Journey to the West: The Immortal Clan Begins by Feeding Monkeys at Five Elements Mountain

Chapter 215 The Earth Dragon Has Not Yet Been Calmed, and Now the Locust Plague Arrives

Life went on as usual, neither rushed nor slow.

Jiang Yi returned to the backyard and sat under the peach tree by the spirit spring.

The stone bench, worn smooth by time, feels cool to the touch, as if bathed in spring water, and is a perfect way to calm the mind.

The spring water gurgles and tinkles, like shattered jade.

The peach leaves swayed gently in the wind, filtering down dappled sunlight that fell on his sleeves and into his heart.

The turbidity of the five internal organs is like five passes and barriers.

They stood silently in front of him, blocking his way.

Which path to break first is a matter of strategy.

After pondering for a long time, Jiang Yi finally settled on "kidney water".

The Jiang family's good fortune originated from the spiritual spring behind their house, which was extremely rich in water vapor.

Go with the flow and first refine the turbid water, which is in line with the principles of heaven and the hearts of men.

Moreover, the dragon scales on that bronze rod are also water-related.

If the water vapor can be properly regulated, then one might be able to wield this object with more ease.

Jiang Yi closed his eyes, letting his breath flow at will.

That wisp of breath moved calmly and unhurriedly through the murky water.

I do not seek to break through, but only that a wisp of pure feeling can gently seep in, nourishing things silently.

This job is all about grinding.

You can't rush it, and you can't make mistakes.

After an unknown amount of time, the chaotic dampness and coldness within my body seemed to dissolve into a thin, cool sensation that spread into my limbs.

The sound of the spring behind him also changed, becoming clearer and more melodious, as if it were softly echoing him.

The spring gurgles and the peach leaves rustle.

Jiang Yi focused on the ebb and flow of his breath, meticulously refining the turbid water in his kidney uterus, inch by inch.

My mind was empty, almost in harmony with the heavens and earth.

Just as they were lost in the moment, a gong suddenly rang out in the distance, startling all the mountain birds.

Immediately afterwards, someone shouted at the top of their lungs:
"The earth dragon is about to rise again!"

"Everyone, stay away from the wall! Keep an eye on the elderly and children!"

The sound was as rough as sandpaper. As it rolled in the wind, it first exploded in the courtyard of Liujiazhuang, and then spread throughout Liangjie Village.

This statement is more effective than official notices and more powerful than divine decrees.

The wooden door, which usually creaked open after a long while, was kicked open this time.

The man was shirtless, scooping up the child with one hand and holding a hoe with the other;
The woman, in a high-pitched voice, chased away the chickens and ducks while untying the cow's rope;

Some were helping the elderly, others were carrying the young, and they all flocked to the threshing ground in the center of the village, one household after another.

No one asked, and no one hesitated.

Under the peach tree, Jiang Yi heard everything clearly, but his face remained expressionless.

My son-in-law, Liu Zian, had recently purified the turbid earth in his spleen, and with the five elements in harmony, the water and earth elements in the world became one with him.

He could hear the "heartbeat" of the earth as soon as it took a breath.

At first, the villagers only believed him to some extent because of his family's prestige, and they only went to the village half-heartedly.

But the earth dragon really did flip over.

Once it's a coincidence, twice it becomes a miracle.

After that, whenever Liujiazhuangzi shouted again, not only adults and children, but even chickens, ducks and dogs would run to the open space.

Fortunately, this time, there was a lot of noise but little action.

This area hasn't been very peaceful in recent years.

The village gets shaken up every few days, and the villagers have long since developed a strong sense of discipline from it.

Liu Jiazhuang's shout came at the right time, and everyone retreated quickly, so nothing serious happened.

Only a few livestock sheds that were close together had collapsed roofs and crooked beams.

Before the host could even sigh, the village's "Ancient and Modern Gang" of young men arrived with their weapons.

In no time, within half a day, they not only set up the shed but also added a few more pieces of wood, making it look even sturdier than the main house.

As the sun begins to set and smoke rises from the chimneys again, the village returns to its old appearance.

