Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 203 Heavenly Treasure Bottle

Time flies, and a century has passed in the blink of an eye.

In the mortal world, a family's lineage can be passed down for three generations in a hundred years, but in the heavenly court, only a hundred days have passed.

In the Heavenly Court, on the banks of the Milky Way, the Divine Physician Daojun stood with Taibai Jinxing. In front of them was a tall and imposing general, who was looking at the document handed to him by Taibai Jinxing.

A moment later, the general handed the document back to Venus, glanced at the two men before him, and said:
"Yes, it is indeed His Majesty's document. Please, both of you."

Venus chuckled and reached out to take it, saying:

"Then thank you very much, Marshal Tianpeng."

Upon hearing this, the general simply bowed and led the many heavenly soldiers behind him away from the place.

The Divine Physician Daojun watched Marshal Tianpeng lead his troops away and felt that this man was also arrogant. At this moment, there was no trace of the man who would later become promiscuous and flirt with Chang'e after drinking.

The thought that the burly marshal before him would one day turn into the fat-headed, big-eared Pigsy made Niu Yi feel inexplicably amused.

"Star Lord, let's go. We've really troubled you this time."

"Hehe~ Daojun, you're too kind. With our relationship, there's no need for thanks."

Daojun and Taibai Jinxing slowly walked to the small boat moored on the bank of the Milky Way and boarded it. They found that the boat was rowing into the river by itself without anyone rowing it.

Daojun bent down, took out the cloud-patterned jade bottle from his robes, and placed it into the waters of the Milky Way.

As soon as the cloud-patterned jade bottle touched the Milky Way water, the Milky Way water flowed continuously into the cloud-patterned jade bottle, as if there was no end in sight.

Venus simply watched this scene with a smile, stroking his beard, without uttering a sound.

After a long while, Daojun slowly got up, picked up the cloud-patterned jade bottle, shook it a couple of times, and nodded in satisfaction.

The water of the Heavenly River is a wonderful thing; it is the purest and most spiritually rich water in the Three Realms. Many fine wines and delicacies are brewed using this Heavenly River water.

His reason for coming to retrieve the Heavenly River Water was that over the years he had thoroughly refined this treasure and figured out how to use it. Only then did he ask Venus to convey his message to the Jade Emperor, requesting a document to retrieve the Heavenly River Water.

This jade bottle is called the Heavenly Treasure Bottle. It contains ten layers of water, which can hold both the Heavenly River water and the Naihe River water separately.

However, these are not the main functions of this Heavenly Treasure Bottle. This treasure can be used to refine various kinds of spiritual water with extraordinary effects by means of the Water Dao and other Daos.

Just as he comprehended the Great Dao of Earth back then, and had the deepest understanding of its creative power, now that he is comprehending the Great Dao of Water, he has also come to understand that water benefits all things without contention.

Therefore, his Dao of Water is inclined towards change and nourishing all things. This Heavenly Treasure Bottle is a perfect match for him. Perhaps in the future, he will be able to use this bottle to refine sweet dew that can bring back the spirit roots of heaven and earth and revive withered trees.

After the divine physician Daojun had collected the water from the Milky Way, the small boat slowly approached the shore, taking Daojun and Venus back to the cloud-covered riverbank.

"Daojun, now that this matter is settled, I will return to my Qiming Palace. I need to go back and make preparations for tomorrow's court session."

"Very well~ Thank you for your hard work, Star Lord."

The Divine Physician Daojun watched Taibai Jinxing's departing figure, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Calculating the time in the heavens, there are still more than fifty days until the Queen Mother's birthday, which is also the time for the Peach Banquet.

His junior brother Wukong should be taking over the management of the Peach Orchard soon.
After pondering for a moment, Daojun took a step and left the land of the Milky Way, preparing to descend to the mortal realm to return the Heavenly Treasure Bottle to its original form.

The top of Jindou Mountain.

At this moment, a wisp of smoke was slowly rising from the mountaintop, quite noticeable compared to the surrounding spiritual energy.

These wisps of smoke were rising continuously from the stove not far from the thatched hut on the mountaintop.

“It smells so good.”

Niu Feng, holding chopsticks in one hand and a plate in the other, leaned over the stove, watching the cauliflower being stir-fried and steaming in the pot. He kept swallowing his saliva, his eyes sparkling.

It has been a very, very long time since I've eaten a meal cooked by the leader.
Niu Yi looked at Niu Feng beside him, shook his head and chuckled, his hand still moving as he flipped the ladle, and said:
"Niu Feng, you can't eat good food if you're in a hurry. Go back and sit down."

"Don't worry, now that the stove has been built up on the mountain, you'll definitely get your share in the future!"

