Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 201 The Seven Protectors of Daojun Palace
In the thirty-third year that Niu Yi was in Meishan, Nezha came to bid farewell to him and Yang Jian, preparing to return to the Heavenly Court.

"Next time we meet, let's have another match."

Nezha, riding on his Wind Fire Wheels, looked intently at Niu Yi. After speaking, he quickly rushed into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Niu Yi looked in the direction Nezha had left and nodded with a smile.

Over the years, he and Nezha have sparred from time to time, and both have benefited greatly. However, Nezha has yet to figure out Niu Yi's true strength.

He only knew that Niu Yi didn't seem to have many offensive supernatural abilities, but he had a plethora of magical treasures and a strength that could move mountains and overturn seas that far surpassed his own, which was why he was so difficult to defeat.

The two had fought over a hundred times in the past thirty-three years, and each time the outcome was a draw. Even in their final battle three days ago, when Nezha used almost all his strength, he could only force out the three spirit orbs from Niu Yi's body.

Based on Nezha's intuition, the gold and silver hairpin that Niu Yi always wore in his hair was definitely a powerful magic weapon, but Niu Yi never used it.

This left Nezha somewhat unwilling, but since the two were not fighting to the death, the matter had to end there.

In fact, Nezha was unaware that Niu Yi had also used almost all his strength. His magic weapon, the Starry Chessboard, was no match for Nezha, and the Chaos Green Gourd and the Hunyuan Cauldron had not been fully refined. The Two Extremes Yuan Magnetic Hairpin was his only trump card at the moment.

Of course, this is only true for now.
Niu Yi turned to look at Yang Jian and the six brothers of Meishan, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Brother Yang, I have been away from home for a long time, and now I must say goodbye to you and all the brothers. Thank you all so much for taking care of me during this time."

Yang Jian nodded, returned the greeting with clasped hands, and said earnestly:

"Brother Guangyi, there's no need to be so polite. To us, Brother Guangyi is also our own brother."

"Hahaha~ Second Master is right, Brother Guangyi is also our own brother."

"Exactly, exactly."

"Wang! Wang!"

Niu Yi looked at the enthusiastic crowd before him, his gaze sweeping over each of their faces, and then solemnly bowed.

"Please take care, everyone. Until we meet again!"

"See you later!"

Niu Yi's figure transformed into a golden light and flew towards the sky, disappearing in an instant.

Niu Yi traveled westward, and at his speed, he returned to Jindou Mountain from Meishan in less than half an hour, where he saw the misty Jindou Mountain.

As if sensing the return of their master, a figure in azure blue quickly soared from the mountaintop into the sky, heading towards Niu Yi.

"master!"

Niu Yi looked at Ao Xuan in front of him, smiled and nodded, and flew back to the top of the mountain with his servant.

At the summit of Daojun Mountain, in front of Daojun Palace.

After numerous renovations, Daojun Palace has now expanded three times in size compared to when it was first built, making it quite magnificent and grand.

In the Daojun Hall today, besides the Divine Physician Daojun sitting on the throne with a smile on his face and looking ahead, there are also statues of seven guardian generals standing on both sides.

Those are:

General Yuan, clad in precious armor, wielding a precious sword, and protected by a divine turtle.

Holding the "Hundred Herbs Elixir Classic," Protector Fang, who looked like a middle-aged doctor, was present.

With bull horns on their heads and holding a bull fork, a bow and arrow, a sword, and a giant axe in their hands, these four are General Feng, Generals Ping and An, and General Li.

The last one was General Zhu, with a serious expression, wearing full armor, leaning on a sword, and looking straight ahead.

The hall is perpetually filled with the smoke of incense. Among those who come to offer incense, besides the Daoist Master, the most popular is General Zhu.

At this moment, a half-grown boy was accompanying his mother to offer incense. He looked at the murals on the walls of the main hall with curiosity in his eyes.

"Is this your first time visiting Daojun Mountain, young man? Is there anything about these murals that interests you?"

Hearing the voice behind him, the boy quickly turned around and saw an old man with white hair and a youthful face, looking at him with a smile.

"Hello, sir."

The young man wasn't shy at all and greeted her warmly.

"This is indeed my first time visiting Daojun Mountain. I'm here with my mother to offer incense to Lord Daojun. Do you know what's depicted on these murals, sir?"

The old man looked at the boy, smiled and nodded, then looked up at the lifelike murals on the wall, a look of reminiscence appearing in his eyes, and slowly said:
"The mural depicts the story of the seven guardian generals under the Divine Physician Daojun, who heal the sick, save lives, subdue demons, and protect the common people."

