Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 300: Rivals Meet

Fuhai Jiao was exerting all his strength when he heard someone shouting, startling greatly. Who dared speak to Zhenwu in such a manner?
Zhenwu was also stunned. This voice… seemed to come from tens of thousands of years ago. He released Fuhai Whip and emerged from the water. On the Tongtian River, a massive green dragon was circling in the sky, its eyes spewing fire, clearly furious.
Zhenwu narrowed his eyes and slowly said, “Aosheng?”
This green dragon was none other than Aosheng, who had been trapped beneath the three realms. He had changed his name—no longer surnamed Ao, but now called Wansheng! Wansheng said, “Zhenwu, today I will ask you just one question: Why did you betray our clan back then, handing over my five brothers to Yuanshi? Do you know how much suffering we endured being trapped underground for tens of thousands of years?”
Zhenwu led the five giant dragons out from behind his formation. One of the dragons roared, “How dare you speak to the Dragon God in such a way! That’s a crime punishable by death!”
Wansheng replied, “Since I’ve come here, I fear death not. Justice must prevail in all matters. Can’t even the great Emperor Zhenwu dare to answer a question?” By not addressing him as the Dragon God but simply as Zhenwu, he clearly refused to acknowledge him as the ancestor of the dragon race.
The five dragons could no longer hold back and surrounded Wansheng, ready to attack.
Zhenwu shouted, “Stop!”
He then turned to Wansheng and said, “How could I have planned so far ahead back then? Everything was due to misfortunes—how could everything go as people wished? If you blame me, what can I do?” He asked Wansheng three questions, thereby answering his own as well.
Despite this, Wansheng’s anger remained unrelieved. He roared, “As the ancestral dragon, you should show more compassion for your descendants. How could you use us as laborers to serve others for your own selfish gain?”
“Silence!” Zhenwu snapped. “How much do you really know about those past events? Stop talking nonsense!”
Wansheng said, “It was because I was deceived by you, because I trusted you too much, that I ended up alone and surrounded by strife among my brothers.”
Zhenwu could no longer tolerate it. He rolled through the air, rising high into the sky, where a seven-colored true dragon appeared between heaven and earth. Thunder cracked in the clouds, and rain poured down! Indeed, when the ancestral dragon appeared, it was truly extraordinary.
Wukong, hiding in the distance, watched Zhenwu’s true form with great awe. The snow-white dragon was at least forty or fifty zhang long, with seven colored bands—blue, red, gold, black, purple, orange—along its body from the neck down, emitting brilliant light. Between each pair of colored bands, patterns of mountains, seas, clouds, and lightning were faintly visible. As the dragon soared in the sky, all dragons and jiaos around it knelt in submission, roaring loudly.

Zhenwu opened his massive mouth, his thunderous voice rolling like thunder in the sky, and said, “You’re wrong! I’m not just the leader of the dragon clan—I’m the supreme ruler of all dragons. Your nine brothers mean nothing to me, no different from common carp in the river. I consider myself fair-minded, yet I’m rebuked right in front of younger ones. Hmph! If you refuse to accept this, why don’t you take my place?”

Furious, Zhenwu’s dragonly might enveloped Wansheng, who immediately felt extremely uncomfortable and was unable to cast any spells. Yet he still said, “I can’t defeat you, but I still refuse to admit defeat!”

Wukong watched from the side. He saw that Zhenwu seemed to have hidden motives, while Wansheng was unbearably stubborn and wouldn’t yield at all. How could Zhenwu face his subordinates and descendants like this? It seemed Wansheng was about to suffer greatly today!

Just then, something unexpected happened. A strange cackling sound came from afar, followed by a shout, “What a cowardly dragon! Finally, I see you in the mortal world!” Two figures flew in from afar and soon arrived before them.

One of them was extremely ugly, while the other was extremely handsome—none other than Xiangliu and the Phoenix!

