Wind Rises at Dusk

On this day, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed along the borders of the Wusizang Kingdom.

Through the clouds, a golden divine dragon could faintly be seen, riding the clouds and sailing through the mist.

At the sight, officials and commoners alike came out and knelt in worship, hailing him as the Dragon God.

After collecting his rewards, Ao Tu first refined the True Dragon Essence Blood, then consumed the Immortal Elixir and Peaches of Immortality. The barrier to his next realm loosened, and with a dragon's roar, he prepared to cross into the Golden Immortal realm.

Golden Immortals were undying and untouched by the Three Calamities, so heaven and earth sent tribulation lightning down upon him.

Legend held that in the ancient primordial age, dragons were sacred beings by birth, born with Golden Immortal cultivation, with no lightning tribulation to overcome.

Sadly, the dragons of today were no longer what they had once been.

Thirty-six bolts of tribulation lightning struck Ao Tu in succession. Halfway through, he began to feel his magical power failing. He had forcibly raised his cultivation by consuming Immortal Elixir and Peaches of Immortality, leaving his foundation somewhat unstable.

Ao Tu acted decisively, drawing the True Dragon Pearl out of his belly and refining it in a single gulp.

In an instant, his magical power surged, fully revealing the majesty of a true dragon.

That pearl embodied the entire cultivation of a Golden Immortal true dragon, attained through untold years of bitter practice and countless hardships.

It contained the embryonic form of a small world, which could have yielded tremendous benefits through patient contemplation. Now that Ao Tu had refined it in a single gulp, its immense power let him break through the tribulation lightning in one stroke and attain the Dao fruit of a Golden Immortal.

Amid the clouds and mist, his old scales fell away, and new golden scales grew.

His dragon horns curved sinuously, his pearl shone brilliantly, and a fifth digit grew on each claw, making him a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.

From that moment on, Ao Tu completely shed his old body and became a true dragon. Like the True Dragon Pearl he had consumed, the pearl beneath his neck began to develop the embryonic form of a small world. As the saying went: wondrous arts spring from the heart's source to give birth to the Great Dao; boundless divine powers grant freedom beyond restraint.

After breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm, Ao Tu was in excellent spirits. He roamed freely through heaven and earth before hurtling toward Yellow Wind Ridge.

Upon reaching the skies above Yellow Wind Ridge, he encountered a bhikshu monk in midair.

The bhikshu monk spotted Ao Tu and flew over, saying:

"You wretched beast! Where have you been? You've kept me waiting here far too long!"

Ao Tu narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

The bhikshu monk said, "I am an attendant monk serving Venerable Ananda. The venerable one sent me to tell you that there is no need to create any more trials. We will take you back from Yellow Wind Ridge."

Ao Tu asked, "What else did the venerable one say?"

The bhikshu monk said:

"The venerable one also said that you possess some ability, beast. He thought Sun Wukong would capture you during your first trial, yet you've created two trials and still remain unharmed.

"But the venerable one said that one must not be too greedy. The merit from obstructing three trials is enough. Once you submit here at Yellow Wind Ridge, you will be richly rewarded upon your return."

Ao Tu said, "No, no, no. What I meant was, did the venerable one tell you how dangerous Yellow Wind Ridge is? Did he give you a few treasures to protect yourself, or anything like that?"

The bhikshu monk shook his head. "No, he did not..."

Before he could finish, a streak of golden light swept over him, instantly reducing him to ash and scattering even his True Spirit Soul.

Ao Tu opened his mouth and sucked in the shattered fragments of the True Spirit Soul. After swallowing them, he said:

"No protective treasures, and you still dared act so insolent. What a waste of my time!"

He flew down onto Yellow Wind Ridge.

[Ding, entered mission area.]

[Current side quest: Wind Rises at Dusk.]

[Mission requirement: Hold the Pilgrim within the Yellow Wind Ridge region. Rewards will be calculated according to the duration of the obstruction.]

[Mission rewards: Three days / three-thousand-year Peach of Immortality, seven days / divine weapon: Dark Gold Iron Staff Spear, half a month / spell: Earth-Traveling Golden Light, one month / Ten Ultimate Arrays: Red Sand Formation, one season / divine ability: Five-Colored Divine Light, half a year / Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, one year / congenital spiritual treasure: Soul-Scattering Gourd, three years / congenital spiritual treasure: Hetu Luoshu, twelve years / Chaos Bell, sixty years...]