Then, the old man pointed to a portrait on the mural, depicting a divine turtle with a drop of glistening water in its mouth, which was being handed to him by the kneeling people below, and said:
"This painting depicts General Yuan giving the world celestial dew to cure the world's suffering."

"See that crystal-clear stone that General Yuan is holding in his mouth? Back then, there was a child about your age who thought that the stone in the mural was the celestial dew. Because his mother was seriously ill and his family was poor, he came to Daojun Palace at night, wanting to keep the celestial dew and take it back to save his mother."

The boy looked at the old man and asked curiously:
"Was this stone truly formed from celestial dew? And how is the boy's mother?"

The old man chuckled and shook his head, saying:
"Haha~ I already said it's a stone, how could this be some kind of celestial dew~"

Just as the boy's face showed some disappointment, he heard the old man sigh again:

"However, the boy's reckless behavior alarmed the gods in the palace."

"General Yuan appeared in person and, after learning the reason, was moved by the boy's filial piety. Instead of blaming him for disturbing the peace, the general gave the boy a drop of celestial dew so that he could go home and save his mother."

"After the boy returned home, he gave the elixir to his mother to drink, and his mother's illness was indeed cured immediately."

"From that time on, the boy made a vow to guard the gate of Daojun Palace for the rest of his life in order to repay the kindness of saving his mother."

The boy behind the old man listened with eyes full of longing.

It was as if he could see a boy his own age climbing the mural in the dark hall, trying to pry off a stone, while the Yuan General, radiating divine light, slowly emerged from the statue.
"Uncle, uncle, what about the other murals? Which guardian deity's story is depicted on them?"

Hearing the curiosity in the boy's voice, the old man chuckled and led him to the next mural. Looking at the doctor holding a medical book, passing it down to future generations, he slowly said:
"This mural depicts Fang, the earliest temple keeper of Daojun Palace, back then." The old man led the boy along, explaining as he went. When there were still two murals left to explain, the boy's mother arrived.

"Oh dear, what are you doing here? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

The woman, whose hair had already turned white, rushed over and grabbed the boy. Only then did she see the face of the old man beside the boy clearly. She was somewhat surprised and quickly bowed to greet him.

"Guo the Temple Keeper? I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, this child didn't offend you, did he?"

Everyone along the Tongtian River knows that every temple keeper on Daojun Mountain is a living divine physician who holds clinics for three days each month, providing free medical care to neighbors and pilgrims who come to offer incense. He is highly respected.

Upon hearing his mother's words, the boy looked surprised and turned to the old man.

This kind old man is actually the temple keeper of Daojun Palace?!
Guo, the temple keeper, chuckled and said:

"Don't worry, madam. Your son did not offend me. Moreover, I see that your son is very intelligent and will surely achieve great things in the future."

Upon hearing the old temple keeper's words, the lady couldn't help but show a broad smile that she couldn't hide. She pulled her son along, thanked the temple keeper Guo repeatedly, and then left Daojun Palace and went down the mountain.

"Mom~ When will we come to Daojun Palace again? Uncle Guo said he would tell me the stories of the remaining two murals next time."

"Let's wait a while, but by the time you see them next time..."

In front of the main hall of Daojun Palace, on a flat stone slab, two middle-aged Taoist figures sat facing each other at a stone table.

"Haha~ I never imagined that such a thing would happen in Daojun Mountain, Fellow Daoist."

Wearing a pure yang turban and carrying a celestial sword, Lü Dongbin held a white jade wine cup in his hand, looking at the old man by the main hall gate, and felt a sense of amusement.

The divine physician, dressed in a purple Taoist robe, smiled and nodded, saying:

"This child is destined to be with my Daojun Palace. Over the years, he is the only one who has climbed up that mural to pry open the stone."

After the child saved his mother, he ran to the statue of Yuanze and knelt there for a day and a night, saying that he had nothing of value and only asked to guard the gate of Daojun Palace to repay the kindness.

After consulting with Daojun, Yuanze agreed to the matter. Over the years, the boy from back then has become an old man and has served as the temple keeper of Daojun Palace for decades, thus fulfilling his promise from back then.

Lü Dongbin nodded in agreement.

"Hmm~ Not bad, this child is indeed very fortunate."

He observed that the temple keeper had accumulated considerable merit. In the future, even if he went to the underworld and entered the cycle of reincarnation, he would be rich and noble in his next life and would surely be rewarded. If he continued like this, there was even a chance that he could become a god and ascend to immortality through his merit.

Even the lowest-ranking celestial official can be spared the suffering of reincarnation.

