Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 249 Jiang Liuer

Liu Hong, tall and dressed in official robes, had just returned to his residence when he came looking for Yin Wenjiao. Suddenly, he heard the cry of a baby!
"Wow-wow-"

Liu Hong's expression changed, his eyes flashed with cold light, and he looked fierce, as if he had instantly transformed from the high and mighty Jiangzhou governor back into a ruthless killer!

He strode up the steps and kicked the door open!

"boom!!"

The door suddenly opened, startling Yin Wenjiao, who had just woken up and was holding the baby boy on the ground.

Looking at the petite and soft child on the ground, Liu Hong felt nothing but murderous intent.

"Hmph! This bastard!!"

Liu Hong strode forward, intending to snatch the child away, drown him, and reunite him with his father, who had long since been sent to the bottom of the river to feed the fish!

Pale-faced and covered in cold sweat, weak and exhausted, Yin Wenjiao didn't know where she got the strength, but she held the child tightly and hurriedly called out, "Husband!"

The voice made Liu Hong stop. He looked at Yin Wenjiao's angelic face, his expression softening slightly, but the fierce glint in his eyes remained. He stared at Yin Wenjiao with his tiger-like eyes and said slowly:
"What, you still want to keep this bastard child?"

Yin Wenjiao understood the meaning in that tone. Although she was filled with hatred, for the sake of the newborn child in her arms, she had no choice but to suppress her hatred and disgust for the time being, and forced a weak smile as she said:
“How could that be? I am now yours, but it is too late today. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow to throw me into the river.”

This scoundrel killed her husband and took her body by force back then, and now he wants to harm her child. She hates this scoundrel so much that she wants to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin!
But for the sake of her child, and for the day when the family of three would be reunited, as Guanyin Bodhisattva had said, she could not die now.
Liu Hong was overjoyed by these two calls of "husband," and his expression softened, but he still spoke in a firm and cold tone:
"Fine, but tomorrow morning, this bastard will be thrown into the river to drown!"

The moment he saw Yin Wenjiao, he felt an unprecedented possessiveness; the woman was simply too beautiful.

However, this woman remained unmoved by him and refused to let him touch her. If he hadn't grabbed her back then, she would have jumped into the river long ago and committed suicide with Chen Guangrui!

This woman's dead husband, Chen Guangrui, even threw his corpse into the river to feed the fish. He didn't know what this woman was insisting on.

Fortunately, the woman has finally come to her senses and decided to give in to him sooner rather than later.

Yin Wenjiao lowered her head, letting her long hair cover her face, afraid that Liu Hong would see the hatred in her eyes that could no longer be concealed.

"Um"

Hearing Yin Wenjiao give a soft "hmm," Liu Hong, looking somewhat tired, snorted coldly, glanced at the infant one last time, and turned to leave.

Yin Wenjiao looked sadly at the child in her arms who had stopped crying, feeling extremely sorry for him.

My poor child, born without a father, and now to be drowned by that scoundrel.
Yin Wenjiao reached out and pulled open her sleeve, looking at the two warm, jade-white bracelets that had appeared on her wrist the moment she woke up.

Yin Wenjiao slowly took one of them off and placed it on the doll's body, murmuring:

"I can only stall for one more night. Tomorrow morning, that scoundrel will surely come to take my child's life. Merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva, virtuous and holy healer, if you are truly watching over this child from heaven, please save my poor child's life."

"I pray to the Bodhisattva Daojun for protection, that my husband may truly be rescued by the Dragon King of Hongjiang, and that one day our family will be reunited."

Yin Wenjiao slowly closed her eyes and prayed devoutly. Having not slept all night, she heard early the next morning that Liu Hong had an urgent matter to attend to and had left home early, and would not return for at least several days.

Upon hearing this, Yin Wenjiao knew that Liu Hong would surely take the child's life again when he returned. She hurriedly took the child away from the mansion, but there was nowhere to hide the child. She could only write a letter in blood, put the bracelet in the child's swaddling clothes, and bite off the little toe on the child's left foot as a mark.

Just then, a plank floated downstream. Yin Wenjiao placed the child on the plank and let him go far away, sincerely praying in her heart that someone would take in the child and at least let him live.
At the entrance of Jinshan Temple, the Divine Physician Daojun was exchanging greetings with Elder Faming of the temple.

"Elder Faming."

"This humble monk greets the Divine Physician Daoist."

After the two finished their greetings, Elder Faming, dressed in Buddhist robes and with a serene expression, said:

"I already know why you have come here, Daoist. Please rest assured, I will raise the Buddha's disciple to adulthood."

Daojun nodded. He trusted Elder Faming, whom Guanyin Bodhisattva had chosen. Elder Faming was also extremely wise and had cultivated Buddhism and Taoism since childhood. He had already attained the secret of non-birth, and even Daojun would not underestimate him in the slightest.

