Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 253: The Maze of Life and Death

Jinjiao and Yinziao stood on either side, serving the nine-tailed fox in the Lotus Cave as it ate fruits. The nine-tailed fox sat in the center, smiling happily as it enjoyed them. Mude Star Lord and Shuide Star Lord had been released but tied to stone pillars in the cave. The ropes binding them were no ordinary ones—Jingjiao the Great had cast magic on them, making it difficult to break free.

Yinziao whispered to the nine-tailed fox, “Godmother, do you recognize these two?”
The nine-tailed fox glanced at them and said with a smirk, “They seem familiar. Probably some lower-ranking beings.”
Jinjiao said, “Brother, you were too reckless in your actions. If we hadn’t released Shuide Star Lord early, he might have already been transformed.” Yinziao replied, “Yes, yes. It’s fortunate you asked, Godmother. Otherwise, if Shuide had been transformed, it would have caused trouble.”

As the three of them chatted, they suddenly heard Wukong shouting outside the cave. Jinjiao’s expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, “The Bodhisattva has arrived!”
Yinziao asked, “There are many Bodhisattvas. Which one is this?”
Jinjiao replied, “The quest for the scriptures has always been overseen by the Goddess of Mercy. It must be her.”
Yinziao asked casually, “Could the Goddess of Mercy have destroyed my magic weapons?”
Jinjiao sighed, “Brother, since you haven’t been out in the world, you don’t realize how powerful the Goddess of Mercy is. She is the foremost among the Four Great Bodhisattvas. None of those who often go to the Western Heaven can compare to her.”
The nine-tailed fox said slowly, “I’ve heard of the Goddess of Mercy’s name before. Now that she’s here, it’s a good chance to test our skills.”
Jinjiao hurriedly said, “Godmother, why trouble yourself to fight again?”
The nine-tailed fox replied, “Sigh, I wonder if my old arms and legs can still move.” She slowly stood up, resting her right hand on her waist. Yinziao quickly supported her, saying, “Godmother, be careful.”
The nine-tailed fox shakily made her way to the cave entrance. Opening her mouth, which had few teeth left, she said, “If I lose, you two should flee immediately.”
Jinjiao knew the nine-tailed fox was no ordinary monster—someone must have secretly encouraged them to befriend her. That’s why they had deliberately taken her as their godmother and shown her great respect. Now, seeing her willing to fight the Bodhisattva for them, he was deeply moved. Jinjiao said, “Godmother, let’s go together! If you lose, how can we leave alone?”

The nine-tailed fox had had a hard life, with no offspring of her own. Her husband, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fox King, had died suddenly. Alone, she adopted a daughter-in-law named Hu Yu and two sons-in-law, Jinjiao and Yinziao, treating them as her own children. Seeing that Jinjiao the Great wanted to follow her, she said, “You two just watch from afar. Don’t come any closer!”

Yin Jiao quickly handed over the golden rope and the banana fan, which the nine-tailed fox took and said cheerfully, “These two are enough!”
Stepping out of the cave, they saw Wu Kong standing in front of it challenging them. Yin Jiao asked, “Which bodhisattva has come? Let me take a look!”
After hearing Wu Kong describe the magical weapons used by Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao, Guanyin roughly guessed who they were. Upon seeing them, she immediately recognized their true nature and thought, “If I capture just the two of you without harming you, I believe the Three Pure Ones won’t blame me.”
Confident in her own great powers, Guanyin didn’t take these two seriously. She then noticed an old woman standing behind Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao. The old woman had fluffy snow-white hair, weak eyes, a rosy face full of wrinkles, and sparse teeth—she looked to be over a hundred years old at first glance. Guanyin was puzzled. Seeing the respectful attitude of Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao toward the old woman, she wondered who she was.
Upon looking more closely, her expression suddenly changed. Could it be her? Guanyin then floated to the front of the battle and asked, “Old woman, is your surname Hu?”
The nine-tailed fox stepped forward, lifted its eyelids slightly, and said, “It’s been so long that I’ve even forgotten my surname. Maybe it is Hu!” Seeing her fearless demeanor, Guanyin smiled and said, “At your advanced age, cultivation is not easy. Why risk everything needlessly?”
The nine-tailed fox laughed, “We’ve already come to your doorstep. Why pretend to be kind?”
Guanyin said, “So you insist on going this way?”
Seeing that the nine-tailed fox just stared at her without answering, she stretched out her hand, took a willow branch from the pure bottle, and in an instant, it turned into a green long whip. With a swish, she swung it at the nine-tailed fox. The fox, unflustered by Guanyin’s immediate attack, muttered, “Green fox appears!” A very long green tail appeared behind it and met Guanyin’s whip head-on.
Seemingly wary, Guanyin snapped her wrist and retracted the whip, shouting, “You don’t understand. Why protect those two?” The nine-tailed fox replied, “They’re my own sons. Who else am I to protect?”
Guanyin snorted and said, “Since you’re willing to risk your life, then I won’t be polite.”
The nine-tailed fox sneered, “Where’s your bodhisattva heart?”
Guanyin said, “How can I show mercy to demons like you?”
The nine-tailed fox said, “Hypocritical pretended kindness!”
With that, the giant tail behind her split into nine, turning into a swarm of green shadows that swept toward Guanyin. Realizing the severity of this attack—having heard of its power before—Guanyin feared she couldn’t withstand it and used a maneuver to dodge.

