Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

Then, the Great Immortal Lu Li stepped forward, ready to test his magic against Li Fa.

Li Fa readily agreed, and laughed, "Do the Second National Preceptor truly wish to test his supernatural powers with me?"

Deer Power Immortal said, "Indeed, you say we use unorthodox methods. Today, we'll settle this with a contest!"

Li Fa said, "How shall we compete? Tell me."

The Great Immortal Deer Power said, "I have a minor skill called 'Paper-cutting into Butterflies.' Let's each use our magic to conjure some living creatures and see who can do it more skillfully, shall we?"

Li Fa nodded and said, "Okay."

The Deer-Power Immortal took out a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve, then a pair of scissors. With a few snips, he cut it into the shape of a butterfly, held it in his palm, chanted incantations, and shouted, "Hurry!"

The paper butterfly rose up in response, its wings fluttering and dancing gracefully, lifelike. It circled in front of the hall a few times before flying back into Lu Li's hand and landing on his fingertip, just like a living butterfly.

The Taoist priests cheered in unison.

Deer Power Immortal said, "Jade Toad, it's your turn."

Li Fa smiled slightly, and without taking the paper, he simply raised his hand, and a butterfly flew out from his palm. It was entirely crimson, with sparks on its wings, and it fluttered away. It was more agile than the paper butterfly; it was a fire butterfly.

Deer Power Immortal was taken aback: "What is this...?"

It turns out that Li Fa secretly activated the essence of the Li Fire, took a spark of Li Fire from this treasure, and then used the Five Elements Great Escape technique to transform it into this fire butterfly.

Li Fa flicked his finger, and the fire butterfly flew towards the paper butterfly at Lu Li's fingertip.

Upon seeing this, the Deer Power Immortal quickly tossed the paper butterfly into the air.

Unexpectedly, the fire butterfly seemed to gain sentience, merging directly with the paper butterfly before disappearing.

Immortal Deer Power, thinking that the Fire Butterfly had been extinguished, was quite pleased with himself and said, "Fellow Daoist, although your method is strange, its power is quite ordinary."

Li Fa said, "The Imperial Preceptor is overjoyed. This butterfly of mine was transformed from real fire. Although the Imperial Preceptor's paper butterfly is skillful, how can paper contain fire?"

After saying this, he uttered the word "Imperial Edict," and the paper butterfly burst into flames with a "whoosh," turning into a cloud of ashes that drifted to the ground.

Deer Power Immortal's expression changed, and he angrily said, "You...how dare you break my magic?"

Li Fa cupped his hands and said, "Grand Preceptor, please calm your anger. I was merely demonstrating the wondrous uses of my supernatural powers; I had no intention of offending you. If the Grand Preceptor feels it's not enough, we can compete in something else."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li Da Xian's face turned ashen. He had intended to show off his skills in front of the Taoist priests, but unexpectedly, Li Fa had broken his spell so easily. How could he save face?

He sneered and said, "Paper-cutting into butterflies is nothing but a minor skill; victory or defeat is insignificant. Do you dare to challenge me to a contest of disembowelment, heart-ripping, and gut-picking?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fa laughed and said, "Disembowelment and heart-ripping? I'm not afraid of that, but I'm afraid that you'll ruin your incision before you even hurt my stomach."

Deer Power Immortal was taken aback, then recalled the scene of Li Fa being hacked and chopped with knives and axes for half an hour without getting hurt, and was immediately speechless.

He thought to himself, "This fellow is indestructible and impervious to swords and spears. Even if I use the finest sword to cut him open, I'm afraid I won't be able to. If I fail to cut him open, I'll only make a fool of myself."

Thinking of this, he swallowed hard and changed his words, saying, "Disemboweling and removing the heart is indeed a bit bloody and against the natural order."

Li Fa laughed and said, "What else would the Imperial Advisor like to compete in? Just say it!"

Upon hearing this, the Great Immortal Deer Power pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up and a plan came to mind.

He thought to himself, "This fellow is formidable. If I confront him head-on again, I'm afraid I'll only humiliate myself. It would be better to use a clever method, using soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals, so that he can't defend against it."

Having made up his mind, the Great Immortal Deer Power laughed and said, "Jade Toad, your physical body is so strong that I am ashamed to admit my inferiority. However, for those who cultivate the Dao, it is not only about the physical body, but also about adaptability. I have a minor technique called 'Straw Men Become Soldiers.' Let us each use our magic to conjure some soldiers and horses, and then fight each other. The victor will be the one to prevail. What do you say?"

Li Fa asked, "How will the fighting proceed?"

The Great Immortal Lu Li said, "I will use straw as weapons and bamboo poles as tools, with the tips of the poles dipped in white lime. You and I will be positioned behind the troops, serving as commanders. Commanders cannot personally engage in battle; only their troops can move. After the battle, whichever commander has white lime on them will be considered the loser. How does that sound?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fa chuckled inwardly: This Lu Li has quite a clever idea. The quicklime will show as soon as it touches the skin; it's a fair method.

He nodded and said, "In that case, please go first, Grand Preceptor."

The Deer Immortal was overjoyed and turned to instruct the young Taoist priest: "Go and fetch some straw, a lot of it! Also fetch bamboo poles, quicklime, and water, and bring them all here!"

The young Taoist priests hurriedly ran to the backyard, and soon returned with several bundles of straw, a bundle of bamboo poles, and a basin of white lime slurry.

Deer Power Immortal rolled up his sleeves, squatted on the ground, and with swift hands, twisted the straw into ropes and then wove them into straw figures.

He was skilled and in less than half an hour, he had made a total of twenty straw figures, each about seven feet tall, with a head, body, and limbs. Although they were rough, they were still quite presentable.

He then took a bamboo pole, cut it into lengths of about ten feet, dipped one end in white lime slurry, and left it to dry.

With everything prepared, the Deer Power Immortal stood up, dusted off the grass clippings on his hands, chanted incantations, stepped onto the Dipper formation, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Go!"

The twenty straw figures trembled all at once and stood up. Each picked up a bamboo pole and formed a square formation, advancing and retreating in an orderly fashion, just like well-trained soldiers.

Deer Power Immortal said smugly, "Jade Toad, what do you think of my straw soldiers? If you can break this formation, I will be completely convinced."

Li Fa glanced at the straw figures, then at the Deer Power Immortal, and smiled, "The Imperial Preceptor's magic is quite novel. However, I have a question to ask."

The Great Immortal Deer Power asked, "What is it?"

Li Fa said, "Our contest will be marked with white lime. If your soldiers leave white dots on my body, I will naturally lose. But what if my soldiers accidentally wipe out your entire army?"

Lu Li Da Xian said, "If the commander-in-chief does not move, and one side is completely wiped out, then it is naturally considered a loss."

Li Fa nodded and said, "Alright. Then this humble Taoist will make a fool of myself."

Having said that, he neither made a straw effigy nor chanted any incantations, but simply shook his body.

With a sudden movement, an exact replica of him emerged from his body!

The man also wore a purple turban, a black robe, straw sandals, and carried a cane, just like Li Fa, even their expressions were exactly the same.

Deer Power Immortal was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Jade Toad, I wondered what other supernatural powers you had, that you could say 'I will be wiped out completely'. Now it seems that you are nothing but an external body."

Although I don't know this magic, I do know that ordinary clones can only exert less than one percent of the power of the original body, while these straw figures of mine are incredibly strong, each capable of exerting one-third of my magical power. How can your mere clone possibly withstand them? You'd better admit defeat now!