Chapter 324: Five Elements Qingning Fan, Continuing the Journey West

Cuiyun Mountain, now inside the Banana Cave.

Scattered jade-like stars, soaked in green, a fresh scent permeated the surroundings.

All around, heavenly flowers fell in profusion, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth.

A series of auspicious signs of a treasure manifesting continued. Everyone's gaze was cast toward the center of the Cave Abode.

There, a verdant banana tree stood over ten feet tall, crystalline after the rain, autumn sounds entering within, casting down drooping cold light, as if a canopy, beautiful and magnificent.

Two banana leaves, naturally patterned like brocade, full of clear shade, had countless seal characters leaping out from them, colliding with each other, like wind striking banana leaves.

Emitting a fine, rustling sound.

Purple and azure treasure light bloomed boundlessly, with Yin and Yang Two Qis swirling incessantly, scattering and drifting, performing all sorts of strange phenomena, appearing one after another.

"This is?"

"The legendary Innate Plantain Tree?"

The guests who could be invited into the Cave Abode by Niu Mowang were no simple figures; at the very least, they were in the Golden Immortal Realm, so they naturally recognized this treasure that had manifested.

They could not help but exclaim one by one.

"I remember that the Innate Plantain Tree was already carved up by our predecessors back in the ancient era, wasn't it? How could there still be two banana leaves left behind?"

A demon king with golden wings on his back, while surprised, raised the doubt in his heart.

"Ignorant, aren't you? This Innate Plantain Tree was intentionally left behind back then, specifically to leave a glimmer of opportunity for us juniors~"

An old ape sitting with him stroked his beard, taking on the air of a teacher. Yet, his eyes flickered with sharp light, not knowing what he was plotting.

"Sigh! An Innate Spiritual Treasure! And two of them right off the bat, I have to say I'm envious~"

There were those filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, looking at the Innate Plantain Tree in the arena, wishing they could claim it for themselves.

"This Dali Bull Demon King has good fortune; as soon as he opens his residence and establishes his career, such a treasure descends upon his Cave Abode. It is truly enviable!"

There were also those who remained calm in the face of the treasure, merely sighing at Niu Mowang's luck.

However, there were even sharper-eyed guests who directly pierced through the foundation, stating the truth: "It is merely the agitation of Tribulation Luck, causing treasures that were previously scattered between heaven and earth to manifest. It only shows that the Second Tribulation of this era has already reached the time to begin."

In short,

With the manifestation of the Innate Plantain Tree, for a time, the guests present were all discussing it heatedly; some were surprised, some were envious, and some were calm and composed.

Others had thoughtful expressions, planning to find a way to participate in the Great Calamity at the last moment after returning, to seize Tribulation Luck.

Emulating this.

Only, they were not like Fang Longye and the other two before, who, knowing the treasure would manifest in someone else's Cave Abode, still set their hearts on plotting to obtain it.

Truly just stealing and snatching~

Of course, this was also because the three of them, Fang Longye, had not expected that the manifestation of this treasure was driven by people; it was both to seize the fortune brought by Heavenly Luck and to build momentum for Niu Mowang's opening of his residence and establishment of his career.

Fang Longye and the others had thought that the manifestation of this remnant root of the Innate Plantain Tree would not cause too much of a stir! Who would have thought it would be displayed directly before everyone's eyes.

Princess Iron Fan was itching with hatred; her previous act of lowering herself and being small had been in vain! Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, wanting to snatch things from the hands of those two from the Shangqing Lineage was simply a joke.

Ding-dong~

Seeing the Innate Plantain Tree standing in the center, full of mysterious patterns outlined, Yin green and fragrant cold, frost flowers covering the ground, countless scrolls extended, layered upon one another.

Some flying in the sky, cinnabar clouds filling the firmament; some precious books and jade scriptures, every word a pearl; some brocade banners and ornate canopies, pearl-adorned umbrellas; some the ups and downs of the world, the red dust like a knife,... and so on and so forth, in a thousand postures, each different.

