The Earth God's Blessing

"Senior Brother, keep your voice down," he whispered, "This is the Mountain God of Lingtai, a close friend of our Master. Be sure not to offend him."

Sun Wukong kept the words in his heart. He imitated the others, forming seals and meditating, which gave him a semblance of cultivation.

Time flew by, and Sun Wukong diligently cultivated the Dao on Mount Fangcun, his days marked by the morning bell and evening drum, oblivious to the passing seasons.

One day, he learned that Senior Brother Zhuo Yingfan would be descending the mountain to return home. Wukong recalled the kindness Zhuo Yingfan had shown him in teaching him, especially the black iron staff tailor-made for him, which symbolized their friendship. Thus, he went to see his Master off.

Patriarch Bodhi instructed him, "Seeing someone off is a natural human sentiment. However, your appearance is unusual, and you must avoid the eyes and ears of mortals. Return once you reach the mountain's border; do not delay."

"I understand." Sun Wukong respectfully agreed.

After bidding farewell to his Master, he took up his senior brother's luggage, and the two of them set off down the mountain path. As they crossed the border of Spirit Platform Mountain, Zhuo Yingfan stopped and said, "You can see me off until here."

Wukong pressed his senior brother about his destination. Upon hearing that he was returning to Baoling Prefecture, Wukong immediately offered to escort him to Guangci Prefecture. Senior Brother Zhuo chuckled, "This journey will likely take over a month. You've only just begun to learn the breathing techniques and your cultivation is in its infancy; it's not suitable to neglect it."

"I'll return once the dry rations are gone," Wukong insisted.

For the next ten-plus days, whenever Senior Brother Zhuo inquired, Wukong would always say the mountain fruits were not yet depleted. Until one day, Zhuo Yingfan noticed the bag felt unusually heavy and reached in to investigate.

Wukong couldn't dodge in time and could only laugh awkwardly, "It's just some wild fruit..."

"They're clearly stones," Senior Brother Zhuo said sternly. "Open it and let me see."

Sun Wukong repeatedly shook his head. Zhuo Yingfan said gently, "Wukong, don't be willful. Hurry and untie the bag."

Sun Wukong then slowly unfastened the bag and spread its contents out. Inside were nothing but round river pebbles.

"The fruits were eaten by you long ago, yet you've brought these stubborn stones to fill the bag?" Zhuo Yingfan put on a stern face.

The Monkey King squatted on the ground, scratching his ears and cheeks. "Old Sun just wanted to walk a bit further with Senior Brother."

Zhuo Yingfan sighed softly upon hearing this. "A thousand-mile escort must eventually part. When we both achieve the completion of our cultivation, we will meet again."

He then stepped forward and lightly patted Sun Wukong's shoulder. "Go back and diligently follow Master's teachings. When you attain the Great Dao, we will talk again."

Sun Wukong nodded heavily. "Senior Brother, please be sure to visit me on Spirit Platform Mountain when you have time."

"Naturally," Zhuo Yingfan said with a smile, taking down the luggage hanging from the Golden Cudgel. "Go."

Sun Wukong cupped his fists in a salute and watched as Zhuo Yingfan's figure gradually receded, disappearing into the vast mountain scenery, before turning back on his return journey.

To avoid the eyes and ears of mortals, Sun Wukong deliberately chose to travel through deep mountains and old forests. One day, passing through verdant mountains, he saw exotic fruits filling the slopes, their fragrance intoxicating him. His heart bloomed with joy.

He leaped up and down, climbing branches to pick fruits, his bag gradually swelling. His cheerful ape cries startled the birds in the entire mountain. As he was playing—

A thunderous roar shook the mountains and forests!

Sun Wukong suddenly became alert. He tightened the strap of his full bag and was about to flee when he saw dark clouds pressing down from the sky. A chilling cold swept over him. He looked up and saw two blood-red lanterns hanging in the clouds.

A demonic wind suddenly rose. Sun Wukong clung tightly to a tree trunk, but he was swept into the clouds, tree, branches, and all. With a startled cry, the dark clouds wrapped around him and, transforming into a red light, plummeted into a mountain cave.

In the damp cave, a fishy stench filled the air. Sun Wukong flipped to his feet and saw a young girl in red standing in the shadows. Unable to find the iron staff his senior brother had gifted him, he shouted sternly, "What kind of demon are you?"

The girl walked slowly forward, revealing cold, vertical pupils. As a scarlet tongue hissed, a demonic mist spread, revealing her true form: a giant red-scaled python. Sun Wukong's hair stood on end, and he turned to flee.

The red-scaled python suddenly whipped its tail, sending Sun Wukong flying and crashing hard against the rock wall.

With a deafening crash, Sun Wukong was dazed and dizzy. He was a stone monkey born from a spiritual stone, possessing an indestructible body from birth. Though the pain was unbearable, he was not injured.

