Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 257 Peacock King Bodhisattva

The commotion at Wuxing Mountain not only alarmed Daojun Temple.

The heavenly eyes and ears that could see and hear from afar also witnessed this scene and quickly spread the news throughout the entire Heavenly Court.

It is said that Sun Wukong, the Monkey King who once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, has been taken as a disciple by Tang Sanzang, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, who is to protect the pilgrim on his journey to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek enlightenment.

And this news is spreading throughout the Three Realms at an astonishing speed.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong paid respects to his master and thanked Liu Boqin. Tang Sanzang was pleased to see Sun Wukong like this and gave him a nickname, "Xingzhe" (Pilgrim). From then on, Sun Wukong also called himself Sun Xingzhe.

Seeing that Tang Sanzang had gained a good disciple, Liu Boqin felt that his journey to the West was now secure after crossing the Two Realms Mountain. However, since he did not want to go to the area beyond the Two Realms Mountain to continue his journey to the West, he bid farewell to Tang Sanzang at this place.

Tang Sanzang repeatedly thanked the mountain protector for his protection along the way, then mounted his white horse and set off westward with his newly accepted disciple.

Liu Boqin hadn't gone far when he saw a middle-aged Taoist priest with black hair and beard, dressed in a magnificent purple Taoist robe, leaning on a green bamboo staff, with a tiger-shaped bell hanging from his waist.

Upon seeing this person, Liu Boqin was both surprised and delighted, and quickly stepped forward to bow and say:
"Liu Boqin greets the Daoist Lord!"

His family had lived in the village of divine healers for generations. They watched as the divine healers from Daojun Medical Hall came from the west and went to the east. Seeing that each of them was respected and had great skills, he couldn't help but feel a longing for them.

Unfortunately, he had no talent in medicine, but he was born with great strength and courage, so he became a hunter, protecting the mountain people and guarding the area. The people he rescued called him the Mountain Guardian.

Back then, he had been taught a few simple first aid techniques by the temple keeper of Daojun Temple. He always carried with him the pills given to him by Daojun's disciples, which protected him as he grew up. Every family in their village believed in Daojun, which is why they were so respectful and joyful.

“Boqin, you are blessed with good fortune and have excellent character. Before your lifespan comes to an end, you can come to my Daojun Temple and I can give you a position as a guardian deity.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Boqin was taken aback, and then immediately knelt down with some excitement.

"Liu Boqin bows in gratitude to the Daoist Master!"

The Divine Physician Daojun nodded slightly, and his figure quickly disappeared in a thin mist.

He currently has three guardian general positions under his command. In recent years, Bu Yanjin, who has been studying medicine in Xiniu Hezhou, has gone to Daojun Mountain. He is an excellent candidate. Liu Boqin is another candidate.

As for the last candidate, there's no rush. Besides, Daojun Palace is a large and powerful family. Although it doesn't have as many divine generals and five hundred spirit officials as the Nine Heavens Demon-Subduing Ancestor, if the reason is right, he can still petition the Jade Emperor to expand his forces.

Speaking of which, his junior brother He Xi and his family are currently working in Wudang Mountain. They contacted him recently, saying that if he had some free time, he could visit Wudang Mountain for a chat.

Perhaps he could make the trip in a while. Now that Tang Sanzang has rescued his junior brother, the rest of the journey is no longer his concern. He and Taibai don't need to watch over it; that task should be entrusted to Guanyin Bodhisattva.
The top of Jindou Mountain.

Niu Yi had just returned to Jindu Mountain after visiting his seniors and friends from over the years. He found everything normal on the mountain, and a fat orange cat was teasing a small black beast. The two were chasing each other carefree on the mountaintop.

That small, black beast, resembling a puppy, was the Yin Qilin, which had been born from a Qilin egg.

Niu Yi didn't know how this black Qilin transformed into a small dog that was slightly Qilin-shaped as soon as it was born, but the little guy's true form was indeed a pure Yin Qilin.

The Bull Demon King had the Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast as his mount, and now he also has the Yin Qilin.

However, this little guy is still very young, having just been born not long ago, and cannot be ridden yet. He still needs a long time to grow up.

Fortunately, this little guy will grow up quickly on Jindu Mountain.

However, Niu Yi dared not let the local earth god help raise this Yin Qilin. This Qilin was different from Dou Dou; he intended to ride it in public someday, and if the earth god fattened it up...
Niu Yi shook his head, his figure passing through the Five Elements Formation and descending towards the summit of Jindu Mountain.

