Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 174 Hairpin
A state of mind at night.

At this moment, Niu Yi was sitting cross-legged in front of the huge five-colored egg in the Five-Colored Treasure Chicken's nest. Streams of earth-element Daoist energy were constantly spreading around him. The creative power contained in these earth-element Daoist energy caused the surrounding five-colored treasure chickens to close their eyes comfortably and fall into a quiet slumber.

After a while, Niu Yi slowly opened his eyes, looked at the colorful egg in front of him that was just a little brighter, and shook his head helplessly.

"This old rooster, it can't really be like those mythical beasts, gestating in this spiritual realm for thousands of years, can it?"

The Earth Path he comprehended contained the creative power that nurtures all things, but it had no effect whatsoever on the old rooster.

"Forget it, even if it's tens of thousands of years, let alone thousands, I can wait that long now. You should rest here."

Niu Yi slowly got up, stretched while looking at the bright moon in the sky, turned around and left, returning to his library to continue reading the classics.

The next morning, Niu Yi slowly opened his eyes in the thatched hut on Rotten Peach Mountain.

After opening his eyes, Niu Yi's gaze fell on the Myriad Miles Primordial Spirit Pearl on the table, which was shimmering with golden light. Niu Yi sensed the information within it, and a thoughtful light appeared in his eyes as he looked at the lines of cause and effect around him.

At the foot of Jindu Mountain, Niu Feng looked at the girl dressed in moon-white robes with deer antlers and the old man also dressed in moon-white robes opposite him, and shook his head, saying:
“The leader is not on the mountain, but Niu Ping has already sent a message. Normally, the leader should have already started to wake up by now, and the message should be sent back soon.”

The old man quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying:
"Then thank you very much, Lord Niu Feng."

Xiaoyue stared blankly at Niu Feng, somewhat lost in thought. Thinking of her father's words, she slowly shook her head.

Niu Feng looked at this playmate, with whom he had grown somewhat estranged over the past few decades, and was puzzled. He felt that Xiao Yue was acting strangely today.

Just as Niu Feng was about to ask something, he heard footsteps behind him. Niu Feng quickly turned around and saw Niu Ping in a white robe standing there, and in front of him was a figure whose body was flashing with golden light of primordial spirit.

"leader!"

"Meet the leader!"

Niu Feng quickly came forward, excitedly approaching Niu Yi, and stood on either side of Niu Yi behind him, with Niu Ping on either side.

Niu Yi looked at Niu Feng, smiled and nodded, then his gaze fell on the Moon Deer Clan Chief who was bowing respectfully. His smile faded, and he said in a calm voice:

"Does the Moon Deer clan now intend to break away from my Golden Gourd Mountain?"

Upon hearing that clear, melodious voice, just like it had in the past, the old patriarch of the Moonflower Deer clan trembled involuntarily. He bowed deeply, his face full of respect, yet his tone revealed a sense of helplessness as he said:

"Chief, this is absolutely not what I wanted, but I am now old and have already lost to the new chieftain. Only some elders in the clan are still willing to support me. I truly am helpless."

Niu Yi waved his hand, interrupting the Moon Deer clan chief, and then shook his head, saying:
"I understand. You may leave Moonflower Peak today."

After Niu Yi finished speaking, he didn't give the old patriarch of the Moon Deer clan a chance to speak. He then led Niu Feng and Niu Ping and turned to walk up the mountain.

Upon hearing this, the old man looked at Niu Yi's retreating figure, and quickly led Xiao Yue beside him to kneel down and bow respectfully again and again.

Although Niu Feng looked at Xiao Yue with a pained expression, he still held back and did not say anything.

Niu Yi remained calm, as Niu Ping had already told him the whole story.

The Moon Deer clan has produced a genius who reached the Demon General realm in just over a hundred years. He defeated the old clan leader who had advanced to the Demon General realm years earlier and obtained the current position of clan leader.

However, this young demon was arrogant and thought he was exceptionally talented and could lead the Moon Deer clan to become king, instead of being a vassal of Golden Gourd Mountain and living a peaceful life every day.

Among the demon race, the clan leader, or king, has absolute authority. Since the new king has made a new decision, the entire clan can only support him.

The old patriarch of the Moon Deer clan seemed extremely reluctant to leave when he met him this time, but perhaps he did have such expectations in his heart. What is more comfortable than being a free king when you depend on others?

Human hearts are fickle, and demons are no different. Since this group of Moon Deer wants to leave, Niu Yi has no objection.

The Yuehua deer clan had done a lot for him back then, and he had never mistreated them. Now it was just a matter of parting ways amicably.

In Niu Yi's perception of cause and effect, the causal connection between him and the Moon Deer Clan was gradually fading and eventually disappearing.

Meanwhile, on Moonflower Peak, the Moonflower Deer clan, who were leisurely lying down, suddenly felt that the spiritual energy on Moonflower Peak was becoming increasingly thin, which caused many Moonflower Deer to stand up in astonishment.

Not far from Moonflower Peak, two monkey demons watched this scene quietly, but both wore gloating smiles on their faces.

The somewhat aged monkey demon at the head sighed:
"It seems the Moon Deer Clan has forgotten how they sought their leader's protection in the first place."

The young monkey demon behind the old monkey demon grinned and said:
"They think that the new leader of the Moon Deer has a chance to step into the realm of Demon General. What a bunch of blind fools! The leader has not made a move for more than a hundred years and rarely shows himself. But can't they see anything from the changes in Golden Gourd Mountain and the surrounding area?"

