"Wuzhi Bodhisattva pays respects to the Emperor!"
"Rujiao Wang Bian pays respects to the Emperor!"
Wuzhi Bodhisattva and Wang Bian were extremely excited, bowing deeply, showing more reverence than when meeting their own master.
As the strongest in the Nine Provinces, Jiang Li could be said to be the idol of all the younger generation. In the era where ascension was not possible, their goal was to become as strong as Jiang Li.
Jiang Li suppressed his voice, confident that these two individuals understood his status and knew their place. However, if other passengers found out, they would definitely surround him.
Jiang Li felt as if he were a famous celebrity from a past life, having to wear sunglasses when going out to the market to avoid being recognized.
"You two are always looking for trouble. You nearly fell into wrong practices and strayed onto the evil path!" Jiang Li reprimanded the younger generation with the tone of an elder.
The two who had just shown their might quickly admitted their mistake, promising not to repeat it in the future.
Seeing their apology, Jiang Li didn’t say much more: "Are you also attending the Daoist Sect's Artifact Appreciation Conference? And where is your master? Why did he only send you two juniors to represent the sect?"
"My master said he is currently at a critical stage in comprehending the doctrine of space and cannot be distracted, so he let me come instead," Wuzhi Bodhisattva replied.
Understanding this, Jiang Li noted that it seemed that Sumi, the old Buddha, was making progress in the doctrine of space.
Wang Bian hesitated for a moment before saying, "My master said that every time he sees the sect leader of the Daoist Sect, he gets angry…"
"So he let you go as his representative?" Jiang Li knew that the leader of the Confucianists and the leader of the Daoist Sect had a private grudge. The leader of the Confucianists supported the theory of human nature being inherently good and spent a lot of effort instructing the people of a country to be virtuous and honest.
He decided to flaunt it in front of the leader of the Daoist Sect, who believed in human greed, by casually tossing a handful of top-grade spirit stones on the roadside. The polite crowd immediately began to fight over them, infuriating the leader of the Confucianists.
"No, he said he also wanted to see the immortal artifacts being refined, so he let me go as his representative. In secret, he sneaked in himself."
"…Your master is quite the character," Jiang Li actually wanted to say, "Isn't he afraid of his upright and honest heart shattering?"
"How do you plan to deal with this Eagle Yao?"
"Please instruct us, Emperor Jiang."
Jiang Li chuckled. "Since you caught it, it is naturally your responsibility to handle it. Why ask me?"
"I believe it should be handled with compassion and let it go. What do you think, Emperor Jiang?"
The Eagle Yao quickly proposed, "Bodhisattva is truly a compassionate person. After I go back, I will establish a shrine for you and keep the incense burning continuously."
Wang Bian shook his head, "Letting it go, only for it to rob other flying boats? It's better to kill it."
Wuzhi Bodhisattva was deeply moved, but also troubled, "But it hasn't killed anyone. Wouldn't it be too harsh if we killed it?"
"Yes, yes, I've never killed anyone!" The Eagle Yao quickly claimed to be a kind demon, afraid of being killed by these two guys if they delayed.
Wuzhi Bodhisattva was conflicted. Logically, the Eagle Yao was lying, but it was not right to kill a demon just because of suspicion. If they made a mistake, it would disturb the pure state of mind.
Wang Bian took out a large Confucian note, wrote the word "truth," and pasted it on the Eagle Yao.
"Have you killed anyone?"
"No."
"You only rob the spirit stones from the flying boats, without killing anyone?"
"No killing."
Wang Bian said to Wuzhi Bodhisattva, "I used a truth note just now. It can only speak the truth, and since it claims it has not killed anyone, it seems that it is not guilty of a heinous crime. Let it go."
Wuzhi Bodhisattva nodded, "Alright."
Just as the Eagle Yao thought it was about to escape, Jiang Li suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about one thing? After robbing the spirit stones from the flying boat, could the boat still fly?"
