Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 291 Moving reinforcements

On Mount Jindu, as the pilgrim group departed, the little ox spirits in the Jindu Cave emerged from the cave to roam freely.

Niu Yi looked at the bull demons thoughtfully, then turned to look at Niu Yan, who stood to the side with a respectful expression.

“Niu Yan, are there fewer and fewer newborn calf spirits on this mountain these days?”

The little bull spirit who was the most talented on Golden Gourd Mountain back then has now reached the Demon King realm, but he still has a long way to go before he can comprehend a complete Great Dao and break through to the Great Demon King realm.

Niu Yan respectfully said:
“Grandfather, not only that, but this situation has become increasingly serious in recent years. Nowadays, the bull demons in the entire Golden Gourd Cave may only give birth to one or two baby bull demons every few years.”

"However, similarly, these newborn calf spirits will have far greater talents than we did back then, and their cultivation speed will be much faster."

Niu Yi nodded slowly, indicating that he understood.

This situation was somewhat expected, which also shows that as the little bull spirits on Jindu Mountain are nurtured, their bloodlines are slowly evolving.

However, the stronger a demon's bloodline and the greater its foundation, the more difficult it is for it to reproduce. Just like the Ten Thousand Year Fox King, who only had one daughter, the Jade-Faced Fox, in his entire life.

However, there are advantages and disadvantages. This is because the bull spirit on Jindu Mountain is so nourished by Jindu Mountain and its fortune is connected to it, so its cultivation will be much faster than before.

The number of old bull demons is decreasing year by year, and the newborn bull demons will have greatly enhanced talents.

If the birth rate had remained at that level, starting from the time Niu Yi made his fortune and started giving back to Jindu Mountain in the last few centuries, Jindu Cave would probably have been insufficient to accommodate everyone long ago.

Just then, Niu Yi paused, looked down at his palm, pondered for a moment, and began to calculate.

Niu Yi shook his head and chuckled, realizing that Sun Wukong had already guessed his identity.

"It's much faster than I expected."

Niu Yi murmured to himself, then turned and walked up the mountain. Niu Yan, who was not far away, saw this scene and was also full of curiosity. He quickly followed his grandfather.

Niu Yi casually tossed a jujube to Niu Yan behind him, and said with his hands behind his back:

“Niu Yan, take this fire date and consume it for the time being. Later, go to my mountaintop and get a few precious incense sticks.”

“You are the most talented bull spirit on our Golden Pocket Mountain. If I, Niu Feng, Niu Li and the others are not on the mountain in the future, Golden Pocket Mountain will depend on you to protect it.”

Niu Yan quickly took the jujube, looking at the bright red jujube in his hand, feeling both excited and pressured.

This is my grandfather's approval of me! His expectations for me!

Niu Yan's eyes were filled with excitement, and he felt his blood surging and his energy surging!
"Yes! Grandfather, don't worry, I will definitely not let you down!"

India, Yuhua Prefecture, the summit of Bamboo Mountain.

Nine-Spirit Primordial Saint looked at the Divine Physician Daoist opposite him and said with some surprise:
"Why did you come here this time using this divine avatar?"

Daojun smiled, took the package from his waist and placed it on the table in front of the two of them.

"Senior, you may not know, but the four travelers on their journey to the West have recently passed by my Golden Gourd Mountain. I just finished entertaining them yesterday and am currently unable to leave."

"It just so happens that another batch of apricots from my Daojun Mountain have ripened and are of excellent quality, so I brought some wine made from these apricots to you, senior."

"Furthermore, among the wines brought by these juniors, there are some from various years. Senior Yuansheng, you are welcome to try them. If you like any, I will bring you more next time."

Looking at the Dao Lord before him, the Nine-Headed Primordial Saint nodded with satisfaction and said:
“Guangyi, I was right about you back then. In the vast Eastern Wonderful Palace of the Heavenly Venerable, there is not a single person who is as pleasing to my eye as you.”

"With your current level of skill and cultivation, you have to rely on yourself to comprehend the Dao. There's nothing I can do to help you."

"But you haven't forgotten the hand seal I taught you before, have you? If anyone causes you trouble in the future, you can make the hand seal. If I can't reach you then, I can still transfer the power to you to help you defend against the enemy."

Niu Yi smiled and said:
"Then thank you very much, Senior Yuan Sheng. Please rest assured, as long as I am still in the Three Realms, your wine will never be cut off."

Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng nodded in satisfaction, reached out and took the package. Looking inside, he saw a small mountain of apricot wine and apricots, and a broad smile appeared on his face. With a wave of his hand, a fruit plate and a wine bottle appeared in front of the two of them.

"Come, come, these are bamboo shoots and spiritual fruits from Bamboo Joint Mountain, as well as Nine-Bend Bamboo Leaf Wine. These are all things I've taught them to cultivate recently. Please have a taste."

"To be honest, Bamboo Mountain is actually quite nice, it's just a pity that the little lions around it don't know how to manage it, which is why it's so barren. It seems everything still depends on this ancestor! Hahaha!"

As Jiuling Yuansheng spoke, he personally picked up the wine pot and filled the wine cups in front of Daojun and himself with wine.

