Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 261 Herbal Elixir

At the summit of Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi, who had just returned to the mountain and was drinking with his green ox, looked at the local earth god appearing from the rising mist not far away and laughed:

"Earth God, you're back! You've really had a hard time this time, Earth God."

"What's so hard about this?"

The Earth God smiled and shook his head, handing the Heavenly Treasure Bottle in his hand to Niu Yi. The treasure then turned into blue light and flew back into Niu Yi's hand. Only then did the Earth God step towards the pavilion.

The little black Qilin, which had been dozing at Niu Yi's feet, raised its head, glanced at the Earth God with its big, wet, clear eyes, then moved closer to Niu Yi, yawned, and closed its eyes again.

The Earth God sat back down at the table, took the wine cup from Niu Yi's hand, stroked his beard, and smiled:

“I have already given the potion you prepared to Sun Wukong and left a note. Judging from his cleverness, he must know the reason, but I'm afraid he wouldn't think of you, his senior brother.”

Qingniu laughed heartily and patted Niu Yi on the shoulder.

"Hahaha~ My younger brother isn't the type to care much about others' gratitude. I suppose he thinks that as long as the medicine is delivered, it will cure the monkey's eye disease."

Niu Yi nodded and said:
"That's right, and it's not appropriate for me to show up now. I'll just wait until he comes to my Golden Gourd Mountain and then send him off."

"Judging by the distance, if this group of people crosses the Tongtian River, they will not be far from my Jindu Mountain."

In the palace of the Golden-Winged Roc in the Lion Camel Kingdom, a violent noise suddenly broke out.

"Snapped!!"

The demons kneeling outside the Golden-Winged Roc's gate trembled upon hearing this voice, and even as blood splattered and dripped onto them, they dared not even breathe.

Clearly, something had broken, but it wasn't a cup or saucer that shattered; it was the head of a monster.
"Hmph! A bunch of useless trash! They actually let that scorpion sneak into the Lion Camel Kingdom without leaving a trace, and they still don't know anything about it!"

With a fierce look in his eyes, the Golden-Winged Roc stepped over the dozens of headless demon corpses in front of him and came to a fox spirit who was trembling all over.

This fox spirit is none other than Hu San Niang, the person in charge of the Nine-Tailed Fox Trading Company.

The Golden-Winged Roc clenched his still somewhat aching hand, his calm tone carrying an endless chill.

"A wolf demon saw you trading with a group of merchants of unknown origin, but they left in a hurry. Was that scorpion brought here by these merchants?"

Hu Sanniang shuddered and kowtowed repeatedly, saying:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I know nothing! I have no idea who those merchants are. I only agreed to trade with them beforehand! I know nothing else!"

Hu San Niang was still somewhat dazed at this point. It seemed as if there was a gap in her memory. She had never seen Jin Cheng of the Golden Toad Merchant Guild, but the Jade Pendant of the Heavenly Pot in her hand was also missing!

This was clearly done by someone she couldn't afford to offend, but she had lost her mind to tell the Golden-Winged Roc that she actually knew the merchant guild she was dealing with was the Golden Toad Merchant Guild, which had a grudge against the Great King.

This will not only fail to save her, it will also make her die faster!
Unfortunately, whether she said it or not, it was clear that the Golden-Winged Roc had no intention of letting her go!
The Golden-Winged Roc grabbed Hu San Niang by the neck and lifted her up, its eyes filled with gloom.

"Hmph! What kind of merchant guild is this? They left Lion Camel Kingdom not long ago, and that scorpion came looking for trouble with me! What a coincidence!"

"The Great King"

Hu San Niang looked terrified, feeling the terrifying force tightening around her neck and the suffocating sensation. However, because of the terrifying aura of the Golden-Winged Roc, she couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Click!!"

With a slight twist of its hand, the Golden-Winged Roc snapped Hu San Niang's neck, causing her to bleed from all seven orifices and die with her eyes wide open.

Just then, a streak of green light flashed from Hu San Niang's dead body and rushed wildly towards the outside of the palace, but she only heard a cry like that of an eagle before she completely lost consciousness.

In the eyes of the other kneeling demons around them, the fox's demonic soul was completely annihilated by the terrifying aura emanating from the Golden-Winged Roc.
The Golden-Winged Roc casually tossed the white fox corpse in his hand aside, making Hu Sanniang part of the corpse on the ground as well, but he lost the will to ask any more questions.

Clearly, the scorpion that suddenly appeared was specifically there for him, not just passing by; it was there to deal with him.

However, the Golden-Winged Roc couldn't figure out why a powerful scorpion demon had suddenly appeared, and why it was targeting him in this way.

"Scorpion."

He always felt that something was wrong, especially in the last few hundred years, when he had been incredibly unlucky and everything went wrong!

The Golden-Winged Roc's gaze turned somber. After this massacre, he had lost interest in continuing the killing and turned his gaze toward the direction of Lion Camel Ridge.

