Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 396 Fish leaps over the dragon gate
Early morning at the summit of Jindou Mountain.

Golden rays of sunlight poured down on the misty Jindou Mountain, bathing its summit in a golden glow.

In the pond where white mist floats on the water, the dewdrops on the blooming lotus leaves and flowers are sparkling in the golden sunlight.

Unbeknownst to anyone, two pure white lotus flowers quietly bloomed on the pond, and two shimmering golden beads emerged from the ever-blooming petals, slowly rising.

A gentle breeze blew up from the stone pavilion not far away, and the figure of the Earth God appeared.

The Golden-Hooped Earth God was seen leaning on a wooden staff in one hand and holding a plump orange cat that was leisurely licking its paws in the other.

The Earth God looked at the precious pearl floating above the pond, radiating golden light, nodded with satisfaction, and murmured:
"Golden wind and golden clouds, these two have followed Ao Xuan in cultivation for so many years, and now they are finally about to transform into dragons."

"On the contrary, Ao Xuan has remained completely silent."

The Earth God's gaze fell upon the largest lotus bud in the pond, but the bud remained motionless, with only a faint, crystalline blue mist slowly drifting around it.

"Little Blackie is here too~ It's getting a bit boring without him, meow~"

DouDou, licking its paws, lazily stretched, yawned, and changed its position to continue lying comfortably in the Earth God's embrace.

"You two little rascals."

The Earth God shook his head helplessly. Just then, the two golden pearls in the sky suddenly shone brightly, and bursts of dragon roars came from them, spreading throughout the entire Golden Gourd Mountain region.

"roar-----"

The moisture from the surrounding five thousand miles around Jindu Mountain was also drawn in, constantly converging towards the sky above Jindu Mountain, and bursts of white thunder constantly flashed in the clouds above.

Before long, the two golden beads shattered into pieces, and two slender golden figures emerged from them, soaring into the sky.

The Earth God saw that the two figures that suddenly appeared were two golden dragons with shimmering golden scales.

These two dragons looked very similar, except that one had thick, majestic horns, while the other had smaller horns that looked more graceful. However, their auras were equally terrifying.

Soon, the two true dragons roared angrily toward the sky and plunged into the clouds that were flashing with thunder.

The flashing lightning seemed to be enraged by the actions of the two golden dragons, and booming sounds echoed continuously amidst the lightning, intertwining with the two dragon roars.

The Earth God was not worried when he saw this scene, as he could sense that the aura of the golden wind and golden clouds was getting stronger and stronger.

Now that they have completed their physical transformation into dragons, as long as they undergo this tribulation of lightning, they can transform their demonic souls into dragon souls, truly leaping over the dragon gate and becoming true dragons.

If one possesses the true dragon bloodline of someone like Ao Xuan, one can cultivate normally and eventually achieve the complete Great Dao, reaching the realm of a Taiyi True Immortal.

If, like these two children, one is born with the bloodline of a spirit fish, then one must cultivate and comprehend the Great Dao along the way. When one cultivates a complete Great Dao and breaks through to the Taiyi True Immortal realm, that is when the fish leaps over the Dragon Gate and transforms into a dragon.

Furthermore, Ao Xuan and the two children, having followed Dao Jun, had also learned to be cautious. If they weren't absolutely certain of their abilities, they wouldn't have chosen to transform into dragons at this moment.

On Jindu Mountain, a full hour passed, and the raging thunder and dragon roars in the sky never stopped. Fortunately, the Five Elements Formation covered the area around Jindu Mountain, so the outside world could not hear the sounds. Otherwise, the nearby villagers would probably have been scared to death.

Even so, many bull demons on Jindu Mountain have already come out of Jindu Cave. The mountaintop is the residence of their ancestors and a sacred place of Jindu Mountain. They cannot approach it without being summoned.

Therefore, they could only try to get as close to the mountain as possible to watch, and some even went to other peaks near Jindu Mountain or Monkey Mountain to see this scene. On Monkey Mountain, Hou Fei, who had achieved a breakthrough several years ago, was leading his monkey troop to watch this scene in the sky, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"I'm afraid I can forget about reaching the Taiyi True Immortal realm in my lifetime."

Perhaps because he had lived for so long, he began to yearn for a higher realm and a longer lifespan.

In recent years, as he approached the end of his life, he felt his body growing weaker and weaker, and his aging body instilled in him a fear of death.

He couldn't let go of everything he had now and go to the underworld.

"I've become greedy too."

Hou Fei sighed softly, suppressing the jumble of thoughts rising in his mind.

Back then, he was quite content with a thousand-year lifespan after breaking through to the Demon General realm, but now that he has broken through to the Demon King realm and is entitled to a ten-thousand-year lifespan, he has actually become ambitious.

However, he was ultimately a wild monkey spirit from the mountains. To have reached the realm of a demon king and lived for tens of thousands of years was already an immense blessing, yet he was still so dissatisfied.

The longer he lived, the more he lost his former carefree spirit, which may be one of the main reasons why he failed to break through in the past.

"Elder Chief, if I lose the carefree spirit I once had, will I disappoint you too?"

Hou Fei had not forgotten what the old clan chief had said back then: how their clan had come into contact with the leader of Jindu Mountain and how they had begged to join the leader's ranks.

When the old clan chief witnessed his loved ones being killed by the leopard demon and could only beg for their lives, how clear was the grief in his eyes!

"That's enough. Ten thousand years have passed. What more could I ask for?"

As Hou Fei spoke, he picked up the green bamboo staff beside him and lay back on the green vine. He slowly closed his eyes, using his magic to block out the thunder and dragon roars from the sky, and fell asleep.

Another hour passed, and the thunder in the sky gradually subsided, while the dragon's roar grew louder and louder.

Before long, as the golden dragon bodies in the sky appeared and disappeared from the clouds, an aura unique to the Taiyi True Immortal realm quickly enveloped the two dragons.

As the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, the majestic dragon body that had been faintly visible also disappeared, transforming into two golden beams that landed on the summit of Jindu Mountain, turning into a pair of golden boys and jade girls dressed in white and gold robes.

The Earth God nodded with satisfaction, slowly stepped forward, and looked at the two children who had also come to greet him.

"Golden wind and golden clouds pay homage to the Earth God, thank you for protecting the Dharma."

The Earth God shook his head and laughed:
"We're family, why speak like strangers? I watched you two grow up too."

"But speaking of which, you two are still children, a boy and a girl. After you transform into dragons, you should be able to transform into young adults."

Upon hearing this, Jin Feng and Jin Yun exchanged a glance, and Jin Feng spoke first:
“Lord Earth God, we were your disciples before we took human form, and even now that we have cultivated into dragon bodies and dragon souls, we are still the same.”

Jin Yun, standing to the side, said with a firm expression:

"Everything we have is a gift from Master. If Master is willing, we will be Master's disciples for all eternity!"

(End of this chapter)