The nine-tailed fox sneered, “Fearing battle in front of so many younger ones—won’t that harm the Bodhisattva’s reputation?”
Guanyin remained silent, and the green willow branches gradually grew, becoming crystal clear, before being swung at the nine-tailed fox.
Everyone was shocked—no one had expected that this unremarkable old woman could match Guanyin in strength, and it seemed Guanyin herself was slightly afraid. What was her background?
Wukong was equally puzzled, too stunned to speak. It seemed Guanyin and the nine-tailed fox already knew each other, and from Guanyin’s serious expression, it was clear the nine-tailed fox was a worthy opponent, even holding the upper hand.
What surprised him even more was the story in *Journey to the West* where Wukong killed the nine-tailed fox with a single strike. If the fox had such abilities, it should have been able to avoid Wukong’s blow. The book clearly stated, “One strike to the head sent its brains splattering.” Was the fox truly dead or pretending to be dead? If truly dead… even the Monkey King’s powers wouldn’t be enough to kill her. If not, why?
Were the Golden Horn and Silver Horn, along with the nine-tailed fox, merely foster siblings? Such coincidences don’t exist in the world. The Golden Horn and Silver Horn were disciples of Laozi—had they not encountered many powerful figures? Someone who could make them willingly accept her as their foster mother couldn’t be an ordinary character. This whole situation was far too confusing.
The nine-tailed fox, Hu Yu, the Bull Demon King, the Golden Horn and Silver Horn, and Laozi… these people seemed to form a network of relationships, with Laozi naturally at its center. Could it be that all this was orchestrated by Laozi?
Seeing the Bodhisattva fighting against the nine-tailed fox, the Four Heavenly Kings couldn’t just stand by, so they shouted, “Seize those two demons!”
The Four Vajra Kings and the Four Star Gods rushed forward, surrounding the Golden Horn and Silver Horn and attacking them. The Silver Horn showed no fear, wielding his Seven-Star Sword to fight back against the Four Heavenly Kings, while the Golden Horn produced two talismans and cast them while muttering incantations. A net of lightning appeared in midair, enveloping the Four Star Gods.

The Four Heavenly Kings had the upper hand in fighting against Silver Horn. At that moment, the Vajrapani suddenly sensed a flash of golden light before him, and a rope appeared out of thin air, binding him around the waist and throwing him hard to the ground. It turned out that while the Nine-Tailed Fox was fighting against Guanyin, it could still spare some attention to the situation here. Seeing this, Wukong greatly overestimated the Nine-Tailed Fox’s magical powers and immediately concluded that the Monkey King could never kill it. The Nine-Tailed Fox must have feigned death and then used some unknown magic to escape, never to reappear in the world. Since it had done this, it surely wouldn’t get involved in the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism any time soon.

Originally, the Nine-Tailed Fox had helped Golden Horn and Silver Horn, thus siding with Taoism. But later, it deserted, clearly due to some major change or because it felt the tide was turning against it. Now, it was even willing to confront Guanyin Bodhisattva… What changes had taken place since then? Wukong had some suspicions but still couldn’t figure it out.

Seeing Guanyin’s gaze sweep over him, he thought to himself that things were bad—if he didn’t act soon, Guanyin would surely become suspicious. He drew out his iron staff and prepared to attack, feinting twice. At that moment, dark clouds gathered in the distance, and two figures rushed through the clouds like wind and thunder.

Upon closer inspection, Wukong exclaimed inwardly that things were about to get serious. Those two were none other than Hu Yu and the giant demon from Qitianling—The Bull Demon King!