Upon seeing these two old enemies, Zhenwu’s fighting spirit surged. He shouted, “You two persistent spirits, what exactly do you want?” The Phoenix said nothing, took on its true form, and stood face to face with Zhenwu—clearly, battle was inevitable. Xiangliu laughed and said, “If you can’t even subdue your own descendants, what’s the point of being a dragon god? It’s better to come with me and live freely!”

When the Turtle and Snake generals saw Xiangliu, they knew he was no friend. They drew their weapons and attacked. Before they could get close, Zhenwu swished his dragon tail, sending them flying far away, and ordered, “Stay back!”

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Wukong took advantage of Zhenwu’s full attention on the Phoenix and Xiangliu. With a quick movement, he vanished underground and in the blink of an eye was at Qitian Ridge.

Just as Qilin had settled the childlike Nine-Headed Worm, he saw Wukong return. Not even time had been left to transform into Zhuanxu, so he knew something serious must have happened. Wukong shouted urgently, “The Phoenix and Xiangliu are attacking Zhenwu! Hurry to Tongtian River!”

Qilin’s red hair flared up like flames. Having suppressed this anger for tens of thousands of years with nowhere to vent it, he rushed eastward like a fireball.

Wukong wouldn’t miss such a spectacle. He thought, “Tongtian River is truly remarkable—its king of the five elements has attracted four of them. If I bring the two-headed monster fish as well, won’t that make it complete?”

Thinking of the two-headed monster fish, Wukong felt slightly worried. With Qilin gone, Qitian Ridge seemed much emptier. Just as he was about to find Fengtong to watch over it, a person emerged from Dayu’s cave—it was Hou Tu.

Overjoyed, Wukong rushed over and said, “Elder Hou Tu, didn’t you go west with Elder Dayu?”

Hou Tu shook her head and said, “I have many connections with the Heavenly Court and Buddhism, so it’s not appropriate for me to show up. Besides…” She pointed inside the cave and said, “Sister Chang’e is in there; we were just talking.” Seeing that Hou Tu was in charge at Qi Tian Ling, Wukong assumed everything was safe and bid farewell to return to the Tong Tian River.

On the Tong Tian River, a fierce battle was underway. The Ancestral Dragon, the Phoenix, the Qilin, and Xiang Liu were all fighting each other, with no one able to intervene. These four figures moved through the air in a blur, appearing like illusions; even the thirty-six heavenly generals and the aquatic beings on land grew dizzy after watching them for a while. The four fought higher and higher, soon leaving the ground and flying beyond the nine heavens.

Wukong knew the winds up there were extremely strong and wondered where these four could go. He followed them, but despite being at the level of a Hun Yuan Jin Xian, he was far inferior to them. At first, he could still see their figures, but later, unable to withstand the fierce winds, he sighed and prepared to descend. Suddenly, several shiny scales drifted down from the air. Wukong grabbed them—each scale was about a foot in diameter, bright red like fire, likely from Zhen Wu or the Qilin. Could it be that Zhen Wu and the Qilin had suffered a setback? As he pondered, several colorful feathers drifted by, which he caught, feeling much more reassured—seemingly, the Phoenix hadn’t gained an advantage either. Suddenly, a dark green liquid curtain descended. After a quick thought, Wukong quickly dodged it.

Even from a distance, he could smell a foul stench. Wukong thought it was likely Xiang Liu’s venom—unmatched in the world. He needed to stay far away. Frustrated at missing such an exciting battle due to his insufficient strength, he landed and saw the dark green liquid falling into the Tong Tian River. Wukong quickly shouted, “All aquatic beings, get out of the river at once!”

The Sea-Dwelling Dragon was delighted to see Wukong there, but Wukong snapped, “Get out now!” The Sea-Dwelling Dragon was confused, not understanding Wukong’s intent, but still ordered his subordinates to leave the water. As the dark green liquid entered the river, it flowed upstream, turning the water black-green wherever it passed. Those who emerged too slowly and came into contact with it died instantly. The Sea-Dwelling Dragon was shocked, “What is this?” Wukong gave him a disdainful look, assuming he didn’t recognize him, and passed by.