Niu Yi laughed:

"This is also why the senior is here on Bamboo Joint Mountain. The senior's aura is constantly nurturing Bamboo Joint Mountain, making it increasingly closer to becoming a sacred mountain."

“The spiritual energy of Bamboo Mountain is now several times richer than when I first came here.” Niu Yi picked up his wine glass and took a sip. The taste of bamboo and the faint fragrance mixed with a bit of bitterness made Niu Yi feel quite peculiar.

"Good wine, truly good wine."

Upon hearing this, Nine-Headed Lion laughed heartily, refilled Niu Yi's cup, and the two began to chat.

What Niu Yi was hearing from this ancestral master was all the interesting stories about the Nine Spirits Ancestor and the six lions on the mountain, as well as some of the smaller lions around.

The lazy old lion, Nine-Headed Lion, became energetic and beaming with a smile whenever he mentioned his cubs, a stark contrast to his previous demeanor.

Daojun sighed inwardly. This person had indeed fallen into the mortal realm and was now completely immersed in the identity of the ancestor.

Daojun stayed on Bamboo Mountain for half a day before bidding farewell to Senior Yuansheng and leaving.

After Daojun left, Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng looked at the stone table in front of him with a thoughtful expression.

"This kid, he said such strange things to me last time he came here, and now he's back here fussing over me."
Could it be that she knows something I don't? Is she worried something might happen to me?

Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng pondered for a long time, then shook his head, having no idea what to do. In the end, he had no choice but to get up and return to the Nine-Bend Panheng Cave in the mountains.

As time passed, Tang Sanzang and his group passed through Jindu Mountain again. However, before they could leave the mountainous area, they were captured by the One-Horned Rhinoceros King in Baoquan Cave of Baoquan Stream.

"You monster! Let me go! Do you know who my senior brother is?! My senior brother is none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!"

The Green Ox sat on his throne, eating grapes. He looked at Pigsy, who was tied to a stone pillar not far away. With a wave of his hand, a fruit flew quickly into Pigsy's mouth, firmly stuffing it shut.

"Woo~~"

"Oh~~ Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, isn't he the same as the stable boy back then?"

The green ox casually tossed the grapes back into the fruit plate, then looked at Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, who were tied to the stone pillar, with a look of complete disapproval.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that these grapes were nowhere near as delicious as the oranges his younger brother grew on the mountain, but he had no choice but to put up with it for now.
"I'm telling you, you three, stop struggling. I've already driven your eldest disciple away. Just let me eat you obediently, so that I and my little ones can also live forever. What's not to like? Hahahaha~"

The green ox laughed wildly, looking at Tang Sanzang, who was on the stone pillar, his face covered in cold sweat, chanting sutras with his eyes closed, and shook his head inwardly.

Let alone the Tang Sanzang in this life, even if there was a piece of cooked Tang Sanzang flesh in front of him, he would not be interested in it at all, because he is a vegetarian!
But since this was a task given by Laozi, Sun Wukong must have already gone to ask for reinforcements.

On Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi, who was playing chess with the Jindu Earth God, suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky. He felt that a cloud of auspiciousness was flying by, and there were two auras on the cloud that Niu Yi was very familiar with.

One of the items belonged to his junior brother Sun Wukong, and the other belonged to Nezha, the Third Prince.

"It seems that Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Nezha, the Third Prince, and others have also arrived."

Niu Yi smiled and shook his head, stroking the fat cat Dou Dou lying in his arms while turning his gaze back to the chessboard on the table.

The Golden-Hooped Earth God clearly sensed the group of deities flying overhead and couldn't help but ask:

"Aren't you going to take a look at this matter? I see that so many heavenly soldiers and generals have come. Such a spectacle is truly remarkable."

Niu Yi laughed:

"Don't worry, Earth God. I can't even fathom the depth of my brother Rhinoceros's abilities. The Vajra Bracelet in his hand is a top-tier treasure in the world. Even if all these heavenly soldiers and generals came at him together, they wouldn't be a match for him."

As Niu Yi spoke, he picked up the black piece in his hand and placed it back on the chessboard.

"After this matter is over, as Brother Si suggests, we should also share some of the merit with the local earth god of Baoquanjian. Although it is only a very small part, it is enough for him to go further, or even ascend to heaven and obtain an official position in the heavenly court."

The Golden-Hooped Earth God nodded with a sigh. For deities like them, who came from local lands, being able to take up a post in the Heavenly Palace would be no different from ascending to heaven in one step.

"The Earth God need not envy the Earth God of Baoquan. The merits you will gain in the future will be much greater than those of the Earth God of Baoquan."

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Hooped Earth God was taken aback. He suddenly remembered that Niu Yi had asked him to rescue Sun Wukong, and he nodded knowingly.

"No matter what, I'm determined to stay at Jindu Mountain. I finally managed to latch onto Chief Niu Yi's powerful backer, and I'm not going to let go."

The Earth God smiled, picked up another chess piece, and placed it on the chessboard.

"Hahaha, the Earth God can hug you for as long as he wants, I'm naturally very happy to oblige."

On Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi and the Earth God were leisurely playing chess. After a while, a fight broke out again in Baoquan Stream on the other side.

(End of this chapter)