Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 160 Taiyi Zhenren
Niu Yi looked at the person in front of him with surprise. He never expected that the person in front of him was Taiyi Zhenren, who was also Nezha's master and the original owner of the Golden Spirit Jade Bamboo that he had refined into a magic weapon.

In his view, among the many powerful beings in the Three Realms, it was perfectly normal that the old Zen master could calculate the time when the two extreme magnetic divine irons would be born, and other powerful beings could also calculate it. At that time, everyone would just rely on their own abilities.

But he never expected that it would be this person who came.

Niu Yi, with a serious expression, returned the greeting:

"This humble Taoist, Guangyi, greets the True Man Taiyi."

When Nezha was young, he gave him a Golden Spirit Jade Bamboo, which helped him countless times. Moreover, this treasure was cultivated by the Taiyi Zhenren who had been planting it for a thousand years.

Although this treasure can no longer keep up with his pace, he remains grateful to Nezha.

Seeing this, Taiyi Zhenren was somewhat bewildered. This fellow Daoist, whose cultivation level was clearly extraordinary, seemed to be quite respectful to him.

But have they met? How come he doesn't remember anything about it?!
That shouldn't be the case. This person exudes such an aura that he must be a true cultivator from the Xuanmen sect, and he must have quite a background and a distinguished lineage. If he had met him before, he would definitely have some impression of him.

Could it be that he's really drunk and confused, like his good student said? That's not impossible! Sigh, drinking leads to trouble, drinking leads to trouble~
Taiyi Zhenren scratched his head in frustration, but couldn't remember where he had seen this fellow Daoist before. He could only laugh awkwardly twice, put one hand behind his back, and try to perform divination.

But after only a couple of calculations, Master Taiyi's expression stiffened. He felt that the heavenly secrets on the other side were in complete chaos, and he couldn't calculate anything at all.

Seeing the man's expression, Niu Yi knew that he must have misunderstood something, and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Please don't take offense, Master. To be honest, this is the first time I have met you, but I have met your disciple, Nezha, before. Nezha has also done me a favor."

Upon hearing this, Taiyi Zhenren nodded in realization, and a smile returned to his face, but he felt that something was amiss.

Taiyi Zhenren's face immediately showed some hesitation. He turned his back and whispered:
"That doesn't make sense."

Doesn't he know what kind of person his disciple is?! He's only three days old, yet he's already shattered the Crystal Palace of the East Sea and insisted on pulling out the dragon's tendons to make a belt!
Even his master had to admit that his son Nezha was fiercely opposed to evil, and had a violent temper. Back then, he eliminated evil for the people and subdued ninety-six demon caves. Although he said he subdued them, in reality, he didn't leave even a single demon alive!
Even now, as a deity in the Heavenly Palace, his temperament remains unchanged.

So, given his disciple's personality, and the person opposite him possessing such cultivation, how could he possibly have done someone a favor after just one meeting? It just doesn't seem right.
Niu Yi stared at the Taiyi Zhenren before him, speechless.

This Taiyi Zhenren was truly a remarkable person. He revealed his thoughts without reservation, and his nature was pure. Even on our first meeting, I felt a sense of goodwill towards him.

Niu Yi summoned the Myriad Leaf Golden Bamboo Sword and smiled at the still hesitant Taiyi Zhenren:
"Master, please take a look at this magical artifact. Is it familiar to you?"

Upon hearing this, Taiyi Zhenren instinctively turned his head, looking at the golden bamboo leaf flying swords surrounding Niu Yi, sensing the aura within them, and blurted out:
"Golden Spirit Jade Bamboo??"

"Indeed, this treasure was given to us by Nezha, the Third Prince."

Taiyi Zhenren then realized and said:

"Oh, so you're the interesting guy my good disciple mentioned back then, named Niu Yi."

Taiyi Zhenren looked at Niu Yi, but stopped abruptly as he realized it was inappropriate to call someone a monster in front of them. He then waved his hands apologetically to Niu Yi.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't expect to meet you here."

Niu Yi, however, laughed nonchalantly:
"You flatter me, Master. You and Nezha have been kind to me. I am overjoyed to see you today."

“Master, when I was on the mountain, I quite enjoyed brewing wine and I always kept some wine and spiritual fruits on hand. Please come into my courtyard so that I, Guangyi, can entertain you.”

As Niu Yi spoke, he gestured towards the Chaos Green Gourd at his waist, and a jar of peach blossom wine appeared in his hand. Niu Yi then slapped open the mud seal on the jar with his palm.

When Taiyi Zhenren heard that Niu Yi had wine in his hand, his eyes lit up. But when he smelled the aroma of peach blossom wine emanating from the wine jar, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

"Since you have so kindly extended the invitation, fellow Daoist, then it would be impolite of me to refuse, hahaha~"

Taiyi Zhenren flicked his whisk and, smiling, entered the small courtyard surrounded by a fence with Niu Yi. Ao Xuan, seeing this, quickly followed.

