Chapter 171 Liar
Liu Dazhong said magnanimously, "Of course, as the ruler of a state, I wouldn't lie to the public."
He clapped his hands lightly and winked at someone beside him, and someone brought two glasses of wine.
The wine was clear and transparent, reflecting Liu Xiaohe's vigilant eyes.
Liu Dazhong raised his wine glass toward him, his smile gradually fading. "But, although I'm the governor of this state, I'm only following the orders of the immortals. The spirit stone tax is high, but it's not killing anyone, is it? Brother Liu, if you're willing to take on this important task, I have no objection. But if you refuse to hand over the spirit stones and anger the immortals, can you really save the lives of the people of Zhongzhou?"
After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass and curled his lips provocatively at Liu Xiaohe.
Liu Xiaohe's blood boiled instantly. He raised his wine glass, looked at the crowd below, and shouted, "Everyone, rest assured! As long as I'm here, I won't let the immortals take even a single spirit stone. If I, Liu Xiaohe, can't keep my promise today, I will commit suicide to apologize without waiting for my brothers and sisters to take action!"
As he spoke, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass. He wiped his mouth and threw the glass hard to the ground.
The opposition in the audience shouted Liu Xiaohe's name and the crowd was excited.
Liu Dazhong raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
Because his previous behavior had made them more favorable, those who originally hated him were no longer so resistant to him and wanted to hear what he had to say, so they all quieted down.
"Since we've decided to abolish the Spirit Stone Tax, let's finally talk about what this will actually bring to all of us."
What does it bring? Needless to say, it brings endless benefits.
This will reduce the burden on women in every family, and men will have more spiritual energy to use for themselves. Whether or not one can enter a sect to cultivate immortality depends on their own ability, so it will be fairer in terms of the results!
The men in the opposition thought so as a matter of course.
The women also felt that the reduction in the spirit stone tax offered to the immortals would make their lives more relaxed.
Liu Dazhong shook his head. "It seems you haven't considered the consequences of this matter at all. You're just like children crying for candy. Many of you are qualified to enter the academy for training, and there's a good chance you could even become immortals. Even those with less talent could still enter aristocratic families or take up positions in provincial governments."
"But if Liu Xiaohe is promoted to power and the spirit stone tax is abolished, it means that Zhongzhou wants to be independent of Jinmen Xianfu. Not to mention whether we can compete with Jinmen Xianfu, without the spirit stones paid by the lower levels, none of us can cultivate immortality anymore."
"Even if you're willing, will your children be willing? Losing the chance to become immortals and being reduced to mere mortals, subject to birth, old age, sickness, and death, is this what you want to see?"
Liu Dazhong became more and more excited as he spoke, and in the end he was almost hoarse, as if he had no ulterior motive and was just trying to persuade the children who had made mistakes to turn back to the right path out of conscience.
There was a sudden murmur of approval from the audience. It was obvious that many people were moved by what he said and were swaying.
The triple spirit stone tax is indeed abominable, but as long as they practice hard, they may also become the beneficiaries of this triple spirit stone tax.
Even if I don't have talent, what if my child is gifted and can become an immortal? Wouldn't my family rise to prominence and become a new aristocratic family?
Although they are oppressed mortals, they are very good at thinking of themselves as immortals and having some unrealistic dreams.
Some people in the ladies' faction headed by Li Jingui also have this idea. It is impossible to cancel the spirit stone tax. Not to mention men, even women want to borrow other people's spirit beads to practice immortality!
Therefore, instead of opposing the immortals, it is better to become one of them. Striving to have the same cultivation qualifications as men is the most important thing.
Liu Xiaohe looked at the reactions of the crowd in the audience and felt something was wrong. He wanted to open his mouth to refute immediately, but when he opened his mouth, his throat was so dry that he couldn't make a sound.
His face turned pale instantly. There was something wrong with the glass of wine just now. Liu Dazhong actually poisoned it in public and made his voice hoarse!
"Uh...uh..." Liu Xiaohe waved his hands desperately, trying to stop everyone from believing his provocation.
But in the eyes of the people below the stage, his furious look seemed to be caused by Liu Dazhong hitting their sore spot, and he was going crazy.
Liu Dazhong looked at him coldly, his face showing undisguised sarcasm. "It seems that our great Brother Liu also thinks what I said is right. Otherwise, how could he not even say a word of rebuttal?"
Liu Xiaohe opened his eyes wide and stared at Liu Dazhong. Damn it, liar, damn beast.
How dare you tease me? I'm going to kill you!
Ahhhhhh——! Liu Xiaohe screamed silently, raised his hand and summoned the spirit sword, stabbing it towards Liu Dazhong.
However, before his sword could touch Liu Dazhong, the male cultivator who was well prepared took the lead and struck him on the knee, then pinned him down while he was kneeling in pain.
The magic sword in Liu Xiaohe's hand fell onto the round table with a clang.
There was an uproar in the audience, but no one moved.
Because everyone saw that Liu Xiaohe was the first to take action. If he wasn't guilty, how could he draw his sword and kill Liu Dazhong?
Zhang Jiuxiao frowned as he watched the farce unfolding on stage. What had Liu Dazhong done to Liu Xiaohe that had provoked him to madness and attack, putting him at a disadvantage in an instant?
What Liu Dazhong just said was exactly the same as the previous story. In essence, he was just painting a rosy picture, making everyone think that they had the opportunity to become a high-ranking immortal, and thus forget the fact that they were being oppressed.
