The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 158 Driven by Profit
Li Jingxiao kept staring at Jin Yangjun's accomplice, making Hu Xian'er, Liu Cuitong, and Jin Yangjun suspect his true purpose.

After he repaired the Demon-Subduing Mace using unknown methods, it should need to be refined with demons and ghosts.

This tiger demon was born with the ability to refine and enslave ghouls.

If I eat a few more people in the future, I will soon be able to command dozens or even hundreds of accomplices.

Three months later, after entering the pass, I met this Taoist priest at the Yunmo Cave on Jiuding Mountain.

Maybe I can get an extra jar or two of Monkey Spirit Wine.

Sure enough, Li Jingxiao saw the tiger demon finish a whole bottle of spirit wine in a few gulps.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

He said with a smile, "How about we make a deal, you barbarian?"

Jin Yangjun was taken aback. He was now the master's mount, and his life and death were in the master's hands.

Just tell me what you need, there's no need to be so polite.
Then, Jin Yangjun thought of the cougar he had refined.

Although after eating people, they can imprison human souls and refine them into ghouls.

But it's not without its costs.

Otherwise, by simply continuing to eat people and refine the changgui, it wouldn't take many years to create an army of thousands or even tens of thousands of changgui.

This world has long been ruled by monsters who originated from tiger demons.

Therefore, Jin Yangjun can only refine a maximum of five hundred cougars.

But over the years, he has only maintained this number of 300, so as not to be disturbed by the negative emotions of the evil spirits and unable to sleep.

In more serious cases, it could lead to demonic possession or loss of reason.

Li Jingxiao ignored his reply and continued, "From now on, you should refine more changgui (a type of evil spirit). I'll exchange a 5-jin (2.5 catties) jar of spirit wine for 50 changgui to use as test subjects for my thunder magic. How about that?"

Jin Yangjun was taken aback, then asked with great joy, "Is what you say true, sir?"

Li Jingxiao flicked his finger, and with a flick of his finger, a lightning bolt struck the tiger demon's forehead like a meteor.

He was instantly electrocuted and screamed as he staggered back seven or eight steps.

Just as he was filled with doubt and fear, he heard Li Jingxiao say in an annoyed tone, "I am a man of my word. You just go and deal with the Tatars or the Jurchens."

On the first day of the seventh lunar month, at Yunmo Cave on Jiuding Mountain in Jizhou, 50 vengeful spirits were exchanged for 5 jin of spirit wine.

Jin Yangjun was overjoyed and knelt down without hesitation to agree.

Although life is difficult in the grasslands and mountains of Liaodong, the population is actually quite large.

However, Li Jingxiao still had some reservations.

He reminded her again, "You cannot touch anyone from the Great Zhou, whether they are Han Chinese or foreigners who have surrendered to the Great Zhou."

It would be best to specifically target those barbarians who have committed crimes against the people of the Great Zhou.

In Li Jingxiao's mind, killing such people was not only not a sin, but also a way to avenge the victims of the Great Zhou.

At this point, Li Jingxiao suddenly had an idea and added, "By the way, you can do whatever you want with the Japanese. I've never treated them as human beings."

Jin Yangjun, Hu Xian'er, and Liu Cuitong were all taken aback. This was the first time Li Jingxiao had so openly expressed his disgust and hatred for a certain ethnic group.

Jin Yangjun didn't care why Li Jingxiao said that; killing and eating people were as natural to him as drinking water and eating rice.

Preventing him from killing will only make him feel bad.

This guy even regretted not having met Li Jingxiao sooner.

Back when he was in the Han Hai region, he had eaten countless Tatars and Russians.

If I used all of this to exchange for spirit wine, my cultivation level might be able to rise by two levels.

Moreover, since the Japanese are not within the scope of the restrictions, we can simply go to Japan and feast to our hearts' content.

Then, returning to the Great Zhou might take much less time.

Even the journey from the Great Zhou Dynasty to Japan was much longer than the journey from Changbai Mountain to the capital.

But if you take a boat, you can make a round trip at most once a month.

There are two months in total, enough time for me to enjoy and cultivate myself.

If Li Jingxiao knew that this tiger demon knew so much about geography, he would definitely look at this guy differently.

A subordinate with knowledge and one without knowledge have completely different uses.

His hostility towards the Japanese was far stronger than that towards the Tatars and Jurchens.

They couldn't be happier that this tiger demon would go to Japan to cause trouble.

Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that although they did not kill anyone.

But there are actually quite a few strange things in this world.

Moreover, both of them have their own shamanic families serving them, so they should give these shamanic disciples some guidance.

Let them search for evil spirits and deliver them to us; perhaps we can exchange them for the same spirit wine.

With that thought in mind, the two demons immediately asked Li Jingxiao, "Daoist Master, we are willing to lend you a hand, but we don't know how you view evil spirits?"

Li Jingxiao was taken aback, then a surge of joy welled up inside him.

There's no need to guess; these two powerful demons were also tempted.

