The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 153 Demon-Subduing Mace

No matter what kind of animal it is, its nose is a weak point, and getting hit by it will hurt so much that tears will come down its face.

The tiger demon howled and begged for mercy after being punched.

When the mount token was placed on the tiger demon's forehead again, a hint of resistance and hesitation flashed in the tiger demon's eyes.

Without hesitation, Li Jingxiao punched him in the nose again, and he immediately gave in, being sucked into the mount.

And sure enough, the mount card depicted a fierce tiger.

Li Jingxiao smiled, knowing that as long as the bronze plaque remained, he could easily control the tiger demon.

Hu Xian'er, who was standing to the side, and Liu Cuitong, who had already returned, were both shocked when they saw the gilded bronze plaque in Li Jingxiao's hand.

Without a doubt, this bronze medal must be some kind of extraordinary magical artifact.

Moreover, if this were used on the two of them, they would definitely end up like that tiger demon, completely controlled by this Taoist priest.

Li Jingxiao put away the Immortal Binding Rope, and with a thought, it transformed into a bracelet again, which he then put on Li Jingxiao's wrist.

Then he shook the tiger token, and the tiger demon reappeared in reality.

However, the tiger demon no longer harbored any arrogance or resentment in its eyes. It obediently transformed into a 2-meter-tall giant and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

He called out, "This humble servant greets the master and requests a name from him."

With its soul controlled by the mount token, the tiger demon dared not resist.

Once that bronze plaque is destroyed, it's as if his soul hasn't been destroyed either.

Li Jingxiao smiled, thought for a moment, and then said, "Since you call yourself 'Lord Jinyang,' you shall continue to use this title from now on."

Jin Yangjun was taken aback. Just as he was wondering if Li Jingxiao was testing him, he heard his new master continue.

"I have a task for you. The Tatars are about to march south. Go and gather the other demon clans around here. If necessary, cooperate with me to attack the Tatars."

"Well done! From now on, you'll be rewarded with 30 catties of spirit wine every month, just like Fellow Daoists Hu and Liu."

After saying that, Li Jingxiao waved his hand, and a 5-jin jar of Monkey Spirit Wine flew out of his inventory and appeared in front of Jin Yangjun.

The tiger demon twitched its nose and smelled a faint aroma of wine.

After hesitating for two seconds, I opened the cork and immediately smelled the spirit within the wine's aroma.

Jin Yangjun was overjoyed and took a few sips of wine. His expression immediately became as surprised and delighted as Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong had been back then.

After drinking it in a few gulps, I immediately felt that all the pain in my body had been relieved.

He immediately knelt down before Li Jingxiao again, saying, "This humble demon thanks you for your reward, sir. I will do anything for you from now on, even go through fire and water."

Li Jingxiao curled his lip. If he hadn't used the bronze tablet to control the other party's soul, not even a ghost would believe this.

No matter how many benefits you receive, if your life is in someone else's hands, you're no different from a servant.

Moreover, the more freedom one loses, the more one yearns for it.

Over time, even though they feared their master's methods, they dared not rebel.

But it's common for people to dawdle or not put in any effort while working.

So Li Jingxiao thought about it and took out a level 20 blood potion, the Hundred-Colored Flower.

He threw it to Jin Yangjun.

Without further hesitation, the tiger demon grabbed the Hundred-Colored Flower and stuffed it into its mouth.

In a short while, the wounds on his body healed quickly; however, the tiger demon's health bar was rather long.

Li Jingxiao gave him five Hundred Color Flowers in a row before his injuries were fully healed.

Even so, the health bar only recovered to 8%.

Li Jingxiao silently guessed that this tiger demon's health points should exceed 4000.

Although he was seriously injured, it did not significantly affect his mobility.

In other words, when bound by the Immortal Binding Rope, you should still have around 1,000 health points.

But this is reality. Even if you lose half your life, no one can be as energetic and as if they weren't injured as they are in a game.

Therefore, when the health bar is reduced to only a quarter, the injury is already extremely serious.

But in Jin Yangjun's eyes, the strange flower given to him by his master was a life-saving elixir.

With this as his trump card, Jin Yangjun dares to challenge powerful demons he wouldn't have dared to face in the past.

Even if he were to fight two against one, he was confident he could defeat both the fox spirit and the snake spirit beside him.

Even if all else fails, driving away the fox spirit and snake spirit shouldn't be a problem.

Li Jingxiao continued to give the tiger demon a few more instructions, then threw his giant axe weapon back to him.

As for the bronze mace, it was never even mentioned.

Jin Yangjun opened his mouth several times, wanting to ask for the bronze mace, but saw Li Jingxiao staring at him with an unfriendly expression.

In the end, he could only sigh helplessly in his heart.

My life is in their hands; I either go back or I don't.

To avoid upsetting the master, I'd be the one who suffers and gets punished.

Thinking about it this way, I did feel much better.

