Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 285 The Daoist Lord Hosts a Banquet
When the four members of the pilgrimage group entered the City of Divine Healers, they found that although the city was not very large, it was quite prosperous and everything seemed to be in good order.

Merchants came and went, transporting mostly medicinal herbs and finished medicines. Most of these herbs went into Daojun Medical Hall, where they were processed into finished medicines and then shipped out.

The medicines produced by Daojun Medical Hall all have their own unique markings, and medicines with these markings are extremely popular.

Many people have tried to do crooked things, but they all ended up in bad situations.

The four travelers made their way through the bustling city and soon arrived at Daojun Medical Hall. Looking at the vast complex of buildings before them, they could smell a strong aroma of herbs just by getting close.

As more and more people come seeking medical treatment, Daojun Medical Clinic is constantly expanding.

At this moment, many pedestrians were coming and going outside the clinic, while a middle-aged man dressed in a dark green robe and holding a book stood by the roadside, smiling as he watched the group of people approaching.

Anyone wearing the clothes of a medical apprentice would respectfully bow to him and address him as Master Fang.

Sun Wukong blinked at the middle-aged man. His fiery eyes, now almost completely healed from old ailments, immediately recognized the divine aura emanating from the man.

Sun Wukong approached the White Dragon Horse, pointed towards Fang Cheng, and said to Tang Sanzang with a smile:

"Master, look, Daojun has sent people to pick us up."

Sure enough, as the four of them arrived at the entrance of the clinic, Fang Cheng strode forward to greet them and said:
"May I ask, are you all holy monks from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East?"

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang quickly dismounted and returned the greeting:

"This humble monk is from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, on his way to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. I wonder which deity is in front of me."

Fang Cheng nodded and smiled:

"My name is Fang Cheng, and I am a protector under the Dao Lord."

“Holy Monk, my master has been waiting for you for a long time. He is holding a banquet on the mountain to entertain you and has ordered me to come and bring you up the mountain.”

Upon hearing that there was a banquet, Pigsy, standing behind Tang Sanzang, beamed with joy and eagerly stepped forward, saying:
"Master, they've already prepared a banquet, let's hurry up the mountain, we can't keep them waiting."

"Very well," Tang Sanzang nodded, looking at Fang Cheng, "Please, Venerable God, lead the way so I can pay my respects to the Dao Lord and thank him for his many rescues."

"Very well, elders, please come with me."

Fang Cheng led the way, exchanged names with the group, and walked with them past Daojun Medical Hall until they arrived at the foot of Daojun Mountain, where they saw a lush apricot grove.

As the wind rustled through the apricot grove, the leaves and apricots whispered, and a unique apricot fragrance filled their nostrils.

Pigsy took two deep sniffs with his long nose, and said with great relish:
"Oh, it smells so good!"

The other three nodded in agreement. Tang Sanzang took a breath of the fragrance and felt a sense of peace in his heart. The fragrance seemed to have the effect of clearing the mind and calming the spirit.

As they entered the apricot grove, they frequently saw medical apprentices casually sitting on the ground, mostly studying the books in their hands.

Fang Cheng smiled and said:

“Holy Monk, you may not know this, but when a disciple of Daojun Mountain completes his training, he will come to the front of the mountain and plant an apricot tree of his own.”

"Over time, it has become this apricot grove. Moreover, Daojun Mountain is a place where the world's medical resources converge, making this apricot grove extremely extraordinary."

"If ordinary pilgrims come, they will usually take another route up the mountain to offer incense. However, since the Daoist is hosting a banquet for everyone, that route has been temporarily closed."

As Fang Cheng was speaking, Zhu Bajie on the other side stopped and stretched out his nine-toothed rake, wanting to pluck an apricot from the apricot tree in front of him.

"Elder Pig, the apricots on that tree have only been growing for a few years. Daojun has already prepared apricots that are a hundred years old in the mountains, and is waiting for you to come."

Upon hearing the gentle voice, Pigsy's face and body stiffened instantly. He turned around and saw that the protector and his master had stopped and were looking at him.

Tang Sanzang's expression also became somewhat serious as he said:
"Bajie, you mustn't be rude."

"Yes, Master."

Pigsy nodded quickly and led the white dragon horse to catch up with the group.

The group followed the mountain path, climbed the steps, and after a while, finally arrived in front of the Daojun Palace, looking at the solemn and majestic palace before them.

At this moment, in front of the gate of Daojun Palace, there were celestial officials standing on both sides, welcoming everyone.

Sun Wukong smiled and said:
"Daojun has certainly put on quite a grand affair to host a banquet for his master!"

Tang Sanzang nodded slightly, his expression becoming somewhat serious. He stepped forward, passing the celestial officials, and led his three disciples into the Dao Lord's Hall.

Just then, the Divine Physician Daojun, who was waiting for him at the head of the table, and the guardian deities beside him were all looking at them with smiles on their faces.

Fang Cheng strode forward and bowed respectfully to Daojun.

"Daojun, the Holy Monk and his three eminent disciples have arrived." "Good, thank you for your hard work."

Fang Cheng bowed again before walking back to the first position on the left, facing Yuan Ze opposite him.

