Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 259 Reunion with Jin Cheng
"Hu Sanniang! What do you mean by this?!"

Inside the Lion Camel Kingdom, in front of an elegant trading company bearing the Nine-Tailed Fox emblem, several wagons pulled by tall, burly drivers were parked, yet these wagons bore no markings whatsoever.

Outside the Nine-Tailed Fox Trading Company, a bewitching woman in a white robe was gently waving a large white feather fan in her hand, looking at the angry old man opposite her with a somewhat cynical smile.

"Oh dear~ Brother, please don't be so angry~"

"As you know, the market in Lion Camel Kingdom hasn't been good lately. We merchants in Lion Camel Kingdom have to supply the King with tribute every year, so I had no choice but to send that batch of golden silk jade as tribute."

The old man looked at the fox spirit before him, his expression grim, and said:

"Hu Sanniang, we made a deal back then: I would deliver this batch of goods you requested, and you would give me that batch of golden silk jadeite. What do you mean by this now?"

"What? Now you're just going to throw away the goods I went through so much trouble to find? You even gave away that golden silk jade marrow, which we signed a contract for back then!"

Hu Sanniang sighed, feigning helplessness, looked at the old man opposite her, and shook her head, saying:
"Oh dear, Brother Cheng, I have no choice but to do this. You know how difficult it is to do business in Lion Camel Kingdom these days. Besides, we demons are under the protection of the King, so how can we not pay tribute?"

"Anyway, the golden jade marrow is already in the palace, so how could I dare to ask for it back? If my elder brother wants it, he'll have to go to the palace to get it."

"you--!"

"Oh, of course. I also urgently need this batch of goods, Brother Cheng. I've prepared some other goods to exchange for yours. You can take a look first."

The fox waved its hand, and a burly man with a pig's head and bared fangs stepped forward and tossed the bamboo scroll in his hand to the old man opposite him.

The old man's expression was gloomy. He took the bamboo slip and looked at the writing on it. The more he looked, the uglier his face became. The contents of the slip were worth less than one-fifth of the goods he had brought!

An inexplicable unease rose in the old man's heart. After all, he had come here without telling his grandfather, Jin. This vixen dared to act like this, so she must know something.
"Hmph! Since you, Hu Sanniang, are so insincere, then I, Lao Cheng, will not do this deal! Let's go!"

As the old man spoke, he waved his sleeve, about to lead the many strongmen and goods away from this awful place, but suddenly the many monsters wielding weapons beside the fox spirit surrounded them.

"Wait a minute~"

Hu Sanniang slowly walked up to the old man, looked at him, and transmitted her voice with a half-smile:

"Jin Cheng, this deal is yours to do, whether you like it or not. It's not up to you!"

Upon hearing Hu San Niang's words, Jin Cheng's heart sank to the bottom!
Sure enough, the fact that Hu San Niang knew his name meant she knew about his Golden Toad Trading Company. But he had been extremely cautious on this trip, so who had leaked the information?
Hu San Niang's alluring face slowly transformed into a pure white fox head, her mouth splitting open to reveal a set of sharp teeth. Her yellow beastly eyes were fixed on Jin Cheng's ugly face. She slowly circled him, transmitting her thoughts to him as she went:
"Tsk tsk, Jin Cheng~ Your Golden Toad Trading Company's ancestor had a grudge against the King of our Lion Camel Kingdom. Now you dare to swagger into the Lion Camel Kingdom to trade."

"Believe it or not, if I shout it, you'll be beheaded!"

"I advise you to obediently leave this shipment behind and leave this Lion Camel Kingdom. Compared to your own life, I believe the choice is quite clear."

A greedy, wicked smile appeared on Hu Sanniang's fox-like face, as if she had already decided to take Jin Cheng by surprise.

She gambled on this golden chariot, and she'll definitely have to swallow this bitter pill today!

She naturally wouldn't casually spread the news that the Golden Toad Merchant Guild had appeared here. After all, even if the Golden-Winged Roc came, Jin Cheng was doomed, but what benefit could she possibly gain?
Do you really think that Golden-Winged Roc is some kind of benevolent demon? If Jin Cheng dies, she will definitely not get a single piece of this batch of goods. She might even be swallowed up by the Golden-Winged Roc because she was trading with this merchant guild behind its back!
She came here to do business and gain benefits, not to serve the Golden-Winged Roc, and there's no question of loyalty between them. She wouldn't do anything without personal gain!

But Jin Cheng didn't know any of this.
So she's determined to get her hands on this batch of goods!

As Hu San Niang was thinking smugly, she suddenly heard a clear, light laugh coming from behind her.