Then I thought again, it would be better to just tell the master where that thing came from and how powerful it was.

After listening, Li Jingxiao took out the bronze mace and saw that the words "Subduing Demon Mace" were engraved on it.

This treasure was made more than a hundred years ago, when the Oirat Mongols captured the capital and the country was in chaos.

Jin Yangjun was picked up from an old Taoist priest of the Lingbao Sect who had ascended to immortality in Changbai Mountain.

It is said that a few months before this bronze mace was found, the Dragon King of Changbai Mountain fought a day and a night with an old Taoist priest at Tianchi Lake.

The Dragon King was injured and has not shown his face for many years.

The old Taoist priest passed away in a mountain cave, where he was fortunate enough to be encountered by this tiger demon.

Because he didn't know how to use or refine the Demon-Subduing Mace, he kept it hidden in his stomach, simply using it as a hidden weapon or a trump card.

After listening, Li Jingxiao reached out and stroked the body of the Demon-Subduing Mace, and soon felt a surge of spiritual energy responding to him.

However, the body of this Demon-Subduing Mace actually has more than a dozen tiny cracks and sword marks.

It's obvious at a glance that this treasure was quite damaged when it was in the hands of that old Taoist priest from the Lingbao Sect and fought against the Heavenly Pool Dragon Lord.

As for the Dragon Lord, since he hasn't shown his face for many years, he must be seriously injured.

However, the Lingbao Sect belongs to the Gezao Sect, and I have no connection with this sect.

If people find out, they'll definitely come knocking on our door demanding it back.

However, once the treasure is in your hands, there's no reason to return it.

Even if you have to return it, you have to exchange it for something good.

Moreover, once his level is higher, he might not even want this Demon-Subduing Mace anymore.

Then, remembering that there was a blacksmith shop in the city at level 30, Li Jingxiao immediately put away his copper mace and directed his game character to run to the blacksmith shop.

Sure enough, when the copper mace was placed in the small window of the trade bar, two options appeared: 'Trade' and 'Repair'.

What surprised Li Jingxiao even more was that, in addition to the two options, there was also an 'advanced' option.

Li Jingxiao was overjoyed and quickly spent over 20,000 game coins to repair the Demon-Subduing Mace.

Unfortunately, to advance, you need spirit stones in the game.

Needless to say, you can definitely get spirit stones by killing monsters, but the drop rate will definitely be very low.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao directed his game character to explore the entire level 30 town, but he couldn't find anywhere to buy spirit stones.

He merely suppressed his frustration for the time being and casually tossed a level 20 piece of armor to Jin Yangjun. This was to prevent the tiger demon from going out and gathering the demon race, accidentally provoking a powerful figure, and getting killed.

When Jin Yangjun caught the armor, he immediately knew it was a valuable item and was overjoyed.

He only heard Li Jingxiao tell him to send over all the gold and silver treasures he had accumulated over the years as soon as possible.

The smile on his face immediately turned into a frown.

Li Jingxiao didn't care about any of that. He just told him to send the money over as soon as possible and then go recruit lesser demons.

It even implied that since he had become its mount, he was now a member of the Great Zhou.

If we encounter people from beyond the Great Wall who are enemies of the Great Zhou, killing a few of them is no problem.

As for cannibalism, that was a taboo strictly forbidden by Li Jingxiao.

Jin Yangjun thought to himself that it was a pity. Killing people was acceptable, but eating people was not, especially for a demon like him.

It's like having the meat right in front of you, but not being allowed to eat it—that's a real shame.

After a moment's hesitation, Jin Yangjun cautiously asked, "Master, I have recruited almost all the demons within a two or three hundred li radius that I could."

Those who were unwilling to obey orders from subordinates either hid or moved away.

"It might not be so easy to gather my men again to cooperate with you in attacking the Tatars from both sides."

At this point, Jin Yangjun cautiously glanced at Li Jingxiao's expression.

He only frowned and didn't seem angry.

Then he continued, "May I use my talent to summon some strange creatures?"

Li Jingxiao knew immediately that the tiger demon was trying to refine the changgui again.

Although Li Jingxiao was happy inside, he couldn't show it on his face.

As a human and a cultivator, allowing this tiger demon to kill and steal souls to become a vengeful spirit is against the code of conduct for a Taoist.

So Li Jingxiao thought for a moment and only said, "No one from the Great Zhou is allowed to be harmed."

Jin Yangjun, Hu Xian'er, and Liu Cuitong immediately realized that Li Jingxiao was somewhat hypocritical and had virtually no goodwill towards the foreign tribes outside the Great Wall.

It even implies a lack of consideration for people of other races.

But thinking about it carefully, this is actually a good thing for the three demon clans.

Let's not even talk about King Jinyang; after he seized the mountain and became king, he devoured countless Goryeo people.

So it's just a restriction against harming the people of Da Zhou, which is not a big deal at all.

