I am a fairy in Journey to the West

In the Cloud Silkworm Cave, two blue-haired, white-skinned monsters huddled in a corner, seemingly trying to avoid attracting attention.

But the Heavenly Silkworm King noticed these two. "Pitter-patter, splash, what are you two doing hiding over there?"

Startled by the pattering and splashing sounds, it then shrank back and shrank over step by step.

The Heavenly Silkworm King then noticed that the two guys had bruises and swelling on their faces, clearly having been badly beaten.

"Who attacked you?" the Heavenly Silkworm King asked. "On my territory, who dares to bully the people in my cave? Tell me, who attacked you?"

"Uh..." he stammered for a long time, his face, which was bruised and swollen, was unusually flushed.

The Heavenly Silkworm King frowned, and seeing that Xili couldn't speak for a long time, he pointed at Huala and said, "Huala, you speak."

"This... Your Majesty, I'm too ashamed to say it," Huala said, shrinking her neck.

"Hmph!" The Heavenly Silkworm King slammed his hand on the table and roared, "If you don't talk, I'll deduct two months' worth of your rations!"

Upon hearing this, Xilili and Huala were startled and, without further hesitation, quickly explained the reason.

It turned out that they had come down the mountain on patrol today and encountered an eighteen-year-old young man. They saw that the young man was handsome and had a dignified bearing, so they wanted to capture him and bring him into the cave to present to the Heavenly Silkworm King to curry favor.

But they didn't expect that the young man was quite strong and had good stamina. After half a day, he had left the two of them in a sorry state.

The two were tricked by the young man and fell in the mountains, ending up with bruises and swelling on their faces. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as the young man escaped, leaving them slinking away in the same spot.

After listening to their story, the Heavenly Silkworm King snorted again and said, "You two are really useless. You can't even handle an eighteen-year-old!"

Xilili and Hualala hurriedly knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness. The Heavenly Silkworm King asked, "Where did that person go?"

Xili said, "It seems they went north."

The Heavenly Silkworm King then asked, "How long has that person been crossing this mountain?"

Hua Lala said, "We met him three hours ago. At that time, he had just passed the halfway point of the mountain. If he were walking at a normal pace, he should have reached Muling Beach by now."

"Muling Beach?" The Heavenly Silkworm King pondered, "That's the territory of the Old Ghost withered Wood."

Xili said, "Your Majesty, why don't we just forget about it? Anyway, we're not seriously injured and can recover in a few days."

"Let it go?" the Heavenly Silkworm King said. "If we let it go, where will I put my face?"

After saying that, the Heavenly Silkworm King stood up: "I want to see how capable that brat is, daring to hurt the people of my Cloud Silkworm Cave."

"Your Majesty," someone said with a clatter, "that withered old ghost eats anyone it sees, it never picks or chooses. If you go over there..."

The Heavenly Silkworm King raised an eyebrow and said, "What's wrong with me going there? Do you think I'm afraid of it?"

At this point, the two from the Heavenly Silkworm Dynasty said, "You two prepare yourselves in the cave. Today I will definitely capture that brat and give everyone a taste of meat."

Upon hearing this, the little demons in the cave cheered, and Xilili and Huala quickly responded and accepted the order.

Afterwards, the Heavenly Silkworm King transformed into a wisp of black mist and flew out of the Cloud Silkworm Cave, over the mountains, and arrived at the Wood Spirit Beach.

Muling Beach is a swamp. It used to be a large river, but the river gradually dried up. Although there is still a stream, it has long lost its flow and gradually turned into a large swamp.

The withered old ghost was originally a spirit tree. It cultivated for six hundred years but failed to transform into human form. Finally, a hundred years ago, it was struck by heavenly lightning, and its main body turned to ashes. Only its soul fell into the river.

More than 30 years ago, Muling Beach gradually dried up and turned into a swamp. Over the years, many living beings have died in this swamp, accumulating a large amount of yin energy and trapping many ghosts.

So the soul of the withered old ghost began to absorb this yin energy and devour these ghosts to cultivate, and it actually managed to cultivate something remarkable.

The withered old ghost not only regained his magic power of over six hundred years, but also mastered the Soul Devouring Technique, making him a force to be reckoned with.

As dusk approached, an eighteen-year-old boy was struggling to walk on the Muling Beach, the mud around his feet making his journey extremely difficult.

However, he was clever enough to keep walking along the edge of the cliff, because it was the edge of a swamp, so the muddy pool wasn't very deep.