"Yes, Chief."

Upon hearing this, Niu Feng reluctantly moved away from the stove and returned to the long stone table under the peach tree, where he sat down with Niu Li, Niu Ping, Ao Xuan, and the others.

The Golden-Hooped Earth God watched this scene with a smile, stroking his beard, but his eyes became somewhat dazed.

Jindu Mountain is shrouded in spiritual mist all year round and remains evergreen throughout the four seasons. Anyone who sees it will call it a fairyland mountain.

However, a wisp of smoke, so out of place with the ethereal atmosphere, has appeared atop the mountain, adding a touch of human warmth to this otherworldly mountain.

Back then, as Niu Yi planted peach and orange groves throughout the vegetable garden on the mountaintop, even the stove in Jindu Cave was completely left idle.

Over the past few hundred years, as the precious energy and earth-elemental Daoist aura emanating from Niu Yi have continuously enhanced Jindu Mountain, its height and the area at its summit have increased considerably, surpassing Huxiao Mountain of yesteryear and becoming the highest peak in the mountainous region.

Seeing that more and more people were staying on the mountaintop in recent years, and that there was more space available, Niu Yi, in his capacity as the Divine Physician Daojun, searched for some vegetable seeds with abundant spiritual energy in the heavens and once again cultivated a vegetable garden on the mountaintop, where he also built a stove.

When the local earth gods visit in the future, or when other friends come, there will be spiritual tea and fruits in the mountains, as well as fine wine and food. Wouldn't that make people happy?

A moment later, when the last dish on Niu Yi's stove was cooked, the fragrant spirit rice and the sixteen dishes on the table immediately whetted the appetites of everyone present.

Niu Yi walked to the stone table, sat down in the main seat, looked at the Golden-Hooped Earth God beside him, Niu Feng and the other four bull spirits, as well as his three servants, and said with a smile:
"Everyone, don't wait any longer, eat it while it's hot."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and began to eat.

Niu Yi smiled and was about to pick up his chopsticks when suddenly his expression changed, and with a flick of his wrist, a jade bottle with cloud patterns appeared in his hand.

In the afternoon, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they went about their own business. Niu Yi and the Earth God went to the stone bridge pavilion to continue their game of chess.

Niu Yi seemed to have found some of the feeling his senior brother had when he looked at him back then. Fortunately, more than 150 years had passed since his return and the beginning of the Earth God's learning of chess. Now, this person was no longer helpless in his hands.

The game of chess between the two lasted from noon until evening. Just as the Earth God was about to take his leave, Niu Yi stopped him.

"I wonder if the Earth God has noticed that hundreds of years ago, when I infused the Daoist essence into this Golden Gourd Mountain, a treasure has been being nurtured." The Golden Gourd Earth God looked at Niu Yi in surprise.

Today, Jindou Mountain is no longer what it used to be; it is now just a mountain with some spiritual energy.

On Jindu Mountain today, there are quite a few Ganoderma lucidum and other spiritual herbs growing. They are not everywhere, but they are developing in that direction. Some time ago, a little bull spirit even discovered some spiritual jade in the mountain.

But these are nothing special to Niu Yi now. What Niu Yi would bring up must not be these simple things.

The Earth God closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings briefly, but found nothing. He then opened his eyes again and looked at Niu Yi with a puzzled expression.

Niu Yi stopped keeping him in suspense and opened his palm, revealing a square, earthen-yellow stone that was floating up and down, its energy connected to the Golden Gourd Mountain below.

The local earth god, leaning on his wooden cane, stared at the square stone, sensing the energy within it. His eyes widened instantly, and his aged voice exclaimed in surprise:
"This...this is...the Mountain God's Seal of Jindu Mountain?!"

"Exactly."

Niu Yi smiled and nodded.

"This treasure has been nurtured in the mountains for many years. It is similar to the Tiger Roar Stone nurtured in Tiger Roar Mountain, but its quality is much higher."

"Perhaps it is a divine creature that conceals itself. After its birth, this creature possessed a vague intelligence and hid itself deep in the mountains, where only I could perceive it."

The local earth god nodded in realization. Although he was now the earth god of Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi was the true master of Jindu Mountain. The changes in this place over the past few hundred years were all caused by Niu Yi, so this scene was not surprising.

The only strange thing is that this mountain god seal actually possessed a rudimentary intelligence.

The Earth God was somewhat surprised to see the Mountain God Seal bobbing up and down as if it were jumping for joy, conveying a faint sense of happiness.

The Earth God pondered carefully, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:
"I find this seal quite extraordinary. Besides being a mountain god's seal, it must also be a mountain god born from Jindu Mountain?"

