Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 260: Fire Cloud Cave

Wukong was first stunned, then overjoyed.
It was exactly the situation where, when all seems lost, hope suddenly appears—this news came too suddenly, like a giant pie falling from the sky right onto his head.
With Yan Zheng in hand, nothing else needed worrying about; they just had to wait for the Nine-Headed Worm to follow the magical mark to find him. But once Master Qin sent the message, the Nine-Headed Worm would likely arrive immediately. If it discovered Yan Zheng at Qitian Ridge, it might still dare not come looking for him.
Wukong then said, “Elder Dayu, to ensure the Nine-Headed Worm comes to find Yan Zheng without hesitation, it’s best to take him away from Qitian Ridge right away.”
Dayu thought for a moment and understood the reason, then said, “Good!”
So Dayu sent a message to Zhu Rong. Without time for detailed explanation, he asked Zhu Rong to bring Yan Zheng here, along with Hou Yi. Seeing Wukong here, Zhu Rong was naturally delighted, but since Wukong had been away for so long, her earlier feelings had faded somewhat. She had also doubted whether the man in white in her dreams was really him.
Wukong and Zhu Rong exchanged a few pleasantries before Wukong said, “This is urgent; we can talk more on the way.”
Qilin, Dayu, Zhu Rong, and Hou Yi, along with Yan Zheng, flew out of Qitian Ridge under Wukong’s leadership. Wukong was very anxious about the Nine-Headed Worm, so they flew straight east, trying to get closer to Wujiguo.
After flying for a while, Zhu Rong exclaimed, “Look down there! There’s a wonderful place!”
They landed and saw a deep ravine between two mountains. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled light on the water in the ravine. The babbling stream over the bridge enhanced the serene beauty of the green mountains. Occasionally, monkeys screeched and birds sang, and there were strange flowers and trees. The distant peaks resembled a screen—truly a rare treasure land.
As they walked through the ravine, Hou Yi suddenly said, “Look over there!”
On top of the ravine was a mountain peak, with a stone tablet standing abruptly at its base, inscribed with six big characters: “Kusong Ravine Fire Cloud Cave”! Seeing this cave, Wukong was momentarily stunned. The Fire Cloud Cave was Red Boy’s lair. He was currently on his journey to obtain the scriptures—how could such a cave exist here?
He recalled having entered that cave during his battle against the red sun in the Realm of Calamity, where he had seen the Fire Cloud Palace inside the sun. This Fire Cloud Cave must have been built by Red Boy long ago as a memorial to the Fire Cloud Palace.
Yan Zheng was also stunned upon seeing the words “Fire Cloud Cave,” naturally recalling his years of cultivation in the Realm of Calamity.
Just as Wukong and the others reached the cave entrance, they saw the cave door open wide, and two people came out from inside.

The two were a man and a woman, both dressed in fiery red outfits and extremely handsome. When Yan Zheng saw the man in red, he was overjoyed and knelt down, calling him “master.” It turned out that these two were the Fire Phoenix and Golden Crow who had almost been swallowed by the Red Boy. They were also greatly surprised to see so many people. The Golden Crow helped Yan Zheng up and, without asking further questions, first bowed to the Fire Phoenix and Wukong. They had already learned that it was Wukong who had saved their lives at a critical moment. “Why have you come here? How did you meet my disciple? And who are these people?” the Golden Crow asked in succession. Wukong smiled and said, “How can I explain it all in one sentence? Let’s go inside the cave and talk.” Once inside, Wukong explained that someone wanted to capture Yan Zheng, and they would use him as a bait to catch that person instead. Hearing this, the Golden Crow became furious and said, “Hmph! When that man shows up, I’ll roast him into jerky!” Wukong replied, “You recognize that man too—he’s the one who once attacked the lord of Luoyun City in the world; his real name is Nine-Headed Worm.” Upon hearing this, the Golden Crow fell silent, knowing he was no match for Nine-Headed Worm. At that moment, Zhu Rong frowned slightly and said, “He’s clearly my disciple. Why do you keep calling him your disciple to take advantage of me?” Not knowing Zhu Rong’s background, the Golden Crow replied, “There’s naturally a difference in order—right, Yan Zheng?” Knowing Zhu Rong’s strength, Yan Zheng didn’t dare to answer. Zhu Rong said seriously, “Your skills are mediocre. It would be a shame if Yan Zheng were taught by you.” Zhu Rong was straightforward and spoke truthfully, not intending to mock them. Both the Fire Phoenix and Golden Crow had hot tempers. Hearing Zhu Rong’s words, they stood up angrily and said, “Whether our skills are mediocre or not can only be determined through a fight!” Wukong quickly stopped them and laughed, “Guys, this person is on par with the master of your Fire Cloud Palace. Do you really want to fight?” The master of Fire Cloud Palace was naturally the Divine Treasure Taoist. Hearing this, the Fire Phoenix and Golden Crow were stunned. Zhu Rong smiled and said, “I’ll teach him for a year. After that, if you think my teaching isn’t good enough, you can bring him back to Qitian Ridge. How does that sound?” Wukong said, “Zhu Rong, don’t bully the weaker. Just have Yan Zheng accompany these two masters for now. After all, they’ve been together for years and have deep affection for each other.” Zhu Rong glared at Wukong and said, “It’s none of your business.” After some small talk, Wukong said, “Since the Fire Phoenix and Golden Crow are here, pretending it’s real will make it even more believable. Yan Zheng practiced under his masters in the Fire Cloud Cave. If Nine-Headed Worm comes here and sees the Fire Phoenix and Golden Crow, he’ll surely believe it completely. Elders, would you mind hiding somewhere outside for now?” Qilin said, “Nine-Headed Worm will probably come from the east. I’ll go to the north to prevent him from escaping.”

