Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 288 Encounter with Golden Gourd Mountain

A few months later.

As winter approaches, snowflakes begin to fall, marking the first snowfall of the year.

At this time, after leaving Daojun Mountain, Tang Sanzang and his three disciples traveled along the way, stopping frequently, until they arrived at a city.

“Master, we’ve arrived. As the old man said, this is Xiaping City.”

Tang Sanzang raised his head, looked at the weathered three characters of Xiaping City on the city wall, and slowly nodded:

"Wukong, it's getting late. Let's go into the city and stay the night. We'll continue our journey early tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Master."

The four of them walked into Xiaping City and successfully found a family to stay with for the night, where they also had a meal.

"Elder, please have some water."

Inside the house, the somewhat hunchbacked old man was holding a bowl of water and handing it to Tang Sanzang.

Tang Sanzang quickly stood up, bowed, and thanked him.

"Amitabha Buddha, thank you for your hard work, old man."

"Elder, you are too kind. You just said that you are a monk from the Tang Dynasty in the East, and you are going to the Western Paradise to seek the true scriptures? Judging from your appearance, you are truly a virtuous and eminent monk."

Pigsy, clutching a steamed bun and sporting a large belly, approached the old man with a broad smile and said:
"Old man, what do I look like to you?"

"This young elder."

The old man subconsciously took a step back. He was initially frightened by the high monk's three disciples and couldn't understand why such a high monk would accept three disciples who looked so strange, almost like monsters.

The old man looked at Pigsy and couldn't think of a word to describe him for a long time, but seeing that Pigsy was eating steamed buns one after another, he couldn't help but blurt out the answer.

"This young elder has quite a big appetite."

Hearing this, Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing laughed heartily, while Zhu Bajie's face immediately fell, and he said with displeasure:

“You guys, even Daojun said before that being able to eat is a blessing. I, Old Pig, am blessed, okay?”

Tang Sanzang smiled and shook his head, just then Sun Wukong walked over and approached the old man, saying:

"Old man, I wonder if there are any dangers near Xiaping City, especially on the road to the west? Of course, if there are any harmful demons or monsters, please tell me as well."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang knew that his eldest disciple was going to look for his 'business' again.

"Danger? Harmful demons and monsters?"

Upon hearing this, the old man frowned, thought for a long time, and finally shook his head, saying:

"I've lived here my whole life and I've never heard of any danger near Xiaping City, or any harmful demons or monsters around here."

"Elders, you may not know this, but Xiaping City has stood here for a thousand years without falling. Even the City God has been replaced twice. With the City God protecting it, there are probably no ghosts or monsters that would dare to enter the city."

Sun Wukong nodded, about to give up, but then he heard the old man say again:

"However, if you elders travel a little further west, you will enter the mountainous region."

"There are many jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards in those mountains, so please be careful. I have also heard that there is a secluded fairy mountain in that area."

"Oh? A secluded paradise?"

Seeing Sun Wukong's confusion, the old man nodded and said:
"That's right. I've heard that the sacred mountain is called Golden Gourd Mountain. Not only is there a mountain god on the mountain, but there are also dragons. Some people say that the mountain is the hermitage of a deity."

"It is said that the mountain once stood tall in the midst of the surrounding mountains, but later, because people kept disturbing it and stealing the elixir of immortality, the mountain god used divine means to hide the immortal mountain, so that only those with the right destiny could see it."

Sun Wukong's eyes darted around, but he just smiled indifferently.

Perhaps it's some kind of earthly deity, or some cultivator practicing here, but it's probably someone insignificant, otherwise how could he have never heard of it?

Existences like Zhen Yuanzi are ultimately extremely rare.

The next morning, Tang Sanzang and his companions bid farewell to the old man and set off again, leaving Xiaping City and continuing their journey westward.

The snow that fell yesterday had melted, making the ground muddy and the road difficult to walk on, but this did not affect the four travelers.

As soon as they stepped out of the city gate, Sun Wukong sensed something and turned around to look at the city wall. There he saw an old man in a green robe wearing a wooden crown bowing to him.

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong knew that the old man was the City God of Xiaping City, but he just smiled indifferently and continued to follow his master and his group into the forest.

On the city wall, the former local deity of Yunwu Mountain, now the City God of Xiaping City, stroked his beard and nodded, saying to those behind him:
"This must be the person Chief Niu Yi is waiting for. Go quickly and tell Chief Niu Yi that this person will be passing by soon."

"Yes, Lord City God."

A response came from behind the City God, and a gust of cold wind swept by, as if something was flying towards Jindu Mountain.

After leaving Xiaping City, Tang Sanzang and his party traveled through the forest for several days, passing through two villages along the way. One of them was Shangtang Village, which was the closest to Jindu Mountain.

At this moment, the master and his disciples were still walking in this boundless mountain forest when suddenly a towering mountain appeared in front of them, blocking their way.

Sitting atop the white dragon horse, Tang Sanzang gazed at the towering mountain and asked Sun Wukong with concern, "Wukong, look! When did this mountain appear? Why didn't we see such a towering and enormous peak from afar before? Could there be a monster on this mountain?"