But it makes sense. Jin Chanzi was a Buddhist disciple reincarnated from the Western Paradise. How could someone who could be Jin Chanzi's master, enabling Jin Chanzi to be versed in thousands of scriptures and omnipotent at the age of thirty-one, and to be proficient in Buddhist chants and celestial music, be an ordinary person?

"In that case, I will trouble the elder."

"Amitabha."

After a while, Daojun saw Elder Faming lift the child from the wooden plank in the river and give him a nickname, Jiang Liuer. Only then did Daojun leave Jinshan Temple and head to the bottom of Hongjiang River.

"Little Dragon greets Daoist Lord."

Upon seeing the Daoist Lord before him, the Dragon King of Hongjiang, accompanied by a group of Yaksha soldiers, bowed deeply to him with respectful expressions.

The person before him was now a renowned figure across the four continents, and it was rumored that he was also a high-ranking immortal at the Queen Mother of the West's Jade Pool Gathering, the Divine Physician Daojun.

“Dragon King Hongjiang, there’s no need for such formalities. I’ve come here simply to find someone.”

"I wonder who you are, Junxun?"

"Chen Guangrui".

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King of Hongjiang looked surprised and then said:
"Chen Guangrui is currently serving as a commander in my Water Palace. If Daoist Lord wishes to see him, I will summon him immediately."

"No need to disturb him, I'll go and take a look."

"Yes, please follow me, Daoist Master."

Daojun and the Dragon King turned left and right in the crystal palace of Hongjiang, and finally came to a side hall. There they saw a young man in his twenties, who looked like a scholar, sitting at a table, looking through a book in his hands.

Not far in front of the man, there was a coral bed, on which lay a figure that looked exactly like the man.

Hong Jianglong bowed to the Daoist and pointed at the scholar.

"Daojun, this is Chen Guangrui."

"To my shame, although I, Xiaolong, have cultivated the Dragon Transformation Technique and attained the Dao, and have become a dragon, my cultivation is ultimately incomplete. Every three hundred years, I will lose all my cultivation and transform into a golden-scaled carp."

“A few months ago, Xiaolong was in dire straits. When he transformed into a carp, he was caught by a fisherman on the shore. On the way, Chen Guangrui saw something supernatural about him and saved him. Therefore, Xiaolong owes him a favor for saving his life.”

"That day, Chen Guangrui was harmed by river pirates and drowned in the river. Little Dragon used the Face-Fixing Pearl to fix his body and asked the City God to send his soul here, hoping that one day he might be able to escape." The Daoist Master nodded slowly, praising him.
"The Dragon King is indeed a grateful person."

"You flatter me, Daoist Master."

Daojun looked at Chen Guangrui, who was engrossed in reading, and slowly said:
"I ask the Dragon King to watch over Chen Guangrui. Eighteen years from now, someone will hold a memorial service for him, and then we can send him away."

The Dragon King of Hongjiang straightened his expression, bowed again, and said:
"Yes, Xiaolong will obey the Daoist's decree."

On Jindu Mountain, in the pavilion on one side of Hunyuan Mountain, there is a chaotic green gourd.

Niu Yi sat cross-legged on the futon, and with the help of the bright moonlight shining down from the sky, he looked at the pinkish-purple demon core that was slowly rotating on the purple-gold table in front of him, and nodded slightly.

"The seven emotions and six desires, the way of passion and desire, this scorpion demon's talent is truly unique."

This path of desire is extremely dependent on talent; those with affinity need no teaching, while those without cannot be taught, or like him, they can comprehend it by borrowing the path of desire that the scorpion demon has already cultivated.

However, the progress this scorpion demon made in the realm of lust was astounding to Niu Yi. Even with his years of arduous cultivation, he was quite wary of it. No wonder even Guanyin Bodhisattva was unwilling to get close to this scorpion.

If used properly, this scorpion demon can definitely be of great use.
Niu Yi slowly raised his head and looked at the bright moon in the sky. Streams of yin energy were constantly falling down, nourishing the vast land below, which spanned 30,000 li in circumference.

On this land, deer and foxes roamed the forests, surrounded by wolves and roaring tigers. Monkeys hung upside down from trees to pick spiritual fruits, and fish swam freely in the river, creating a vibrant and lively scene.

As Niu Yi comprehended the two complete Great Daos of Taiyin and Taiyang, the world within the Chaos Green Gourd began to experience sunrise and sunset, no longer the chaotic void it once was.

For a small world, this means that the foundation of the world has been greatly improved, the area of ​​Hunyuan Island has also begun to grow significantly, and the whole world is radiating a vitality far greater than before.

After that, Niu Yi brought in some creatures from the mountains outside the island, and now these creatures have settled down and multiplied on Hunyuan Island.