These various phenomena were nothing else but signs of the Innate Plantain Tree intersecting with the present world, supplementing itself, and fully manifesting.

"Many thanks to the two Senior Martial Uncles!"

Taking this opportunity, the slow-to-react Niu Mowang hurriedly came before the incarnations of Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao, bowing in salute~ Seeing the joy on his face, this incarnation of Yunxiao Fairy shook her head and sighed: "The old man lost his horse, who knows if it is a blessing or a curse. You have already touched the threshold of the Great Luo, so do not take gains and losses too much to heart~"

"Senior Martial Uncle, what do you mean?"

Niu Mowang's heart shook, his joy dissipating by more than half. He was not a fool; how could he not hear the meaning between his Senior Martial Uncle's words? Zhao Gongming withdrew his gaze from the Innate Plantain Tree, also sighed, and said: "Set your heart at ease; later, as the Tribulation progresses, there will be new treasures appearing in your Cuiyun Mountain~"

There was no help for it; man proposes, heaven disposes.

Their cultivation was still a bit weak. For them, let alone those two Saints, even Minghe Laozu was no different from the will of heaven to them, the brother and sister.

Sitting in the Dao field, a single thought, and there was no defying it.

If "Heavenly Will" wants to distribute treasures to others, what can be done?...

As time passed, the Innate Plantain Tree, this Spiritual Root, completely manifested before people, treasure light shining, mysterious sounds rising incessantly...

Princess Iron Fan, who had already given up hope, suddenly raised her head, looked at this Spiritual Root, and joy arose on her face.

Meeting Yang Chan's eyes, she saw that she also had a smile in her eyes, and even Fang Longye's brow became joyful.

It was that the three of them had all sensed the so-called Heavenly Secrets, foreseeing that "treasures" would come to them of their own accord~

And this "treasure," what could it be if not the Innate Plantain Tree? Sure enough, not long after, with a hum, the Innate Plantain Tree suddenly decomposed, turning into three streaks of astonishing rainbow light, heading straight toward the three of them.

The flowing light turned and descended, landing in the hands of the three, revealing the objects inside.

Seeing that Fang Longye and Princess Iron Fan each obtained a banana leaf, or rather, a Banana Fan.

Among them,

The one that landed in Fang Longye's hand was the banana leaf with the Lesser Yin attribute, and what Princess Iron Fan obtained was the banana leaf with the Lesser Yang attribute.

As for Yang Chan, she obtained the remaining bare Spiritual Root.

"Here, how about we swap?"

Fang Longye saw that the Spiritual Root had become wilted after being separated from the two banana leaves, in a state of almost dying, so he rubbed the banana leaf in his hand and immediately handed it to Yang Chan.

"Enough! Take it~" Yang Chan rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm not that narrow-minded~"

She put away the Spiritual Root she had obtained and smiled: "Although it has lost its spiritual energy, I have my own wonderful uses for it. Don't worry, its value in my hands is greater than you imagine~"

"I didn't lose out~"

Fang Longye saw that Yang Chan was firm in her words, so he gave up his thought of wanting to compensate her and probed his Dharma power into the banana leaf in his hand.

"Five Elements Qingning Fan?"

As his Dharma power made contact, this Banana Leaf immediately emitted a clear, water-like light, and after a burst of expansion and contraction, it transformed into a Banana Fan.

It was indeed an Innate Spiritual Treasure, possessing twenty-eight layers of Innate Divine Prohibition, and was called the Five Elements Qingning Fan.

It just lacked any offensive power; it could only be fanned to clear one's heart and sharpen one's nature, preventing vexations from arising, and could be considered a treasure that assisted in cultivation.

"It seems I must find a handmaiden specifically to fan me~" Fang Longye thought to himself as he put away this precious fan.

Looking around at the guests present, there was an uproar; it was truly lively to the extreme~ After all, no one had expected this.

It was clearly a treasure that had fallen into the Cave Abode of Niu Mowang, and it seemed like a done deal, yet in the end, it was actually obtained by the three outsiders, Fang Longye and his companions~ There were even some demon kings who harbored ill intentions toward Niu Mowang looking at him with playful expressions.

