I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Jia Yuan donned his armor and the robes of a celestial official, and summoned his son, Jia Daihua, to his presence.

"The Minister's summons must be for military matters. After I leave, I'll leave the affairs of the household to you," Jia Yuan said.

Jia Daihua bowed and said, "Father, please rest assured, I will definitely guard the family well."

"Hmm." Jia Yuan nodded, then walked out of the house. His subordinates outside were already dressed and bowed to him, saying, "Lord."

Jia Yuan said, "Let's go."

"Yes." The generals acknowledged the order and then followed Jia Yuan out of Ningxiang Prefecture.

Outside the mansion, a fine horse called the Northern Wind Steed, a spirit horse from Beiju Luzhou, was prepared. It was entirely bluish-black, and when it ran, its four hooves were like feathers, and its feet seemed to fly, so it could ride the wind.

These spirit horses are not cheap; each one costs a thousand purple coins and requires special spirit herbs to feed them, making them equally expensive.

Jia Yuan mounted his horse and asked the servant beside him, "Has Marquis Rongxiang set off yet?"

The servant quickly replied, "Your Majesty, Marquis Rongxiang is still arranging family affairs and is deliberately waiting a while."

Jia Yuan nodded, then said, "Then let's go to the Rongxiang Marquis's residence and wait for him to set off together."

"Yes." The officers all accepted the order in unison, and then Jia Yuan led them all the way to the Rongxiang Marquis's residence.

As soon as the group arrived outside the Rongxiang Marquis's residence, they saw Marquis Rongxiang, Jia Yan, leading them out of the gate.

Jia Yuan stepped forward, glanced at Jia Yan and the people beside him, and then asked with some surprise, "Dai Shan? You're going too?"

It turned out that standing next to Jia Yan was a young man also fully armored, who was none other than Jia Yan's eldest son, Jia Daishan.

Jia Daishan bowed to Jia Yuan and said, "As the saying goes, 'Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons go to war together.' I will go with my uncle and father."

Jia Yuan said, "Your cultivation level is still low, and you have never experienced killing or fighting. You should not go."

Jia Daishan quickly replied, "Uncle, there's no need to worry. I've already discussed it with Father."

Jia Yuan turned to look at Jia Yan, who said helplessly, "Let him go if he wants to. It's good for him to get some experience."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yuan stopped trying to dissuade him and nodded, saying, "Alright then."

So the group bid farewell to their families, mounted their spirit horses, and rode away on the wind.

In the Chongde Hall of the Nanyue Divine Palace, Ye Meicang, the Minister of Nanyue, ordered someone to deliver the imperial edict to Jia Yuan and Jia Yan, saying, "There is news about the old ginseng king that escaped from the Huoshan Medicinal Garden years ago. It is hiding in Chang'an Prefecture. You must immediately lead the divine generals to capture it."

"Oh? The King of Ginseng?" Jia Yuan and Jia Yan exchanged a glance, then Jia Yan said, "Minister, it's just one King of Ginseng, is there any need to make such a fuss?"

Ye Meicang said, "There's no need to make a big fuss over just one old ginseng king, but this matter concerns the Huoshan medicinal garden, so we can't afford any mistakes."

Jia Yuan immediately understood and bowed, saying, "This humble official understands."

Ye Meicang asked, "Is a thousand divine generals enough for you?"

“That’s enough,” Jia Yuan said. “Five hundred is enough.”

Ye Meicang said, "We still can't be careless. Take this edict and mobilize the troops. Remember, do it quickly and don't delay. After capturing the old ginseng king, transfer him directly to the Huoshan Divine Palace. There's no need to escort him back to Nanyue."

Jia Yuan and Jia Yan accepted the imperial edict and bowed, saying, "We obey your command."

Jia Yuan and Jia Yan bid farewell and departed. After selecting a thousand divine generals, they headed straight for Chang'an Prefecture.

A few days later, the old ginseng king in the Seven Gorges suddenly felt restless and uneasy, which immediately alerted him.
Those who cultivate themselves are most sensitive; if they suddenly feel uneasy about their spiritual path, then something bad is definitely going to happen.

The old ginseng king immediately got up and left the cave, then flew directly into the Zhongnan Mountains on a cloud.

