Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 384 The Matchmaker and the Book of Fate

Upon hearing this, Ao Rong, who had fallen into madness, stopped speaking abruptly. He looked at his father in disbelief.

The Dragon King of the West Sea ignored these remarks and said calmly:

"His Majesty the Jade Emperor has already issued an imperial decree in Heaven: Ao Rong, the second prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace, devoured the cultivation of the sea race, causing the extermination of thirteen members of the West Sea race. His crimes are heinous. He shall be immediately taken to the Demon-Slaying Platform to be subjected to the tortures of skinning, tendon-pulling, being struck by lightning and burned with fire, and cast into the animal realm, never to be reincarnated!"

"I suppose the heavenly soldiers and generals who came to take you away have already set off from the Heavenly Court and will soon arrive at the Western Sea."

After the Dragon King of the West Sea finished speaking, he looked at his second son and sighed again.

“In fact, your father knows that you have done such a foolish thing, so how could you escape punishment? These days, your father has been running around trying to find a way out, but unfortunately, you have violated the heavenly law and there is no room for leniency.”

“You always feel that your father is biased, but the four of you are the ones I value most. Now that I have arranged everything for your eldest brother and third brother, how could I forget you?”

"Now your elder brother enjoys immense prestige in the Western Sea, and his reputation has even reached the ears of the immortals in the Heavenly Court. It is practically certain that he will inherit the position of Dragon King of the Western Sea in the future."

“Your third brother has now achieved enlightenment at Mount Ling in the Western Paradise and has been granted the title of one of the Eight Heavenly Dragons. He is now different from us and is highly regarded even in the West.”

"Even your fourth brother, I've been subtly trying to find him a job with the Divine Physician Daojun, so he can benefit from his connections."

"As for you, I will find one of the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Great Rivers for you. Cultivate well in the future and you will become a great god."

"But why are you in such a hurry? Why didn't you think to wait a little longer?!"

In the end, the Dragon King of the West Sea almost roared, and the earth-shattering roar echoed throughout the courtyard, causing the entire Sea Abyss Cave Heaven to fall silent for a moment.

On the other side, the little alligator dragon, who was sitting cross-legged with its eyes closed and imprisoned in the cave, was also startled by the dragon roar and opened its eyes. After a moment, it recovered and chuckled, then closed its eyes again and ignored it.

The many shrimp soldiers and crab generals waiting outside trembled. They had not seen their usually amiable Dragon King so angry for at least a thousand years.

The Turtle Prime Minister sighed slightly. He knew that his Dragon King was about to face the pain of losing his son, and he was afraid that the Dragon King himself would not be able to stay out of it this time either.

His second prince never considered that even if he cultivated to the level of a Great Luo Immortal through demonic means, how could he possibly escape the Heavenly Rules and the Heavenly Court's annihilation in the end?

What happened to the demonic cultivators, including the Black Jade Qilin from Beiju Luzhou? The True Martial Emperor alone, who had not yet become a god, killed them. Moreover, there was a Dao Lord who could frighten away a Great Luo Immortal by his side back then.

Alas. Even among the Four Dragon Kings, our Dragon King possesses unparalleled foresight, yet this excellent situation has been ruined by our Second Prince.
Sure enough, a moment later, the West Sea Dragon King, with a gloomy expression, walked out of the courtyard, put his hands behind his back, and led his entourage away from there.

"Prime Minister Turtle, once the heavenly soldiers and generals arrive, I will immediately go to the Heavenly Court to apologize to His Majesty the Jade Emperor. After that, you will be in charge of all matters in the Dragon Palace in cooperation with the Crown Prince."

"Yes, please rest assured, Dragon King."

The Dragon King of the West Sea's expression softened slightly, and he quickened his pace, heading towards the outside of the Sea Abyss Cave.

Before long, the auspicious cloud carrying the golden-armored deity descended into the West Sea Dragon Palace. It didn't take long for it to rise from the sea again and fly towards the Heavenly Palace.

However, on the auspicious cloud now appeared Ao Rong, who was struggling to his death, and the calm-looking Dragon King of the West Sea.

On Daojun Mountain, in the apricot forest.

At this moment, Daojun was seated in a stone pavilion, an elegant and grand structure atop an apricot grove. Looking down, one could see the lush, verdant apricot trees covering the entire mountainside. Further afield, one could see the increasingly prosperous Divine Healer City at the foot of Daojun Mountain. Daojun was pondering over the chessboard before him, then took a black piece from the chess jar and placed it on the board.

"despair."

As the crisp sound of a chess piece being placed echoed, the old man opposite Daojun, leaning on a cane with a red ribbon wrapped around his wrist, watched for a long while before finally sighing:
“A skilled chess player has no brilliant moves throughout the game. I have been playing chess with Daoist for half a day, and Daoist has truly not given this old man even the slightest chance.”

Daojun shook his head slightly and smiled:

"You're too kind, Old Man of the Moon. Didn't you also not give me the slightest chance?"

Upon hearing this, the old man with white hair and a youthful face stroked his beard and smiled, taking down the book of marriage records tied to his cane.

"Both Daoist and I are cautious people, so this game of chess is rather boring. Would Daoist be willing to talk to me about another matter?"

"Oh?"

Daojun raised an eyebrow slightly, just as Yue Lao opened the Marriage Book in his hand and turned to a certain page, causing it to glow brightly red.

Soon, red threads representing marriage began to fly out, drifting towards the outside of the stone pavilion, weaving together names one after another, yet these names were tightly linked together.

Daojun praised:

"I had long heard that the Old Man Under the Moon's Marriage Book could reveal the predestined love stories of all living beings in the world, and now I finally have the opportunity to see it."

The Old Man of the Moon shook his head slightly and sighed:
"This isn't exactly a great job. Good marriages often come with bad ones, and it's common for people to complain about it."

Daojun smiled and turned to look at the many red lines of writing that were slowly rotating beside the stone pavilion. As expected, he saw Lü Yan's name among them.

Besides Lü Yan, he also saw two other familiar names: Liu Chan and Liu Yanchang.
Is it a predestined marriage?
Daojun sighed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged as he looked down at the name below Lü Yan: Fang Qingcheng.

However, the red thread connecting these two was somewhat faint, almost imperceptible.

Daojun glanced at Yuelao, whose gaze was also fixed on them, and Yuelao understood immediately, saying:

"Their fate is rather unpredictable, seemingly there yet not there. It's mainly because Daoist Master, you made the Lü family leave Jiangcheng overnight, which prevented the Fang family from making a move."

"And so Fang Qingcheng and Lü Yan lost their most important opportunity to meet."

"As for what happened after that, it's really true that Lü Yan became unstoppable after he started cultivating immortality. And it seems that before his reincarnation, Master Lü also tampered with his own love destiny."

As the Old Man of the Moon spoke, he even winked innocently at the Daoist Lord.

Upon hearing this, Daojun chuckled and shook his head.

"I know about this matter. Thank you for making this trip, Old Man of the Moon. As for Lü Yan's marriage in this life, let it be. Let nature take its course. We don't need to concern ourselves with it."

Upon hearing this, the Old Man of the Moon chuckled and nodded.

He's said everything he needed to say, and what those two do afterward is none of his business.
(End of this chapter)