Before they knew it, a year had passed. Ye Chen and Tang Sanzang and his four disciples had traveled many places. Although they had encountered plenty of minor monsters along the way, they had remained safe and sound.
Then one day, a sudden wave of heat left them puzzled. Only then did they realize they had arrived outside a desert.
In the distance, they could see a volcano rising straight into the clouds. It seemed like a slumbering beast, radiating a terrifying aura even from afar.
They stopped in a town nearby and found an inn where they could stay. Then Tang Sanzang sent Sun Wukong to gather information.
From the locals, they learned that this was the Flaming Mountain, where flames stretched for eight hundred miles. The heat was so intense that nobody could last even the time it took an incense stick to burn, and almost no one could cross it.
Ye Chen and Tang Sanzang and his disciples decided to stay the night and think of a way to get over the mountain.
Bajie was a lazy sort. "Ye Chen, do you have some kind of magical item that can shield us from the heat? Then we could just cross over, couldn't we?"
Ye Chen rolled his eyes at Bajie. "If I had something that good, do you think I'd have waited for you to bring it up?"
Just then, the innkeeper said, "A thousand miles to the southwest, there's a Banana Cave on Green Cloud Mountain. Princess Iron Fan lives there, and she has a Magic Treasure called the Bashosen. That fan has incredible powers."
Sun Wukong jumped to his feet. "Then tell us quickly—what can that fan do?"
The innkeeper calmly explained, "One wave of the Bashosen puts out the fire, two waves raise the