The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 110: Choosing the Lesser of Two Evils

If Li Jingxiao had not stayed in his own yamen all day without doing anything, he would have been impeached by many censors or the six ministries.

The Censor is not so bad, he is a seventh-rank official in the Six Ministries, a real small-time official.

But these guys, out of fame and promotion, would still impeach Li Jingxiao even if he was an immortal, not to mention that he was truly practicing.

In fact, the more famous the person being impeached is, the more enthusiastic they are in impeaching him.

Therefore, it is most likely that Li Jingxiao will be promoted to the fourth rank this time.

But after nodding in agreement, Xia Shouzhong suddenly remembered that the emperor had received guidance from Li Jingxiao tonight, and then relied on years of studying Taoist scriptures to figure out the method of cultivation.

If he could really cultivate true qi, given the character of the emperor, he would definitely reward Li Jingxiao handsomely.

It may be difficult to be granted a title of nobility or a hereditary earl, but there is indeed a great chance that the earl title will be passed down for three generations.

Of course, Xia Shouzhong couldn't be sure.

Moreover, Xia Shouzhong would never tell this matter at this time, lest the ending be different from what he guessed, which would be embarrassing.

More importantly, trying to guess the emperor's thoughts and speaking them out loud is a 100% capital crime.

He smiled and consoled her, "Jingyou is still young. It's already extremely rare for him to hold the fourth rank. And if your achievements this time aren't enough, you can try to achieve new ones next time."

There will always be a day when you will be crowned a marquis."

After saying this, Xia Shouzhong had an idea, and Li Jingxiao took on the responsibility of taking care of two families.

The first wife will inherit the title of Earl of Xing'an in the future, but the second wife will have nothing.

It would be better to use the credit this time for the second wife’s future children.

They are all descendants of the Li family, and they are all legitimate sons. As a father, Li Jingxiao can't favor one over the other, right?

When these words were spoken, everyone in the Jia family was overjoyed.

If it was Yuanchun's child, he would be granted the hereditary title of a hundred or even a thousand households of the Embroidered Uniform Guard as soon as he was born.

Even if you will not serve in the Jinyiwei in the future, hereditary succession means that you will always have a salary.

It can also be regarded as a reward from the royal family to meritorious officials.

Or perhaps a casual official like "Cavalry Commandant" or "General Fengguo".

Although they had titles but no power, Jia She's first-class general and Jia Zhen's third-class general also had titles but no real power.

Not only can you get money and food every month, but even if you are an official, you are still an official.

In the future, when Yuanchun's children grow up and become officials, they will start at a level several levels higher than others.

After seeing Xia Shouzhong off, Jia She and others hurried to Rong Xi Tang.

Then, Grandmother Jia hugged Yuanchun, who was blushing, and while giving her some advice, she also teased her a few times.

The girl blushed, but was very happy in her heart.

She hasn't even gotten married yet, but her future husband has already earned a pair of phoenix hairpins for her. If she tells others about it, her relatives and the other girls will surely be envious.

Even Li Wan and Youshi were extremely envious.

I used to think that my man was the best, but now when I compare him with Li Jingxiao, the gap is huge.

Looking at Yuanchun, he couldn't hide his envy.

As for You Erjie and You Sanjie, who came to visit Ningguo Mansion and watch the fun this time, they were also looking forward to Li Jingxiao more and more.

But after Jia She and others expressed their previous speculation, everyone present quieted down again.

Grandmother Jia pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Well, Jingyou is serving the court, that's what an official should do. How can he just think about promotion and reward all day long?

Moreover, by eliminating the demons, we save countless people, which is a great merit.

Those who practice Taoism should pay the most attention to this.

Maybe the benefits have already been obtained.

Whether or not one can be promoted to a higher position has become secondary.”

After saying this, she glanced around and saw that most people nodded, then Lady Jia felt relieved.

Then I felt a little sad and helpless.

The male members of the Jia family do not work hard themselves, but rely on their son-in-law to stabilize the status of the Jia family.

It's funny just thinking about it.

Although the son-in-law is half a son, they are still members of two families after all.

If it's really a great benefit, people would be too busy to keep it for themselves, so how could they really give it to their father-in-law for free?
Besides, a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. Even if Yuanchun is favored again, she is still a member of the Li family.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao looks like a powerful person. If he really wants to give benefits to the Jia family, he must have something to ask for.

If the Jia family cannot repay Li Jingxiao and has no gratitude towards Li Jingxiao, how could they be willing to help the Jia family all the time?

Grandmother Jia sighed in her heart, but spoke again with a smile on her face.

"Jingyou is indeed still young. At this time, I hope the emperor and the saint can suppress Jingyou."

Jia Zheng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "The old lady is right. Rather than rising too quickly and attracting jealousy, it is better to accumulate experience and then make a breakthrough."

Jia She subconsciously wanted to argue with Jia Zheng, but then he thought it was okay to say a few words to his second brother.

