Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 201: One Against Ten Thousand

Along the way, Ao Shun, the Dragon King of the Northern Sea, wore a gloomy expression, while Ao Guang cast reproachful glances at him from time to time.

Ao Shun had no choice but to act this way. The Sea-Submerging Jiaos were gathering various branches of the dragon clan; now there were already hundreds of Jiao descendants, with nearly ten thousand water creatures around the Sea Eye relying on them. After all, Ao Shun had ruled the Northern Sea for tens of thousands of years, with deep roots everywhere there was water—his spies were everywhere.

Originally, all dragons in the world were one family, so Ao Shun wasn’t worried that the Sea-Submerging Jiaos would pose a great threat to the dragon clan. But the Sea-Submerging Jiaos were remnants of Huaguoshan from years ago, and he was well aware of that. Today, someone had secretly reported that Wu Yuan, the Great Sage of Water Apes, and Wu Zhiqi were also in the Northern Sea.

Though Ao Shun could tolerate the Sea-Submerging Jiaos, he couldn’t tolerate Wu Zhiqi. He feared the Jade Emperor would punish him for colluding with bandits—a crime he couldn’t afford.

Fortunately, there was the Red Dragon in Xiniuhe Continent that could summon clouds and bring rain. Ao Shun had a sudden idea and decided to frame the Sea-Submerging Jiaos for this. He knew that with the Sea-Submerging Jiaos’ abilities, it would be impossible for Li Jing and others to capture them. By using this opportunity to suppress these demons and distance himself from them, he could achieve his goals.

Ao Guang, however, thought very differently. The Great Emperor Zhenwu had told him that whether they were direct descendants or branches of the dragon clan, they were all part of the dragon race. By this standard, Ao Shun’s actions were like inviting wolves into one’s home. Many water creatures from the four seas were participating in this battle, and regardless of the outcome, it would surely weaken them greatly. But now that the battle had begun, there was nothing but to proceed step by step.

Li Jing led his troops to the Northern Sea. Seeing their mighty army, he grew complacent once again. When they approached the Sea Eye, he saw dozens of Jiaos playing in the sea. Li Jing said, “Who will go and challenge them?”

One man stepped forward from the dragons of the four seas—Ao Mo’ang, the heir to the Western Sea. Holding a golden tablet, Mo’ang said, “I, Mo’ang of the Western Sea, volunteer to take the lead!” Li Jing nodded slightly. Mo’ang rode on clouds above the sea and shouted, “Heavenly soldiers have arrived! Who is causing rain without permission? Surrender now!”

The dozens of smaller Jiaos stopped playing and stared at Mo’ang in shock.

Facing them, Mo’ang couldn’t bring himself to attack. Jiaos and dragons looked very similar. Seeing these Jiaos playing in the water, how was it different from his own nephews in the Western Sea? So he shouted, “Go and call your elders out!”

At that moment, the waves surged, and a red dragon emerged from the depths, circling above the sea and stirring up storms. It roared, “Who has come to cause trouble in the Northern Sea?”

Upon seeing Mo’ang, it was stunned and then said, “Call Brother Ao Guang here to speak!”

Mo’ang sneered, “You overestimate yourself too much!”

