"This old man is the Shepan Mountain Earth Deity. Please don't take offense, hero."
A plume of white smoke first rose from the ground. In the blink of an eye, it dispersed, revealing a tiny old man who didn't even reach Lu Bian's knee. Fine, threadlike roots sprouted from his bald head, making him look like a medicinal plant that had gained sentience.
"No offense taken."
"I'm a very kind person, easy to get along with," Lu Bian told the Earth Deity.
"Haha, haha." The Earth Deity only chuckled.
"Hero, please follow me. I know a fine place to stay."
Lu Bian led the donkey and cart after the Shepan Mountain Earth Deity.
The place the Earth Deity had in mind was a cave halfway up Snake Coil Mountain. It offered shelter from the wind and rain, and the floor inside was quite dry. There wasn't a snake, bug, rat, or mouse in sight.
"This is great. Saves me the trouble of building a shelter."
"I'm glad you're satisfied, hero."
"May I ask what you're called, hero? I'll go gather some food for you."
"Just call me Lu Bian. What kind of food are you going to get?" Lu Bian crouched down to talk to the Earth Deity.
"Nothing much, just berries and wild vegetables from the woods. They're clean enough to eat once washed," the Shepan Mountain Earth Deity said.
"By the way, Hero Lu, do you know that Eagle Sorrow Stream was once the home of the Eight Legions Heavenly Dragon Guangli Bodhisattva, the West Sea Jade Dragon Third Prince? Some of his dragon aura still lingers here, so the flowers, fruits, plants, and trees around Eagle Sorrow Stream have nourishing properties."
The Shepan Mountain Earth Deity put it delicately, but Lu Bian understood perfectly well.
The scene that had stuck with him most from watching Journey to the West as a child was Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie asking Little White Dragon for his urine to make medicine for a sick king.
Little White Dragon was a true dragon. Even the waste he casually passed was imbued with all sorts of miraculous properties.
"I don't need it. Give it to my donkey instead."
"It's traveled over ten thousand li with me. It deserves something to nourish it."
"Oh, if you don't want it, hero, I'll just take it to feed your donkey." The Shepan Mountain Earth Deity vanished into the ground in another puff of smoke.
Lu Bian tidied up the cave he'd be staying in for the time being. After setting out his camping gear, he began to train.
Lu Bian practiced Ultimate Boundless Qigong. Advancing from Electric Current Propulsion to Magnetic Rotation was only the beginning. The "First Heaven" realm included ten thousand units of strength, a trace of Perfect Realm, and a portion of magnetic-field capacity.
Advancing through the "Heavens" depended solely on magnetic-field strength. When he reached "Magnetic Rotation · Thirty Thousand Units of Strength," he would have attained the "Third Heaven."
Lu Bian opened his video chat window and shared footage of his training with the Chat Group, asking Shi Tianwu to coach him verbally.
The reason Lu Bian had made such rapid progress in Ultimate Boundless Qigong was that he had a great teacher in Shi Tianwu.
Shi Tianwu had assessed Lu Bian's martial aptitude as above average, but his physical talent was astonishing—among the very best.
All Lu Bian had to do was listen to his teacher and diligently study and practice. However capable his teacher was of guiding him, his body could match that level of cultivation.
As for the strain on his body and how to replenish it, Lu Bian absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth with almost no loss simply by breathing normally, and it didn't leak back out. When he used the Magnetic Field Qigong Breathing Technique, his intake of spiritual energy increased even further. Every moment, every cell grew stronger.
What realm could Lu Bian reach after devoting three whole months to Ultimate Boundless Qigong?
The Ninth Heaven!
Magnetic Rotation · Ninety Thousand Units of Strength!!
After three months of cultivation, he'd only reached the Third Heaven—but give him another three months, and he'd reach the Ninth Heaven.
Such astonishing progress was closely tied to Lu Bian's talent, but it also depended on his excellent magnetic-field environment.
The magnetic-field environment was a shackle that limited how far one could advance.
In an era with a poor magnetic-field environment, a person's magnetic cultivation might be capped at Electric Current Propulsion. In a somewhat more stable environment, the highest realm one could reach was the Twenty-Fifth Heaven. But in the best magnetic-field environment, a powerhouse at the ultimate realm of the Ninety-Ninth Heaven could emerge.
Lu Bian was convinced that the world he'd crossed into was the world after Journey to the West. With so many gods, Buddhas, demons, and monsters in the Journey to the West World, its magnetic-field environment for cultivation had to be excellent.
For three months, Lu Bian lived on wind and dew, like a Qi cultivator from the pre-Qin era. The Shepan Mountain Earth Deity and the Eagle Sorrow Stream Water God grew more and more confident by the day that he would defeat the three demons.
"Phew..."
After finishing a set of Ultimate Arhat Fist, Lu Bian took a breath to recover. Fine arcs of electricity flickered in his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"That should do it."
Lu Bian had fully adapted to the power of the Ninth Heaven in his normal state. He felt ready to head to the eastern bank of Eagle Sorrow Stream and subdue the three demons.
"Earth Deity, I'm going to deal with those three demons. Take my donkey over there for me in a little while."
"Wait a moment, Hero Lu."
"What is it?"
Lu Bian turned back.
"This old man brewed some Wild Fruit Wine. It can bolster a person's courage and strength. Having a sip or two before your fight could help."
"All right."
"But I never drink. How strong is this Wild Fruit Wine?"
"Strong? It's homemade fruit wine. How strong could it be?"
The Earth Deity didn't know what Lu Bian meant by "strong." He simply assumed it was some city-dweller's term he wasn't familiar with.
With a smile, the Earth Deity went to fetch the Wild Fruit Wine he'd brewed. He brought it back in a green-skinned gourd and handed it to Lu Bian.
"Nothing else you need to tell me? I'm heading out." Lu Bian looked at the Earth Deity.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"I'm off."
Lu Bian stepped outside the cave and sprang into the woods halfway up the mountain. Like a great roc spreading its wings, he bounded several li in a single leap.
He wasn't flying, but the leap was still breathtaking.
Using the trunks of several large trees as midair stepping-stones, Lu Bian reached Eagle Sorrow Stream within a few breaths.
"Hero Lu, be extremely careful," the Water God said to him from the bank.
"Don't worry. I'm absolutely certain of victory."
"Keep an eye on my donkey, though. It'll probably be scared to cross Eagle Sorrow Stream. Don't let it jump into the water."
"Don't worry, don't worry."
Lu Bian looked back. The Earth Deity was leading his donkey toward the water.
"I'm off."
Lu Bian soared through the air, crossed Eagle Sorrow Stream, and landed on the cliffs along the eastern bank.
The eastern bank was utterly silent. As Lu Bian entered the woods, he didn't hear even a single bird call along the way.
He needed to make some noise to get the attention of the three demons who were preying on others.
"Anyone here?"
"Anyone here?"
"Any ghosts here?!"
As he walked, Lu Bian kept shouting, as if he were looking for someone.
Each time Lu Bian called out, his voice carried three li.
Before long, the Tiger Demon, Bear Monster, and Ox Spirit heard him.
"Brothers, someone's here," the Ox Spirit said, looking up.
"Ha! More food!" The Bear Monster stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips.
"Don't eat it all at once. Save half to pickle, then we can enjoy it at New Year's," the Tiger Demon said.
That's right. Demons celebrated New Year's too.
During the three months Lu Bian had spent here training, autumn had arrived.
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