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

Meanwhile, when the Great Immortal Deer Power saw that Li Fa had only conjured one clone, he was secretly delighted, thinking that victory was in his grasp.

He pointed at the twenty straw soldiers and said smugly, "Yu Chanzi, each of my straw soldiers is incredibly strong and moves with perfect control. Even if there were twenty or thirty of them, they might not be able to withstand us. You are just a mere clone; how could you possibly be a match for them? You'd better admit defeat now to avoid making a fool of yourself."

Li Fa smiled slightly and said, "Grand Preceptor, you are mistaken. This clone of mine is no ordinary clone. It is exactly the same as my main body, with identical magical power, supernatural abilities, and physical strength. If you don't believe me, Grand Preceptor, just send your straw soldiers to attack."

Deer Power Immortal refused to believe it. He sneered, "How arrogant! Since that's the case, then I'll show you!"

Having said that, he formed a hand seal and shouted, "Attack!"

The twenty straw soldiers moved at the sound, raising bamboo poles dipped in lime and surrounding Li Fa.

Their steps were neat and orderly, just like well-trained elite soldiers.

Li Fa remained calm and said, "Go!"

The clone leaped into the air and charged directly into the straw doll formation.

He moved with lightning speed, dodging left and right, and seized a bamboo pole from a straw man. With a backhand sweep, he knocked three or four straw soldiers to the ground.

The Great Immortal Deer was greatly alarmed and hurriedly activated his magic to change the formation of the straw soldiers.

The straw figures that had fallen to the ground got up and gathered around again.

Li Fa frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "These straw figures can get back up after being knocked down. If we don't destroy their foundation, we'll just be wasting our energy."

With a sudden thought, he secretly activated the essence of the Li Fire.

Having received the life-bound secrets, the clone suddenly stopped, threw down the bamboo pole in its hand, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Fire!"

Suddenly, a burst of crimson flames shot out from his palm—it was indeed a real fire!

The fire raged and swept out, engulfing all the straw soldiers who surrounded it.

With a whoosh, the twenty straw soldiers instantly turned into twenty fireballs, and in a short while they turned to ashes and scattered all over the ground.

The Great Immortal Lu Li stared in disbelief, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Li Fa withdrew his clone, stood with his hands behind his back, and laughed, "Grand Preceptor, although your straw man can rise again, it is ultimately made of wood and is naturally afraid of fire. Has my fire broken your magic?"

The Great Immortal Lu Li turned ashen-faced. After a long while, he sighed and cupped his hands, saying, "Master Yu Chan's Taoist magic is profound. I humbly admit defeat! I have offended you earlier, please forgive me."

Having said that, he bowed deeply and stepped aside.

Tiger Power Immortal's face turned ashen. He stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Jade Toad, you do indeed have some skill. However, I observed that you used fire to break my second brother's technique. Those paper butterflies and straw figures are flammable and naturally afraid of fire, so your victory was not entirely honorable."

Li Fa smiled and asked, "What advice does the Grand Preceptor have for me?"

Tiger Power Immortal said, "If you truly possess skill, dare you challenge me to a contest of thunder magic? Thunder is the might of heaven and earth, and cannot be defeated by trickery. Let us each unleash our thunder magic and see who can summon wind and thunder more effectively, thus revealing our true abilities!"

Upon hearing this, Li Fa laughed and said, "Comparing thunder magic? What's there to be afraid of! It's just that my thunder magic is quite powerful. If I were to use it in the Sanqing Temple, I'm afraid it would collapse the temple buildings and shatter the statues of the Three Pure Ones, which would be undesirable."

Upon hearing this, Tiger Power Immortal thought to himself, "This fellow does seem to have some scruples; he doesn't appear to be an arrogant fool."

He then said, "In that case, there's a mountain not far from here called Fulong Ridge. The terrain is open and spacious, perfect for a contest of thunder magic. Let's go there and have a showdown!"

Li Fa nodded and said, "Alright! Grand Master, please lead the way."

The group left the Sanqing Temple. Tiger Power Immortal leaped into the air, Li Fa rode on the wind, and Lu Li and Yang Li followed closely behind, along with some Taoist priests from the Sanqing Temple. The group headed straight for Fulong Ridge.

When the group arrived at Fulong Ridge, they saw that although the mountain was not very high, it was full of strange rocks and ancient trees. There was no one around for several miles, which was perfect for testing thunder magic.

Tiger Power Immortal chose a flat spot and ordered the young Taoist priest to bring an incense table and set out incense burner, candlesticks, talismans, cinnabar, and other items.

He straightened his clothes, ascended the altar, held a peach wood sword, stepped on the Big Dipper, and chanted incantations.

