I am a boss in the world of nine uncles

"Succumbing to self-destruction?"

A look of sadness flashed across the snow demon's face as she retorted, "You think I've fallen into depravity, then what about your mother?"

Erlang Shen's gaze turned slightly cold: "Don't compare yourself to my mother!"

"Why can't we be compared? We are both daughters of the Jade Emperor. She longed to marry a mortal, while I was disobedient. According to the Heavenly Rules, our sins are the same," the Snow Demon said indifferently.

"you wanna die!"

Erlang Shen flew into a rage, gripped his three-pointed double-edged spear tightly, and charged swiftly toward the mountaintop.

"boom……"

Just as the Snow Demon was forming hand seals, preparing for a bloody battle, a sudden, rapid burst of air explosions rang out.

"Master, be careful!"

In mid-air, above the celestial clouds, a humanoid celestial hound howled fiercely.

Erlang Shen suddenly looked up and saw a black snake tail descending from the sky, whistling as it crashed into his body.

"boom."

In the face of crisis, with no way to avoid it, he could only grip the three-pointed double-edged spear tightly with both hands and thrust it out fiercely with all his might.

In an instant, the three-edged spearhead, gleaming with golden light, pierced heavily into the black scales of the snake's tail, unleashing a deafening clang like clashing metal. A powerful shockwave then surged forth, repelling both the snake demon and Erlang Shen.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Staring at the giant black serpent that flew back to her side, the Snow Demon quickly bowed in respect.

The giant snake did not respond. Instead, it opened its mouth and sucked the snake into its belly, then flew into the sky and fled into the heavens.

"stop!"

Erlang Shen shouted loudly, his body transforming into a rainbow, and followed closely behind.

The celestial hound barked a few times, then raised its hand to cast a spell, controlling the white clouds to rush towards the direction where Erlang Shen had disappeared.

"Master, should we wait for them to return here, or should we chase after them?" Sun Wukong asked eagerly upon seeing this situation.

Qin Yao waved his hand and said, "Don't pursue a desperate enemy; it won't get you anywhere."

He knew that the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons' throne was not given to her by anyone, but rather that this snake demon killed the previous King of Ten Thousand Demons and won it through ruthlessness and strength.

Therefore, if the opportunity and timing are not right, no matter how hard they try, the final result will be "failure at the last minute".

Since we already know this will be the outcome, why bother with all this trouble?
half an hour.

A god and a dog, their armor stained with blood, rode together on a cloud and slowly landed in front of the four travelers...

"You didn't manage to capture him, did you?" Sun Wukong asked.

"We almost took them down, but at the last moment, they had backup, and we were isolated and helpless, so we had no choice but to let them leave," said Xiaotianquan with a strange expression.

"Are you blaming us for not keeping up to help?" Sun Wukong asked bluntly.

"Yes!"

Seeing that his words were not polite, Xiaotian Dog stopped pretending and retorted sharply, "If you can catch up, you might be able to take this opportunity to suppress the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons."

"Whimsical."

Pigsy retorted, "If the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons were so easy to suppress, she wouldn't be sitting in this prestigious position above all demons."

In other words, do you think she's some lowly henchman or minor leader? No, she's the overlord of the demon race.

A dog demon like you, if you weren't by Erlang Shen's side, you probably wouldn't even be qualified to be glanced at by him.

The celestial dog was enraged by the rebuke and couldn't help but bare its teeth at him, making whimpering sounds.

"Now that things have come to this, what's the point of saying all this?"

Erlang Shen sighed softly, raised his hand and patted Xiaotianquan's shoulder, then said to Qin Yao, "Holy Monk, can I have this snow mountain? I want to use it as bait to lure the snow demon into a trap."

Qin Yao nodded, then suddenly asked, "I've heard that the True Lord wishes to accumulate 100,000 merits to rescue my mother. Is this true?"

Erlang Shen was slightly taken aback: "Holy Monk, who told you that?"

"Is this some kind of secret that can't be told?" Qin Yao asked back.

Erlang Shen pursed his lips and waved his hand, saying, "That's not it... Yes, it is true. The Jade Emperor promised me that as long as I can accumulate 100,000 merits, he will release my mother from Peach Mountain."

Qin Yao pressed further, "How is this merit calculated? If someone falls down and you help them up, does that count as one merit?"

“It counts as one.” Erlang Shen nodded slightly. “But it has to be real to count. For example, if I have someone deliberately fall down and then I help them up, it definitely doesn’t count.”

"If helping one person is considered one thing, then what about saving a life? The two can't be equal, can they?" Sun Wukong asked.

Erlang Shen explained, "It is indeed equivalent, unless the person being saved is of high rank and power, and can influence people's livelihoods."

If it were an ordinary person, then whether it's helping them up or saving their life, it would only be a small act of merit.

