Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 372 The Cleansing Altar Messenger

"Hey!! You monkey! You wretched monkey, not only are you disturbing my peaceful sleep, but you also dragged me, Old Pig, out of the temple! Let go! Let go of me!"

"If you don't let go, I'm going to find my master!!"

Sun Wukong released the pig's ears he was holding and chuckled:

"Hey~ you idiot, you stay in your dilapidated temple all day and never come out for a walk. Look at your big, fat belly, you must have eaten a lot of offerings~"

"Besides, don't try to intimidate me with your master's name. I've already gotten rid of that headband!"

As Sun Wukong spoke, he reached out and patted Zhu Bajie's stomach, which Zhu Bajie slapped away in obvious disgust.

At this moment, Pigsy was dressed in a white robe. He rubbed his hands on his two ears, and the pig ears transformed into human ears. His pig nose also disappeared, and he turned into a fat man.

"Hmph! You monkey, why aren't you enjoying your monkey minions and peaches on Flower Fruit Mountain? Why are you disturbing my peaceful sleep?!"

"You and your master have both become Buddhas. What can I, a mere Cleansing Altar Messenger, do if I don't enjoy incense offerings in the temple? They won't even let me, Old Pig, eat any good vegetarian food?"

Seeing the resentful look on Pigsy's face as he woke up early, Sun Wukong wasn't annoyed. He just chuckled and said:

"Hehe, you fool, these days the spirit peaches on my senior brother's Golden Pagoda Mountain and the hundred fruits in Longevity Valley are almost ripe, and the wine cellar is full of plain wine. Why don't you come with me to pay a visit and ask for some food?"

When Pigsy heard that they were going to Golden Gourd Mountain to eat spirit peaches, his eyebrows immediately twitched, and much of the resentment he had felt from being woken up early in the morning dissipated.

"This"

"Alright, Brother Monkey, you have to promise that your senior brother will have plenty of fruit and you can drink as much vegetarian wine as you want. I have a big appetite and a lazy body, and you know how much I eat, Brother Monkey."

Don't be fooled by the incense offerings he's enjoyed at the Temple of the Clean Altar Messenger over the years; those are mostly earthly delicacies. Although they can fill his stomach and suit his palate, they are still far, far inferior to the heavenly delicacies of bear paws, gorilla lips, dragon liver, and phoenix marrow.

He fondly remembered the delicious food and wine he had enjoyed on Jindu Mountain back then. They were just as good as the ones he had tasted in heaven. He thought it would be wonderful to have such good food again.

"Hey, you idiot, alright, alright, let's go~"

At the summit of Hefeng Peak, Zhong Liquan was receiving a guest who was also from the Zhongnan Mountain region.

At this moment, Zhongli Quan was standing on a thick, thousand-year-old tree, waving a fan in his hand, and looking down at Lü Yan, who was being sparred with by two white crane attendants.

Beside him stood a tall, imposing man with an iron face, bushy beard, and strange appearance, dressed in a bright red official robe.

This burly man was none other than Zhong Kui, who had accumulated enough merit to attain immortality and become a demon-slaying celestial master.

"Senior Zhong Quanli, is that Senior Lü, the Pure Yang Sword Immortal, one of the Eight Immortals?"

Zhong Kui has long resided in the mortal realm, eliminating demons and protecting the people from harm, safeguarding peace in the region. Even though he had been to the Heavenly Court when he was conferred his title, he had never met Lü Dongbin, who was preparing to descend to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation.

Come to think of it, this was the first time the two of them had met. Zhongli Quan, his chest exposed, laughed heartily and nodded, saying:
"He is the reincarnation of Lü Dongbin, the Pure Yang Sword Immortal. However, he is not the Pure Yang Sword Immortal at this time, but Lü Yan. Only when he has achieved perfect merit and returned to the Heavenly Court will he fully awaken his true spirit and regain his memories."

Zhong Kui nodded in sudden realization.

After entering the Heavenly Court, he learned many things. There are generally several situations for the reincarnation of immortals, but most of those who are reincarnated and cultivate again fall into two categories.

One reason is that they made a mistake in Heaven and were demoted to the mortal realm. They must cultivate themselves and do good deeds to accumulate merit in this realm before they can return to Heaven and be ranked among the immortals.

The second type is like Lü Dongbin today. This kind of reincarnation and cultivation is not for punishment or atonement. Most of them actively choose to reincarnate and cultivate again in order to go further. Of course, this kind often has its own purpose.

It's just that Lü Dongbin's purpose in reincarnating and cultivating again had nothing to do with him.

The Eight Immortals of Zhongdong, Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, and Tieguai Li all have extremely close relationships with Donghua Dijun of Fangzhang Immortal Mountain, and can be considered to be of the same lineage. Therefore, it is best not to ask too many questions about other people's affairs.

Zhong Kui's mind raced, and he immediately turned to Zhongli Quan beside him and said:
“Senior, I have been searching for that snake demon for a long time, but this monster has cultivated for many years and has the ability to conceal its aura. So far, I have only found its traces in the Zhongnan Mountain area. I don’t know where this demon is hiding.”

"However, I have already instructed the local mountain gods and earth gods to help keep an eye on things. But this demon is cunning and audacious, and I'm afraid it might disturb you, so I've come to inform you."

Upon hearing this, Zhongli Quan's smile faded slightly, his waving fan stopped, and he raised his palm to calculate for a moment before asking with some surprise:
"Interesting. Even I couldn't predict the snake demon's location. It managed to evade you, the exorcist master. You really do have some skill."

Zhongli Quan lowered his hand and nodded to Zhong Kui opposite him:

"I understand. Don't worry, I will send you any news about this snake demon. And if this snake demon dares to come here, I won't need to do anything. My two servants are enough to deal with it."

Zhong Kui followed Zhong Liquan's gaze downwards and saw two children playing with Lü Yan as if they were practicing swordsmanship. Even with his divine eyes, he couldn't discern the children's abilities for the time being. He had only just learned that these two children were transformed white cranes.

After discussing this matter with Zhongli Quan, Zhong Kui got up to take his leave. Before leaving, he gave Lü Yan a Zhong Kui sword, but he never saw Lü Yan holding the sword happily.

On Mount Mei, after Yang Jian, Daojun, and the other two preached the Dao in succession, the entire Mount Mei was enveloped by a Daoist aura.

In fact, this kind of situation often occurs in ordinary blessed lands of immortals. For example, Niu Yi's Jindu Mountain was shrouded in the Great Dao of Earth. With his cultivation over the years, many other Great Dao imprints have also appeared.

In places like Meishan, where sages preach one after another and strange phenomena occur in the heavens and earth, anyone who cultivates in Meishan during this period will surely make rapid progress.

As the last Daoist priest slowly fell silent, Yang Jian and the others not far away also slowly opened their eyes.

However, the six Meishan brothers, whose cultivation was weaker, and the 1,200 grass-root gods under Yang Jian's command were still meditating and cultivating. They would probably be immersed in this Daoist charm for a short time and try to comprehend the Dao through it.

Daojun slowly rose, but his gaze immediately fell upon a golden talisman floating above Meishan, beyond the Daoist aura.

With a wave of his hand, the talisman flew back into his hand, and the voice of the Golden-Hooped Earth God came from it.

"Daojun, your junior brother, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, has come to visit, and the Cleansing Altar Messenger has also come to Jindu Mountain. As you instructed, if the Great Sage Sun arrives, open the wine cellar and let him eat as much spiritual fruit as he pleases. I wonder when you will be able to return?"

(End of this chapter)