Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 178 River Monster Helps Li Travel by Water, Dragon Contest on the Wei River Sets a Goal

As Liu Qing's cultivation level improved, his previous inability to drink alcohol due to his physical body was corrected. Although his alcohol tolerance is not high now, he can still drink a few cups.

After eating and drinking, Liu Qing asked, "In my opinion, Brother Li, transporting and selling salt by land is quite laborious and time-consuming. Moreover, with demons rampant these days, one could easily be robbed by mountain demons. Given how inconvenient the land route is, why not take the water route?"

"Although waterways are convenient and save time, there are river demons in the water. The Jing River is unrestrained by any god, and there are many river demons in the water, each of which needs blood sacrifices."

Moreover, water transport via the Jing River must cross the Wei River, which is even more turbulent than the Jing River. It is said that the Dragon King of the Wei River was beheaded, and now all the river gods and monsters are frantically vying for the throne, causing the Wei River to have waves three zhang high every day—how can boats possibly navigate it?

"The Jing River flows from northwest to southeast, stretching for thousands of miles. If salt is transported by boat, it will save a lot of trouble. As for the river monsters in the Jing River, I, Liu, can help Brother Li deal with them."

"As for the Wei River, it flows from west to east, directly into the Yellow River, and its waterways connect the whole country. However, as Brother Li has heard, the Wei River Dragon King has been beheaded, and the river demons and river gods are fighting for the dragon, causing great chaos. I, Liu, am not strong enough at the moment and am willing but unable to help."

Li Shimin was overjoyed upon hearing this: "It is enough to transport the Jing River by boat, which will save me a lot of manpower and resources."

"If Brother Liu could get Shimin to transport the Jing River by boat, Shimin would be overjoyed. As for the Wei River waterway, not to mention the Wei River is chaotic, there is also the Yellow River with its rapid currents and large waves after the Wei River. This waterway is too difficult to navigate, and Shimin dares not ask for it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing nodded: "Alright, after I return, I will make some arrangements to ensure that Brother Li can travel via the Jing River waterway."

Thus, after the agreement was made, Liu Qing bid farewell to Li Shimin and Li Xiuning and left.

When Li Xuanba saw that Liu Qing was about to leave, he insisted on following her. Considering that a powerful demon like Li Xuanba would be more useful to Li Shimin if he stayed, Liu Qing used her incense-sending magic to influence Li Xuanba and persuade him to stay.

After walking a distance, Liu Qing summoned the spirit of the Special Envoy, mounted it, and returned to Da Wan Lake.

Special Envoy killed many of Li Shimin's subordinates, so Li Shimin must not discover that Special Envoy is not completely dead.

Before returning to Da Wan Lake, Liu Qing made a detour to Snake Pool, leaving the Special Envoy with his incense clone, who would then serve as the clone's mount.

Compared to the special official, Liu Qing preferred to ride a watercraft.

On the Snake Pool side, Crab Left Hand oversaw the river monsters and hundreds of monkeys mining and boiling salt, while diligently cultivating the Water Element Mystic Art.
Liu Qing nodded in agreement. Although Xie Zuoshou's background was not deep and his talent was not high, he was determined and hardworking, and his future achievements could be extraordinary.

After instructing Crab Left Hand on its martial arts techniques for a while, rewarding it with several mountain demons, and offering gentle encouragement, Liu Qing highly valued this subordinate.

Later, Liu Qing went to see the water demon Cao'er. Cao'er had also been taught a technique by the incense clone, but unlike the other river demons, it learned the Azure Water Tide Sound Food Qi Technique.

When Cao'er saw Liu Qing arrive, she was very happy: "Master, Cao'er has been cultivating diligently, and her cultivation level has been progressing rapidly."

Indeed, the water fairy grass is quite comprehension-oriented, and at this moment her realm has reached the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, only one level lower than Crab Left Hand.

