Chapter 396: Cloud Mountain Temple Welcomes Guests

Seeing Ji Yuan’s eager expression, the Old Dragon couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Mr. Ji’s drinking habit is getting worse and worse.”

Ambergris was precious, after all, and Ji Yuan was reluctant to drink too much at once, fearing that drinking too much would affect his ability to drink regular alcohol. Hearing the Old Dragon’s words, Ji Yuan raised his left hand.

“I do have a drinking habit, but it’s not really an addiction. I was previously injured on my hand, and I wanted to test whether the Ambergris would have any effect. It’s truly worthy of being called Ambergris, it does indeed have some effect!”

“Injured? You’re injured! Who could have injured you? Who did it, and how long ago was it?”

The Old Dragon was half surprised and half concerned. In his view, at his and Ji Yuan’s level of cultivation, they either wouldn’t get injured, or if they were injured and couldn’t recover in a short time, it would definitely be a serious matter, just like when that True Demon back then had been struck by his dragon claw and Ji Yuan’s immortal sword; he would probably suffer for a hundred years.

Ji Yuan extended his left hand and clenched his fist, revealing a trace of the residual aura of the heavenly tribulation, and gave a bitter smile.

“If I had to say who made the move, it would probably have to be myself!”

The aura of the tribulation lightning still carried a chilling feeling. Faint purple and gold lightning flashed across Ji Yuan’s arm, but it was cleverly blocked by Ji Yuan’s spiritual power to prevent it from growing stronger by devouring Ji Yuan’s own spiritual energy.

Upon seeing the aura of lightning, Old Dragon’s face immediately grew serious.

A heavenly tribulation didn’t just refer to the lightning tribulation, nor did it solely refer to things that fell from the sky. There were various other tribulations, such as golden wind, black water, raging fire, inner demon, and karmic retribution tribulation, but the lightning tribulation was the most direct and the most powerful.

Back then, when Ying Ruoli had overcome the barriers within her heart and obtained her dragon heart, it had essentially been Ji Yuan helping her overcome a major tribulation, making the future tribulation she would have to undergo for her dragon transformation much smoother.

When it came to overcoming tribulations, the Old Dragon was the most qualified person Ji Yuan could speak to. Even though the dragon race had evolved various methods to deal with tribulations in their cultivation over a long period of time, the True Dragon transformation was still fraught with hardship and tribulations, with the last being a near-death experience.

The remnants of the lightning tribulation on Ji Yuan’s hand, though well-suppressed, still revealed a trace of overwhelming heavenly might.

However, this wasn’t surprising, since this was a lightning tribulation that could threaten Ji Yuan and actually injure him.

“A lightning tribulation of within a heavenly tribulation? Purple-gold lightning, this is no small matter… Mr. Ji, what exactly did you do? Your own cultivation is flawless and of the highest caliber, there’s no way you could have provoked such a lightning tribulation!”

Ji Yuan didn’t hide anything from the Old Dragon. With a flick of his right hand, he produced a yellowed, worn scroll from his sleeve, and it gently landed in his right palm.

The scroll did not emit any special aura. It seemed ordinary, and even somewhat old. If the Old Dragon had not seen Ji Yuan’s previous hand injury, he might not have noticed anything unique about it, but now he could detect a similar aura.

Indeed, he detected something strange through his sense of smell, not through any of his supernatural senses. It was a similar, slightly charred scent.

“When I visited Master Huitong, that monk who caused you to lose your bet, at Daliang Monastery in the country of Tingliang, I happened to encounter the incarnation of that monastery’s Mingwang Buddha himself.”

The Old Dragon narrowed his eyes and then opened them again. Thinking of the rumors that the incarnation of the Mingwang Buddha might herald the arrival of the Mingwang Buddha, he was not in a hurry to ask about the heavenly tribulation. Instead, he simply said:

“Knowing your personality, you must have stayed behind to watch the show, right? So, did a Mingwang Buddha arrive?”

Although this rumor had existed for a long time, and it was rare to find a Buddhist monastery and be there precisely at the moment when the incarnation of a Mingwang Buddha was about to manifest. It wasn’t uncommon for people to wait for that even to occur.

However, there were very few rumors about individuals becoming the incarnation of the Mingwang Buddha at the moment, so the Old Dragon wasn’t sure whether a Mingwang Buddha would truly manifest in person.”

