Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 294 - 291: Sewing Thousand Corpses, Head Tax

Chapter 294: Chapter 291: Sewing Thousand Corpses, Head Tax

The snow and ice atop the plains had finally begun to melt away.

As a swath of moonlight, akin to liquid mercury, cascaded from the sky, it once again enshrouded the land in a layer of silver.

In a mid-sized tribe with a population of a few thousand, the moonlight above a particular luxurious felt tent seemed to be even brighter than elsewhere.

Inside the tent, there were clearly no lights on, yet the moon’s glow was like water, shining several times brighter than the outside.

At the center of the light sat Huang Wu, wearing a black gauze skirt, levitating in a cross-legged position.

Breath in—breath out—

A stream of cold, clear moonlight turned into a silver ray, falling into her mouth and nose. As she gently breathed in and out, it was as if a clear spring were flowing into her inner organs.

She glowed like a jade figure from within, radiating a luminescence.

Suddenly, the Taiyin Corpse Transformation Seal that Huang Wu had cultivated with great effort shot out from her Mud Ball Palace.

Above her head appeared multiple ethereal images of the jade palace, the cold lunar palace, and the Moon Laurel Treasure Tree.

A pure white Jade Rabbit ascended step by step, past the jade towers and over the palace gates, until it leapt onto the topmost branch of the Moon Laurel Tree and bowed to the moon from afar.

If others were to see this, they would have a clear understanding of this Daoist Skill, encompassing the subtleties of Taiyin Corpse Transformation, touching upon life, death, refining form, dream realms, Taiyin, and other profound Techniques.

In the ears, one could faintly hear:

"Above is called Nine Heavens, below is called Nine Earths, when Heaven and Earth unite, Yin and Yang resonate, Yang ascends Yin descends. It is said that the divine reach the utmost Yang, and ghosts reach the utmost Yin. Ghost God, the spirit of the two qi..."

Verses from the Taiyin Moonlight Technique echoed incessantly in her heart.

Time passed, unknown how long.

Huang Wu’s phoenix eyes slightly opened, and she gave a soft shout from her mouth:

"Transform!"

The body left its form, and the black gauze skirt fluttered down slowly.

Her ghostly white Ghost Body, as bright as the moon, united with the Divine Power Talisman, transforming into a jet-black water lily.

Nine petals blossomed, stems and leaves as dark as ink, the flower buds like the moon, swiftly pulling down a large swath of moonlight from above her head.

It even made the night around the tribe deepen by a few shades.

One by one, the nine lunar flower buds withered away, leaving only the final bud to grow larger and larger until it suddenly burst open.

In the midst of a refreshing cold fragrance, a petite figure fell from within.

She was caught in a full embrace by Wang Yuan, who had also left his body as a Yin God.

In that moonlight that had not completely faded away.

Wang Yuan’s Yin God wore a twelve-tasseled black Crown, with a Seal hanging from his waist, dressed in a Crown Robe of dark gold on top and vermillion below, embroidered with sixteen Chapters in gold, resembling an Emperor.

While Huang Wu wore a golden Phoenix Hairpin with nine tassels hanging down, her eyebrows and eyes slightly closed, delicate as a painting.

She was dressed in a Luan Robe with a deep red base, embroidered with nine golden phoenixes, chasing eight silver moon phases:

—New Moon, Crescent Moon, First Quarter Moon, Gibbous Moon, Full Moon, Disseminating Moon, Last Quarter Moon, Balsamic Moon.

Lastly, the moonlight wove into a somewhat hazy, big red bridal veil above her head, embroidered with a silver phoenix.

After entering the plains, there had been the rare respite of a few days.

Under the conjuration of the Yin Yang Bright Method, Huang Wu had finally succeeded in breaking through to the realm of the Yin God today!

"Hmm?"

Just then, Huang Wu looked up at the sky with a puzzled expression.

