Chapter 224 Collecting protection fees again after many years
Dongyu City.
A city in the eastern part of the Hundred Cities area.
Dongyu City is not well-known in the Hundred Cities area because there are not many cultivators.
The mountains in the entire Dongyu City are only ten thousand feet high, which is only a small mountain compared to other mountains in the Hundred Cities area.
The higher the mountain, the more spiritual energy it contains.
Because of this special reason, although there are several cultivator families in Dongyu City, the strongest one is only in the early stage of Jindan.
Dongyu City is controlled by four major families. Each family has a cultivator in the early Jindan stage in charge. The southern area is controlled by the Jin family.
Jin family.
"What realm is this person in?"
In the Jin family's management office, Jin Zhian, as the deacon, manages the family's personnel and is responsible for arranging the monks who come to join the Jin family.
"Middle stage of foundation building."
Listening to the disciple's report, Jin Zhian paused while holding the teacup: "Please come in quickly. Forget it, I'll go and see him in person."
The middle stage of foundation building is worth it for him to meet in person.
In the front yard of the Jin family, Jin Zhian stepped into the yard and saw a young man. After sensing the other person's aura, there was a hint of joy in his eyes.
This person is not just entering the middle stage of foundation building. Judging from his aura, he should have opened up four spiritual springs. He is considered a leader in the middle stage of foundation building.
"I am Jin Zhian, the steward of the Jin family. May I know what your name is, fellow Taoist?"
"Ji Yang."
"So it's Fellow Daoist Ji. I heard from the disciples in my clan that Fellow Daoist Ji is going to become a guest elder of my Jin family?"
"Um."
The young man was very frugal with words, but Jin Zhian was not angry. There were many cultivators in the middle stage of foundation building who had strange personalities.
"Friend Ji, do you know the responsibilities you need to bear as a guest elder of my Jin family?"
"Every ten years, I have to help the Jin family solve problems at least once."
"Within ten years, my Jin family can ask you to take action once, and you may not refuse. However, we will not let you take action against enemies whose realm is higher than yours. If you are not required to take action within these ten years, it will be accumulated to the next ten years."
Jin Zhian added, and when he saw the other party frown, he continued, "Becoming a guest elder of my Jin family will give you 3,000 spirit stones every year, and you can also choose a place with abundant spiritual energy as your cave. In addition, if you like anything sold in my Jin family store, you can buy it at a 70% discount."
"good."
Hearing that the other party accepted this condition, Jin Zhian's eyes were filled with joy. This person had a high probability of entering the late stage of foundation building. A guest elder in the late stage of foundation building was enough to greatly enhance the strength of the Jin family.
Even though all four families have Jindan ancestors, the ancestors have not much time left and spend most of the time in seclusion. They will not participate in the fight for territory.
The four families all knew very well that once the ancestor took action, it would be a decisive battle, a war to the death to annihilate the clan.
In this situation, whichever family has the most foundation-building cultivators will have the upper hand, and in the entire Dongyu City, there are only six cultivators in the late foundation-building stage.
The Jin family and the Chen family each have only one, while the Wang family and the Li family each have two, so the Jin family and the Chen family were at a disadvantage in previous fights.
"Fellow Daoist Ji, to become a guest elder, there is one last procedure left. You must swear a Daoist oath."
Hearing Jin Zhian's words, Chu Ning nodded. The fact that he came to the Jin family to apply for the position of guest elder meant that he had already understood the situation of the four major families in Dongyu City.
The four major families in Dongyu City are all recruiting guest elders. He controls his strength to the middle stage of foundation building because this strength is enough to make the Jin family pay attention to it, but it will not be particularly conspicuous.
It is normal for the Jin family to ask guest elders to swear a Taoist oath. Otherwise, who can guarantee that these guest elders are not undercover agents planted by the other three families?
The content of the Daoxin oath is very simple, just promise not to harm the Jin family or betray the Jin family.
The Jin family also knew that it was impossible to expect the guest elders to work hard and be loyal to the Jin family. They were just in a cooperative relationship.
"Fellow Daoist Ji, this is the map of my Jin family. Fellow Daoist Ji can choose a place as your cave."
After officially becoming a guest elder of the Jin family, Jin Zhian took out a jade slip. Chu Ning scanned it with his spiritual sense and quickly determined the location of the cave.
"Here it is."
"Montenegro?"
When Jin Zhian saw the place chosen by Chu Ning, there was a hint of surprise in his eyes. Although this place was rich in spiritual energy, it was not far from the Chen family's territory. Generally, guest elders would not choose such a place.
