Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 222 The Five Elements Gather, Lion Camel Kingdom
Outside the palace of the Divine Physician Daoist, the Daoist saw his senior brother Guangshan off at the gate, cupping his hands in greeting:
"Senior Brother Guangshan, now that we both serve in the Heavenly Palace, we should keep in touch more often in the future!"

Senior Brother Guangshan looked at his junior brother in front of him, a complicated look flashing in his eyes. After all, he was only a minor official in the Qiming Hall, while the person in front of him was his superior and a close friend of Taibai Jinxing.

He never imagined that the reason his senior brother had summoned him here was because the youngest junior brother of the Guang generation had an avatar who was an immortal in the Heavenly Court and a renowned divine physician in recent years.
As the senior disciple, he was far inferior to his junior disciple.
That makes sense, though. Who says a senior brother has to be better than a junior brother? With such a powerful backer, what could he possibly be dissatisfied with?
Guangshan smiled smugly, exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Divine Physician Daojun, and then bowed to take his leave.

The Divine Physician Daojun watched Guangshan walk away until his figure disappeared from sight, then turned around and walked back to his own Daojun Palace.

The lower realm is the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain.

A series of colorful clouds surrounded Qianyuan Mountain. Taiyi Zhenren looked at Niu Yi, who was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, and the cauldron in front of him that was emitting bursts of light. He ate a spirit peach while examining the cauldron with a curious gaze.

"Fellow Daoist, this treasure is truly amazing! It is a primordial chaos, incredibly profound. Could this treasure be a manifestation of the Primordial Great Dao?"

Taiyi Zhenren murmured to himself, taking another bite of the juicy spirit peach in his hand.

The magical treasures in his fellow Daoist's hands were all extraordinary, especially the Chaos Green Gourd and the Primordial Cauldron, which were extremely rare treasures in his master Yuanshi Tianzun's Mi Luo Palace.

To be honest, he still doesn't know who this fellow Daoist's master is. He only knows that this fellow Daoist is a true cultivator of the Xuanmen sect, and his ability to achieve the Golden Core Dao is absolutely unquestionable. Moreover, he seems to have a deep relationship with the Jade Emperor.

However, since they started dating, Master Taiyi has recognized Niu Yi as a fellow Daoist, rather than as the lineage or lineage behind him.

Furthermore, there should be few in the Three Realms whose lineage surpasses his.

It took Niu Yi a full forty-nine days to refine the Danxia Caiyun Incense, producing only two sticks of it. Fortunately, one day in heaven is equivalent to one year on earth, and there was still a long time before he was supposed to meet the Barefoot Immortal in the Heavenly Palace for three days.

After Niu Yi finished refining the incense, he used magic to send it to the Heavenly Court Daoist Palace, waiting for the Barefoot Immortal to come and collect it.

Soon, in the Heavenly Court, in the Dao Lord's Palace, seven days had passed in the heavens.

Four days prior, the Barefoot Immortal arrived in the heavens as promised. Seeing that the Danxia Caiyun Incense had been refined to an excellent quality, he smiled broadly and presented the Daoist Lord with several more Jiaoli Fire Dates.

On Daojun's side, he has been receiving several sticks of Fire-Element Incense from his main body these past few days to prepare for the trip to Tonghua Palace. As for the Great Pure Yang Longevity Palace, Lü Dongbin has not yet replied to any messages.

I suppose he's off somewhere having a good time again these days.

At this moment, Daojun was standing outside the gate waiting for Taibai Jinxing, who was about to go to Tonghua Palace with him.

"Daojun, I wonder if you are ready?"

"Rest assured, Star Lord, I have made ample preparations for this matter."

"Very well, in that case, let us go together to Tonghua Palace. Lord Huode has already prepared a banquet and is about to entertain us."

"What you say is true, Star Lord. We are truly in trouble with you this time."

The Heavenly Court, three days later.

Outside the Tonghua Palace atop the fiery red clouds, Daojun and Taibai Jinxing walked out of the palace together.

The two wore satisfied smiles, for in Daojun's hand was a fiery red spirit pearl burning with raging flames.

The last of the Five Elements Spirit Pearls, the Fire Spirit Pearl, has now been obtained, and what Daojun gave in return was a Fire Jujube Spirit Seed and many precious incense.

After hundreds of years, he finally gathered all five elemental pearls. His long-cherished wish was fulfilled in one day, and even with his current state of mind, he still felt a surge of excitement.

Venus stroked his beard and laughed:

"Daojun, now that we have achieved our goal, I will take my leave. It is not appropriate for me to linger in the Qiming Palace."

Daojun put away the Fire Spirit Pearl, solemnly bowed to Taibai Jinxing, and said:
"When you have some free time in the future, Star Lord, you might as well come with me to Golden Gourd Mountain. I will then prepare fine wine and delicacies to thank you for taking care of me for so long."

