I am a fairy

Chapter 299: Mermaids and the -mile-high Tree
After resting for a few days on the island and replenishing the lost supplies, Taoist Danhe left with a gold and silver bottle given by Huodou, which symbolized his ascension to immortality.

But when he set out for the South China Sea again, he discovered that there was a ship heading in the same direction as them.

In the past few years, not many people went from the Ten Islands to the South China Sea, but now many people go there.

Taoist Danhe stood on the boat and looked at the other boats.

The disciple nearby inquired about it and immediately came back to report.

"Master, those ships are going to the South China Sea, but unlike us, they are going to the Kingdom of Qutan."

"Kutani country?"

Taoist Danhe had heard of this country. It was said to be in the southwest of Kyushu, but to get there one had to cross the entire Western Regions.

Taoist Danhe asked again: "Whose boat is it?"

The disciple immediately replied, "It is a Buddhist boat, and there is a second-generation disciple from the Samsara Temple on board."

Taoist Danhe was surprised: "Reincarnation Temple?"

The disciple nodded and said, "In recent years, many ships going to the South China Sea have taken a detour to the Kingdom of Qutan, making a lot of money. I heard that the Samsara Temple has also sent many disciples there. I don't know why."

Taoist Danhe figured it out: "No wonder there are monks coming to these ten islands to build pagodas. Buddhism sails out to the country of Qudani from here!"

"This Buddhist sect is to preach in the country of Qutan and bring reincarnation from the land of Shenzhou to the country of Qutan."

In the opinion of Taoist Danhe, this is because the Buddhist sect feels that it is difficult to compete with the Taoist sect within the Nine Provinces, so it wants to find another way in the "wild and wild" land outside the domain.

But the country of Qudani, in the eyes of Taoist Danhe at this moment, is no different from the barren land in the north. How can it be compared with the magnificent Kyushu.

Therefore, he was somewhat disdainful of Buddhism's actions.

While talking.

Several monks also came out from the boat. They seemed to know that Taoist Danhe was on the boat and noticed that Taoist Danhe was looking at them.

Across the sea, the monk clasped his hands together, and Taoist Danhe held the whisk in one hand and raised his other hand to return the greeting.

Although it was a bit of a coincidence, Taoist Danhe couldn't help but sigh.

The Taoist master of his school was thinking of going overseas to find Jianmu and become an immortal, while the Buddhist school also thought of going overseas to find another way to explore the path of reincarnation.

It cannot be said that they all have the same goal, but it can also be said that they are all seeking strategies to break through the status quo.

The two fleets were traveling together at first, but later they gradually lost sight of each other.

After all, one is to go to the Kingdom of Qudani along the mainland, while the other's purpose is to go deep into the South China Sea to find the sacred tree that connects heaven, earth, humans and gods in the legend.

The route to Qutanyi has been used by people at least in the past. Recently, with more and more ships taking this route, it is no longer considered risky.

But searching deep in the South China Sea is much more dangerous.

No one knows what the situation is like or what will happen in the vast ocean.

As we went deeper into the South China Sea, although we did not lose our way thanks to the star-gazing technique, the number of identifiable islands and reefs around us became fewer and fewer.

Sometimes, after sailing for many days, we can’t see anything above the sea, as if we are just wandering in the same place.

The feeling was terrifying, especially as they were heading deep into a place that was unknown and not for mortals.

But the movement that followed broke this unchanging "wandering in place".

One day at noon.

The Taoist was chanting scriptures with his disciples when they heard a noise outside.

The Taoist asked his disciple to go and see, and the disciple quickly ran in and said to him.

"Look, something has appeared in the sea."

Taoist Danhe immediately ran to the stern of the ship and saw something like a ridge appearing in the distance.

That thing was surging and rising like the mountains, except that the rising and falling of ordinary mountains was just a feeling, while this thing was really moving.

If you look closely, you can see bursts of golden light above the mountains, which are constantly changing. It is clearly the shining scales flashing.

Although he couldn't see the beginning or the end, Taoist Danhe knew roughly what this thing was in an instant.

"A real dragon."

But compared to the dragon in the river, the dragon in the sea is really much bigger.

At this moment, the boat was tossing and turning in the waves, and the people on the boat were as small as rice grains.

It is set against the dragon walking on the sea and the boundless ocean.

It forms a picture with progressive layers.

