I am a fairy in Journey to the West

"This Fire Spirit Commander is really ruthless."

In Guanling Prefecture, at the Yintai Mountain Divine Palace, Yan Xiezhi couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the imperial edict sent by the Jinling Prefecture Divine Palace.

The Six Spirits were puzzled by these words, but the Ghost-Catching General asked, "My Lord, what has happened?"

Yan Xiezhi raised his head, glanced at the patrol general Ling Jizi, then smiled calmly and handed the edict to the general beside him, saying, "You can read it yourselves."

General Fatan accepted the order, then quickly opened the edict and examined it carefully, followed by a gasp of surprise.

Upon hearing General Fatan's exclamation, General Possibly a General, General Zhuo Yao, General Zhuo Gui, General Sou Sha, and General Xun Shan all gathered around, their eyes quickly turning to the edict.

Soon, gasps of surprise rose and fell within the Hanzhang Hall, especially from the patrolling general Ling Jizi, who was the most shocked.

"Huanxu Cave Master and the others were killed by Lord Huoling in Jinling Prefecture?" the Search and Kill General asked in disbelief.

Yan Xiezhi said calmly, "Huan Xu's body will be sent over by the Divine Palace of Jinling Prefecture in a few days."

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with shock.

Ling Jizi stood there, his eyes and mind racing. He wasn't sure if it was true or false, but since the Divine Palace of Jinling Prefecture had issued an official decree, it couldn't be fake.

Huan Xu, Huan Tan, Huan Yu, and all the core members of the Huan clan were killed, along with more than 1,500 elite disciples of Yuanqiao Cave. It can be said that the strength of Yuanqiao Cave has also plummeted.

Now, only Huan Xu's wife and his youngest son remain in Yuanqiao Cave; there is no one else capable of taking charge.

Even the disciples of Yuanqiao Cave are now only those demons with less than three hundred years of cultivation, and it will be difficult for them to recover their strength in less than a hundred years.

Therefore, what Ling Jizi needs to consider now is his way out.

Just as Ling Jizi's mind was racing, Yan Xiezhi's voice rang out, "Patrol General."

Ling Jizi suddenly came to his senses and saw Yan Xie calling him. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate is here."

Yan Xie said, "I hereby order you to personally go to the border of Guanling Prefecture to meet the messenger from the Divine Palace of Jinling Prefecture who is escorting Huan Xu's body."

Ling Jizi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then bowed and replied, "Your subordinate obeys."

Ling Jizi then bowed and thanked Yan, left Hanzhang Hall, and headed to the border of Guanling Prefecture.

As soon as Ling Jizi left, Yan Xiezhi said with a smile, "Everyone, now you know why I sent Huan Xu to support the Divine Palace of Jinling Prefecture, right?"

The five spirit generals were filled with admiration and thanked Yan Zhi, saying, "Your Majesty's calculations are truly remarkable; we are deeply impressed."

Yan Xiezhi shook his head and said, "It's not divine foresight, but simply an understanding of human nature. Huan Xu will inevitably go on a killing spree once he arrives in Jinling Prefecture, and since Lord Huoling is in Jinling Prefecture, he will certainly not tolerate Huan Xu's behavior."

At this point, Yan Xie asked, "Is there any progress on the matter of searching for and killing the general, or on Little Silver Peak?"

The general immediately reported, "Your Majesty, I have ascertained that the person who killed Huan Mi at Little Silver Peak was none other than the patrol general, Ling Jizi."

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiezhi's expression remained unchanged, but the five spirit generals—the Altar-Slaying General, the Temple-Broken General, the Demon-Catching General, and the Ghost-Catching General—changed their expressions drastically.

Then the Demon-Catching General reported, "My Lord, the Mountain Patrol General is so audacious and reckless; he must be in cahoots with Huan Xu. Why not capture and kill him?"

Yan Xiezhi waved his hand and said, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Although General Xunshan colluded with Huan Xu to kill Huan Mi, he still has abilities. As long as he is willing to repent, I can continue to use him."

Upon hearing this, the spirit generals present secretly breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, who hadn't had connections with Yuanqiao Cave before? It's just that they hadn't gone as far as Ling Jizi.

Yan Xiezhi's words reassured them, and they all bowed to him, saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

Eight days later, the patrolling general Ling Jizi returned to the Yintai Mountain Divine Palace with Huan Xu's corpse. Subsequently, Yan Xiezhi announced the edict of the Fire Spirit True Immortal, which caused a huge shock throughout the entire Guanling Prefecture Demon Realm.

The news spread, especially to Yuanqiao Cave, where people were instantly thrown into disarray, and Lady Huanxu and her young son lived in constant fear.

However, Yan Xiezhi soon issued an order to investigate the crimes of Huan Xu and others, but made it clear to all that he would not pursue the crimes of Huan Xu's wife and young son.