"Daoist Master, please don't stand on ceremony. There's no need for such formalities between us. However, I've long yearned to visit your Golden Gourd Mountain. If I have the chance, I'll definitely go and have a look around!"

Daojun looked at Taibai Jinxing, smiled and nodded. After the two talked for a while, they finalized the matter. Then Daojun and Taibai Jinxing parted ways. One returned to Qiming Palace, while the other used the secret technique of his external avatar to send the Fire Spirit Orb to Niu Yi's side and returned to Daojun Mountain in the lower realm.

On the other side, inside the Chaos Green Gourd.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding a whisk, Niu Yi, who was comprehending the Great Dao of Fire, raised his hand. With a flash of fiery red light, the Fire Spirit Orb, burning with raging flames, appeared in his hand.

"The gathering of the five elemental spirit pearls indeed holds a hidden secret."

A flash of understanding crossed Niu Yi's eyes. Around him, four beams of light—earth yellow, aquamarine, brilliant gold, and emerald green—flickered continuously as the four elemental orbs of earth, water, metal, and wood appeared. As the fiery red fire orb rose, the five elemental orbs began to slowly rotate around Niu Yi, radiating brilliant light.
Ten years later, Niu Yi was standing at the foot of Qianyuan Mountain, bidding farewell to Taiyi Zhenren, before transforming into a golden light and returning to his Jindu Mountain.

“Fellow Daoist Taiyi, if you have some free time in the future, you are welcome to visit my Jindu Mountain. I will certainly welcome you with open arms.”

Taiyi Zhenren watched the golden light disappear into the distance, a smile on his face as he sighed:
"Now that Fellow Daoist Guangyi has gathered all five elemental spirit pearls, the path to the Great Luo realm is now completely clear. Even now, I still can't quite fathom your abilities. Let's see when you'll reach that level."

As Taiyi Zhenren spoke, he glanced at the cloth bag left by Niu Yi at his waist, and his smile widened.

His fellow Daoist knew his preferences and always brought a lot of good wine whenever he came. Now, the wine left by Daoist Guangyi is enough for him to drink for a long time.

Niu Yi, relying on his Golden Light Divine Power, returned to Jindu Mountain in no time. Suddenly, a beam of azure light carrying two golden beams flew out from the top of Jindu Mountain.

As three beams of light descended into the clouds, revealing their forms, it was Ao Xuan, accompanied by the two attendants, Jin Feng and Jin Yun, who were approaching him.

"Master, you are back!"

"Hmm, everything at Golden Gourd Mountain is as usual?"

"Please rest assured, sir, we are here to take care of Jindu Mountain, and no demons have dared to invade!"

Niu Yi smiled and nodded, then flew back to the mountaintop with his three attendants, where he saw the Golden-Hooped Earth God and Niu Li and the others standing there to greet him.

At first, no one noticed anything, but after Niu Yi stood on Jin Du Mountain for a while, the spiritual energy on the mountain seemed to become slightly denser.

Even the peach and orange groves emitted a faint green light, a phenomenon caused by the spiritual roots being nurtured by some being, becoming increasingly vigorous. Inside the pavilion, the Earth God of Jindu Mountain glanced around, then looked at Niu Yi, who was calmly sipping tea opposite him, and sized him up.

Compared to when he left, Niu Yi seemed unchanged. The only difference was that his aura seemed more restrained and more 'ordinary'.
Niu Yi sensed the gaze of the Golden-Hooped Earth God, looked at him, blinked, and smiled:

"I gained a lot from this trip to find my friends, and the local earth god is also aware of the characteristics of my bloodline."

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Hooped Earth God nodded in sudden realization.

He thought of Niu Yi, the treasure-filled divine ox, a unique species born of heaven and earth, whose body was full of treasure energy. The more treasures it possessed, the more concentrated the treasure energy would become, nourishing all things around it.

It seems that Niu Yi has gained considerable benefits from this trip to find friends, and his cultivation may have even advanced further.

Every time Niu Yi returned from a trip, he would bring him many surprises.
Although the Golden-Hooped Earth God was also somewhat curious, since Niu Yi didn't say much, he didn't ask any further questions either. He simply chatted with Niu Yi and enjoyed tea.

As night fell, Niu Yi sat cross-legged in the thatched hut, his body radiating the Daoist aura of the Five Elements. A myriad of precious energies rose around him, nourishing and enhancing the overall energy of the Golden Gourd Mountain.

Just then, a nine-turn golden wheel radiating precious light emerged from the misty light behind Niu Yi.

At this moment, in addition to the previous patterns of the divination coins, dragon and tiger fan, hairpin, chain, chessboard, and halberd—the six natal magic treasures—a new pattern appeared on the golden wheel: a five-element pattern with five beads surrounding each other.

Niu Yi's aura suddenly surged because he had fully comprehended the Five Elements Dao, refined the Five Elements Spirit Pearl, and transformed it into his natal magic weapon.