"It's quite lively here."

Hu San Niang frowned slightly, only to see Jin Cheng in front of her suddenly show a look of astonishment, followed by undisguised joy, as he quickly turned around to look in the direction from which the voice came.

"Grandpa Niu! What are you doing here!"

In Jin Cheng's view, a man named Niu Yi, dressed in a blue robe and with a pair of bull horns on his head, was walking gracefully towards him with a beautiful woman.

Hu Sanniang and her many henchmen followed the sound, but instead of looking at Niu Yi, she first looked at the Scorpion Demon. Looking at the demon's beautiful face, Hu Sanniang felt a strange sense of hostility.
This enchantress was just as beautiful as her.
The scorpion demon glanced at the fox demon, a look of disdain flashing in her eyes.

"Ugh~ It smells like foxes~"

Upon hearing this, Hu Sanniang's expression changed. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the two who had suddenly appeared, saying:
"Gentlemen, this is a matter between our merchant guild and this Mr. Cheng. It's best if you two outsiders don't interfere. You must know, this is the Lion Camel Kingdom! Even the King..."

Before Hu San Niang could finish speaking, a pink mist suddenly appeared around the Scorpion Demon, spreading out and enveloping all the unprepared demons.

Hu San Niang looked horrified, a hint of struggle flashing in her eyes, but soon she, along with the other thugs, showed a look of confusion on her face.

Niu Yi ignored them, and the mist bypassed Jin Cheng and the others, blocking out the surrounding atmosphere and sounds.

"Jin Cheng, why did you suddenly come to this Lion Camel Kingdom? Don't you know that this place is occupied by the Golden-Winged Roc, and it is very dangerous for all of you?"

Hearing Niu Yi's somewhat stern words, Jin Cheng looked ashamed and felt extremely guilty. He quickly knelt down and said:

"I'm sorry, Grandpa Niu, I'm really sorry, but the great formation of Golden Toad Mountain needs to be repaired recently, which requires a lot of spiritual materials from heaven and earth, one of which is Golden Silk Jade Marrow."

“The repair of the great formation requires a huge amount of this jade marrow. I heard that Hu San Niang of the Lion Camel Kingdom just acquired a batch, so I thought I would come to trade incognito. Hu San Niang should not suddenly think of my Golden Toad Mountain. After the transaction, she will leave, and there should be no trouble.”

"I never imagined that Hu San Niang would obtain this information from somewhere, and that she knew that the Golden-Winged Roc had a grudge against my Golden Toad Mountain, which is why..."

Niu Yi shook his head slightly and gestured towards the Nine-Tailed Fox Merchant Guild. Immediately, a jade pendant flew out and landed in front of Jin Cheng.

"This jade pendant contains the golden silk jade marrow you sought. Take it and leave the city quickly. Remember to keep your whereabouts secret and go as far away as possible."

Jin Cheng smiled with delight and quickly put away the jade pendant, but then looked at Niu Yi with some worry.

"Grandpa Niu, why don't you come with us? I have a treasure that conceals its aura. Even if the Golden-Winged Roc came, he might not be able to find it."

He hadn't forgotten that the person in front of him had invited the legendary Nine-Headed Lion to help their Golden Toad Mountain drive away the Golden-Winged Roc back then. Therefore, the person in front of him was also the one who was resented by the Golden-Winged Roc in that battle.

"Don't worry, I have things to do here and won't expose myself easily. Besides, I'll settle accounts with that person about what happened back then sooner or later." "This..."

Jin Cheng hesitated, but seeing Niu Yi's calm face, he nodded repeatedly and said:

"I understand. Please be careful, Grandpa Niu. I'll take my leave now."

Jin Cheng knew that staying here would only interfere with Niu Yi, so he readily agreed and led the group and goods toward the gate of Lion Camel Kingdom.

At the same time, the scorpion demon withdrew her supernatural powers, smiled slightly at the empty-eyed demons around her, and with a flick of her finger, the demons all went back into the house and closed the door.

The scorpion demon turned to look at Niu Yi and smiled:
"That's fine. After entering the city, I used my supernatural powers. These demons won't remember seeing you or me. Even the Golden-Winged Roc won't be able to find out. What do you plan to do next?"

Niu Yi nodded in admiration. He naturally had his own ways to keep the monsters in the city from noticing, but to manipulate others' desires so silently as the Scorpion Demon, without leaving any trace on their demon soul or spirit, was truly remarkable.

"You are truly blessed with natural talent when it comes to matters of the heart and desire."

"Next, naturally, we will head to the palace to investigate the Golden-Winged Roc."

