Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 230 Five Elements Grand Array
"Immortal Master, the two people you requested have been found."

"I sent someone to check. The physical body is intact, and the yang spirit is unharmed. It has only been tainted by some yin energy. I have already sent someone to deliver some pills. As long as they are taken, there will be no problems."

Niu Yi looked at the bearded figure opposite him, dressed in a black robe, wearing a beaded crown, and with a dignified appearance, and nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, King Yama."

King Yama's face was full of smiles as he looked at Niu Yi opposite him, his demeanor and actions quite respectful, and he said:

"Immortal Master, you are too kind. You are an honored guest of our Underworld. I don't know which of your subordinates has offended you this time, that you would have to make such a trip."

"but."

"When my men arrived at the Black Valley you mentioned earlier, they found only an empty plain with the two you requested sleeping there."

"In my opinion, that person probably didn't want to oppose you, Immortal Master, so he sent the two back safely, chose to back down, and then used his great magic to move Black Valley away."

Niu Yi nodded slightly and asked:
"It seems to me that the Kings of Hell are not surprised by that person's existence?"

King Yama nodded helplessly and sighed:
"This matter involves secrets of the underworld, and it would be inappropriate to tell others, but since it is an immortal who has asked, it is of course fine to tell you."

"This humble Taoist would like to hear the details."

"Speaking of this person, he suddenly appeared after Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva established the City of the Wrongfully Dead with his great power. We still know nothing about his origins and background."

"After this person appeared, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sealed off the City of the Wrongfully Dead, leaving only this person behind, and discussed the Dao with him for three years."

"Alas, as for what exactly happened in those three years, we don't know. All we know is that three years later, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva summoned us and said that we had made a bet with that person."

"Since then, a new place called 'Black Valley' has appeared in the underworld, constantly gathering ghosts and vengeful spirits in the dark."

Upon hearing this, Niu Yi asked curiously:

"Do you know what kind of bet it is?"

Upon hearing this, Yama, the King of Hell, shook his head again.

"The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha did not tell us this, but he also made it clear that this bet was only between the two of them. If this person or his subordinates were to cause chaos in the underworld, they should not be tolerated. Everything should be done in accordance with the laws and regulations of the underworld."

"Besides, the Immortal Master should also know that this person is indeed quite capable. We have tried to encircle and annihilate that Black Valley several times, but we haven't even caught a glimpse of him."

"Furthermore, his subordinates only gathered some wandering ghosts and vengeful spirits, so we did not engage in any major battles, and our conflicts were limited to the level of Ox-Head and Horse-Face."

Upon hearing this, Niu Yi's face showed a thoughtful expression.

Is the bet related to the City of the Wrongfully Dead and its wandering, vengeful spirits?
This sounds like it's related to the great vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and also involves the city of the unjustly dead established by this Bodhisattva.

However, this matter had little to do with him. Since that person had backed down and he had also found his own disciples, he had already achieved his goal for this trip, so there was no need for him to seek revenge against that person.

After a moment, Niu Yi slowly stood up and said;
"Now that the two have been found, I will not stay here any longer. Thank you all for your help."

"You're too kind, Immortal Master. I'll see you off."

Niu Yi opened a path through the underworld and, after leaving the underworld, returned to Jindu Mountain.

The two Daojun Mountain disciples and the pills given by the Underworld were sent to Daojun Mountain.

The two Daoist disciples who were taken to the underworld were one no more than thirty years old and the other more than forty years old, but without exception, both of them were highly skilled in medicine.

On the second floor of Daojun Palace, Daojun looked at the jet-black pill in his hand, then gestured to Fang Cheng beside him to dissolve it in water and give it to the two disciples who were sleeping on the ground.

"Alright, let them get a good night's sleep. They suffered an undeserved disaster this time, so let them rest in the clinic for a while."

"Yes, Lord Dao."

Seeing Fang Cheng accept the order and leave with his two disciples, Daojun turned his gaze to Yuan Ze and the Goat-Headed Ghost King.

“Yuanze, there’s no need to blame yourself for this. The other party is no ordinary person either. You also need to take care of many Daoist temples in the Southern Continent, so you are already overwhelmed.”

"I think it would be better to send two celestial officials with you recently, so they can go to the Southern Continent to study medicine and help you with some affairs."

Yuan Ze stepped forward, bowed, and agreed.

"I will obey Daojun's orders in everything."

Daojun nodded, then looked at the sheep-headed ghost king beside him, whose expression was uneasy but whose aura was much calmer than it had been back then.