Do not think that everyone in the entire Cave Abode was a friend of Niu Mowang; among those present, there were quite a few demon kings who harbored ulterior motives and had other plans.

After all, Niu Mowang's move was to open a residence and establish a foundation, intending to occupy a piece of territory in Xiniu Hezhou; naturally, there were demon kings whose interests were harmed and who found him an eyesore.

It was just that Niu Mowang had previously invited many friends, making the momentum seem grand, so they had extinguished the thought of causing trouble upon seeing this.

Now that they saw Niu Mowang suffer a setback, they naturally clapped and cheered; although they did not dare to provoke trouble openly, the desire to watch a joke was still there.

Sensing some unkind gazes, Niu Mowang cursed inwardly; it was truly a case of great joy followed by great sorrow~ He would have preferred that no treasure had appeared and that he had simply finished the process of opening his residence and establishing his foundation in an unremarkable way~ Right now, if handled poorly, he would lose his reputation, which would in turn damage his fortune and affect his gains in the future Calamity.

Fortunately, the avatar of Zhao Gongming pondered for a moment and found the wording, immediately transmitting his voice to Niu Mowang, telling him to quickly make amends.

……

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Niu Mowang raised his Wine Cup and laughed heartily, saying: "Everyone, let me introduce you; this is the newly appointed Young Lord of the Dragon Clan, Fellow Daoist Yuanlong."

Niu Mowang pointed at Fang Longye and said: "During these days, Fellow Daoist Yuanlong and I have hit it off immediately. Hearing that he is about to marry two immortals, I shall borrow flowers to present to the Buddha and give them a grand gift."

"Brother Yuanlong, and the two immortals, I wonder if you are satisfied with this gift of mine?"

Fang Longye and his two companions knew that Niu Mowang was making amends, but since they had accepted his gift, they naturally cooperated and thanked him.

As for his glib fabrication that the three of them were about to tie the knot, even the parties involved, Tie Shan and the jealous Yang Chan, could not flare up for the moment.

In fact, Zhao Gongming had not let Niu Mowang talk nonsense; he had truly seen the relevant Heavenly Secrets.

"Brother Dao is too polite; to send such a heavy gift, I am truly ashamed to accept it!"

"Using an Innate Spiritual Treasure as a congratulatory gift, the Bull King is truly too polite!"

"……"

"Since ancient times, treasures are obtained by those with affinity. I have already occupied such a precious land as Cuiyun Mountain and am already satisfied; how would I dare to covet anything else?"

……

With a round of "believe it or not, I believe it anyway" damage control, Niu Mowang managed to stabilize his reputation.

It prevented those opponents hostile to him from painting him as a coward who could not even guard a treasure that had emerged in his own Cave Abode.

Thereafter, it was naturally a case of both host and guests being happy.

And after the banquet, Fang Longye and his two companions also tactfully offered their farewells, feeling somewhat embarrassed to stay in Cuiyun Mountain for too long.

……

After leaving Cuiyun Mountain, the three naturally parted ways, each returning to their own homes. Fang Longye continued to accompany Yang Chan, continuing the journey they had not yet finished.

After traveling for another three days,

they reached Bibo Tan.

Fang Longye stopped on the clouds and glanced downward; there was nothing strange about it. The old dragon in this Bibo Tan was only just at the True Immortal Realm and did not even have the qualifications to participate in Niu Mowang's opening of his residence.

Oh, perhaps he had participated. But he probably just stayed on Cuiyun Mountain; in any case, he had not seen this old dragon in the Cave Abode before.

He also did not know how this old dragon of Bibo Tan would become good friends with Niu Mowang in the future.

"What are you looking at?"

Seeing Fang Longye pondering, Yang Chan asked curiously.

"Nothing~"

Could he say that from the old dragon of Bibo Tan, he thought of the 'Wansui Fox King' of Jilei Mountain, and from the 'Wansui Fox King' he thought of Yumian Huli? If he really told the truth, wouldn't Yang Chan strangle him? Come to think of it, Fang Longye had indeed seen this Wansui Fox King at Niu Mowang's banquet; he did not look sickly at all, but rather full of spirit.

