Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

After leaving the Dry Pine Ravine, Tang Sanzang and his disciples had only traveled for a few days when a strange sight suddenly appeared before them.

The mountains on both sides are steep, and a large river runs through the middle, leading directly to a city. The city is shrouded in a light black mist, giving it an eerie atmosphere even in broad daylight.

The strangest thing was that everyone entering and leaving the city gate was a woman; there wasn't a single man. Even the soldiers guarding the city were all beautiful women.

Pigsy craned his neck to look around and said to Tang Sanzang, "Master, could this be the Women's Kingdom of Xiliang? Why is the yin energy so heavy? It's giving me goosebumps."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of clothing from his bundle and draped it over Gao Cuilan, who was standing beside him. He was truly a perfect husband.

Sun Wukong was observing carefully at this moment, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Then, with a puzzled look on his face, he spoke.

"This Western Liang Women's Kingdom is indeed strange. It's one thing that there are no men, but this black mist is neither demon nor monster. It seems to be the yin energy that is naturally formed."

“Master, look at the soldiers patrolling the city wall. They are all living women, yet they are all full of vitality and show no signs of being corrupted by evil energy.”

Tang Sanzang sat upright on his horse, his brows slightly furrowed. The primordial yang energy within him, the Golden Cicada, stirred slightly, subtly resonating with the yin energy permeating the city.

A peculiar sensation arose within him, a sensation that was both attraction and repulsion. At the same time, a strange feeling stirred within Tang Sanzang, as if what lay ahead was both danger and opportunity.
The group chatted as they went, eventually finding a ferry at the crossing. They prepared to sail down the river into the city.

When the ferry reached the middle of the river, Pigsy saw that the water was clear. He then used his golden alms bowl to scoop up a bowlful and immediately presented it to Tang Sanzang.

"Master, this water is clear. Please take a sip to moisten your throat."

In the original Journey to the West storyline, Tang Sanzang would have drunk the river water brought by Zhu Bajie without hesitation.

However, Tang Sanzang already knew that this river was called the Zimu River. Drinking its water would cause even a man to become pregnant.

So he shook his head at Pigsy, trying to remind him not to drink either. But Monkey King spoke up instead.

"Fool, aren't you the best to your wife? Since Master isn't drinking, you should hurry up and take it to your wife."

Seeing that Sun Wukong was about to cause trouble again, Tang Sanzang wanted to warn Zhu Bajie. However, Sun Wukong stopped him, urging Zhu Bajie to bring water to his wife.

Pigsy, unsuspecting, had originally intended to drink first, but upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, he decided against it and instead offered the drink directly to Gao Cuilan.

Gao Cuilan reached out and took the purple-gold alms bowl. She merely sniffed the water, and a solemn expression appeared on her face.

Gao Cuilan was no ordinary mortal woman, much less a celestial fairy. She was a water spirit born from the very source of the Weak Water.

So just by smelling the water, I could tell it wasn't right. Therefore, I didn't drink it immediately.

This made Pigsy feel a little strange, so he said directly, "Don't worry, wife, the water isn't dirty."

Gao Cuilan glared fiercely at Zhu Bajie, then turned to look at Sun Wukong and spoke.

“Brother Monkey, there’s something strange about this water. Even I can’t figure it out, but I feel that this water is definitely not ordinary.”

Tang Sanzang finally spoke up, "This river is called the Mother-Child River. Its water can not only make the people of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom pregnant, but even men who drink it will become pregnant."

"It could even be said that this Mother-Child River is the lifeblood of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom. Without this Mother-Child River, no newborns would be born in the Western Liang Women's Kingdom."

Upon hearing Tang Sanzang's words, Zhu Bajie was so frightened that he almost threw the golden alms bowl into the river. He hurriedly poured out the river water and then wiped the golden alms bowl inside and out several times, afraid that not a single drop of river water would remain.

At the same time, he didn't forget to curse Sun Wukong, calling him a plague-ridden monkey. He almost caused his wife to conceive a child from this river.

...When Tang Sanzang and his companions arrived at the city gate of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, they immediately caused a commotion. The people who wanted to enter or leave the city stopped and surrounded Tang Sanzang and his group in layers.

They kept pointing and gesturing at Tang Sanzang, and some even drooled.

"Is this what men are like? The legendary men?"

"That guy in the cassock is really handsome."

"Why is there a pig and a monkey too? They must both be male, right?"

……

……

Fortunately, the general guarding the city arrived in time and dispersed the crowd of onlookers.

When the leading female officer's gaze swept over Tang Sanzang, her eyes couldn't help but pause slightly. She could only suppress her desires and spoke at the door.

"Where did you monks come from? Don't you know that men are not allowed to enter my Western Liang Women's Kingdom?"

Tang Sanzang bowed in Buddhist salutation and said, "This humble monk comes from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, and wishes to travel to the Western Paradise to obtain scriptures. I must first meet with the King to exchange my travel documents."

The female general was somewhat troubled upon hearing this and said to Tang Sanzang, "But our country has a clear law that men are not allowed to enter."

"Therefore, please wait a moment, Great Tang Holy Monk, while I go to see the Imperial Preceptor."

After saying that, he turned and headed into the city. Tang Sanzang and his companions were once again surrounded by onlookers.

However, the female general returned shortly afterward. She dispersed the onlookers once more and then led Tang Sanzang and his companions towards the Western Liang Women's Kingdom.

The houses and streets in the city were no different from anywhere else, and the market was bustling with people buying and selling. However, the entire city was shrouded in an invisible, extremely yin energy.

Sun Wukong felt as if his supernatural powers were being suppressed, Zhu Bajie felt uneasy all over, and even Sha Wujing silently gripped his demon-subduing staff.

Only Tang Sanzang felt that the extreme yin energy was like a cool breeze in the sweltering heat, and he actually felt his mind become much clearer.

The yang energy within his body circulated naturally, merging with the yin energy outside, causing a faint, barely perceptible golden glow to appear on his body surface.

The group was led to the post station for accommodation. The post station manager, also a woman, explained, "Elders, our King has been unwell recently, and the affairs of state are being temporarily handled by the Imperial Preceptor. Tomorrow at the court assembly, I will personally lead you to see the Imperial Preceptor to handle the official documents."

After the female soldiers retreated, Sun Wukong somersaulted onto the clouds and looked around. He saw that deep within the palace, there was an extremely subtle yet incredibly powerful aura of coldness lingering.

Even with his keen eyesight, he could not see through it completely; he could only vaguely make out that the aura resembled a giant scorpion tail, swaying slightly.

"Such powerful demonic energy, hidden so deeply. It must be the Nine-Tailed Earth Scorpion."

He then looked toward the Queen's bedroom, where everything was in chaos, like a black hole that could devour all light.

Even his supernatural powers couldn't penetrate his senses; he only felt a throbbing sensation originating from the depths of his soul.

"This queen is even more difficult to investigate than that monster. It seems that Master Cihang was right. The queen of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom is no ordinary person."

Just then, Pigsy shouted directly to Monkey King in mid-air, "Brother Monkey, what do you see? Have you prepared the vegetarian meal?" (End of Chapter)