Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 188 Returning Home
"Among my many disciples, only Guanghui and you are the ones I can trust the most. Now that you have grown strong enough, I can let you leave the mountain with peace of mind."

"This is the last thing your master will give you."

Niu Yi knelt before his master, watching the golden light slowly drifting towards him, and curiously reached out his palm to take it.

The moment the golden light touched the palm, it burst into a dazzling display of light, then slowly subsided, revealing its true form.

But then a pure white whisk, radiating a serene aura, appeared in Niu Yi's hand.

“My disciple Guangyi, this whisk was formed from a wisp of pure energy at the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, and there is nothing particularly special about it.”

"However, in cultivating the Tao and cultivating the mind, one must remember to frequently brush away the dust from one's heart."

Niu Yi took the whisk and bowed deeply to his master once again.

"Thank you for the treasure, Master. I will remember your teachings. Please take care, Master!"

Bodhi Patriarch looked at Niu Yi on the ground and said:
"Guangyi, focus on your cultivation. We, master and disciple, will meet again in the future."

But then Bodhi Patriarch waved his whisk again, and Niu Yi returned to the thatched hut on Rotten Peach Mountain. Niu Yi looked around with some emotion, opened the door and stepped out, only to find that his senior brother and senior brother Guangwu were indeed waiting for him there.

Looking at Niu Yi, Daoist Guanghui said with satisfaction:
“Junior brother, Master has bestowed this whisk upon you, which means Master acknowledges you. Now you can be considered to have graduated.”

Niu Yi gripped the whisk in his hand, feeling a clarity in his mind. He seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of the several great paths he had comprehended, and many things he had previously overlooked were also picked up when he was comprehending supernatural powers.

Master said that this whisk was nothing special, but just by holding it, Niu Yi already knew that it was another extraordinary treasure. Putting aside everything else, just by holding this whisk, his speed of comprehending the Great Dao would be much faster.

Master
Niu Yi deeply imprinted his master's appearance and voice in his mind, then looked at his senior brother and Guangwu opposite him and said:

"My two senior brothers, I am about to return home. Today, I would like to invite you two to have a drink with me."

"Hahaha~ Alright, alright, junior brother, I'll do whatever you say today~"

On this morning, on Jindu Mountain.

Now, Jindu Mountain is surrounded by spiritual mist, and the entire mountain seems to be much taller and more magnificent than before. At this moment, in front of Jindu Cave halfway up the mountain, Niu Feng is standing in front of a group of little bull demons, enjoying the admiring gazes of the many little bull demons.

"At that time, General Yuan and Temple Master Fang were besieged by a large number of demons and were in grave danger. Just then, a golden divine fork suddenly descended from the sky! With just one strike, it rescued the two guardian deities from their predicament!"

As Niu Feng spoke, he quickly brandished the golden bull-fork in his hand and made what he thought was a very cool forward thrusting motion!
"Wow----"

Hearing the exclamations of amazement from the many little bull demons below, Niu Feng glanced at the group of little bull demons whose eyes were full of admiration, and a smug look appeared on his face. Then, his expression turned serious, and he said:

"The scorpion demon let out a bloodcurdling scream! Ah!!!"

"Guess what happened?"

"That scorpion demon."

At the entrance of Jindou Cave, Niu Ping and his younger brother Niu An were watching this scene, both with smiles on their faces.

"Brother, I never expected that Brother Feng would have such a talent. It's almost exactly what the storyteller we three were talking about back then said."

Niu Ping smiled and shook his head, saying:

"He really enjoys being worshipped by the little bull demons, so he specially learned this skill. Don't let his current appearance fool you; he secretly practiced a lot when he was on the mountaintop."

Upon hearing this, Niu An was taken aback, but then nodded in understanding.

This certainly fits Feng Ge's personality.

Now that their leader, the ancestor, is not on the mountain, the three of them, along with the eldest, Niu Li, are the most senior bull demons in the entire Jin Du Mountain. All the other bull demons treat them with utmost respect and awe.

But Niu Feng was the one who loved playing with these little ox spirits the most, and he could get along with them very well, so the children weren't afraid of him.

If we were to say that the most revered among the bull spirits on the mountain is Niu Li, then the most beloved is Niu Feng.

Not only did the little bull demons like him, but he, Niu An, and Niu Li also liked him. Even their own leader liked this guy very much.

Just then, Niu Ping suddenly saw the Jin Du Mountain Land God in a rich man's robe and the Luo Ying Valley Land God in a cherry blossom robe coming together. Their faces were somewhat serious, no longer showing their usual smiles, as they walked towards the cave.

Niu Ping was a little puzzled, but he still went to meet him.

"Two local deities, is there something urgent today?"

The local earth god of Falling Cherry Blossom Valley looked at Niu Ping. Although he hadn't seen him for decades, Niu Ping seemed a little off, but he didn't think about it too much. Instead, he cupped his hands and said:
"I apologize for my visit, but I have something I would like to ask Chief Niu Yi today. This matter concerns Qing'er, so I am in a bit of a hurry."

Niu Ping nodded knowingly upon hearing this. They were all aware of the relationship between the land deity of Falling Cherry Blossom Valley and Yao Qing'er. This relationship was like that of father and daughter, and only Yao Qing'er could make the land deity of Falling Cherry Blossom Valley so nervous.