Not only was the dragon's head and tail not visible, it also quickly disappeared above the sea. However, this was only the beginning.

Next, on a moonlit night with a starry sky, everyone on the boat suddenly saw the sky light up and woke up suddenly.

Looking up, I saw the sky full of bright clouds.

The light from afar sprinkled onto the sea from above the sea of ​​stars and clouds, turning the sky and the earth into a brilliant color.

As the colorful light got closer and closer, it flew low over the heads of the fleet.

Only then did everyone see that it was a divine bird with a long feather tail.

Snake neck, fish tail, stork forehead, mandarin duck thoughts, dragon pattern, tiger back, swallow chin, chicken beak, all five colors are available.

"Phoenix!"

Taoist Danhe, who ran out in a Taoist robe without even wearing shoes, looked up, as if he wanted to see the details of the phoenix's feathers clearly, but he was blinded by the light.

The phoenix flew over his head, and Taoist Danhe immediately chased after it.

Then he pointed in the direction where the phoenix was flying and shouted loudly.

"Quick, follow the phoenix."

"It's definitely not wrong."

Taoist Danhe felt that the direction the phoenix was going must be the place he was looking for.

It was a pity that the phoenix soon turned into a ball of light and disappeared into the moonlight, leaving only a general direction.

As they continued to move forward, they encountered strong winds and huge waves on the sea.

The strong winds from the sea were accompanied by heavy rain and thunder. Once they were caught in it, they were plunged into darkness. Everyone was trembling with fear facing the power of heaven and earth.

In their opinion, this time they would be buried with the ship at the bottom of the sea and in the belly of the fish.

At this time, they saw a mountain in the darkness.

"There's a mountain over there."

"Have you seen?"

"what?"

"Mountain?"

When everyone looked closely, they found that there was actually a big mountain not far away, and they all fell into ecstasy.

"Hurry, hurry, come over here."

But as they got closer to the mountain, they discovered that the mountain was actually running.

Now everyone understood that it was not a mountain at all, but a living creature that could move.

They didn't know what it was, but they knew that if they wanted to get out, they had to follow the giant creature.

"quick!"

"Follow it, follow it out."

After breaking through the strong winds, huge waves and heavy rain and reappearing in the sunlight, they saw what that thing was.

It was a divine turtle that was like an island, carrying a giant monument on its back, and there was a huge object spinning on the monument.

Compared with the divine turtle, their ship was like Mount Tai and its stone.

Passing under the giant beast, they headed somewhere in the south.

And that divine turtle.

But it still chased the strong wind and huge waves, gradually going away.

They saw more and more miraculous things on the way, which made them realize that they were indeed going deeper and deeper into the vast ocean instead of lingering in the same place.

This also made Taoist Danhe very happy, and he believed that he was on the right path.

He believed that the bigger the wind and waves were, the closer they were to the "boundary" between heaven and earth.

But then something strange happened.

There's no more wind or waves ahead.

The sea was so calm, as if someone had cast a wind-calming spell here.

But they were also drifting on the sea, not knowing where to go, and it was impossible for them to return.

As the supplies on the ship were exhausted, they were almost out of food and water.

Late at night.

There was a strange light on the sea again, but this time it did not come from the sky, but from under the water.

The sea water became extremely clear and transparent, as if you could see directly into the seabed.

What’s even more surprising is.

In the translucent sea water, groups of "people" with beautiful faces and gorgeous clothes were swimming by.

Taoist Danhe looked at one of the "people". The woman was wearing fairy clothes that looked even more graceful and free in the water. When the clothes were swayed by the water, they looked like the fins of a fish.

He was holding a jade bottle in his arms, and there were faint scale-like patterns on his slender neck.

What attracts the most attention is the extremely slender fish tail behind the other party, which swings and propels it forward on the seabed.

"Mermaid!"
-
Taoist Danhe and his companions were finally rescued by the mermaids, who also placed them on a nearby turtle island.

Turtle Island does not mean that the island is shaped like a turtle, but that the island is actually built on the body of a turtle monster.

There are flowers, plants and trees on Turtle Island, and it looks no different from a real island.

Taoist Danhe walked between the trees and came to the edge of the island.

Then he saw the old turtle turned around and looked at him, then started talking to him.

A few days down.

Taoist Danhe is already very familiar with this turtle monster.

Thinking back to the early morning when those mermaids had brought them food, yet they just looked at them without saying a word.

He couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't those mermaids talk to us? I and my disciples wanted to thank them for saving our lives, but they just looked at us without saying a word." "Could it be that we didn't do something thoughtful?"

"Or maybe the customs of this mermaid tribe are different from those on the land of Shenzhou. Can you tell me?"

However, the old turtle told him,

"Mermaids can't talk."

Taoist: "Why? Don't they talk to each other?"

The old turtle said: "They don't even need to talk to each other, as if they can understand each other's thoughts even if they are dozens of miles apart."

The Taoist then understood that most monsters and ghosts also had this ability, but when the Taoist looked at the mermaids, he couldn't help but equate them with humans.

Because they are neither spirits like ghosts and gods, nor completely without human form like monsters.

The Taoist sighed, "So that's how it is. I guess immortals don't need to speak to each other. They only need to speak like this when they are talking to mortals!"

It turns out that the need to open one's mouth to speak seems normal for a Taoist, but it is only necessary for ordinary people.

Speaking of immortals, the old turtle also spoke.

"The mermaids are a tribe from ancient times. It is said that they have the blood of immortals in their bodies, or at least have a close relationship with immortals, which is why they are born with all kinds of magical powers."

"Even Feng Yi, the river god of the Yellow River, is said to be of the same clan as them."

Taoist: "The blood of the immortal?"

Having said this, the Taoist recalled the appearance, words and deeds of the mermaids.

Each of these mermaids looked extremely cold, like a piece of ice. They never spoke to each other, as if hundreds of mermaids were a whole.

He thought to himself, could it be that immortals are the same?

The Taoist thought that if he became an immortal in the future, he would no longer need to eat or drink water, and might even be able to cut off all emotions and desires, and in the end he would not even need to speak.

For some reason, I felt a little lonely, and a chill rose in my heart.

However, if we put it another way.

Immortality means sitting in the clouds for a long time, eating wind and drinking dew, and no longer needing to eat grains on earth.

No longer suffering from worldly desires, you can know everything about the mountains and hills with just your eyes closed.

Think about it.

Suddenly I felt that the immortal's posture was truly mysterious. He had already reached a state that was beyond the material world and was very desirable.

The old turtle also asked the Taoist: "Fellow Daoist, why did you come all the way from the land of Shenzhou to here?"

The Taoist said directly: "I came here to look for Jianmu."

The old turtle understood: "Oh, you want to use the Jianmu to ascend to the sky, then you have come to the right place!"

After hearing what the old turtle meant, the Taoist priest was overjoyed and asked, "Do you know where Jianmu is?"

The old turtle said slowly: "I know. I will also go to the place where Jianmu is soon."

The Taoist asked cautiously, "Then can you take me with you?"

The old turtle laughed loudly: "Of course you can, but if you want to reach the Ninth Heaven through that Jianmu, then you are probably overthinking it."

"Don't even mention whether you can go to heaven without the Emperor of Heaven's decree."

"Even if there is an imperial decree, I'm afraid you won't be able to wait."

The Taoist didn't know what the old turtle meant: "Why?"

The old turtle told him: "The Jianmu tree has not yet grown, and the road to heaven has not yet been opened."

"If you want to go up, you have to queue up."

"I'm afraid it will take a long time, perhaps decades."

"Looking at your appearance, I'm afraid it will be difficult to wait."

"Why not hurry back to Kyushu now? There is no reincarnation in this overseas land. If you die here, you will really have nothing left."

Although the old turtle spoke slowly and his eyes seemed to be unable to see clearly, it turned out that he could see very clearly.

The Taoist was horrified after hearing this.

He heard that Jianmu had appeared overseas, so he hurried over.

However, I didn't expect that after going through so much trouble to get here, I found out that the Jianmu was not the ancient Jianmu, but the one planted today.

This "planting" has not been long, and is far from reaching the point where it can become a ladder to heaven on earth.

Although the Taoist looked distraught, he still spoke in the end.

"I'd like to trouble you to take me there. Even if I can't reach the sky, I still want to take a look at the Jianmu tree."

"At least we know how the practitioners of our human race can pass through the Jianmu Heaven Ladder and achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven in the future."

"In this way, I can finally rest in peace."

The old turtle sighed and spoke.

"You, a Taoist, are so obsessed."

"But I have received an order from the Heavenly Court that this Turtle Island must grow another circle here before we can go to the place where Jianmu is. By then, I am afraid it will take several months or a year or so."