"Speaking of which, fellow Daoist's apricot wine is truly excellent~ It has a unique flavor~"

Seeing that Lü Dongbin was quite pleased, the Divine Physician Daoist Lord smiled and said:
"If Fellow Daoist Lü likes it, he may take a few jars with him. I still have quite a few of these apricot wines."

"Haha~ Then thank you very much, Daoist Master~"

Lü Dongbin was a free spirit, and in heaven, he was often invited to various celestial banquets. Most of the immortals he knew in heaven were people he met at these banquets at Lü Dongbin's invitation.

The remaining half were naturally introduced to me by Venus.

These two had helped him a lot, so he recently invited them to come down to Daojun Mountain as guests. However, Taibai Jinxing was tied up with official business and had to give up the invitation. So he and Lü Dongbin went down to the mortal world for a visit.

As for this apricot wine, it is brewed from the fruit of the apricot grove in front of the mountain. Over the years, every time a divine doctor with a tiger-shaped magical artifact leaves the clinic, an apricot tree will be planted in front of the mountain.

Today, the apricot trees in front of the mountain have grown into an apricot grove. Every year, he picks some apricots by hand to make apricot wine, which has a unique flavor. Now, he has saved quite a lot.

In the mortal realm, Lü Dongbin spent three years traveling with the divine physician Daojun in the Daojun Mountain area. Sometimes they would sit and discuss the Dao, and sometimes they would go together to treat the sick and save people. They lived a carefree life.

But when the three years were up, Lü Dongbin bid farewell to the Daoist and left.

Five days ago, when he was in Heaven, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had sent him a visiting card, asking him to come and pay a visit five days later. Lü Dongbin figured that since he had seen it, there was no harm in meeting him.

Now that three years have passed in the mortal realm and three days have gone by in the heavens, it's time to return to the Heavenly Court and make some preparations.

As Daojun watched Lü Dongbin depart on a cloud, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

His junior brother Wukong had already achieved his wish by obtaining the title of Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and he didn't care whether he received a salary or not.

Since the completion of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's Palace, Sun Wukong has been staying in the Heavenly Court for over a month. He is served by the celestial officials of the Tranquility Department and the Peaceful Spirit Department. Every day, apart from three meals a day, he just takes walks and sleeps. He doesn't need to worry about anything, and his days are very leisurely.

During this time, Sun Wukong's restless nature resurfaced, and he wandered around every day, making friends everywhere, with his whereabouts constantly changing.

In fact, his Daojun Palace had received a letter of invitation from this person a few days ago, but he only asked Venus to help deliver it, as he was not in heaven and thus declined the matter, never having met with his junior brother Wukong.

It was truly because his junior brother was so perceptive that he and his senior brother could sense each other's thoughts when their minds were attuned.

If the monkey feels a sense of familiarity after just one meeting, he will surely come back often. Once or twice is fine, but if he meets him too often, his disguise will eventually be exposed.

Niu Yi had actually thought about it. At this time, although Sun Wukong was doing nothing and enjoying himself in the Heavenly Court, at least he wouldn't cause trouble. If Sun Wukong were to manage the Peach Garden in the future, that would be a real problem.

After all, how could that monkey resist tasting the Queen Mother's peaches?
When the Queen Mother of the West prepared for the Peach Banquet, the truth would come out. Since Sun Wukong did not know whether he had been invited to the Peach Banquet, he falsely claimed to have received an imperial edict from the Jade Emperor and went to the Jade Pool on his own. He drank all the nectar and fled to the mortal world, which led to the later disaster.

But he knew in his heart that the reason was that his junior brother Wukong was quite arrogant and conceited at the time, relying on his own abilities. Just like before, if things didn't go his way, he would make sure that the Jade Emperor couldn't sit on the dragon bed and that he would still sit on the Jade Emperor's throne in the future.

If this junior brother doesn't rein in his temper, even if there are no problems at the Peach Banquet, there will still be problems at the Golden Core Conference, the Dharma Transmission Conference, and so on.

Jade must be carved to become a useful object. This same principle applies to Wukong, the unique and precious jade. In the long run, the calamity that followed was nothing less than a process of refinement and tempering.

Most importantly, none of this was something he could decide.
Even his own master couldn't do anything about it, so what could he do?
Daojun glanced at the vast sky, sighed softly, turned around, and walked down the mountain.

Yang Jian, his elder brother, demonstrated the profound mysteries of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to him, especially its infinite variations and its body composed entirely of immortal metal. It truly broadened his horizons, and he had many ideas that urgently needed to be put into practice.

Moreover, the magical treasures he possesses involve several major paths, all of which he needs to comprehend.

Only if one has sufficient strength and ability can one help his junior brother in the future when he is able to.

(End of this chapter)