Journey to the West: Starting by becoming an apprentice of Emperor Donghua

A few strands of hair drifted down from above. Scanning his surroundings, he found nothing unusual, let alone enemies.

The Black Serpent King's black face turned pale. He immediately concluded: This person's strength must far surpass mine!

When did I provoke such a terrifying enemy? It seems that cutting off my own hair was just a warning.

He was filled with shock, anger, and fear. Without hesitation, he exerted all his strength to propel the clouds beneath his feet and flew towards Eagle's Sorrow Gorge as if fleeing.

Meanwhile, Ji Sheng manipulated the Wisteria Heart to circle around once before putting it back in his hand.

"The journey of thirty miles was completed in the blink of an eye. This treasure, enhanced by the innate Eastern Qi, is indeed powerful! If it were used for a surprise attack in the future, I fear no one would be able to stop it!"

This is only the effect of forcibly activating it with the innate Eastern Hua Qi. If I had the method of refining artifacts and refined this wisteria heart into a magic weapon, the effect would be even greater than it is now.

Hey, what's this?

He suddenly noticed that there were a few strands of hair stuck to the heart of the wisteria.

Why is there hair growing on it?

He held the hair to his nose and sniffed it, only to smell a fishy stench. Ji Sheng's expression immediately turned strange.

This smell... it smells just like the Black Snake King.

Ji Sheng himself had no idea how much psychological trauma this three-inch-long wisteria heart had inflicted on the Black Serpent King.

The Black Serpent King went back and thought about it for three days and three nights, but he still couldn't figure out how he had offended this master.

Scratching his head, Ji Sheng put the matter aside for the time being.

Since no one has come knocking, it means nothing has happened.

"Your Majesty, a few days ago King Lingxuzi of Canglang Ridge sent someone with an invitation, saying that in half a month, it will be time to hold a banquet to invite you and King Baixiu to taste the elixir. Please be sure to attend."

A few days ago, when the group was discussing the Dao, Ling Xuzi had mentioned this matter. Now that an invitation has been sent again, he must attend.

Ji Sheng agreed and even wrote a reply in his own hand, which he had his subordinate Xiao Yao deliver.

Half a month later, he set off from Jinji Mountain, riding the wind to Canglang Ridge where Ling Xuzi was located.

Xiniu Hezhou is full of towering mountains and steep ridges. Canglang Ridge is two hundred miles north of Jinji Mountain, which can be said to be very close. The two people's territories are almost adjacent.

However, both of them were devoted to Taoism, and instead of having any friction, they had a very close relationship.

On Canglang Ridge, a Taoist temple is built against the mountain. This temple is called Qingjing Temple, and it was originally built by a centipede demon.

Later, Ling Xuzi drove away the centipede demon, seized Qingjing Temple, and stayed there to cultivate.

From afar, Ji Sheng could see that the Taoist temple was filled with a large ceremonial procession, creating a lively atmosphere.

It seems that Ji Sheng and Bai Xiu were not the only ones invited to this pill-tasting event.

Besides his love for alchemy, Ling Xuzi also turned it into a business, selling some elixirs to the public.

This pill-tasting event can also be considered a trade fair. It always attracts a lot of monsters from the surrounding area.

They descended at the mountain gate, where a little demon greeted them and led Ji Sheng to the Taoist temple halfway up the mountain.

Inside the welcoming hall, quite a few demons had already arrived. Ji Sheng was fairly familiar with these demons, and after exchanging pleasantries, they began searching for Ling Xuzi.

Looking around, they couldn't see Ling Xuzi. They asked Bai Xiu and learned that Ling Xuzi was still refining pills in the alchemy room and wouldn't be able to start the furnace until noon.

Ji Sheng also noticed that Yang Jun from Chihuoling had not come.

This Sheep Lord is the mountain god of Crimson Fire Ridge and the leader of all the monsters within a thousand miles. He enjoys lively gatherings and actively participated in previous pill-tasting events. He also has a close personal relationship with Ling Xuzi.