"Haha~ My dear brother is back."

Upon sensing Niu Yi's presence, the green ox, who was sleeping soundly in the orange grove, enjoying the scent of oranges, opened its eyes and appeared in front of Niu Yi in a flash.

Niu Yi stepped forward and said with a smile:
"Thank you for your help in looking after Golden Gourd Mountain, Brother Si."

The green ox shook its head and said:

"Brother, with the Five Elements Grand Array protecting this Golden Gourd Mountain, there's no need for me to guard it. On the contrary, I've truly enjoyed these years on this mountain!"

"Speaking of which, I've made some progress on that matter you mentioned back then, brother. It's a matter that's both difficult and simple, so please let me explain."

In the western Lingshan Mountain, there is a lush green bamboo forest bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

A stunningly beautiful woman, whose beauty would put even celestial maidens to shame, was dressed in a magnificent emerald green peacock robe and holding a peacock fan, which she was gently swaying.

This woman was none other than the Buddha Mother, Peacock Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva lay languidly on the magnificent golden couch and slowly spoke:

"Oh, I already know about that. As for the Golden-Winged Roc, there's no need to tell me anymore."

"That guy hasn't changed much over the years. He's never improved his skills, all he thinks about is food, he's always causing trouble without a care in the world, and he's not very bright either."

"If he really died, we might both feel a little better."

After speaking, the Peacock King Bodhisattva closed her eyes slightly, as if listening to something, but she was the only one there.

After a long while, the Bodhisattva slowly opened his eyes, chuckled softly, and said:

"Ha~ Buddha is indeed compassionate. Then you can give it a try. Anyway, I won't interfere with him."

When the Peacock King Bodhisattva spoke these words, his tone was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell whether he was being sarcastic or not. But as soon as he finished speaking, something seemed to disappear from the bamboo forest.

Sensing the person's departure, the Bodhisattva slowly sat up from the bed, lazily stretched, and looked towards the sky, her eyes seeming to have spotted something extremely interesting. "Guangyi Daoist, huh? I wonder how much you differ from your senior brother?"

The Bodhisattva gently plucked a peacock feather from her sleeve, and with a flick of her wrist, the feather transformed into a small, emerald-green bird. It flapped its wings and flew out of the bamboo forest, heading into the distance.

"Although I have no interest in saving my so-called younger brother, this Daoist Guangyi seems quite interesting. Since I'm just idling around anyway, and it just so happens that Buddha's second disciple is on his way to retrieve the scriptures, I might as well go and join in the fun."

The Peacock King Bodhisattva released the bird, then lay back down on the golden bed, covered his mouth with the peacock fan, yawned, and slowly closed his eyes again, as if he had fallen asleep.

A few days later, Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong were traveling westward when they encountered a group of bandits. Sun Wukong saw that these bandits all had fierce eyes and none of them were good people, so he took out the golden cudgel, which was the size of an embroidery needle, from his ear and killed all of them.

“Wukong, now that you have joined my Buddhist sect, even if you have the ability to subdue dragons and tigers, you can simply scare them away. Why take their lives?”

Sun Wukong strode up to Tang Sanzang, stared at him with wide eyes, and scratched his cheek.

"Master, if I don't harm them, they will harm you!"

"Alas, we Buddhists are compassionate at heart. Even if we are murdered by others, we would not dare to take a life. This is a grave sin, Wukong."

Sun Wukong grew increasingly annoyed by Tang Sanzang's endless rambling.

These are just a few bandits. Back when he was king of Huaguo Mountain, he killed quite a few people. Why is he being described as such a troublesome person by this old monk? Besides, he was trying to protect the monk and save his life!

After he taught himself his skills and left Fangcun Mountain, he never suffered such humiliation again!
In a fit of anger, Sun Wukong put down his luggage, leaving Tang Sanzang and the white horse alone in the forest, and then somersaulted off on his cloud towards the East Sea.

Guanyin Bodhisattva in the sky watched this scene, shook her head slightly, and with a flick of her hand, a cotton robe and a hat inlaid with gold flowers appeared in her hand and flew downwards.

At the summit of Jindu Mountain, Niu Yi was playing chess with the Earth God in the pavilion. Qing Niu, who had no interest in such games, lay on the railing and ate oranges by himself, occasionally grabbing a handful of fish food from a stone bowl and throwing it into the pond.

Niu Feng and Niu Ping looked at the once again abundant spiritual peaches and oranges, and worked together to throw them into the baskets below. After all, they had been doing this job for many years.

