I am a fairy in Journey to the West

After Zhuang Yan introduced himself, the local deity of Zhaofeng laughed and said, "So you are the Immortal of Lingtai. May I ask what brings you here, Immortal?"

"No, no," Zhuang Yan said with a smile. "I'm just looking for two of my friends. It seems they've arrived in this area."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Zhaofeng Earth God said, "Immortal is looking for someone? That's easy. I am the Earth God of this place. If Immortal's two friends have indeed been to this area, there will definitely be a record in my Earth God Book."

As he spoke, Zhaofeng the Earth God took out his Earth God Book and asked Zhuang Yan, "What are the names of your two friends, Immortal?"

Zhuang Yan said, "They are both disciples of the Taoist sect. One is called Daoist Qianhe, and the other is called Daoist Simu."

Upon hearing these two names, Zhaofeng the Earth God froze on the spot. Seeing his reaction, Zhuang Yan asked, "Earth God, what's wrong? Why aren't you investigating?"

Zhaofeng the Earth God came to his senses, coughed, and then put away the Earth God's Book, saying, "Immortal, there's no need to investigate. I know where your two friends are."

"Oh?" Zhuang Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where?"

Zhaofeng, the local deity, said, "It's in Yuankong Temple, which isn't far from here."

Zhuang Yan asked in surprise, "What were those two Taoist priests doing at the Buddhist temple?"

Zhaofeng the local deity then told Zhuang Yan the whole story. After listening, Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "Could it be that the local deity was beaten up there?"

"Ahem." Zhaofeng the Land God coughed twice, somewhat embarrassed, then said seriously, "Alas, my skills are inferior to others, I am truly ashamed."

"Hahaha." Zhuang Yan couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, and said, "To be honest, among the local earth gods I've met, there aren't many who can fight."

At this point, Zhuang Yan looked at Zhaofeng, the local earth god, and asked, "What did you do before you became the earth god?"

Zhaofeng, the local deity, said, “I was originally a minor general in the country of Bifang. Once, when I was out on official business, I encountered bandits robbing a village. I went to fight them, but I was outnumbered and surrounded by the bandits and died. After my death, Heaven appointed me as a local deity, which is why I am here today.”

Zhuang Yan suddenly realized and laughed, "So that's how it is. So you only possess the martial arts of an ordinary person?"

“Exactly,” said Zhaofeng Tudi. “That’s why we can’t beat those martial monks in the temple.”

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yan immediately laughed and said, "It's alright. Since we've met here, it's fate. Today, this great immortal will give you some pointers."

Upon hearing this, Zhaofeng the Earth God was overjoyed, but then immediately asked, "However, I am a person of the divine path, and I'm afraid I cannot learn the immortal techniques of the celestial being."

"I'm not afraid," Zhuang Yan said. "I also have some knowledge of the divine arts."

After saying that, Zhuang Yan asked the local deity of Zhaofeng, "What kind of weapon are you skilled with?"

Zhaofeng, the local deity, said, "A long spear."

“Alright, then I will bestow upon you a skill called ‘Feint’.” Zhuang Yan said, pointing to the center of Zhaofeng’s forehead.

A golden light instantly entered the space between Zhaofeng's eyebrows. The next moment, a celestial technique appeared in Zhaofeng's mind, called 'Feint Attack'.

Once this move entered his spiritual realm, Zhaofeng Tudi (a local deity) immediately grasped its essence and understood it thoroughly.

The local deity of Zhaofeng was overjoyed and immediately bowed to Zhuang Yan, saying, "Thank you for bestowing this magic upon me, Immortal."

"No need to be so polite," Zhuang Yan said. "Let's go to Yuankong Temple."

"Alright." Zhaofeng Earth God bowed and said, "I will follow your instructions, Immortal."

A moment later, the two arrived at Yuankong Temple, bypassed the main gate, and went directly to the backyard of the Hanging Temple.

Zhaofeng Earth God said, "Immortal, you go and save your two friends, I'll go and save the other person."

"Oh? Another person? Who?" Zhuang Yan asked curiously.

The local deity of Zhaofeng said, "It is a woman; she is a celestial official of the Western Mountain Divine Palace."

"Oh," Zhuang Yan laughed, "Could it be your confidante?"

"You flatter me, Immortal." Zhaofeng Earth God chuckled and said, "She is a wanted criminal official of the Dust Realm Jade Palace. She must have escaped from the Western Mountain Divine Palace. If I rescue her and then escort her to the Western Mountain Divine Palace, it will be a great achievement."

Zhuang Yan pointed at Zhao Feng and said, "So that's what you were planning. I thought you liked her."

Zhaofeng Earth God said solemnly, "What's so good about women? I only want to advance further in my celestial official position. Now that I have the opportunity to make a contribution, how can I let it go?"

“That makes sense.” Zhuang Yan nodded and said, “Then go ahead.”

Zhaofeng, the local deity, clasped his hands in greeting to Zhuang Yan, then leaped underground to begin his search.

He first found his lost spear, and then he found the palace where Yan Fanglan was imprisoned.

However, two monks were guarding outside the temple. Immediately, the local deity Zhaofeng manifested his form, said nothing, and rushed forward with his spear, knocking the two monks to the ground.

He then kicked open the palace door and went inside. He then saw Yan Fanglan bound and trapped in a bamboo cage, with three monks guarding the cage.

Upon seeing Zhaofeng the local earth deity enter, the three monks jumped up in surprise, but immediately burst into laughter when they recognized him.

The big monk on the left laughed and said, "Who do we have here? It's the local earth god. Were you not satisfied with that kick earlier? Are you back for another one?" Zhaofeng the earth god held his spear horizontally and laughed, "It's hard to say who will kick whom now. Come on, all three of you, come at me together."