“I’ll go west,” said Dayu.
“I’ll go south,” said Zhurong.
Hou Yi said, “I’ll take care of the rest. But there’s one thing I need to say first.”
Wukong asked, “What is it?”
Hou Yi replied, “I don’t know what that Nine-Headed Worm’s evasion techniques are. If I can’t catch up to him, I’ll have to shoot arrows. Don’t blame me if he dies from them.”
Wukong resolved firmly, “If I can’t catch him alive, dead is fine. Just don’t let him get away!”
Qilin laughed heartily, “You believe Hou Yi’s jokes? If we can’t capture that Taiyi Golden Immortal, we might as well crash to our deaths in this ravine.”
Wukong was speechless. Even someone as serious as Hou Yi could joke.
Seeing that everyone had made proper arrangements near the Fire Cloud Cave in the Dry Pine Ravine, creating an airtight plan, Wukong, to avoid suspicion, couldn’t stay there and hurried back to the Wuji Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in the palace of Qin Wuxian in the Wuji Kingdom, Qin Wuxian used a secret method to inform his lord—of course, that lord was the Nine-Headed Worm. Sending the message, Qin Wuxian felt uneasy. His lord had been in a terrible mood lately. If it weren’t for the news about searching for the Black Water and Red Fire, he would never have disturbed him.
In a moment, a glimmer appeared in Qin Wuxian’s room, forming a human figure. Qin Wuxian knelt down and said, “I pay my respects to the lord.”
The Nine-Headed Worm replied coldly, “Have the pilgrims arrived?”
Qin Wuxian said, “They arrived today.”
The Nine-Headed Worm asked, “Are there any obstacles in the Wuji Kingdom?”
Qin Wuxian replied, “Well… the king of Wuji Kingdom, influenced by the Grand Master, has sealed the kingdom’s imperial seal. The pilgrims can’t obtain the passage permit, so they probably can’t leave for now.”
The Nine-Headed Worm snapped, “Idiot! Why didn’t you stop it?”
Qin Wuxian replied in fear, “I don’t know when the Grand Master discussed this with the king. I only found out today.”
The Nine-Headed Worm pondered for a moment and said, “There must be a reason for sealing the seal.”
Qin Wuxian said, “Yes, yes. The Grand Master said that sealing the seal will bring peace and prosperity to the country.”
The Nine-Headed Worm said, “Fool! If he wants peace, make him uneasy. Then there will be a reason to retrieve the seal.”
Qin Wuxian suddenly understood and praised, “The lord is truly wise!”
The Nine-Headed Worm said, “Your top priority now is to send the pilgrims away as soon as possible. After that, you can focus on finding those of the Five Elements. Once it’s done, I’ll give you this kingdom!”
Qin Wuxian exclaimed excitedly, “I thank the lord in advance. The reason I invited the lord here today is related to those of the Five Elements.”
The Nine-Headed Worm’s expression didn’t change, but his tone seemed interested. “What progress?”
Qin Wuxian replied, “There are twenty-five people in total among the Great Five Elements, and twenty-three of them have already been found.”

Jiutouworm said indifferently, “Very good.”
Qin Wuxian replied, “As for the remaining two, though we haven’t found them yet, we do have some clues. It’s just…”
“What is it?”
“It will take some effort. Does Your Lordship still remember how that girl from the Daowen Sect tried to find a husband back then, attracting Heishui and Chihuo, but things got chaotic and they managed to escape.”
Jiutouworm said, “Of course I remember. Could it be that these two are the ones missing now?”
Qin Wuxian answered, “Exactly. Those two left their magical imprints in the Wuxing Wenxin Jade back then. These imprints never fade. Moreover, this jade has a unique feature—it allows one to locate the person who cast the spell through these imprints.”
Jiutouworm asked, “Then why don’t you go look for them?”
Qin Wuxian replied, “My cultivation is not strong enough, so I have no choice but to trouble Your Lordship again.”
Jiutouworm nodded and said, “You’ve done well on this matter! Where is the Wuxing Wenxin Jade?”
Qin Wuxian bowed and said, “Please follow me, Your Lordship.”
Jiutouworm followed Qin Wuxian to the back courtyard of the Qin family. The elders from the Daowen Sect who were originally there had been dispersed by Qin Wuxian, and now only Yun Juanshu was inside.
Qin Wuxian pointed at Yun Juanshu and said, “This is the former second sect leader of the Daowen Sect. The method of using the Wuxing Wenxin Jade was devised by Sect Leader Yun.”
Jiutouworm glanced at Yun Juanshu and said, “I see you.”
Yun Juanshu had seen Jiutouworm from afar before, but hadn’t noticed him closely. Now, up close, he felt a powerful and eerie aura emanating from Jiutouworm, which made him shiver. He quickly knelt down to pay his respects.
Jiutouworm said, “Get up.”
His gaze shifted to the Wuxing Wenxin Jade on the table. He gently placed his right hand on the jade. After a moment, he felt pleased—sure enough, he could detect the locations of Heishui and Chihuo’s magical auras.
He then focused his energy to amplify them. Those weak auras condensed into two threads, seemingly trying to break free toward the west. The thread representing Heishui was weak, while that of Chihuo was like a strong wind sweeping away a spider web.
Jiutouworm said, “They’re both in the west, one far and the other near. In that case, you two follow me to search for Chihuo first.”
Seeing that this method worked, Qin Wuxian said happily, “Everything is up to Your Lordship’s arrangement!”
Jiutouworm put the Wuxing Wenxin Jade in his arms and headed outside. The closer they were to the jade, the more accurate their location searches became. With it, they could conduct searches at any time, ensuring nothing went wrong.
Qin Wuxian and Yun Juanshu followed behind. In no time, the three left the Wujiguo and flew straight westward.