Ao Xuan, Jin Feng, and Jin Yun are currently in seclusion in the Lotus Cave. In fact, for dragons like Ao Xuan, it is quite normal for them to sleep for hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, Ao Xuan's true dragon aura continued to emanate from the lotus flowers, permeating the pond and nourishing the many spiritual plants and fish within.

As for the mountain god DouDou of JinDou Mountain, and the newly born Yin Qilin, a fat cat, and a little black dog, one lying on the shoulder of the green ox and the other lying at Niu Yi's feet, they were taking a lazy and comfortable nap.

Niu Yi looked at the situation on the chessboard and placed his black piece. The Earth God frowned, seeing that there was no chance left in the game, and shook his head helplessly, saying:
"I've lost again."

"Since the year you returned from your master's school, we've played chess together for so many years, and the number of times I've been able to beat you is extremely limited."

Niu Yi said with a smile:

"After all, I have studied chess for many more years than the Earth God, and I also had someone to guide me, which is why I have reached such a level. The Earth God's chess skills are now extremely impressive."

Without Niu Yi making any move, the numerous black and white chess pieces on the board flew up and fell back into the chess jar. Niu Yi then said:

"Speaking of which, the Earth God has been staying at Jindu Mountain for nearly a thousand years. Earth God, do you have any plans to leave here and go out for a walk?"

The Earth God looked at Niu Yi, slightly surprised, and then said:

"What is it? Is there something you need me to do? If so, just tell me and I will make the trip."

The Earth God spoke with great confidence.

Over the years, as Niu Yi's cultivation level has continuously improved, his precious aura has blessed the entire Jindou Mountain. His cultivation and abilities have risen again and again. Even though he is still the local deity of Jindou Mountain and can only control the three hundred li of Jindou Mountain, he is no longer limited to exercising his abilities within the Jindou Mountain territory as before.

Don't underestimate the Earth God just because he doesn't show off. He has mastered Niu Yi's "Shrinking the Earth to an Inch" technique over the past few hundred years. If he were to fight against Niu Feng and the other guardian deities, he might not necessarily be defeated.

As Niu Yi placed the chess piece on the board, he chuckled and said:

"It hasn't happened yet, but in a few days, we might have to trouble the Earth God to make a trip. Don't worry, Earth God, this matter can only be good, not bad."

The Earth God stroked his beard and smiled, saying:
"Alright, alright, whatever it is, Chief Niu, I will definitely go."

The two have known each other for hundreds of years. They were good neighbors when Niu Yi first came to the country, and now they are like family.

Furthermore, after the incident involving the City God of Xiaping City a few years ago, the Earth God also received an imperial decree that since Jindou Mountain has now become Niu Yi's Taoist temple, the territory of Jindou Mountain will be handed over to Niu Yi for protection, and he can now be in charge of Niu Yi.

He was just a minor local official on earth. In the Heavenly Court, even a minor celestial official would be stronger than him, and the higher-ups wouldn't care too much about him.

Furthermore, while others may not know about Niu Yi's connections in Heaven, he does know a great deal. Didn't he see the Supreme Dao Ancestor's green ox eating oranges nearby?

Niu Yi, on the other hand, was thinking about something else: whether he could arrange for his own people to share in the merits accumulated during the Journey to the West.

Just like Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South Sea, who had already planned to send the local earth god of the Chaoyin Cave on Luojia Mountain to give Tang Sanzang a set of saddle and other equipment after Tang Sanzang took in the white dragon horse, both to gain merit and to leave a good impression.

Now, could he perhaps arrange for the local earth god of his Golden Gourd Mountain to do this for him?
As Niu Yi was pondering, he suddenly heard the blue ox ask curiously:
“Speaking of which, my dear brother, I saw you were quite busy before, how come you have time to play chess here now?”

“Brother Si, you may not know this, but the main force behind the eastward transmission of Buddhism is still from Mount Ling. Right now, Guanyin Bodhisattva is watching over us, so at least for the time being, they won’t be able to find us.”

"Furthermore, Tang Sanzang is only a mortal. Even if he rides a horse along the mountain and water roads, he won't be much faster. Besides, he has to burn incense at every temple, worship Buddha at every monastery, and sweep every pagoda he sees. Let alone reaching my Jindu Mountain, it would take him quite a while to reach both sides of the Tongtian River."

"Furthermore, I have already given orders to the guards around him that if he encounters anything difficult to handle, he should contact me. Therefore, these matters are not urgent."

(End of this chapter)