The big monk on the right said, "We don't need the three of us to beat you up. I can do it all by myself. Take this!"

As they were speaking, the big monk on the right had already swung his steel knife at them. Zhaofeng, the local deity, looked in the direction the big monk was coming from, held his gun with both hands, and thrust forward with a powerful step.

In an instant, a spearhead shot straight toward the monk's face. The monk was not alarmed at all. He calmly dodged to the side and avoided the sharp spearhead.

Then his head was pierced by the long sword in Zhaofeng Tudi's hand, and the steel knife in his hand fell to the ground with a 'clang'. The big monk died in an instant.

This scene left the two monks behind dumbfounded. What happened? They had clearly dodged the spear, so how could they still be pierced by it? Where did that spear come from?
This is the power of the 'feint'. When Zhaofeng Di Tu thrusts out a spear, you can only see the fake spear, while the real spear is waiting for you in the next moment.

The senior monk died, his body hanging from the spearhead. Zhaofeng, the local deity, kicked him away, then flicked the spear tip to the ground to shake off the blood. He then looked at the two senior monks and asked, "Are you coming one by one, or both of you at once?"

The senior monk on the left said, "Attack together, don't hold back, kill him directly."

Another senior monk responded, and then they all rushed forward together.

Upon seeing this, Zhaofeng the Earth God immediately spun around and launched two consecutive thrusts in mid-air, instantly sending two beams of spear light piercing the air and heading straight for the two monks.

This time, the two monks did not dodge, but instead used their steel swords to slash at the spear's edge.

Two sharp clangs of blades pierced the air as they fell, striking the two spear beams, but their strikes were ineffective.

The next moment, two more streaks of blood burst out of thin air, followed by two 'pfft' sounds. The two monks were stunned at first, then opened their mouths, and a stream of blood immediately spurted from their mouths.

The two men quickly covered their necks, where there was a bloody hole pierced by the spear's edge, from which blood gushed out. They soon went limp and collapsed to the ground.

After killing the three monks, Zhaofeng, the local deity, gently shook the blood off his spear, then put it away and carried the bamboo cage imprisoning Yan Fanglan directly on his shoulder.

Upon seeing this, Yan Fanglan quickly praised, "You are the local earth god of Zhaofeng? You are amazing! I have never seen such a powerful earth god before."

Zhaofeng, the local deity, remained calm and said, "You flatter me, Your Excellency."

Yan Fanglan said, "No, no, you're really amazing. Um... could you please let me out?"

"Why?" asked Zhaofeng, the local deity.

Yan Fanglan said, "Didn't you come to save me?"

Zhaofeng Earth God laughed, "You are a criminal official, escorting you to the Western Mountain God Palace is quite an achievement."

Yan Fanglan: "Can you let me go? I will always remember your kindness."

“No need,” said the local earth god of Zhaofeng firmly. “I only care about merit; everything else is meaningless.”

Yan Fanglan said pitifully, "How can you bear to send such a weak woman like me back to be punished? Earth God, please have pity on me, okay?"

Zhaofeng Earth God said, "Are you pitiful? You are a seventh-rank celestial official, and you serve in the Western Mountain Divine Palace. I am just a lowly eighth-rank Earth God. Who is pitiful? Why don't we change our thinking? You should pity me and cooperate with me to send you back to the Western Mountain Divine Palace to receive your reward."

"Sigh." Hearing Zhaofeng's words, Yan Fanglan couldn't help but sigh and said, "Earth God, your heart is harder than stone."

Zhaofeng, the local earth god, said, "Nonsense! I am the earth god. What's the most abundant thing on the earth's surface? Stones!"

Yan Fanglan was speechless. She was carried out of the main hall by the local deity Zhaofeng and went straight to find Zhuang Yan and the others.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Yan had already arrived inside the Bone-Melting Cave, where Elder Yuantong was leading a group of young monks to continuously add firewood to the furnace and to add various spiritual objects to receive the relics.

The temperature inside the furnace was rising higher and higher. Master Simu lay inside, soaked to the bone, his skin burning red, and panting heavily.

The Daoist Qianhe was sweating profusely from the intense heat, and the sedatives and poison in his body were expelled, causing him to show signs of waking up.

Seeing Master Qianhe's eyelids fluttering rapidly and his body twitching uncontrollably, Master Simu couldn't help but say, "Please don't wake up. It's better if he's burned to death in a daze. If he wakes up, he'll suffer to death."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Daoist Qianhe opened his eyes and said dazedly, "Brother Simu, what did you say?"

Master Four Eyes rolled his eyes and said, "I say, you're really asking for trouble. What are you doing waking up at this time?"

After Master Four Eyes finished speaking, Master Thousand Crane exclaimed in surprise, "Ouch! Why is it so hot! Ah! It's so hot. Brother Four Eyes, where are we? Is this the Flaming Mountain?"

Master Four Eyes said, "Flaming Mountain? We don't have that kind of luck. This is a bronze furnace used by temples to refine relics! We were taken by those thieving monks from Yuankong Temple to refine relics."

"Huh?" Master Qianhe was still a little confused. "Using a Taoist priest to refine relics? What kind of talk is that?"

Master Four Eyes said helplessly, "Have you forgotten what the Vajra Secret Realm gave you?"

Master Qianhe fell silent for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "Oh dear, I really do have a relic." He then said sadly, "Alas, I thought it was a great opportunity, but who would have thought that fortune is fraught with misfortune, and this time my life is over."

"Alright, alright, stop complaining. I didn't get any benefits, and I still have to die with you. That's the real injustice," said Master Four Eyes speechlessly. (End of Chapter)