"Heh~ Ghost King, you don't need to be so careful. I know about this matter but I can't blame you. Besides, over the years, you have done your best to protect the disciples of Daojun Mountain."

"However, you will still need to pay more attention to this matter afterward."

Upon hearing these words, the ram-headed demon king immediately knelt down and said gratefully:
"Your subordinate kowtows in gratitude for the Daoist Lord's compassion! I am willing to go through fire and water for you!"

Although he was forced to surrender and had the divine seal planted on him, and he deeply hated the people of Daojun Mountain, many things have changed over the years.

Although he was forced to protect many disciples of the Daojun Palace, those disciples were unaware of the reason and treated him with utmost respect. Moreover, most of the disciples of the Daojun Palace carried merit with them when they went out, and none of them were ordinary.

As the Ghost King was treated with such respect and even offered incense by this group of people, over time, not only did his cultivation level increase, but his original aura also gradually became purer, allowing him to see a path to further advancement.

Where else can you find such a great deal!
He was negligent this time, but he wasn't afraid of punishment; he was just afraid that the Dao Lord would replace him in a fit of anger.

I just didn't expect that.
Daojun looked at the ram-headed demon king and laughed:

"Cultivate diligently. My Daojun Mountain can now be described as a large and prosperous place. When your merits are complete, you will have your own destiny."

"Yes, Daojun!" The Goat-Headed Ghost King bowed deeply, thanked Daojun once again, and then left with Yuanze.

Daojun watched the two departing figures and slowly nodded.

Over the years, the Ghost King has discovered the benefits of cultivating in the mountains of Daojun Mountain. He has been diligent and conscientious, and can be considered a pragmatic person. If he is truly willing to settle down and accumulate merit in Daojun Mountain, he will not be stingy with rewards.

Furthermore, the Daojun Palace is currently facing a severe shortage of personnel.
Good healers are not easy to cultivate, and ascension to immortality depends on talent and opportunity; it cannot be forced and can only be done slowly. This has led to the fact that in the Southern Continent, of the three hundred Daoist temples of all sizes, only Yuan Ze is in charge of them.

The situation in the Tongtianjiang region is relatively better. All the local deities and immortals are completely devoted to him, and every fifty years they gather in the pavilion of the Daojun Palace's incense space to report on the various matters of recent years.

However, the belief in the Divine Physician Daojun was also widespread in the areas surrounding Tongtianjiang. Even in Shangtang Village, not far from Jindou Mountain, there were people who worshipped him. However, the Daojun temples in these areas were left unmanaged.

To put it bluntly, Daojun Mountain is still short-staffed.
At this moment, Daojun suddenly understood why the people of Lingshan had taken in all the demons along the way on the journey to the West, some to guard the mountain, some to protect the Dharma, and some to serve as attendants.

Daojun shook his head helplessly, and a large gate made of incense appeared quickly behind him. He turned around and walked into the incense space.

He said that Junshan has only existed for a few hundred years since its establishment, and its progress has been too rapid, so it is normal that its foundation is shallow.

For example, the You Sheng Zhen Jun, who has already descended to the mortal realm, has had his You Sheng lineage spread for ten thousand years and accumulated profound knowledge. Even if the You Sheng Zhen Jun wants to wipe out the demonic atmosphere in the mortal realm in the future, he will have enough manpower.

However, for Daojun Mountain, this matter can only be handled slowly.

Time flies by, and a hundred years later, on Mount Jindu.

Niu Yi stood under a ten-foot-tall red-leaf tree, tilted the Heavenly Treasure Bottle in his hand, and poured a stream of spiritual liquid containing boundless vitality into the ground where the tree roots were.

Although this tree is ten feet tall, it is still quite short among the many spiritual roots on the top of Jindu Mountain, and is about the same height as his few precious tea spiritual roots.

However, this tree occupies a large area all by itself, simply because this tree is the jujube tree.

Such celestial fruits and spiritual roots, which surpass even the finest grade, take thousands of years to grow. If it weren't for his constant watering with his spiritual liquid, this sapling would probably have taken another thousand years to reach its current height and size.

Niu Yi calculated for a moment, then looked up at the bright red jujube leaves and smiled:
"If this continues, the jujube tree should bear fruit in about two hundred years. Although the first batch of fire jujubes may not yield a lot, with my spiritual liquid to nourish it, we can harvest fire jujubes every hundred years."

"It's just that this spiritual liquid is being used up far too quickly. In a while, I'm afraid we'll have to go to the banks of the Heavenly River to fetch some more Heavenly River water."

