The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 3 Mustard Space
A few days later, Jiang Yuan was again leading the old ox to graze by the river when the old ox spoke first.

"You're quite patient; do you intend to remain here for thousands of years?"

"How could that be? I'm just a mortal, I'll die of old age in a few decades at most."

"Hehe, you underestimate yourself. How could a mortal being born attract the tribulation of lightning from the heavens? That old man Venus must have expended a lot of energy to cover up the tribulation."

Jiang Yuan and the old ox chatted casually, and as they talked, they discovered that the old ox was actually the "ox involved" in the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

The old ox saw through the Weaver Girl's true identity and encouraged the Cowherd to steal her clothes, so that the Weaver Girl could stay in the mortal world and become the Cowherd's wife, and they would have two children.

The Heavenly Court vehemently denied it, issuing numerous announcements to no avail, until the whole world knew. The Queen Mother of the West had no choice but to forgive the Cowherd and allow the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

Several writers were hired to greatly embellish the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, giving mortals a beautiful fantasy, and the seventh day of the seventh lunar month was thus designated as Valentine's Day.

As for the origin of the old ox that instigated the Cowherd to do bad things, no one ever cared. It turns out that it was hidden in this blessed land of peach blossoms by Venus.

Jiang Yuan knew that the old ox must have some inside story he hadn't told, or perhaps he really couldn't tell. If he were just an ordinary old ox spirit without any backing, he would probably have been struck by lightning and destroyed long ago.

A few days later, Old Niu couldn't contain his curiosity and found out why Jiang Yuan had come to Peach Blossom Paradise.

Old Niu was indeed shrewd; he actually discovered the key point in just a few words.

"You mean you had already entered the Southern Heavenly Gate when you ascended, but were pulled out by Venus?"

"Yes."

"Hehe, no wonder! Although you were dragged into this by the Heavenly River Water Lord to take the blame, you cultivated your own supernatural powers and merits. Once you entered the Southern Heavenly Gate, you are a true immortal, no matter what. Even without official rank or position, you are not comparable to an ordinary wandering immortal."

Jiang Yuan recalled that when he stepped into the South Heavenly Gate, he felt as if a spiritual light entered his body, which he thought was some kind of divine blessing.

"How ridiculous, how ridiculous! Venus tricked you into hiding in this wretched blessed land to cover up the fact that the Heavenly River Water Lord had run away. But he never expected to knock a true immortal like you down to the mortal world. That's why the Nine Heavens Tribulation came down. Venus is really senile."

Jiang Yuan felt uncomfortable seeing the old ox laughing so hard that spittle flew everywhere.

"Don't just laugh, old man. What am I like now? I can't go back to Heaven, and they won't let me rebuild my life. What is Taibai Jinxing thinking?"

"You want to rebuild your Taoist magic and supernatural powers?"

"In my previous life, I cultivated diligently for over a thousand years without slacking off for a single day, only thinking about attaining immortality. I only went up to the Heavenly Court for a quick look before coming down. Even if I can't go to the Heavenly Court this time, being an Earth Immortal would be fine! This beautiful land, I can travel and see it all. It's better than dying of old age in this wretched place, isn't it?"

Old Niu remained silent for a long time, and Jiang Yuan couldn't tell what he was thinking. He just felt that Old Niu must have a way. He dared to trick Weaver Girl, so what else wouldn't he do?

A few days later, Old Niu remained silent, but Jiang Yuan couldn't hold back any longer.

Has anyone ever left this blessed land?

"No one is here, but Old Niu did go out and then came back."

"……Why?"

"There's not much difference between heaven and earth, inside and outside; it's the same everywhere."

"Southern Jambudvipa is quite large. My previous life was born in this tiny, broken planet."