The giant python opened its cavernous maw and swallowed Sun Wukong whole. Its scarlet tongue coiled around him, drawing him towards its sharp teeth. The jagged fangs gnawed at him, and though they couldn't pierce his body, they caused him unbearable agony.

Realizing this monkey was as tough and chewy as old cowhide, the giant python simply constricted its throat and swallowed him directly into its belly. Sun Wukong fell into a pool of foul-smelling acid, his entire body feeling as if it were being burned by fire.

"Damn it, I've been swallowed by this fiend," Sun Wukong thought, realizing the gravity of his situation. He gradually felt his breathing becoming difficult. He decided to charge at the stomach wall and began to punch and kick.

The red-clothed girl, who had just regained human form and was about to rest, suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She cried out and curled up on the ground, reverting to her original form. The giant python writhed in pain in the cave, and the entire mountain peak trembled with it.

After a long while, the giant python suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out Sun Wukong, covered in slime. As he gasped for air, the girl chanted a spell, conjuring black ropes to bind him.

"I am a cultivator from Spirit Platform Mountain. My intrusion into this sacred place was unintentional. Miss, please be merciful and let me leave, won't you?" Sun Wukong pleaded, panting.

The girl ignored him and imprisoned him in the cave.

Suddenly, he heard movement outside the cave, and a large wild boar broke in. A sharp glint appeared in the girl's eyes. She transformed back into the giant python and, with a crunch, devoured the wild boar alive. Blood dripped from her fangs, a horrifying sight.

Sun Wukong watched, his hair standing on end. He sighed inwardly, "My quest for immortality is not yet complete, and must I die by a snake's jaws today?"

For three days, Sun Wukong suffered torment. The snake demon would swallow him daily and gnaw at him, only stopping when she confirmed she couldn't chew him up. His Daoist robes were already in tatters, revealing his golden fur.

The snake demon refused to give up. After biting him each day, she would tightly coil around him, attempting to crush his internal organs and swallow them. However, Sun Wukong possessed an indestructible body, and for several consecutive days, the snake demon failed to succeed. Yet, she was unwilling to release him, merely keeping him imprisoned in the cave and continuously tormenting him.

Enduring such torture, Sun Wukong's spirit grew weary. Fortunately, his will was firm, and his mind remained clear.

Dusk deepened outside the cave, and it was pitch black within. Exhausted from a day of torment, Wukong collapsed on the ground, dust rising with his every breath.

In the darkness, his eyes darted back and forth, his mind constantly calculating a way to escape.

However, after reviewing his own abilities, he found none that could help him escape. Sun Wukong couldn't help but feel dejected, letting out a sigh that stirred up a puff of dust.

Looking at the swirling dust, Sun Wukong suddenly awoke: "How could I forget this?"

It turned out that Patriarch Bodhi had once taught him the Spell to Summon Earth God, and now was the perfect time to use it!

Sun Wukong immediately calmed his mind and quietly recited the incantation.

After the spell was finished, white smoke suddenly rose within the cave, and a minor deity dressed in the robes of a Ninth-Rank Immortal Official appeared.

"Old Earth God!" I am a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi, currently captured by a snake demon. Come quickly and rescue me!" Sun Wukong urgently called out.

As soon as the words fell, he knew something was wrong—the snake demon on the stone bed had been awakened.

Seeing the Earth God appear, the snake demon's expression changed drastically. It immediately transformed into a giant python and lunged.

"Ah!" the Earth God shrieked, stomping his foot and fleeing underground.

Sun Wukong was filled with regret. Seeing the Earth God escape, the giant python turned its scarlet eyes to fix on Sun Wukong, its bloody maw opening wide to swallow him once more.

Woe is me! Sun Wukong's vision went black as he once again endured the crushing of sharp teeth.

While Sun Wukong suffered, the escaped Xieshan Earth God had already arrived outside the Mountain God Temple on Danchi Ridge of Spirit Platform Mountain.

Seeing the Fire Spirit True Immortal pruning peach trees, the Earth God quickly cupped his hands. "Mountain Guard General, is the Mountain God in?"

The Fire Spirit True Immortal turned and asked, "The Mountain Lord is cultivating in the pavilion. What urgent matter do you have?"

"Please inform him, someone from the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars has been captured by a demon down the mountain."

The Fire Spirit True Immortal's expression grew serious. "Who is it? Where is the demon?"

"I don't know his name. He has a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, covered in golden fur, not resembling a human."

"It must be Sun Wukong," the Fire Spirit True Immortal understood immediately—only he among the Patriarch's disciples had such a peculiar appearance.

The Fire Spirit True Immortal leaped into the Eight Immortals Pavilion. Not long after, Zhuang Yan descended, carrying him on the clouds.

