Chapter 407: Master Tushan Xiancheng Should Not Have Tax Evasion

Boom!

The massive sound of tearing through the air arrived belatedly.

The Jin Ta Wang's mighty body fell to the ground, turning into scattered ash and splashing up dust that filled the sky.

"Jin Ta Wang..."

Many Jin Dan cultivators felt a chill in their hearts, their bodies growing as cold as ice piercing their bones.

Under their staring gaze, the body of the Peach Blossom Young Master, whom many recognized, collapsed into a sky full of spiritual light.

A youth of ordinary appearance materialized behind the Jin Ta Wang; a blue flying sword carrying his soul and Jin Dan returned and was stored inside a jade box.

"Everyone here, what a lively scene."

"Is this Daoist Shang Shang Chengye?"

Jiang Ding smiled, looking at the Bai Pang old man holding up a stone tablet engraved with the character for Cloud: "Coming to hold an auction in my Master Tushan Xiancheng yet not inviting the host, this hardly seems like the etiquette the Northern Plains Shang Clan, which establishes itself through commerce, should possess."

"This..."

"Daoist, do not take offense."

The Bai Pang old man swallowed: "My Lingbao Merchant Guild has always only accepted goods from guests without asking their origin; this matter has nothing to do with me. The Lingbao Merchant Guild is absolutely neutral and favors no one."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Ding remained noncommittal, pondering for a moment.

Many Jin Dan cultivators felt a chill in their hearts; shields and magical treasures rose up, their faces full of regret.

There were so many trade fairs; why come specifically to this broken place to trade, only to be blocked by the very master who wanted to auction heads?

"You may leave."

Jiang Ding pointed at the burly man wearing a pitch-black mask.

Zhou Zhou Sanyan had warned him beforehand; this favor must be acknowledged, with repayment to come later.

"Thank you, Daoist!"

Zhou Zhou Sanyan let out a long sigh, bowed with clasped hands, and took his leave.

This sword cultivator from the Northern Plains, unseen for just over ten years, had already advanced his cultivation to this extent; fortunately, no conflict arose when they surrounded and killed Heavenly Mad Daoist back then, and some friendship was even formed.

Lady Thousand Snakes felt a sudden urgency and was about to unleash some technique, but the next words caused her to pause mid-action.

"This Lady Thousand Snakes shall die."

"This Daoist Shang Shang Chengye of the Lingbao Merchant Guild shall die."

Jiang Ding spoke lightly, passing judgment one by one, then addressed the remaining eleven Jin Dan cultivators: "Each of you must pay a fine of five million low-grade spirit stones, after which this matter will be considered closed. The charges are participation in human trafficking, indirect participation in massacre, and tax evasion."

As for the remaining fifty or sixty Foundation Establishment cultivators, with a casual wave, a flash of teleportation light appeared; outside, cultivators from the Master Tushan Xiancheng Law Enforcement Hall and the Imperial Guard Maidens would handle them.

"Do you submit?"

Jiang Ding was surrounded by a pervasive intent of destruction from his sword, bringing immense pressure to the many Jin Dan Chu Qi and Dan Chu Zhong Qi cultivators; cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

"City Lord!"

"You sliced down the Jin Ta Wang with a single sword strike; naturally, I submit."

A blue-robed Jin Dan Chu Qi cultivator spoke with a stiff neck: "But five million low-grade spirit stones is too much; I do not have enough spirit stones on my person. Can it be reduced a little? After all, we merely attended an underground auction, which is hardly a major crime in any Xiancheng."

"Too much?"

Jiang Ding smiled slightly.

"Then die."

Whoosh!

A blue flying sword shot out, tearing through the air at a speed invisible even to Jin Dan spiritual sense; the sword light filled their vision and descended in an instant.

"Not good!"

The blue-robed Jin Dan Chu Qi cultivator's scalp exploded; a Diamond Bowl magical treasure spun out, enlarged to the size of a house, and blocked in front of him.

This was his Ben Ming Fa treasure nurtured over hundreds of years, containing a Yin-Yang dual energy; ordinary cultivators covered by the bowl would turn into a pool of bloody mud in less than two hours.

The bowl itself was forged from Diamond Bronze, incredibly sturdy.