He pretended to think for a moment before nodding, "Since it is a vengeful ghost that has committed evil, it is naturally within the scope of the exorcism."

"You two just go and capture them; you'll be treated the same as Lord Jinyang."

Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong were overjoyed and thanked them profusely.

Catching vengeful ghosts is a good deed in itself, and it also allows you to exchange them for spirit wine, so it's a win-win situation and a worthwhile business.

After reaching an agreement, Li Jingxiao took out a horse token from the inventory and released the dark-skinned Akhal-Teke horse, 'Chasing Wind'.

The moment the horse appeared, the three great demons' eyes lit up.

A horse with +3 speed, +3 physique, and +2 stamina is far superior to horses in the real world in both physique and appearance.

Not to mention, Akhal-Teke horses are much more beautiful than Mongolian horses and the like.

Moreover, the horses in the game come with their own tack.

If you're willing to spend money, especially if you top up your account with RMB, even the horse tack will be very luxurious.

As Li Jingxiao rode his horse, preparing to leave.

Suddenly remembering something, he asked Jin Yangjun a question.

"Tiger barbarian, do you know what the Tatars are doing? Have they contacted you recently?"

Jin Yangjun frowned and thought for a moment, then quickly told him everything he knew.

Indeed, only 1 Tatars gathered together.

They even sent people to look for him and contact him.

Seeing that they had not received a response from him, the Tatars felt that the time was not right to attack Goryeo.

They simply set their sights on the Uriyangkhai Mongols and Jurchens.

However, the Tatars did not attack, but instead issued a threat.

To put it bluntly, it was about intimidating the Uriyangkhad and the Jurchens to gain some benefits.

At this time, the population of the Uriyangkhai and Jurchen tribes was much smaller than that of the Tatars.

Moreover, none of the Jurchen tribes had a leader whom everyone respected, and they were constantly fighting among themselves.

Internal disunity and competition with the Uriyangkhai tribe for pastureland meant they were naturally no match for the Tatars.

Meanwhile, the Uriyangkhad tribe also had its living space squeezed by the Tatars, and could only bully the various Jurchen tribes.

According to Jin Yangjun's estimation, the Jurchens and the Uriyangkhai tribe would eventually compromise, sending some grain, horses, furs and the like to send the Tatars away.

Li Jingxiao's eyes lit up after hearing this.

For him, although the threat from the Tatars was not small, Li Jingxiao preferred to see the Jurchens weakened rather than the Jurchens.

If necessary, they could even join forces with the Tatars to attack the Jurchens.

However, this idea remained just that—an idea. In the eyes of the Great Zhou, the Jurchens at this time were actually the weaker party that could be won over.

The most important thing to do right now is to unite and fight the Tatars.

Moreover, putting aside his prejudices, Lee Kyung-hyo himself knew that no one could predict what the future held.

Therefore, uniting with the Jurchen and Uriyangkhai tribes to fight the Tatars is the correct course of action.
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Li Jingxiao instructed Jin Yangjun that if the opportunity arose, he could instigate a war between the Jurchens, the Uriyangkhad tribe, and the Tatars.

Lord Jinyang was very interested in this kind of thing.

Li Jingxiao not only didn't care about the lives of the Tatars, the Uriyangkhai tribe, and the Jurchens, but he also hoped that they would fight each other a few times and that more people would die.

Therefore, from the perspective of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Lord Jinyang became the righteous party.

If they truly provoke a war between the Tatars and the Jurchens, they are not only innocent, but also meritorious.

After giving Jin Yangjun some more instructions, Li Jingxiao led Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong back to Zhenjiang Fort.

On the way, Li Jingxiao thought of his plan to build a villa in the suburbs of the capital.

It will require a lot of money.

So after thinking about it, he took out two horse tokens from his inventory and released two chestnut Akhal-Teke horses.

I tried to disconnect the horse tag from the horse, and sure enough, it worked.

Immediately use the horse token to buy 10 Ili horses and 10 Sanhe horses from the stables in the city at level 30 of the game.

Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong thought the two chestnut-colored Akhal-Teke horses were a gift for them.

Unfortunately, Li Jingxiao only gave them both a pure white Ili horse each.

This immediately caused the two women to grumble and express their dissatisfaction.

Li Jingxiao pretended not to hear and let the two of them ride the horses, driving the other 20 horses all the way back to Zhenjiang Fort.

However, in this era, the Ilima horses were also much larger and stronger than those used by the Zhou, Tatar, and Jurchen people.

When Emperor Wu of Han obtained the Ili horse, or Wusun horse, he called it the "heavenly horse".

It wasn't until he obtained the Ferghana horses from the Western Regions, also known as Akhal-Teke horses, that he began to call them "Heavenly Horses".

So, although Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong complained that Li Jingxiao hadn't given them the Ferghana horse.

But the two Wusun horses were much stronger, taller, and better looking than any horses they had ever seen before.

