I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Chapter 158 Encountering the Quicksand River

It was a clear day with peach blossoms all over the Danchi Ridge. Zhuang Yan brought the two brothers Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ back to the Lingtai Divine Palace in Danchi Ridge.

Those ordinary peach trees back then have now become spiritual species, and every year 30% of the spiritual peaches are presented to the Jade Emperor.

Whenever the Fire Spirit Immortal has free time, he will take care of the peach trees in the peach forest, doing the same thing day after day for hundreds of years.

When Zhuang Yan and the other two landed in the peach forest, the True Immortal Huo Ling was wearing a moon-white robe with cloud patterns of peach blossoms, and his ethereal figure appeared and disappeared in the peach forest.

Hu Lailai saw this scene and laughed: "Aunt Huo Ling still loves her peach tree so much."

Hu Ququ said: "What do you know? This is called self-cultivation. These peach trees are what Aunt Huo Ling uses to cultivate her body and mind. They are the sustenance of her Tao heart."

"You're the only one who understands, right? And you also want to place your spiritual faith on something. Aunt Huo Ling's Buddhist teachings are so profound, is she still in need of that?" Hu Lailai was very disdainful of Hu Ququ's remarks.

At this time, the Fire Spirit Immortal heard someone talking here and poked his head out from a bunch of peach blossoms. She had "cloudy hair like black, dark eyebrows, and a beautiful face reflecting the bright moon."

Hu Lailai sighed: "Aunt Huo Ling is getting more and more beautiful, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, young face and teeth, pure and elegant, just like the Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South China Sea."

Hu Ququ said: "I agree with you this time."

As they were talking, the Fire Spirit Immortal had already arrived before them. Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Hu Lailai (Hu Ququ) greets Aunt Fire Spirit."

The Fire Spirit Immortal looked at the two guys with tiger heads and human bodies in front of him and said with a smile, "You two have been down the mountain for so many years, but have you made any progress?"

Hu Lailai said: "My strength has increased."

Hu Ququ said: "My body has become stronger."

The Fire Spirit Immortal smiled slightly and glanced at the two of them. He saw that they had strong energy and abundant blood, and were indeed much stronger than before they came down the mountain.

However, the Fire Spirit Immortal smiled at the two and said, "After so many years, why are you still like this? Come on, change your appearance and show me."

"Aunt, you are so ugly. It's better like this."

"Yes, a tiger head is so majestic. Look at my sharp tiger teeth, soft and shiny tiger hair, majestic patterns, and domineering tiger ears. Those weak and powerless mortal men are really too ugly."

Fire Spirit Immortal laughed and said, "You two boys are exactly like your tiger father."

After saying that, Fire Spirit True Immortal came forward, bowed slightly to Zhuang Yan and said, "True Lord."

Zhuang Yan glanced at the Fire Spirit Immortal and said with a smile, "The Dao aura between your eyebrows is full, like a sign of the perfection of the Dao fruit of the Earthly Immortal?"

The Fire Spirit Immortal nodded and said, "Your Excellency has a keen eye. Recently, my heart has become clearer and I have had many sudden realizations. I am only one step away from the realm of the Mysterious Immortal."

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "Okay, then you don't need to personally manage the affairs during this period. Practice hard so that you can achieve the fruit of Xuanxian Dao as soon as possible."

At this point, Zhuang Yan pointed at Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ and said, "These two little guys will help you from now on."

"Oh?" Fire Spirit Immortal turned around and looked at Hu Lailai and Hu Qu, then smiled and said, "Okay, but I don't have any salary to give you guys, okay?"

Hu Lai said: "It doesn't matter whether there is a salary or not, as long as there is food to eat."

Hu Ququ pointed at the peach forest around him and said with a smile: "Aunt Huo Ling, you can use these peaches to pay your salary."

"That's a good idea." Huo Ling Zhenxian was amused by Hu Ququ's words, and immediately nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, then you will work under me from now on, and I will give you spiritual peaches as salary."

