Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 253 The Thirteenth Year of Zhenguan
On Rotten Peach Mountain.

Guangwu sat on the stone bench, looking at the several jars of peach wine in front of him, looking somewhat depressed.

The Daoist Guanghui, who was enjoying tea and reading a book nearby, looked up at the several jars of peach wine and smiled:

"What's wrong? Is something wrong? You're not satisfied? Senior brother, judging from the smell, this wine shouldn't have been brewed incorrectly."

Guangwu shook his head, still somewhat depressed, and said:

"There should be no problem with this wine, but no matter how I brew it, I can't replicate the taste of my junior brother's wine. It's far inferior."

"Haha~ Brewing wine is just like cooking. Even with the same ingredients and the same steps, the dishes will taste different. You are Guangwu, so how can you brew the taste of Guangyi?"

"I think you've started missing Junior Brother Guangyi again lately."

Upon hearing this, Guangwu sighed slightly and nodded, saying:

"What the eldest brother says is true. I wonder how the junior brother is doing. Although I've heard that his clinic in the Southern Continent is thriving and his business is booming, it's been over five hundred years since I last saw him. I really miss him."

Guanghui shook her head slightly.

"Guangwu, your priority now is to cultivate your Dao Fruit as soon as possible. As for Junior Brother Guangyi, his path to Dao is already clear, and he is expected to reach the Great Luo realm in the future, and even reach the level of Master."

"By then, our lifespans will be virtually endless, and we will have plenty of time to reunite."

Guangwu's face flushed slightly, and he nodded seriously, saying:
"Don't worry, senior brother. I've been cultivating with Master for hundreds of years, and I'm now about 70-80% confident. I definitely won't let Master and you down!"

Master Guanghui laughed and said:

"You can pick more peaches to keep by your side recently. Now that all the twelve-generation disciples that our sect has taken in during this period have left, I'm sure it won't be long before Master takes you and me away from Lingtai Fangcun Mountain."

"Once you leave, it won't be easy for you to come back next time."

"However, to be honest, there are quite a few disciples who are fortunate enough to become disciples of Master, far more than when I became a disciple."

In the blink of an eye, twelve years had passed, and time quickly brought us to the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan era.

That year, Xuanzang was only thirty years old, just three months shy of thirty-one. However, under the tutelage of Elder Faming, he had already mastered all the Buddhist scriptures, and there was no one in the major temples of the Tang Dynasty who could surpass him.

Meanwhile, Niu Yi on Jindu Mountain also received a letter from the Dragon King of the West Sea.

The top of Jindou Mountain.

Niu Yi looked at the letter in front of him, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Ao Xuan asked with some concern:

"Master, could it be that something has happened at the West Sea Dragon Palace?"

Niu Yi said:
"That's right. The letter says that the Third Prince Ao Lie set fire to the Jade Emperor's bestowed treasure pearl. This pearl is extremely important and, strictly speaking, it doesn't belong to the Dragon Palace."

"But now that Ao Lie has destroyed this precious pearl, I don't know if the Heavenly Court has found out. The Jade Emperor will definitely be angry, which is why he asked me to inquire whether I could say a few words to Taibai Jinxing in the Heavenly Court."

Ao Xuan looked worried, but Niu Yi smiled and shook his head, saying:
"Don't worry, there won't be any problems with this, and that West Sea Dragon King..."

He observed that although Ao Lie was somewhat arrogant, he shouldn't have done such a foolish thing. The reason given by the West Sea Dragon King was that Ao Lie was troubled by love and, in a moment of anger, lost his mind, which led him to do this.

But Niu Yi always felt that there must be some other reasons behind this. In any case, even if he hadn't been there today, Ao Lie would have been fine. He would most likely have been pushed by Taibai Jinxing to serve as Xuanzang's porter, thus atoning for his sins.

Although the journey is arduous, one can still accumulate merit, enter the Buddhist path, and attain enlightenment.

On the other side, after receiving the message, the Divine Physician Daojun went straight to the Heavenly Court and ran into Venus, who had come looking for him.

"Xingjun."

"Master Dao."

After the two exchanged greetings, the Star Lord led the Dao Lord back to the Dao Lord's Palace and closed the main hall gate under the unsurprised gazes of the two celestial officials.

"Daojun must have received a letter from Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea."

"Exactly."

Upon seeing this, Venus revealed everything he knew: the Jade-Faced White Dragon had indeed been enraged by love, and in his anger, he set fire to the garden, destroying the pearl within.

However, the Dragon King of the West Sea had actually asked Venus many years ago whether their West Sea Dragon Palace could gain some merit from the eastward transmission of Buddhism, but at that time it was still early and Venus did not agree directly.

Now that this has happened, the Dragon King of the West Sea has brought it up again, begging the two of them to save the child's life, hoping that the child can atone for his sins through meritorious service.

Niu Yi nodded knowingly and said:
“I understand. Since this has happened, we might as well send a message to Guanyin Bodhisattva and ask her what she thinks.”

“What Daojun says is true; that’s exactly what I was thinking too.”

As Taibai Jinxing spoke, a golden talisman appeared in his hand. Taibai Jinxing and the Divine Physician Daojun exchanged a few words, and then Taibai Jinxing sent the talisman away, flying to the Great Thunderclap Temple.

After a while, the two people who were talking in the Daojun Palace received a reply from Guanyin.

“The journey to the west is long and arduous, and the person who goes to fetch the scriptures will need a stamina-rich steed. If the Third Prince of the Jade Dragon is willing, let him transform into a dragon horse and serve as his steed to travel west, atone for his sins, and earn some merit so that he can also achieve enlightenment.”

Venus and Daoist exchanged a glance and nodded. One of them went to find the Jade Emperor, while the other went to the Dragon Palace of the West Sea to finalize the matter.

The next day, the Dragon King of the West Sea took his rebellious son to Heaven to apologize.
Just as Daojun finished dealing with the West Sea Dragon King and the White Dragon, guests arrived at Niu Yi's Golden Gourd Mountain.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face stood at the foot of the mountain, cupping their hands in greeting:

“Brother Niu Yi, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has sent us to tell you that Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty is currently a guest in my underworld, accompanied by the Ten Kings of Hell.”

"I understand. Thank you both for bringing the message."

"Haha, Brother Niu Yi, what are you saying? However, because of Li Shimin's arrival, the Underworld has been in some chaos, and we two should return as soon as possible."

A moment later, as the Ox-Head and Horse-Face disappeared in a gust of cold wind, Niu Yi looked at the sky with a sigh.

The reason Li Shimin suddenly went to the underworld was because of a bet between the Jing River Dragon King and Yuan Shoucheng.

Because Yuan Shoucheng taught the fishermen in the city where to fish, they had a bumper harvest. This attracted the Jing River Dragon King to come and cause trouble, demanding that Yuan Shoucheng calculate when it would rain in Chang'an. If he calculated correctly, the Dragon King would give him fifty taels of gold.

If he miscalculates, he will ruin Yuan Shoucheng's reputation and force him to leave Chang'an, forbidding him from fortune-telling!
However, Yuan Shoucheng's final calculation was spot on, but the Jinghe Dragon King cheated by deliberately delaying the rain, thus missing a few drops and violating the heavenly rules.

(End of this chapter)