Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 25, Crossing the Shifting Sands (Part 1)
Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples finally crossed Huangfeng Ridge, and the rewards of the Ao Tu system were updated accordingly.

The rewards for three days—a Three-Turn Resurrection Pill and a Six-Thousand-Year Peaches for seven days—are nothing special.

The reward for half a month is a postnatal spiritual treasure, the Headache Chime.

Ao Tu knew this treasure; it was a plague-spreading tool used by a disciple of the Plague Emperor Lü Yue. Tapping it would cause people to be infected with the plague's energy, resulting in unbearable headaches.

After he got his hands on the chime, he would strike it at Tang Sanzang whenever he had a spare moment, causing Tang Sanzang to have frequent headaches and preventing him from continuing his journey.

The reward for one month is the acquired spiritual treasure, the Dragon Binding Rope. Although it is an acquired spiritual treasure like the Headache Chime, there are differences in quality among acquired spiritual treasures.

During the Investiture of the Gods period, the two sects were at war. Huanglong Zhenren, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, challenged the enemy in front of the battle. Zhao Gongming of the Jie Sect used this treasure to bind Huanglong Zhenren in mid-air and hang him on a banner.

Clearly, both the Dragon Binding Rope and the Five Fire Divine Flame Fan are top-tier acquired spiritual treasures. Although they are acquired spiritual treasures, their power is no less than that of ordinary innate spiritual treasures. They just cannot assist in comprehending the Great Dao like innate spiritual treasures.

Finally, Ao Tu turned his gaze to the season's reward: the Five-Colored Divine Light.

While magical treasures are valuable, they are not as good as supernatural powers.

The five-colored divine light can sweep away anything. No matter how many spiritual treasures you have, once the divine light appears, it will capture you and your treasures together.

If he possessed such supernatural power, even if the Buddha himself came, Ao Tu would dare to exchange a few blows with him.

However, the delay of one season is simply too long.

A season is three months.

Even including the remaining thirty-four days at Huangfeng Ridge, it would still take Ao Tu nearly two more months to stop Tang Sanzang and his disciples before they could obtain it. Ao Tu was not confident and could only do his best.

Now that Tang Sanzang and his disciples have passed Huangfeng Ridge, they should be arriving here soon.

Ao Tu instructed Sha Wujing to build a wooden hut on the bank of the Liusha River to receive the arriving Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

He's going to put on a show to buy time.

Ao Tu instructed Sha Wujing, "Drive away the people living nearby, so that the pilgrims won't reveal any flaws when they arrive."

Sha Wujing said, "Venerable God, there is no need to drive it away."

Ao Tu asked, "Why?"

Sha Wujing said, “I was punished by the Jade Emperor and was tortured in this Flowing Sand River. I suffered from hunger and cold. Every two or three days, I would go out into the waves to find someone to eat. Woodcutters who met me would die, and fishermen who saw me would perish. Over time, no one lived on the banks of this Flowing Sand River.”

Ao Tu laughed and said, "That's excellent! Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. Your style of doing things is perfect for being a member of my Buddhist sect! You should transform into a fisherman and wait here. When you meet the pilgrims, do this and that..."

Sha Wujing wrote down everything Ao Tu said.

Since Ao Tu's plan was only to obstruct the pilgrims and he had no intention of harming them, Sha Wujing became even more convinced of Ao Tu's true identity after hearing this.

After Tang Sanzang and his disciples crossed the eight hundred Yellow Wind Ridges, they entered a flat plain to the west. Time passed quickly, autumn turned to winter, the north wind was fierce and cold, and a light frost fell.

A month or two later, as they were traveling, they saw a huge, raging torrent of water, with turbulent waves.

Tang Sanzang called out from his horse, "Disciple, look at the wide water ahead, why are there no boats sailing by? Where do we go to cross?"

Upon seeing this, Pigsy said, "It is indeed a raging torrent; there is no boat to cross it."

Wukong jumped into the air and shaded his eyes with his hand to look at the river. He exclaimed in alarm, "Master, this is really difficult, really difficult! If it were me to cross this river, I would only need to twist my waist and I would be across; but for you, Master, it is truly a thousand times more difficult to cross, and ten thousand years more difficult to travel."

Tang Sanzang asked, "What stretches as far as the eye can see here? How wide is this river?"

Wukong said, "It's about eight hundred li away."

Pigsy asked, "How did you know it was eight hundred li, Senior Brother?"

