Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 210: Return to Jade Column Cave, Scaring Xiaotian Dog Witless
Yang Jian took two steps only to realize that Xiaotian Dog had not followed him at all; instead, it was turning its head around, intending to walk away into the distance.
Yang Jian furrowed his brows, "Xiaotian, what are you doing?"
Caught in the act, Xiaotian Dog shuddered but didn’t bounce up. Turning its head and grinning, Xiaotian Dog put on an act, "Well, I’d rather not go in. The mountain scenery is nice, and I’d prefer to take a stroll. Just call me when your magical treasure is repaired."
With that, it began walking deeper into the mountains.
"No way!"
Yang Jian’s face turned stern, "Uncle Master Yun Zhongzi is my master’s junior brother. It’s disrespectful not to meet him when you get the chance."
"Even if you want to go out and have fun, you have to at least accompany me to meet him first!"
Yang Jian’s voice was resolute.
Xiaotian Dog’s ears drooped, and it instantly deflated. It had no choice!
Xiaotian Dog didn’t dare to resist. It wasn’t foolish enough to provoke further suspicion...
If this led to its exposure, with its level of cultivation, no place would be safe from capture!
Internally, it bolstered itself with silent encouragement—since Xiong Daoren said it would be fine, it decided to trust him this once.
Not trusting Xiong Daoren, but rather the power of Shopkeeper Chen’s divine skills.
Besides, even if its identity were exposed, being Yang Jian’s dog, they couldn’t just kill it, right?
With a sense of tragic resolve, feeling like a hero who would never return, Xiaotian Dog reluctantly followed.
That’s more like it. Yang Jian nodded in approval, turned back, and proceeded to the entrance of the cave abode.
He clasped his hands together and harnessed his mana to call out, "Uncle Master Yun Zhongzi, Yang Jian seeks guidance and has come to pay a visit!"
"Come in." After a few moments, a deep voice echoed from inside the cave.
As the creaking sound resonated, the tightly closed doors of the cave abode slowly opened, and a man and a dog walked in.
"Yang Jian pays his respects to Uncle Master!"
Bowing respectfully, Yang Jian saluted Yun Zhongzi.
Yun Zhongzi made a slight gesture as if to support Yang Jian, then spoke warmly, "There’s no need for such formality."
He was never one for pomp and ceremony. Moreover, Yang Jian was the foremost among their Chan School’s third-generation disciples, having achieved the lofty level of Daluo Golden Immortal with twenty-eight grades of flowering.
This was sage-quality aptitude, a prime cultivational target within the school, an absolute core disciple—worthy of special treatment.
"What brings you here today?" asked Yun Zhongzi, getting right to the point.
Yang Jian, not one to mince words, immediately summoned his weapon, the Three-pointed Double-edged Blade, and presented it by holding the handle with the blade’s tip extended forward.
"Uncle Master, the tip of my Three-pointed Double-edged Blade is a bit blunted. Could you help me repair it?"
As the words fell, Yun Zhongzi’s expression suddenly turned lively.
"Uncle Master, what’s wrong?" Sensing Yun Zhongzi’s discomfort, Yang Jian inquired with concern.
At the mention of this, Yun Zhongzi’s complexion grew even graver. He huffed indignantly, his tone tinged with resentment.
"Some thief has stolen my Executioner Immortal Four Swords."
"What? Stolen??" Yang Jian was shocked. Who would dare such a feat?
Xiaotian Dog, cowering behind Yang Jian and using his body to shield itself, felt even more nervous.
"That’s not right!" Yun Zhongzi was puzzled, "Uncle Master, isn’t your cave abode protected by all kinds of formations? How could something be stolen?"
Uncle Master had a high reputation and never sought trouble with anyone. Why would he suffer such malice?
"Who knows? I wish I could find the reckless fool who dared to steal from me!" Yun Zhongzi fumed, flinging his sleeve in frustration.
His heart was bleeding. Those were magical treasures he had spent countless heart and soul to refine!
The precious materials alone were a significant loss, let alone the sheer effort it took to finally craft the set. And before they were even complete, someone made off with them without leaving a single one behind—an unforgivable affront!