And he was also a Taiyi Loose Immortal.

He did not know how he would end up dying later, leaving behind Yumian Huli and that massive family fortune.

But it was also normal; if you walk the night path too often, you will eventually encounter a ghost. This 'Wansui Fox King' was not young; he was older than many people.

The "Wansui" (Ten Thousand Years) in his title did not mean he was only ten thousand years old.

"In ancient times, there was a great Chun tree that took eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn."

Although this Ten-Thousand-Year Fox King could not compare to the great Chun, he was not far behind. He claimed that one 'Hui' (cycle) was one 'year', and he had already lived for ten thousand 'years'.

One 'Hui' was ten thousand eight hundred years.

That is to say, this old fox had lived for at least over one hundred million years.

Although the older one gets, the more demonic one becomes, the karma accumulated also becomes heavier; without a background, the probability of encountering a fatal Calamity is also greater.

Even the so-called Daluo, although they are said to be free of disasters and Calamities, do they not still fall?

Let alone a mere Taiyi Loose Immortal.

It was just a pity for a delicate beauty like Yumian Huli, guarding such a large family fortune with fierce enemies surrounding her; no wonder she had to throw herself at Niu Mowang.

Actually,

Fang Longye had the heart to make a trip to Jilei Mountain to pay a visit to the Wansui Fox King and, incidentally, see his daughter Yumian, whom he had mentioned to everyone at the banquet.

Unfortunately, Yang Chan was following him.

"Can only wait for the future~"

……

Continuing westward, they traveled for another stretch. Fang Longye parted the clouds and mist and looked downward, seeing a stretch of desolate mountains.

Of course, calling it desolate just meant it had little spiritual energy; it was not completely bare.

There were still some trees and plants. It was just that these trees and plants were not particularly appealing.

Looking at it with one glance, one could see the whole mountain was covered in tangled ivy and vines, with thick, lush green thorns.

If his calculations were correct, this place should be Jingji Ridge, where "thorns and brambles climb for eight hundred miles, and since ancient times, few people have traveled this path."

"Jingji Ridge..." Fang Longye pondered for a moment, thinking to himself that Jingji Ridge was also one of the tribulations in Journey to the West.

Among them, Eighteen Gong was a pine tree, Gujie Gong was a cypress tree, Lingkong Zi was a juniper tree, Fuyun Sou was a bamboo pole, and Chishen Gui was a maple tree.

And Xing Xian was an apricot tree; Xing Xian's four young maids were two sweet osmanthuses and two wintersweets.

In any case, they were all just wood spirits and flower demons, their cultivation was not worth a single blow, yet they were obsessed with reciting poetry and composing couplets.

They clearly had no ill intentions, yet they were easily raked down during the day by that fellow Zhu Bajie, who wanted to show off, and they lost their lives in vain.

"These wood spirits and flower demons in Jingji Ridge can be considered pitiful; I might as well save them and change their tragic fate~"

Fang Longye thought that since the time for the Journey to the West was not far off, these wood spirits should have already awakened their spiritual intelligence and could be counted as spiritual wood.

He would simply transplant them to his own Daoist temple to add some scenery, and once they were cultivated in the future, he could even use their branches to refine treasures.

It wouldn't be a waste~ Moreover, they were, after all, demons who left their names in Journey to the West; they must have some Tribulation Luck on them, so they were still worth cultivating.

Having made up his mind,

Fang Longye reached out his palm to probe, gathering up all the flowers and plants across the mountains and plains, and sure enough, he found those wood spirits and flower demons from the original work among them.

They had just awakened their spiritual intelligence and had not even cultivated a Yin Spirit.

"What are you doing?"

Yang Chan asked with some curiosity.

"Nothing much~ Just collecting some wood spirits and flower demons to take back and decorate my Daoist temple~"

Fang Longye naturally fobbed her off.

(End of this chapter)