As Hunyuan Island continued to improve, Niu Yi gained more insights while comprehending various great principles in this world, which even propelled the progress of Niu Yi's Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

This small world was the greatest contributor to his cultivation of the Primordial Dao, and it may be the place where he will have the opportunity to cultivate the Primordial Dao Fruit in the future.

"Perhaps we can also study this path of passion and desire. Anger, joy, sorrow and so on. All sentient beings in the world have passion and desire, and even the gods and Buddhas in the sky are the same."

"However, I have no talent for this. Now that I have been able to glimpse the way through the Scorpion Demon, I might as well try to comprehend it."

Niu Yi slowly closed his eyes, rejecting the lustful aura that kept trying to invade him from the demon core in front of him, and began to comprehend the path of desire within it.

Those who cultivate the Tao emphasize understanding their own mind and nature, rather than abandoning all their emotions and desires, because those are also part of themselves.

Therefore, Niu Yi's understanding of the seven emotions and six desires was also free of any taboos.

Just as Niu Yi was comprehending the Great Dao, in the Tushita Palace of Heaven.

The green ox cautiously looked around with its huge bull eyes. Seeing that no one was around, the light from the single horn on its head flashed, and a pot of spirit wine appeared in front of it and floated towards it.

The green ox opened its mouth, letting the wine from the jug fall into its mouth, and couldn't help but close its eyes to enjoy it.

A gentle breeze, an orange grove, a meadow... I really miss those days.
A moment later, after the wine in the jug had been poured into the ox's mouth, the ox smacked its lips and opened its eyes, savoring the taste. However, the figure that suddenly appeared in front of it startled the ox so much that it almost jumped up from the ground.

"Lao...Laojun!!!"

Holding a whisk and wearing a yellow robe with the Tai Chi Bagua symbol, Laozi smiled as he looked at the green ox.

"What, missing Golden Gourd Mountain?"

The green ox's eyes darted around, and it shook its head repeatedly, saying:
"No, no, no, how could that be? I'm perfectly fine in the Tushita Palace, why would I be thinking about the lower realm or Mount Jindu?"

Laozi, with a half-smile, leaned closer and said:

"You really don't want to?"

The blue ox nodded repeatedly.

"Really? Really! What's so great about Golden Gourd Mountain? It's just some mortal spirit oranges, wine and food, a bunch of noisy little bull demons, and... well, nothing special!"

As Qingniu spoke, he began to reminisce, and he quickly stopped, uttering words that even he himself did not believe.
"Alas, what a pity. I was planning to go into seclusion to refine pills and didn't need to travel. I wanted you to go down to the mortal realm, but since you're unwilling, then let's just drop it."

As Lao Tzu spoke, he shook his head regretfully, turned around and walked away. But before he had taken two steps, he felt something tugging at his Taoist robe.

Lao Jun turned around and saw the green ox biting the hem of his Taoist robe, its eyes shining as it looked at him, its eyes seeming to speak, as if it were constantly saying to Lao Jun:
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!
"You ox, hurry up and let go."

Laozi laughed and scolded, seeing the green ox reluctantly agree, he waved his whisk and said:

"Going to the mortal realm is fine, going to Jindu Mountain is also fine, but this time you must obey Guangyi's arrangements in everything you do, and you must not disobey. Do you understand?"

The green ox nodded repeatedly and said:
"Yes, yes, I will do whatever Brother Guangyi says."

His brother Guangyi treated him very well, and since he was favored by their own Dao Ancestor, he would never harm him. He also liked the group of little bull demons from Jindu Mountain very much.

Besides Guangyi, the only other ancestor on Jindu Mountain is this rhinoceros ancestor.

Laozi nodded slightly, took a gleaming white bracelet from his arm, and presented it to the green ox, saying:
"You have important business to attend to in this mortal realm. Take the Vajra Bracelet with you and meet Guangyi. He will tell you what you need to do and how things will be arranged in the future."

"Once this matter is accomplished, I will descend to the mortal realm to bring you back."

Although Qingniu was somewhat confused, he nodded repeatedly, afraid that if he was too slow, Laozi would send someone down to the mortal realm to handle the matter.

Seeing the green ox's eagerness, Laozi shook his head, transformed the Vajra Bracelet into a nose ring for the ox, put it on its nose, and with a wave of his whisk, sent the green ox down to the mortal realm.

Since Guangyi was there, he didn't need to waste any more words. The boy was always reliable and would definitely handle the matter properly, so he was quite at ease with him.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the green ox's vision blurred, and then it reappeared on Golden Gourd Mountain.

Looking around at the Jindu Mountain summit, which had changed drastically since his last visit, Qingniu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Brother, Guangyi! I've come to see you!!!"

(PS: The previous text stated that Tang Sanzang was the ninth reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, which was incorrect. In fact, Tang Sanzang should now be the tenth reincarnation of Jin Chanzi. Thank you to the readers for pointing this out. It has now been corrected.)

(End of this chapter)