He was confident it could withstand a strike from a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator without sustaining damage within a few moves.

Ding!

The sound of metal shattering and flying apart; a fist-sized hole appeared in the house-sized Diamond Bowl magical treasure, piercing through from front to back.

The crack appeared powdery, with wisps of blue, web-like intent spreading in all directions, corroding and destroying the array patterns everywhere, a hundred times more terrifying than any thousand-spider ten-thousand-poison.

In a single breath, the sword light pierced through two layers of the golden bowl; a Yin-Yang dual energy coiled up like a winding snake, instantly shattered under the sword light, and pierced through the blue-robed Jin Dan's forehead.

"Blood Transformation Escape!"

With his Ben Ming Fa treasure, nurtured for years, destroyed, the blue-robed Jin Dan's eyes bulged with rage; he instantly burned his vital blood, transforming into a beam of blood light to dodge the sword edge and flee outward.

Jiang Ding did not even glance his way.

The blood light flew hundreds of meters, then the body halted, falling from the sky with a large hole in its forehead.

"Another sword strike..."

The many Jin Dan cultivators trembled uncontrollably.

Boom!

In the void, countless scorching and sharp array patterns spread out; a giant sword surrounded by flames descended from the heavens, crashing into the air.

Amidst the shattering spiritual light, it knocked two black-and-white pythons dizzy; purple-black poison liquid splashed onto the ground, creating deep, bottomless pits within a single breath.

"Prepared..."

Lady Thousand Snakes' jade face grew cold.

It was precisely her sneak attack launched in the nick of time that was blocked by the roaring, operating Tier Three Top-Grade Array, the Heavenly Sword Falling Stream Array.

"Lord of Master Tushan, I am willing to pay the fine."

"Insufficient amounts will be made up by third-tier heavenly treasures and earthly gems."

A Jin Dan Chu Qi cultivator shivered, tossed out a storage bag, and fled outward without looking back.

Jiang Ding swept with his divine sense; it was roughly five to six million spirit stones, leaving ample surplus to avoid misjudgment caused by price differences between different realms of the Cultivation World.

He paid no attention, letting him escape.

He was a reasonable and tolerant person.

Without clear hostile actions, he rarely expanded his slaughter to other cultivators, striving not to stand against the majority of cultivators.

"My Lord Master Tushan, here are five million low-grade spirit stones."

"My Lord Master Tushan..."

A group of Jin Dan Chu Qi and Dan Chu Zhong Qi cultivators, as if granted a great reprieve, tossed out storage bags one by one, piling them into a small hill on the ground, and fled madly in all directions, unwilling to participate in this Jin Dan Hou Qi battlefield.

Shang Shang Chengye of the Spirit Treasure Merchant Guild, mixed within the crowd and attempting to slip away in the chaos, felt a clear sensation of a destructive sword intent locking onto him, causing his steps to halt.

"City Lord Master Tushan, this matter has nothing to do with me."

Shang Shang Chengye's face turned ugly: "I am a clansman of the Shang family of the Northern Plains; there is a Nascent Soul Ancestor guarding our clan. Do you truly intend to kill a Golden Core cultivator of the Shang family over fabricated charges and thus make an enemy of the Shang family of the Northern Plains?"

"This is not me making an enemy of you, but a Jin Dan Hou Qi cultivator of the Shang family who concealed his cultivation."

Jiang Ding shook his head and smiled slightly.

"As far as I know, the Shang family of Northern Plains established their business through commerce, with shops spread across the Northern Plains; they made many compromises to avoid enemies everywhere and everywhere needing manpower to suppress, for no matter how many Jin Dan they had, it would not be enough."

"One important rule of compromise is that the person in charge and members of the Spirit Treasure Merchant Guild in a certain place are not allowed to participate in conspiracies and subversion against the local ruling power, maintaining absolute neutrality."

"Once violated, they are automatically removed from the Shang family of Northern Plains; killing them will not provoke any retaliation from the Shang family of Northern Plains. Blood relatives are a separate matter, but they will not act openly."

"Tell me, did I remember incorrectly?"

The voice came softly, entering his ears, causing Shang Shang Chengye's heart to sink completely.

(End of this chapter)