Yuan Qiaodong and his disciples were quickly appeased, and Ling Jizi also took the initiative to find Yan Xiezhi to apologize, admitting that he had killed Huan Mi on Huan Xu's orders.

Yan Xiezhi pardoned Ling Jizi and continued to appoint him as the patrol general.

From that moment on, Ling Jizi remained loyal to Yan Xiezhi. Under Yan Xiezhi's leadership, Huan Xu's youngest son, Huan Lu, succeeded to the position of leader of Yuanqiao Cave and became Yan Xiezhi's godfather, thus becoming the leader of the demon realm in Guanling Prefecture.

This is because the Taoist methods of the various cave masters' families have evolved over the years and have long been engraved and passed down in their bloodlines.

Therefore, after Huan Xu died, his direct descendant Huan Lu released the bloodline seal, and all the Taoist methods and secrets of the Huan family's "Fangye Di Ling Jing" were awakened in Huan Lu's bloodline.

Therefore, Huan Lu was the best candidate to succeed the cave master, and naturally became the new leader of the demon realm in Guanling Prefecture.

As for Yan Xiezhi becoming the godfather, it was purely Yan Xiezhi's deliberate act to better control Yuanqiao Cave.

Huan Lu's mother, Lady Bie, had no objection to this, or rather, dared not have any objection.

Fire Spirit Immortal killed all the core members of the Huan family, leaving only Huan Lu as the core bloodline. In order to avoid being wiped out in the future, it is necessary to recognize Yan Xiezhi, the God of Guanling Prefecture, as their adoptive father.

With Huan Xu's death, Yan Xiezhi completely seized control of Yuanqiao Cave, and now in Guanling Prefecture, no one can rival him as a divine ruler.

Everything went smoothly as if water had flowed into a channel, and now it was time for Yan Xiezhi to show his skills.

Just after the Fire Spirit True Immortal established the Heavenly Battle Pavilion in all four continents, time flew by, and another half year passed.

Heavy snow fell in Xiniuhezhou, turning the vast mountains and rivers into a white expanse.

Amidst the desolate and cold landscape, a group of five people were trudging through the snow with great difficulty.

The leader was a wanderer with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth, followed by a handsome and tall man with a pair of strange horns on his forehead.

Behind them was a kind-faced, gentle, and handsome young monk, dressed in a kasaya, riding a purple dragon horse, with two disciples carrying loads behind him.

"Wukong, how many years have we been here since we left the Tang Dynasty?" Tang Sanzang asked Sun Wukong from his horse.

Sun Wukong turned around and laughed, "Master is always meticulous, how come you even forgot the year today?"

Tang Sanzang said, "I remember it in my heart, but I'm afraid there might be some discrepancy, so I'll check it with you."

Sun Wukong did some calculations and said, "Master, today is the winter solstice. It has been thirteen years since we left the Tang Dynasty to embark on our journey to obtain the scriptures."

Tang Sanzang sighed and said with a sigh, "Thirteen years have passed, and Mount Ling is still nowhere in sight."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Master, why do you say that? As long as you sincerely turn to Buddha, every place in the world can be a sacred mountain."

Pigsy said, “Your words are nice, but they don’t fill you up. This year, the winter solstice saw such heavy snow. If I could have a bowl of hot dumplings, it would be much better than ten nice words from you.”

Sun Wukong said, "Fool, with snow falling heavily and the wilderness desolate, where do you expect me to find you hot dumplings to eat?"

Sha Wujing said, "Third brother, you're just talking nonsense. This Xiniu Hezhou isn't the Tang Dynasty. They don't have the habit of eating dumplings."

Pigsy said, "A hot meal would be nice too."

The White Dragon said helplessly, "Bajie, all you ever think about is eating?"

Pigsy said, "As the saying goes, food is as essential as iron. If you don't eat, you'll get hungry. Even though we're on a pilgrimage, shouldn't people still want to eat?"

"Bajie!" Tang Sanzang called out, "If you're hungry, take out the vegetarian cakes from your bag and eat them."

Pigsy said, "Master, those vegetarian biscuits are hard and really hard to swallow."

Tang Sanzang said, "You can eat it with snow."

Pigsy grunted twice, his complaints growing louder, "Master, ever since I came with you on this journey to the West, I've been living a worse life than when I was in the pigsty!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang raised an eyebrow and said, "Bajie, it is a bit tough for your master here, but at least we won't be slaughtering pigs for the New Year."

As they were talking, Sun Wukong, who was at the front, shaded his eyes with his hand and looked into the distance. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed behind the mountain and said, "Master, there seems to be smoke rising from behind the mountain. There might be a village there."

Hearing this, Tang Sanzang perked up. Although he was not afraid of hardship, he longed for a hot drink and a hot meal.

So the five of them stopped bickering, quickened their pace, and braved the wind and snow to head towards the direction from which the smoke was rising. (End of Chapter)