Just then, a cloud of black mist descended from the sky, grabbed Liu Chenxiang at lightning speed, and carried him to the hillside behind.

Liu Chenxiang struggled in panic, and when she landed and looked up, she found that she had returned to the foot of the mountain where she had been before. All the time she had spent in the swamp for the previous two hours had been for nothing.

"Who?" Liu Chenxiang stood up and shouted, "Who is playing tricks on me here?"

A cloud of black mist descended, revealing the figure of the Heavenly Silkworm King. Liu Chenxiang was startled and looked at the Heavenly Silkworm King, asking, "Are you a god or a demon?"

The Heavenly Silkworm King said, "I am a deity."

Liu Chenxiang said, "I don't believe it. How could a deity look like you?"

The Heavenly Silkworm King's face darkened, and he kicked Liu Chenxiang to the ground. "Then why are you still asking?" The Heavenly Silkworm King said coldly, "Boy, you think you can run away after bullying my people?"

Liu Chenxiang groaned, clutching her stomach and stiffening her neck, "Can't I ask? Besides, who bullied your people? You have nothing to say now, huh?"

The Heavenly Silkworm King grabbed Liu Chenxiang by the neck, revealing a demonic expression, and said, "How dare you speak to me like that? Don't you know how to spell death?"

Liu Chenxiang was startled, but reacted in a way that was completely opposite to what the Heavenly Silkworm King had expected.

Suddenly, Liu Chenxiang grabbed a stone and smashed it into the face of the Heavenly Silkworm King. With a loud 'bang,' the stone shattered into several pieces on the Heavenly Silkworm King's face, but the Heavenly Silkworm King was completely unharmed.

"Boy, you're asking for death." The Heavenly Silkworm King didn't expect Liu Chenxiang to dare to resist, so he immediately grabbed Liu Chenxiang's neck.

The Heavenly Silkworm King's five fingers clamped around Liu Chenxiang's neck like iron pincers and slowly tightened. Liu Chenxiang's face instantly turned red, and he gradually found it difficult to breathe.

But he was still unwilling to admit defeat and continued to punch and kick the Heavenly Silkworm King, but none of his attacks were effective.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from the swamp not far away and struck the Heavenly Silkworm King heavily in the lower back.

The Heavenly Silkworm King cried out in pain, hurriedly threw Liu Chenxiang to the ground, and turned around to strike Zhao with a palm.

This palm strike carried a chilling aura, causing a burst of mud and water in the swamp and quickly freezing a large area of ​​the swamp.

At the same time, a surge of ghostly energy rose from the distant swamp, and then an old ghost dressed in gray, with a withered appearance like an old tree and eyes gleaming with an eerie light, flew out.

Upon seeing this ghost, the Heavenly Silkworm King immediately cursed, "Old man, why did you sneak attack your Heavenly Silkworm Grandpa?"

The withered old ghost smiled sinisterly, glanced at Liu Chenxiang, and then said to the Heavenly Silkworm King, "You came to my territory to steal my people, and you even ask me why I ambushed you. You have no shame."

"Hmph, just because someone is on your turf doesn't mean they're your man!" The Heavenly Silkworm King pointed at Liu Chenxiang and said, "Ask him if he knows you or not."

The withered old ghost said, "Stop rambling. According to the rules, once he enters my territory, he becomes my prey."

The Heavenly Silkworm King said, "No, this brat injured my men. I must take him back and deal with him."

“Then your men are all useless. They couldn’t even capture a mere mortal like this, and he slipped through my fingers. This must be fate,” said the withered old ghost.

The Heavenly Silkworm King said, "Old ghost, don't try to be unreasonable."

The withered old ghost said, "Don't try to argue. He's on my territory, so he belongs to me."

The Heavenly Silkworm King, no longer wanting to entangle with the withered old ghost, grabbed Liu Chenxiang and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, the withered old ghost immediately transformed into a wisp of ghostly energy and rushed forward, saying, "You can leave, but leave the person behind."

As soon as he finished speaking, the withered old ghost struck out with his palm, and the Heavenly Silkworm King, who was prepared, also returned the blow with his own palm. The two palms collided, instantly unleashing a deafening explosion, followed by a powerful gust of wind that sent Liu Chenxiang flying.

Without another word, the Heavenly Silkworm King and the Old Ghost of the Withered Wood unleashed their palms with lightning speed, each strike carrying deadly intent. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged more than twenty blows.

