txolops Chapter 011 Night Tour
Chapter 011 Night Tour
"It's on land."
Having crossed the riverbank and been in this world for over a year, this is the first time I've stepped off the water and onto land. Even though I'm just a soul, I can't help but feel a surge of joy.
After calming down a bit, Li Yue then took advantage of the wind and flew westward.
The soul has no weight; it rides the wind and controls the air, and can travel eight thousand miles at night.
In a short while, they were already several miles away, where a small village of two or three hundred households was nestled among the mountains.
Li Yue drifted into the village. As night deepened, most of the villagers had already gone to bed.
Li Yue saw someone sleeping with their legs tightly pressed together, tossing and turning on the reed mat, looking as if they were in great pain. A peach petal, clinging to the clothes they had taken off, faintly shimmered in the light.
Li Yue couldn't help but smile. This village was close to the Tongtian River, and it had quite a few of his followers.
After touring the village and finding it somewhat novel, Li Yue continued flying westward.
Whether it was towering mountains or meandering rivers, small villages were scattered everywhere. It wasn't until half an hour later that a not-so-large city came into view.
As the saying goes, local customs and traditions are similar to those elsewhere, but the people are different.
Whether in villages or towns, there are almost only women, with very few men to be seen.
After all, this is the land of women.
The original text clearly states, "The other side of the river is the Kingdom of Women of Xiliang."
The wealthy man from Chenjiazhuang said this on the east bank, and the so-called other side of the river is naturally the west bank.
This area is on the border of the Kingdom of Women, and there are still people from the east bank and other places doing business here, so you can occasionally see a few men. If you continue westward, nearing the capital of the Kingdom of Women, it becomes difficult to find even a single man.
"Is that so? It doesn't seem like it."
Li Yue kept flying westward while observing the surroundings. He was new to the place and didn't know the geography.
The mountains and rivers I saw were all different, but I didn't know their names, let alone which one was Jindu Mountain.
Tang Sanzang's journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures covered a total distance of 108,000 li and involved 81 tribulations. The appearance of the fish basket was the 38th tribulation, and the encounter with the monster at Jindu Mountain was the 39th tribulation. After crossing the Tongtian River, he encountered the One-Horned Rhinoceros King of Jindu Mountain.
"I'm afraid neither."
Li Yue gazed at the undulating mountains in the distance and shook his head slightly.
Although their auras differed, none of them possessed such a strong demonic or malevolent energy.
Three hundred years before the start of Journey to the West, the Unicorn was still the Green Ox with Flat Horns, a mount of Laozi in the Tushita Palace, and had not yet descended to the mortal realm to become the king of Jindu Mountain.
But if one only has the mountain and no followers, then he is just a king without any followers.
Therefore, before the Green Ox with the Horned Horn descended to the mortal realm, Jindu Mountain must have already gathered a large number of spirits and monsters, just like the Tongtian River now.
Although Li Yue didn't have Sun Wukong's fiery eyes, he was in a soul state at this moment, so he could naturally see some evil energy.
Moreover, the calculated distance is incorrect.
After crossing the Tongtian River, Tang Sanzang and his disciples traveled for at least three or four months to reach Jindu Mountain. Based on their pace, it was estimated to be about two thousand li.
"never mind."
Li Yue shook his head and stopped heading west.
He intentionally avoided the calamities of the Journey to the West. Once he transformed and landed on the shore, leaving the Tongtian River, he naturally wouldn't go to Jindu Mountain, so there was no need for him to familiarize himself with the route beforehand.
The soul had been separated from the body for an hour and had traveled more than a thousand miles away from the Tongtian River.
Unlike the primordial spirit, the soul is fragile and powerless. If it encounters any danger, it has no means of self-protection, so it dares not leave the physical body for too long.
Furthermore, without a soul, his physical body is just a dead piece of flesh, and he may also encounter danger, so the soul dares not stray too far.
Li Yue dared not leave and immediately turned back.
After a hurried journey of nearly an hour, they returned to the Tongtian River, and their souls returned to their bodies.
"It's alright, it's alright."
He breathed a sigh of relief. His soul had left his body for two hours on his first nighttime stroll; he had really gotten carried away.
Fortunately, neither the soul nor the body encountered any danger.