The Jin family currently has eleven guest elders, and the caves they choose are all located in the rear of the Jin family because it is safe there and they can practice with peace of mind.
Jin Zhian personally took Chu Ning to Heishan and gave Chu Ning a jade token as a guest elder.
Black Mountain is not just a mountain, but includes an area of hundreds of miles within the foot of the mountain, and all these areas belong to Chu Ning.
There are many small families of cultivators in the entire foothills of Black Mountain. Most of them are in the Qi Condensation Stage, and there is not a single Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Chu Ning chose Black Mountain as his cave residence so that he could collect spirit stones from the small families at the foot of the mountain. This was what Jin Zhian told him before he left.
The spirit stones handed over by these small families amount to one or two thousand a year, which can be regarded as additional income for the guest elders.
However, Chu Ning didn't care about these. He came to the Jin family as a guest elder and chose the Black Mountain area because of the records of Feng Lianghong in the jade slip.
According to the records in the jade slip by Feng Lianghong, there is a secret realm in the Black Mountain area, but this secret realm is only opened once every twenty years. There are countless souls of cultivators in it. His five glass balls filled with souls were collected in that secret realm.
Calculating the time, there are still fifteen years before the next secret realm opens.
It took Chu Ning three days to scan every place in the Black Mountain area, and finally he found the entrance to the secret realm recorded by Feng Lianghong.
However, this entrance is just an ordinary valley. If Chu Ning had not seen Feng Lianghong's jade slip, he would not believe that this would be the entrance to a secret realm.
While Chu Ning was scanning the Black Mountain area, the other three major families in Dongyu City were also discussing his appearance.
Among them, the Chen family is most concerned because the Black Mountain area borders their territory.
"Tell this to Elder Zhang."
The eldest elder of the Chen family spoke slowly. This Elder Zhang was a guest elder of their Chen family. He was also in the middle stage of foundation building. The area he chose happened to be bordered by the Black Mountain.
In the past, because there were no foundation-building cultivators in the Black Mountain area of the Jin family, Elder Zhang often ordered his subordinates to rob the Black Mountain area. Since the victims were not members of the Jin family, but only some small families living in this area, the Jin family turned a blind eye.
…
…
Three days later, after Chu Ning inspected the territory and prepared to go into seclusion to study the Qingling Crystal he bought at the Golden Core Trade Fair, his spiritual sense sensed several figures appearing at the foot of the mountain.
A thought came to my mind.
Chu Ning appeared at the foot of the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, there were a dozen old men standing there with somewhat uneasy looks.
These old men were all the rulers of nearby towns or families. After learning that a guest elder from the Jin family had settled in Montenegro, they contacted each other secretly and made a joint decision before rushing here.
"What are you waiting for?"
The appearance of Chu Ning shocked the elders. When they heard Chu Ning speak, one of them immediately said, "Elder Ji, we are from the cultivator family in the Black Mountain area. We have come to see you."
"We are delighted to hear that Elder Ji has moved to Black Mountain. This is our token of appreciation."
The old man took out a storage bag and handed it to Chu Ning respectfully.
There are two thousand spirit stones in this storage bag, which are collected by their fifteen families.
“That’s thoughtful.”
Chu Ning reached out to take it. Two thousand spirit stones were not a lot for him, but if he didn't accept it, these families would feel uneasy.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you don't accept it, people will not only not praise you for your noble character, but will only think that you have ulterior motives.
The slightly relieved expressions on the faces of these old men at this moment also confirmed Chu Ning's judgment.
If they really don't accept it, these fifteen people will probably be worried. Is it because the spirit stones they gave are not enough, and Elder Ji is not very satisfied?
This thing is protection money. Chu Ning is very experienced in collecting protection money. After all, he started his career in the Daliang Dynasty by collecting protection money.
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But at first the punishment was imposed on ordinary people, but now it is imposed on the monks.
As for whether these families would deceive him and give him less protection fees, Chu Ning believed that these families did not have the courage to do so.
He is in the middle stage of foundation building, and even in the entire Jin family, he is the fourth-ranked expert.
"Does Elder Ji have any instructions?"
"It's the same as before. Don't bother me if you don't have anything to do."
After Chu Ning left these words, his figure disappeared from the spot. After Chu Ning left, the expressions of the old men present were obviously much more relaxed.
"As expected of a Foundation Establishment Senior, you put too much pressure on me."
