Chapter 102: The Golden Horn Descends to the Mortal Realm (Revised)

Cao Kong and the Ape Lion remained silent.

The Ape Lion repeated Cao Kong’s recent words, hoping to advise King Bihan and his companions.

King Bihan sneered, “You talk exactly like the old Taoist who came here centuries ago, but in my view, it’s all nonsense.”

“Old Taoist?” Cao Kong asked in puzzlement.

“Yes, though to be fair, that old Taoist was quite kind. He taught us cultivation methods and even said there were celestial signs—a white star reflected in the horn. If we were to move out of this cave and cultivate for a long time, who knows? We might have a chance to ascend to heaven.”

Hearing this, Cao Kong was stirred. Perhaps that old Taoist was actually Venus, and the one who helped him slay the Azure Dragon was also Venus.

If his guess was correct, he would need to properly thank him if they ever met again.

But then he heard more.

“Yet, what use do we have for the chance to ascend? There’s no fragrant oil in the heavens, and moving out of this cave is a joke. We’ve lived here since childhood; to say this cave is filthy is nonsense.”

Cao Kong shook his head slightly, eyes full of pity. Such is true spiritual ignorance—no matter how many masters offer guidance, if one’s spirit remains clouded, disaster is inevitable.

He chose not to speak further. Their meeting was by chance; to have offered a word of advice was already the utmost kindness.

They parted ways, and Cao Kong, along with the Ape Lion, returned to the Hidden Mist and the Bamboo Joint Mountains.

…

Time in the mountains passed swiftly, so much so that one barely noticed its length.

In the blink of an eye, another year had gone by.

The spiritual fruits ripened and fell, the herbs were gathered and regrew. The orange trees they had planted had grown into a whole grove, allowing Cao Xiang and the others to feast heartily.

However, the jujube trees were still growing slowly. Twenty years had passed since they last bore fruit; now they only blossomed. It was estimated that another twenty or thirty years would be needed before they bore again—and that was only because Cao Kong had used some methods.

The Seven Lions’ merchant guild was also thriving, evident from the rare spiritual materials and precious medicines they regularly sent to Cao Kong and his brother.

This kept the brothers quite busy, continuously experimenting with new elixirs and wines.

Consequently, Cao Xiang’s cultivation steadily improved through both internal absorption and external refinement. His path was clear, and it was expected that within a few years, he would be able to shed the “Lead Flower.”

Cao Kong also frequently entrusted the Seven Lions to inquire along their trade routes about the whereabouts of Gui Water and Ding Fire essences.

His “Five Elements Primordial Essence Grafting Seed Treasure Method” was nearly complete, needing only these two to unify the five elements into a single primordial sword.

The sword’s power would be unfathomable—a supreme treasure for protecting the Dao—and, more importantly, it could be grafted onto other treasures to multiply their power.

During this time, Cao Kong refined much of the dark residue within his soul, feeling that within fifty years he might perfect pure Yang.

At the same time, he began practicing the “Five Qi Returning to the Origin.”

This practice involves gathering the true qi from the five organs into the upper dantian, but it is not so simple—it requires the true qi of the five organs to be concealed within the body’s treasures.

If the body remains still, essence solidifies and water returns to the origin; if the heart is unmoved, the spirit solidifies and fire returns to the origin; if true nature is tranquil, the soul hides and wood returns to the origin; if desires are forgotten, the corporeal soul retreats and metal conceals the origin; and if the four great elements harmonize, the mind settles and earth returns to the origin.

In other words, it requires refining both qi and spirit, merging them into the golden elixir atop the head. If truly attained, one could be called a celestial immortal.

Cao Kong silently recited the essentials of the Five Qi Returning to the Origin: to gather body and mind, restrain the heart from distraction, and prevent emotions from chasing after external things.

Following the “Taiyi Golden Elixir Infinite Root Source Sublime Scripture,” he attempted to still his true nature, then link with the five elements’ Eastern Azure Wood energy from the heavens and earth, concealing his soul within the wood.

