Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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After sitting down, they noticed even more details. For example, time was frozen in this place; the time displayed on Xie Lingya’s phone screen hadn’t changed for even a second.
Xie Lingya buried his head in his knees and didn’t look up for a long time.
Xiao Dian felt extremely distressed and said, “Teacher Xie, we’ll definitely get out.”
“Huh?” Xie Lingya pulled his head out, revealing a game on his phone screen, his fingers still tapping occasionally.
Xiao Dian: “???”
Xie Lingya said awkwardly, “I was just testing whether the battery would decrease since the time has stopped.”
Xiao Dian looked suspicious.
Xie Lingya: “Would I be fooling around at a time like this??”
Xiao Dian lowered his head in shame…
Xie Lingya had tried it, and the battery hadn’t decreased, but new scores in the game weren’t recorded. He was actually a little happy, not because he could play on his phone freely, but because if time stopped, it meant that Tan Qing wasn’t trying to use this “time” to “convert” everyone around them into Youdu creatures. At least for this moment, his family and friends were still safe.
They didn’t know how much time had passed, but even though they understood that time was useless here, they were still anxiously waiting.
And as time passed, they discovered that they didn’t seem to feel hungry or thirsty.
At first glance, this “trapped death” didn’t seem cruel; it didn’t cause people to die of thirst or hunger. But upon closer inspection, trapping someone in an eternal second— not dying, but having nothing— was another kind of cruelty.
Just then, the Eastern Ghost King returned, his spirits high. He said, “I’ve found the edge of this illusion! It was done very carelessly!”
Everyone listened intently. “How so?”
The Eastern Ghost King, much taller than everyone else, gestured downwards and said, “Over there, there are only five large pillars standing, and beyond that was a vast expanse of white; you can’t see anything. So I stuck the talisman on the middle pillar.”
Everyone: “……………………”
Was it just their imagination? This scenario sounded familiar.
Others might still be a little unsure, but Lian Tan and Tan Xing stared intently at Xie Lingya.
Xie Lingya’s face was practically covered in black lines. “I %￥&#…”
He shouldn’t have recommended Tan Qing read *Journey to the West*!
Seeing Xie Lingya’s disheveled appearance, the Ghost King asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Xie Lingya sat on the grass, holding his head and thinking for a while, “Didn’t you pee under the pillars…?”
The Ghost King chuckled, “I’m not human, where would I get pee?”
After he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone else looked at him strangely, “What’s wrong???”
Before, they were just a little suspicious, but when Xie Lingya mentioned peeing, everyone realized what was going on.
Xie Lingya sighed, “One sentence reveals your age, how long have you been dead?”
The Eastern Ghost King: “…”
So the people present needed to explain the references in “Journey to the West”.
The Eastern Ghost King said in shock, “You mean, those five pillars are the fingers of that person in Youdu? How… is he sick?!”
The monks: “………………”
“What’s the point of doing this?” As soon as the Eastern Ghost King finished speaking, he felt the ground undulate and shake like waves.
Xie Lingya was almost thrown off balance, but luckily he grabbed Shi Changxuan’s hand, swayed to his feet, and looked up, feeling that it was not unexpected at all.
—A five-peaked mountain flew in from the horizon, pressing down directly on them.
“The cursed mountain crumbles, the cursed stone cracks, the Supreme One commands, drive the thunder and clouds!”
Xie Lingya plunged his sword into the ground, its blade crackling with lightning.
At the same time, the others also cast their spells.
Lian Tan held his sword, flames erupting three to five meters high.
Shi Changxuan also used lightning magic to summon five thunderbolts.
….
The five-peaked mountain wasn’t a real mountain after all. As it pressed down on them, the spells crashed down, instantly collapsing into countless fragments of rock and dust!
The sand and stones seemed to sweep across the entire world, tearing it apart, turning everything colorless and a scorched yellow.
Tan Qing sat cross-legged three zhang away, his plum wood staff resting flat on his lap, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, a hint of excitement in his eyes— the excitement of a child encountering something fun.
Everyone involuntarily looked at Tan Qing’s fingers—
Tan Qing seemed to know half of what they were thinking, raising his hands, revealing yellow talismans between his exposed fingers.
Although only the Eastern Ghost King had returned, the other three Ghost Kings should have also reached the border. Xie Lingya asked, “Anything else?”
Tan Qing, with a hint of shyness, straightened his legs, revealing talismans between his two fair, bare feet, making a rustling sound in the wind.
Everyone: “…”
Okay, there’s more. To deal with four Ghost Kings, he’s using all four limbs.
Tan Qing even seemed a little unsatisfied, “It’s not like what’s shown on TV, none of them urinated. You should have sent someone else.”
Xie Lingya felt a bit disgusted; who would want someone to urinate on their hands? Moreover, the one actually urinating wasn’t human, but a stone monkey…
Tan Qing tapped the ground with his plum wood staff and said, “You’re all very interesting. If you lose, you’ll all stay with me.”
If they didn’t lose, they’d just keep playing with Tan Qing; if they lost, they’d die to accompany him. It seemed their only choice was to win, though it looked incredibly difficult.
He tapped the ground three times with his plum wood staff, and the surrounding yellow dust swirled in a nameless gale.
Xiao Dian, losing his balance, was blown off balance and tumbled over. Xie Lingya grabbed Xiao Dian’s belt to prevent him from being blown away, pressed him to the ground, and told Xiao Dian to grab onto a stone. Even knowing these were illusions, they felt incredibly real, far surpassing the evil Buddhas of the Hongyang Path. The scene was so realistic that no one could sit still. They instinctively clung to exposed stones. Even the most resolute old monk, Lian Tan, looked uneasy and lay prone on the ground. He had recited the sutras so many times and knew this illusion was different from others.