But if he said something unpleasant and Li Jingxiao found out, it would be difficult for him to make money from selling pills in the future.

For the sake of money, Jia She finally restrained himself from speaking.

Since Jia Zhen, Jia Zhu, Jia Lian and others are younger generations, their opinions will not make Jia Zheng unhappy.

Seeing that it was already midnight, Jia Mu told everyone to go back and rest early, but she stopped Yuanchun.

Let her sleep with him tonight.

Everyone in the Jia family knew that the old lady wanted to pass on some of her experience and methods of fighting between the housekeeper and the inner court to Yuanchun.

For the first time, Mrs. Wang felt that having the old lady at home was a good thing.

As a mother, Lady Wang felt that Lady Jia was more capable in teaching Yuanchun.

After Xia Shouzhong returned to the palace and entered the imperial study, he saw Dai Quan leading people standing outside the inner study acting as door gods.

Seeing Xia Shouzhong coming back, Dai Quan had no intention of competing with him.

He waved his hand quickly and pointed to the door of the inner study, signaling Xia Shouzhong to speak in a low voice.

Xia Shouzhong knew at a glance that it must be the retired emperor who had woken up from his cultivation.

He was talking about cultivation with the emperor and Li Jingxiao in the room.

At the request of the retired emperor, Li Jingxiao began to take his pulse.

The old emperor was seriously ill and dying. Although he recovered, he could still be considered a man who had died once.

So I am more afraid of death than most people.

Otherwise, with the thirty-six Taoist songs he had learned before, he should have been able to cultivate his own true qi long ago.

I've been dragging my feet until now just to play it safe.

However, cultivating true qi is only the first step on the path to spiritual practice.

Forget about immortality, even if you want to live a long life, it depends on what kind of practice you are doing.

A few minutes later, it was confirmed that a stream of Taoist Qi had been cultivated in the body of the retired emperor.

Later, I heard from the retired emperor that Taoist scriptures from all over the world were collected in the palace.

Even Taoist scriptures preserved from the pre-Ming Dynasty, pre-Yuan Dynasty, and even the Southern Song Dynasty and Northern Song Dynasty have them.

After the emperor abdicated, he has been devoted to practicing Taoism in recent years.

Li Jingxiao thought to himself, if this old man could be familiar with the Taoist Canon.

Will he end up like Huang Shang in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, who created a powerful martial art by reading thousands of volumes of Taoist scriptures?
If that were the case, it would be truly extraordinary.

When the emperor saw Li Jingxiao nod, he said it was no problem.

While feeling relieved, he smiled and said that after Li Jingxiao's advice in the afternoon, it seemed as if a key point in his mind had been opened up, and all he had learned for many years suddenly became clear.

At this moment, I feel refreshed and as if I am floating in the air.

Li Jingxiao couldn't help but bow to the retired emperor and said flatteringly, "The saint is so gifted that he can create his own skills after reading Taoist scriptures thoroughly. There are not many of them throughout history. This is a cause for celebration." If someone else said this, the retired emperor and his son would think it was flattery.

But when Li Jingxiao said this, it was different.

However, Li Jingxiao was indeed praising the emperor.

No wonder this old man was still alive and well more than ten years later when the Jia family was ransacked.

Even though the emperor knew that Li Jingxiao was complimenting him, he still laughed out loud.

He pulled Li Jingxiao aside and continued to talk about meridians, the circulation of true qi, and taboos during cultivation.

Although Li Jingxiao said a lot, he only mentioned the basic internal skills training.

However, as they chatted, Li Jingxiao once again confirmed that the mental method acquired by the retired emperor was a bit too stable.

After thinking about it for a while, he thought that the Taoist priest who gave the old man the skills was not stupid.

To put it bluntly, the Taoist priest was also afraid that the emperor would develop problems while practicing.

It is better to strive for "stability". If you do this, your cultivation speed will naturally not be fast.

As long as the emperor can continue to feel progress, even if it is slow.

It can also make the old emperor always remember the kindness of the Taoist priest.

The benefits here are huge.

After talking about internal strength, the emperor, as expected, asked about the art of talismans, especially the methods of controlling fire and lightning.

Li Jingxiao was silent for a few seconds, thinking that since the old man had already taken the first step.

It's impossible to stop it.

Besides, if the Taoist community in the world wants to blame someone, they should blame the person who taught the old man the Taoist songs.

He thought to himself that as soon as he left the palace, he would talk about this matter with the three Shi Delong brothers.

Put all the blame on the Taoist priest.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao was confident that no matter how much the emperor practiced, he could never be more powerful than himself who was so powerful.

By the time he can draw the Fire Control Talisman skillfully, he might have upgraded it to level 5, 6, or even 7.

As for the Lightning Thunder Fist, or even just the Palm Thunder, it really depends on talent.

Li Jingxiao asked for paper, pen and cinnabar, but instead of drawing a fire-control talisman, he casually drew a talisman to dispel evil spirits.