Correspondingly, there are great merits; one great merit is worth a hundred small merits.

Qin Yao's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Is saving me a small act of merit or a great act of merit?"

"Helping is a small matter, saving a life is the greatest." Erlang Shen replied, "Like this time, since your life was not in danger, if I recorded it as a great merit, I would not pass the audit."

Qin Yao said, "Whether my life is in danger or not is for me to decide."

Erlang Shen's eyes widened suddenly, and he exclaimed in astonishment, "You mean..."

Qin Yao smiled slightly: "If the four of us, master and disciples, go to heaven to thank the Jade Emperor and express our deepest gratitude to him for saving our lives, would the auditing gods still dare to hold you by the throat?"

Erlang Shen was filled with mixed feelings and murmured, "With the Jade Emperor's approval, the auditing gods naturally wouldn't dare to question this great merit... But for you, isn't this equivalent to breaking a precept?"

As the saying goes, monks do not lie, and this so-called lying includes falsehoods and untrue statements.

That's why Erlang Shen never imagined that Xuanzang would have such thoughts!
"Like I said before, only I can say whether I felt my life was in danger. I just felt my life was in danger, and it was only after your arrival that I was rescued from my predicament. I am grateful and thankful for that. Is there any falsehood in this?" Qin Yao asked rhetorically.

Erlang Shen remained silent, yet a warmth and gratitude flowed through his heart.

"Dharma protectors, do you think there was any falsehood in what I just said?"

In the silence, Qin Yao suddenly turned his head to look at a corner of the snow-capped mountain and asked seriously.

Upon his questioning, the Six Ding and Six Jia, along with the Eighteen Garan deities, all appeared, shaking their heads in unison and saying, "No, no..."

joke.

Xuanzang wanted to help Erlang Shen. They couldn't afford to offend either Xuanzang or Erlang Shen. If they tried to do so, they would offend both of them, which would be disastrous.
"Erlang Shen?" Qin Yao smiled slightly and called out from the side.

Erlang Shen let out a long breath, bowed, and said, "Holy Monk, your compassion is truly admirable. From now on, if the Holy Monk has any requests, Erlang will never refuse."

Qin Yao waved his hand and said, "True Lord, there's no need to be so polite... Let's not delay, let's go to heaven now."

"I'll ride the clouds."

Erlang Shen suddenly stood up, and with a wave of his hand, he conjured a snow-white auspicious cloud. "Then can this mountain be left to this humble monk?" Qin Yao strode onto the auspicious cloud and pointed down at the snow-capped mountain.

Erlang Shen's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Is the Holy Monk preparing to convert the Snow Demon?"

Qin Yao nodded: "Yes. If all goes well, perhaps she can become my informant in the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons. In that case, if the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons has any schemes, I will be able to get wind of them in advance."

Erlang Shen then said, "In that case, let the holy monk take this snow mountain."

To him, neither the Snow Demon nor the Queen of All Demons was as important as a great act of merit, so he would not disobey his benefactor at this moment...

After a long time.

Lingxiao Palace.

In front of the Jade Emperor and all the immortals and gods, Qin Yao recounted, like a storyteller, how Erlang Shen descended from the heavens, turned the tide, and saved him from dire straits. The emperor and his ministers in the hall praised him, but Erlang Shen himself blushed slightly, and even his iron palms were sweating.

"Good, good, good."

When the story ended, the Jade Emperor couldn't help but exclaim "Good!" three times. Then, he looked at Erlang Shen with admiration and said sincerely, "Erlang is indeed worthy of being a descendant of my imperial family, unparalleled in loyalty and bravery."

Erlang Shen clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your Majesty flatters me."

The Jade Emperor laughed and said, "To have made such a great contribution and still remain so humble is truly a model for all immortals."

At this point, a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked, "Xuanzang, you said that snake demon is called the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons, is she the queen of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons?"

Qin Yao nodded: "Yes."

"I have also heard that there is a kingdom of ten thousand demons in the demon realm, and the ruler of the kingdom is a female demon."

"I didn't take it seriously before, but now it seems that this demon kingdom has become quite powerful, even managing to take the snow demon under its wing..." the Jade Emperor said solemnly.

Erlang Shen immediately volunteered, saying, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead troops to attack the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons. I beg Your Majesty's permission."

Looking at the spirited Erlang Shen, the Jade Emperor smiled slightly: "Very well, if you can dismantle the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons without mobilizing a single soldier from the Heavenly Realm, I will consider it as you having made up for the remaining merits and release your mother from under Peach Mountain."

Erlang Shen was overjoyed, trembling with excitement: "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Qin Yao: "..."

For a moment, he was at a loss for words to comment on Erlang Shen's request.

The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons is destined to perish, so Erlang Shen's request is a case of things going smoothly for him.