The chickens pecked at the grain, and the dogs lay by the wall, as if nothing had happened.

It was as if that loud noise was just a drunkard turning over.

Jiang Yi remained seated under the peach tree, his thoughts once again lost in his own body, paying no heed to the matter.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was as clear as if it had been washed.

The moonlight fell on the peach leaves, creating a cool glow that made the spring water appear even more still.

He had just finished his practice and was about to get up when the courtyard suddenly fell silent.

The chirping of insects stopped, and the wind also fell silent.

A blurry shadow, growing darker in the shade of the peach tree.

Once he had regained his composure, he was already in Jiang Liang's appearance.

Jiang Yi paused slightly, his hands still resting on his knees, his tone flat:
"You're back at this hour, is something wrong?"

Jiang Liang bowed slightly, his expression solemn.

“Something has happened outside, and I thought I should inform Father first.”

Jiang Yi turned his head, and the moonlight fell directly on half of his face.

His brows furrowed slightly, but his tone remained indifferent:
"Could it be related to the dragon's transformation during the day?"

He paused, then asked again, his voice lowering slightly:
"Is the shaking outside... very strong?"

Jiang Liang nodded first, then shook his head gently.

The moonlight fell on his shoulders, casting a faint chill.

"If we only consider the magnitude of the earthquake," he said slowly, "it wasn't actually that big; compared to previous ones, it was smaller."

He paused slightly, then changed the subject.

"However, this time, a new change has occurred."

"The epicenter of the earthquake was between Luoyang and Chang'an. The City God Temple initially paid no attention, treating it as a normal earthquake. But in the afternoon, the Mountain God and the Earth God rushed to report it."

He lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing the moonlight in the courtyard:
"After the earth cracked open, swarms of locusts poured out of the crack, covering the sky like dark clouds pressing down. The fields in that area were destroyed in an instant."

Jiang Yi's brows furrowed slowly.

Locust plague.

His heart sank slightly.

He had actually anticipated this calamity.

Years of natural disasters and erratic climate mean that locusts are just an inevitable intruder.

Therefore, he prepared grain in advance and raised a flock of chickens, subtly persuading every household in the village to raise poultry in preparation for any eventuality.

I thought I had planned everything thoroughly.

Unexpectedly, the root cause of this locust plague was actually related to an earthworm turning over.

After a long while, he finally suppressed the jumble of thoughts and his voice was low:
Have you ever seen it with your own eyes?

He paused, then asked:
"Those insects are all ordinary stuff?"

Jiang Liang paused for a moment, his expression slightly surprised, then shook his head.

"As the Chief of the Retribution Division, I am in charge of man-made disasters, not natural ones. This matter is being handled by several colleagues in the temple. I have only heard about it and have not witnessed it myself."

At this point, noticing his father's increasingly grave expression, he tentatively asked:

"Father...do you sense something is amiss?"

In his eyes, it was nothing more than a locust plague.

Though vast and extraordinary, it is ultimately the suffering of the mortal world.

But his father's eyes seemed to be looking into something deeper.

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Only the breathing of the father and son remained, barely perceptible, as if separated by a layer of wind.

After a long silence, Jiang Yi slowly turned his head, his gaze deep and unfathomable, and said, word by word:
"Have you ever considered that this is not a case of an earth dragon turning over and releasing a locust plague?"

"But all these years... those underground disturbances were caused by locusts stirring up trouble inside?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a chill seemed to silently creep through the hall.

Jiang Liang paused, his thoughts caught in his throat, and then he froze on the spot.

As a deity of the earth, he naturally knew how widespread the earthquakes of the past few years had been.

From the miasma-filled lands of the south to the snow-covered passes of the north, it encompasses almost the entire Jambudvipa (Southern Continent).

In the past, it was simply attributed to unstable earth veins and abnormalities in the natural order.

But if we reverse this cause and effect...

If what Father said is true, the so-called earth dragon turning over is not a natural disaster, but rather locusts lurking underground struggling to break through the earth's crust time and time again...