"The thief’s expertise in formation is extremely high, even surpassing my own, and they somehow used a formation that could completely block the transmission of my cave’s restrictions. By the time I was aware of the theft, I had no idea how much time had already passed!"
Yun Zhongzi grew more and more infuriated as he spoke.
Yang Jian was also extremely astonished, "Is that so?"
How could someone’s mastery of formations be above that of my uncle? How is that possible?
Although Uncle mainly focuses on the Laws of Refinement, as the saying goes, ’understanding one thing leads to understanding another.’ Many magical enhancements within a magical treasure require formations to maintain them.
There are only a handful of people in the Three Realms whose formation expertise surpasses that of my uncle, and the key issue is, they have no grudges or motives!
Ordinarily, no cultivator would rashly intrude into someone else’s cave abode, and even less so sneakily.
Anyone capable of breaking through such a formation would be of higher cultivation than my uncle, so they would have no need to do so!
Isn’t their own Innate Magical Treasure appealing enough?
Moreover, Yang Jian’s eyes held a trace of shock. He had never heard of a formation that could block the transmission of restrictions!
"Then..." Yang Jian pondered for a moment and asked, "Has the thief been caught?"
Yun Zhongzi irritatedly tugged at the hairs on his horsetail whisk, "If I had caught them, I wouldn’t be so distressed. The thief was extremely cautious and even set up a concealing formation. I couldn’t capture their presence at all."
Sigh!
Xiaotian Dog secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Those Divine Skills were still reliable!
Yun Zhongzi was a Quasi-Saint, and yet a formation cast by Xiong Daoren, a mere Taiyi Golden Immortal, could deceive his eyes. Shopkeeper Chen indeed lives up to his reputation; none of his Divine Skills are deficient!
For a moment, Xiaotian Dog’s admiration for Chen Nuo grew even more!
"Brazen and reckless, truly pushing people too far. When I catch that thief, I will surely dismember him to avenge this insult!"
Yun Zhongzi didn’t hide the rage in his heart. As a Fortune Virtue Golden Immortal, he might have a good temper, but it doesn’t mean he’s without a temper.
If he could endure this, he’d write his name backwards!
What the heck, Xiaotian Dog jumped at Yun Zhongzi’s attitude, can someone be this furious?
Straight to dismemberment!
Just thinking about ending up chopped into dog meat cubes made Xiaotian Dog shiver uncontrollably; it was truly terrifying!
"That’s not right!" Yang Jian furrowed his brow, "Uncle, you said you don’t know who the thief is, right?"
Who would dare to use such a stolen treasure brazenly?
The Three Realms are vast; if you can’t find them at the start, then you really won’t be able to find them, unless you alert the ancestors.
But besides Goddess Nuwa, who is in Closed-Door Cultivation at Nuwa Palace, Saints cannot appear within the Three Realms, and there’s nowhere else to go.
And such a matter is not significant enough to trouble a Saint with—it’s too bothersome.
Yun Zhongzi nodded, "Even though the other party concealed their presence, I didn’t come away empty-handed."
With a gesture, Yun Zhongzi took out a floor tile.
Yang Jian looked puzzled and unconsciously stepped back, "Uncle, what are you..."
Could it be that Uncle has gone mad with anger and is about to throw something at him to vent?
A smug look appeared on Yun Zhongzi’s aged face as he held the floor tile closer to Yang Jian, "Nephew, look. These are footprints I found within my cave abode, they must belong to the thief!"
After examining them, Yang Jian’s mouth twitched. Are these really the thief’s footprints? They are clearly dog’s paw prints!
But seeing Yun Zhongzi in a noticeably better mood, Yang Jian still rectified his conscience and complimented fervently, "Uncle has eyes like a torch, capable of seeing the tiniest detail!"
Although he was rather cold by nature, he was not inept at dealing with people, especially when he had favors to ask of his uncle!
Xiaotian Dog meanwhile was scared stiff, its canine teeth clattering from fear.
Damn it, I actually gave myself away!