Then they mistakenly assumed that the two chestnut-colored Akhal-Teke horses must have been given to Li Jingxiao's two wives.

Thinking about it this way, the two female demons finally felt more at peace.

Back at Zhenjiang Fort, the soldiers and civilians inside and outside the fort were filled with envy and curiosity upon seeing so many fine horses.

The three brothers, Zhou Yanfu, Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, Jia Rong, and Shi Delong, looked at the horses with great eagerness.

Even Erfu and the others looked at Li Jingxiao with expectant expressions.

Unfortunately, Li Jingxiao was planning to use these horses to exchange for some of the silver to build a villa.

I wouldn't bear to give it away so easily.

He also specifically instructed Zhou Yanfu that the two chestnut-colored Akhal-Teke horses were gifts for the retired emperor and the emperor.

This immediately made Zhou Yanfu, Jia Zheng, and others feel nervous and envious.

Eunuch Zhou gave strict orders to the accompanying eunuchs and the agents of the Eastern Depot.

If anything happens to these two horses, they'll both take their own lives.

Then Li Jingxiao pointed to the Wusun horse and said to everyone, "The Wusun Heavenly Horse, Emperor Wu of Han treasured this kind of horse immensely."

Fifty thousand taels of silver per bolt.

After saying that, he pointed at the Sanhe horse and said nonsense, "A fine horse from the coldest place costs 2 taels of silver."

Everyone gasped in surprise.

The price is far too high, so high that even Jia Zheng and Eunuch Zhou are reluctant to buy it.

Li Jingxiao curled his lips and said to Erfu, "Go, take these horses out for a ride, let them broaden their horizons, so they won't say that I'm heartless."

Little did I know, these horses were all top-quality steeds. I only gave them a low price of 50,000 taels and 20,000 taels because of our friendship.

Otherwise, if it were transported to the capital, there would be plenty of people willing to buy it.

Erfu and the others knew that they definitely wouldn't get any of the horses.

But being able to ride a horse around a few times is also a kind of enjoyment.

He readily agreed.

Jia Zheng opened his mouth, intending to use his status as Li Jingxiao's father-in-law to ask for a horse.

But it's true that he's 'upright and honest'—I can't bring myself to say that.

With a sigh, he followed Eunuch Zhou, Jia Lian, and the others up the city wall, where he watched as Erfu and dozens of Imperial Guards made their arrangements.

The test of these horses' quality has begun.

The result, of course, goes without saying.

Both in terms of endurance and speed, they are far superior to the horses used by Liaodong Town.

Especially those two chestnut-colored Akhal-Teke horses, which raced around Zhenjiang Fort for about half an hour before showing signs of fatigue.

Instantly, Zhou the eunuch and the others stared intently at the two Akhal-Teke horses without blinking.

Ordinary military horses need to rest after running at a steady pace for twenty or thirty minutes.

Of course, if you're willing to sacrifice horsepower and disregard damage to the horses, then that's a different story.

But at sprint speed, run continuously for the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

Moreover, its speed was twice that of the military horses used by the Palace Guards. Even a high-ranking eunuch like Zhou Yanfu had never seen such a thing before.

Never heard of it.

As for the Wusun horses and Sanhe horses, they were clearly inferior to the two Akhal-Teke horses.

However, it was still far superior to the military horses used by the Palace Guards.

Moreover, a +1 or +3 in physique means becoming stronger and having a much greater load-bearing capacity.

For generals commanding troops, these were excellent warhorses.

Now no one doubted Li Jingxiao's words. When the time came, the generals, dukes, and marquises serving in the army would surely scramble to buy it.

After all, 5 taels or 2 taels may seem like a lot, but in the minds of dukes and marquises, it's a price they can afford by gritting their teeth.

For example, the Jia family spent 5 taels of silver to buy actors in Jiangnan, but a fine horse was far more important to the powerful and wealthy than an actor.

After three days of excitement, we're finally ready to return to Beijing.

Early in the morning, Li Jingxiao rode the Chasing Wind, wearing dragon scale armor and a dragon scale helmet, with a civil and military robe covering his body, leading the way in a majestic manner.

The Liaodong generals who came to see him off were quite envious.

I set off in February, and now I'm leaving in mid-May.

Since Li Jingxiao did not intend to get too close to the Liaodong border generals, he bypassed Liaoyang City and headed south.

Along the way, the three thousand cavalrymen and more than one hundred men from the Left Garrison Command were eager to return home.

The speed was noticeably three points faster than when it arrived.

In just four days, we were only two hundred li away from Shanhaiguan.

That's equivalent to running a horse for four days, covering a distance of over 400 li (approximately 200 kilometers).

But running around like this will be tough on Jia Zheng, the old scholar.

Seeing this, Li Jingxiao had no choice but to slow down, walking only 60 li each day.

Then Jia Lian said that this place was only forty or fifty li away from the estates of the Ning and Rong mansions outside the pass.

I might as well rest there for two or three days tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)