The red dragon’s two fiery eyebrows raised as it cried, “Youngster, how dare you be so arrogant!” Mo’ang attacked with a triangular golden tablet, but the red dragon simply swept with its giant tail, sending Mo’ang flying. Known as the Prince of Divine Power in the Western Sea, Mo’ang was also among the best among his generation of dragons, yet he couldn’t even parry this single move from the red dragon—quite unexpected. Humiliated, Mo’ang rolled through the air, transforming into a massive golden dragon that lunged at the red dragon with bared fangs and claws. He had realized that this red dragon was not a jiao but a true dragon, but since he had been defeated in front of everyone, he no longer cared about such things. The two dragons refused to yield, and they clashed fiercely. Dragons have always valued strength; most fights within their clan take place in close combat without magic, using their massive mouths, sharp fangs, and claws, often resulting in bloody battles. The golden dragon and the red dragon entwined, and after just a few rounds, they separated, with golden scales falling from the air—clearly Mo’ang had suffered a heavy loss. Transforming back into human form, Mo’ang was covered in blood from head to toe, but his face showed no sign of defeat or frustration, instead radiating an inexplicable excitement. The four Dragon Kings of the Four Seas were even more astonished. Only these four recognized this red dragon, which had once served as the third in the chariot of the Primordial Heavenly Lord—it was Ao En, the third of the nine Ao dragons. Apart from the four Dragon Kings, the other five dragons had disappeared tens of thousands of years ago. After Ao Sheng appeared, Ao En also reappeared in the world—yet how had he allied himself with the Northern Sea Jiao and its followers? Faced with this situation, Ao Guang naturally had many questions, but how could he ask them in the midst of battle? Since Ao En had defeated Prince Mo’ang, Li Jing was naturally displeased. He had planned to conquer the Northern Sea with his hundred thousand elite soldiers in just a moment. Who would have thought a fierce red dragon would appear? In Li Jing’s eyes, all dragons looked similar. He glanced at the four Dragon Kings, who all kept their heads bowed and remained silent. Li Jing snorted and said, “Nezha, follow my orders! Capture this evil dragon!” Nezha stepped forward and said, “I receive the order!” Riding on his Wind and Fire Wheels, Nezha brandished his Demon Subduing Staff and attacked the red dragon. The red dragon, being experienced, knew Nezha’s magical weapons were powerful. It sidestepped and used its giant tail to wrap around Nezha from the side, then attacked his back. Nezha swung his Demon Slaying Sword horizontally behind him, but the red dragon’s tail, though huge, was extremely agile and retracted with a slight shake. Nezha turned and unleashed his Heavenly Silk Ribbon. Seeing a red shadow covering the sky, the dragon realized it couldn’t win and dived straight into the sea, disappearing without a trace.

Seeing Nezha drive the red dragon into flight, Li Jing shouted, “Four Seas Dragon Kings, create a water path to strike straight at the lair of these demons!” At his command, the Dragon Kings ordered their offspring to chop through the waves, creating a wide passage several miles across the vast blue waters. Ao Shun, the Dragon King of the Northern Sea, led the way, with Li Jing and the others following closely, heading deep into the Northern Sea’s core.

Ao En, having been rescued by Wukong and freed from the Three Realms Dragon Subduing Tower, returned to this world. Arriving here and separated from his brothers, with nowhere to go, he hid in a large river on Xiniuhuo Continent. The Sea Devouring Dragon, who often explored the rivers of the world when idle, happened to meet Ao En. After fighting, they admired each other. After chatting, they learned they both viewed the Heavenly Court and Taoism as enemies, sharing a common hatred. Since Ao En felt at home wherever he went, he accepted the Sea Devouring Dragon’s invitation to live in the Northern Sea.

Ao En returned to the Sea Devouring Dragon’s palace and reported that heavenly soldiers were attacking. The Sea Devouring Dragon was puzzled—he and Wu Zhiqi had operated very discreetly, avoiding trouble at all costs. Why would heavenly soldiers come here for no reason? But since the Heavenly Court had already arrived, there was no need for explanations. He quickly ordered his subordinates to gather their kin and take shelter in the palace to avoid capture by the heavenly soldiers; without enough members, it would be difficult for their clan to revive.

Just as he finished making arrangements, a water path leading to the surface arrived at the seabed. Nezha, the Third Prince, had won a battle and called out, “Heavenly soldiers have arrived! Surrender quickly, and I’ll spare your lives!” The Sea Devouring Dragon stepped forward, glanced at Nezha, and sneered, “I wondered who it was—turns out it’s still these death-defying fools!” Those who didn’t recognize the Sea Devouring Dragon shouted insults from behind.

The Sea Devouring Dragon glared at the Four Seas Dragon Kings and said, “Since when do dragons commit suicide? Don’t you fear the ancestral laws?” The Dragon Kings were stunned, exchanging uneasy looks. How did this Sea Devouring Dragon know the secrets of the dragon clan? His tone suggested he might even have some connection to the ancestral dragon.