If I really can't resist eating a few Tatars or Rakshasas from the other side of the Han Sea, I believe the master won't punish me too much.

As for Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong, although they did not like killing living beings since they began cultivating Taoism.

But disliking something doesn't mean you won't kill someone if necessary.

Meanwhile, Li Jingxiao was thinking about what would happen if the tiger demon made a mistake in the future.

He could easily use the punishment as an excuse to clear out the ghosts he had refined again to gain experience.

He could even find an excuse to kill off a group of the newly recruited demons under his command.

To avoid killing his subordinates and accomplices without even asking why would it be somewhat unreasonable.

"To punish without teaching is cruelty." If this kind of thing is done too often, people's hearts will be scattered.

But as long as there is a legitimate reason, it is to make an example of someone to warn others, in order to uphold military law and religious rules.

Seeing that Li Jingxiao neither nodded nor shook his head.

Jin Yangjun was secretly delighted, knowing that Li Jingxiao had tacitly agreed that he could kill some alien races and imprison their souls to refine them into cougars.

He bowed to Li Jingxiao, put on his newly acquired armor, shouldered his giant axe, and transformed into a black gust of wind, flying north.

Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong noticed that Li Jingxiao was staring at them.

At first, they were taken aback, but then they guessed that this guy must be blaming them for not fulfilling their duty as guards.

Even though the two had various reasons, the fact is that Li Jingxiao was indeed almost injured by Jin Yangjun.

Therefore, no matter how much you explain, it's all nonsense to those in power.

They only care about the results; the process is completely unimportant.

Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong, who have been communicating with shamanic disciples for many years, are quite well-read.

Even when Hu Xian'er was young, she hid in a small study in a wealthy landlord's house and listened to the teachings of sages for several years.

I understand many principles, and even fallacies.

As for whether she flirted with handsome scholars during her school years, that remains unknown.

Hu Xian'er knew that if she didn't do something, she might not be able to stay by the Taoist's side any longer.

With gritted teeth, he simply knelt down and took the initiative to admit his mistake and accept punishment.

Liu Cuitong's emotional intelligence is not as high as Hu Xian'er's, but after hearing Hu Xian'er say how she was wrong, she...

Realizing that they had indeed failed in their duty as guards, she, without much ulterior motives, simply followed Hu Xian'er in admitting her mistake.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Never mind, you can play chess with me more often from now on."

Liu Cuitong nodded indifferently, while Hu Xian'er looked somewhat worried.

It wasn't that Hu Xian'er didn't want to play chess with Li Jingxiao, but rather that she felt it was too much of a waste of time.

Others play chess to relieve boredom, but when Li Jingxiao plays chess, Hu Xian'er feels that he simply wants to win.

This quirk puzzled Hu Xian'er greatly, and she could only attribute it to an excessive competitive spirit.

Lee Kyung-hyo said "never mind," but after the troops of the Left Garrison Command and the Goryeo people gathered by Kwon Ji-ri arrived and set up camp,

During dinner, Li Jingxiao sipped the Monkey Spirit Wine.

However, he ignored the envious looks from Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong.

Before long, the two female demons learned that although Li Jingxiao said it was fine, he held a grudge.

Before, whenever Li Jingxiao drank Monkey Spirit Wine with his meals, the two of them would definitely have some too.

Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong watched Li Jingxiao's retreating figure as he left after finishing his dinner.

She couldn't help but purse her lips and mutter to Liu Cuitong, "Sister, it seems the adults still remember what happened today. We'll have to be careful when we're on duty in the future."

Liu Cuitong nodded, but in her heart she felt that if she were in that situation, she would definitely do the same as the adults.

It's impossible to make a mistake and then act like nothing happened.

Li Jingxiao returned to his tent, intending to command the game character to start farming monsters in the level 30 map.

While trying to get level 30 equipment, I also hope to get a spirit stone.

Before they could even point their game character out of the city, they heard a commotion outside the tent.

A short while later, Kwon Ji-ri, dressed in clean Goryeo attire, walked in with a slight hint of excitement on her face, carefully lifting the curtain.

Seeing Li Jingxiao sitting cross-legged, she quickly bent her knees and asked timidly and shyly, "My lord, I have something to report."

As Li Jingxiao nodded, he also pointed to the person next to him, indicating that she should come and sit down.

Kwon Ji-ri was secretly delighted and quickly walked over to Lee Kyung-hyo and sat down on the simple, detachable wooden-framed single bed.

She even reached out and hugged Li Jingxiao's arm, leaning half of her body against him.

He then whispered, "My lord, you rescued more than four hundred of my clansmen today. I would like to ask you to hand over all of them to me for command."

Lee Kyung-hyo didn't care about the lives of these Goryeo people, so handing them over to Kwon Ji-ri was no problem.

But giving it away for free isn't in Li Jingxiao's nature.

(End of this chapter)