Journey to the West: Starting with the True Lord of the Pure Land

Xuanqing Cave in Yunmang Mountain.

The stone gate closed silently, shutting out all external disturbances.

Chen Jiao stepped into the inner room, and the chilling killing intent around him slowly subsided and returned to silence.

The air inside the cave was cool and refreshing, with only the sound of dripping spring water audible, making the surroundings even quieter.

He sat down on a futon in the center of the quiet room, his robe sleeves fluttering slightly, and a jade box shrouded in cold air appeared on the stone platform.

The box was opened, and inside lay a spiritual plant, its three leaves long and straight, pure golden yellow, with a texture as smooth as jade and sharp edges like sword blades. It was the Three-Leaf Sword Heart Orchid.

Although it has been removed from the earth, it still exudes vitality.

The leaves trembled slightly, emitting a faint, ringing sword sound, and a pure and sharp golden sword aura spread out, piercing the air with a hissing sound.

This orchid, nurtured for a hundred years, nourished by the golden veins of Thousand Needle Valley and imbued with the essence of Yi wood, has perfected its sword intent, making it an excellent raw material for refining the essence of swordsmanship.

Chen Jiao's eyes were calm as he formed hand seals, his fingertips emitting a clear, gentle light that enveloped the Three-Leaf Sword Heart Orchid like flowing water.

He did not rush to achieve quick results, but instead used his own pure water elemental demon power to slowly permeate and neutralize the overly sharp and violent metal energy, guiding the inner sword intent to slowly unfold, like taming a wild horse or a river.

The process was slow and focused, and time quietly slipped away in the quiet room.

As Jian Xinlan's golden light gradually receded and his azure light overflowed, turning into azure-gold, the sound of his sword also became magnificent and powerful, gradually becoming consistent with the fluctuations of his demonic power.

Chen Jiao took a deep breath, and from the sea of ​​consciousness between his brows, divine sense surged forth, layer upon layer, beginning to imprint his unique divine soul mark upon it.

At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a wisp of his natal dragon essence, which was black in color and had faint crimson lightning patterns flashing, completely enveloping Jian Xinlan and performing the deepest level of refinement.

"Buzz—"

Sword Heart Orchid suddenly trembled violently, its azure-gold aura swirling, as if trying to break free from its restraints!

The magnificent and sharp sword intent instinctively resisted, attempting to sever the divine consciousness imprint and tear apart the dragon's essence.

Chen Jiao's expression remained unchanged, but his hand seals suddenly changed, and his aura became increasingly profound and deep.

Behind him, in the void, a faint image of a black dragon appeared, its scales and claws flying, wielding thunder and water, steadily suppressing the restless sword intent.

The confrontation lasted for about ten days.

As Jianxinlan's resistance gradually weakened, the azure-gold aura was completely contained within her, and her form began to slowly change.

The three leaves merged and coalesced, gradually transforming into a round, cyan-gold sword pellet the size of a dragon's eye under the combined tempering of the dragon's true qi and divine sense.

The surface is no longer sharp and menacing, but smooth and rounded, with hidden cloud, water and thunder patterns flowing within. A touch of extremely sharp sword intent is contained within, like a dragon lying dormant in the rivers and seas, contained but not unleashed.

The initial purification process is complete.

Chen Jiao did not slacken his efforts. He continued to meticulously nurture and refine the newly formed sword pellet with the water essence gathered in the cave, ensuring its complete stability.

Three months later.

As dawn broke, a ray of morning light pierced through the cracks in the rocks and entered the quiet room. The azure-gold sword pellet had completely solidified, hovering silently in front of Chen Jiao, spinning rapidly. The sword pellet was intimately connected to his energy, as if it were his own arm.

Chen Jiao muttered to himself, his fingertips lightly touching the ball, feeling the immense sword intent and dormant thunder contained within.

"Then I will call you 'Azure Frost,' for you are imbued with the chilling cold of the Mysterious Water, tempered with the sharpness of the Golden Qi, and concealed with the thunder of the Nine Heavens."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sword pellet seemed to sense it, its entire body glowing with a slightly stronger azure-gold light, emitting a clear and melodious sword cry.

Its sound was like a dragon's roar, or a sudden clap of thunder, echoing endlessly in the quiet room.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the sword pellet, nurturing it in his dantian. A wisp of orchid fragrance wafted between his lips and teeth, and a sword shadow seemed to flash briefly in his crimson-gold eyes before returning to calm.

Chen Jiao was in high spirits and stepped out of the stone gate.

Three flower fairy maidens were already waiting outside, serving tea and spiritual fruits. Everything inside the cave was in perfect order.

Chen Jiao's words caused the three sisters to blush, yet they followed him into the inner room with light steps.

……

As dawn broke, the sunlight filtered through the cracks in the stones, casting a warm glow inside the room.