"However, the mermaids were also ordered to rush to where Jianmu was."

"If you want to go, I can talk to them and let them take you there."

The Taoist thanked him profusely, although a large part of the reason the other party helped him was because of his reputation as the leader of the Yunzhen Dao and the rumor that he had met the "Emperor of Heaven" in the past.

However, the Taoist was very grateful to the other party for being willing to help him, especially at such a critical moment.

That night.

The mermaids prepared to set off and came to pick up Taoist Danhe.

When the merman met the Taoist priest Danhe, he put a set of precious clothes on him.

At the edge of Turtle Island, people from several boats came over.

Everyone was holding a torch, but the faint light was like a firefly compared to the divine light brought by the mermaid that covered the sea.

The Taoist looked at the precious robe and asked, "What is this?"

The old turtle said: "This is shark silk yarn!"

When the Taoist put on the shark silk gauze, he immediately felt that everything was different.

After the precious robe was put on, it immediately partially merged with his body, then quickly adjusted its size and even changed its style.

Not only that, he could also hear the voices of those mermaids.

He was able to communicate with the merman and know what they were thinking, but an overwhelming amount of noise came flooding in, quickly occupying the Taoist's entire brain, making him feel a buzzing sound all around.

All kinds of voices gathered together, and the overwhelming information overlapped, making the Taoist feel that he could hear nothing and could not sense anything.

"what!"

The Taoist let out a loud cry, and only felt better after following the old turtle's method and blocking out the "sounds" from the outside world.

At this moment, when the Taoist looked at those mermaids again, his eyes were completely different.

It turns out that these seemingly expressionless and extremely cold mermaids are constantly accepting so many voices and other people's thoughts.

And he was able to handle it with great calmness, which is something that no human or ordinary monster can do.

Compared with these mermaids, he is indeed a complete mortal.

When the Taoist entered the water, he immediately mastered the water escape technique, one of the Five Elements escape techniques. He could move freely in the water as if he was walking on the ground.

But in fact, the Taoist feels more like flying among the clouds.

The Taoist followed the South China Sea mermaid away, and all the people on the several boats on Turtle Island shouted.

"Farewell, Master!"

Now that they have been sent here, it is time for them to go back. There is no need for them to send them anymore.

Taoist Danhe also said that they don't need to wait for him any longer.
-
Cross Kyushu, pass through the ten islands, and swim across the South China Sea.

Following the mermaid tribe from the South China Sea, the Taoist finally saw Jianmu.

To be precise, it is the "root" of Jianmu.

A large number of turtle islands gathered together, and the Emperor of Heaven above the Nine Heavens seemed to have used the art of moving mountains. With his cosmic power, he built a fairy mountain on the endless sea.

Even if the Jianmu Tower had never been completed and only an unfinished stump remained, it would still be spectacular enough.

The "Shenmu" rises from the sea, connecting to the sea below and the sky above.

The Taoist looked up under the sacred tree for a long time before he finally communicated with the mermaid behind him in a way that did not require any opening of words.

He asked: "If this Jianmu tree grows up, how tall will it be?"

The mermaid said: "I heard from the witch that if it grows up, it should be nearly 200,000 miles long?"

After hearing this, the Taoist turned his head suddenly, thinking he had heard it wrong.

"what?"

"Two hundred thousand miles?"

But he understood that he might have said something wrong, and his tone and voice might be off, causing people to misunderstand him.

However, the way he "talks" to the mermaid makes it difficult for errors and deviations to occur.

He had heard of using "zhang" to describe the height of a tree, and ten thousand zhang was a mythical number he had heard of.

Now a legendary mermaid from the South China Sea told him that when a tree grows up, it will be counted in miles, and the length is 200,000 miles.

He really couldn't imagine how tall a tree that was two hundred thousand miles tall could be.

After going through untold hardships, he finally arrived only to find that Jianmu had not grown yet, and by the time it grew, he would have already passed away.

This kind of thing was enough to make him sigh with regret.

In his opinion, there was nothing left to regret or lament.

A tree two hundred thousand miles tall.

If a mortal were to climb there, it would be difficult for him to reach the end even if he spent his entire life climbing there.

Standing under the Jianmu tree, I understood what "ascension" meant and how vast the sky and the earth were.

This height of two hundred thousand miles is the gap between mortals and immortals.

(End of this chapter)