"It's settled then." Hu Ququ turned around and looked at Hu Lai, then said with a smile on his face.

At this time, Hu Lailai asked, "Aunt Huo Ling, where is my mother?"

Hu Ququ also said: "Yeah, why can't I see my mother, where did she go?"

Fire Spirit Immortal smiled and said, "Your mother and Daoist friend Hanzhi went down the mountain to travel. They have been gone for more than ten years."

The two brothers nodded. At this time, the Fire Spirit Immortal said, "Go and clean up your respective abodes. They have not been lived in for hundreds of years. I guess they are full of dust."

"Okay." The two brothers responded, then turned around and walked towards the mansion.

At this time, the True Immortal Huo Ling looked at Zhuang Yan and said, "True Lord, are you here to send these two little guys back this time?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Yes, but I also came back specially to stay for a few days. After all, the mountains are quieter."

Fire Spirit Immortal nodded and said, "Please take a seat, Master. I will go make some tea."

Zhuang Yan walked up to the stone table in the peach forest and sat down. At this time, the True Immortal Huo Ling came back carrying a teapot and a teacup.

"True Lord, this is the peach blossom tea that I made myself, please try it." As he said this, True Immortal Huo Ling brewed a cup of tea and handed it to Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan smiled and picked up the teacup and took a sip. He smelled a burst of fragrance at the entrance, like the breath of newness in early March.

After the tea enters the stomach, waves of sweet peach fragrance begin to float between the lips and teeth, just like eating a plump and delicious peach.

"Good tea." Zhuang Yan couldn't help but praise: "Good tea, make more. Such good tea will be useful in the future."

Fire Spirit Immortal nodded and said, "Okay." Then he sat down aside.

After sitting down, Fire Spirit Immortal asked Zhuang Yan again, "Since you are back, there should be nothing wrong in Yuji Mansion, right?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "They are just small matters. The Demon Subduing Envoy Liu Yan can handle them."

Besides, now that Great Sage Huangfeng has joined Yuji Mansion, if there are any demons causing trouble in the lower world, Great Sage Huangfeng will be able to deal with them.

Then Zhuang Yan asked the Fire Spirit Immortal: "Wait for the Tiger Vanguard and the Snake Vanguard to come back, and train them well to see who can take your place."

When the Fire Spirit Immortal heard this, he immediately looked up at Zhuang Yan and asked, "Does the Immortal Lord want me to take up a position at the Jade Extreme Mansion?"

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "Yes, I will keep the position of Junior Official of Yuji Zhenjun Mansion for you."

Fire Spirit True Immortal immediately stood up and said, "Thank you for your kindness, True Lord."

"Okay, you've followed me for so many years, so stop the empty formalities." Zhuang Yan waved his hand and said.

Fire Spirit Immortal smiled and said, "Yes, Master."

Time flies, through summer and autumn.

After crossing the Huangfeng Ridge, Tang Seng and his disciples walked westward for several months. As they were walking, they suddenly heard the sound of crashing waves in front of them.

Tang Seng looked up from his horse and saw a big river winding in front of him. The water was dangerous and the waves were turbulent. Seeing this, Tang Seng was shocked and said, "My disciples, look at the big river in front of us. The water is turbulent, but there are no boats. How can we cross it?"

Zhu Bajie stepped forward to take a look and was also surprised and said, "It really is a raging wave, with no boats to cross it."

Sun Wukong flew up, put his hands on the awning and looked around. He saw that the river was a hundred feet wide, with no end in sight. So he flew down and said with a worried look on his face, "It's so difficult! Master, this river is hundreds of feet wide, with no end in sight, and it flows for at least 800 miles. If it were me, I could just turn around and fly across it, but Master, it will be difficult for you to cross this river in a million years."

Hearing this, Tang Seng's face was filled with worry, but Zhu Bajie suddenly had an idea and said, "Brother Monkey, why don't you just carry Master on your back and fly over there?"

