"Hahaha!" Zhu Bajie laughed heartily as the red light touched ground.

"Second Brother! Well done!" Sha Seng also exclaimed excitedly.

"On land and in the sky, I admit that monkey has some skills. But in the water, you have to count on this old pig! Little brother Sha, make sure the body is secured, I'll go pick up the monster's head, and let's head back!"

"Okay! I'll follow Second Brother's lead!"

One carried the head, and the other hoisted the body; they parted the river water and climbed ashore.

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong sparingly did not withhold his praise, openly lauding his second and third brothers as great talents, making Zhu Bajie's nostrils flare skyward.

"Let's go, back to Chen Family Village to find Master, and we'll cross the river!"

The three left Tongtian River.

Along the way, Zhu Bajie chattered excitedly about his performance at the bottom of the river, how he wore down the monster's mana, how he avoided its sight, and how he perfectly slammed the monster into the Demon-Subduing Pestle.

When the trio returned to Chen Family Village, Tang Seng was nowhere to be found.

"Where is my Master?" Sun Wukong's fur bristled as he picked Chen Qing up with one hand.

"Saint, Saint Monk was carried off by an eagle!"

Releasing Chen Qing, Sun Wukong, with a ferocious expression, leapt towards The White Dragon Horse and pulled out the Stabilizer from his ear.

"You were supposed to watch over Master and shout if there was danger. You can't even do that? What use are you!" And with that, he was about to beat Jade Dragon Crown Prince to death.

"Great Elder Brother!" The Jade Dragon Crown Prince transformed into human form and knelt on the ground with a thud, "It was that monster from Tongtian River, it held me down with just one hand!"

How could Sun Wukong not realize he'd been deceived!

"Ah!!"

With a roar, he turned his head to look at Li Changzhou's body, his eyes almost spewing flames.

Bang!

Li Changzhou's body burst, evenly fragmenting into pieces the size of fingernails.

Seventy-two Earthly Fiends, scattered to pieces.

Chunks of flesh flew everywhere, covering everyone's face. Zhu Bajie wiped his hand across his face, but there was no flesh and blood, just river silt.

Sun Wukong glared at Zhu Bajie, who shivered, took up his Nine-toothed Spiked Rake and headed towards Tongtian River.

Sha Seng quickly followed suit.

Sun Wukong, with a forceful kick, dismissed the kneeling Jade Dragon Crown Prince. With a somersault, he was already above Tongtian River, while Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng were still on their way.

Sun Wukong was both anxious and furious, wishing he could turn his Jingu Bang into a pillar and smash Tongtian River to bits!

Yet, with Tang Seng abducted by the monster, his own blow might not necessarily kill the monster, but it would certainly grind Tang Seng's mortal flesh to a pulp.

"Hurry up!" he yelled at Zhu Bajie.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Zhu Bajie didn't dare to talk back.

"Brother Monkey, just wait, I will definitely rescue Master!" Bajie shouted as he and Sha Seng were about to enter the water.

But just then, celestial music descended to the world, auspiciousness filled the sky. The brothers looked up to see clouds parting and numerous fairies riding phoenixes and cranes approaching leisurely.

Blossoms fell in disarray as the Immortals traveled, and amidst countless fairies, a grand palace stood towering above the clouds.

Zhu Bajie and Sha Monk immediately knelt in reverence.

"We greet the Queen Mother!"

Anxious to his core, Sun Wukong nonetheless had to take several deep breaths to quell his spirit and pay his respects with a bow.

At the bottom of Tongtian River, Li Changzhou buried Tang Seng in the silt, leaving just his head exposed.

[Let's see if the delay can last for two days. If not, I'll knock Tang Seng unconscious and take him to the Divine Will Great Wall.]

[Heading to the Divine Will Great Wall is too risky. Buddha has Five Finger Mountain, and your "Teleportation" might not be able to escape.] Guanyin said.

Li Changzhou hadn't thought of Five Finger Mountain, but he had previously refrained from using "Teleportation" to take Tang Seng precisely because he was wary of Buddha and other top-tier Heavenly Immortals.

The so-called Journey to the West was just a "Value Game" set up by these Heavenly Immortals, a selection process. They didn't watch constantly, but they would certainly intervene at critical moments.

Running away from the Heavenly Dao carried the risk of being "hunted down" for debts. The more essence taken, the greater the likelihood of being "hunted down." Therefore, the choice of whom to take had to be made carefully. The Journey to the West was a grand selection process.

Guanyin had mentioned before that after the Journey to the West, the slots would be nearly set. If anyone wanted to take away Erlang Shen, who was nearly on par with Buddha's Physical Body, even being his close nephew, they would have to pass a highly challenging trial.

