Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 371 Preaching at Meishan
The garden of the Lü residence.

Lu Qing, the patriarch of the Lu family, was writing calligraphy in the stone pavilion in the garden, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Meanwhile, Madam Lü was personally tending to the beautiful flowers and plants in the garden, carrying a water jug, but she seemed somewhat distracted at the moment.

Chunlian, who was accompanying her wife, stared blankly at her wife watering the flowers, while the watering can remained tilted, water droplets continuously pouring onto the flowers.

Chunlian quickly whispered a reminder from the side:

"Madam, Madam, there's enough water."

"Huh? Oh~"

Madam Lü was brought back to her senses by the two calls. She quickly picked up the watering can and looked at the flowers, which were obviously overwatered, and sighed softly.

"Ugh"

Chunlian looked at Madam Lü with some concern.

Her mistress has never been a pampered noblewoman who never lifts a finger. Especially in the years since they came to Hezhong Prefecture, she has often been so busy that she never has a moment to rest.

The lady's sigh wasn't from exhaustion, but from missing her child.
Master Lü gathered his strength and wielded his brush, twisting his arm and wrist until he wrote the last character on the paper before finally lifting the brush with satisfaction.

He looked at the flowing, vigorous handwriting on the paper and nodded in satisfaction.

Although he has been away from officialdom for many years, he has not lost his reading habits and his excellent handwriting, but has instead improved them.

Lu Qing looked at his wife not far away, and smiled at her with a childlike smugness:
"Madam, come and see, has my calligraphy improved since before?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Lü turned her head and glared at Lü Qing.

“Master, our youngest son has been gone for several years and we haven’t heard from him at all. Why aren’t you worried at all? You’re here painting and practicing calligraphy every day.”

Upon hearing his wife's complaint, Lü Qing's smile faded somewhat. He placed his brush on the brush rest, stepped out of the stone pavilion, and walked towards his wife.

“My dear wife, I know that a mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles away, but what can we, as husband and wife, do to worry at home? We can’t help him in the slightest. If we worry ourselves sick, how will Yan’er cope when he returns as an immortal?”

As Lü Qing spoke, he came to Madam Lü's side and put his arm around her waist. Chunlian smiled at this scene, nodded slightly to Master Lü, and stepped back, leaving the garden to the old couple to be alone.

Upon hearing Lü Qing's words, Madam Lü sighed again.

"How could I not understand what you were saying, sir? But I just can't help missing Yan'er."

“Our eldest son has been by our side for three years. He got married and had children three years ago, and now his second child is already six months old. Over the years, he has managed our Lu family business very well.”

“Our daughter is now a mother of four children. She has a stable position in her husband’s family and comes back to take care of us every year.”

“They are both adults now, so we can rest assured. But Yan’er is out there seeking immortality. How easy is it to find immortals? In the entire Hezhong Prefecture, we have never heard of anyone ascending to heaven.”

"At least in all these years, the only immortals I've ever seen besides that Daoist Jin Lingzi, who was also Yan'er's master, were Immortal Zhong."

Upon hearing this, Lü Qing comforted him:

"Don't worry, my lady. You saw the changes in our Yan'er back then. He drank the elixir and was completely transformed."

"Besides, how could attaining immortality be so simple? Didn't that Immortal Zhong say that our Yan'er is exceptionally gifted? Perhaps only someone with Yan'er's talent has the potential to cultivate immortality." Madam Lü nodded slightly upon hearing this. She touched the jade pendant around her neck and sighed softly.

"I hope so"

Guanjiang Estuary, Meishan.

Under the bright moonlight, a grand banquet was underway in Meishan.

At the very center of the banquet were Daojun, Nezha, the Third Holy Mother, and the Seven Sages of Meishan, totaling eleven people. Further out were the twelve hundred grass-root gods under Yang Jian's command.

As the Three Holy Mothers performed a magnificent sword dance that combined strength and grace, the sounds of clinking cups and laughter echoed through the pink plum blossom grove.

Zhang Boshi, the second son of Meishan, laughed heartily and said:

"No matter how many times we see it, Yang Chan's sword dance still amazes us! Even Chang'e in the moon is far inferior to her!"

These words resonated with everyone present, and they all readily agreed. Even Yang Chan smiled slightly, sheathed her long-sleeved sword, and walked towards her seat.

Daojun smiled as he looked at the jubilant scene before him. He realized that several hundred years had passed since he met Kang Anyu and Zhang Bo on Jinchan Mountain. His connection with the saints of Meishan and the Three Holy Mothers also began from that time.

As the Third Princess took her seat, Zhang Boshi stepped forward and demonstrated his swordsmanship to everyone present. Yang Jian sat in the main seat, watching this scene with a smile.

Zhang Boshi was most familiar with his own fire magic, and most of the merits he had earned over the years had been invested in his fire pearl.

However, with Nezha, the Third Prince, present, none of the people present, not even Erlang Shen and Daojun, would dare to display their fire magic. It's no joke that he was born with a fire destiny.

Nezha, meanwhile, was drinking wine and eating Meishan fruits on the side, but he was determined to test his skills against the Daoist after this sermon.

This person had accumulated a great deal of merit from the spread of Buddhism to the East in previous years. He thought that this person's strength would be greatly limited after losing the many magical treasures he possessed, but his cultivation and methods continued to grow rapidly.

Fortunately, he has not wasted these years, and his strength has also improved a lot.

After a while, as the banquet reached its climax, Yang Jian, holding a wine cup, cupped his hands in greeting to the guests before him and said:

"Sister, brothers, the reason I have gathered you all here today is to share our thoughts on the lecture given by Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun at the Miluo Palace a few days ago."

"I'll start by offering my initial thoughts."

As Yang Jian finished speaking, both Dao Jun's side and the many grass-root gods below fell completely silent, everyone becoming serious.

Yang Jian nodded slightly and spoke slowly.

"That which gives birth to heaven and earth, unites yin and yang, encompasses all things, and remains unchanged throughout history, is called the Dao."

As Yang Jian finished speaking, heaven and earth resonated with him. The plum blossoms on Meishan Mountain began to bloom in profusion, releasing a fragrance of plum blossoms. On the ground, dazzling golden lotuses also appeared out of thin air and gradually bloomed.
Many who listened to the teachings were completely engrossed, especially the twelve hundred grass-headed gods, who, although all were among the best of the demons in the world, had few who had heard the teachings.

Becoming Yang Jian's private soldiers under Erlang Shen was a great fortune for them.

As Daojun watched Yang Jian expounding the Daoist teachings, he couldn't help but admire how far his elder brother Yang had progressed in his cultivation.

Speaking of which, his junior brother Wukong has been wandering off somewhere carefree all these years, and he can't be found anywhere in Flower Fruit Mountain. Otherwise, it would be great to bring his junior brother Wukong along this time.

(End of this chapter)