Seeing the Dragon Kings hesitate, Li Jing shouted, “The Jade Emperor has ordered the capture of this evil dragon! Hurry up and act!” The Sea Devouring Dragon laughed loudly, “You fools! How dare you come to the seabed to arrest your great-grandfather, the Sea Devouring Sage?” With a flick of his hand, a silver Sea Devouring Whip appeared in his grasp. He swung it above his head in a circular motion and struck the water barrier held up by the dragon clan’s descendants.

Although the Heavenly Court’s naval forces were called the Water Army, their combat strength was limited to rivers and shallow seas. At the depths of tens of thousands of feet, it was not only difficult to fight but even to stand. Those with insufficient strength could be crushed by the pressure of hundreds of feet of water, breaking their bones.

For this campaign, the Dragon Clan sent 80,000 aquatic warriors to assist. These warriors, skilled in navigating water as if it were solid ground, could also cast spells to part the seawater, creating towering walls of water on either side with no water in between, allowing celestial soldiers like Li Jing who were not adept at water to move freely.

Fuhai Jiao, who knew water well, immediately spotted the flaws in the celestial soldiers’ strategy. Though there were hundreds of thousands of them, this underwater realm was the most dangerous place for ordinary celestial soldiers. With a single whip swing, Fuhai Jiao shattered the water barrier like a broken mirror, causing the wall of water to collapse like a landslide. The Four Sea Dragon Kings panicked and hurriedly cast spells to protect Li Jing, the Heavenly King who held the pagoda.

At the moment Fuhai Jiao swung his whip, the Dragon Kings realized defeat was inevitable. It was no longer possible to save the tens of thousands of celestial soldiers; they could only try to save Li Jing’s life as a way to atone for their failures. Fuhai Jiao repeated his tactic, breaking another wall of water. Under the overwhelming pressure of the sea water, no water-avoidance spells could help. In an instant, crabs lost courage, whales and turtles perished, and sharks and bass scattered. They all tried to use their mystical powers to escape this disaster. The celestial water soldiers, unaccustomed to battle, had no means of defense and were crushed into pulp or forced to spit out blood under the heavy pressure—how many could possibly survive?

Aoguang, the Eastern Sea Dragon King, fought desperately to protect Li Jing, himself spitting out blood. He thought to himself that Fuhai Jiao was truly ruthless, capable of devising such a plan to perish together. Although this might reduce the strength of the celestial soldiers by half, how could his own palace remain intact? Even one-tenth of his aquatic warriors would likely survive.

When the two walls of water collapsed and collided, they created massive waves. The green seawater turned dark red, filled with countless broken limbs that vanished in moments as the water surged. The violent currents soon subsided. Aoguang rushed to look at where Fuhai Jiao stood and saw his silver whip forming a circle around himself for protection. Behind him, the huge palace, despite having no defenses, remained untouched, not even a stone falling from it.

“That’s impossible!” Aoguang exclaimed. He didn’t know that Wu Zhiqi had been using his water-control powers inside the palace. To Wu Zhiqi, this seemingly terrifying seawater was actually the most docile thing in the world.

In this battle, out of the 40,000 celestial naval troops, only slightly over a thousand managed to escape. Among the 80,000 sea creatures from the four seas, more than 30,000 were killed, with all survivors injured. Even the Dragon Kings of the four seas and Nezha, the Third Prince, suffered minor injuries. The only one unharmed was Li Jing, the Heavenly King who carried a pagoda. After the waves calmed, Li Jing looked at the tragic state of the celestial troops, first spitting out yellow bile and then crimson blood. Some said Li Jing was so terrified that he spat blood in anger. As for the true circumstances, they are not worth mentioning. When the news reached the Heavenly Court, the Jade Emperor flew into a fury and shattered his jade ruyi. From then on, he never spoke of conquering the Northern Sea again. The sea dragon of the Northern Sea became famous after this battle.