The gust of Samadhi Wind that just swept by brought with it two auras that he was quite familiar with.
We might as well pay them a visit later. If we have the help of these two, even if there is someone behind the scenes planning to deal with him, even if that scorpion comes again, we will make sure she doesn't leave alive!

"Jin Cheng! You bastard, have you lost your mind?! How dare you go to that Lion Camel Kingdom! If it weren't for Brother Guangyi, you would be dead already!"

"You've really grown up! Even I, Grandpa Jin, wouldn't dare go there! And you dare to go!"

"I tell you."

Inside the main hall of Jinchan Mountain, Jin Cheng looked at the phantom of Jin Fu appearing in the huge coin in front of him with a bitter expression.

The usually cheerful Jin Fu was now enraged, pointing at Jin Cheng and cursing him. The surrounding toads had no doubt that if Jin Fu were here, they would have already punched him.

Jin Fu pointed at Jin Cheng and cursed him for a full half hour before he finally felt a little better. His face was sour as he looked at Jin Cheng and said:
"The caravan you've been in charge of for the past century has been suspended. Hand over the transactions to someone else and get yourself a good wake-up call."

"You wait for me at Golden Toad Mountain! I'll return to Golden Toad Mountain after this transaction is finished. Prepare a generous gift, and come with me to Golden Gourd Mountain soon! We'll properly thank my brother!"

Jin Cheng didn't dare to breathe loudly, and only breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He quickly replied:
"Yes! I understand, Grandpa Jin! I'll go prepare right away!"

After Jin Cheng finished speaking, he turned and quickly left, preparing to head to the treasure vault to search for treasures.
A few days later, with Jin Fu's return, Jin Cheng and his grandfather Jin rode together in a toad-shaped carriage and flew towards Jin Du Mountain.
Time flies. After his eyes were healed that day, Sun Wukong transformed into a bee to investigate the Yellow Wind Monster's cave. He unexpectedly learned from the monster that only a treasure that could stabilize the wind or the Bodhisattva Lingji could subdue him.

Sun Wukong was overjoyed. He obtained the address of the Bodhisattva Lingji's abode from the local earth god of Huangfeng Ridge and set off to find the Bodhisattva. He subdued the Yellow Wind Monster and rescued his master. Afterward, the master and disciples continued their westward journey and arrived at the Liusha River. They were blocked by Sha Wujing in the river. After much trouble, they learned that Sha Wujing was the Bodhisattva's third disciple, Tang Sanzang's disciple.

From then on, the group traveling west changed from three people and one horse to four people and one horse, and the pilgrimage team was fully assembled.

On the other side, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and the Old Mother of Mount Nali set up tests on the four travelers on their journey to the West, to test their Zen minds. In the end, only Pigsy's lustful heart remained unchanged, and he was punished by the four by being hung in a net on a tree overnight.

At this time, the group on their pilgrimage were not far from the Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain.
At the foot of Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi saw Jin Fu and Jin Cheng, who had come to express their gratitude, off, saying half-seriously and half-jokingly:

"Brother Jin, you must keep a close eye on Jin Cheng and never have such wishful thinking again."

Jin Cheng was indeed too audacious this time, or rather, his wishful thinking got the better of him. Little did he know that many people who died and perished did so because of this same wishful thinking.

Don't underestimate the power of luck.

Jin Fu nodded seriously, while glaring at Jin Cheng behind him who looked guilty.

"My brother is right! I'll teach him a lesson when I get back!"

"However, I see that you seem to be quite busy these days, so I will not linger and disturb you any longer. I will take this boy and leave. If you have some free time in the future, please come to my Golden Toad Mountain for a chat."

As Jin Fu spoke, he glanced warily at the mountaintop.

There was a terrifying presence there, whose aura made him quite uneasy.
Niu Yi understood that Jin Fu was somewhat uneasy because of the aura of the Green Ox. Even though the Green Ox did not show any hostility and even showed some friendliness because of him, Jin Fu was still a little restless.

With a wave of his hand, Niu Yi sent a fiery jujube flying down from the mountaintop and landing in front of Jin Fu.

"Brother Jin, rest assured, I will definitely visit Jin Chan Mountain when I have the time. Please take this fire date with you, Brother Jin Fu. It might be of great help to your cultivation."

"Very well, then I won't stand on ceremony with you, my worthy brother!"

A moment later, Niu Yi watched as the toad-shaped vehicle in the sky flew rapidly into the distance, while his gaze turned to the golden light flying in from the horizon.

Niu Yi stretched out his palm and saw a message from Venus, telling him the story of how Guanyin Bodhisattva and the other three tested the four people's Zen minds on their journey to the West.

Niu Yi nodded slightly, his eyes showing a thoughtful expression, and looked towards the east side of Jindu Mountain, which was in the direction of Wuzhuang Temple.

