Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 276 The Fox King's Life Ends, Brothers of the Dragon Palace

The green ox walked over laughing from the side, followed by the respectful-looking local deity of Baoquanjian.

“Brother Si’s cave dwelling is naturally excellent.”

Don't be fooled by the unremarkable appearance of these two peaks in Baoquanjian. Their interiors have long been transformed by the Green Ox into a network of interconnected passages, and now many little ox spirits, transformed from ox hair, are carving out cave dwellings.

Niu Yi flipped his hand and took out a wine pot, which he then presented to the green ox.

"Brother Si took too little wine and fruit when he left, so I ordered the little ox spirits to prepare a lot more and brought it to Brother Si."

Upon hearing this, Qingniu's eyes lit up. He reached out and took the wine pot, opened the lid, and saw a huge space inside, filled with several small mountains of wine jars, peaches and oranges, and plenty of tea.

The green ox grinned from ear to ear.

"Very good, very good. With these things from my brother, I won't be bored when I return to the Heavenly Palace after this matter is over. I'll be able to eat for quite a while."

"Brother, come with me to tour my cave dwelling!"

"From today onwards, my worthy brother, you shall call me the One-Horned Rhinoceros King, hahaha~"

Green Ox strode forward, grabbed Niu Yi, and flew with him toward the mountain gate of the cave. There, on the mountain gate, were written the three large characters "Baoquan Cave".

The landman at the foot of the mountain, Baoquanjian, did not follow, but quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the oxen were always easygoing and not arrogant, they still put a lot of pressure on him.

The Heavenly Court's rules and hierarchical structure are extremely strict. Although this person did not hold a position in the Heavenly Court, the fact that he was Laozi's mount was enough to make many branches of the Daoist sects in the mortal realm kneel down and kowtow, calling him "Grandpa Cow."
As for him, a mere mountain dweller, it was already a great honor for him to even appear in this person's eyes.

Baoquan Earth God looked up at Niu Yi and Qingniu, who had disappeared outside the cave gate, and sighed slightly, half with relief and half with emotion.

"So we're already this far away."

Jilei Mountain, Moyun Cave.

The Fox King raised his hand, looking at the somewhat faded white fur on the back of his hand, as if some fox fur was slowly falling.

The Fox King revealed a complex smile, and chuckled self-deprecatingly:
"Heh~ I never thought that, at the very end, I would have to experience the feeling of a mortal fox shedding its fur again?"

"You're doing pretty well; at least you have the chance to experience it. I wouldn't even dare to dream of something like that."

Hearing the voice behind him, the Fox King was not surprised. He just laughed and slowly turned around.

"What hairs could a golden toad like you possibly have to shed!"

As the Fox King looked, what appeared behind him was none other than the three-legged golden toad, Jin Fu.

At this moment, Jin Fu had a complicated expression on his face as he looked at the Fox King, whose life force was already extremely weak. The Fox King's face also showed an unprecedented age.

At this moment, the Fox King was no longer the spirited and aloof demon king of the past; he was more like a frail old man on the verge of death.
"you"

Jin Fu wanted to say something but couldn't open his mouth. He had known the man in front of him for thousands of years and they were very close. He knew the Fox King of Ten Thousand Years very well.

However, ever since the calamity of the Golden-Winged Roc on Golden Toad Mountain, the two of them had lost contact until he received a message from his old friend several days ago.
"Hehe~ I see pity in your eyes, but that's to be expected, given my appearance."

Looking at Jin Fu's eyes, the Fox King chuckled and shook his head. He was about to say something comforting, but then he found that some words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

He's already a dying man, yet he still has the mind to comfort others.
The Fox King sighed silently, then looked at Jin Fu before him and slowly said:

"I have not invited you here for any other reason than that my lifespan will end tonight, and I will soon be reincarnated. In these final moments, I wish to see you one last time."

"After all, what happened back then was something I wronged you about."

When Jin Fu introduced Niu Yi to Niu Yi, he brought along this Fox King of Ten Thousand Years not just because the two of them had made a deal. He had saved the lives of the Meishan brothers, but he also had a deep friendship with this Fox King of Ten Thousand Years.

Jin Fu shook his head and said:
"Back then, I couldn't understand how the mighty, loyal, and powerful Fox King, who had gathered a group of great demons to serve him faithfully, had become a coward."

"But now that I see you, I understand. If you had stayed on Golden Toad Mountain back then, and if Brother Guangyi hadn't invited that Nine-Spirit Primordial Saint, you probably wouldn't have survived to this point."

The Fox King, however, laughed heartily and said:

"I did this so that I could look after my business for a little longer, but in doing so, I also lost the only friend I could entrust with my business."

"It's true what they say, people become cowardly when they're facing death."

"Jin Fu, let me ask you one more time. If I were to hand over most of my family business to you, would you be willing to protect my daughter?"

Jin Fu looked at the Fox King, who had suddenly become serious, remained silent for a long time, and then shook his head.

Just as the Fox King was feeling disappointed, Jin Fu slowly spoke:

"You should leave your million-dollar fortune to your daughter, but if she encounters any misfortune in the future, I might help her out of consideration for our past relationship."