Soon, he opened his eyes. Linking to the external Eastern Wood energy was not difficult; he regarded his liver as a small wood palace and guided qi into it.

Thanks to the “Five Palaces Divine Skill,” this felt rather familiar and natural to Cao Kong.

However, concealing the soul within the wood perplexed him. After much pondering without insight, he temporarily set it aside.

Suddenly, faint and ethereal voices drifted to his ears, indistinct and elusive.

“What could this be?” Cao Kong wondered.

Despite searching, he found nothing and gave up.

He then turned to practice the Three Gates Divine Skills.

After a year, except for the “Law of Heaven and Phenomena of Earth,” Cao Kong had mastered the other two gates, able to use them freely.

Among them, the “Thirty-Six Transformations of Heavenly Gang” allowed him to transform into large, heavy objects such as mountains or giant stones, while the “Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends” enabled him to become small and nimble.

Combining the two, Cao Kong had nearly exhausted all transformations of the world. Reaching a minor mastery would make evading the Three Calamities a trivial matter.

He had also thoroughly entered the “Great Escape of the Five Elements,” using it to cultivate the “Five Luminaries Sword” of the Sword Scripture, gaining much, especially in the metal and wood luminaries.

This was because after that day on Azure Dragon Mountain, slashing with what seemed divine assistance, Cao Kong had repeatedly pondered the essence of the sword, gradually approaching the deadly strike of the metal luminary.

As for the wood luminary, it resonated with his attributes, making cultivation twice as effective. If metal represented death and killing, wood represented life and growth, allowing him to gather wood qi daily to nourish spiritual herbs and treasures, accelerating their growth.

Only the “Law of Heaven and Phenomena of Earth” consumed too much energy, and thus remained incomplete.

Possessing such diverse divine skills, Cao Kong felt a restless itch—as if he held the art to slay dragons, yet found no dragons to slay.

…

That night, after the first watch, it was again the ninth day of the month.

Following his usual practice, Cao Kong worshipped the statue of the Heavenly Venerable and entered the Qinghua Changle Realm to cultivate.

To his surprise, the Nine Spirits Primordial Sage was also present.

“Greetings, senior brother,” Cao Kong said upon seeing him and bowed respectfully.

The Nine Spirits Primordial Sage laughed heartily, thinking, “Now this is proper etiquette, unlike that Lion Slave who treats a feather as a command baton.”

Lately, he had often wanted to descend to the mortal realm, but the Lion Slave’s constant watching made him uneasy.

“No need for formalities. I came to speak with you.”

The sage looked at Cao Kong with satisfaction, secretly plotting to find a way to bring Cao Kong to the heavens one day to teach the Lion Slave manners.

Curious, Cao Kong said, “Please, senior brother, speak.”

Without hesitation, the sage smiled, “Actually, it’s good news.”

“In the Thirty-Three Heavens, on the Heaven-Resentful Sky within the Doushuai Palace, the Lord Lao is accustomed to refining medicines with two attendants—one named Golden Horn, the other Silver Horn. They usually take turns assisting him.”

“But recently, for some unknown reason, Lord Lao has only been having Golden Horn tend the furnace, refining medicines for nearly a hundred days straight.”

“So?” Cao Kong asked, puzzled.

The sage chuckled, “So, Golden Horn quietly descended to the mortal realm. Lord Lao, feeling sorry for the boy, wanted to give him a break in the lower world.

“However, Golden Horn brought several treasures with him and is quite naïve by nature. Lord Lao worries the boy might be tricked into wrongdoing by evildoers. Recently, while playing chess with the Heavenly Venerable, they discussed this, and since Golden Horn’s descent was not far from you, the Heavenly Venerable agreed to have you watch over him a bit.

“This is truly good news. Lord Lao is generous; even a bit of his favor slipping through his fingers would be more than enough for you.”

Today, I’ll post two chapters first to organize my thoughts and outline.