I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Erlang Village is located in Qifeng Mountain in Qingwu Prefecture. It is named after the Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun Temple located there.

"There are many Erlang Temples in Xiniu Hezhou, so why is this the only one called 'Erlang Village'?" Zhuang Yan asked an old man as he walked into the village.

The old man looked to be around eighty years old, but he was very healthy and energetic, showing no signs of the withering and decay that often accompany old age.

“Young man, you don’t understand, do you?” the old man said with a smile. “The Erlang Temple in our village is the first Erlang Temple in Xiniu Hezhou.”

Zhuang Yan was very surprised to hear this and said, "Then it must have been many years, right?"

"Hey!" The old man sighed softly and said, "That's hard to say. The people of Erlang Village have changed countless times, but that temple has remained unchanged for generations. However, one thing is certain."

Zhuang Yan asked, "Which point?"

The old man said, "This Erlang Temple in our village is not only the first Erlang Temple in Xiniu Hezhou, but also the divine residence of Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun when he was the mountain god."

"Oh?" Zhuang Yan looked surprised. "Erlang Shen was once a mountain god here?"

The old man said, "Of course, this story has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is absolutely true."

"Oh." Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "That's really something."

"Is that even a question?" The old man chuckled, then looked at Zhuang Yan and said, "Young man, I see you have a full forehead and bright eyes. I wonder which sect's cultivator you belong to?"

Zhuang Yan was surprised again and laughed, "Old man, you have such good eyesight? You can even tell I'm a cultivator?"

"After all, I've lived for eighty years. Erlang Village has never lacked immortals and cultivators since ancient times." At this point, the old man pointed to Qifeng Mountain and said, "I wonder how many immortals are hidden in this mountain."

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "After all, it is a sacred mountain and a land of outstanding people and abundant resources."

After saying that, Zhuang Yan cupped his hands to the old man and said, "I am a wandering cultivator from the west, with the Daoist name Lingtai. Thank you for telling me. Now that I have come here, I will first go and pay my respects to Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun."

"Go on, go on," the old man waved his hand and said, "Erlang Temple recently got a new temple keeper, and I think that young man is not simple either."

Zhuang Yan smiled slightly, then bid farewell to the old man, passed through Erlang Village and climbed to the top of Qifeng Mountain. Suddenly, a majestic, ancient, solemn and magnificent Erlang Temple appeared before Zhuang Yan's eyes.

At this moment, a magnificent white slender dog with a bronze head and iron neck was lying in front of the temple gate. As soon as it saw Zhuang Yan coming, it immediately sensed the imposing aura emanating from him.

The white-haired sleigh instantly stood up alertly, baring its teeth and glaring fiercely, barking twice as a warning.

But seeing that Zhuang Yan ignored its warnings, it did not hesitate any longer, leaped into the air, and charged towards him.

The dog, with its flowing white fur and body transformed into a white rainbow, pounced on Zhuang Yan in an instant and bit down on his neck.

Zhuang Yan extended his right hand and pressed down gently. Then, with a loud 'boom,' dust flew up, and the fierce white-haired sleigh was instantly pinned to the ground by Zhuang Yan.

The white greyhound was pinned to the ground by Zhuang Yan, its four strong legs kicking wildly. Despite its best efforts, it couldn't budge Zhuang Yan an inch, and a hint of doubt appeared in its eyes.

Just then, a clear voice came from the temple gate: "Xiaotian, do not be rude."

Zhuang Yan looked up and saw Erlang Shen leading the Six Sages of Meishan quickly approaching. The Six Sages of Meishan were also surprised to see this, knowing that Xiaotian Dog was extremely strong; even the six of them combined might not be able to subdue him.
The young man in front of them subdued the Celestial Hound with just one hand, a truly terrifying display of strength.

When the Celestial Hound heard that Erlang Shen was coming, it immediately became arrogant again and struggled incessantly against Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan laughed, "You're still not convinced?" He then flipped Xiaotian Dog over, pressed down on its neck with his left hand, and stroked its soft, smooth belly a few times with his right.

The Celestial Hound bared its teeth and whimpered, while Erlang Shen smiled and said to the Six Sages of Meishan, "Brothers, quickly pay your respects to the Divine Firmament Emperor."

Upon hearing this, the Six Saints of Meishan were immediately startled, but quickly reacted and stepped forward to bow, saying, "We, the humble gods, pay our respects to His Majesty the Great Emperor of Lingtai Dongming Shenxiao."