The problem is that the time is not right. Without the blessing of destiny, even if Erlang Shen fights until he is completely exhausted, he will not be able to destroy the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons!

Of course, if he had the ability to foresee the future, this outcome might be different.

But he didn't, so Qin Yao was able to foresee his future crushing defeat...

In the blink of an eye.

After leaving the court.

Erlang Shen, accompanied by his celestial hound, diligently escorted Qin Yao and his disciples back to the white horse, bowing and saying, "Holy Monk, I won't say much more in gratitude. Farewell!"

Qin Yao hesitated for a moment, but finally took the initiative to remind him: "True Lord, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons and the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons are not to be underestimated. You have not received strong support from the Heavenly Court, so you must be careful."

"Thank you for the reminder, Holy Monk. I will proceed with caution and prudence, and will never act rashly," Erlang Shen said as if making a promise.

"Until we meet again." Qin Yao smiled and waved, then mounted his horse and led his disciples westward.

Erlang Shen watched them disappear into the distance, then said in a deep voice, "Let's go, Howling Celestial Dog! Mobilize the troops and march on the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons!"

a few days later.

The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Monsters.

Just as Erlang Shen and his celestial hound were leading a group of grass-root gods in a fierce battle against the demon soldiers, an old woman with white hair suddenly appeared at the edge of the battlefield, anxiously calling out, "True Lord~ True Lord~"

Upon hearing her voice, Erlang Shen's heart skipped a beat, and he was slightly distracted.

Directly opposite, the giant black snake seized the opportunity and suddenly spewed out a burst of poisonous gas, which went straight to Erlang Shen's face.

Erlang Shen's expression changed drastically, and his divine eyes shone brightly, rapidly dissolving the poison gas that caused excruciating pain. However, some wisps of poison gas still entered his body, causing him to experience excruciating abdominal pain and break out in a cold sweat.

"Withdraw troops!"

With all his might, Erlang Shen repelled the giant snake head that was biting him with a single spear thrust. Despite his discomfort, he transformed into countless forms to shield the grass-headed gods from countless demon soldiers.

Seeing this, the grass-root gods, though unaware of the specifics of what had happened, were still driven by their ingrained obedience and turned to flee. In an instant, only the Howling Celestial Dog remained by Erlang Shen's side.

"go!"

Erlang Shen, who was nearing his limit due to overloaded combat, gave a soft shout, and thousands of figures merged into one, transforming into a golden light, grabbing Xiaotian Dog, lifting the white-robed old woman, and flying away at high speed.

"Queen, shall we pursue them?" The snow demon, her white robe stained with blood and wielding a demonic sword, turned and asked.

The black giant snake suddenly transformed into a beautiful figure, shaking its head and saying:
"What good would it do to catch up? Killing a few hundred more grass-root gods would be meaningless. If we really killed Erlang Shen, he would go mad. If we killed Erlang Shen, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons would be razed to the ground in an instant."

Snow Fairy: "..."

"If we can't afford to offend them, can't we at least avoid them?" In the midst of their silence, the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons spoke again: "Withdraw the troops, go back and relocate, to a place where the Celestial Hound can't smell us!"

the other side.

As Erlang Shen was flying, his immortal energy suddenly stopped, and he uncontrollably fell to the ground.

Fortunately, there was a divine dog by their side, which opened its mouth and spat out a celestial cloud, catching the three of them steadily in mid-air.

"True Lord, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Erlang Shen waved his hand, then asked the white-haired old woman, "Grandma, why are you here? Did something happen to my mother?"

The Earth Goddess nodded, her face filled with anxiety, and said, "The Great Fairy is on the verge of divine demise due to severe depletion."

She's been keeping it a secret from me, not wanting me to tell you, but she fainted again today. I was afraid something serious had happened, so I rushed here to find you.

Erlang Shen was greatly alarmed and immediately said, "Howling Celestial Dog, quick, rush to Peach Mountain!"

That night.

On the road westward.

Inside the dilapidated house.

Qin Yao sat cross-legged on the haystack, continuing to delve deeper into the study of the Illusionary Dream Technique.

Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, as usual, were fast asleep, some even snoring loudly.

In fact, looking at the original drama and comparing it with reality, they never cultivated in their daily lives. It's unclear whether they felt their current level was sufficient or were waiting to achieve a direct ascension after successfully completing their pilgrimage.

Qin Yao, however, was different. He was used to meditation and cultivation, and practiced martial arts in his spare time. As a result, cultivation gradually replaced sleep, and he became the night watchman in their group...

Before they knew it, it was past midnight. Qin Yao was hesitating whether to practice his Dream Illusion Technique on Pigsy when he suddenly sensed a burst of energy, as blazing as the rising sun, rushing towards him and instantly arriving at the door of the dilapidated house… (End of Chapter)