At the instant of her breakthrough, it seemed like she sensed a terrifying blood-mouthed rabbit on the moon suddenly turning its head to look at her.

But the rabbit vanished in a flash, disappearing without a trace within the blink of an eye.

It was not until she hugged Wang Yuan’s neck tightly and buried herself in his embrace that Huang Wu’s heart settled down again.

However,

The next moment, her snow-white neck flushed with a pretty rosiness as she felt a strong hand starting to mischievously explore her body and softly blow into her sensitive ear:

"Sister, as the saying goes, ’Plan the day from morning, noon, to evening; in cultivation one must never slack off.

With such a beautiful night, shall we try the Yin Yang Union and see what abilities it actually grants?

And perhaps indulge in some joyful celebration along the way?"

As soon as the words were out, Huang Wu felt herself become lighter, and in an instant, she was laid upon a soft, warm lambswool mattress.

Regrettably, before Wang Yuan could take the next step, a young girl’s call, still with a hint of immaturity, rang out from outside the tent first:

"Bone Bundle God, are you asleep? My father sent me to ask; it has been several days since you’ve had the women of our tribe serve you at bed, is there anything you’re unsatisfied with?

And also, Suyana has reached fifteen today, she’s a grown girl now!"

Towards the end, the girl’s suggestive intent was more than clear.

Her speech was devoid of even a touch of the coy reticence typical of Great Yan women.

Hearing the call of the Clan Leader’s daughter from the Bone Bundle Deer Cry Department, the actions of the two inside the tent stiffened at once.

Huang Wu lifted her bare foot against Wang Yuan’s chest, pushing him off the bed.

She looked at him with an amused gaze, her cherry-red lips parting in a playful mimic:

"Serve at bed, eh!"

As Wang Yuan saw it, though, that smile was tinged with a teasing malice.

After his Yin Yang Heart Bell had been upgraded, he felt anything but relaxed, causing him to scratch his head in slight confusion.

With the mood completely ruined, Wang Yuan had no choice but to return his Yin God to his body and clear his throat:

"Suyana, I need to enter seclusion these next days to refine my techniques; we’ll talk about the bed-service in a couple of days. Go back now, go!"

After securing a food supply for the Helan Department and instructing them to migrate eastwards, gathering smaller tribes along the way,

Wang Yuan then returned to the Bone Bundle Deer Cry Department with the Grey Deer Spirit, Lu Ming.

The days since had been peaceful.

Moreover, having clarified the date and location for the sacrifice of Aoxin, Wang Yuan was no longer in a hurry.

Since the location of the Spring Festival and his own advancement seemed to be the same place, Aoxin’s Daoist Ground—the North Sea.

The higher-ups of the Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao probably also believed that the "outsider" had escaped from the plains by using some Escape Skill and did not pursue further.

And when Wang Yuan replaced Bone Bundle and became the Cang God’s Envoy, he naturally and tightly bound himself to this world, with no further fear of exposure.

It was then easy for him to uncover the secret behind his initial exposure.

The water, fire, mountains, trees, sun, moon, stars, thunder, clouds, mist, ice, snow, rain, rainbows, and many animals of the Desert North all possessed spirituality bestowed by the Cang God.

Just as Dragon Energy could be extracted from the bodies of the people living along the Turbid River, those who grew up nurtured by these elements were also subtly different from those from elsewhere.

Anyone naturally born as a "god" under the Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao could recognize an outsider at a glance.

His Taoist friend Huang Wu, the Five Senses, and a host of Yin Soldiers and Yin Generals did not, until they had been tainted by his Divine Envoy’s aura.

Only then, like a drop merging into the ocean, were they completely concealed.

Of course, life as a "god" did not mean that everything would go as one wished.

Just like the rather troubling request at hand.

Living conditions for the nomadic tribes were far harsher than Great Yan’s, their ability to cope with various risks weaker, and their average lifespan shorter.

The harsher the conditions, the larger the basic unit of survival had to be; once away from the tribe, individuals and single families simply could not survive.