Xie Lingya regretted it again. Why did he have to recommend “Journey to the West” to that guy?! He could have shown him something else, look what he’d learned… He should have recommended “Teletubbies” instead!
Shi Changxuan lunged forward in the wind, landing on top of Xie Lingya. Their combined weight provided some stability, and Shi Changxuan’s strong arms allowed him to grip a rock tightly, giving Xie Lingya the strength to shout from his embrace, “Fang Zhe—”
Fang Zhe immediately swallowed a mouthful of sand, unable to open his eyes. “Ah!”
Xie Lingya cried out, “How do we deal with the Yellow Wind Monster— I don’t even remember this part of the story—”
Fang Zhe was almost in tears. “Ask the monk!”
The monk was also helpless. Tan Xing mustered his courage, struggling to sit cross-legged in the gale, then clasped his hands together and shouted, “Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form!!”
His deep voice carried far in the wind, and everyone felt a jolt in their ears, their minds instantly clearing!
Then, Tan Xing was swept away.
Everyone: “…………”
Xie Lingya squinted in Shi Changxuan’s arms, vaguely seeing Tan Xing flying dozens of meters away, seemingly clinging tightly to a rock. “Alas…”
Fang Zhe chanted a spell with tears in his eyes: “Pushan was originally a rock, I stand firm now, let a hundred men carry me, if anyone dares to frighten me, I will take your lifespan and send you to the underworld, I fear no evil magic, my master has placed iron railings!”
Fang Zhe made a hand seal and stomped the ground, standing as if rooted to the spot!
Whoosh, about three seconds later, Fang Zhe was also blown away.
Xie Lingya: “…”
Everyone: “…………”
Liu Lingtong said in a high-pitched voice in Xie Lingya’s ear: “Master, prevent wind and control sand!”
Prevent wind and control sand? Xie Lingya was suddenly enlightened. Damn, that’s right, he didn’t remember how Sun Wukong dealt with the Yellow Wind Monster, and even if he knew, he might not be able to learn it, but we Chinese also know how to prevent wind and control sand.
“Holy crap, afforestation!” Xie Lingya suddenly got excited, grabbing Shi Changxuan’s clothes tightly, chanting incantations while eating sand, “Fire and wind steam, the four seasons are bright. I obey the true god, commanding all spirits. By the decree of the nine heavens, manifest quickly!”
Tender shoots sprouted from the surrounding land, growing rapidly, only to be broken by the wind after emerging an inch.
Seeing this, Shi Changxuan also chanted, “Vast essence generates law, golden light shines. Mist condenses in the sky, sweet rain falls forever!”
Water vapor in the air condensed, forming water droplets on the tender shoots. The little shoots were spurred to grow, and in a moment, their broken backs straightened, and they shot upwards, instantly growing into large trees, with lush branches and leaves, forming a forest in an instant, blocking the wind and sand outside.
“Ptooey, ptooey.” Xie Lingya spat out a few mouthfuls of sand and climbed out of Shi Changxuan’s arms.
Fang Zhe and Tan Xing, covered in dust, scrambled back from afar. “Teacher Xie, why didn’t you know how to plant trees sooner…”
Xie Lingya said sheepishly, “I just didn’t think of it at the time.”
He had only recently grasped the Taoist art of commanding wood spirits, and even then, he only used it to ward off evil; he hadn’t considered the most basic function of planting trees.
Lian Tan, covered in sand and dirt, looked like an old man with mud stuck in his wrinkles. He said dryly, “This is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. We still need to break the illusion as soon as possible.”
Everyone knew this was an illusion, all fake, but they just couldn’t get out— it was so frustrating.
While everyone was racking their brains, Tan Xing’s face turned pale, and he said, “I remember now, besides ‘Journey to the West,’ he also finished reading ‘Investiture of the Gods[1]‘…”
Everyone collapsed: “…………”
No way… One set of eighty-one tribulations was enough for them; if they didn’t break the illusion soon, were they going to have to fight each other?! It’s no good when kids are so addicted to TV dramas!
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[1] The Investiture of the Gods, also known by its Chinese titles Fengshen is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (shenmo) genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Consisting of 100 chapters, it was first published in book form between 1567 and 1619.[2] Another source claims it was published in a finalized edition in 1605. The work combines elements of history, folklore, mythology, legends and fantasy.
The story is set in the era of the decline of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) and the rise of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC). It intertwines numerous elements of Chinese mythology, Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, including deities, demons, immortals and spirits. The authorship is attributed to Xu Zhonglin.
It is a romanticised retelling of the overthrow of Di Xin, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty, by Ji Fa, who would establish the Zhou dynasty in its place. The story integrates oral and written tales of many Chinese mythological figures who are involved in the struggle as well. These figures include human heroes, immortals, and various spirits (usually represented in avatar form, such as vixens and pheasants, and occasionally as inanimate objects such as a pipa).
Bewitched by his concubine Daji, who is actually a vixen spirit disguised as a beautiful woman, Di Xin oppresses his people and persecutes those who oppose him, including those who dare to speak up to him. Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou), assisted by his strategist Jiang Ziya, rallies an army to overthrow the tyrant and restore peace and order. Throughout the story, battles are waged between the kingdoms of Shang and Zhou, with both sides calling upon various supernatural beings – deities, immortals, demons, spirits, and humans with magical abilities – to aid them in the war. Yuanshi Tianzun (“Primeval Lord of Heaven”) bestows upon Jiang Ziya the Fengshen bang, a list that empowers him to invest the gods of Heaven. The heroes of Zhou and some of their fallen enemies from Shang are eventually endowed with heavenly ranking and essentially elevated as gods, hence the title of the novel.
