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

The poem says:

Greed and anger are like fire; self-cultivation must come first in all things. When faced with an icy abyss, dare to take on the challenge; a single thought can be as swift as thunder and lightning.

Washing away all the afflictions of sentient beings, bringing joy and sorrow to all things. Do not let your restless mind wander, for the clouds linger over the green mountains and the moon shines brightly.

Now, Li Fa bid farewell to the two generals, Long Hu and Li Fa, and left on his own.

While on the way, the Merit Record suddenly stirred; a golden light flashed, and lines of text appeared before their eyes:

[Thing that can be saved: Ginseng Fruit Tree]

[Unemployment Assessment]

Rewards for a successful rescue:

[Optional Reward 1: Ten Jiazi of Mana from the "Creating Heaven and Earth Technique"]

[Optional Reward Two: Master the Five Thunders (Supernatural Power)]

[Optional Reward 3: Vajra Ruler (Acquired Spiritual Treasure)]

After carefully reading it, Li Fa was overjoyed.

Since rescuing Sha Wujing at Liusha River, the Merit Record has remained silent for many days, but unexpectedly, a new task has been released today.

Moreover, the rewards are so generous, the first being ten Jiazi of magical power! That's the result of six hundred years of arduous cultivation! If one can obtain it, combined with one's existing power, the magical power will be considerable.

The second reward, the Five Thunder Divine Power, made him even more envious.

The Five Thunders are Heavenly Thunder, Earthly Thunder, Water Thunder, Divine Thunder, and Social Thunder. They can also be divided into Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Although they are called the Five Thunders, they are actually the Qi of the five internal organs, which converge into one to drive thunder and lightning, pray for rain and clear skies, exorcise evil spirits and demons, ward off locust plagues and eliminate evil spirits, and guide wandering souls.

If you can learn this skill, when you encounter evil spirits in the future, a single bolt of lightning will strike them down, and no matter what kind of transformations or supernatural powers they possess, they will all be forced to reveal their true forms.

And the Diamond Ruler...

It's just a mere acquired spiritual treasure. I already have the Overturned Water Bowl and the Five Elements Chaos Snatcher, so my need for magical treasures isn't particularly great.

As for the mission of saving the ginseng fruit tree, Li Fa was even more confident.

That fruit tree is a spiritual root that originated in the beginning of chaos, when the primordial world was first divided and heaven and earth were not yet created.

It blooms once every three thousand years, bears fruit once every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to mature. In ten thousand years, it produces only thirty fruits.

If a mortal smells it, he will live for 360 years; if he eats one, he will live for 47,000 years.

Its master, Zhen Yuanzi, is even known as the ancestor of earth immortals, a figure who is on par with the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors.

In the original story, it was Sun Wukong who knocked down the tree, and Guanyin Bodhisattva saved it with the nectar from her willow branch and jade bottle.

Although Li Fa did not have the Pure Dew from the Jade Bottle, he did have a drop of the Three Lights Divine Water, the effects of which were far superior to the Pure Dew!

Therefore, he was determined to complete this task. As long as he waited for Sun Wukong to knock down the fruit tree and then stepped in to save it, the matter would be a sure thing.

But Tang Sanzang and his disciples are still on their way, and it will probably take several more months to reach Wuzhuang Temple.

However, I need to go to Longevity Hill first and wait for the right opportunity.

Thinking of this, Li Fa immediately soared into the clouds and headed straight for Longevity Mountain.

He sped along, and seeing that he was about to reach the territory of Longevity Mountain, he dared not be careless. So he descended from the clouds, transformed himself into the appearance of the old Taoist priest Ji Huazi, and walked in the mountains.

He was walking in the mountains when he suddenly heard a loud shout in his ear: "This road is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll!"

Li Fa turned around and saw a dozen monsters rushing out from all directions with a "whoosh," carrying knives and spears. The leader was a white-faced man who held a five-pronged sky-supporting fork, with a head full of spiral hair and a single horn on his head.