As soon as these words came out, Sun Wukong waved his hands and said, "You idiot, Master is the one who is seeking scriptures. He has to walk every step of the way to the West by himself. It doesn't count if we carry him on our backs."

"Then what should we do?" Zhu Bajie looked at the river in front of him and said, "Master is a mortal. I am afraid it will be difficult for him to cross this river in his ten lifetimes!"

At this time, the little white dragon on the side said: "Master, big brother, look, there is a monument in front."

Hearing this, Tang Seng stood up from his horse and looked, and sure enough, he saw a stone tablet by the river.

Tang Seng immediately dismounted and took his disciples to check the inscription. On the stone tablet were three large characters "Liusha River" and a few lines of smaller characters beside them. Tang Seng read softly, "Eight hundred realms of quicksand, three thousand deep waters. Goose feathers cannot float, reed flowers will sink to the bottom."

As he was watching, he suddenly heard the neigh of a purple dragon horse from behind. The next moment, the quicksand river suddenly surged and a goblin emerged from the surging waves.

The monster had a blue face, fangs, red beard and hair, and was holding a magic staff. As soon as it came out of the water, it pounced towards Tang Seng and his companions.

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong immediately picked up Tang Seng and flew him to the shore. Little White Dragon and Zhu Bajie rushed forward, one holding a sword and the other holding a rake, and started fighting with the monster.

It was a fierce fight. The Third Prince of Jade Dragon held a magic sword in his hand, and his body was covered with dragon light. The white jade sword energy passed through the air, and the dragon energy was pressing down. The sword hit the treasure staff, shining with pure light, and bursting with flames.

Zhu Bajie held the spiked rake in his hand and swung it vigorously, frightening the monster. He stepped on the Gang Step, with a murderous light covering his body. The spiked rake flashed with cold light and he looked as powerful as an angry King Kong.

The monster was overwhelmed and panicked by the joint attack of Xiaobailong and Zhu Bajie. After only seventy or eighty rounds, it was beaten back step by step.

Just as Xiao Bailong and Zhu Bajie were about to capture the monster, the monster stomped his foot unexpectedly. With a "splash" sound, two dim yellow lights suddenly rose from the quicksand river and flew directly in front of Xiao Bailong and Zhu Bajie and dispersed.

Xiaobailong and Zhu Bajie plunged into the yellow water curtain. The next moment, they stopped suddenly, covered their eyes and backed away.

The monster sneered and attacked Xiaobailong and Zhu Bajie with his magic staff in hand.

"Monster, don't hurt people!" A clear shout was heard at this time, and then an iron rod came in front of his eyes, and with a "bang" it hit the demon-subduing staff.

The monster screamed, his hands went numb and the palm of his hand was in great pain. Although he managed to hold on to the magic staff, the terrifying force still knocked him flying. After flying out, the monster quickly jumped back into the quicksand river.

Sun Wukong took a look inside the Quicksand River, then turned around and walked towards Little White Dragon and Zhu Bajie, only to see that the two were sitting on the ground rubbing their eyes and crying out "ouch".

Sun Wukong stepped forward and pulled their hands apart, his expression suddenly changed, and he saw that Xiao Bailong and Zhu Bajie's eyes were filled with fine yellow sand.

At this moment, their eyes were red and their pupils were bloodshot. The sand in their eyes kept rubbing more and more, and their eye sockets were bleeding.

Sun Wukong helped the two men to the shore, and Tang Seng came forward and asked, "Wukong, how are they?"

Sun Wukong said, "Master, my two junior brothers have been bewitched by the monster and their eyes are useless."

When Tang Seng heard this, he sighed and said with a sad face: "Not only is there such a big river blocking our way, but there are also such powerful monsters in the river. Sigh."

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Master, don't worry. As the saying goes, there is always a way out. There is always a way to cross the river."

