In May of the Yuanfeng period, Guanyueli, Jinsui County, Yanzhou, Dingjia City.

The middle gate of the branch hall was wide open, and six foundation-building monks separated left and right, and more than 30 spirit-gathering disciples stood behind. They all came under the jurisdiction of the branch hall of Dingjia City. After receiving Fu He's letter in the early morning, everyone immediately divided their work and ordered their subordinates to plaster the loess and pour water on the street to welcome the new master.

The "Yi Shenzong" has a simple etiquette and does not have to make a big fuss and welcomes out of the city. Six foundation-building monks have been working in the city for a long time and are very familiar with each other. Before the new hall master arrived, they would not stand and stare blankly.

"Old Dong, your wife is on the questioning peak, but didn't send a message to vent?"

"Old Dong" is named Dong Yuliang. He is in charge of the monk in Dingjia City and his disciples are enlightened. He has been stationed in the city for more than 50 years and has the oldest experience in the city. A few years ago, he became a Taoist partner with a female cultivator on the Wendao Peak, so someone asked a question.

"I've said... the new hall master is quite a bit from the background. He is said to be a disciple of the 'Ask the Daoyuan'. Qiao Shan, it seems that the sect has made up his mind and you are under a lot of pressure..."

Li Qiaoshan has been in Dingjia City for nearly fifty years, second only to Dong Yuliang, and is in charge of various accounts of the branch. Hearing his fellow disciples teased him, he shook his head and his expression was a little dim.

"Oh... what's the solution? Old Dong, you know that the nine cities in Dingbian are roughly similar. Master Hao has worked hard for several years and even paid his own salary, but he has not saved the situation... I heard that the master of the new hall is young and has strong combat power, and even suppressed Cangdou Peak. However, there are no external troubles in Dingbian Jiucheng. If we really want to take action, are we afraid of the 'Black Witch Cult'? But now this situation cannot be solved by fighting and killing..."

Before he finished speaking, a young monk appeared at the intersection of the street. He was wearing a blue-gray Taoist robe, with a strong body, a handsome face, and a bit masculine. In Dingjia City, only the disciples of "Yi Shenzong" were dressed in this way.

Everyone was excited. At this moment, the new hall master arrived as scheduled, without delay at all, at least it meant that the other party did not show off and did not mean "present". Headed by Dong Yuliang and Li Qiaoshan, all the disciples bowed and bowed.

"Subordinate..., I've met the master of Jingtang..."

“The Lord Jingtang has worked hard all the way…”

"Shi Bo Wang Wanfu..."

Jing Hua nodded with his head, frequently indicating that he would join hands with his fellow disciples to enter the branch hall. Dingbian Jiucheng was not well managed, but the branch halls were built in a magnificent manner.

"Yishen Sect" is the largest sect in the Central Plains, and its facade skills are not bad. The blue brick walls that grind bricks against the cracks are clustered with towering gates like hanging mountains. Going further into the pavilions, towers, flowers, plants, trees, and roofs are covered with porcelain glazed tiles, shining brightly and dazzlingly. The two ends of the ridge of the house are exquisitely carved with ancient chess, vivid and vivid, without the traces of wind and rain erosion. Obviously, people often take care of them carefully.

The layers of gardens are surrounded by each other, and the dark red doors are thick and solid. The door leaf is inlaid with a pair of golden door cymbals the size of a bowl. There are eight-foot-high Jade Beast Town Garden on both sides of the gate. The thresholds of the houses are high, and twelve-level bluestone steps are connected to the gate of the branch hall.

While greeting his fellow disciples, Jing Hua raised his eyes to look at him and sighed in his heart. If there was no cost to practice, the "Yi Shenzong" could be said to be rich in the city.

Dingjia City is the largest among the nine cities, with a surrounding population of more than 500,000. Even if there is no specialty input, hundreds of thousands of people will not be considered small in food, clothing, housing and transportation. Unfortunately, the sect of practice is different from ordinary gentry, and the resources required cannot be calculated.

In fact, Jing Hua came to Jinsui County several months in advance and walked around Dingbian Jiucheng. Before coming to the branch office, he even rushed to "Yishan Town" to meet the former hall leader Hao Yong.

Hao Yong is over 200 years old, with gray hair and ravines on his face. He looks like a simple old farmer. He has worked in Dingjia City for more than 30 years, and the branch management has been deteriorating, but the "Li Zongyuan" has a good evaluation of him. Jing Hua has traveled to Dingjia City and has never heard of Hao Yong's bad deeds. Instead, there are many praises in the market.

