I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Zhi Du glanced back at the Western Mountain Divine Palace, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

It wasn't that he was reluctant to leave his position as Minister of the Western Mountain Divine Palace, but rather that he was reluctant to leave the place where he had served for 20,000 years.

He remembered that he was personally promoted to a civil official by the previous Great Emperor Huang Zhou, and then gradually rose to the position of Minister of the Western Mountain Divine Palace based on his abilities.

He met his wife, got married, and had children here. The entire Mount Hua witnessed every major event in his life after he became a celestial official.

Now that he suddenly has to leave, he will naturally feel nostalgic and reluctant.

However, there was no other way, as Fuxi Zhenwang also held the position of Minister of the Western Mountain Divine Palace, so he had to give up this position.

However, Zhuang Yan did not mistreat this veteran official of the Western Mountain Divine Palace. Instead, he bestowed upon him the title of "Marquis of Fengling" and the position of "Divine Lord of Xiankong Prefecture".

Seeing her husband's reluctant expression, Zhi Du's wife couldn't help but laugh and say, "You're someone others address as 'Lord Marquis' now, why are you still so sentimental? It's not like you can't come again."

Hearing his wife's words, Zhi Du withdrew his gaze, sighed softly, and said, "You don't understand."

After saying this, Zhi Du glanced at the group of close followers behind him, then smiled and said, "Let's go, let's go to Xiankong Prefecture to take up our post."

These close followers were his core group, who had served as officials in the Western Mountain Divine Palace for many years. They were highly trustworthy and reliable, and he brought them along to Xiankong Prefecture to assist him.

Just as Zhi Du was heading to Xiankong Prefecture to take up his post, Manjushri Bodhisattva also arrived at the Lishan Immortal Palace.

The Old Mother of Lishan warmly received Manjushri Bodhisattva and instructed her disciples to prepare a banquet in his honor.

However, the Bodhisattva of Documents was not in a good mood at the moment. After drinking a cup of spiritual tea, he explained his purpose.

After learning of Manjushri Bodhisattva's purpose, the Old Mother of Lishan smiled and said, "Bodhisattva, why are you so worried? The Great Emperor of Shenxiao simply wants to take back some power from the Five Sacred Mountains, not kill anyone."

Manjushri Bodhisattva, however, remained frowning and said, "It's impossible for such a thing not to result in death. How could the Holy Mother truly not know?"

The Old Mother of Lishan said, "Even if the Great Emperor of Shenxiao really wants to kill people, he will only kill those who are guilty. What is the Bodhisattva worried about?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva sighed and said, "My disciples have many ties with the Southern Mountain Divine Palace. Even if they themselves are upright in their daily lives, it is hard to guarantee that their children and family members will not commit crimes."

The old woman of Lishan suddenly realized and said, "Is the Bodhisattva afraid that a single rat dropping will spoil the whole pot of porridge?"

“Exactly,” said Manjushri Bodhisattva. “Some things are fine if you don’t investigate them, but once you do, you often find more problems along with them. It’s not that I’m afraid of being implicated by these disciples, but I’m afraid it will damage the fortune of Mount Wutai.”

After hearing this, the Old Mother of Lishan pondered for a moment and then said, "With the esteemed position of the Great Emperor Shenxiao, even if he wanted to rectify the Southern Continent and reclaim power, he would not take direct action. He would definitely test the waters first."

"What does the Holy Mother mean?" Manjushri Bodhisattva asked, looking at the Old Mother of Lishan.

The Old Mother of Lishan smiled slightly and said, "Among your disciples, whose connection is the greatest?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "Then naturally it is the brothers Jia Yan and Jia Yuan. They are both my disciples and confidants of the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain."

Upon hearing this, the Old Mother of Lishan said, "Since that's the case, then I will provide the Jia family with a guarantee, which may save your disciples from disaster."

"Oh?" Manjushri Bodhisattva was slightly pleased and immediately put his palms together and said, "Holy Mother Yuanjun is merciful, this humble monk is deeply grateful."

After saying this, Manjushri Bodhisattva asked again, "How will the Holy Mother Yuanjun provide this guarantee?"

The Old Mother of Lishan stood up with a smile and said to Manjushri Bodhisattva, "Bodhisattva, please come with me to the Great Wilderness Mountain."

Manjushri Bodhisattva rose and replied, "Please."

An hour later, two wisps of blue clouds drifted to the Wuji Cliff of the Great Wilderness Mountain in the Southern Continent and landed directly on Qinggeng Peak.

The clouds dispersed, revealing a lame Taoist priest and a bald-headed monk.

The two arrived at Qinggeng Peak, where the Taoist priest said, "There is a divine stone here. It is one of the five-colored stones used by the goddess Nuwa to mend the sky. Since the sky was mended before it was used, it fell to this peak and has been idle for hundreds of millions of years."

“As the sun and moon pass and yin and yang change, over these millions of years it has developed intelligence, absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and has become a force to be reckoned with.” As the lame Taoist spoke, he flicked his whisk, and a moment later a patch of colorless immortal light rose from Qinggeng Peak, which was then caught in the lame Taoist’s hand.

The five-colored fairy light dissipated, transforming into a magical jade. The lame Taoist priest presented the magical jade to the bald-headed monk.

The bald-headed monk looked closely and saw that the magical jade was shimmering with divine spirit, its five colors condensing into rosy clouds, and it contained a surging and pure power of a magnificent divine treasure.

After examining it, the bald-headed monk exclaimed in admiration, "What a treasure! I never imagined that such a precious jade was hidden here."

The lame Taoist priest put the magical jade into his sleeve, then said with a smile, "This item is enough to protect the Jia family!"