Niu Yi nodded, and with a wave of his hand, the Mountain God Seal floated to the front of the Earth God.

“I think that should be the case. Jindu Mountain has indeed become qualified to give birth to a mountain god on its own. However, although it has developed intelligence, it is still quite ignorant. I don’t have time to teach it right now, so I can only trouble the local earth god.”

The Earth God looked at the earthen yellow mountain seal before him, a gentle light appearing in his eyes, and slowly nodded.

"Alright, then give it to me."

The Earth God waved his hand, seemingly sensing an aura very close to his own. The Mountain God Seal actually floated slowly over and landed in front of the Earth God.

The Earth God tapped his wooden staff, and with a gust of wind, he and the Mountain God's Seal disappeared together.

Upon seeing this, Niu Yi smiled and murmured:
"The local earth god has kept a low profile all these years, but compared to back then, he has improved so much that he has probably left the other four earth gods far behind."

As Jindu Mountain continued to improve, all the bull spirits on the mountain benefited, but the one who actually benefited the most was the Earth God, who was a local deity.

In addition, Niu Yi has offered incense of the highest quality to the gods every year. Over the past few hundred years, the local earth god has long since changed from the little earth god who had only been in office for a little over a hundred years.

Niu Yi turned to look at Ao Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower, and said:

"Xuan'er, I will be in seclusion for a while longer. If anyone comes to visit, or if there is anything else you cannot decide, please come and find me to come out of seclusion."

Upon hearing this, Ao Xuan immediately stood up and said:

"Yes, sir."

Niu Yi nodded slightly, patted the Chaos Green Gourd at his waist, and his figure transformed into a beam of light, flying into the Chaos Green Gourd, leaving only the treasure gourd slowly rotating in the pavilion.

After Niu Yi entered the Chaos Green Gourd, he appeared on a vast and boundless land.

This land has mountains and rocks, and streams flowing, but it is shrouded in a chaotic atmosphere. Apart from Niu Yi, there is no sign of life; it is utterly desolate.

This is the result of Niu Yi's continuous deductions and attempts over the past century.

For him, only when he has fully comprehended the Five Elements Dao and gathered the Five Elements Spiritual Pearls can he attempt to shape this land into the prototype of a world.

As for now
Niu Yi took out the Heavenly Treasure Bottle, and streams of water-based Daoist energy emanated from his body, continuously flowing into the Heavenly Treasure Bottle like water.

Within the Ten Directions Water Realm of the Heavenly Treasure Bottle, in the realm containing the Heavenly River Water, strands of the Heavenly River Water began to flow upstream, seemingly undergoing some inexplicable change as the water's Daoist aura permeated the air.
Niu Yi secluded himself in the Chaos Green Gourd, unaware of the passage of time.

On this day, in the Heavenly Court, in the Lingxiao Palace.

"Sun Wukong, I see you have nothing to do, so I'll give you something to do. Go and take care of the Peach Garden."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong was delighted and agreed. He bowed to the heavens, saluted, and departed.

The divine physician Daojun in the lower realm was unaware of this matter, as he was busy with another matter at his own Daojun Mountain.

Dressed in a purple Taoist robe, with a tiger-shaped staff at his waist and a green bamboo cane in his hand, the Divine Physician Daoist looked at the desolate valley shrouded in ghostly energy and black mist before him and said in a calm tone:
"Is the monster that captured my disciples here?"

In the medical clinic at the foot of Daojun Mountain, every itinerant doctor who has obtained the Tiger-Supporting Magic Weapon is a prized student of the clinic, someone the clinic has painstakingly cultivated. They all worship the Divine Physician Daojun and can all be called his disciples.

But now, a demon has kidnapped his disciples from Daojun Palace.

"Reporting to Daojun, the monster is here." Yuan Ze blushed slightly and bowed respectfully. "The monster is a ram-headed demon king. I don't know where it came from. The monster stirred up a black wind and swept Mei Jie here."

"I rushed over immediately and fought the monster, but we were evenly matched. I was about to go back to get help when I realized I had disturbed you, Lord Daoist."

The tiger-shaped bells held by these promising young doctors all bear divine imprints. If any problems arise, the Dao Lord Palace will know immediately.

But this is the first time in recent years that we've encountered someone so powerful, who doesn't even give face to Daojun Palace.

Niu Yi waved his hand, indicating that it was alright, and without saying a word, took the tiger-shaped bell from his waist and shook it seemingly casually in front of the dark valley.

"Bell—ring—"

As a series of clear and melodious bell sounds rang out, the ghostly valley began to tremble slightly, and this trembling became more and more intense as time went by!

"Ouch————"

Just then, a painful scream suddenly echoed from the valley!
(End of this chapter)