Chapter 14: Winds Rise At Dusk
However, on this day, in the territory of the Uszang Kingdom, there were flashes of lightning and claps of thunder.
Amid the clouds, a golden divine dragon could vaguely be seen, soaring cloud and riding mist.
Officials and common people saw this and all went out to kneel and worship, calling out to the Dragon God.
After receiving the rewards, Ao Tu first refined the true dragon essence blood, then ate elixir peaches. His realm loosened, and with a dragon roar, he was about to cross into the Golden Immortal realm.
Golden Immortals are immortal and free from the Three Disasters, so heaven and earth sent down tribulation lightning to strike him.
Legend has it that in the ancient primordial era, the Dragon Clan was born divine and sacred, achieving Golden Immortal cultivation upon birth, with no need to pass any thunder tribulation.
Unfortunately, the Dragon Clan of today is no longer what it once was.
Thirty-six bolts of tribulation lightning struck Ao Tu in sequence. Halfway through, Ao Tu gradually felt his magic power waning. His cultivation had been forcibly elevated by eating elixir peaches, so his foundation was not very solid.
Ao Tu was decisive and directly took out the true dragon pearl from his abdomen, refining it in one gulp.
In an instant, Ao Tu’s magic power greatly increased, fully displaying the form of a true dragon.
That dragon pearl came from a Golden Immortal-level true dragon, who had spent countless years in bitter cultivation and endured innumerable hardships to form his entire cultivation into it.
It contained the embryonic form of a small world. If comprehended slowly, the benefits would be immense. Now, refined in one gulp by Ao Tu, the immense power allowed him to break through the tribulation lightning in one go, achieving the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit.
Amid the clouds and mist, old scales shed, and golden scales were newly born.
Dragon horns twisted, the dragon pearl shone brilliantly, and a fifth claw grew on each paw, also known as the five-clawed golden dragon.
From then on, Ao Tu completely shed his old body, transforming into a true dragon. The dragon pearl under his chin also developed the embryonic form of a small world within, just like that true dragon pearl. It could be said: The wondrous Dharma gives birth to the Great Dao from the heart’s source, supernatural powers boundless lead to freedom.
After breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm, Ao Tu was in high spirits. After swimming a lap through heaven and earth, he whistled toward the Yellow Wind Ridge area.
Upon reaching the sky above Yellow Wind Ridge, he encountered a Bhikshu monk in mid-air.
Seeing Ao Tu, the Bhikshu monk flew over and said:
“You evil beast, where have you been? I’ve been waiting here for so long!”
Ao Tu narrowed his eyes and said: “Who are you?”
The Bhikshu monk said: “I am a serving monk under Venerable Ananda. The Venerable sent me to tell you not to create more calamities. Just surrender here at Yellow Wind Ridge.”
Ao Tu said: “What else did the Venerable say?”
The Bhikshu monk said:
“The Venerable also said that you, this evil beast, have some skills. He thought you would be captured by Sun Wukong after the first calamity, but unexpectedly, you’ve created two calamities and are still fine.
However, the Venerable said not to be too greedy in your actions. The merit from obstructing the third calamity is already enough. After you submit at Yellow Wind Ridge, you will surely be heavily rewarded upon return.”
Ao Tu said: “No, no, no. I want to ask if the Venerable told you that Yellow Wind Ridge is extremely dangerous and gave you some treasures for protection or the like?”
Hearing this, the Bhikshu monk shook his head: “No, he did not…”
Before the words finished, a golden light swept over, instantly turning the Bhikshu monk to flying ash, even scattering his true spirit and soul.
Ao Tu opened his mouth and inhaled, sucking up all the shattered true spirit and soul fragments into his mouth. After swallowing, he said:
“Daring to be so arrogant without treasures for protection—wasting my time!”
He flew down to Yellow Wind Ridge.
【Ding, entered mission area】
【Current Side Quest: Wind Rises at Dusk】
【Mission Requirement: Obstruct the pilgrim in the Yellow Wind Ridge area; settlement reward based on obstruction time.】
【Mission Reward: Three days/Three Thousand Year Immortal Peach, seven days/Divine Weapon·Mysterious Gold Iron Rod Spear, half a month/Magic·Golden Light of Earthly Movement, one month/Ten Absolute Formation·Red Sand Formation, one season/Supernatural Power·Five-Colored Divine Light, half a year/Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, one year/Innate Spiritual Treasure·Soul Scattering Gourd, three years/Innate Spiritual Treasure·River Diagram and Luo Book, twelve years/Chaos Bell, sixty years…】
【Current Progress: Three days】
After entering Yellow Wind Ridge, the rewards for the earlier stages were updated.
