthink and casually answered:

"Obviously, it’s bird’s nest and shark fin, the delicacies of land and sea. It’s said the kitchen has also specially prepared a lot of fresh hairy crabs. This season, steamed crabs are at their most delicious."

Xue Donglou looked at her increasingly bizarre smile and gently shook his head, saying:

"Youling, you are wrong. A beautiful woman like you, with skin as tender, smooth, frosty, and with the beauty of jade bones, is the finest delicacy in the world!"