"I wonder what happened. Could you tell me, the land god Luoying, so I can go and contact my family leader?"

The land deity of Falling Cherry Blossom Valley sighed softly and said:
"Alas, Qing'er's lifespan is not long. She will try to condense her primordial spirit and break through to the Demon General realm in just a few years. However, with her current accumulation, she is still far from it."

"Breaking through a realm, especially the stage of condensing the primordial spirit, is extremely dangerous. Given Qing'er's current lifespan, she would probably die immediately. In my opinion, the probability of Qing'er breaking through is less than 20%."

"This old man has no other choice but to swallow his pride and come to the leader again to ask if there is any way to help him break through. If there is, even if it is just a half-step improvement, I will accept it even if it means going bankrupt."

Upon hearing this, Niu Ping was slightly moved. He exchanged a glance with Niu An beside him and was about to nod when he suddenly heard a familiar, clear voice coming from behind them.

"Hehe~ This is nothing more than a small matter~"

Everyone looked over quickly, only to see Niu Yi appear not far from them with a gentle breeze, smiling at them.

Niu Yi was dressed in a blue robe, holding a white-handled whisk engraved with auspicious clouds, with a folding fan tucked into his left waist and a blue gourd hanging from it. He exuded a refined and ethereal aura, looking every bit the part of a wise and enlightened sage.

"leader!"

"Niu Yi!"

Hearing the voice from not far away, Niu Feng subconsciously looked over when he heard the word "leader," and saw Niu Yi in a blue robe standing there. He couldn't help but show a surprised smile.

"leader!!!"

Niu Feng quickly ran up to Niu Yi and looked at him happily.

Niu Yi smiled and nodded to everyone, then slowly walked to the land deity of Falling Cherry Blossom Valley and said:
"Lord Luoying, why don't you bring Yao Qing'er to Jindu Mountain tomorrow, and let me see if there's anything I can do to help her?"

The land deity of Falling Cherry Valley looked at Niu Yi with a sigh. Judging from the demeanor of the man before him, it was truly a mystery how far this man had progressed.
"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for the chief?"

“Hey~ you’re mistaken, Lu Ying. I’m an old acquaintance of Yao Qing’er, so how can I stand idly by? If I can help Yao Qing’er, I would be very happy to do so.”

Niu Yi spoke with utmost seriousness, and indeed, that was the case for him.

The path to immortality is long, and he would be happy if old friends could accompany him for a while.

Furthermore, Yao Qing'er is a grateful person. When he left Jindu Mountain, Yao Qing'er said that if anything happened to Jindu Mountain, she would definitely come to help.

Niu Yi learned from Niu Li that even though he hadn't encountered any trouble during the years he had been away from Jindu Mountain, Yao Qing'er would still come to Jindu Mountain from time to time to see if everything was still the same.

Therefore, he was truly willing to help Yao Qing'er.

Upon seeing this, the local deity of Cherry Blossom Valley felt a surge of emotion and quickly bowed to Niu Yi, solemnly saying:

"I am deeply grateful and cannot express my thanks. Qing'er and I have received your help twice in a row. We really have no way to repay you. From now on, we will follow your lead, Chief Niu Yi."

As the land deity of Falling Cherry Valley spoke, he felt increasingly fortunate that he had instructed Yao Qing'er to cultivate a good relationship with this person back then. In retrospect, it was indeed the most correct decision he could have made.

"Lord Luoying, you flatter me. Although we haven't seen each other for a long time, our friendship has never changed in Niu Yi's heart. And now, Niu Yi has returned again and is living next door to Lord Luoying, hasn't he?"

Upon hearing Niu Yi's words, everyone was overjoyed once again. The local deity of Jindu Mountain stroked his beard and watched this scene with a smile, his heart also filled with joy.

His good neighbor and drinking buddy is back.
After a while, the land deity of Falling Cherry Valley took his leave. He made an appointment with Niu Yi to bring Yao Qing'er the next day, while Niu Yi returned to the top of Golden Gourd Mountain surrounded by the crowd.

"Niu Yan greets his grandfather!"

Hearing the deep voice, Niu Yi looked at the strong little bull demon in front of him, whose face was full of excitement, and nodded with a smile.

"Good, you've made a lot of progress since the last time I saw you. It's clear you haven't slacked off, which is excellent."

Upon hearing Niu Yi's praise, Niu Yan's usually stern face flushed slightly with excitement, and he shouted loudly:
"Thank you for the praise, Niu Yan!"

It's understandable that Niu Yan was so excited, after all, the bull spirits on Jindu Mountain all grew up listening to the legends of their ancestor, and Niu Yan, despite his exceptional talent, was no exception.

Hearing that familiar loud voice, Niu Yi shook his head and chuckled, but his eyes softened even more.

家么
A moment later, as Niu Yan left the mountaintop, two golden beams of light quickly flew out of the pool and landed in front of Niu Yi, transforming into a pair of handsome and beautiful children who bowed to Niu Yi.

"master!"

Niu Yi looked at the pair and noticed the two small bumps on the children's heads. He smiled slightly and said:
"Jin Feng and Jin Yun, you two should continue your secluded cultivation and refine Ao Xuan's drop of blood. That way, you can get along better when Ao Xuan returns in a couple of days."

(End of this chapter)