Chapter 139: Nine-Turn Lesser Returning Pill, Spirit Gourd

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Dongfang Shuo was truly an amusing man.

On the island, beside the thatched cottage in the mountains, Cao Kong showed no hurry to leave. He brought out various spirit wines and drank and talked with him.

Both were men of the Daoist tradition, and as they conversed, each found the other learned and thoroughly congenial.

For the first ten days, they discussed the classics and sacred texts, speaking of the Book of Changes, Laozi, Zhuangzi, and the like.

For the next ten days, they moved from the classics to the principles governing Heaven and Earth—the Limitless and the Supreme Ultimate, yin and yang, the eight trigrams, the two primal forces, the four manifestations, and more.

During the final ten days, Dongfang Shuo regaled him with tales of strange sights overseas and the marvels of the Ten Continents and Three Isles.

“Daoist Dongzhen, Yingzhou lies in the Eastern Sea. It stretches four thousand miles, and upon the island grow divine mushrooms and immortal herbs, along with jade and other precious stones. There is also a spring of sweet wine; a few pints are enough to make one drunk, and it possesses the power to prolong life. Truly, it is a wondrous place.”

When it came to studying the classics and comprehending the profound principles of Heaven and Earth, Cao Kong was in no way inferior to Dongfang Shuo—in fact, he surpassed him by far. But when it came to strange tales and curious anecdotes, he was vastly outmatched.

Besides, Dongfang Shuo was a gifted speaker, witty and humorous, so Cao Kong listened with great relish.

Yet for all Dongfang Shuo’s strengths, his flaws were equally conspicuous. He cared little for etiquette or convention, indulged himself freely, and was rather conceited.

Dongfang Shuo had already moved from tales of the mortal world to those of Heaven when he leaned closer and said slyly, “Daoist Dongzhen, I once went to Heaven to steal peaches and saw Chang’e there. Her figure and beauty were truly captivating.”

As he spoke, the cynical, devil-may-care smile on his face somehow became rather… suggestive.

“Tsk. That tiny waist of hers—marvelous. Daoist Dongzhen, why don’t you and I go up to Heaven together and take a little peek—cough, cough—admire her from afar?”

Cao Kong suddenly recalled that during the years Dongfang Shuo had served under Emperor Wu, he took a young and beautiful wife every year. After a moment’s thought, he advised him, “Daoist Manqian, lust is an axe that fells one’s vitality…”

Dongfang Shuo paid no heed.

“Why do you sound just like my master, Daoist Dongzhen? Still, I have always believed in following nature’s course. As the saying goes, damming is worse than draining. Besides, I merely wish to take a look.”

Cao Kong was rendered speechless and said no more. The Heavenly Lord Donghua must have suffered even more from this man’s endless chatter.

He could not help recalling the wager he had made with Dongfang Shuo: whether, within a thousand years, there would appear a supreme thief capable of overturning Heaven and Earth. They had even agreed upon prizes.

Dongfang Shuo had wagered a Nine-Turn Taiyi Minor Restoration Elixir, while Cao Kong had wagered either the Divine Iron or his assistance with one task.

What made the matter interesting was that Cao Kong remembered Zhu Bajie claiming that he had once taken an immortal as his master and received a Nine-Turn Great Restoration Elixir. He wondered whether there might be some connection…

Cao Kong laughed at himself and let the distracting thought go.

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When the subject of their respective masters arose, Dongfang Shuo became curious about who had bestowed Cao Kong’s Daoist title upon him and asked about its origin.

Cao Kong concealed nothing and told him the truth.

Dongfang Shuo stroked his chin and sighed. “No wonder, no wonder. Since you belong to the lineage of the Great Emperor of Eastern Azure Radiance, I have not lost unfairly.”

Then his heart suddenly gave a leap, and he thought, “Someone from the lineage of one of the Four Imperial Lords must possess extraordinary knowledge and abilities. Could there really be a supreme thief capable of covering the world in ages to come?”

The thought left him rather gloomy—not because of the wagered prize, but because he wanted to win at least once. He had viewed it as a contest, yet now, without realizing it, he felt as though he had already lost before the battle had even begun.

…

The island was nameless, yet extraordinary. According to Dongfang Shuo, it had condensed from a vast mass of heavy, turbid primordial energy. The gourd had been born when a wisp of wood energy from the dawn of creation merged with the essence of that heavy, turbid force.

Wood gives rise and flourishes; earth transforms and nurtures. When the two joined together and received the true vitality of Heaven and the numinous beauty of Earth, along with the essences of the sun and moon, the spiritual resonance of the island came to possess an inexhaustible vitality.