With more than an hour to go before dawn, Li Yue decided to take a short rest first, since nighttime travel, though not harmful to his health, was mentally taxing.
He didn't wake up until it was fully light.
They sway their bodies toward the waters near the temple to receive offerings of blood and food from the worshippers.
At noon, it surfaced to consume the essence of the sun for cultivation.
After finishing his training, he swam straight back to the east bank.
First, find a place with abundant aquatic plants to hide your body.
As night fell, he recited an incantation and summoned a water ghost.
Li Yue can only command one water ghost at present. The last one was killed by the water buffalo demon, so he can capture another one.
Instead of sending the water ghost to chase away the fish, he stayed by his side to watch over them.
"Walk!"
As night deepened, Li Yue's soul left his body once more, emerging from the water and flying straight towards the east bank.
Tang Sanzang faced three major tribulations at the Tongtian River: encountering a great flood, falling into the Milky Way, and being resurrected by a fish basket. The three tribulations preceding these were transporting goods to Chechi, gambling on winnings and losses, and eliminating Taoists and promoting Buddhists, corresponding to the Chechi Kingdom storyline.
The eastern bank of the Tongtian River marks the border of Chechi Kingdom.
After transforming and landing, Li Yue will either head west or east. He will scout out the route beforehand to avoid being completely lost when the time comes.
"this……"
Li Yue originally thought that Chechi Kingdom was much more normal than Daughter Kingdom, at least not to the point of yin and yang imbalance.
But upon reaching the shore, the surprise was immense.
The fog was thick and the air was thick with smoke and smog. Everywhere there was a surge of malevolent energy and evil spirits roamed freely.
"What's going on?"
Coming to his senses, Li Yue was filled with doubt.
Three hundred years before the start of Journey to the West, the three demons—Tiger, Deer, and Sheep—probably had not yet attained enlightenment, let alone become the national teacher of Chechi Kingdom. How did Chechi Kingdom become like this?
But then I thought about it again. Although the tiger, deer and sheep demons were monsters, they were all doing things to pray for rain and blessings, ensuring that Chechi Kingdom had good weather and abundant harvests. When they were around, things might not have looked like this.
Three hundred years have passed, and the world has changed beyond recognition. Who knows what has happened, or what will happen next?
Li Yue simply stopped thinking about it and focused on exploring his path.
However, compared to last time, this time we are much more cautious.
Mortals cannot see the soul, but demons and monsters can. Moreover, good and evil have always been interdependent. Where there are demons and monsters, there are naturally guardians of the righteous path.
If some untrained cultivator were to take him in as a wandering ghost, he would be greatly wronged.
"I don't know where the borders are."
As Li Yue flew forward, he pondered to himself.
All he knew from the original text was that east of Chechi Kingdom were Wuji Kingdom and Baoxiang Kingdom. But since he wanted to avoid the journey to the west, he naturally had to avoid these kingdoms along the way.
Tang Sanzang could only go west when he went to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures, but he was different; he could also go south and north.
I don't know what countries are to the north and south of Chechi Kingdom. If we go in that direction after landing, we should be able to avoid Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
"Ha ha ha! What kind of wandering ghost dares to trespass on my territory!"
Just as I was pondering this, a loud shout suddenly came from afar.
Ahead lay a withered forest, the trees suddenly swaying and baring their fangs like ghosts, and a dense demonic aura surged forth, instantly covering the sky and the earth.
"My mother."
Li Yue trembled with fear and turned to run back.
Run, you dead leg!
No, the soul is powerless; it can only ride the wind and control the air. The dead wind, blow fast!
"Hahaha~ Hahaha~"
The laughter behind him continued, sending chills down his spine in the darkness. Li Yue was nearly scared out of his wits.
As they fled further away, the sound grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.
Li Yue still dared not relax at all. After a while, when he could no longer hear the strange laughter, he dared to secretly turn around and take a look.
No demons chased after him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it seemed that the monster hadn't taken a liking to him.
Startled, Li Yue no longer bothered to survey the path and immediately returned to the Tongtian River and back to his original body.
"Phew!"
Li Yue breathed a sigh of relief as his vision cleared, though he was still shaken.
After a moment, he calmed down slightly and his gaze became serious.
Night tours are convenient, but also dangerous. I will try to avoid them unless absolutely necessary.