Liu Qing encouraged Cao'er again, and Cao'er was very proud. Seeing that the Lord of the Manor was in a good mood, she boldly asked:
"Master, once the grass has fully transformed, can it go to the human world?"

Liu Qing frowned: "Is it because of Changsun Wuji?"

"You must know that demons and humans are different. I don't want you to end up in a bad way."

Cao'er remained silent, but her eyes were stubborn. Liu Qing saw this and stopped trying to persuade her. Everyone has their own destiny, and fortune and misfortune are brought about by their own actions.

"If you insist on going, then go ahead. I hope you will have a good outcome."

Grass nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with longing.

Among the monkey troop, the original monkey king, the great macaque, had already transformed into a demon, now refining its essence into qi. The other golden monkeys, macaques, and gibbons had also awakened their spiritual powers and become spirits.
Liu Qing tested the monkeys after they were awakened and transformed into demons. They did not break through the restrictions of the beast-taming technique he had placed on them, so he was relieved.

When the monkeys saw Liu Qing arrive, they were overjoyed and surrounded him, squeaking and clamoring to claim credit, completely forgetting the pain they had felt when they were restricted by the Beast Taming Technique.

The monkey-like humans, having tasted the sweetness of life, would never remember the previous suffering. They harbored no resentment towards Liu Qing, the one who restricted their freedom, but instead felt grateful.

After returning from the Snake Pool, Liu Qing went back to Dawan Lake. After a warm reunion with Hong Gu and Bai She'er, he used the Water Token to summon Li Jing and the others.

The Lord of the Prefecture's water report order is of a higher rank than those of other garrisons, and the patrol inspector's water report order has been successfully promoted to the group leader of the Great Bay Lake River Monster Group.

During the Jinghe River Festival, the Four Rivers Alliance was stabbed in the Five Lakes. When Yuan Datou became a god, the lord of Fulong Lake, one of the Five Lakes, publicly competed with Liu Qing for the position of lord.

Although the river festival ended and Liu Qing successfully took over as the prefect of Dawanhu, these two thorns remained in his heart.
Master Liu was a petty man; how could he let them get away with it? So, according to the size of the thorns, he first dealt with Li Jing, the three carp spirits (the Bearded Guest and the Red-Robed Woman), the Eel King, Shan Xiongxin (two eels), as well as the Loach, the Snail, and Luo Cheng.

These new generation of river monsters went to the Floating Dragon Canal, which borders Floating Dragon Lake, and led their shrimp soldiers and crab generals to cause trouble for the river monsters of Great Bay Lake every day.

In truth, avenging the lord of the manor was merely a pretext. The real reason was that Liu Qing planned to train Li Jing and other new generation river demons, using the battles between river demons to practice and familiarize themselves with the human military formations he had learned from Changsun Wuji.
After all, they are all named 'Li Jing', 'Shan Xiongxin', and 'Luo Cheng'. How could Master Liu not take the opportunity to train them?
Incidentally, this also provides training for the water soldiers, shrimp merchants, and little alligator dragons at the Great Bay Lake Water Palace, as well as for patrol and garrison duties. I've guessed the Lord of the Palace's intentions.
Recently, the family has begun selecting younger members they value and sending them to Fulongqu to train alongside Li Jing and the others.

If Liu Qing were to go personally, with his current strength, he could probably slaughter all the creatures in the lake with a wave of his hand, and level the five lakes and four rivers in a single day.

But what are the benefits?

Seize their power over the water palaces? With a stable source of power gold, Liu Qing doesn't plan to refine the power of these water palaces for the time being. He'll keep it and take it all when the time is right.

Therefore, in Liu Qing's plan, the five lakes and four rivers outside of Dawan Lake only served as whetstones to train the river monsters under his command.

Apart from their authority over the waterways, nothing else was of any use to Liu Qing.

Liu Qing's gaze had already been set on the Jing River, and even the Wei River.

Neither the Jing River nor the Wei River has any dragons.