Cao Kong exhaled and inhaled deeply, then, with a change of thought, employed the True Spirit Art of Distributing Vital Energy to regulate the island’s terrestrial veins once more.

After he finished, the island’s spiritual resonance quietly grew stronger. At the same time, it returned benefits to Cao Kong, its vital aura washing over and tempering his body.

Seeing Cao Kong devote most of his time to cultivation, Dongfang Shuo shook his head.

“My friend, you truly possess remarkable patience. You make a pleasure of cultivating day after day. Yet the Great Dao is boundless—when will you ever reach its end? Why not follow your heart and seek pleasure, if only to dispel boredom and fatigue?”

Cao Kong opened his eyes. Divine light was held within them, and he smiled.

“Each step forward brings its own joy.”

Dongfang Shuo pondered those words, then cupped his hands.

“You possess an admirable temperament, my friend. But I have been away for too long. In the past, I still had something to look forward to; now, I no longer do. I shall take my leave first.”

Cao Kong wished to keep him for another round of drinking, but Dongfang Shuo waved his hands repeatedly.

“I have drunk more than enough of your wine. If you ever have the leisure, come to Fangzhang Immortal Isle. I shall let you taste the jade nectar of my Fangzhang Immortal Isle.”

Cao Kong smiled and nodded, accepting the invitation. He watched as Dongfang Shuo mounted the clouds and departed, his laughter rising and scattering upon the wind.

“Refining primordial truth, I cast off the mortal shell;
When cultivation is complete, I shall follow my heart in joy.

“Having fled from fame, I rejoice that my life is without end;
The turning of the sixty-year cycle can no longer bind me.

“Who is free and unfettered? I am the freest of them all.”

…

The spiritual resonance here was no weaker than that of Hidden Mist Mountain. And because the island lay above the Eastern Sea, it possessed a distinctive charm of its own. Thus Cao Kong was in no hurry to leave. In any case, several months still remained before the two kinds of spirit wine would be ready.

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So on the island, he cultivated and breathed in and out day after day. Whenever he truly felt lonely or bored, he would transform into a fish and explore the sights beneath the sea, which offered its own share of amusement.

He simply did not know what means Dongfang Shuo had employed. When Dongfang Shuo had been on the island, there had been scarcely any spirits or monsters there. Yet after his departure, aquatic spirits began climbing onto the island in growing numbers.

At first, Cao Kong had no intention of interfering. Unfortunately, some of the lesser demons had no sense of their own insignificance. They actually clamored to become the island’s ruler, and upon seeing Cao Kong, ordered him to submit.

Left with no choice, Cao Kong could only unleash a single gust of the Eight Winds, sending them ten thousand miles away. As for whether they lived or died, he had no idea.

After witnessing Cao Kong’s methods, the remaining lesser demons trembled in fear. Fortunately, they soon realized that Cao Kong harbored no murderous intent, and gradually their hearts settled. They began coexisting and surviving upon the island.

Cao Kong was perfectly content to enjoy the quiet.

Because his mind was so completely at ease, he nearly forgot that he had obtained a gourd. It was only when he took out some wine to drink one day that he discovered an additional object within his sleeve.

“I have wronged you, allowing your radiance to grow dim,” Cao Kong said apologetically as he took out the gourd.

He then began to study it. After opening the lid, he tried urging it with his magical power and discovered that it could both store objects and release them.

He then extended his spiritual sense inside and found that the space within was vast beyond measure, boundless and seemingly without end. Two forms of energy existed there.

One was a heavy, turbid energy that settled downward and condensed into earth. Within that earth was wood, which possessed the power to nurture and promote growth.

Cao Kong was extraordinarily perceptive. He immediately realized that the gourd could serve as a portable grotto-heaven, suitable for cultivating spirit flowers and herbs, and even for storing spirit wine.

“Not bad, not bad. This function is excellent. With you, I will never again have to worry about having nowhere to store my spirit wine.”

Cao Kong smiled with delight. Though he could store objects within his sleeve, it possessed no power to nourish them. At most, it could keep things from spoiling. This gourd, however, was truly an excellent vessel for nurturing and preserving treasures.

As for whether it possessed any other abilities, he would have to investigate them one by one—or ask his master or senior brothers someday.

After pondering for a while, he said, “How could a divine treasure remain nameless? Since you possess the power to nurture life through earth and wood, I shall call you the Life-Nurturing Immortal Gourd.”

He then placed all the fine wine in his sleeve into the Life-Nurturing Immortal Gourd. Since the island was rich in spiritual materials, he also gathered a few of them whenever he was not cultivating.

Then he calculated the date. The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month was approaching, and the spirit wine would soon be ready. It was time to return to Hidden Mist Mountain.

He was still somewhat troubled over the gourd’s name…

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