Upon seeing the two demons fighting, Liu Chenxiang immediately got up and ran away, shouting as he ran, "Help! There are demons!"

"There's a monster! Help!"

Liu Chenxiang's voice sounded extremely jarring in the dim mountain forest. The Heavenly Silkworm King and the Old Ghost of the Withered Wood each took a step back and shouted at Liu Chenxiang in unison, "Shut up!"

After saying that, the Heavenly Silkworm King raised his hand and pointed, and a beam of demonic light swiftly struck down, knocking Liu Chenxiang to the ground.

A flash of demonic light appeared and flew to Liu Chenxiang's lips, releasing a chill that froze his mouth shut.

Seeing this, the withered old ghost couldn't help but praise, "Heavenly Silkworm, what a skill!"

The Heavenly Silkworm King smiled smugly, but unexpectedly, the withered old ghost stirred up a sky full of yin winds and ghostly mist, instantly enveloping the Heavenly Silkworm King.

"The Soul Devouring Technique?!" the Heavenly Silkworm King exclaimed in surprise, but the next moment he suddenly curled up into a ball.

In an instant, the Heavenly Silkworm King felt dizzy, disoriented, and weak.

Meanwhile, from the surrounding eerie winds and mists, eerie chains of light appeared and pierced into the body of the Heavenly Silkworm King, constantly pulling his three souls and seven spirits outwards.

The Heavenly Silkworm King felt a splitting headache, clutched his head, rolled to the ground, and screamed in agony.

At this moment, most of the Heavenly Silkworm King's three souls and seven spirits had been torn from his body. The withered old ghost laughed loudly and immediately opened his mouth to devour the Heavenly Silkworm King's souls.

Just then, a crane's cry suddenly came from the sky, followed by an immense divine might that instantly enveloped everything.

The withered old ghost, who was devouring the soul of the Heavenly Silkworm King, was greatly surprised. He hurriedly looked up and saw a crane with a seven-colored crest on its head swooping down with a majestic immortal light. With a flap of its wings, it broke his Soul Devouring Technique.

The withered old ghost was terrified and hurriedly gathered up ghostly mist to escape back to the bottom of the swamp.

But the crane was faster than him. With a gentle peck of its long red beak, the withered old immortal only had time to utter a cry of "Spare me!" before being killed by the crane's beak.

The withered old ghost died instantly, his cultivation of over six hundred years vanishing into the world in the blink of an eye.

Liang found Liu Chenxiang in the mountains and forests. She channeled her magic power into her fingertips and gently touched Liu Chenxiang's face.

In an instant, the frost that had frozen Liu Chenxiang's mouth melted away, and Liang Nu laughed, "I heard you calling for help from heaven, are you alright?"

Liu Chenxiang stared blankly at Liang Nu, about to speak, when she heard a crane's cry from the side.

Liu Chenxiang turned his head and saw a seven-colored crane on its head peck the withered old ghost to death with its beak, and then turn around and stomp the Heavenly Silkworm King under its foot with its claw.

"Immortal, spare me! Immortal, spare me! This little demon is willing to offer up the treasures in the cave, please spare me!" The Heavenly Silkworm King hurriedly begged for mercy.

Before Liang Nu could speak, Liu Chenxiang quickly said, "Immortal, don't kill him."

The crane, which was raising its red beak as if to peck, looked at Liang Nu. Upon hearing Liu Chenxiang's words, Liang Nu said, "Xiao Cai, let him go first."

Upon hearing this, the crane released its grip on the Heavenly Silkworm King and slowly retreated to the side.

The Heavenly Silkworm King felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Liang Nu and the crane. "Thank you two immortals for sparing my life. This lowly demon wishes to offer the treasures in the cave to you immortals."

Liang smiled faintly and pointed at Liu Chenxiang, saying, "This young man must have his reasons for telling us not to kill you. Let's hear what he has to say."

The Heavenly Silkworm King immediately looked at Liu Chenxiang, who first clasped her hands in a salute to Liang Nu and said, "Thank you, Fairy Sister, for saving my life."

Liang waved her hand and asked, "It was nothing, no need to thank me. Why did you ask me not to kill him?"

Liu Chenxiang looked at the Heavenly Silkworm King and said, "He doesn't seem like a bad person, and he just saved me."

"Huh? Is that so?" Even the Heavenly Silkworm King was stunned by these words. I'm not a bad person? How come I didn't know that myself?
"Oh? He just saved you?" Ms. Liang asked in surprise.