The elder Feng Zihai of the "Daoyuan" was also in "Yishan Town". He received a letter from the sect in advance, specifically building bridges for Jing and Hao.

With the face of Master Transformation, Hao Yong naturally would not hide it. He told his job experience in the original form. Through his words, Jing Hua had a further understanding of the Nine Cities in Dingbian.

It turns out that the Nine Cities in Dingbian are not without production. In addition to self-sufficient food and clothing, the surrounding hilly terrain is special, and a wild plant called "pine grass insect seeds" is produced.

The insect seeds are colorless and tasteless, with extremely light portions and similar in size to rice grains. Before the Nine Cities of Dingbian belong to the "Yishen Sect", they were the sphere of influence of the "Black Witch Cult". The "Black Witch Cult" collects insect seeds among the people all year round and uses them to pay taxes.

After the change of ownership of the Nine Cities in Dingbian, the "Black Witch Cult" still ordered people to open shops in Jiucheng to collect "pine grass insect seeds". "Yishen Sect" knew that it was an opponent's transaction, so there was no reason to let it go. Therefore, the Nine Cities in Dingbian used heavy taxes on the trading of insect seeds, which maintained the balance of income and expenditure.

The "Black Witch Cult" suffered a "dumb loss" for several years, and suddenly stopped and closed all relevant stores. It stated that it was to set up another store on the border to let the people go to sell it on their own. However, the store was in the "Black Witch Cult", and the "Yishen Sect" wanted to interfere again, and was powerless.

Faced with the decline in taxes, the nine hall masters naturally refused to give up. They coordinated and decided to collect insect seeds in the nine cities and act as taxes. Then the branch came forward to buy and sell with the "Black Witch Cult". However, they came prepared and ignored the "Yi Shenzong" business.

The "Black Witch Cult" has three cities, bordering the Nine Cities of Dingbian. It has similar terrain and landforms, and many "pine, grass, insect seeds" are produced. People refuse to receive goods, and the Nine Cities of Dingbian are suppressing a large number of insect seeds, which has no value at all.

The problem is here. The "Black Witch Cult" collects "pine grass insect seeds", and no one knows what it is for. The insect seeds are just wild plants and have no value in refining medicines and making tools. Once the "Black Witch Cult" is not allowed, the "Yishen Sect" cannot use the insect seeds and will lose a lot of taxes.

In desperation, the Nine Cities in Dingbian stopped collecting insect seeds and instead used gold and silver taxes. They released the insect seeds that had been accumulated over the years and handed them over to the people to trade them. The "Black Witch Cult" seized the opportunity and lowered the acquisition price vigorously, and created rumors everywhere, which made the "Yishenzong" quite embarrassed.

Hao Yong took office at this time. He observed the "Black Witch Cult" for several years and found that it had a huge demand for insect seeds. Although he didn't know what it was for, it was definitely not an unnecessary thing. As long as the "Yi Shenzong" can block the source of goods and persist for a long time, the other party will have a tight day.

Therefore, Hao Yong asked the "Lizong Academy" for help and applied for additional spiritual crystal subsidies every year. On the one hand, he served as the salary of disciples from the Nine Cities in Dingbian, and on the other hand, he purchased insect seeds at a fair price and accepted the people's handover to offset the tax.

After decades of persistence, the "Black Witch Cult" still did not move, and seemed to be unwilling to pay attention to the purchase restrictions of the sect. The "Li Zongyuan" sent someone to inquire and found that Master Hao's measures were ineffective. Then he thought of letting Jing Hua take over and see if there was a turning point.

Hao Yong finally added: "... Master Jingtang, I am consuming the resources of the sect and gaining nothing in the end. I am really ashamed of the trust of the sect. The 'Black Witch Sect' is well prepared. Once the sect changes its measures again, it will inevitably further reduce the price of insect seeds and damage the prestige of this sect. Therefore, no matter how it responds, it is best not to affect the livelihood of the people. The nine cities of Dingbian have little resources, and the people live a wealthy life. In fact, they have the blessing of 'pine grass insect seeds'. They have some extra money in their hands to teach their descendants to practice literature and martial arts. In the past thirty years, a total of eleven spirit-gathering disciples have passed the assessment and entered this sect. In the nine cities of Dingbian, the sign of the 'Yishen Sect' can indeed be worth a few taels of gold..."
Chapter completed!