Li Zhicheng, who was on the surveillance, saw that the old ginseng king had gone to Zhongnan Mountain, and quickly woke up Zhang Xianzong, who was sleeping nearby.

"What's going on?" Zhang Xianzong asked hurriedly.

Li Zhicheng said, "Old Ginseng King has gone to Zhongnan Mountain."

"Zhongnan Mountain?" Zhang Xianzong was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Let's go then. Who doesn't go there two or three times a day?"

Li Zhicheng said, "But what is he doing in Zhongnan Mountain? Should I follow him and see?"

“No,” Zhang Xianzong said. “There are many experts in Zhongnan Mountain. If there are friends of the Old Ginseng King there, wouldn’t you expose yourself if you went? You should wait here.”

Li Zhicheng thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Now, the old ginseng king entered Zhongnan Mountain and came to the ancient Louguan Temple. Because he had been offering ginseng treasures to the temple, he had a good reputation. As soon as he arrived, a Taoist priest greeted him and he met Yun Zhongzi, the head of the Louguan Taoist sect.

"You mean you were restless and uneasy just now?" Yun Zhongzi asked as he served hot tea to the old ginseng king.

The old ginseng king nodded and said, "I would be most grateful if the great immortal in the clouds could enlighten me."

Yun Zhongzi nodded slightly, then sat up straight, closed his eyes slightly, and began to calculate with his hands.

The old ginseng king held the teacup with both hands, remaining motionless and silent, not daring to disturb Yun Zhongzi in the slightest.

After an unknown amount of time, a gentle breeze stirred Yun Zhongzi's Taoist robe, and then Yun Zhongzi opened his eyes and put away his hand seals.

“You’re in trouble,” Yun Zhongzi said.

Upon hearing this, the old ginseng king was greatly alarmed and immediately rose to his feet, kneeling on the ground and saying, "I beg the great immortal to enlighten me."

Yun Zhongzi said, "Your whereabouts have been exposed. The Southern Mountain Divine Palace has sent Marquis Ningxiang and Marquis Rongxiang with a thousand divine generals to capture you. They are on their way right now."

The old ginseng king froze instantly, his face turning deathly pale. After a long moment of stunned silence, he finally came to his senses and hurriedly bowed to Yun Zhongzi, saying, "I beg the great immortal to teach me a way to avoid disaster. I will be eternally grateful!"

Yun Zhongzi stood up and helped the old ginseng king up, saying, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need for this. You often offer precious ginseng to the temple. Now that you're in trouble, I certainly won't sit idly by."

"Thank you so much, Great Immortal! Thank you so much, Great Immortal!" The old ginseng king bowed repeatedly.

Then Yun Zhongzi issued a talisman and gave it to the old ginseng king, saying, "Take this talisman to the Lingtai Dao Palace and see the Great Tang National Preceptor, Master Li. He will have his own explanation."

The old ginseng king hurriedly accepted the talisman, expressed his gratitude profusely, and then took his leave.

After descending the mountain, the old ginseng king didn't even return to his cave in the Seven Gorges Stream; he went directly to the Lingtai Taoist Palace.

Upon arriving at the Taoist temple, the guest master Yan Junzhi immediately stepped forward and asked, "Is this old gentleman here to offer incense?"

Looking at the young Taoist priest before him, the old ginseng king quickly raised the talisman in his hand and said, "I have come to pay my respects to Master Li. This is a talisman from the head of the Ancient Lou Temple, the Great Immortal Yun Zhongzi."

Because Lingtai Daogong is Zhuang Yan's Daoist temple and not a Daoist temple open to the public, one needs to be received by a Daoist priest to enter Lingtai Daogong to offer incense.

Upon hearing what the old ginseng king said, Yan Junzhi immediately replied, "Please wait a moment, sir, I will go and inform him right away."

Not long after, Yan Junzhi returned and brought the old ginseng king into the Lingtai Dao Palace, where Tieguai Li received the old ginseng king in the Jianfang Hall.

The old ginseng king greeted him with a deep bow, and Tieguai Li quickly stepped forward to help him up, saying, "Why do you bow so deeply, fellow Daoist?" "I beg the True Man to save my life!" the old ginseng king said, handing the talisman in his hand to Tieguai Li.

Tieguai Li first asked the old ginseng king to sit down, and then took the talisman and began to read it.

