Traveling Through Journey to the West: I Am the Dragon King

Yun Chonghua followed the mountain spirit and swam towards the place where the treasure had been discovered.

A moment later, the mountain spirit led Yun Chonghua to a patch of silt at the bottom of the river. There were several stubborn rocks in the silt, and one of their "corners" was sticking out.

Yun Chonghua looked around and asked, "Where is the treasure? Could it be one of these rocks in front of us?"

The mountain spirit crouched down, pointed to the exposed corner, and said, "Look! This is the treasure! But I am a spirit, so I can't touch it. You'll have to dig it up yourself."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chonghua slowly squatted down and then dug away all the mud and sand on the mysterious object.

After the mud and sand were removed, a huge square cauldron was revealed.

The ancient, square-shaped cauldron shone with golden light the moment it was unearthed, and even after years of being buried deep in the riverbed, its domineering aura remained undiminished.

Yun Chonghua raised his hand and carried out the large cauldron.

Upon seeing this, the mountain spirit's eyes widened in astonishment.

Yun Chonghua placed the large cauldron on a nearby bluestone and then carefully cleaned the mud off it.

Yun Chonghua looked closely and saw that the four sides of the large cauldron were engraved with flowers, birds, fish, insects, mountains and rivers.

On the front of this large cauldron, the two characters "Jizhou" are written in ancient insect and bird script.

The mountain spirit exclaimed in surprise, "You...you can actually pick it up!"

After examining it carefully, Yun Chonghua said, "Although this cauldron is not light, it is only a few thousand jin heavier than my halberd. As a deity with the Heavenly Dragon Body, I shouldn't be unable to lift something weighing ten thousand jin."

The mountain spirit chuckled upon hearing this, "Heh heh, it would be strange if even a deity like you could lift it."

Yun Chonghua asked in confusion, "Oh? What do you mean?"

The mountain spirit stepped forward, looked at the large cauldron in front of her, wanted to reach out and touch it, but then withdrew her hand.

The mountain spirit gazed at the inscription "Ji Province" on the cauldron before him and said, "In the past, the Zhou emperor possessed nine cauldrons, and when the King of Chu inquired about them, his intention was not merely the Zhou emperor's cauldrons, but the entire realm." What you have raised is not just a cauldron, but an entire province, the entire realm!

"What! This is the Nine Cauldrons!" Yun Chonghua was also very surprised when he heard this.

The mountain spirit replied, "It's just one of them. Judging from the inscription on this cauldron, it's the Jizhou Cauldron, the first of the Nine Cauldrons. When I was traveling in the human world, I encountered the King of Chu asking about the cauldrons in the Central Plains. I saw it in the Zhou royal domain, but like me, it was a spirit. These Nine Cauldrons are the most precious treasures of humanity, and spirits cannot touch them."

The mountain spirit looked at Yun Chonghua strangely and asked, "But what exactly is going on with you? Although you have cultivated into human form, your true form is a scaled insect dragon god, and a celestial immortal bestowed upon the world by the Heavenly Court. This Yuwang Cauldron is a treasure of humanity, protected by the energy of humanity."

We, the immortals and gods, are not to be apprehended.

"Even a mortal with the strength to lift mountains and tripods might need to rely on their own physical strength. In the past, King Wu of Qin, relying on his divine strength, went to the Zhou royal domain to lift a tripod, but although the Zhou royal family was weak, its fate was not yet exhausted. He went against the will of Heaven and ultimately lost his life. How could you possibly lift it?"

Just as the two were talking, another voice came, asking with the same question, "Yes. I'm also very curious about this. You're a deity, not only do you have 'humanity,' but you can also wield this supreme treasure of humanity protected by fortune. That's truly amazing."

"Who!" Upon hearing the sudden voice, Yun Chonghua immediately summoned his halberd and looked around. Despite his strength, he hadn't been able to detect the other party. This made him wary.

The voice said, "Young man! This old man is here!"

Yun Chonghua looked in the direction of the sound and saw a blue shadow hovering on the Yuwang Cauldron. Then the blue shadow coalesced into a form, and the spirit of a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat, a raincoat, and holding a plow appeared before Yun Chonghua and the mountain spirit.

Yun Chonghua sized up the man's appearance, then blurted out, "You are King Yu!"

King Yu was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. He chuckled and said, "Hehe, I didn't expect you, young man, to recognize me. Oh! Right! I forgot you're a deity. Although you look young, you're probably much older than me."

Yun Chonghua said awkwardly, "Um, I'm only a little over a hundred years old, not as old as you. It's appropriate for you to call me 'baby'."

Yun Chonghua held this ancient sage, who saved countless lives by controlling floods, in high esteem.

King Yu nodded in satisfaction at the young man's politeness.

King Yu asked, "Little child, you have not yet answered my question. This little girl, like me, is a spirit. It is not surprising that she can sense my presence and the Jizhou Cauldron. But why are you able to lift the Jizhou Cauldron? Logically speaking, you are a celestial being enjoying the Dao of Heaven, not a human like us. You should not have human characteristics, and you should not be able to hold such a treasure of humanity."

Yun Chonghua replied awkwardly, "I'm not quite sure about that either. Perhaps I was a person once?"

Faced with Yun Chonghua's incoherent answer, both the Mountain Spirit and King Yu shook their heads repeatedly.

Although King Yu shook his head, he still couldn't help but marvel.

Yun Chonghua looked at King Yu with curiosity and asked, "King Yu, what brings you here? I have been an official in this river for over ten years, and I have patrolled the Si River thousands of times. Why have I never seen you before? Could it be that you sensed the Ruyi Jingu Bang and appeared here?"

King Yu, facing Yun Chonghua's question, replied, "Oh? The Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel)? I didn't expect that thing to still be there! Years ago, an old immortal lent it to me to control the floods and measure the depths of rivers and seas. I remember after the flood control was completed, I casually tossed it into the East Sea. That old immortal..."

"Didn't they take that thing away?"

Yun Chonghua shook his head and said, "Not only were they not taken away, but they have now become a monkey's weapon."

Upon hearing this, King Yu laughed and said, "Hahaha, a weapon? And it belongs to a monkey? Hahaha. The opportunities in this world are truly extraordinary. Well then, that Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel) was never my property to begin with. Since it has another owner, let it be."

After laughing, King Yu said, "However, I wasn't awakened by that ruler. You were the one who awakened me. Ever since the 400,000 vengeful spirits of Changping threw the Jizhou Cauldron into the Sishui River, it has been buried deep in the river's silt. As the spirit protecting this cauldron, I have been sleeping inside it. If you hadn't dug the Jizhou Cauldron out and sensed your presence, I might have remained asleep inside it for countless more years."

The mountain spirit then said, "Just now, the earth shook and the Haihe River overflowed, accidentally washing away the silt in the river. As a spirit, my perception of spiritual power far surpasses that of you, a mere living being. After sensing it, I immediately came here to check, and unexpectedly saw one of the legs of that cauldron. That's why I used my divine sense to inform you to return as soon as possible. I originally just wanted you to see a 'rare' treasure, but I didn't expect you could actually lift it."

Although Yun Chonghua knew the legend of the Nine Tripods sinking into the Si River.

But according to King Yu, he was thrown here by 400,000 vengeful spirits from Changping. The mountain spirit, however, said that spirits cannot touch the Nine Cauldrons, something he found quite intriguing.

Yun Chonghua asked, "King Yu, spirits cannot touch these nine cauldrons. How were you thrown here by vengeful spirits?"