The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 386 A strange combination of circumstances
In the fairyland of Yaochi, Li Jingxiao was drinking Yaochi Imperial Wine with the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother.

While chatting about alchemy and Taoist cultivation.

Li Jingxiao soon discovered that the Jade Emperor was not the cowardly figure portrayed in TV dramas, hiding under the table in fear.

In particular, when Li Jingxiao intentionally and proactively sought the Jade Emperor's insights on swordsmanship.

The sword control technique actually began to slowly increase in proficiency.

Although it's only a +70 increase, it still shows that the Jade Emperor is much better than me in swordsmanship.

Otherwise, there will be no increase in proficiency in this area.

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother soon realized that Li Jingxiao seemed to be deliberately seeking their 'clarification' as he asked questions.

They exchanged a glance and smiled to themselves.

There were rumors that Li Jingxiao, in order to cultivate thunder magic, would frequently visit Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Daozun to learn thunder magic.

In the end, even Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Daozun were annoyed by him.

So they simply turned him away several times.

Li Jingxiao then went to find the Old Mother of Lishan and even Zhen Yuanzi to learn thunder magic.

Now, looking at Li Jingxiao's incessant questioning, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother truly believed those rumors.

Moreover, the more the two of them explained things to Li Jingxiao, the more they realized how truly talented this kid was.

Many things are easy to understand once explained, and the questions they ask are becoming increasingly profound.

As Li Jingxiao's understanding of swordsmanship deepened, his aura became increasingly fierce.

His entire appearance resembled an invincible immortal sword.

Li Jingxiao saw that in just the time it took to burn an incense stick to answer a question, his proficiency in sword control had increased by several thousand points.

They wished they could drag the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother over and preach to them for three to five days.

Unfortunately, although the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother did not show any impatience, they only talked to Li Jingxiao for less than two hours.

Then a celestial official entered.

However, before he could speak, he was stopped by the Seven Fairies who were guarding behind the screen inside the hall.

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother originally wanted to win over Li Jingxiao, a future master of alchemy.

Now that there's an opportunity to pass on her swordsmanship experience to Li Jingxiao, the Seven Fairies naturally won't let anyone ruin this chance.

Unfortunately, although the celestial officials were stopped, no one could stop Sun Wukong.

In two hours, Li Jingxiao's sword control technique gained a full 4 experience points.

That was interrupted when Sun Wukong, who had been waiting impatiently outside the hall, barged in.

In an instant, Li Jingxiao looked at the monkey with a gaze that seemed to wish he could kill him.

The extremely sharp sword intent startled even the monkey.

Seeing Li Jingxiao's murderous expression, and then looking at the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother's disgusted expressions.

Think back to when we were waiting outside the Jade Pool, a female celestial official came out and said that the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother were discussing the Dao.

He immediately realized that he had ruined Li Jingxiao's opportunity.

He hurriedly bowed and apologized to Li Jingxiao.

Li Jingxiao closed his eyes and took a deep breath, which finally suppressed his anger and irritation.

I wanted to find an excuse to fight the monkey directly.

Then the Jade Emperor spoke up, saying, "If you have any free time in the future, why don't you tell me more about the affairs of the Earthly Immortal Realm?"

Li Jingxiao knew that the Jade Emperor was not mentioning the matter of preaching, but was simply saving face for him.

Incidentally, this also prevents Laozi from overthinking things.

He hurriedly got up, bowed to the Jade Emperor, and thanked him, which finally suppressed his anger.

He glared at Sun Wukong with annoyance.

He asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone, "Great Sage, why aren't you protecting the pilgrims in the mortal realm? What are you doing in the Jade Pool Wonderland?"

Sun Wukong, lacking the confidence to argue with Li Jingxiao, gave an awkward laugh.

He turned his gaze to the Jade Emperor and began to speak of the Fengxian County.

Li Jingxiao was surprised when he heard this.