What size of locusts must be lurking underground?

The moment this thought arose, a chill ran from the depths of his soul straight to his crown chakra. He felt a chill run through his entire body, and even the illusory figure seemed to tremble as if blown by the wind.

Jiang Yi, however, remained calm and composed, his expression unchanged.

He waited until his son calmed down before slowly saying:
"That's why I'm sending you to investigate."

"If all that crawls out of the crack are ordinary insects, though they may cause a great disaster, they will ultimately be short-lived and can be prevented and avoided."

He paused.

A gust of wind swept through the courtyard, rustling the peach leaves, the sound carrying a hint of chill.

"But if..."

"Among them were leader locusts, and even..."

"A demonic locust that has already grown in strength, possessing sentience and cultivation..."

He looked up, his voice low, as if coming from a great distance:

"Then it will not be a disaster for one region, but a great calamity for all living beings."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi's expression also turned sour.

Although she claimed to be sending her son to investigate, a sense of foreboding was already creeping into her heart.

In recent years, earthquakes have been frequent, affecting mountains and rivers. They have come on a wide scale and with great speed, unlike any movement that could be made by an ordinary insect.

I had initially thought it was just an ordinary locust plague.

With our current resources, stockpiling grain, raising chickens, and staying home are enough to keep us standing.

But what if a monstrous being who has attained enlightenment infiltrated that swarm of insects...

That cannot be summed up by the word "locust plague".

Jiang Liang stood quietly to one side, his divine form swaying slightly in the moonlight.

Over the years, he has been studying and cultivating his mind, and has been influenced by incense offerings. He is no longer the impetuous young man he once was.

The initial shock subsided quickly, leaving only a somber expression.

"Father, don't worry," he said in a low voice, his tone as steady as ever. "I will go back to the City God Temple now and try to find out the truth about the locust plague."

Jiang Yi nodded slightly.

The father and son said no more.

The illusory figure, like smoke and mist, vanished in an instant, leaving no trace.

The courtyard returned to silence, with only the shadows of peach leaves swaying gently in the moonlight, as if no one had ever been there.

The night deepened, the spring's murmur grew cold, and even the wind carried a hint of harshness.

The next morning, Liangjie Village sprang into action as Jiang Yi had instructed.

The able-bodied men of the "Ancient and Modern Gang" carried hoes and shovels, their feet covered in mud, turning over the soil from house to house.

They dug three feet deep, leaving no corner untouched, muttering Old Jiang's words, determined to thoroughly expose the insect eggs hidden in the mud to the sun.

The women carried baskets and scattered handfuls of lime powder and wood ash that they had accumulated over a long period of time at the corners of the fields and houses.

The powder flew wildly in the wind, choking people's noses and throats, but no one frowned.

Before long, the entire village was shrouded in a layer of white mist-like gray air, with a pungent smell mixed with an indescribable burnt odor.

Some families, heeding Jiang Yi's advice, simply uprooted the newly sprouted rice seedlings with a single hoe and replanted beans and buckwheat, which locusts dislike eating.

This kind of commotion is quite a big deal.

But after several days of digging, very few insect eggs were found in the ground. Even the chickens at the village entrance thought there weren't enough to fill their teeth.

And so, gossip took root in the wind.

"Old Jiang is probably overthinking things this time."

"Exactly! Why are you messing around with perfectly good fields like this?"

Some people felt sorry for the seedlings, shaking their heads and sighing, saying that this season's harvest had all gone down the drain.

Jiang Yi naturally overheard these whispers.

He just smiled and didn't say anything.

We can't exactly tell them that the root of the problem isn't on the surface, but deep underground.
Fortunately, the prestige that the Jiang family has accumulated over the years is not fake.

Even if someone had doubts, they wouldn't dare to say anything to his face.

The young men of the Ancient and Modern Gang regarded the Jiang family's words as gospel and carried them out without any discount.

Thus, this locust control effort proceeded in an atmosphere of skepticism, yet it was carried out in an orderly manner.