"Alright, alright," Zhuang Yan said with a smile. "Now that I am cultivating in the mortal world, I do not reveal my true form. You don't need to be so formal. Just call me 'Fellow Daoist Lingtai'."

The Howling Celestial Dog, which had been resisting Zhuang Yan's touch, instantly dropped its fierce, baring-toothed expression upon hearing that the person was Zhuang Yan. Instead, it adopted a friendly demeanor, lifted its limbs, and lay on the ground to play with Zhuang Yan.

"This beast certainly knows how to change its tune depending on the wind." Zhuang Yan laughed out loud when he saw the appearance of the Howling Celestial Dog.

Then he took out a ginseng fruit from his sleeve and placed it near the mouth of the dog, saying, "This is for you, eat it."

Upon seeing this, Kang Anyu, the eldest of the Six Sages of Meishan, laughed and said, "This fruit looks so peculiar, it even resembles the legendary ginseng fruit."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "It's a ginseng fruit, given to me by Zhenyuan Daxian back then."

The Six Sages of Meishan: "."

Zhuang Yan asked, "Have you eaten it?"

The Six Sages of Meishan stood there dumbfounded, shaking their heads repeatedly. The second sage, Zhang Boshi, said, "Your Majesty, the Immortal of Lingtai, you are joking. How could we possibly have such good fortune?"

Zhuang Yan stood up and said, "Then you'll have it today since you met me."

After saying this, Zhuang Yan took out six ginseng fruits and distributed them to the Six Sages of Meishan.

The Six Sages of Meishan accepted the ginseng fruit in disbelief, their hands trembling as they held it.

The third brother, Li Huanzhang, said, "I've heard that smelling this ginseng fruit can add 360 years to your life, and eating one can add 47,000 years."

“That’s right.” Zhuang Yan smiled and said, “This fruit, like the Yellow Plum and the Peaches of Immortality, has the wonderful effect of prolonging life and averting calamities.”

Upon hearing this, the six men excitedly presented the fruit and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty."

Even the Celestial Hound, carrying fruit in its mouth, lay down on the ground and bowed three times to Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan then took out a fruit basket and handed it to Erlang Shen. Erlang Shen looked down and saw that the basket was full of ginseng fruits, about a dozen in total. "You robbed Wuzhuang Temple?" Erlang Shen asked in horror.

Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "Don't worry, this fruit came cleanly, without any karmic connection."

Erlang Shen put away the basket full of ginseng fruits, then invited Zhuang Yan to sit inside the temple. The Six Sages of Meishan followed him, putting away the fruits as they went.

"So you're the new temple keeper at Erlang Temple?" Zhuang Yan asked.

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "That's right. The original temple keeper was about to die, so I gave him a longevity pill, and he gave me the position of temple keeper."

The two sat down in the side hall, and the Six Sages of Meishan quickly brewed tea and served them water, taking meticulous care of them.

Zhuang Yan asked Erlang Shen, "Did you really serve as the mountain god here back then?"

Erlang Shen laughed and said, "I couldn't possibly be born as Erlang Manifestation True Lord, could I?"

Zhuang Yan nodded: "That makes sense. So, did you become the mountain god before or after you split the mountain to save your mother?"

Speaking of these past events, a trace of reminiscence appeared in Erlang Shen's eyes. "Naturally, after splitting the mountain to save my mother, the first position I held in Heaven was the mountain god of Qifeng Mountain."

Zhuang Yan then asked, "How did the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain agree to your coming to Xiniu Hezhou?"

Speaking of this, Erlang Shen's face immediately lit up with a smile, "The Great Emperor of the Western Mountain made a strange condition."

"Oh? What are the conditions?" Zhuang Yan asked.

Erlang Shen asked, "Do you know Hua Yue Erlang?"

“I know, he is the second son of the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain. What’s wrong?” Zhuang Yan asked.

Erlang Shen said, "The condition offered by the Great Emperor of the Western Peak is that I take Hua Yue Erlang as my disciple and teach him martial arts."

Zhuang Yan immediately understood. This was because Hua Yue Erlang had been severely tortured by Tiger Vanguard before. Although the incident had passed, it must have left a deep psychological scar on Hua Yue Erlang.

So now that Erlang Shen is coming to Xiniu Hezhou to seek merit for his brother, let's take this opportunity to let Hua Yue Erlang become Erlang Shen's disciple, learn some martial arts and supernatural powers to improve his strength, so that he will have the strength to fight when facing someone like Tiger Vanguard in the future.

