Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 403 Liu Dongchen and Liu Qiaoqiao

Qinghua Changle Realm.

At this moment, a pretty young woman, who looked to be only in her early twenties, was carrying a fruit basket and riding on colorful clouds, constantly approaching the Qinghua Changle Realm.

The girl was graceful and dignified, wearing a moon-colored robe unique to the Moon Palace. The ribbons, as if formed from the essence of the moon, floated around her, clearly indicating that she was also a fairy from the moon, Chang'e.

Soon, the girl arrived at the gate of Chang Le Realm, where she was stopped by two golden-armored deities guarding the gate.

"Halt! This is the Qinghua Chang Le Realm of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun. No one may trespass without the Tianzun's summons!"

The girl riding on the colorful clouds slowly stopped, bowed to the two majestic generals in front of her with an unchanged expression, and then took out a jade token with the four characters "Qinghua Changle" written on it from her sleeve and presented it to the two generals.

The two golden-armored generals examined the jade token for a moment, their expressions softening. They then returned the token to the young woman, cupping their hands in greeting:

"It is my duty, and I hope you will not take offense, fairy. Please."

The young woman smiled and nodded, then calmly stepped through the gates of Qinghua Changle Realm and headed straight for the central cloud palace.

But the girl stopped after taking only a few steps, looking at the figure walking towards her, and called out softly with a joyful smile:

"Brother, you're out of seclusion?"

Dressed in a blue robe, Liu Dongchen looked at his younger sister with gentle eyes, nodded and smiled as he stood before Liu Qiaoqiao:
"Naturally, after hundreds of years of seclusion and cultivation, I have fully recovered my cultivation from my previous life, and I have also made great progress in cultivating my mental state."

"But Qiaoqiao, I heard from Master that you have to come here every fifty years. You mustn't let it interfere with your cultivation."

"Now that we are both immortals, it's perfectly normal for us to go into seclusion for thousands of years at a time. You must understand, cultivation is a matter of..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiaoqiao raised her eyebrows, quickly covered her ears, and shook her head repeatedly, saying:

"Okay, okay, I know~"

"Brother, really! You're practically a celestial being, you haven't left seclusion for hundreds of years, and the first thing you do when you do is criticize me!"

"We're both at the Taiyi True Immortal Realm now, so it's hard to say who's been hindered in their cultivation~"

As Liu Qiaoqiao spoke, she playfully made a face at her brother, a stark contrast to her dignified demeanor just moments before.

At this moment, the young man and the young woman looked less like celestial beings and more like a pair of mortal siblings bickering.

Liu Dongchen chuckled to himself. Seeing this playful girl, he was quite pleased. He was actually happy that Liu Qiaoqiao could still treat him this way.

"Alright, alright, I can't argue with you. Are those Moon Dew Fruits in your basket meant to be given to Senior Yuan Sheng?"

Liu Qiaoqiao nodded, handed the fruit basket in her hand to Liu Dongchen, and said with a smile:
"Yes! That's right. Before, whenever you didn't leave the seclusion, I would send the fine wine and delicacies I brought to Senior Yuan Sheng. Over time, I started bringing some for Senior Yuan Sheng every time I came."

"But now that you've emerged from seclusion, brother, this fruit is naturally for you~"

Liu Dongchen looked at the crystal-blue crescent-shaped fruits in the fruit basket, took out two from them, and then pushed the basket back.

"Alright, I'll take these two. We can save the rest for Senior Yuan Sheng; he's quite lonely all by himself."

"Ahem~" Hearing the soft cough behind him, Liu Dongchen's expression stiffened slightly, and he quickly changed the words he was about to say:
"He has worked hard and made great contributions, so of course we should give him our due."

"Hey~ you sly little brat, I won't pretend I didn't hear what you just said."

With Liu Qiaoqiao all smiles, Liu Dongchen quickly turned around, bowed to the nine-headed lion that had suddenly appeared behind him, and said with a hint of helplessness:

"Senior Yuan Sheng, please don't tease me. This was my fault. I'll go get a few bottles of good wine to apologize to you in a bit, and I guarantee that the Lion Slave Boy won't bother you."

The Nine-Headed Lion had followed his master, the Great Sage of Salvation from Suffering, for far longer than he, as a disciple.
Nine-Headed Lion Saint stepped forward, shaking his head and saying:
"Heh~ You've been in seclusion for too long, you probably don't know that the Lion Servant Boy has been sent by the Heavenly Venerable to guard the Eastern Wonderful Palace, and the lion mark on his body has been removed."

"Now, I am directly summoned by the Celestial Venerable. If the Celestial Venerable needs to travel, this token will summon me."

"This is the Heavenly Venerable's reward for my great contribution to the eastward transmission of Buddhism back then!"

As Nine-Headed Lion spoke, he raised his lion paw and pointed to the jade pendant around his neck, his eyes filled with pride.

Liu Dongchen looked at Nine Spirits Primordial Saint with slight surprise, then sincerely congratulated him:

"In that case, congratulations, Senior Yuan Sheng."

"No problem, no problem~ Just don't forget the drinks you promised me~"

As Jiuling Yuansheng spoke, the fruit basket in Liu Qiaoqiao's hand slowly flew to his side. Jiuling Yuansheng immediately turned around, swishing his tail leisurely as he walked towards the distant palace.

Liu Dongchen was somewhat surprised as he watched the departing figure of the Nine Spirits Primordial Saint. The Primordial Saint seemed to be in a much better mood than before, and there were also some obvious changes in his appearance.

Just then, Liu Qiaoqiao came to Liu Dongchen's side with her hands behind her back, watching Yuan Sheng's departing figure with a smile in her eyes.

"I heard that when Senior Yuan Sheng descended to the mortal realm two hundred years ago, he took in several little lion spirits as his grandchildren on a mountain and lived a rather happy life there."

"Senior Yuan Sheng secretly told me that those lions are now serving as guardian lions under Dao Jun on Dao Jun Mountain."

Liu Dongchen nodded in realization. No wonder his Yuan Sheng senior had changed like this. However, he did not expect that this matter was related to Dao Jun.

Back then, his master asked Niu Yi, the one in the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars, to guard his reincarnation in this life. Niu Yi was also his protector and guide. Over the years, he has been quite grateful to this senior in this life.

Moreover, back then, he was taught to cultivate his mind. Putting aside the benefits his master gave him, this was a genuine act of kindness.

As for the Divine Physician Daojun, he was naturally very clear about this person's external incarnation.

“Speaking of which, Qiaoqiao, have you ever visited this Daoist Master during the years I’ve been in seclusion? He took such good care of our family back then.”

Upon hearing her brother's words, Liu Qiaoqiao's expression froze, and she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, saying:
"I haven't paid my respects to the Daoist Lord for many years. The thought of that person who held me when I was little, and how I even cried in front of him, makes me..."

As Liu Qiaoqiao spoke, her face flushed slightly.

Just as Liu Dongchen frowned, he saw Liu Qiaoqiao's eyes light up, and she happily said to him:

"Brother! Now that you've emerged from seclusion, why don't you come with me to see the Dao Lord? My master just gave me a day to rest. A day in heaven is a year on earth, so let's go down to the mortal realm and stay for a few days to visit the Dao Lord!"

(End of this chapter)