"Now that the leader has reached a level of cultivation, it must be unimaginable. Do these foolish deer really think that the changes in Golden Gourd Mountain and the surrounding peaks over the years are a gift from heaven?"

The young monkey demon exuded a powerful aura, clearly indicating that he was also at the demon general level.

The old monkey demon turned his head and looked at the young monkey demon in front of him with satisfaction, saying:
“When the old clan chief was still alive, he always told me to always follow behind the leader. When he passed away, he held my hand, probably still thinking of telling me this.”

“Now that I’m old, you must remember that everything we have is given to us by the leader! Don’t end up like these Moon Deer.” “Hey~ Don’t worry.”

At the summit of Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi noticed that Niu Feng seemed somewhat disappointed and couldn't help but laugh:

"What, you've fallen for that Xiaoyue?"

Upon hearing this, Niu Feng was taken aback, but shook his head repeatedly.

"No, leader. We are just very good friends."

"Heh~ It seems to me that old deer wants to hand his daughter over to you?"

"what?"

Niu Feng stood there stunned, while Niu Yi smiled and shook his head, explaining some things to Niu Ping beside him.

Old Deer was calculating his options, clearly wanting to bet on both sides. He wanted to establish his own independent business on one side, while maintaining a relationship with Jin Du Mountain on the other. However, he flatly rejected both of them. Xiao Yue and Niu Feng were clearly not interested in each other and were quite confused.

These little bull spirits of his are going to go to heaven with him and become gods in the future. If Niu Feng gets together with Xiao Yue, wouldn't he also be taken to heaven?

If they were truly in love, that would be one thing, but given their current state, it's clear that nothing of the sort is going on, so there's no need to dwell on it.

As for the departure of the Moon Deer clan, it was a minor matter to him and he didn't need to worry about it too much. What he needed to focus on now was something else entirely.

After explaining the situation on Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi saw that everything on Jindu Mountain was normal, so his primordial spirit returned to Rotten Peach Mountain.

As Niu Yi slowly opened his eyes in the peach grove, the Myriad Miles Primordial Spirit Pearl also slowly fell down and was retrieved by Niu Yi.

"Has the matter at your family's residence been resolved, Junior Brother?"

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Guangwu."

Niu Yi slowly stood up, looked at Senior Brother Guanghui and Senior Brother Guangwu walking together not far away in the peach grove, and smiled:
"It was a small matter, and it has been taken care of."

Senior Brother Guanghui smiled and nodded, while Guangwu quickly approached Niu Yi with a scroll in hand, excitedly saying:

"Junior brother, release your Ten Thousand Leaf Golden Bamboo Sword. Today, let's brothers do one last deduction. I think you can start reforging this magic weapon tomorrow."

Guangwu still enjoys the feeling of working together with his fellow disciples.

And in this way, he wouldn't have to keep staring at the talisman book, killing two birds with one stone!
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you two senior brothers."

Niu Yi nodded, and golden bamboo leaves began to appear around him, swirling around him. The golden aura of the Great Dao permeated these bamboo leaves, sharp and extraordinary, far surpassing what he had seen before.

Upon seeing this, Guangwu quickly unfurled the scroll in his hand, causing it to float in mid-air. A magical artifact pattern resembling a hairpin appeared on the scroll.

Cultivation knows no time; twenty years pass in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, Niu Yi was sitting cross-legged in the peach forest of Rotten Peach Mountain, his face serious, his hands forming a mudra.

Within the Primordial Furnace before him, bursts of golden and silver light, distorting space, were constantly shifting, while the Primordial Qi Fire enveloped and continuously burned this golden and silver light.

Upon closer inspection, within the Primordial Chaos Fire, a peculiar liquid, distinct in gold and silver, was gently undulating, generating a magnetic force that distorted the surrounding space.

Ao Xuan was picking peaches from a tree not far away, but he kept glancing at his master.

Guangwu and Daoist Guanghui protected their junior brother even closer. Guangwu exclaimed in admiration:
"These two polar magnetic divine irons are truly amazing. Junior Brother Guangyi spent twenty years refining them in the Hunyuan Furnace and only managed to refine them to this level."

The Taoist Master Guanghui, standing to the side with a smile, said:
"Now that we've reached this point, things will be much easier from here on out."

As soon as Daoist Guanghui finished speaking, golden rays of light appeared around Niu Yi, quickly gathering and transforming into a golden bamboo that flew into the Hunyuan Furnace. This caused the two-pole magnetic divine iron in the Hunyuan Furnace to suddenly riot, and the magnetic force made the surrounding space even more distorted.

"Om..."

Niu Yi's expression remained unchanged, and the hand seals in his hands changed one after another. After a while, the sounds in the Hunyuan Cauldron began to gradually diminish, and the magnetic force of the distorted space around him also seemed to have changed.
Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court.

Niu Yi and Taibai Jinxing left Lü Dongbin's residence empty-handed, with Niu Yi looking somewhat helpless.

When this man returned from visiting a friend, Venus brought him to him.

He did take a fancy to the paintings in the other person's hands, but he didn't have any of the treasures that interested him.

Just as Venus was about to offer some words of comfort, the voice of the Pure Yang Sword Immortal came from behind them once again.

"Please, gentlemen, do not be in such a hurry to leave."

(End of this chapter)