The bald-headed monk smiled and nodded. Then the two of them once again rode on a celestial cloud, and in a moment they flew into the blue sky, arriving above the Rongxiang Marquis's residence.

“This family is destined to have a son who will soon be reborn. In his previous life, he was the Divine Attendant of the Crimson Palace, which can be considered a deity. It would be best to give him this Spirit Jade to accompany him,” said the lame Taoist.

The bald-headed monk smiled and nodded, saying, "It's all up to you, fellow Daoist."

So the lame Taoist priest tossed the jade pendant into his hand, and it immediately transformed into a beam of light and flew into the Rongxiang Marquis's mansion. Afterwards, the lame Taoist priest and the bald-headed monk descended from the clouds and fell into the mortal world.

At the same time, Fairy Jinghuan had already arranged the reincarnation of the Twelve Beauties. After completing the arrangements, she went directly to Buzhou Mountain to report to Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan granted Fairy Jinghuan's request to return to the Land of Illusion.

A day later, Zhuang Yan left Buzhou Mountain and traveled all the way to the territory of the Great Tang Kingdom in the Southern Continent, where he transformed into a wandering immortal and arrived in Chang'an City.

The city of Chang'an is now more prosperous than it was decades ago. Back then, although prosperity was beginning to show, everything was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt.

But now Chang'an is a city of vibrant flowers and lush greenery, bustling with people and carriages.

Zhuang Yan was walking on Zhuque Street when he suddenly saw two very familiar-looking people eating at a food stall ahead of him.

Zhuang Yan smiled slightly, then walked over and sat down at the table where the two people were.

"What are you eating?" Zhuang Yan asked, seeing that the two were enjoying their meal.

The man on the left didn't even look up, but casually replied, "Ginseng soup noodles, the ginseng soup noodles made by this owner are absolutely delicious!"

Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "I believe that. After all, how could a food stall that attracts two divine generals not taste good?"

Upon hearing this, the two people who were slurping noodles suddenly jumped up in surprise, and then abruptly raised their heads.

The moment the two saw Zhuang Yan, they didn't even bother to swallow the noodles in their mouths and quickly got up to kneel down.

Zhuang Yan quickly reached out to stop him, saying, "This is the mortal realm; do not perform such a grand ceremony."

Upon hearing this, the two immediately changed their formal greeting to a simple bow with clasped hands. These two were none other than Zhang Xianzong and Li Zhicheng, the divine generals of Zhechong Prefecture who had been sent by the Fire Spirit True Immortal to inspect the Southern Continent.

After bowing, Li Zhicheng hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty..."

Seeing that he didn't know how to address him, Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "This is the human world, you can call me whatever you like."

Li Zhicheng's mind raced, and he quickly found a suitable way to address him: "Sir, would you like a bowl of this ginseng soup noodles? It's delicious, and it's on me!"

Zhuang Yan laughed and nodded, saying, "Since you're treating, then have a bowl."

So Li Zhicheng quickly ordered another bowl of ginseng soup noodles from the stall owner, who responded and soon brought over another bowl of ginseng soup noodles.

Zhang Xianzong quickly took the noodles and carefully presented them to Zhuang Yan. "Master, these noodles smell delicious. Please eat them while they're hot." He then handed over the chopsticks.

Zhuang Yan nodded, reached out and took the chopsticks, and then smelled a very rich fragrance of spiritual herbs.

"Hmm?" Zhuang Yan was somewhat surprised, while Zhang Xianzong and Li Zicheng beside him changed their expressions and hurriedly asked, "Master, is something wrong?"

Looking at the steaming, fragrant ginseng soup noodles in front of him, Zhuang Yan suddenly said, "This ginseng soup contains spiritual energy."

Zhang Xianzong breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's why this noodle is so delicious."

Zhuang Yan smiled upon hearing this, then picked up a mouthful of noodles and took a bite. The noodles were indeed fragrant and had an unforgettable aftertaste, but Zhuang Yan did not show much joy on his face.

"Master, is this noodle dish not to your liking?" Li Zhicheng asked hurriedly.

Zhuang Yan put down his chopsticks and said, "This ginseng soup is full of spiritual energy, and it uses ginseng that is at least three thousand years old."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzong and Li Zhicheng finally realized what was happening. They immediately looked at the stall owner, but he was clearly just an ordinary person, without any aura of a cultivator.

For an ordinary person to find a ginseng root that is over three thousand years old is considered extremely lucky, but this stall owner has been selling ginseng soup noodles here year after year. Where does he get so many top-quality ginseng roots?
Thinking of this, the two immediately looked at Zhuang Yan, and Li Zhicheng said, "Master, there's something strange about this stall owner."

Zhuang Yan said calmly, "Eat your noodles first. After he closes up shop this afternoon, follow him and see what's going on."

The two men bowed and accepted the order, then sat down quietly to eat their noodles without saying anything more.

After finishing their noodles, the two followed Zhuang Yan to a tea stall for tea, but actually they were keeping an eye on the noodle stall.

As dusk fell, half an hour before the city gates of Chang'an closed, the stall owner began to pack up and prepare to leave the city.

At this moment, Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong immediately followed, and Zhuang Yan also got up and left the tea stall, preparing to stroll through the night market of Chang'an City.

As for Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong, the two followed the noodle stall owner out of Chang'an City, walked along the official road for more than ten miles, and then turned into a mountain forest.

The two continued to follow, and after walking for another half an hour along the mountain path, they finally arrived outside a cave.

The stall owner knelt down outside the cave, lit three sticks of incense, stuck them in the ground, and kowtowed three times towards the cave.

A moment later, a divine light shone, and then the stone door of the cave burst open with a roar, instantly releasing a chilling divine power from within. (End of Chapter)