Unfortunately, the immortals will always be a minority.
Perhaps, there are one or two people who can ascend to heaven through this, but what does this have to do with these women who have to sacrifice their spirit beads?
Just as he was thinking, Liu Dazhong suddenly turned his gaze towards them, "Once the spirit stone tax is abolished, we will lose the protection of the immortals. Without the protection of the immortals, the demons will invade the human race even more unscrupulously. Sooner or later, Zhongzhou will be reduced to a sunless demonic realm!"
"Look at them, look at these women with devil horns," Liu Dazhong pointed his finger at Zhang Jiuxiao. "They were once rats in the gutter, but now they dare to walk on the street openly. And all of this is because of the law of reincarnation of the demon clan, which is the source of all evil. Do you still want to repeat my sister's mistakes and wait until you are drained of blood and flesh by the demon clan before you can see their true colors?"
His words were full of passion and power, and when he mentioned the word "sister", his voice choked up instantly, which aroused the sympathy of those kind-hearted people.
The incited crowd all turned their gazes towards Yongye and echoed in unison: "That's right, these demons are all murderers and should all be executed!"
Zhang Jiuxiao looked at the angry faces around him, and his usually calm heart also became angry.
Just as he was about to say something to refute Liu Dazhong's words, Mu Chen shouted, "He's lying. Everything he said is a lie. The demons didn't harm any woman. He's just a liar who deceives the world and steals his reputation!"
"He's a liar who deceives the world and steals his reputation!"
"A liar who deceives the world and steals his reputation!"
"fraud!"
The angry voices echoed in the corner of the venue, and everyone continued to look at them with hatred.
Mu Chen opened his eyes wide in surprise. What was going on?
Zhang Jiuxiao turned to look at the Lin family's patriarch, but met a pair of eyes filled with sarcasm, and instantly realized something.
She raised her hand and waved it, and spiritual power shot out rapidly. With a bang, the spiritual power dissipated in mid-air, as if it had hit an invisible magic shield.
"It's the Echo Wall. Liu Dazhong deliberately set up an echo barrier for us. The outside world can't hear us at all!"
"W-what?" Mu Chen opened his mouth in disbelief.
She was so cautious, could it be because Liu Dazhong already knew she was here?
If that's the case, there's no need for them to hide anymore, right?
"Sister Zhang, let me break this magic shield." Mu Chen opened his hands and showed his two swords without hesitation.
Zhang Jiuxiao thought for a moment and was about to nod in agreement when suddenly there was a burst of exclamations from all around.
Looking up, I saw that Liu Dazhong on the stage had picked up the sword that Liu Xiaohe had dropped on the ground, gripped the hilt tightly, and raised it high.
Immediately afterwards, a cold light flashed, and Liu Xiaohe's head fell to the ground.
He raised his blood-spattered face and sneered at the crowd below, "Only death can undo the mistakes you've made!"
The moment he fell, a very slight click sounded, as if something had been activated. An ominous blood-red light suddenly lit up above the venue, rapidly spreading out like a giant, upside-down bowl, enveloping the venue and the tens of thousands of attendees.
The crowd suddenly panicked, "What is this? What are you going to do to us?"
"Can't you see? Liu Dazhong wanted to kill us, and you traitors actually betrayed the leader just because of a few words from that bastard!"
"Traitor? I think you are the traitor. Otherwise, why didn't you rush over to save the leader when he was captured?"
As everyone was arguing, they suddenly saw a green smoke spreading in the conference hall. With every breath they took, the smoke entered their lungs.
The opposition members cried out in alarm, "Ahem, it's poison gas! Hold your breath!"
However, it was too late. After a while, someone vomited blood and fell to the ground. Screams and sounds of falling were heard one after another.
Seeing this, Li Jingui hurriedly stuffed the Qingling Pill in his palm into his mouth and swallowed it.
Seeing this, the others also took the Qingling Pill.
"Don't worry, we will be fine." Li Jingui forced a smile and comforted the people behind him.
They nodded gratefully, feeling extremely lucky that they followed the governor's wife. Otherwise, they would have died in this struggle just like those people.
Li Jingui watched as the male soldiers marched in an orderly fashion toward the square formation where the opposition stood, all raising their long swords and launching an attack. The men, having inhaled the poisonous gas, lost the strength to resist and fell, row after row, like wheat harvested by a sickle.
The smell of blood spread silently in the venue.
Large patches of red flooded into Li Jingui's eyes through the thin mist. She breathed rapidly and felt dizzy.
This is terrible.
Perhaps the struggle for power is just so cruel. Who made these restless people go against Chong'er?
But she doesn't resent these people.
Li Jingui closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and prayed silently that these people could have a good afterlife.
On the round stage, Liu Dazhong happily watched the massacre below, with a smile on his face that he couldn't suppress.
A bunch of untouchables, actually want to rebel against him, all of them should die.
Let the people of Zhongzhou see what will happen to those who oppose him, so that they will be obedient and accept the fate of offering spirit stones.
As for those demons, of course they must all be killed.
Liu Dazhong sneered and looked towards the southwest corner. He thought he would see the miserable state of Zhang Jiuxiao and the others being corroded by poisonous gas, but he did not expect to see the scene of the echo shield being split open by a sharp blade.
And Yongye's group were all standing there unharmed, with the corpses of the male soldiers who attacked them lying under their feet.
Among the crowd, an angry face was particularly familiar.
That was his sister who had died long ago.
The smile on Liu Dazhong's face froze instantly. This is impossible?!
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