Having a past example in Journey to the West, Liu Qing didn't covet the position of the Jing River Dragon King, but instead set his sights on the Wei River Dragon King.

After the main body transforms into a dragon, it can compete for the title of Dragon King of the Wei River. As for the incense offering clones, they should remain in the Jing River system. The incense offering deities cannot become dragon kings. In this way, they can avoid the original trajectory when the great calamity of the Journey to the West arrives.

This was Liu Qing's deepest plan, which he had never told anyone.

The path to immortality is long and arduous, and the path to godhood is carefree and unrestrained. Let's set a small goal first: to become the Dragon King of the Wei River and to become the River God of the Jing River!

As for what comes after that, when the great calamity of the Journey to the West arrives, perhaps we can plot against the Four Dragon Kings again!

In short, having finally managed to travel through time, Liu Qing is determined to climb step by step to the very top, until there is no one left there!
Several hours later, Steward Shi reported that Li Jing and the others had arrived and were waiting to be summoned.

Liu Qing let them in.

Although their training period is still short, the demeanor of the demons has already changed. The most significant change is in Scarface Li Jing, who was originally impulsive, reckless, and acted without thinking.

He appeared very composed at this moment, with no anxiety in his eyes, as calm as a deep pool. Standing there, his temperament was like a lake, which could be calm or turbulent. Except for the additional scars on his face.

It seems that it will never be able to shake off the nickname "Scarred Carp" for the rest of its life.

The bearded man's beard had grown even thicker, his physique more robust, and his demeanor no longer resembled that of a river demon. Instead, he seemed like a fierce tiger lurking in the bushes, ready to pounce at any moment.
Hong Fu Nu, though gentle and graceful, now possessed a hint of ruthlessness. Her gaze towards Dao Ba Li deepened with affection.
Liu Qing wondered if the new scar on Li Jing's face was because of Hong Fu Nu.
Wishing you a speedy fruit set.

Li Jing, Qiu Ran Ke, and Hong Fu Nu, the three heroes of the wind and dust, after a period of training and practice of the martial arts taught by Liu Qing,

At this moment, Shan Xiongxin had reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, the same realm as Xie Zuoshou. With the help of his godfather, Eunuch Shan, Shan Xiongxin was well taken care of, while Luo Cheng had his older sister, Xiaoya, who would occasionally send him some private gifts.

Therefore, the two demons, like the Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust, are both at the mid-stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. It's just a pity that Dao Qiu Dao Zi has no godfather or sister and has to rely entirely on himself. He is only at the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation.

Among the river demons under Liu Qing's command, the one with the highest cultivation level is Bai She'er. This is because she has the most opportunities and good fortune among those around her, and has already reached the late stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, making her the most powerful among the new generation of river demons.

Sang Qingjun was second only to Bai She'er in the mulberry tree cultivation realm, just one step away from breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. However, in order to bear mulberry fruits for the Lord and Madam of the Manor, he was a step behind Bai She'er.
Otherwise, given her profound foundation and Liu Qing's frequent burying of river demon corpses at the base of her body, her progress would likely be no less than that of the White Snake.

The catfish with the beard occupied the lucrative position of the lakeside market, and its cultivation level soared. Furthermore, it was the first to transform into a demon, and now it possesses the cultivation level of the mid-stage Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation realm.

His wife, Niannu Jiao, was cared for by Hu Zi Nian and had reached the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. His door boy, Ji Yu Ji Ping An, also had the cultivation level of the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation.

"Li Jing, Qiu Ran Ke, Hong Fu Nu, Shan Xiong Xin, Luo Cheng, and Dao Zi, the six of you go to the Jing River. Afterwards, Li Shimin will transport salt goods by waterway along the Jing River. You will be responsible for protecting them in the water."

"If the seven families of Jinghe come to block the road, there is no need to hold back. Fight them all. I will inform General Fubo so that he can come to our aid if there is any danger."

The six demons clasped their hands in unison: "As you command, Master!"

(End of this chapter)