As evening fell, Niu Yi watched as Taiyi Zhenren was helped back to his house by Ao Xuan. His face was flushed, and he couldn't help but circulate his magic power to quickly dispel the smell of alcohol from his body.

If it were just his peach blossom wine, orange leaf wine, and mixed fruit wine, things naturally wouldn't have developed to this point.

The problem was, this immortal was getting more and more into it, and he even brought out all sorts of spirit wines from his collection. Forget about "Immortal's Intoxication" or any other spirit wine, he even brought out several jugs of the Heavenly Palace's finest nectar, pulling Niu Yi along for a drink. This man truly couldn't live without wine.
A moment later, Niu Yi's smell of alcohol dissipated, and his complexion returned to normal.

Taiyi Zhenren naturally possessed such abilities, but in his words, if one were to use magic to refine and dissipate the aroma of any fine wine, there would be no enjoyment whatsoever.

Niu Yi stared speechlessly at the wine jars scattered on the ground. The two of them had been drinking from noon until evening, and these empty wine jars were a testament to their skill. If he hadn't been using his magic to refine the spirit wine, he probably wouldn't have been able to outdrink this Taiyi Zhenren.

"crunch~"

At that moment, Ao Xuan came out of the room and closed the door.

This room was originally set up by Niu Yi to store some odds and ends, but he never expected that this unexpectedly arrived Taiyi Zhenren would move in. Fortunately, setting up a table, chairs, and a wooden bed in this room was just a matter of waving his hand to him.

After Ao Xuan came out, he wanted to pick up the empty wine jars on the ground and tidy them up, but Niu Yi simply waved his sleeve, causing the wine jars scattered on the ground to quickly be arranged together and fly to the back of the courtyard to form a row.

"Xuan'er, you've worked hard serving me all day. Get some rest."

"Yes, sir."

When Niu Yi saw Ao Xuan return to his house, he looked at the thatched hut where Ao Xuan was already snoring and shook his head with a headache.

His headache wasn't anything else; he just felt that if he were to be neighbors with this man for two years, he might not even have enough wine left in his gourd.
When Niu Yi returned to Jindu Mountain last time, he brewed a large quantity of spirit wine and stored it with him, thinking it would be enough for him to drink for decades. However, he did not expect that on the very first day he spent with this person, Niu Yi would feel an unprecedented sense of crisis.
Fortunately, he got along quite well with Taiyi Zhenren. This person was sincere, and although he seemed somewhat unreliable, since he had chosen to trust Niu Yi, he would not keep secrets from him.

Therefore, during their drinking session just now, Master Taiyi also revealed some things.

For example, this person also came for the dual-polar primordial magnetic divine iron, but the Primordial Heavenly Venerable gave Taiyi Zhenren an exact time many years ago, and now it is only two years away from that time.

However, Master Taiyi was not determined to obtain the divine iron; he came here merely to join in the fun. In the end, he declared that he would help Niu Yi obtain the divine iron.

Niu Yi readily agreed, for this man was a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, and both he and his sect were trustworthy.

Furthermore, he had clearly sensed from this person just now that, despite his simple Taoist robes and the mere fact that he carried a whisk, the radiance emanating from him was truly extraordinary.
"Perhaps some habits are passed down even between masters and disciples. For example, the Golden Spirit Pearl was casually bestowed upon this True Person by the Primordial Celestial Venerable. There must be many other treasures bestowed upon him."

"And this immortal, in turn, entrusted many of his treasures to Nezha."

Back when Niu Yi hadn't yet become a disciple, he admired and envied Nezha for having such a good master as Taiyi Zhenren. But now, he no longer has that thought.

It's truly amazing that Niu Yi has such a great mentor and a great lineage!
In just over a hundred years, he has become completely different.

Niu Yi smiled, stood up gracefully, turned and walked towards his thatched hut, preparing to enter the Lingtai Mind State.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On Yuanci Island, in the thatched cottage courtyard at this moment.

Niu Yi was sitting cross-legged under a big tree, and opposite him was a figure exactly like Niu Yi, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

At that very moment, the same earth-elemental energy slowly emanated from both of them, causing the trees around the thatched cottage to grow taller and receive tremendous nourishment.

However, in just a moment, Niu Yi and the identical figure opposite him withdrew their earth element Daoist aura, slowly opened their eyes and looked at each other with the same smile in their eyes, as if they were looking at a mirror.

Just then, the figure in front of Niu Yi slowly disappeared, while the voice of Taiyi Zhenren praising him came from beside him.

"Fellow Daoist's 'Avatar' technique is truly remarkable. It has completely inherited the Great Dao of Earth and mastered it in just a few months, reaching a level similar to yours."

Niu Yi stood up with a smile, and said:
"Although they are at the same level and share the same path, they are still far from the original body, which makes fighting them quite inconvenient."

Niu Yi's skills largely stem from the numerous magical treasures he possesses. Although this external avatar is well-crafted, its combat prowess is completely incomparable to that of his original body.

Of course, this external avatar is already extremely remarkable for being able to fully inherit his realm and magical power. If he can become a Great Luo Golden Immortal in the future...
(End of this chapter)