The three-day reward became Three Thousand Year Immortal Peach, with decent effects.
The seven-day reward was a divine weapon spear, its exact power unclear, but since it was placed in the seven-day slot, it shouldn’t be too weak.
The half-month reward was quite impressive: Golden Light of Earthly Movement.
This was a magic for traveling by turning into light.
During the Investiture period, the twelve Golden Immortals of Chanism had their three flowers on top cut off and five qi in the chest scattered by the Nine Curves Yellow River Formation of the Three Xiao Ladies. Primal Heavenly Venerable granted the immortals the Golden Light of Earthly Movement, allowing them to protect themselves.
This magic’s speed for long-distance travel wasn’t particularly fast; its true use was to escape during combat. With a single hand seal, one could instantly turn into a streak of golden light and vanish without a trace.
As for the one-month reward, the Red Sand Formation, it was even more renowned.
The Red Sand Formation belonged to Heavenly Lord Zhang of Golden Ao Island of the Truncationist Sect.
The formation was paved with red sand, which appeared ordinary but was actually formed from innate baleful qi. Upon contact, flesh and blood melted away, and it concealed the triple calamities of wind, thunder, and fire. There is a poem:
Three dou of red sand bewilder immortal souls; upon entering the formation, one turns to blood water in an instant.
Even those who have cultivated immortal bodies, if they encounter the red sand, perish in a moment.
King Wu of Zhou, Nezha, and Thunderclap Child once came to break this formation but were all trapped inside, enduring over a hundred days until South Pole Immortal Elder broke the formation to rescue them. King Wu of Zhou even died and was revived with elixirs.
Seeing this formation, Ao Tu instantly thought.
There were no particularly powerful calamities on this Journey for Sutras. He might as well place this formation on the pilgrimage path, leaving that monkey with no way to heaven or earth. Even if he summoned the heavenly beings and divine generals, they would all be trapped in the formation, giving the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven a good boost in intensity.
Ao Tu landed on the ridge.
Yellow Wind Ridge had overlapping peaks all steep and rugged, cliff walls towering over deep ravines; the mountaintop was wreathed in rolling white clouds, the foot strewn with jagged strange rocks. All that met the eye were soul-seizing cliffs thousands of feet high, and behind the cliffs hid the winding Hide Dragon Cave.
Suddenly, a demonic wind blew, and from the hillside jumped a striped fierce tiger,
with a pair of hard golden eyes glaring, four steel teeth gleaming white, shouting:
“Hah! You traveler! I am the vanguard of the front road under the Yellow Wind Great King. By the Great King’s strict order, I patrol the mountain. Who are you to dare intrude here?”
Hearing this, Ao Tu thought to himself, so it’s the Tiger Vanguard.
He spoke: “You little demon! You don’t recognize me? I am an old acquaintance of your Great King from Spirit Mountain. Today I come specially to visit, with good things to give. Go quickly and report to your Great King; don’t waste words here and ruin my important matter.”
The Tiger Vanguard listened and saw that Ao Tu had an extraordinary bearing, not like a mortal, so he said: “Wait a moment while I return to the cave to report.”
With that, he kicked up an evil wind and returned to the cave.
Ao Tu waited a while, then saw a yellow wind blow in, and a demon king appeared in the wind.
Golden helmet and golden armor, goose-yellow silk robe; a heart-protecting mirror on his chest, a coiling dragon sash around his waist; deer leather boots on his feet, a brocade apron, holding a three-pronged steel fork with flashing cold light.
It was precisely the Yellow Wind Great Sage of Yellow Wind Ridge.
“Hah, who are you? I had no old acquaintances at Spirit Mountain. How dare you come here impersonating one?”
Hearing this, Ao Tu laughed:
“You mink rat, don’t you recognize me? Back then at Spirit Mountain when I was the bell ringer, you came to steal oil. If I hadn’t turned a blind eye, you would have been caught by the Vajra long ago!”