After reading it, Li Fa couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying, "Who do we have here? It's just a mountain bandit. But your business is really dishonest. Where would a poor Taoist priest like me have any money to give you?"

The one-horned monster held his fork horizontally and shouted, "Enough nonsense! I came from the West. Along the way, I saw those Buddhist temples that were magnificent and the monks were all fat and greasy."

Although you are a Taoist priest, you are probably of the same ilk as monks, and you must have some gold and silver treasures on you. Leave them all behind, and I will spare your life!

Li Fa said, "Your Majesty is mistaken. People say, 'Monks sleep on golden beds, Taoists sleep in cold rooms.'"

Those monks in the West are all wealthy, but I am a Taoist priest. I don't even have a cornbread, let alone gold or silver.

To be honest, all I have on me are these tattered clothes. If you like them, feel free to take them.

The unicorn sized him up and down, and seeing that he was indeed poorly dressed, it was somewhat disappointed, but reluctant to give up the prize it had already secured. So it said, "In that case, let our men search you! If there's nothing there, we'll let you pass!"

Li Fa spread his hands and laughed, "Search if you want, but let me make this clear beforehand: if we can't find anything, Your Majesty will have to compensate me for the shock."

The unicorn glared and said, "What nonsense are you spouting! I let you go because I couldn't find anything, and you still dare to ask me for money?"

With a wave of his hand, two little demons stepped forward and began to grope Li Fa all over.

After searching for a long time, he couldn't find any money, let alone a piece of scrap metal.

The two little demons turned around and reported, "Your Majesty, this fellow is spotless, even cleaner than my face!"

The one-horned monster stomped its feet in anger, cursing, "What bad luck! I didn't check the almanac before going out today, and I ran into this penniless wretch!"

Seeing his appearance, Li Fa couldn't help but laugh and said, "Your Majesty, you've searched me enough, shouldn't you let me go now?"

The unicorn monster snapped, "Get lost! Don't let me ever see you again!"

Li Fa, however, was in no hurry to leave. He said leisurely, "Your Majesty, you searched me just now; isn't it my turn to search you now?"

The unicorn was taken aback, thinking it had misheard, and asked, "What did you say?"

Li Fa laughed and said, "I said, you searched me, so I'll search you too. If I find anything valuable, you'll have to pay me for the fright."

The unicorn flew into a rage, raised its trident, and roared, "You poor wretched man, how dare you mock your king! Minions, seize him!"

So all the little demons swarmed forward.

Li Fa didn't dodge; he simply waved his hand, and a flash of light appeared. The dozen or so little demons stumbled and fell into a heap.

Only the unicorn remained standing on the field.

The monster flew into a rage and cursed, "You damned fool, do you think I'm made of clay? Take this!"

So he thrust his fork at Li Fa, who wiped his hair on his head, pulled out the hairpin, shook it, and it transformed into the Five Elements Mixed Yuan Spear, which he then thrust forward to meet the attack.

The two fought fiercely for thirty or forty rounds, neither gaining the upper hand.

Li Fa already had a plan in mind. He secretly made a spell to use earth magic, and was about to summon a stone to smash the monster.

Unexpectedly, the monster was prepared. It reached up and plucked off the horn, then tossed it to Li Fa.

Seeing the fierce attack from the horn, Li Fa dared not meet it head-on. He quickly turned to the side and used a counter-attack, thrusting the horn directly into the monster's heart.

But with a clang, the Hunyuan Spear stopped in front of the monster, unable to advance an inch.

Li Fa was filled with doubt and surprise, but the monster put its horn back on its head and laughed, "You don't know my abilities. I have cultivated since childhood and become invulnerable to swords and spears. If you try to stab me and I utter even half a word of 'pain,' I will kowtow to you three times and acknowledge you as my elder brother."

Hearing his boast, Li Fa laughed and said, "What a coincidence! I have also cultivated since childhood and have a method to make myself indestructible. You can hit me as you please. If you can break me, I will consider it a loss and will offer you a treasure."