Zhuang Yan said with a smile, "Then there will be two Erlang Shen from now on, one is Erlang Shen of Guanjiang Estuary, and the other is Erlang Shen of Mount Hua in the west."

Guo Shen, who was standing to the side, said, "Any god who ranks second in the world can be called Erlang Shen, but there is only one Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun of Qingyuan Miaodao."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "So he came here to learn a skill?"

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "They should be here soon." Then, Erlang Shen said to the Six Sages of Meishan, "You will go down the mountain in a couple of days. Take this opportunity to do good deeds and accumulate merits for future promotions."

Upon hearing this, the Six Sages of Meishan bowed to Erlang Shen and said, "Yes, True Lord."

Zhuang Yan said, "The great calamity has arrived in Xiniu Hezhou. The future will be very chaotic. You will encounter opponents from all sides. Be very careful."

Upon hearing this, Yao Gonglin asked in surprise, "Isn't it just a three-way battle between Buddhism, Brahma, and the Buddhist-Demon sects? How can there be four forces involved?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "This great calamity is itself a force. After the calamity descends, there will be many beings born under the calamity. They do not belong to Buddhism, Brahma, or any of the Buddhist or demonic factions. They may not even be considered normal beings, but their harm is extraordinary."

Upon hearing this, the six immediately understood and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. We will remember it."

Erlang Shen added, "If you encounter any danger or problems that you can't handle, just come back for help. Your own life is the most important thing."

The six responded and accepted the order once again. Erlang Shen was right. Once you enter the mortal world, you are caught in the calamity and cannot remain uninvolved.

After that, Zhuang Yan settled down at Erlang Temple. His hermitage was right next to Erlang Shen's hermitage, and the two lived side by side.

Two days later, the Six Sages of Meishan bid farewell to Zhuang Yan and Erlang Shen and went down the mountain to enter the mortal world together.

On the morning of the third day, before the mountain mists had dissipated and the dew on the flowers and leaves had dried, a loud barking suddenly broke the tranquility of the mountains.

Then a scream rang out, and Erlang Shen and Zhuang Yan hurriedly walked out of the temple. Looking outside, they saw a young and handsome man wearing a three-colored brocade robe and a golden crown being tackled to the ground by Xiaotian Dog.

The man had two bloody claw marks on his left cheek. He lay on the ground, his face full of panic, while the fierce-looking dog pressed its two front legs against the man's chest, rendering him unable to move.

Erlang Shen touched his forehead upon seeing this and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Xiaotian, quickly release Jinminghou."

The Celestial Hound paused slightly upon hearing this, then withdrew its ferocity and turned to look at Erlang Shen with a puzzled expression, as if to say, "Ah? He is Hua Yue Erlang?"

However, Xiaotianquan immediately released Huayue Erlang and slowly stepped aside. Erlang Shen then stepped forward to help Huayue Erlang up and asked with a smile, "Xiaotianquan doesn't know you yet, so he's a bit hostile. Are you alright?"

Hua Yue Erlang, still shaken by what he heard, laughed and said, "I'm fine. The Devouring Sun God is indeed worthy of his reputation. I've witnessed it firsthand today."

After saying this, Hua Yue Erlang immediately knelt down before Erlang Shen, kowtowed three times, and then prostrated himself, saying, "Disciple Ji Jing greets Master."

Erlang Shen smiled and helped Hua Yue Erlang up, then patted him on the shoulder and nodded slightly to acknowledge him as his disciple.

Then Erlang Shen pointed to Zhuang Yan and introduced him: "Ji Jing, this is the Great Immortal Lingtai, come and pay your respects quickly."

Hua Yue Erlang hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Hua Yue Jinming Hou Ji Jing pays respects to the Great Immortal of Lingtai."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Your master and I are good friends, no need for formalities." As he spoke, he took out a gourd from his sleeve, poured out a magic pill, and handed it over. "This is the 'Mysterious Frost Beauty Pill,' a gift from the Moon Goddess of the Moon Palace. After taking it, it can repair deficiencies, purify blood and flesh, cleanse tendons and bones, balance yin and yang, nourish qi and beautify the complexion, making one's skin as white as jade and bones forever young, with a fragrant and pleasant body. I'm giving you one as a gift."

Hua Yue Erlang's face was solemn. To be able to befriend Erlang Shen and even receive an elixir from Taiyin Xingjun, he must be no ordinary deity.

Hua Yue Erlang extended both hands to receive the elixir, then bowed again, saying, "Thank you for bestowing this elixir, Great Immortal." (End of Chapter)