Upon seeing the divine physician Daoist Lord in his purple robes before him, Tang Sanzang quickly stepped forward, bowed, and greeted him:
"Tang Sanzang greets Daojun and thanks Daojun for his protection on several occasions."

When Sun Wukong and the others saw their master bow, they quickly followed behind and bowed to the Divine Physician Daojun.

Daojun smiled and said:

“Holy Monk, you are too kind. You have traveled all the way west to seek the true scriptures and save all living beings. You have endured many hardships to finally arrive at my Daojun Mountain. Please rest your legs here and let me do my best to be a good host.”

With a flick of his sleeve, Daojun instantly appeared in the courtyard behind Daojun Palace. A table appeared in front of Tang Sanzang and his party, laden with food and fruit.

The four disciples were positioned below the Dao Lord, not far from the table in front of him. The other guardian deities also sat calmly below, each with a feast laid out before them.

Tang Sanzang was delighted to see the table full of delicious food, and that there were no foods that were taboo in Buddhism. He once again led his three disciples to thank Daojun before taking their seats.

Seeing that there were indeed many apricots on the table, Pigsy couldn't resist going forward, grabbing a few, and throwing them into his mouth.

Pigsy chewed a few times and swallowed it whole, licking his lips and nodding in satisfaction.
"Mmm~ These apricots are so sweet~ Junior Brother Sha, you should try some~"

"Hey."

Sun Wukong looked around, examining each of the guardian deities on Daojun Mountain, and then scratched his cheek with a smile.

"Wukong, what are you laughing at?"

Sun Wukong whispered:

"Hehe, Master, you don't know this, but most of these guardian deities are like me, they are demons who have become gods."

"There's another one, who I imagine is related to the river god of the Tongtian River."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang felt somewhat regretful. They were very close to the Daoist Lord, and if the Daoist Lord heard this, he didn't know if he would blame him.

"Wukong, you mustn't be rude."

"Master, don't worry, Daojun isn't that petty."

Tang Sanzang turned his head and saw Daojun looking at them with a gentle expression, nodding with a smile. Tang Sanzang had no choice but to give up, picked up the cup of water in front of him, and drank it.

Monks and nuns are forbidden from eating the five pungent vegetables and three forbidden foods, drinking alcohol, and eating meat. However, vegetarian alcohol is not included in these rules.

This so-called vegetarian wine is actually fruit wine made from fruit, such as grape wine. Naturally, their apricot wine is also a vegetarian wine.

But Daojun knew in his heart that the person in front of him was very strict with him. He was unwilling to drink even plain wine. So far, he had only drunk the cup of plain wine with the dust of his hometown that the Tang King had given him before he left.

At this moment, Daojun was talking with Tang Sanzang, sometimes discussing their journey, and sometimes discussing Daoist and Buddhist teachings.

Tang Sanzang was pleasantly surprised to find that the Taoist priest before him had an unexpectedly profound understanding of Buddhism, which gave him a lot of inspiration, and he couldn't help but humbly ask for his guidance.

Daojun has no problem with it, after all, he has read through various classics in the Lingtai Mind Realm, and his accumulation in the Lingtai Mind Realm over the past two thousand years is quite remarkable.

Tang Sanzang and the Daoist priest talked for a long time, until the fruits in front of Zhu Bajie and the others had been changed three times, before they finally ended their conversation.

At this moment, the Daoist Master smiled and said:
“Holy Monk, you have come a long way. Apart from Xing’er, I have nothing else to offer you on this mountain. But I recently made a few sticks of Longevity Incense.”

"My Longevity Incense has a pleasant fragrance. Just a sniff can prevent all diseases, and inhaling a stick of it can extend the life of even an ordinary person by 20,000 years."

"Although it cannot compare to the Herbal Elixir of Zhenyuan Daxian of Wuzhuang Temple, it is still a rare treasure in the world. Please take a look and appreciate it."

As Daojun spoke, he flicked his sleeve toward the square cauldron in the center of the courtyard, causing a stick of blue incense with golden child patterns to fly out quickly, fall into the cauldron, and ignite rapidly.

Soon, a fragrance like green smoke slowly spread, gradually enveloping the entire backyard. As Tang Sanzang and the others inhaled it, he, along with Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing beside him, actually became rosy-cheeked and somewhat drowsy.

"Master, Master?"

When Sun Wukong saw this, he knew that the fragrance was a great tonic for his master and two junior brothers. Unlike the miraculous Herbal Elixir that directly affected the true spirit, this Longevity Incense would probably require a night's sleep to be absorbed.

As for his master, he'll probably be sleeping even longer.

Daojun chuckled lightly:
"Don't worry, Great Sage, I will help your master refine this fragrance later. You only need to sleep for one day, and it won't delay your journey."

Sun Wukong looked at the Divine Physician Daoist, then at the guardian generals who were also somewhat drowsy, and thanked him:
"That's fine then, thank you, thank you."

Sun Wukong looked at the Daoist Lord before him. For some reason, he, who was usually extremely cautious, did not doubt the Lord's words, and the familiar feeling he had for this Lord seemed to be growing stronger.
(End of this chapter)