Only by banding together could they continue to exist.

If a tribe did not affiliate itself with a "god," it would quickly dissipate.

Thus, every tribe would worship its own god, some the spirits of ancestors, some demons, and some Deceit Gods.

And it became a matter of course for tribes to offer up wives and daughters to their protective deities, starting with the wives and daughters of the Clan Leader.

The Naiman People did not see this as a shame, but rather as a great honor.

The children born were raised as their own.

And often, because of the demon’s blood, they were stronger than ordinary people and typically became the tribe’s best warriors or even the next Clan Leader.

From Wang Yuan’s perspective, the Naiman People, who had been completely domesticated by the Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao, who submitted to demons but drew their swords against other tribes at the slightest provocation,

perhaps they needed the resolve to make a clean break to have even a glimmer of hope for redemption.

And it had to be after the Weird had been truly annihilated.

"Moving Taishan is easy, changing a human heart is hard!"

Upon hearing Wang Yuan’s response, Suyana paced back and forth outside the door, seemingly reluctant to leave just like that.

At that moment.

Ding, ding, ding...

A series of bell sounds that seemed to penetrate the soul suddenly rang out.

Wang Yuan was startled and turned around to find that the sound was not coming from Huang Wu’s body, but from the empty wilderness outside.

The next moment,

memories belonging to the "Old Master" and "Bone Bundle" swiftly climbed Wang Yuan’s mind, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

After his eyes flickered for a while, he eventually stepped out of the door.

Huang Wu turned into light and rushed into his body from behind.

Outside the door, Suyana, dressed in new clothes and looking charming, had already collapsed on the ground, trembling all over, with a pool of warm liquid accumulating beneath her.

But Wang Yuan could no longer concern himself with her.

Looking out,

about two dozen elderly, disabled, or sick tribespeople of the Bone Bundle Deer Cry Department, their eyes empty, slowly emerged from their felt tents under the sound of the bells.

Then they walked faster and faster, eventually racing like mad into the dark wilderness.

And Wang Yuan clearly saw that in the darkness there was an enormous creature, without visible head or tail, moving quickly across the grassland with countless feet.

The monster turned out to be made of countless human bodies connected head to tail, forming a huge "centipede" without end.

Every single one of its dense multitude of legs was a separate human body, and its thick body was covered with dark stitches.

Hiss—!

Even having seen this terrifying entity in the memories of others,

Wang Yuan still felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, his body beginning to tremble slightly.

That presence seemed to be the enemy of all life!

As those two dozen tribespeople of the Bone Bundle Deer Cry Department approached it,

they were immediately pierced by black threads shot from the "centipede," brutally stitched onto its body.

Then, like a tireless steed, it vanished into the night at breakneck speed.

It was only after the "centipede" was completely gone that Wang Yuan clenched his teeth and slowly exhaled:

"Sewing Thousand Corpses! Head Tax!"

Indeed.

This realm, ruled by demons, not only required worship and normal taxation but also demanded the very heads of people in lieu of tax.

And this Weird Sewing Thousand Corpses was the tax collector responsible for collecting the Head Tax from the five Naiman divisions!

No tribe living on this prairie could escape taxation.

Death and taxation were two inescapable realities for every Naiman.

These were the rules!

Living beings capable of communication were not frightful; it was these sorts of Weird that approximated immutable rules, unreachable and unresistable, that were the most terrifying things in the world!

Sewing Thousand Corpses would tax irregularly, taking away the old, the weak, the sick, and the handicapped from the tribes.

If nothing went wrong, this temporary taxation would surely be for the upcoming Spring Festival!

The Earth Mother Black Sky was hungry.

True to form, shortly after Sewing Thousand Corpses left,

the Divine Tao Talisman received an order from the Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao:

"All tribes must dispatch personnel, head for the North Sea Coast to await orders!"

Wang Yuan took a deep breath:

"It’s finally here!"