I wonder why they didn't come today?

When asked, Bai Xiu also did not know.

The hall was bustling with noise. Ji Sheng and Bai Xiu, both accustomed to simplicity, left the main hall together and strolled around the temple grounds.

The scenery of Canglang Ridge is superb, and Ling Xuzi has put a lot of thought into the arrangement of this Qingjing Temple.

Although it was winter, the temple grounds were planted with many pine and cypress trees, remaining evergreen. Looking up from a high point in the temple, the distant vegetation was barren, creating a unique and poignant contrast.

Then snow began to fall again, and strolling together created a unique and charming atmosphere.

As Ji Sheng walked towards the kitchen, he suddenly heard angry shouts coming from behind him:

"You little bastard! How dare you sneak into the kitchen to steal food! I'll beat you to a pulp today!"

The two looked in the direction of the cursing. Not far away, under a cypress tree, hung a round, chubby monster.

The monster was completely black, and at first glance, it looked like it was carrying a black pot.

A pig demon, holding a leather whip, was about to strike.

Upon seeing the black monster, Ji Sheng's heart skipped a beat. He stepped forward, stopped the pig demon, and asked:

"What's going on?"

This pig demon was originally a monster who managed the storeroom in the kitchen, and he would get drunk every day because of his gluttony.

Seeing someone dare to stop him, he was about to explode in anger. But when he turned around and saw it was Ji Sheng, he immediately sobered up considerably and quickly said:

"Reporting to King Golden Rooster, this black monster is a minor demon from my mountain, who is lazy and gluttonous."

Today, seeing that my king was going to entertain distinguished guests, I don't know what got into him, but he actually dared to sneak a bite from the kitchen!

Now that I've caught him, I'll hang him here and let him have his fill of whipping!

Ji Sheng looked at the monster hanging from the tree and saw that it was a black bear with a completely black body.

Ji Sheng chuckled:

"What a big black dog, so fat and strong! It's cold today, so let's stew it with some firewood to warm up our distinguished guests."

The pig demon's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly:

"Your Majesty is right! I'll make the arrangements immediately!"

The black monster in the tree roared angrily:

"Bah! I'm not a black dog! I am the Black Wind King of Black Wind Cave, Black Wind Mountain! If you know your place, release me now!"

This black bear wasn't very old, but it spoke like a seasoned veteran, which was quite comical. Ji Sheng couldn't help but laugh:

"What shamelessness! How dare you, the Black Wind King, steal food from the kitchen? Aren't you ashamed?"

The black bear spirit's face was as black as charcoal, and it was impossible to tell whether he was blushing or not; he simply grunted:

"If Black Wind Mountain hadn't been occupied by others, would I have ended up here? I thought Ling Xuzi was benevolent, so I came to seek refuge with him."

I never expected that he would only treat me as a freeloader, making me patrol the mountain and do odd jobs with a bunch of filthy monsters. I could barely get a few bites of a full meal every day. I was really wronged!

I had planned to go down the mountain and fend for myself after a hearty meal today, but I was caught off guard by these idiots. Fine, kill me or do whatever you want with me!

Upon hearing this, the pig demon flew into a rage and raised his whip to strike, but Ji Sheng stopped him again.

"This black bear is quite an interesting character. My Golden Rooster Mountain happens to be short of a demon to guard the mountain gate. You should feed him a good meal, and I will take him with me when I leave."

The pig demon hesitated and said:

"This...without the abbot's orders, I..."

The abbot in question is none other than Ling Xuzi.

Ji Shengyan said:

"If Ling Xuzi asks, just tell the truth. Does he think he'll blame you? Why be so long-winded!"

The pig demon still hesitated. Ji Sheng sneered inwardly, knowing that this pig demon was used to taking advantage of others and wanted to use this matter to squeeze some money out of him.

However, he clearly miscalculated. Who do you think you are, daring to extort me?

"What, do you want me to go and talk to Ling Xuzi myself?"