Before long, dark clouds gathered in the sky, a strong wind suddenly rose, and the rumble of thunder could be heard faintly.

Tiger Power Immortal shouted, "Go!"

A dark red bolt of lightning struck down from the clouds, hitting a huge rock on the mountainside.

With a loud "boom," the boulder exploded, sending fragments flying and dust billowing everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, several more bolts of lightning struck down, splitting several ancient pine trees in half.

Lu Li and Yang Li cheered in unison, "Senior Brother, what amazing thunder magic!"

Tiger Power Immortal sheathed his peach wood sword, stood with his hands behind his back, and said smugly, "Jade Toad, how is my thunder magic? It can split mountains and shatter rocks with ease."

Li Fa stood aside, watched Tiger Power Immortal's performance, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Tiger Power Immortal frowned and said, "What are you laughing at?"

Li Fa shook his head and said, "I laugh at the Grand Preceptor's thunder; it's nothing more than mere Yin Thunder, mortal thunder, not even heavenly thunder, let alone divine thunder or dragon thunder. Does this even deserve to be called thunder magic?"

Tiger Power Immortal's expression changed, and he angrily said, "Don't talk nonsense! If you're so capable, then summon some lightning for me to see!"

Li Fa said, "Very well! I'll show you what I'm capable of. However, my thunder magic is quite powerful and might harm the innocent. Please step back a hundred feet to avoid being caught in the crossfire."

Tiger Power, Deer Power, and Sheep Power exchanged glances. Although they were resentful, they obeyed and retreated to a distance.

Li Fa then calmly ascended the altar.

He didn't set up an incense table, nor did he display talismans or use a peach wood sword. He simply stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.

As everyone wondered what was happening, they saw Li Fa raise his right hand, form a Five Thunder Seal, and chant, "Heavenly thunder rumbles, divine thunder roars. Water thunder rolls, dragon thunder soars, and the Earthly Thunder obeys my command. The five thunders unleash simultaneously, so be it!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening roar erupted, accompanied by the simultaneous thunderclap of five bolts of lightning—a truly earth-shattering event.

How can we tell? There is a poem to prove it, which says:

A deafening roar rips through heaven and earth; a blazing inferno engulfs the Five Sacred Mountains. Lightning flashes like golden serpents piercing the azure sky; flames soar like purple fire penetrating the Yellow Springs. Heavenly thunder roars, shattering mountains; divine lightning blazes, breaking through the deepest abyss.

Water and thunder surge, churning the rivers and seas; angry waves rise, crashing against the vast fields. Dragon thunder roars from the bottom of the ocean; ten thousand scales leap in alarm, their roars echoing across the waves. The earth's decree is issued, thunder shaking the very ground; the earth's axis crumbles, mountains and rivers split open.

Kunlun's stones shatter like flying stars, Mount Tai's peak collapses and cascades into the ravines. The four seas surge with turbulent waves, startling fish and turtles; the eight wastelands are shrouded in mist, and tigers and wolves flee. The corners of the Lingxiao Palace shake with golden pillars, and the jade bricks before the Tushita Palace tremble.

The heavenly generals were terrified in Lingxiao, and the immortals fled in panic from the Purple Palace. The River God fled to his water palace, and the Dragon King trembled and hid in the abyss. The City God lost his position, and his altar was destroyed; the shrines and temples collapsed, and the spirits of the dead were tormented.

Woodcutters abandon their firewood, their hearts broken; farmers throw down their plows, their souls trembling. Merchants prostrate themselves, begging for divine protection; travelers kneel on the waves, praying for Buddha's mercy. Even the immortals in their grottoes cannot hide them; Daoist friends from Penglai seek refuge first.

Laozi escaped the Green Ox Demon, Guanyin abandoned her Purple Bamboo Basket. A sika deer fled to Antarctica, a child panicked in the Little Western Paradise. The demon raged in the Lion Camel Realm, a herd of lions lurked in Leopard Head Mountain.

The Queen Mother's hairpin swayed, startling her phoenix-shaped hair ornament; the Jade Emperor found it difficult to remain seated before his throne. Erlang put down his three-pointed blade; Nezha sheathed his spinning fire wheel. The Heavenly King's Pagoda trembled in the wind; Lu Ban's golden drill slipped from his palm.

The Thunderclap Temple trembled, the Vajra statue shook, and the Arhats in the Great Hall cried out in alarm. Since the chaos separated heaven and earth, never before had the Five Thunders roared like this. The thunderous roar shook the three thousand realms, and heaven and earth seemed on the verge of collapse.

Thunder rumbled from nowhere, shaking the entire world for miles around!