Wukong said, "To tell you the truth, my eyes can see good and bad for a thousand miles in broad daylight. Just now, I saw from the air that this river is so far up and down, and it is at least eight hundred miles wide."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was filled with worry and distress, unsure of how to cross the river. He turned his horse around and suddenly saw a stone tablet on the bank.

Above are three seal characters that read "Blackwater River," and four lines of mantra: "Rolling ink across the land, surging gray for a thousand miles. No one is seen up close, and its shape is hard to find from afar."

Bajie said, "So this river is called the Blackwater River. To be honest, the water is a bit murky, not as clear as the Heavenly River that I, Old Pig, used to govern." Wukong said, "The name of this river sounds somewhat familiar."

Bajie said, "Brother, back when you were a mountain king, you made friends with heroes all over the world. You must have heard the name of this river from someone."

Wukong recalled the glory days and said, "Absolutely! Absolutely!"

Tang Sanzang said, "Disciples, let's not waste time on these other things. The river is swift and difficult to cross. Does anyone have the ability to carry me across?"

Wukong said, "Bajie, carry Master over there."

Bajie said, “Master, your flesh and blood are mortal, as heavy as Mount Tai. How can I, who rides the clouds, be worthy of this title? Only your somersault can do it.”

Wukong said, "As the old saying goes, 'Sending Mount Tai is as light as a mustard seed, but carrying a mortal is difficult to escape the mortal world.' My somersault also rides the clouds, only it goes farther. If you can't carry it, how can I?"

Tang Sanzang was somewhat angry after hearing this and said, "You two are usually very skilled and claim to have the ability to subdue dragons and tigers, but now neither of you is willing to carry your master across the river?"

Pigsy lowered his head and remained silent.

Wukong laughed, “Master, subduing dragons and tigers is easy, but crossing rivers is difficult. This journey to the West requires traversing countless foreign lands to escape the sea of ​​suffering. Bajie and I can only support you and ensure your safety, but we cannot relieve you of these hardships. Otherwise, we fear we won't be able to obtain the scriptures, and the Buddha won't be willing to transmit them; this is what is meant by ‘If something is easily obtained, then it is easily taken for granted.’”

Tang Sanzang said anxiously, "What should we do? We just passed the perilous Yellow Wind Ridge, and now this great river is blocking our way. When will we ever reach the Western Paradise?"

Wukong said, "Master, don't worry. Let me see if there are any houses nearby and ask if this place is safe."

Wukong leaped up on the cloud and looked around. He could only see a house about four or five miles away. Apart from that, there was no other household within a thousand miles.

As soon as Wukong landed, Tang Sanzang asked impatiently, "Disciple, are there any houses?"

Wukong said, "There is one, but it's not a good place."

Tang Sanzang said, "Since there are people living here, isn't this a good place to go?"

Wukong said, "This area is deserted for miles around, except for one house five miles to the south. It must be a monster in disguise."

Tang Sanzang said, "Perhaps they are living in seclusion here."

Wukong said, "No, no, even a true hermit would occasionally go to populated areas to exchange for wine. How could someone live in seclusion for thousands of miles around like this?"

As they were talking, a person suddenly appeared from the rolling river.

The man had a dark, gloomy complexion and a stocky build. He wore a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, and was alone in a small boat, standing barefoot on the boat, holding a fishing net in his hand.

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang was overjoyed and said:

"Great! There's a fisherman here. Let's go find him and ask him to help us cross the river!"

Wukong quickly stopped him, saying:
"Master, don't go! I just checked, and there aren't any houses for miles around. How could someone suddenly appear? It must be a monster!"

Tang Sanzang was torn between two options.

Just then, the fisherman sang loudly:

"A small boat drifts wherever it may, fearless amidst the myriad waves. Casting hooks and nets to catch fresh fish, the flavor is not greasy, but rather delightful. Wearing a straw raincoat as a blanket, I lie on the autumn river, snoring soundly, carefree, and indifferent to worldly glory and wealth."

Tang Sanzang was overjoyed and said, "What a refined gentleman!" He was about to step forward.

Wukong stopped him again, saying, "Master, you mustn't go! Those are demons!"

Tang Sanzang said, "Nonsense! How could a demon compose such elegant poetry? This is clearly a hermit living here!"

Wukong said, "Master, the demons are full of tricks. You are just a mortal and cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood. You cannot go!"

At this point, the fisherman rowed his boat away.

Tang Sanzang said, "My mind is made up. Don't try to stop me. If you ruin my important plans, I'll recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra!"

(End of this chapter)