“Haha, not a bad guess. I just stayed to watch, and indeed, I witnessed the arrival of the Mingwang Buddha of Inscription!”

“Hmm, so this is related to what you have in your hand and the heavenly tribulation?”

Ji Yuan’s smile faded, but his expression remained relaxed.

“I met Master Foyin and we hit it off immediately. We sat together under a large tree in the inner courtyard of Daliang Monastery to discuss the Tao. More than a month passed in the blink of an eye. We both had quite the enjoyable time. I benefited greatly, and many of my previous questions suddenly become clear. After Master Foyin left, I set up a table a little ways away and wrote down my thoughts. This resulted in this book, ‘The Transformation of Heaven and Earth,’ which is also the first half of my ‘The Wondrous Methods of Heaven and Earth’!”

This wondrous method was Ji Yuan’s proudest achievement to date. He felt happy when he talked about it, and even more unusually, he felt a hint of pride.

This change in Ji Yuan’s words and emotions naturally did not escape the Old Dragon’s observation. The fact that Ji Yuan, who was usually neither arrogant nor impatient, could show such emotion made it clear just proud he was of his wondrous technique.

At this moment, the Old Dragon grew even more curious about “The Wondrous Methods of Heaven and Earth,” and by extension this bookm “The Transformation of Heaven and Earth,” and immediately blurted his thoughts.

“Did heavenly lightning appear the moment the book was completed?”

Ji Yuan’s expression turned serious. He nodded and repeated the Old Dragon’s words, affirming them.

“Heavenly lightning appeared the moment the book was completed!”

Recalling those three bolts of lightning, each with an increasingly exaggerated power, he now realized that if he hadn’t possessed a very special Edict lightning talisman, even if the lightning hadn’t been aimed at him, taking it head-on would have been extremely dangerous.

“Furthermore, the lightning tribulation was astonishingly powerful, possessing a heavenly force that seemed determined to destroy this book. Fortunately, I had some means to withstand it, which prevented my hard work from being wasted!”

Based solely on Ji Yuan’s few words and the lightning aura emanating from his injury, the Old Dragon could almost imagine the perilous situation that had occurred at that time.

Looking at the scorched yellow color of the scroll, it was clear that Ji Yuan had not been able to completely extinguish the lightning tribulation. Of course, it was also possible that he deliberately released some lightning in order to make the scroll truly “undergo tribulation”, but at the very least, the fact remained that Ji Yuan could not control it perfectly at that time. After all, he had been injured and marks had also been left on the scroll.

If it had been someone with a lower cultivation level, they wouldn’t just have be reduced to ashes, they probably wouldn’t even have left a trace.

Seeing the old dragon deep in thought, Ji Yuan waved the scroll in his hand and smiled.

“Would you like to take a look?”

The Old Dragon was clearly interested.

“May I read this book?”

“Hahaha… Why bother with such formalities between us? It’s just a look!”

Ji Yuan tossed the scroll over with a laugh, and the Old Dragon quickly caught it. Seeing that his friend was not joking, he unfolded the scroll with both hands, feeling a rare bit of excitement.

The handwriting was indeed Ji Yuan’s hand. At first, the words were unremarkable, but the more he read, the more illusions appeared in the old dragon’s mind. Keep in mind, he was a True Dragon: even though he wasn’t deliberately resisting, it was still miraculous.

Some of the characters flashed with a purple-gold color, and a mysterious aura swept through them, carrying a majestic heavenly power. The Old Dragon understood almost instantly that those with weak wills or impure hearts would definitely have been terrified.

As the scroll was fully unfurled, the densely written text of over three thousand characters of “The Transformation of Heaven and Earth” was revealed before the Old Dragon’s eyes. With a single glance, the wondrous images of transformation appeared one by one alongside the text, clearing his mind of distractions and focusing directly on the essence of the Tao.

“Heaven and earth give rise to the world, heaven and earth give rise to the world! The earth, the mountains and rivers, the sky and stars… The Wondrous Transformation of Heaven and Earth, the wondrous essence of heaven and earth! So that’s it! So that’s it!”

The Old Dragon sighed repeatedly, then slowly rolled up the scroll again and handed it back to Ji Yuan.

“No wonder it’s called ‘The Transformation of Heaven and Earth.’ This method reveals the wondrous mysteries of heaven and earth, yet heaven and earth already cannot tolerate it. It is truly unparalleled in its wonder!”