Now, Tang Sanzang and his companions are getting closer and closer to Wuzhuang Temple.

Speaking of which, the Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple gave him a Di Yuan Pill back then, which allowed him to improve his cultivation to the Taiyi Realm by combining it with the Earth Spirit Pearl. In his opinion, Zhen Yuanzi was a great benefactor who helped him.

Perhaps in the future, he could visit this great immortal. Back then, the two immortal children, Qingfeng and Mingyue, had left a deep impression on him and treated him well.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of years have passed.
Niu Yi shook his head and turned to walk up the mountain.

According to his communication with Venus and Guanyin, Tang Sanzang and his group do not need his attention until they reach the banks of the Tongtian River.

Only when their group reached the Tongtian River and traveled all the way to the Kingdom of Women would they need Niu Yi's help, so he could relax for a while.

Furthermore, some people seem to be planning to cause trouble on both sides of the Tongtian River. His Divine Physician Daojun's avatar and his subordinate, the Goat-Headed Ghost King, are also investigating and have only just begun to make some progress.

It can only be said that nowadays, every household on both sides of the Tongtian River worships the Divine Physician Daoist Lord. Although the outsider was cautious, he still underestimated the influence of his divine avatar on both sides of the Tongtian River.

And it's quite interesting that this group chose to step forward at this special time when Buddhism is spreading eastward.
Niu Yi was just thinking about how to make up for the ordeal with the carp spirit of Tongtian River on his journey to the West when this guy who suddenly bumped into him appeared. He wondered if he could come up with a plan.

After all, it seems that Guanyin Bodhisattva had never mentioned the carp spirit before because of him, and there was not a trace of the carp spirit in his Tongtian River. It is unknown how this Bodhisattva arranged things.

However, Niu Yi stayed on Jindu Mountain for several more days. One day, while he was watching the little bull demons practice their skills with Qingniu, he suddenly received a message from Emperor Donghua.

Niu Yi looked at the talisman flying in from the horizon, radiating a verdant glow, and with a wave of his hand, he caught it in his palm.

Niu Yi sensed the information within and was slightly surprised. Then, he flipped his hand, and the Heavenly Treasure Bottle appeared in his palm.

Niu Yi recited the incantation, and the Heavenly Treasure Bottle instantly disappeared, teleporting to the Divine Physician Daojun on Daojun Mountain.

Not long ago, at Fangzhang Immortal Mountain.

A figure landed on Fangzhang Immortal Mountain on a somersault cloud. This person was none other than Sun Wukong, who had just failed to obtain the elixir from Penglai Immortal Mountain.

Not long ago, he and his master passed by Wuzhuang Temple. The abbot, Zhenyuan Daxian, said that he had taken the temple's members to the Miluo Palace to listen to a lecture on the Hunyuan Dao Fruit, leaving behind a pair of immortal children. He also gave them two fruits to quench their thirst.

That fruit is a medicinal herb from a spiritual tree that grew before the world was created, when chaos first separated and heaven and earth were not yet formed. It is also known as the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

It blooms once every three thousand years, bears fruit once every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to ripen. It produces only thirty fruits at a time, and they all look like children.

If a person is fortunate enough to smell the fruit, they will live for 360 years; if they eat one, they will live for 47,000 years.

When Niu Yi went there, he didn't even get to see this spiritual root. At that time, the Herb Rejuvenation Pill was still a little short of being fully mature.

Sun Wukong arrived at Fangzhang Immortal Mountain and went straight to visit the Eastern Emperor, explaining to him what he and his group had done and the difficulties they had encountered at Wuzhuang Temple.

It turned out that when Tang Sanzang saw the fruit offered by the two boys, which looked exactly like a baby, he refused to eat it. However, this scene was overheard by Pigsy.

When Sun Wukong learned that there were such fruit trees in Wuzhuang Temple, he took the golden cudgel specially used for picking fruit and knocked down a fruit. However, this herbal elixir was incompatible with the five elements and entered the earth. In the blink of an eye, it was swallowed by the earth. He had no choice but to knock down three more to share with his three fellow disciples.

However, the two young Taoist disciples, Qingfeng and Mingyue, eventually learned of the theft. Seeing that their fruit had been stolen and that Tang Sanzang and his group refused to admit it, they were furious and got into a quarrel with the four of them. Sun Wukong, still angry, used his avatar to create a clone, wielding his golden cudgel, and knocked down the ginseng fruit tree!
Upon returning from the Heavenly Palace, Zhen Yuanzi heard Qingfeng and Mingyue's tearful lament. With a single gesture, he concealed the four people and their horse from the pilgrimage into his sleeve and brought them back to Wuzhuang Temple.

After many twists and turns, Zhenyuan Daxian and Sun Wukong made a pact: if he could revive the ginseng fruit tree, he would let them go and they could even become sworn brothers!
(End of this chapter)