Furthermore, these five elemental spirit pearls are indeed connected. After the five elements are gathered, they are indeed considered as a natal magic treasure within the Nine Revolutions Golden Wheel, or rather, a set of natal magic treasures would be more appropriate.

With a flick of his wrist, the Heavenly Treasure Bottle swiftly appeared in Niu Yi's hand.

"Using the origins of this treasure into the Dragon-Tiger Fan, which corresponds to the White Tiger Killing Sword, after several deductions, it is just right."

"With the Primordial Qi Fire in the Primordial Furnace, this matter will only take me a little time. By then, the True Dragon and White Tiger in the Dragon-Tiger Fan will have these two accompanying treasures, achieving a balance between the dragon and the tiger, and their power will surely increase greatly."

A look of anticipation flashed in Niu Yi's eyes. He planned to wait until he had fully mastered the power of the Five Elements Spirit Pearl before seeking out his elder brother Yang Jian to spar and see what level he had reached.

"As for the rest, it's about comprehending the Five Elements, breaking through to the Great Luo Realm as soon as possible, and completely refining the Chaos Green Gourd and the Primordial Furnace. Once all nine natal magic treasures are in their proper places, then..."

Niu Yi calculated in his mind that even for him now, it would be extremely difficult to break through to the Great Luo realm within five hundred years, before the Journey to the West begins.

Fortunately, dealing with the Golden-Winged Roc doesn't require only the Great Luo Realm.
Xiniu Hezhou, Lion Camel Kingdom.

This country was originally a small human nation where people lived in peace and contentment. Although Lion Camel Kingdom was not rich or powerful, it was not poor either, and was able to establish itself on this land.

However, more than forty years ago, a giant roc that blotted out the sky suddenly descended from the heavens and landed here, swallowing the king and queen of the Lion Camel Kingdom and all the civil and military officials in one gulp.

Then, this giant roc, which appeared out of nowhere, was still not satisfied and devoured all the men and women in the city, turning the Lion Camel Kingdom into a dead city.

More than forty years have passed, and in the Lion Camel Kingdom, bones still litter the ground, but this city is no longer a dead city; there are quite a few sounds coming from within.

"clang!!!"

At this moment, at the gate of the Lion Camel Kingdom, two monsters with wolf heads and wearing armor were looking at the pig demon with a pig's head and cloth clothes in front of them with their eyes that were glowing with a ghastly green light. They crossed their spears and blocked the pig demon's way.

"Halt! What are you doing here in our Lion Camel Kingdom!"

The pig demon revealed an ugly smile, rubbed his hands together, and said in a rough voice:
"This little demon comes from the north. I've heard that Lion Camel Kingdom is a demon kingdom on earth, and its king is an extraordinary demon saint. I've come here to seek refuge."

"just you?"

The wolf demon on the left looked disdainful and was about to refuse when the wolf demon on the right suddenly spoke up.

"Okay, we understand. You can go in now."

Seeing the wolf demon make way, the pig demon's face lit up with joy. He took a step forward, dragging his fat body, and quickly walked into the Lion Camel Kingdom.

Seeing the pig demon quickly enter the city gate and disappear, the wolf demon on the left looked at his companion opposite him and bared his teeth:
"Huh??? What do you mean? You're accepting this kind of stuff?"

"Hmph~ What do you think our Lion Camel City is? This is a demon kingdom! Do you think it's so easy to get by? Someone like this will be eaten to bits in less than three days!"

"It's courting death, why should we stop it?"

As the wolf demon spoke, a chilling smile spread across its face, and its ghastly green eyes made it look terrifying.

"Hey~ you're right, this kind of trash is a waste of resources to keep alive!"

Leaving aside the eerie laughter of the two wolf demons, in the palace of the Lion Camel Kingdom, the Golden-Winged Roc, dressed in golden robes, sat high on his throne, enjoying the service of numerous maids around him.

These maids, though all beautiful, all revealed some characteristics of the demon race; one had a leopard's tail, another had fox ears, each with their own unique features.

The Golden-Winged Roc ignored all of this, simply closing its eyes, folding its wings behind it, and comfortably reclining on its throne. With its mouth open, a maidservant plucked a glistening grape and put it in its mouth. With a flick of its hand, another maidservant presented it with a fine wine in a cup, allowing the Golden-Winged Roc to enjoy it.

At the same time, the maids knelt beside the Golden-Winged Roc, constantly massaging its legs and shoulders.

The Golden-Winged Roc nodded comfortably and said:

"Go down."

"Yes~"

Seeing that all the maids had left, the Golden-Winged Roc slowly got up, stretched comfortably, and walked out of the palace. Looking at the gloomy sky outside, he snorted coldly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"That little thief who stole my life feather, you better never let me see you again! Otherwise, I will tear you apart to vent my hatred!"

(End of this chapter)