Niu Yi's Heavenly Treasure Bottle contains ten layers of water realms. Although Niu Yi filled one of the water realms with Heavenly River water last time, he still needs a lot of Heavenly River water to refine various miraculous spiritual waters, such as nectar, medicinal potions, and spiritual liquids.

Now, 25% of the Heavenly River water in that water realm has been used up.

The water from the Milky Way has many uses and great benefits. It would be best to fetch some more in a few days.

Just then, Niu Feng quickly reached the mountaintop, crossed the peach grove, and found Niu Yi standing in front of the jujube tree. He said:

"Chief! An old man has come down the mountain and is worshipping the mountain god, asking him to give him a magical herb to save his child."

Upon hearing this, Niu Yi's eyes flickered slightly with the lines of cause and effect, and in just a moment, he had roughly grasped the life of the old man at the foot of the mountain. He then nodded and said:

“Niu Feng, go to the mountains and pick a hundred-year-old safflower to give to that old man. Tell him to boil it into a juice and give it to his child three times a day, morning, noon and night. That will save his son’s life.”

"But you should also tell him not to spread the word that the red flower came from here."

Niu Feng nodded and said:
“I understand, Chief.”

"However, recently there seem to be quite a few people trying to go up the mountain to collect some kind of elixir, whether they are demons or humans. In recent years, there seem to be many more such people, which is quite a headache for the little bull spirit in the mountain."

"Fortunately, DouDou helped keep an eye on things during this time. If it found any of them trying to sneak up the mountain, it would knock them out and send them away."

When Niu Feng mentioned the name Dou Dou, a fat cat-like figure suddenly appeared out of thin air with a "poof," floating beside Niu Feng and looking at him curiously, as if to say, "What do you want from me?"
This is the current mountain god of Jindou Mountain, and also the 'divine beast' of Jindou Mountain. Niu Yi had previously discussed with the local earth god and decided to name his mountain god after Dou Dou.

Although ordinary mountain gods wouldn't have such a name.
Upon hearing Niu Feng's words, Niu Yi laughed and said:
“Now, Jindu Mountain is towering into the clouds, and can be faintly seen even from hundreds of miles away. I observe that the humans in this area have all received news that there are secluded immortal mountains in this mountain range, which is why there have been so many such beings recently.”

"On the bright side, Niu Li's wish from back then can be considered fulfilled; Jin Du Mountain is now quite famous!"

Niu Feng grinned as he listened to his leader's slightly sarcastic words.

"Alright, go and pick the hundred-year-old safflower for him. Remember, only pick the hundred-year-old ones. If they are older, his body won't be able to handle it."

"As for those who recently wanted to go into the mountains to search for treasure, I, the leader, will perform a ritual to ensure that they will never find this 'secluded paradise'."

"Yes, leader!"

Seeing Niu Feng turn and leave, Niu Yi pondered for a moment. With the Five Elements Dao Aura surrounding him, and without any visible movement from Niu Yi, all the Five Elements and the Five Elements Dao within a hundred miles of Jindu Mountain began to be mobilized.

In the unseen realm of mortals, a colossal array based on the Five Elements is rapidly taking shape, with the Jindu Mountain ley lines as its foundation and the Jindu Mountain blessed land as its core. This Five Elements Grand Array is being completed at an astounding pace.

"boom"

After a while, Niu Feng took the century-old red flower home with the old man. As soon as he returned, he felt the ground tremble. He keenly sensed that for a moment, something terrifying seemed to have revealed a trace of its aura, which then quickly disappeared.

In his eyes, streaks of five-colored light, symbolizing the five elements, were indeed hidden around Jindu Mountain.

Meanwhile, outside, in Shangtang Village, some villagers were surprised to find that the sacred mountain, which had been vaguely outlined and inhabited by a true dragon mountain god, had completely disappeared!

This incident caused a great uproar in the village and outside the village, attracting more people to investigate the location of the sacred mountain, but unfortunately, none of them found anything.

Gradually, Jindu Mountain, this secluded fairy mountain, became a legend. It is said that only those who are truly sincere and kind will sincerely seek help from it, and the fairy mountain will reappear before the world and bestow blessings.

Of course, all of this had nothing to do with Niu Yi. He simply used the Five Elements Formation to protect Jindu Mountain from disturbance. Those who came to investigate thought they had arrived at Jindu Mountain, but in fact they were stopped outside the Five Elements Formation.

After all, Jindu Mountain is his Daoist temple, and it would be too inappropriate if people disturbed him frequently. Moreover, now that the Daoist temple is protected by this unpredictable Five Elements Grand Array, he will no longer need to use karmic calculations every time he goes out in the future.
(End of this chapter)