"Huh!?" Both of them instantly responded.
Indeed, the Eagle Yao only stole the spirit stones. But without the spirit stones, the aura on the flying boat would not be enough to make it land. Even if it did land, it would land in the Baize Empire.
A group of cultivators with depleted spiritual energy in the Baize Dynasty, their fate is easy to imagine!
...
Probably feeling insulted by their own intelligence, the two were not merciful, and the harpy demon left in a very uneasy manner.
"So, don't always rely on treasure, use your brains more. Even without the authentic copybook, you should have thought that the harpy demon stealing the spirit stones would definitely lead to the deaths of the boat passengers."
When Jiang Li asked the two how they planned to deal with the harpy demon, he just wanted to see what they could come up with.
As expected, the result was as he anticipated - they could only come up with the first step, foolishly using the authentic copybook to test the authenticity. However, the questions asked were not rigorous, almost allowing the harpy demon, who had killed numerous people, to be released as a "good demon."
Jiang Li helplessly continued to educate the two juniors. How did they cultivate to the Yuanying stage? When he was at the Yuanying stage, he was not so naïve.
He felt that the emperors of the past died in battle, while he died from being overworked.
Could he please have some peace of mind!
Jiang Li decided to treat this Immortal Artifact Appreciation Conference as a vacation and absolutely would not interfere again!
Even the Emperor needs a vacation!
[New Mission: Although you ranked first, your classmates are making fun of your low cultivation level, saying you are not worthy of the first place. They want you to drop out quickly. Make a stunning achievement on the cultivation test at the end of the semester.]
[This mission can be abandoned]
[Mission reward: a chance for enlightenment, an incomplete manual of the Imperial Beast Sect's exclusive technique, and a Blood Burning Pill]
"Abandon."
Jiang Li glanced at the mission and felt somewhat disappointed, choosing to give up. "Mist-enshrouded Immortal" missions like this are indeed not going to appear in succession.
...
More than ten days later, the flying boat finally descended near the Daoist Sect.
As soon as the flying boat landed, the Daoist Sect Master, Bai Hongtu, warmly greeted Jiang Li, with the Confucian Education Master Dong Zhongren standing beside him, looking crestfallen.
Wang Bian felt ashamed and covered his face, wanting to stay on the flying boat.
Obviously, their master's plan to infiltrate had failed.
In the end, Wuzhi Bodhisattva pulled Wang Bian down from the flying boat.
"On behalf of the Daoist Sect, we warmly welcome Emperor Jiang to attend the Immortal Artifact Appreciation Conference!" Daoist Sect Master Bai Hongtu laughed and hugged Jiang Li.
Jiang Li also smiled and patted Bai Hongtu's back gently.
Bai Hongtu forced a smile despite the pain.
Behind Bai Hongtu, thousands of Daoist Sect disciples bowed and respectfully said, "Welcome, Emperor Jiang!"
It was evident that Bai Hongtu was genuinely welcoming Jiang Li.
"And there is the Pure-hearted Saintess. It's been years, but your relationship with Emperor Jiang is still the same."
The Pure-hearted Saintess tried to force a smile and refrained from making a scene on the spot.
"I've been meaning to ask you, how's the research on the Jiuzhou Boundary Protective Formation going? Is it almost completed?"
Bai Hongtu wore a wry expression and complained, "You're asking about this frustrating matter as soon as you arrive. For the sake of studying the protective formation, I've almost lost all my hair. Can't we talk about something more cheerful?"
Jiang Li pursed his lips, "Even during the Nirvana period, you can be reborn through blood, so how about I make you bleed until there's only a drop left, and then give you a chance to be reborn? Your hair would grow back."
"You're more ruthless than a landlord!"
Bai Hongtu immediately laughed, "Good thing I managed to figure out the Protective Formation. Now, all that's left is an immortal artifact to serve as the formation's eye."