Lin Fang, however, was reading the text with eager thirst. The text recorded the legendary Art of Transformation, regrettably only detailing eighteen variations, far less than the Monkey’s number of evil spirits and Eight Precepts’ Heavenly Gang’s Techniques, equivalent to a simplified version.
Even so, this was enough to surprise Lin Fang. Although he had obtained the righteous law of cultivation from the mysterious "Journey to the West," his ans of self-protection were indeed lacking. The only Heart Fire Technique he had was sothing he painstakingly figured out on his own, and without soone to teach him the Art of Transformation, even if Lin Fang racked his brains, he could not understand it.
Delighted, he morized the words on the Cave Mansion one by one, but suddenly felt the ground shake violently. It turned out that while the White Bone Lady was escaping, she had triggered the energy of the leylines, intending to bury Lin Fang completely. Fortunately, the Earth God, seeing the situation clearly, quickly pulled Lin Fang and used the Earth Escape Technique, allowing them both to escape the disaster.
"Damn it!" Lin Fang spat out the mud in his mouth, clenching his teeth as he spoke.
He ultimately couldn’t restrain his greed, which led him into the Demon’s trap. If it weren’t for the Earth God’s tily help, he would have surely died this ti.
This also served as a reminder to him. In this perilous Journey to the West world, one careless move could result in death and the annihilation of one’s path. In the future, he would need to be even more cautious. Lin Fang silently urged himself.
"Earth God, can you possibly find the tracks of this demon?" Lin Fang asked.
The Earth God rely shook his head gently, saying, "I am only the Earth God of this locality. Once she leaves this region, she is not under my control. I can’t find her traces."
Lin Fang looked at the Earth God, knowing he wasn’t telling the truth. After all, everyone was responsible for their own area. Since she had escaped his jurisdiction, the Earth God naturally didn’t want to make trouble for himself. Without the Earth God’s help, it was impossible for Lin Fang to catch this cunning demon.
"So be it, let’s chalk it up to her good luck," Lin Fang said resignedly, shaking his head. The world is vast, and the chances of encountering her again were slim. It wasn’t worth wasting ti here. Besides, once the Journey to the West comnced, the Buddhist Sect would clean up all the monsters in the vicinity. She probably wouldn’t escape that calamity.
When he returned to the village, the young man and the Little Fox were anxiously waiting in the yard. Seeing Lin Fang descend from the clouds, they hurriedly approached him.
"Taoist priest, how did it go?" the young man asked with a complex expression on his face. He couldn’t clearly describe his feelings, longing for the Taoist’s divine skills to eliminate the demon, yet hoping for his sister’s well-being, considering it was okay for her to live as long as she hard no one.
Lin Fang recounted the events, and the young man seed to let go of a huge burden in his heart, earnestly saying, "Thank you, Taoist priest, for your help. Otherwise, my life would have ended at the hands of the demon. But now, I pity my parents, who suffered a terrible disaster."
Speaking of which, the young man couldn’t help but beco overwheld with grief, tears streaming down his face. The world was vast, and he found himself utterly alone. Looking around his once happy ho, he clearly rembered past scenes, though they were too painful to revisit.
"Grieve not," Lin Fang gently patted his shoulder. In this world, he had beco accustod to seeing all kinds of tragedies. All living beings were imrsed in a sea of suffering.
"I often think back to the New Year’s gathering with my family when my sister would laugh and urge to marry soon. Now, my family is gone, and I’m left alone," the young man tearfully sighed, having heard from the elders that life is unpredictable, a lesson he truly understood that day.
"What are your plans for the future?" Lin Fang asked.
"I’ll leave this place and wander the world. Perhaps I will also learn so skills and, like you Taoist priest, exorcise demons," the young man thought for a mont, setting a goal for his life.
Seeing his determined look and sorrowful expression, Lin Fang couldn’t help but feel as though he had rged with the old Daoist priest in his mind.
"If you want to learn so techniques to catch monsters, may I recomnd a place for you?" Lin Fang thought for a mont before speaking.
Upon hearing this, the young man’s face lit up with joy, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Lin Fang.
"To the east, there’s a place called Qingyun Temple, where an Old Daoist Priest nad Ge Ping lives. He’s quite skilled, and you could go pay him a visit. Just say that Lin Fang sent you."
anwhile, far away at Qingyun Temple, Ge Ping, the Old Daoist Priest, was miserably pacing around his stove, sighing woefully. Suddenly, he sneezed loudly and muttered to himself, "Could soone be thinking of this old man?"
Touching his nose and gazing at the little rice left in the pot, he lanted, "Life is tough. It seems I need to find a hardworking disciple, or else I won’t be able to get by."
Lin Fang bade farewell and left, looking at the young man whose face was filled with joy, as if he had found his life’s purpose. A twinge of regret suddenly arose in his heart, unsure if introducing the young man to the unreliable Ge Ping was a good thing.
"Oh well, it’s up to his fate now. After all, even though Ge Ping is unreliable, he still knows so spells," Lin Fang shook his head and continued on his Journey to the West with Little Fox.
Having left Baijia Village, they were still on a mountain path, but as they walked, the surrounding vegetation completely changed. Looking up, there was a vast black forest in the distance, looking like dark clouds covering the land.
Little Fox clung to Lin Fang, a bit frightened by the environnt, sothing he had never seen before in his life.
Lin Fang smiled and ruffled his head, then continued forward with him, knowing that this territory belonged to the Yellow-robed Monster. Ordinary monsters dared not make trouble on his land, and considering his hosickness, he was probably at ho in Boyue Cave with his wife and kids right now.
The dense black pine trees blocked the sun from reaching the forest floor, creating a sowhat eerie darkness due to the rare human activity. The ground was covered with a thick layer of leaves, and stepping on them felt as soft as stepping on cotton.
"Once we pass this forest, we should reach Baoxiang Kingdom. Haven’t you always wanted to see the bustling human world? I’ll take you for a good look then," Lin Fang said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Little Fox’s ears perked up with excitent. He hopped up and down, trying to peer into the distance, but the dense black pine trees blocked his view, making it impossible for him to locate Baoxiang Kingdom.
"Oh, I wonder how much farther we have to go. I wish we were there now."
"But let say this in advance, when you get to the city, you must hide your fox tail well. Don’t let it show, or I’ll pretend I don’t know you," he cautioned.
"Don’t worry, I’ve been practicing really hard lately. I definitely won’t let my tail show," Little Fox said nonchalantly.
Then he suddenly pointed and exclaid, "Look over there, there’s a stupa, how magnificent."
Following the direction of his finger, Lin Fang indeed saw a towering nine-story stupa, its top overflowing with golden light, dazzling and bright.
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