Sun Wukong scratched the back of his hand and chuckled:

"I never imagined that Master could see monsters now~ But Master, don't worry, I, Old Sun, have fiery eyes. Although there is pure demonic energy mixed in on this mountain, there is more pure energy rising up, unlike the demon caves that devour countless people."

"This mountain is imbued with spirits. Perhaps there are cultivators practicing on the mountain, raising some demons to guard it."

“I think this mountain must be the otherworldly paradise that the old man mentioned the other day, Jindu Mountain. Judging from its appearance, could it be that Master and the three of us are also destined to meet?”

Pigsy quickly added:
“Master, if there really is a cultivator on this mountain who is destined to be with us, then we must ask him to treat us to a meal.”

"Of course, we didn't eat it for nothing. I, Old Pig, was once Marshal Tianpeng, who commanded the Heavenly River Navy. Brother Sha was also General Curtain-Raising, not to mention Brother Monkey."

"Speaking of which, we're all ancestors of cultivators. A little guidance from us could save him from many detours, and we might even get a meal in return!"

Upon hearing this, Elder Tang shook his head repeatedly and said:
“Disciple, since there are demons, we should take a detour and bypass this mountain.”

Along the way, he had encountered many monsters who wanted to capture him and eat his flesh in order to achieve immortality. Although his three disciples protected him, everything was safe in the end, but he did not want to cause any trouble.

If you encounter a monster, it's best to avoid it if possible.

"Yes, yes, I will do whatever Master says."

Sun Wukong smiled and nodded, leading the white horse to bypass the immortal mountain, while Zhu Bajie followed behind, looking dejected, as if the food he had almost gotten had flown away.

However, after walking for a while, Sun Wukong and his companions were surprised to find that the immortal mountain had reappeared in front of them. This time, they seemed to be closer to the immortal mountain and could already see the earthen path that appeared on the mountain.

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang's face once again showed a worried expression.

"Wukong, this..."

Sun Wukong rolled his eyes, turned back to look at Tang Sanzang, and said:
“Master, this person must want to invite us up. This place does indeed look like a blessed land of immortals, and there may not be any danger. In that case, why don’t we go up and take a look?”

"Wukong, even if you haven't seen any monsters before, you're always on high alert, so why are you advising me to go to this mountain where there are monsters?"

"Hehe, Master, ever since those eye drops cured my eyesight, I can see much more clearly now. The ethereal, otherworldly energy on this mountain doesn't lie!"

Pigsy was getting a little anxious and said:

“Oh, Master, since this person insists on inviting us up the mountain, why don’t we go up and meet him? Even if it’s just to beg for a meal, it would be good.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang nodded and agreed to the matter.

"In that case, let's go up the mountain and meet this mountain lord."

"Alright, alright, Master, let's go."

The four of them slowly stepped onto Jindu Mountain. Sun Wukong was in front, Zhu Bajie was in the middle leading the white dragon horse, and Sha Wujing was at the back carrying the load, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

As soon as the four entered Jindu Mountain, they felt that the air was suddenly much clearer, which made their steps lighter.

In this mountain, a stream meanders through the landscape, and ancient pines and cypresses cover the area, where many rare herbs and flowers are blooming in vibrant colors.

Even though it's the dead of winter, the temperature here feels like it's perpetually in spring, incredibly warm and completely different from the outside temperature.

Tang Sanzang gradually lowered his guard and looked around at everything with admiration in his eyes. He praised the magnificent scenery, saying that it truly lived up to the old man's name of a fairyland.

The four travelers continued their journey, and when they arrived at the halfway point of Jindu Mountain, they saw a tightly closed cave door appear before them.

The entrance to the cave was marked with three large golden characters: Golden Gourd Cave.

Sun Wukong stepped forward and was about to knock on the door when he suddenly felt a breeze. He quickly took two steps back and looked at the old man who appeared with the wind, holding a cane.

"The local deity of Jindu Mountain pays respects to the Great Sage."

Sun Wukong looked the local earth god up and down:

"Oh? You are the local earth god of this mountain? Do you know who the master of this mountain is? And why are you pretending to be a ghost and asking my master to come up here?"

"Great Sage, the master of Golden Gourd Mountain is a Taoist who has achieved great success in his cultivation. He invited you all up the mountain not for the sake of the Holy Monk, but for the sake of you, Great Sage!"

"Oh? You've come for me? Are you an old acquaintance of mine?"

The Earth God said with a smile:

"The mountain lord has already prepared a fruit feast on the mountaintop and is waiting for you all to go. You will know as soon as you arrive, Great Sage."

After speaking, the land deity of Jindu Mountain transformed into a gentle breeze and disappeared once more.

"Wukong, who was that just now?"

“Master, that’s the local earth god of Jindu Mountain. He’s playing tricks and won’t tell the truth. He just told us to go to the top of the mountain and we’d know for sure. He said the mountain lord has set up a fruit feast.”

Upon hearing this, Pigsy's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed:
"Master, what are we waiting for? We can't let their kindness go to waste. Let's go quickly."

"Alright, alright, Wukong, since we're already here, let's meet up."

(End of this chapter)