The wind and rain subsided last night, leaving only a faint warmth and fragrance that lingered for a long time.

Chen Jiao put on his robe and stood up, his black robe loosely tied, his eyes calm and serene.

Zi Teng stepped forward quietly to straighten his clothes, her fingertips trembling slightly and her cheeks flushed; Shan Tao brought him warm tea, her eyes sparkling with spring water and her smile radiant; Li Hua silently tidied up the jade droplets on the table, her ears rosy and her posture gentle and obedient.

The beauty of this place is beyond description to outsiders.

Chen Jiao finished the spiritual tea in his cup, suppressed the sweetness on his tongue, and with a clear and serene mind, slowly walked to the outer stone hall.

Upon reaching the outer stone hall, he lightly tapped a glass jade chime on the table. The chime's clear and melodious sound echoed out of the cave.

Before long, the left and right commanders arrived.

Big Shrimp and Fatty Black bowed respectfully, their expressions a mixture of reverence and anticipation.

They all knew that their master was incredibly powerful, and that he had recently acquired a rare treasure, making his magical abilities even more unfathomable.

"What are your orders, sir?"

The chubby man rubbed his hands together, asked in a simple, honest voice, his small eyes darting around.

Chen Jiao's gaze swept over the two demons, landing on the shrimp's pair of large, crimson claws, and then looked at the black, fat, and muscular arms.

"You two demons have served me for a long time and have worked diligently and made great contributions. Today, I will help you refine your personal weapons to enhance your ability to protect the Dao."

Upon hearing this, the two demons were overjoyed and quickly bowed in gratitude.

Chen Jiao nodded slightly, walked to the Four Tigers Roaring Mountain Treasure Cauldron in the side room, took out a jade bottle from his sleeve, poured out some cold pool water, and then activated the earth vein fire.

The furnace fire was bluish-white, yet the temperature was incredibly high, casting shimmering light and shadow on the stone wall.

Chen Jiao had Xia Da retrieve his own claw shells and throw them into the furnace. Then, he joined his fingers like a sword, drawing the true water from the cold pool, which transformed into wisps of clear water that entwined around the claws.

He forged weapons from the remains of shrimp claws, enabling them to communicate with each other and facilitating the integration of the remains into them later, thus enhancing their power.

"The pincers are tough enough, but their spirituality has not yet been awakened. They should be tempered with the essence of cold water, engraved with the spirit pattern of splitting gold and jade, and transformed into a knife to combine with the swiftness of the waterway."

After speaking, a flash of spiritual light appeared at his fingertips, and streaks of aquamarine light disappeared into his pincers.

The pincers, having been cleansed by the true water, detached on their own and floated above the furnace fire. Their shape gradually changed, and the blades emitted a cold, sharp light, eventually transforming into two beautifully curved, thin as cicada wings, water-splitting double blades.

The blade shimmered with a subtle, flowing light; with a gentle swing, it stirred up a hissing spray of water vapor, its sharpness extraordinary.

Overjoyed, Xia Da sensed the connection between his mind and the new knife and immediately kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Master, for bestowing this treasure upon me!"

Chen Jiao then turned to Hei Fei:

"Black fat is strong and steady, it should be used with heavy tools. This octagonal copper hammer blank is acceptable, but the impurities have not been removed, making it clumsy and unusable."

He took a piece of dark iron essence, put it into the furnace, and melted it together with the original pair of copper hammers.

"Only by increasing its weight and solidifying its nature can its power be revealed."

The furnace roared, and the dark iron essence was transformed into molten iron, which was then incorporated into the copper hammer.

Chen Jiao unleashed bolts of lightning, causing the hammer to vibrate and hum. The rough, rusty surface peeled away layer by layer, revealing a crimson glow within.

The eight angular edges on the hammer body were polished even more distinctly and sharply by the lightning, and dark gold lightning patterns grew on them, making it look ancient and heavy.

Black Fatty gripped the hammer handle, feeling its immense weight. With a slight thought, he channeled his demonic power, and the hammerhead emitted a faint sound of wind and thunder.

He was so overjoyed that he scratched his head and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Thank you very much, sir! Blackie will certainly guard the mountain gate well!"

Chen Jiao flicked his sleeve, extinguishing the fire in the furnace, and said in a calm tone: "Take good care of it, refine it diligently, do not neglect your martial arts, and do not waste this weapon."

"yes!"

The two demons responded loudly, carefully put away their newly acquired weapons, and bowed as they withdrew.

The cave returned to tranquility.

Chen Jiao sat upright at his desk, while outside the window, the wind rustled through the treetops of the Yunmang Mountain.

Suddenly, a soft yet clear knocking sound came from outside the cave, as if a guest had arrived.

Zi Teng's voice was clear and cold: "Master, the Earth God has come to visit."