The retired emperor and the emperor could not help but feel envious when they saw that he could complete the talisman with one stroke, and that the runes on the talisman were faintly glowing with spiritual light.

Then comes the anticipation.

Li Jingxiao picked up the talisman, looked at it, nodded with satisfaction, and then handed it to the emperor.

Teach him how to use his own true energy to activate it, and sure enough, the emperor was able to activate this talisman very easily.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in the room, scaring the eunuchs outside the room so much that they shouted to protect the emperor.

The palace guards also rushed in in panic, including Niu Zhanpeng from the Duke of Zhenguo's family.

This guy is a centurion of the Shangzhi Army, the emperor's actual personal bodyguard.

Seeing that the emperor and the retired emperor were safe and sound, Li Jingxiao subconsciously took a few steps back and stayed away from the father and son.

Dai Quan, Xia Shouzhong and the imperial guards then knelt on the ground in embarrassment, shouting words like "guilty".

The retired emperor was in a very good mood at this time. He was also thinking about how he would be able to practice in the future and draw talismans.

He waved to the eunuchs and imperial guards, then stepped forward quickly and grabbed Li Jingxiao's arm.

"Jingyou, try drawing a thunder talisman."

Li Jingxiao nodded and drew a thunder-control talisman. This time, the emperor did not dare to release it in the inner study.

Instead, he took the emperor, Li Jingxiao and the eunuchs of all ranks to Taihe Gate.

Judging from the looks of it, he definitely wants to use it in public.

It goes without saying that the purpose of the retired emperor is simply to establish his authority.

Since Li Jingxiao could think of it, the emperor could naturally think of it as well.

Even think more than him.

He hid his hands in his sleeves, clenched his fists and cursed in his heart.

But after getting angry, his eyes couldn't help but look at Li Jingxiao, who was two steps slower than him.

Li Jingxiao met the emperor's gaze and immediately guessed what he was thinking.

After thinking about it, an exorcism talisman appeared in his hand. After activating it, he secretly delivered it to Emperor Longde.

He whispered, "The spell has been activated, just throw it out. And it's an evil-repelling spell, it won't hurt normal people."

Emperor Longde was overjoyed, but after he calmed down, his mind became restless again.

Although after his father used the thunder talisman, he also used the exorcism talisman, and a flash of divine light made the guards and eunuchs in the palace understand that he, the emperor, could also use Taoist magic.

But this also clearly tells the outside world that the father and son are fighting for power and profit openly and secretly.

The discord between the two supreme beings is an opportunity for those who are interested.

Not only will the court officials have more concerns, but his brothers and even nephews will also have thoughts that they shouldn't have.

It would be better to continue to endure as long as my father still recognizes me as the emperor.

No matter what other people think, it’s actually useless.

Therefore, maintaining the situation of "kind father and filial son" is most beneficial to oneself.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao's actions just now have shown that he supports his own orthodoxy.

That is our own people.

As the emperor, there is really no need for me to put Li Jingxiao in a dilemma.

If he couldn't bear the pressure from the retired emperor, he would have to surrender to him.

Or simply resign and hide in the mountains and rivers.

At that time, the ones who suffered the greatest losses were the emperor himself and the Great Zhou.

And most importantly, even if he could use the talisman to exorcise evil spirits, he would still be overwhelmed by filial piety and would not dare to disobey his father's words.

Emperor Longde immediately felt that it was not worth it just to gain temporary attention.

After my father has shown off his power, if he is willing to teach me the royal cultivation method, then everything will be easy.

If they don’t give it to you, then find another way and make more preparations.

Fortunately, the result was the same as what the emperor and Li Jingxiao expected.

The retired emperor activated the Imperial Thunder Talisman and laughed heartily as he accepted the flattery of the eunuchs, the imperial guards, and Li Jingxiao.

In a very good mood, he glanced at the emperor who was also bowing obediently, and suddenly felt that his son was much more pleasing to the eye than before.

Later, he felt that the more stable the court was, the less he would have to worry about government affairs, and he would have more time to practice in seclusion in the Daming Palace.

Of course, military power must not be given to the emperor.

To a certain extent, the old emperor's pursuit of immortality is a good thing for Emperor Longde for the time being.

At least the old emperor didn't think about changing the emperor at this time.

But if the old emperor consumes too much national power on Taoism, it will be a blessing and a curse.

The Emperor smiled and helped the Emperor to his feet. "After a few days, when I am sure this technique is fine, I will pass it on to my son."

Although it was not taught immediately, the emperor thought it made sense.

This technique might have flaws, and it's actually a good thing that my father is willing to test it himself.

Besides, Li Aiqing is on my side. If my father doesn't teach me, the worst that can happen is that I can go to Li Aiqing or Maoshan.

I heard that Maoshan has already passed on the martial arts skills of Jia Jingzhen from Ningguo Mansion.

Emperor Longde thought to himself that if the supreme ruler of the world had a request, Maoshan would definitely not refuse.

(End of this chapter)