"I have also seen a senior who is in the middle stage of foundation building, Mr. Jin Sanye of the Jin family, but the pressure he gave me was not as strong as that of Elder Ji."
"Of course. Third Master Jin broke through to the middle stage of foundation building five years ago. It is rumored that this Elder Ji has been in the middle stage of foundation building for at least thirty years."
"Everyone, we have also met Elder Ji. Then, according to the previous agreement, we will give Elder Ji 2,000 spirit stones every year."
"I have no objection."
"My Zhao family also agrees."
…
These old men spoke up one after another. Two thousand spirit stones were not a small amount. If it was the initial stage of foundation building, they would only hand over one thousand spirit stones a year. After all, in addition to giving to the guest elders, they also had to pay tribute to the Jin family.
Jin family.
"I will collect 2,000 spirit stones every year and will not interfere in the open and secret struggles of those small families."
Jin Zhian sat on a chair with a thoughtful look in his eyes. In front of him, an old man was standing respectfully. If Chu Ning was there, he would be able to recognize that this old man was one of the fifteen old men mentioned earlier.
"It seems that there is nothing wrong with this Elder Ji. You can go down first."
After sending the old man away, Jin Zhian looked much more relaxed. Fellow Daoist Ji's choice of Black Mountain inevitably made him think too much. After all, that was not a good place for the guest elders to choose.
At first he wondered if Elder Ji had other purposes in choosing Black Mountain, or if he had any connection with a small family in the dark area, but from what he could see now, he was probably overthinking it.
…
…
Three years passed in a flash.
In the Black Mountain Cave, Chu Ning stared at a puppet in front of him with shining eyes.
During these three years, he put Qingling Crystal and some other refining materials into the puppet, and re-refined the puppet with earth fire.
At this moment, in addition to the red fluorescence, there are also several wisps of green light flowing around the puppet. These green lights are absorbed by the puppet bit by bit. With each absorption, the puppet's aura becomes stronger.
When the last ray of green light was absorbed, the puppet opened its eyes, and red light burst out from its eyes, directly piercing through the wall of the cave, leaving a ten-foot-deep crack.
A satisfied smile appeared on Chu Ning’s face. He had successfully advanced to the middle stage of the Golden Core.
After one puppet’s realm was upgraded successfully, Chu Ning continued to upgrade the second puppet.
…
…
Chu Ning was refining a puppet, and at this moment a battle broke out in the Black Mountain area.
There are not only fifteen monastic families in the Black Mountain area. The entire Black Mountain area is as large as the Liang Dynasty. The fifteen old men who went to the Black Mountain were only the fifteen most powerful families, and there are some smaller families.
The structure of Dongyu City is that the four major families are fighting each other, but no one can swallow anyone else, and the second-level families below are also fighting each other, and then the smaller families are also fighting.
Big fish, small fish, shrimp...
People at different levels are fighting, because the territory is so small and the resources are so limited. If you want to make your family stronger, you must fight.
The competition for resources among lower-level monks is so cruel.
"Senior Ji, please save my family!"
At the foot of Black Mountain, two women were kneeling and begging.
The two women had delicate looks and hope in their eyes, but there was no response from the mountain.
Seeing this, the woman in purple clothes on the left gritted her teeth and was about to walk up the mountain. However, before she had walked ten feet, there was a flash of light under her feet, which directly bounced her off the mountain.
"Senior Ji, my sister and I are willing to serve you for life, as long as you can save my family."
In the cave on the top of the mountain, Chu Ning saw the two women clearly with his spiritual sense, but even when the women said that they were willing to sacrifice themselves, his expression did not change at all.
He is not a eunuch and he likes women. The two women are not bad looking, but they are not enough to make him fall in love with them.
The Li family, to which these two women belong, is one of the fifteen major families in the Black Mountain area. This time, they were attacked by a joint attack by the other three families.
The Li family is facing the danger of extinction. The experience of the two women seems a bit pitiful, but the Li family has been able to reach this point by destroying many small families.
Big fish eat small fish, but that doesn’t mean the small fish are innocent, because many shrimps have also eaten the small fish’s stomachs.
Indeed, with just one word from him, the three families would not dare to attack the Li family again, and the Li family would be able to survive.
If the Li family had a better reputation in the Black Mountain area, he would really accept this deal, but based on his understanding of the dark area, the Li family always adopted the method of exterminating and massacring those small families.
He who kills others will be killed.
He will not interfere in this matter.
(End of this chapter)