After Tieguai Li finished reading the talisman, a burst of true fire immediately rose in his hand, instantly burning the talisman to ashes.

"This!" The old ginseng king was so shocked by what he saw that he stood up.

Tieguai Li smiled slightly and said, "Fellow Daoist, do not be alarmed. I understand what Fellow Daoist Yun Zhongzi means. Please come with me."

Hearing this, the old ginseng king was slightly relieved, and then got up and followed Tieguai Li out of the Jianfang Hall.

Then Tieguai Li led the old ginseng king all the way to the 'Dao Pavilion'. When the old ginseng king saw the huge 'Dao-bearing stele' inside the Dao Pavilion, a look of doubt immediately appeared on his face.

"May I ask, Master, what is this?" the old ginseng king asked Tieguai Li.

Tieguai Li laughed and said, "This is the 'Dao-carrying Stele,' erected by the Great Emperor Shenxiao of the Lingtai Cave. It contains the great power of the Daoist teachings of the Great Emperor Shenxiao and Laozi, which people can observe and comprehend."

At this point, Tieguai Li pointed to the prayer mat in front of him and said, "Sit down, calm your mind, eliminate distractions, and focus your gaze on this stele. You will naturally gain some insight."

The old ginseng king suddenly realized and said, "Does the Great Immortal Yun Zhongzi mean for me to comprehend the Daoist teachings of the Divine Firmament Emperor or the Supreme Lord Laozi here, so that I can use them to protect my life?"

Tieguai Li nodded and smiled, "That's right." With that, Tieguai Li waved his whisk and said, "Fellow Daoist, please stay and contemplate the Divine Stele. I'll head out now."

The old ginseng king quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Master."

Tieguai Li turned and left the Dao Pavilion. Old Ginseng King immediately stepped forward, sat down cross-legged in front of the Dao-bearing stele, and his eyes immediately fell on the stele.

A moment later, the old ginseng king's gaze became deep and unfocused, and the character "Dao" suddenly appeared on the Dao Stele, deeply imprinted into the old ginseng king's soul.

After an unknown amount of time, the old ginseng king gradually regained his senses, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and an expression of excitement appeared on his face.

A moment later, the old ginseng king stood up, took three steps back, knelt down in front of the Dao-carrying stele, kowtowed three times, and then got up and walked out of the Dao Pavilion.

Seeing the old ginseng king emerge, Tieguai Li laughed and asked, "Have you grasped any profound methods?"

The old ginseng king's face was flushed, and the panic and worry he had shown earlier were gone. "I've figured it out! I've figured it out!" the old ginseng king said, and then bowed to Tieguai Li and said, "Thank you, Master Li."

Tieguai Li laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need for such formalities."

Then the old ginseng king took out a brocade jade bag and presented it to Tieguai Li, saying, "To be honest, I am a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng king. These are the thousand-year-old ginseng treasures I have accumulated over the years. I am offering them to you to repay your kindness in understanding the Dharma."

Tieguai Li chuckled as he accepted the brocade bag, saying, "Then this humble Taoist will accept it."

The old ginseng king quickly replied, "That's only right."

Afterwards, the old ginseng king bid farewell to Tieguai Li and left Lingtai Dao Palace, heading back to Qixiajian.

But as soon as he arrived outside the Seven Gorges, he saw that the mountains and plains were filled with divine generals in full armor, who were searching everywhere and would soon find the old ginseng king's cave.

The old ginseng king's expression changed, and he hurriedly pressed down on the cloud and descended, landing on a mountaintop.

But as soon as he landed, he heard two astonished exclamations from the side. The old ginseng king hurriedly turned his head to look, and then he was stunned.

Soon, the old ginseng king exclaimed in surprise, "Two divine generals? What are you doing here?"

Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong looked at the old ginseng king with embarrassed expressions, but quickly recovered. Zhang Xianzong said, "We saw a divine general from the Southern Mountain Divine Palace appear here, so we came to check the situation."

Li Zhicheng said, "Yes, we are here to inspect the Southern Continent on the orders of the Fire Spirit Lord, the Grand Master of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm. Of course we have to come and see such a big commotion."