Wan Sheng was overjoyed to see Wukong and flew over, taking human form before saying, “Sir, why are you here?” Wukong cursed inwardly, thinking, “You fool! You dare speak back even when Zhen Wu is angry.” But outwardly, he said, “I’m here for other matters. What are you doing here?”

Wansheng didn’t realize that Wukong had been watching the performance for half a day. He said, “I’ll go reason with Zhenwu and demand justice for my brother!” Wukong was speechless for a moment. Seeing the Turtle General and Snake General along with the thirty-six heavenly generals standing by, he grew suspicious and naturally began to suspect many things about Wukong. Soon, the Turtle General and Snake General came over and asked Wukong, “How is the Great Sage these days?”
Wukong returned the greeting and said, “I’ve been protecting Tang Seng on his journey westward, but we couldn’t cross the Tongtian River. It’s not good.”
The Turtle General smiled and said, “It’s all trivial matters. Today we came here with the Great Emperor to capture the Sea Devouring Dragon, but we didn’t see the Great Sage. Goodbye!” With that, the Turtle General and Snake General turned back to their formation and flew back to heaven with the thirty-six generals and the five dragons.
Wukong was stunned. What did the Turtle General mean? After thinking for a while, he understood that the Turtle General had deliberately concealed something for him. Indeed, in Zhenwu’s eyes, he still held a very important position.
Once everyone from heaven left, Wukong finally felt relieved. He said to Wansheng, “You were indeed a bit reckless just now.” Wansheng replied, “What’s so reckless about it? If you keep things to yourself, won’t you get sick from holding them in?”
Wukong said, “The Ancestral Dragon clearly has some unspeakable difficulties. Why not find a quiet place to ask him carefully? Why insist on confronting him face to face?” Wansheng said, “He never comes out of heaven. How could I find him? If I went to heaven, I’d surely be driven out right away.”
Wukong sighed. This matter had weighed on Wansheng’s mind for countless years, so it was naturally difficult to resolve.
However, based on his assumptions, Zhenwu must have had a deep reason for giving the nine dragons to Yuan Shi to pull the chariot. Later, Ao Guang and the others were able to become the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas and become rulers in their own domains, probably because of this experience pulling the chariot for Yuan Shi. Thinking that those who drive leaders in later generations can even become mid-level officials, this wasn’t really surprising.
But how could he explain this to Wansheng, who was full of prejudice? Fortunately, though stubborn, Wansheng still didn’t dare to fight Zhenwu, so his life should be safe.
At that moment, the Sea Devouring Dragon came over again and asked Wansheng, “What’s your name, sir?”
Wansheng glanced at the Sea Devouring Dragon and then turned to Wukong, asking, “Do you know him?” It seemed that if Wukong said he didn’t know him, the Sea Devouring Dragon would ignore him.
Wukong had no choice but to nod. Only then did Wansheng politely introduce himself to the Sea Devouring Dragon, saying, “I’m Wansheng, an insignificant person.”
The Sea Devouring Dragon repeated his name twice and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Do you know Ao En?”
Wansheng replied, “Ao En is my third brother. How could I not know him?”
The Sea Devouring Dragon was overjoyed and said, “Sure enough, your name sounded familiar. Ao En is currently a guest in my Northern Sea. Do you want to meet him?”
Wansheng happily agreed, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my brother. Of course!”

The Sea Devouring Dragon pulled Wan Sheng along as it moved, with a group of aquatic creatures following behind, dragging themselves along. The waters of the Tongtian River were filled with deadly poison, so they dared not enter the water. Those with weaker powers moved extremely slowly on land.
Wukong was both angry and amused as he shouted, “Come back! Don’t just think about running away!”
The Sea Devouring Dragon turned back, cast a spell to lift the shrimps and crabs on land into the clouds, and flew northward.