Old Dragon’s praise was simple, but it carried immense weight. He could discern these details with just one glance, but the true extraordinary nature of the technique normally would require a cultivator to carefully perceive it.

Ji Yuan turned his head to look at the sky above, thinking about the thunderstorm that seemed to be both crying and laughing that day.

‘It’s not that they can’t tolerate it…’

The two were not in a hurry. When they arrived above Cloud Mountain Temple in Bing Province, it was almost mid-afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set.

As soon as he approached Cloud Mountain Temple, before he even landed, the Old Dragon sensed that the temple was different from before. Or rather, the people inside were different.

“Mr. Ji, have you made up your mind?”

Back then, the Old Dragon and Ji Yuan had sent Qin Zizhou to Cloud Mountain Temple. In addition to letting Qin Zizhou recuperate and accept his identity, the Old Dragon also used the Taoist classics and texts on celestial stars to deduce the Path of the Wandering God. Naturally, the Old Dragon understood that Ji Yuan had also considered leading the Taoist sect, or at least being a part of the Cloud Mountain Temple lineage.

Now it seemed that Ji Yuan was no longer hesitant.

“Indeed, I have made my decision, and this ‘Wondrous Methods of Heaven and Earth’ will be the fundamental guidebook for cultivation at Cloud Mountain Temple.”

The Old Dragon turned his head, his powerful gaze sweeping over the small Taoist temple atop Yun Mountain and Yanxia Peak. If this small temple’s lineage could receive the “Wondrous Methods of Heaven and Earth,” then, barring unforeseen calamity, it would have a bright future…

As if knowing what the Old Dragon was thinking, Ji Yuan’s voice rang out leisurely.

“I only hope that Cloud Mountain Temple can cultivate itself steadily and diligently, without arrogance or impatience, so that it can go further and further on the path of cultivation, so that in the future it may become a righteous Taoist sect!”

“A Taoist sect…”

The Old Dragon suddenly squinted and looked at Ji Yuan.

“I’ve had my suspicions for a while now, and now they are even stronger. Mr. Ji, are you playing a long, grand game?”

Ji Yuan neither confirmed nor denied it. After thinking for a moment, he simply blurted out a word.

“Perhaps!”

At this moment, Qin Zizhou had already spotted the Old Dragon and Ji Yuan. He took the lead and climbed to the top of Yanxia Peak. Standing on the huge rock at the summit, he bowed to the two figures approaching on the clouds from the horizon.

“Qin Zizhou greets Mr. Ji and Mr. Ying!”

Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon returned the greeting in unison.

“Greetings, Master Qin!”

Qin Zizhou’s moral character and integrity were well-established, and even the usually arrogant Old Dragon would show him the respect he deserved.

A moment later, the three of them descended the mountain, chatting and laughing. As they approached Cloud Mountain Temple halfway up the mountain, Qi Xuan and Qi Wen rushed outside excitedly to greet them.

“Mr. Ji, Mr. Ying! You’ve arrived!”

“Greetings, Mr. Ji and Mr. Ying!”

The two greeted them and bowed, their faces full of joy. Although their cultivation had not yet reached its full potential, the rhythm of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth they could now feel was truly wonderful.

“Hahaha, Taoist Qingsong, it’s time for you to show off your culinary skills again! Here you go!”

With a flick of his sleeve, Ji Yuan unleashed a clump of water bubbles, which in turn flung out three bighead carp from the Tongtian River that were still panting and blowing bubbles, their bodies covered in seaweed. Qi Xuan and Qi Wen instinctively reached out and scooped them up with both hands.

“Plop…”

The two fish retreated together, their faces showing caution and panic. They swayed a few times before regaining their balance and found that each of their palms were touching the bubbles without breaking them. Although the bubbles were heavy, they were not too heavy to lift.

“Quick, quick, put them in the water tank!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

The two men excitedly carried the large fish inside, tossing them, bubbles and all, into the large water tank in the kitchen.

“Pop… Bang…”

The bubbles burst, filling the tank, which had originally only been half full, to the brim. The three seaweed-covered fish splashed around happily inside.

“Go swim, it won’t be long!”

Qi Wen said to the fish with a smile.

At that moment, two gray shadows darted past from the direction of the main hall of the Taoist temple. They darted into the kitchen, and then jumped onto the water tank. It was the two little martens, who were perched on the edge of the tank, looking at the water. They had never seen such a big fish in their lives.