"I see." The old ginseng king breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that these two divine generals had not revealed his whereabouts to the Southern Mountain Divine Palace.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. If they wanted to arrest me, they would have done so directly. Why bother calling the people from the Southern Mountain Divine Palace?
The three then stood on the hilltop and looked towards the Seven Gorges. The old ginseng king said with a serious expression, "It looks like there are quite a few people, no less than a thousand."

Zhang Xianzong said, "There are a lot of people, but it doesn't matter, they're not here to arrest us anyway."

The old ginseng king was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, "They've come to arrest me."

Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong immediately looked at the old ginseng king, who said, "That day, the little immortal seemed to have said that I was a wanted criminal from the Southern Mountain Divine Palace. Don't you two divine generals remember?"

Li Zhicheng said, "Then why aren't you running away? Aren't you afraid we'll capture you and take credit for it?"

The old ginseng king laughed and said, "If the two divine generals wanted to capture me, they would not have released me that day. Besides, no matter how many divine generals there are in the Southern Mountain Divine Palace, I am not afraid today."

"Oh?" Zhang Xianzong raised an eyebrow and said, "Why are you so arrogant?"

The old ginseng king said, "My two divine generals, I have just returned from the Lingtai Dao Palace. I have comprehended a wonderful method from the 'Dao-bearing Stele' in the Lingtai Dao Palace."

“Lingtai Dao Palace.” Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong exchanged a glance. Wasn’t the Divine Firmament Emperor right there? Could this be His Majesty’s scheme?

So Li Zhicheng asked, "What wonderful method?"

The old ginseng king was about to introduce it, but he quickly realized what was going on and said with a smile, "This method is called 'Three Steps of Qi,' but I can't tell you two divine generals anything more in detail."

As they were talking, the divine generals from the Seven Gorges had already broken into the old ginseng king's cave. Jia Yan immediately led the divine generals in to search for it, but they returned empty-handed.

Just then, Jia Yuan in the sky spotted the three people and immediately shouted, "Who's over there?"

As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of divine generals from the Southern Mountain Divine Palace surrounded them menacingly.

Soon, Jia Yuan led five or six hundred divine generals to the top of the mountain and surrounded Li Zhicheng, Zhang Xianzong, and the old ginseng king.

Upon seeing the old ginseng king, Jia Yuan immediately shouted, "Old ginseng king, I am Jia Yuan, the Marquis of Ningxiang. I have come here to arrest you by order of the Minister of the Southern Mountain Divine Palace. If you know what's good for you, do not resist. Obey and be bound to avoid physical suffering."

Old Ginseng King snorted coldly and pointed at Jia Yuan, saying, "What a lapdog! But you think you can capture me? You're dreaming!"

Jia Yuan's gaze turned cold. "Since you refuse to listen to reason and are forced to drink the penalty cup, then don't blame me for being ruthless."

Having said that, Jia Yuan waved his hand and said, "Take down this fugitive for me."

The more than five hundred divine generals immediately rushed forward with their weapons, and the old ginseng king also immediately activated his magic power, preparing to use the 'Three Steps Gang' technique.

But at this critical moment, Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

Jia Yuan frowned, but when he saw the armor on Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong, he immediately raised his hand to stop the divine generals and asked, "Who are you? How come you have the armor of my Heavenly Court's divine generals?"

Li Zhicheng and Zhang Xianzong simultaneously took out the 'Immortal Official Jade Certificate' and showed it to Jia Yuan, saying, "I am Li Zhicheng (Zhang Xianzong), the Divine General of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm. I have come to the Southern Continent to inspect the gods of all places by order of the Fire Spirit Lord, the Grand Master of Human Fate."

"The Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm?!" Jia Yuan's expression changed. At this moment, Jia Yan and Jia Daishan also surrounded them with their divine generals. When Jia Daishan saw the old ginseng king, he was about to make a move, but Jia Yuan hurriedly reached out and shouted, "Wait!"

Jia Daishan quickly stopped his attack and then looked at Jia Yuan, asking, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

Zhang Xianzong and Li Zhicheng glanced at Jia Daishan, while Jia Yuan pointed at the two men and said to Jia Yan and his son Jia Daishan, "These two are the Divine Generals of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm."

"The Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm!" Jia Yan and his son Jia Daishan were both startled, then stopped in their tracks, their gazes shifting from the old ginseng king to Zhang Xianzong and his companion. (End of Chapter)