The Xieshan Earth God stepped forward. "Greetings, Mountain Lord."

Zhuang Yan nodded. "The demon's lair is known. I will go capture it immediately. You may withdraw."

"As you command." The Earth God transformed into white smoke and vanished underground.

Zhuang Yan said to the Fire Spirit True Immortal, "Summon Vanguard Hu and come with me to subdue the demon."

The Fire Spirit True Immortal immediately shouted, "Vanguard Hu!"

"Here." A deep, powerful voice sounded. Zhuang Yan turned to see a large cat with a tiger's head and tail, and a powerful build, squatting beneath a peach tree, trimming branches. It was Vanguard Hu.

These peach trees were all cultivated by the Fire Spirit True Immortal from the pits of Longevity Immortal Peaches, and they were spread around the Mountain God Temple. However, as Zhuang Yan had said, they only bore ordinary peaches, though their flavor was more delicious than regular mountain peaches.

Vanguard Hu quickly stepped forward and respectfully saluted Zhuang Yan. Afterward, Zhuang Yan rode a cloud, carrying the Fire Spirit True Immortal and Vanguard Hu, leaving Spirit Platform Mountain and descending directly into Cui Mountain.

The night was deep, the wind high, and the moon dark. Zhuang Yan landed with the two men before the snake demon's cave entrance. As the Mountain Lord of Guangci Prefecture's mountains and earth veins, no demon's lair could escape his senses; he only needed to consult the jade scroll to know everything clearly.

Zhuang Yan pointed to the cave entrance and said to the Fire Spirit True Immortal, "Set it ablaze to force her out, but don't kill her."

"As you command." The Fire Spirit True Immortal responded, chanted a spell, and pointed at the cave entrance. Flames immediately surged within.

A roar suddenly erupted from the cave, followed by gusts of demonic wind that shook the mountains and forests. Zhuang Yan ascended into the air and ordered, "Vanguard Hu, capture the demon! Fire Spirit, enter the cave and rescue the person."

"Yes!" The two responded in unison. Vanguard Hu drew his Great Ring Saber, while the Fire Spirit True Immortal transformed into a ball of fire and swept into the cave.

Boom—

Earth and stones at the cave entrance cracked and split, and a giant red-scaled python burst out. Zhuang Yan shouted from the air, "Vanguard Hu, capture it alive!"

"Huh?" Vanguard Hu was startled, then dropped his Great Ring Saber and charged forward with his bare hands.

Zhuang Yan put his hand to his forehead, speechless—this foolish tiger, why abandon his saber to capture it alive?

As expected, the unarmed Vanguard Hu was suppressed in both size and strength. After more than ten rounds of fighting, he was tightly coiled by the python. The python's bloody maw opened wide, aiming straight for Vanguard Hu's head.

At the critical moment, Zhuang Yan flicked his finger, and a golden light suddenly appeared. The Heavenly King Golden Halberd descended from the air, striking the python's head.

Blood splattered from the red-scaled python's head, and it crashed to the ground, unconscious. Vanguard Hu fell to the ground, got up panting, and pleaded, "Mountain Lord, your subordinate is incompetent..."

Zhuang Yan waved his hand to interrupt him. "Pick up your saber. Capturing alive does not mean disarming."

Vanguard Hu scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Your subordinate... was afraid of accidentally cutting it to death."

Zhuang Yan shook his head, retrieved the golden halberd, and examined the unconscious python. Although he wasn't sure if it was related to the Journey to the West tribulation, this demon had extraordinary roots, and subduing and taming it might prove useful.

He took out an earthen jar and sealed the red-scaled giant python, then turned his gaze to the side.

The Fire Spirit True Immortal led Sun Wukong to Zhuang Yan. Sun Wukong had witnessed the entire process of Zhuang Yan subduing the red-scaled giant python and immediately bowed respectfully. "This junior, Sun Wukong, thanks the Mountain Lord for saving my life."

Seeing that he was covered in filth, Zhuang Yan waved his hand and sent out a beam of immortal light to cleanse him. He then took out a new set of clothes from his sleeve and handed them over. Sun Wukong thanked him and quickly changed.

After the Fire Spirit True Immortal and Vanguard Hu returned to the Mountain God Temple as ordered, Zhuang Yan rode a green cloud, carrying Sun Wukong, towards Mount Fangcun.

Zhuang Yan personally escorted Sun Wukong back to the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars. After exchanging pleasantries with Patriarch Bodhi, he returned to the Mountain God Temple.

As soon as he entered the temple, he took out the earthen jar from his sleeve and broke the seal. With a cracking sound, the red-scaled giant python crashed to the ground. Although the demon had woken up, it could only crawl slowly due to its severe head injury.