[Current progress: Three days.]

After Ao Tu entered Yellow Wind Ridge, the rewards for the first few stages were updated.

The three-day reward became a three-thousand-year Peach of Immortality, which was reasonably effective.

The seven-day reward was a divine weapon. Its exact strength was unclear, but since it occupied the seven-day tier, it ought not to be too weak.

The half-month reward was considerably more impressive: Earth-Traveling Golden Light.

It was a spell that allowed one to travel by transforming into light.

During the Investiture of the Gods, the Three Xiao Ladies' Nine-Curved Yellow River Formation had stripped the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanism of their Three Flowers Above the Head and dispersed their Five Qi in the Chest. The Primordial Heavenly Lord bestowed the Earth-Traveling Golden Light spell upon the immortals so they could protect themselves.

This spell was not particularly fast over long journeys. Its true purpose was to disengage during a fight. With a hand seal, the caster could turn into a streak of golden light in an instant and vanish without a trace.

As for the one-month reward, the Red Sand Formation, its fame was even greater.

The Red Sand Formation belonged to Heavenly Lord Zhang of Jiejiao's Golden Turtle Island.

The formation was carpeted with red sand. Though seemingly ordinary, it was actually formed from innate baleful qi, dissolving flesh and blood upon contact. Hidden within were three deadly tribulations of wind, lightning, and fire. A poem described it thus:

Three measures of red sand bewilder immortal souls; enter the formation, and in an instant become bloody water.

Alas, though you have cultivated an immortal body, encounter the red sand, and your life ends in a moment.

King Wu, Nezha, and Lei Zhenzi had once attempted to break this formation, only to become trapped inside for over a hundred days. They were rescued only when the Antarctic Immortal Elder broke it. King Wu had even died and was ultimately revived with Immortal Elixir.

The moment Ao Tu saw this formation, a scene sprang into his mind.

This Journey to the West is far too easy, with hardly any truly formidable trials. Why not plant this formation along the pilgrimage route and leave that monkey with no road to heaven and no gate into the earth? Even if he summons divine generals from all the heavens, I'll trap them in the formation too and properly raise the difficulty for this Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Ao Tu landed on the ridge.

Yellow Wind Ridge was all towering mountains and rugged peaks, sheer cliffs and deep ravines. Billowing white clouds brushed its heights, while jagged, strange rocks covered the ground below. Endless Soul-Clutching Cliffs rose thousands upon tens of thousands of feet, with winding Dragon Caves concealed behind them.

Suddenly, a demonic wind swept past, vast and rolling, hazy and boundless. Crossing the ridge, it made a thousand trees roar; entering the forest, it shook ten thousand trunks. It churned the earth and flung up dust, sending sand and stones surging and scattering.

From beneath the hillside, a fierce, striped tiger sprang out.

With a pair of piercing golden eyes and four gleaming white fangs like steel, he shouted:

"Halt! You traveler! I am the advance vanguard under Great King Yellow Wind. By the king's strict command, I patrol this mountain. Who are you, daring to trespass here?"

Hearing this, Ao Tu thought, So this is Tiger Vanguard.

He said, "You little demon! You don't recognize me! I am an old acquaintance of your king from his days on Spirit Mountain. I have come specially to visit him today and bring him something good. Hurry and inform your king. Don't waste words here and delay my important business."

Tiger Vanguard saw Ao Tu's extraordinary bearing and sensed that he was no ordinary mortal. He replied, "Wait here a moment while I return to the cave and report."

With that, he raised a foul wind and returned to the cave.

Ao Tu waited a short while before a yellow wind blew over, with a demon king within it coming into

view.

He wore a golden helmet and golden armor beneath a pale yellow silk robe, with a breastplate over his chest and a coiled-dragon sash around his waist. Deerskin boots and a brocade apron completed his attire, and he held a sharp, three-pronged steel fork.

This was none other than Great Sage Yellow Wind of Yellow Wind Ridge.

"Halt! Who are you? I have no old acquaintances on Spirit Mountain. How dare you come here pretending otherwise?"

Ao Tu smiled at his words and said:

"You marten, don't you recognize me? Back when I was the Bell Keeper on Spirit Mountain, you came to steal oil. If I hadn't kept one eye open and the other shut, the vajra guardians would have caught you long ago!"