Almost 10 months have passed since the ordeal at the Bottomless Cave of Trapped Sky Mountain. Unexpectedly, Tang Sanzang and his companions have only just reached Fengxian County.

As for the Misty Hidden Mountain between Fengxian County and Trapped Sky Mountain, and that leopard spirit.

It's obviously just there to make up the numbers.

Moreover, during the ordeal in Fengxian County, the monkey did not go directly to the Jade Emperor.

But now, they have suddenly stumbled into the fairyland of Yaochi.

There must be something wrong here.

However, the reason this time is quite simple.

When the monkey came to the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor was teaching Li Jingxiao about swordsmanship.

The celestial official who came to report was also stopped by the seven fairies.

Therefore, the Jade Emperor did not have the opportunity, as in the original story, to send the Four Heavenly Masters to stop Sun Wukong.

Upon hearing that the Jade Emperor was at Yaochi, Sun Wukong flew over immediately.

Having confirmed that the Jade Emperor was indeed inside the palace, Sun Wukong, unable to wait any longer, barged in.

Li Jingxiao thought about it carefully and realized that it had taken the pilgrimage team more than ten years to travel from Wuzhi Mountain to Ling Mountain.

Most of the time is actually wasted on walking.

What Li Jingxiao didn't know was that, as the story progressed, in order to complete the eighty-one tribulations, the process became increasingly complex.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on Mount Ling must have racked their brains.

It's not that there are no monsters in Xiniu Hezhou, but rather that there aren't enough powerful monsters.

In the entire Xiniu Hezhou, the only truly powerful demons are the Bull Demon King, the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord, and the Nine-Headed Insect, who are powerful but have no powerful backers.

The other more powerful ones are all related to Buddhism and Taoism.

They either escaped from Mount Ling, or were the mounts of Buddhist or Taoist leaders, or were relatives.

None of those who were actually killed were particularly powerful.

Moreover, the monsters of Xiniu Hezhou became increasingly able to see the true nature of the pilgrimage as the journey progressed.

Therefore, many monsters simply abandoned their homes and ran away.

Only some silly monsters remained, completely unaware of what was happening outside, still staying in their caves.

Moreover, if the pace of progress is too fast in the early stages, it will make the journey to the West seem rather simple.

If it takes three to five years, we will bring the true scriptures back to the Tang Dynasty in the East.

Not only did the Tang emperor feel that it was only a few years before the scriptures were brought back.

The people of the Tang Dynasty would also feel that what they obtained seemed quite easy.

This contradicts the Buddha's original intention.

He simply gestured to Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing to slow down.

If Li Jingxiao knew that the Bodhisattva and Buddha had this plan, he would wholeheartedly agree.

They wished the pilgrimage team would take another ten or eight years to reach the sacred mountain.

Li Jingxiao would then have more time to legitimately gain more experience from the dozens of gods and Buddhas who protected Tang Sanzang.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao has been in seclusion in the Tushita Palace for the past few months.

He either has to accompany Laozi in refining elixirs, or he has to go to the vicinity of the pilgrimage team every day to "check in".

It's quite obvious that this is a deliberate attempt to slow down the process.

But when the monkey started talking to the Jade Emperor, his tone wasn't very friendly.

Surprisingly, the Jade Emperor's tolerance for Sun Wukong was higher than one might imagine.

He wasn't angry even when the monkey directly called him "Old Man Jade Emperor".

He even personally explained to the monkey why he had issued an edict to the Thunder Department and the Dragon Palace of the Four Seas, forbidding rain from falling on Fengxian County.

It turns out that three years ago, when the Jade Emperor was on his inspection tour, he happened to see the magistrate of Fengxian County, who overturned the altar where the Jade Emperor was worshipped.

The tribute was eaten by the dogs, which enraged the ruler, who then ordered severe punishment of Fengxian County.

The monkey was immediately embarrassed when it heard the reason.

(End of this chapter)