Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 362 The Changes of the Old Rooster
Time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the world of Liaozhai, the Jade Palace established by Niu Yi has returned to normal and has begun to officially close the Heavenly Emperor's Palace, preparing for a seclusion that will last for hundreds of years.

Once his seclusion ends, he will abdicate the position of Heavenly Emperor, and Yan Chixia will succeed him. He himself will then reincarnate and cultivate once more.

However, due to the existence of the passage between the two worlds, Niu Yi and Dao Jun were able to reconnect. The various insights into the Heavenly Dao that Niu Yi gained also appeared in Dao Jun's mind, which led to Dao Jun's methods making great progress.

That night, at Jindu Mountain.

Daojun sat in the stone pavilion, looking up at the bright moon in the sky and the endless starlight that adorned the night sky around him.

In Daojun's eyes, the moon goddesses were dancing gracefully to celestial music.

"It's indescribably beautiful."

The Golden-Hooped Earth God's eyes gleamed as he stood beside the Daoist Lord, gazing intently and showering him with praise.

"It is truly thanks to you this time that I was able to witness the dance of Chang'e on the moon one day."

Daojun smiled and said:
"If the Earth God is willing, you can go to the Heavenly Court Daojun Palace tomorrow. People often visit my place, and countless immortals, both big and small, gather there. Occasionally, I will invite the fairies from various palaces to perform dances. I believe the Earth God will like it quite a bit."

"And with the current level of cultivation of the Earth God, he is qualified to participate in most gatherings."

The Golden-Hooped Earth God shook his head repeatedly and said:

"I'll stay here and guard this Golden Gourd Mountain. This land is where I can feel at ease."

"However, speaking of which, Hou Fei from Monkey Mountain failed to break through a few days ago and was seriously injured. Although he was healed by the spiritual wine I sent him, he will probably have difficulty breaking through without rare and precious materials."

"In the end, he was just a little lacking in talent. Even though Sun Wukong gave him a couple of pointers, he was still a bit short."

"I think the Nine-Leaf Treasure Orange that you have nurtured and cultivated for hundreds of years should be able to help him. When it bears fruit next year, it can help him even more."

Daojun nodded and said:
“That’s exactly what I was thinking too, but let’s not wait until later. Tomorrow, I’ll have the little bull demons down the mountain take out a treasure orange from the storeroom and send it over.”

"As for the other local deities, if they were to exchange for this Nine-Leaf Treasure Orange, they could also be given the opportunity to do so. Considering the time, the lifespan limit for Yao Qing'er and the others is approaching once again."

As Daojun spoke, he sighed with some emotion. With Yao Qing'er's background and talent, it would be too difficult for her to comprehend even a trace of the Great Dao. He could only try his best to help her, and it all depended on whether she still had the ambition to improve.

I heard that many more cherry blossom spirits have appeared in Cherry Blossom Valley again. It seems that Yao Qing'er was afraid that the local earth god of Cherry Blossom Valley would be lonely and miss her after her death, so she personally cultivated them.

Judging from our last meeting, this person didn't seem to have any ambition. Having lived for over a thousand years, he was surprisingly carefree about matters of life and death.

However, if Yao Qing'er and the others fail, she fears she will have to say goodbye to a group of old friends.
Time continued to flow, but it had no power over him. Yet it still took away some people and things around him, as if reminding him that if he did not break through to the Dao Fruit soon, he would one day meet the same end.

The Earth God, unaware of the complex thoughts of the Daoist before him, simply nodded and said:
"Alright, I'll inform them tomorrow."

After the Earth God finished speaking, he sat with the Daoist for a while longer before returning home. The Daoist, however, continued to gaze at the bright moon in the sky, murmuring:
"If this breakthrough fails, perhaps we should ask Yao Qing'er if she'd be willing to come to my Daojun Mountain and walk the Divine Path." "But given her outwardly gentle but inwardly strong personality, I'm afraid she'd absolutely refuse."

In a daze, Daojun seemed to see again the time when he first met Yao Qing'er and the other three local gods hundreds of years ago.

At that time, he had just become an apprentice and was still so inexperienced. Who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, he would be facing the moment of life and death?
She felt extremely indebted to Yao Qing'er for helping her break through to the Demon General realm back then, and she would definitely refuse if he were to help her again now.

Daojun looked up at the bright moon, where Chang'e was still dancing, looking so beautiful, but Daojun was thinking about other things.

"So be it, everything is fate."

Daojun composed himself, and a wave of energy rippled rapidly around him. Daojun's figure vanished into thin air.

A state of mind.

Daojun's figure instantly appeared in the central hall. He stepped forward, took out three sticks of incense from the incense box on the table, lit them, placed them in the incense burner, and respectfully bowed to the ancestral tablet above.

Since he comprehended the complete Great Dao of Dreams a few years ago, Daojun has been able to clearly perceive the spiritual realm that exists based on the Great Dao of Dreams of the Three Realms.

Although the Lingtai Mind Realm is also bound to his true spirit, it exists based on the Dream Dao in the Three Realms. Therefore, after his true spirit is reincarnated, he can no longer enter the Lingtai Mind Realm.

Daojun himself took on the important task of paying respects to the patriarch and offering incense every day.

After offering incense, Daojun turned and went to the library. At this time, the library had already been filled with Daojun's writing on the seven floors, and he was still writing his insights on cultivation on the eighth floor.

The contents of this library are truly all-encompassing. Even among the most prosperous sects in the world, if this library were opened, it would surely arouse the longing of countless cultivators.

The library now can be considered the repository of his lineage as a divine physician.
On the second day of the Lingtai Mindset, Daojun left the library and headed to the back mountain of the Daoist temple, arriving at the nest of the Five-Colored Treasure Chicken.

The many colorful roosters were overjoyed to see the Daoist Lord. Their intelligence was no different from that of humans, and they all came forward to greet him.

At this moment, the five-colored egg that the old rooster had transformed into was enveloped in a misty, rising five-colored spiritual energy, from which phoenix cries continuously emanated, making the Dao Lord quite expectant.

Forty years ago, this five-colored egg began to undergo such changes, and the situation has worsened every year until today, when he can only faintly hear the sounds emanating from it.

"Although I don't know why this sudden change happened, I suppose with this change, this guy should be able to hatch from the egg soon and be reborn."

Daojun looked at the colorful egg with an expectant smile on his face.

Not to mention that after so many years of living together, this rooster has long become part of his family. Moreover, this fellow was personally left to him by his master, Patriarch Bodhi.

"My mind has been empty and silent for too many years. It's time to make this place lively again, Brother Chicken."

(End of this chapter)