These Heavenly Immortals placed such importance on the Journey to the West that Li Changzhou had to tread carefully.

[Sun Wukong has discovered it.]

[Yes.] Li Changzhou said lazily while sitting in a chair.

Such predictable events weren't worth any fuss.

Hm?

He suddenly opened his eyes, which faintly shone with a blue light, and stared intently at the surface of the river above.

Guanyin let out a wry laugh and sighed, "I used to envy you players, but now—"

If it weren't for the Tongtian River, Li Changzhou would have to confront Sun Wukong directly;

Yet, going out to practice had drawn the attention of a disciple of the Heavenly Venerate;

After painstakingly devising a stratagem, it was ruined by an old turtle;

Now, the Queen Mother and Guanyin, along with almost all the fairies of the Heavenly Palace, were here.

Guanyin felt that Li Changzhou becoming an Immortal in less than a year was not unacceptable, and if it were always like this, it would be completely reasonable.

[Side Mission triggered: Fierce Battle]

[Mission content: At the Flowers Conference, the Queen Mother set up three challenges, proposed by Guanyin of the South Sea. For the third challenge, the two of you will ask ten questions, and the fairies and you will solve them—if you win five questions, the mission is complete. The more questions you win, the higher the evaluation.]

[Note: You now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity right before you, battling the fairies of the Heavenly Court in front of your wife. You should like this a lot.]

"Is it because of this?" Li Changzhou murmured, glancing at the "Candle", "Dawn Mirror", and "Chaos Series - Flame Butterfly" that had appeared in the shared inventory before.

[Escape?] Guanyin asked.

Before being drawn into battle, Li Changzhou could simply abandon the mission and leave the instance.

But once he stood up and stepped out of the Tongtian River, he could continue only if he fought until he was completely safe.

Li Changzhou stood up.

"My minions, take Tang Seng, grab the war flag, follow your King out the door to meet the battle, and leave none alive!"

The small water demons, nearly spasming with fear, sprung to action at his command, hefting the war flags on their shoulders, taking the war drums in their hands, and clanging the gongs loudly.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Emotion Control"

"Go!" Li Changzhou raised his right arm, and with a chopping motion, his physical strength tore a rift through the Tongtian River.

He led four or five dozen small demons of the Water Clan leaping out of the Tongtian River, standing on the towering waves, confronting the Queen Mother Palace, the Bodhisattva of the South Sea, scores of Heaven's fairies, and countless exotic beasts.

Zhu Bajie, having just heard the reason for the Queen Mother's arrival at the Tongtian River, saw Li Changzhou taking the initiative to come out. His eyes swiveled, stealing a glance at Chang'e above the clouds before leaping out himself.

"Monster! You dare to deceive your Grandpa Zhu, let's have another 300 rounds of fierce battle!"

But he forgot about Tang Seng, not even uttering "give me back my master."

The Nine-toothed Spiked Rake, filled with mana, tore through space in an instant and was right in front of Li Changzhou.

A move with tremendous power, but also a great vulnerability.

The Mi'er Metal woven robe was both luxurious and exquisite. With a flick of a large sleeve, the rake powerful enough to break mountains was brushed aside like paper.

Zhu Bajie stumbled, and before he could rally, he felt a kick on his back as Sun Wukong shouted, "Bajie!"

Pfft!

Blood spurted as if Mount Tai was crushing down; his bones shattered into pieces, and Zhu Bajie was sent flying, landing before the water demons.

Five small demons swarmed in, binding him with ropes. He couldn't even sit up properly without the ropes, much less break free.

"Bajie!"

"Brother!"

Sun Wukong and Sha Seng were just about to step forward—

Whoosh!

Li Changzhou raised his arm, and the Water Element True Blade pressed against Zhu Bajie's neck.

"Take another step forward, and see if you can still find Zhu Bajie's soul in the Underworld!"

Sun Wukong was extremely angered but dared not act rashly.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The water demons waved their flags, beat their drums, and shouted while striking their gongs.

Suddenly, Li Changzhou laughed loudly and cried out, "Thrilling!"

In the game, the difficulty of a mission always matched the player's strength. His repeated mistakes before also signified repeated attacks he had launched, right?

Now, surrounded on all sides with apparent overwhelming difficulty, he still held Tang Seng and Zhu Bajie in his grasp by virtue of his wisdom and strength.

Tang Seng couldn't move, and the Heavenly Immortals might intervene, but Zhu Bajie?

This was why the Water Element True Blade was pressed against Zhu Bajie's neck, not Tang Seng's—it was still Li Changzhou's clear-headed reasoning even now.

But his mood was incredibly exhilarated.

What could be more exhilarating than snatching chestnuts out of the fire?

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