"Hey, Old Niu does remember now. Three hundred years ago, a young fellow came in, and after leaving, he wrote a little essay called 'The Peach Blossom Spring,' which infuriated Venus, who then reinforced the concealment formation, making it even more difficult for him to leave." Jiang Yuan's heart skipped a beat. "The Peach Blossom Spring was only three hundred years ago? Then isn't the outside world in the Tang Dynasty now?"

Jiang Yuan's previous life lived into the 21st century. When he died, it was more than 1,800 years after Tao Yuanming wrote "Peach Blossom Spring". After crossing Tianlong Star, he naturally did not know the Earth's timeline. Now he has returned to ancient Earth. How did he get reincarnated?

Despite his many doubts, Jiang Yuan didn't dare tell Lao Niu about his past life's transmigration.

"Even Venus, a Golden Immortal from the Upper Realm, can't control public opinion?"

"Even the most powerful immortals cannot calculate all the affairs of the mortal world, yet the story of the Weaver Girl is known to all."

Indeed, the story of "Peach Blossom Spring" is not even in the same league as the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl story.

Jiang Yuan pondered that since that was the case, even if he slipped away, Taibai Jinxing might not be able to stop him, or rather, there was some way to cover it up. Old Niu had also said that although he was a fake Water Lord, he was still a genuine True Immortal, and even a Golden Immortal had no right to kill him at will.

But the old ox said, "In your current state, I'm afraid you won't be able to get out."

Jiang Yuan is no ordinary person; he understands what people are saying. Even if he can't get out now, there's still a way to get out.

"Please enlighten me, senior!"

The old ox remained silent for a long time, chewing the grass with a crunching sound.

"Peach Blossom Paradise is just a tiny space, and the only way to connect it to the outside world is through this river, with underground water veins running through the mountains."

Jiang Yuan looked up and saw that the river did indeed flow into the mountains, but the base of the mountains was at least several tens of miles wide, and there was no way for a mortal body to get out.

If his supernatural powers were still intact, even if he only had the cultivation level of Qi Refining, he could easily use the Water Avoidance Technique.

Old Niu seemed to know what Jiang Yuan was thinking: "This mustard seed space isolates spiritual energy. You can't cultivate Taoist magic and supernatural powers here."

Jiang Yuan had ascended to immortality before, and his mind could withstand the test. The old ox was hiding and concealing itself, but Jiang Yuan was not in a hurry at all. His body was only seven years old, and he had plenty of time.

While I can't cultivate Taoist techniques, I can start refining my body, since I'm idle anyway. When I go out into the world, the hardest thing won't be cultivating Taoist techniques, but rather tempering my body. Achieving a flawless, golden body is much harder than starting to cultivate Taoist techniques again.

Jiang Yuan has always been a man of action; once he has an idea, he will put it into practice immediately. Whether he is herding cattle or not, he often runs to the riverside under the peach trees to practice his boxing.

Taoist body-refining martial arts are divided into two types. One type is for strengthening muscles and bones, such as the White Ape Fist. The other type is internal martial arts, used to open up the meridians and sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, such as the Five Elements Fist.

Jiang Yuan would naturally choose to practice the White Ape Fist. This desolate place has absolutely no spiritual energy, so he can only strengthen his muscles and bones and improve his physical fitness first.

The paradise is too small, and there are not enough spiritual herbs and medicinal plants. The auxiliary methods such as medicinal baths cannot be implemented. We can only rely on our own perseverance and cannot be impatient.

Old Niu's attitude was ambiguous. He would tease me every few days, neither offering to help nor refusing to help.

Jiang Yuan didn't ask Lao Niu for help, knowing that most of these reclusive masters were eccentric. Helping them was a favor, and not helping them was their right.

Two more years passed, and Jiang Yuan became increasingly certain that this Peach Blossom Paradise was actually a place of confinement. Taibai Jinxing had no intention of letting him return to the Heavenly Court. His previous goodwill towards Taibai Jinxing had completely vanished.

You old bastard, you lie without even thinking!
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(End of this chapter)