White Bone Monkey King

After almost dying in my sleep this time,

The old Taoist priest never dared to sleep again.

In order to find something to do for myself,

At his urging,

The team once again set out on the road to Death Valley to find Master Lobsang and the others.

The air here is thin, so the old Taoist priest doesn't dare to ride that plateau horse anymore, for fear that the horse will be exhausted and he will have no means of transportation when he returns.

The plateau has a dangerous environment and is full of mountains, especially now in the rainy season when the mountain roads are muddy. Without these plateau cattle and horses to carry people on their way, it would be really difficult for people to move here.

In the barren mountains and ridges, the night is quiet. In the eerie and empty Bison Ridge, there are only the sounds of wind blowing grass and cattle and sheep, and the sound of Jin An chewing dried meat to satisfy his hunger as he walks.

The old Taoist priest who was asked by Jin to ride on the back of the sheep looked at Jin An in shock: "Little brother, you just touched the cow dung cake... haven't you washed your hands yet?"

Jin An: "It's okay. I was holding the cow dung cake with my left hand just now, and now I'm holding the beef jerky with my right hand."

"I'll find a chance to wash my hands when I reach that big river I mentioned."

Old Taoist priest: "?"

Even the goat couldn't help but glance at Jin An.

The goat carried the old Taoist priest on its back, and the speed continued unabated. An hour later, the team finally heard the sound of water. At the same time, standing here, people could already see the sound of wind, thunder and clouds deep in the valley.

Next, Jin An successfully found traces of broken grass blades trampled by human and animal teams nearby, and followed the traces into the large valley.

Although the mountains in Bison Ridge are continuous, fortunately, the slopes are gentle and not too steep. Stepping on the grass under their feet, the two people and two animals descended to the bottom of the valley smoothly.

During this period, the old Taoist priest was afraid that he would fall asleep again, so he would find something to talk about if he had nothing to do: "There are green waters and green mountains. As an old Taoist, I can already imagine that during the day, the green grass and the blue sky must be connected here, and the wind will blow the grass low." Seeing the poetic and picturesque scenery of cattle and sheep, the big sun on the plateau shines on the mountainous pastures, very close to the sky, as if you can touch the blue sky... It's not like now when the wind blows, and occasionally you encounter a few bison bones, the wind is so heavy I feel like my legs, which have been cold for many years, are getting sick again, and I feel a sharp chill in the soles of my feet.”

Jin An laughed when he heard this: "Old Taoist, you'd better wrap yourself up with a blanket. The temperature difference between day and night is huge here. Be careful of getting cold from the night wind. Even if it's summer, you can't be careless. If you get a cold on the plateau, it will be very serious. It takes half a person’s life.”

When the old Taoist priest heard this, he nodded quickly and said yes, but he didn't show off in front of Jin An. After descending smoothly to the bottom of the valley, listening to the sound of the big river nearby, the old Taoist priest glanced at Jin An: "Little brother, there is water here, don't you wash your hands?"

Jin An, who was walking in front, replied casually: "Walking at night, don't go near the water. Find a safe place to wash in the daytime."

The old Taoist priest turned his head and looked at the dark river beside him, where nothing could be seen clearly, and nodded in deep agreement.

However, after descending to the bottom of the valley, the air seemed to become thinner and it was difficult to breathe. The old Taoist priest frowned. He silently noted this small detail and reminded him not to fall asleep again this time.

The days are long and the nights are short on the plateau. After traveling at night in the big valley for more than an hour, the sky and the earth have already brightened up. After another half an hour, the sky and the earth are brightening. The turbid air is sinking and the clear air is rising. I suddenly feel refreshed. , an invigorating and refreshing feeling.

The old Taoist priest was surprised: "Little brother, this place is really good at night. The air is thin at night, and breathing becomes much more comfortable during the day."

The old Taoist priest breathed in the air greedily as he spoke.

With that look, I wanted to make up for all the air I had lost last night.

At this time, the two finally saw the entire big valley clearly. The valley was wide and the peaks on both sides could not be seen at a glance. This was a huge ravine that even the gods could bury. The end of the big valley was dimly lit by the golden sun. Several snow peaks are visible shining in the sun.

In the big valley, there is a big river meandering through, sparkling in the sun, and the breeze blowing on your face, which is indescribably comfortable and refreshing.

After listening to the old Taoist priest's words, Jin An nodded: "It should be related to the disappearance of the thunder clouds, and the air here has returned to normal. This situation should be only temporary, otherwise this place would not be called Death Valley."

"Old Taoist, we have been on the road for a day and a night, and the people and animals are a little tired. Now that the weather has returned to normal for the time being, we can rest where we are for a while before continuing on the road."

But the old Taoist priest was not concerned about sleeping, but looking at Jin An: "Little brother, don't you wash your hands?"

Jin An: "..."

Seeing Jin An finally go to the river bank to wash his hands, the old Taoist priest finally fell asleep with a smile on his face.

In order to rush on the road and find Master Luosang and the others as early as possible, Jin An only allowed the team to rest for a short while before leading the team on the road again.

…

The farther you go in this big valley, the road begins to become desolate, as if you have entered the land of yin and yang of life and death. One step back is the gate of life, and one step forward is the land of death. The pastures along the way are reduced, and the yellow-brown sand and sand where no grass can grow are There are more rocks.

The plateau climate is so changeable. The same day can change on different days, and you can experience the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter in one day.

The old Taoist priest who rode his horse again said: "It turns out that this is the true face of Death Valley. We have stepped into the gate of hell."

Jin An, who was riding on the back of a sheep, said: "This shows that the further you go, the more frequent the weather becomes abnormal, and even strong weeds cannot grow."

The old Taoist frowned and looked around: "Isn't this called Death Valley? How come you can't even see the corpses of cattle and horses that strayed into the valley?"

However, Jin An did not answer his words this time. He suddenly jumped off the sheep's back and inspected a charred black earth pit on the side of the road.

The old Taoist priest also joined in the fun and looked over. The well-informed man immediately saw the details and said in surprise: "Is this a lightning crater struck by lightning?"

Along the way, more lightning craters like this were discovered.

The old Taoist priest shouted: "Mom, the further you go in, the more likely you are to be struck by lightning!"

…

On this day, the two of them walked along the river bank deeper into the valley, using the river as a signpost so as not to get lost in this vast valley.

But when we got here, the river was no longer clear, but became more and more turbid, turning into yellow turbid water, and even the width of the river had shrunk by half.

According to the murmurs of the old Taoist priest, this is called Jiuqu Huangquan entering the gate of hell, and there is the threat of being struck by lightning at any time above their heads. They are stepping into the gate of hell on Huangquan Road.

Before dark, the team rested for a while, and then continued on the road, preparing to continue the night journey, not daring to sleep in the dark Death Valley.

Boom!

Thunderclouds began to accumulate above Death Valley's head again, and the air was once again heavy and suffocating, making it difficult to breathe.

"Little brother, is it because I am suffocating and have an illusion? There seems to be...fire in front of me?"

In fact, it was not fire. When the two got closer, they saw clearly that there were people fighting in Death Valley. There was a monk in red who was holding a golden statue of Buddha and fighting to the death.