Upon hearing this, the Fox King looked at Jin Fu for a long time before finally nodding. His figure then began to transform into specks of white light and gradually disappeared beneath the starry sky.

"Then, I'll leave it to you." "Thank you."

As the Fox King died, a palm-sized white fantasy bead slowly emerged from the spot where the Fox King had disappeared and flew towards Jin Fu.

Jin Fu reached out and took it, and saw that a hazy light was emerging on the bead, and the surrounding air and the bead seemed to be constantly distorting.

Suddenly, the aged voice of the Fox King came from the bead and reached Jin Fu's ears.

"Jin Fu, if you agree, then I will give you this demon core. You can use it for cultivation, medicine making, or give it away as you please. Anyway, I am already dead, and my daughter is too incompetent to protect this demon core."

"If you don't agree..."

"I will also give you this demon core, as a token of my apology from back then."

"That old bastard."

Jin Fu's expression grew increasingly complicated as he looked at the spot where the Fox King had disappeared, and also at the seemingly eternally bright moon in the sky.

If he fails to attain the Dao fruit, will he also face such a day as the Fox King?

Without attaining the Dao Fruit, even with countless treasures to prolong life, he could only last until the end of this primordial era, ultimately returning to chaos along with the world.
"Forget it, why think about all this?"

Jin Fu shook his head, turned around and glanced at the wild boar demon who had been watching this scene silently, then his figure transformed into a golden light and left the place.

Seeing Jin Fu leave, the pig demon, who had been holding back tears, burst into tears and knelt down in front of the place where the Fox King had died, bowing deeply three times.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will definitely take care of and protect Miss! Even if it costs me my life!"

Soon, a month or so passed.

Under the watchful eyes of Niu Yi and many forces in the Three Realms, the pilgrimage to the West was ultimately hindered when they encountered the Little Crocodile Dragon at the Blackwater River.

Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie were captured by the little alligator dragon and imprisoned in the Black River Water Palace. Sha Wujing went to rescue them, but only managed to fight the little alligator dragon to a draw.

Fortunately, the River God of the Blackwater River appeared at this time and told Sun Wukong about the origin of the little alligator dragon, which led Sun Wukong to go to the West Sea Dragon Palace to question it. After learning about the cause and effect of the matter, he brought the West Sea Dragon King's eldest son, Ao Moang, and his group to subdue the little alligator dragon.

"Hmph! You scoundrel! Quickly apologize to the Great Sage and the Holy Monk!"

On the banks of the Blackwater River, Ao Moang, holding the bound and gagged little alligator dragon, confronted the Great Sage, demanding an explanation!

The little alligator dragon was extremely indignant. This guy was clearly his older cousin, and not only did he not help him, he even wanted him to apologize to Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing. This was simply outrageous!

"Humph!"

The little alligator dragon turned its head away, refusing to look at Sun Wukong, who was checking on Tang Sanzang's condition.

"you!!!"

Ao Moang was furious.

This ungrateful fellow really thinks Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) is just for show! If he doesn't quickly admit his mistake now, and this guy insists on holding him accountable, and Sun Wukong hits him with his staff, how can he possibly protect the little alligator dragon since he was the one who made the mistake first!

"Great Sage! This scoundrel is unruly. I will take him back to the Western Sea and ask my father to punish him!"

Upon hearing the sounds from this side, Sun Wukong looked at Ao Moang and chuckled twice, saying:

"Your Highness has really worked hard this time. I, Old Sun, am very grateful. Please take this monster away and discipline him properly, so that he will not come out to harm people again."

"sure!"

Ao Moang quickly bowed and agreed, feeling relieved. He picked up the little alligator dragon and led his shrimp soldiers and crab generals to leave the place.

Suddenly, Ao Moang's gaze met that of the white dragon horse. The white dragon horse's eyes flickered, and Ao Moang's figure was reflected in its large, dark eyes, but in the end, it still took the initiative to look away.

Ao Moang remained expressionless, also avoiding eye contact, and dragged the little alligator dragon and the shrimp soldiers and crab generals away from the place, only sighing slightly in his heart.

三弟
Sun Wukong, looking at the white dragon horse and Ao Moang beside him, seemed to understand something as well, and gently stroked the white dragon horse's mane a few times.

Above the Blackwater River, in the clouds, Niu Yi, disguised as an ordinary Taoist priest, nodded slightly after seeing that the group from the Western Sea had left.

Beside him, Guanyin Bodhisattva was looking down at Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong, who were both safe and sound, and nodded slowly.

At this moment, the Bodhisattva looked at Niu Yi beside him and said:
"I've noticed that recently, Immortal Master seems to be planning to guide the three national teachers of Chechi Kingdom?"

Niu Yi nodded, his expression unchanged.

"That's right. Those three cultivators are not hopeless, but they lack guidance, which is why they keep making mistakes."

The Bodhisattva shook his head slightly and said:
“Those three people who hate our Buddhist sect and committed the act of destroying Buddhism have persecuted many Buddhist disciples. They will surely face karmic retribution in the future. I'm sure you, Immortal Master, are aware of this.”

"This humble monk is not trying to dissuade you, Immortal Master, but the enmity between these three and Buddhism is not so easily resolved. The main reason for this is their own hatred."

(End of this chapter)