The scorpion demon shook her head and, under Niu Yi's astonished gaze, said:

"You wanted to see how powerful that Golden-Winged Roc is now, right? In that case, I have an even better idea. I'll go and fight it, how about that?"

"You shouldn't have any grudge against it, so why are you willing to go to this extent?"

The scorpion demon rolled her eyes at Niu Yi and said:

"Don't think of me as the kind of person who doesn't keep her word. Now that I'm under your command and have promised to serve you for ten thousand years, I will naturally do my best to serve you. As long as you don't fall, I will never have any disloyalty."

The demon race admires strength, and most of the demons in the country have come for the Golden-Winged Roc. If he is here, they will naturally fight for him. If he is defeated, then there is no question of loyalty, and those who should run away will run away.

The same principle applies to the scorpion demon.

However, Scorpion was also holding back a lot of anger. Since this Daoist Guangyi had looked down on her before, she was determined to show him her true abilities!
Niu Yi nodded and said:

"That's fine then, but remember to be careful. This time we're just testing the waters. We'll settle things with it in a few days."

This scorpion demon is quite skilled, but she should still be somewhat inferior to the Golden-Winged Roc. However, since she has such confidence, there shouldn't be any problems.

The scorpion demon nodded slightly and headed towards the towering palace that exuded a terrifying demonic aura.

After a while, in Niu Yi's eyes, thick smoke and flames suddenly rose from the palace. The smoke and flames contained scorpion venom, which attracted all the monsters in the city to look in the direction of the palace.

Niu Yi knew that the scorpion demon had the ability to breathe smoke from its mouth and fire from its nose, but he never expected that it could be so powerful when it used it.

Although it is not as powerful as his Samadhi True Fire, the poison contained in this firework should not be underestimated.

"who is it!!!"

A roar of fury suddenly echoed throughout the city. At the same time, a streak of black light streaked across the sky above Lion Camel Kingdom and flew into the distance.

Following closely behind was a golden light, which transformed in mid-air into a golden-winged roc that blotted out the sky. With a flap of its wings, it disappeared above the palace and chased after the black light.

Seeing this, Niu Yi also used his supernatural powers to chase after the scorpion demon and the golden-winged roc in the direction they had left.

Time flies, and soon more than a month has passed.

Inside the Pipa Cave, the Scorpion Demon swallowed the pill handed to her by Niu Yi, and her complexion immediately became much rosier. The scratches on her arms also disappeared quickly.

The scorpion demon touched the mark on her arm that hadn't completely faded, and looked at Niu Yi, saying:

"Hmph! This thieving bird is quite formidable. There are probably few in the Three Realms that can match its speed. If it weren't for your help, we would have been in real trouble this time."

"But it's certainly not having an easy time now; it got stung three times by my poisonous horse-drawn dagger. It's going to suffer!"

Niu Yi nodded thoughtfully.

The Scorpion Demon and the Golden-Winged Roc fought and retreated for a full half month before the Scorpion Demon, with Niu Yi's help, managed to hide and escape successfully.

The Golden-Winged Roc was naturally furious, but unable to find the Scorpion Demon and having been stung three times by the Poisonous Horse, he was in unbearable pain and had no choice but to return to the Lion Camel Kingdom.

After watching for so long, Niu Yi had figured out some of the tricks. He wasn't afraid of the Golden-Winged Roc's other abilities, but this speed was something else entirely.

His junior brother Wukong's somersault cloud could travel 108,000 li in a single somersault, making it the most capable of crossing mountains and seas in the Three Realms.

But the Golden-Winged Roc is even faster. With one flap of its wings, it can travel 90,000 miles, and with two flaps, it can catch up. Even Niu Yi today cannot catch up with it.

Furthermore, this guy also possesses a magical artifact called the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle, a treasure containing the Yin and Yang energies, the Seven Treasures, the Eight Trigrams, and the Twenty-Four Qi. It is extremely powerful in capturing people and is truly extraordinary.

Previously, it was because the Scorpion Demon had been hiding from the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle all the way that she was not taken away by the bottle, which was why the stalemate lasted for so long, allowing Niu Yi to see the Golden-Winged Roc's current abilities and skills.

It seems that everything else is manageable, but the only way to deal with this guy is to limit his speed.

Is it a magic weapon to take people's lives?
Niu Yi's gaze fell on the Chaos Green Gourd at his waist.

If we're talking about magical treasures for taking people's lives, his gourd is no less powerful than the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle, the Supreme Dao Ancestor's Purple Gold Gourd for holding pills, or the Jade Pure Bottle for holding water.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by. Niu Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, waved his hand, caught a wisp of wind, and smelled it.

(End of this chapter)