Tang Seng nodded, and then Sun Wukong stood up and said, "Master, I will go meet the monster."

"Okay, be careful." Tang Seng said.

Sun Wukong responded and flew up, coming to the top of the Quicksand River. He made a water-avoiding gesture with his left hand and flew into the turbulent Quicksand River.

However, as soon as Sun Wukong entered the river, he felt something was very wrong. The water and sand in the quicksand river were moving, and in an instant they were pouring towards him.

In an instant, Sun Wukong was trapped in heavy quicksand, making it extremely inconvenient for him to move. At the same time, Sun Wukong also felt that countless quicksands were penetrating into his body through his ears, nose, eyes, mouth and all the pores of his body, making him feel very uncomfortable.

At this moment a loud shout was heard, and Sun Wukong knew that the monster was coming, so he quickly opened his eyes and looked.

The moment he opened his eyes, countless quicksands poured into them. Sun Wukong quickly closed his eyes. The golden cudgel in his hand was buried by the quicksand, and before he could raise it, the monster's magic staff hit Sun Wukong on the head.

With a bang, the magic staff was directly blown away by Sun Wukong's head. Sun Wukong immediately clenched the golden cudgel with both hands, and then with a thought, the golden cudgel immediately became infinitely longer and quickly brought Sun Wukong out of the Quicksand River.

Sun Wukong collected his golden cudgel based on his memory and flew back to the shore. As soon as he landed, he tilted his head to the left. With a "swish" sound, countless yellow sand flowed out of Sun Wukong's left ear.

When Sun Wukong had poured out all the sand from his left and right ears, two small piles of sand appeared on the ground.

Then Sun Wukong slowly opened his eyes, and instantly streams of yellow sand began to flow out of his eyes. Although it was extremely uncomfortable, Sun Wukong did not rub his eyes. Instead, he endured it and waited for the yellow sand in his eyes to flow out. Finally, he used his Fiery Eyes to wipe away all the sand stuck to his eyes.

Fortunately, these are just ordinary quicksand. If they were the same as the wind from the Yellow Wind Monster, we would definitely suffer a lot this time.

After Sun Wukong's eyes recovered, he immediately flew forward. At this time, Xiao Bailong and Zhu Bajie were still rubbing their eyes in pain. Seeing this, Sun Wukong said, "You two idiots, why are you still rubbing your eyes? Stop rubbing them, let the sand inside flow out, and then use your magic power to clear the sand stuck on your eyes."

After hearing this, Xiaobailong and Zhu Bajie immediately did as they were told, and soon all the sand in their eyes was removed.

But because they had rubbed their eyes for too long, they were now red, swollen, and bleeding, and they were burning with pain.

Xiao Bailong then asked Sun Wukong, "Big Brother, has the monster been captured?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "The monster hid under the river and refused to come out. I just wanted to enter the river to catch him, but I didn't expect that he could control the sand. It seems that it is impossible to deal with this monster in the water. We must find a way to trick him to come ashore."

After saying that, Sun Wukong turned around and flew to the shore, shouting into the Quicksand River, "Monster, come out."

After shouting three times, the monster really surfaced. Sun Wukong immediately said, "Monster, do you dare to come ashore and fight Grandpa Sun for a hundred rounds?"

The monster said, "I know you are the Monkey King who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and I know how powerful you are. You want to trick me into coming ashore? Humph, you have the wrong idea. I won't go up. If you have the guts, come down and fight me for three hundred rounds."

Sun Wukong said, "Come up."

The monster said, "Come down."

"Are you afraid to come up?"

"Are you afraid to come down?"

The two of them argued with each other for a long time. Finally, Sun Wukong became impatient and angrily raised his golden cudgel and hit the monster on the head.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the monster dived directly into the water. Sun Wukong hit the water with his stick, splashing up a burst of quicksand and waves. When the water surface calmed down, the monster refused to come out.

(End of this chapter)