Dust filled the air, chickens and ducks squawked, and villagers cursed and swore, but their hands didn't slow down.

Those whispers and gossips didn't last long.

About ten days later, the news spread through traveling merchants and refugees fleeing famine.

A locust plague truly broke out between Luoyang and Chang'an.

The locusts swarmed everywhere, even blocking out the sun;
Wherever they flew, not only crops, but even the hemp thread on people's clothes and the thatch on roofs were devoured clean.

The villagers' expressions changed drastically upon hearing this.

Those who had previously complained about Jiang Yi being "meddlesome" now lowered their heads, and when they looked up again, their expressions were filled with only awe and relief.

Overnight, all the doubts turned into praise for Old Master Jiang's foresight and brilliant strategy.

But to Jiang Yi, these words were just whispers in the wind.

He knew perfectly well what was going on in the village these days: turning the soil, spreading ash, changing seeds...

These are all just tricks for dealing with ordinary insects.

It might be passable for dealing with those heartless beasts who only know how to gnaw.

But the real problem lies not with that group of ordinary insects.

News was coming in intermittently from Jiang Liang's side.

My unintentional guess that day unfortunately came true.

There were indeed monsters mixed in with that swarm of locusts.

Some are as big as calves, with shells so hard they reflect light;

Some of them can spew sand and dust, stirring up swarms of insects.

Ordinary soldiers and generals, let alone eradicating pests, would find it difficult to even get close.

Jiang Yi sighed inwardly.

There's nothing more he can do right now.

Aside from meditation and spiritual practice, he devoted all his remaining thoughts to the chicken coops on the back mountain.

With the ban lifted, many places that were previously off-limits to spirit chickens are now open to them, allowing them to freely graze on spirit fruits and herbs.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken, and one cannot afford to worry about anything else.

In addition, there was the same breathing technique for birds that had been passed down before.

As a result, the energy in the chicken coops on the back mountain grew stronger day by day, and even the mountain breeze seemed to have acquired a touch of spirituality.

There were a few "hybrids" that were originally left over by the three major spirit chicken families. They had mediocre physical attributes and were not yet intelligent. They should have only laid eggs for their entire lives.

Having eaten so much that his mouth was dripping with oil, he somehow developed a kind of spirituality and managed to squeeze into the ranks of those three major families.

For a moment, the crowing of roosters on the back hill was louder than usual.

Several more months passed in this state of outward relaxation but inward tension, full of vigilance.

Liangjie Village remains peaceful and serene.

Beans and buckwheat swayed in the wind, creating undulating green waves;
The roosters on the back hill pecked themselves until they were plump and round, and their crowing came one after another.

That devastating locust plague gradually faded into distant legend.
Like a breeze across thousands of mountains and rivers, it only occasionally brushes past in dreams.

The sun was shining brightly that day.

Beneath the peach tree, Jiang Yi remained seated cross-legged, his mind absorbed into his underwater realm.
A wisp of pure energy slowly circulated around the kidney uterus.

Suddenly, the gong rang out again from Liu Family Village.

With a sharp clang, it pierced the air like tearing silk.

What followed was that resounding roar:

"The earth dragon has turned over!"

But this time, it was different from usual.

The sound grew closer and more urgent; the footsteps almost accompanied the shouts as they were carried away by the wind.

The person who rushed over was not a servant of the Liu family, but Liu Zi'an himself.

He swept forward, his clothes fluttering, his steps as swift as a shooting star.

While shouting for the villagers to make way, he headed straight for the Jiang family's house.

His expression was no longer the gentle and calm one he usually was; there was even a hint of panic between his brows.

Under the peach tree, Jiang Yi opened his eyes almost the instant the gong sounded.

With a slight ripple of spiritual energy, he stood up and stepped out of the courtyard gate.

Just then, Liu Zian landed, the dust still settling, and spoke, his voice urgent:

"Father-in-law, something terrible has happened!"

His chest heaved, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his voice was urgent, as if forced out by fire:
"South of the village, forty miles underground..."

"There's been a big commotion."

(End of this chapter)