Liu Chenxiang said, "Yes, if he hadn't rescued me from the swamp in time, I probably would have been eaten by that old ghost."

Oh, so that's how it is. The Heavenly Silkworm King wiped the cold sweat from his face. It's truly a case of "the flowers you plant with care don't bloom, but the willows you plant without intention thrive."

He originally intended to capture Liu Chenxiang and take him back to eat, but unexpectedly, Liu Chenxiang thought he was saving him.

As if she had seen through this, Liang looked at the Heavenly Silkworm King with a half-smile.

The Heavenly Silkworm King's heart tightened, and he hurriedly stood up and said, "That's right, this old ghost has eaten countless people. No living being that has caught his eye has been able to escape this swamp. I also don't want such a young man to be eaten by this old ghost for no reason. That would be such a pity."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chenxiang immediately said with gratitude, "Thank you for saving my life, brother. I misunderstood you just now."

The Heavenly Silkworm King quickly said solemnly, "Brother, there's no need for such formalities. I just couldn't bear to see a young man like you die unjustly here."

Liu Chenxiang said, "Brother, you are so kind and righteous!"

King Heavenly Silkworm was drenched in sweat and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, these two immortals are truly benevolent! If it weren't for them, we would have all been killed by that old devil."

At this point, the Heavenly Silkworm King hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to Liang Nu, saying, "I am Heavenly Silkworm of Cloud Silkworm Cave. May I ask how you are addressed, Immortal?"

Liang Nu said, "My Taoist name is Zhaoyan. Master of Tiancan Cave, there is no need to call me an immortal. I have not yet achieved immortality." Then Liang Nu introduced the crane, saying, "This is my master's mount and also my friend. Its name is Xiao Cai. It is indeed an immortal crane."

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Silkworm King quickly changed his form of address, saying, "The Heavenly Silkworm greets Fellow Daoist Zhaoyan." Then he hurriedly bowed to the crane, saying, "This humble demon greets the Immortal."

The crane nodded slightly in response.

Then, Liang Nu and Liu Chenxiang from the Heavenly Silkworm Dynasty said, "Fellow Daoist Zhaoyan, as I said earlier that I would offer the treasures in the cave, I should keep my word. I would be honored if you would grace our humble cave with your presence."

After a moment's thought, Liang decided that since they were just waiting for the Bull Demon King to finish spring plowing and there was nothing else to do, she might as well go and sit for a while. So she nodded in agreement.

The Heavenly Silkworm King was overjoyed and quickly said to Liu Chenxiang, "Brother, we get along very well. Please come to my cave and we can become friends."

Seeing that Liang was going anyway, Liu Chenxiang naturally wouldn't refuse and nodded, saying, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, brother."

"Hey, no need to be so formal." The Heavenly Silkworm King chuckled, then led the way. Liang Nu, along with Liu Chenxiang, sat on the crane's back and followed the Heavenly Silkworm King, traversing mountains and valleys all the way to the Cloud Silkworm Cave.

When Xilili and Hualala saw the Heavenly Silkworm King returning with Liu Chenxiang, they hurriedly and joyfully went to greet them.

Seeing these two, the Heavenly Silkworm King was afraid they would let something slip, so he quickly spoke first: "You two, quickly go and inform everyone to prepare wine, food, tea and rice, and pick fruits. I, the King, am going to hold a banquet to welcome Fellow Daoist Zhaoyan and the others."

Xilili and Huala were also perceptive. They saw their king blinking as he spoke, and then they saw the crane shrouded in celestial light, which was extraordinary. Knowing that they could not be negligent, they quickly obeyed the order and left.

Seeing how familiar the two were, Liu Chenxiang exclaimed in surprise, "It's them!"

The Heavenly Silkworm King chuckled and said, "They are the guys you teased during the day, my subordinates. It's alright, as the saying goes, 'No fight, no friendship.'"

Upon hearing this, Liu Chenxiang didn't think much of it, but simply scratched his head and laughed, "Brother Tiancan is right, we become friends after a fight."

The Heavenly Silkworm King breathed a sigh of relief, and then quickly invited Liang Nu, Liu Chenxiang, and the crane to take their seats.

But the crane simply stood quietly behind Liang Nu, its head held high, ignoring everyone except Liang Nu.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Silkworm King said nothing more, but simply ordered fine wine and fresh fruit to be brought out for Liang Nu and Liu Chenxiang to enjoy. (End of Chapter)