Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 100 Battle Against Red Boy (Part 4)
Meanwhile, Red Boy tried to curry favor with Ao Tu and inquire about Ao Tu's third-grade black lotus.

Ao Tu laughed and said, "How do you know, little brat? My Black Lotus is the spiritual root of heaven and earth, combining offense and defense. If placed under one's body, it can neutralize all spells; if it falls on an enemy, it can seal the enemy's primordial spirit and physical body in an instant."

Upon hearing this, Red Boy felt both apprehensive and envious, and asked, "Your Majesty, where did you obtain this black lotus?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "You really want to know?"

Red Boy nodded eagerly, "Yes! Yes!"

Ao Tu said, "But I cannot tell you easily."

Upon hearing this, Red Boy quickly bent down and massaged Ao Tu's legs, saying:

"Your Majesty, I have already pledged my allegiance to you and will remain loyal to you. Please tell me! I promise I will not tell anyone else."

Ao Tu said, "Then you can't tell anyone else, otherwise it will bring me disaster if it gets out."

Red Boy hurriedly said, "I promise I won't tell anyone!"

Ao Tu said, "Alright, seeing how loyal you are, I'll tell you. Come closer, and make sure no one else hears."

Red Boy quickly leaned in and whispered in her ear.

Ao Tu said, “In the deepest part of the Four Continents, there is a Netherworld Blood Sea, which is the most yin and dark place in the world. At the bottom of the Blood Sea, there is a twelve-petal black lotus; when the seeds of the twelve-petal black lotus fall, they grow into a seven-petal black lotus; when the seeds of the seven-petal black lotus fall, they grow into a five-petal black lotus; when the seeds of the five-petal black lotus fall, they grow into a three-petal black lotus. My black lotus was picked from there.”

Upon hearing this, Red Boy exclaimed with delight, "In that case, why doesn't Your Majesty simply go and pluck the Twelfth-Grade Black Lotus?"

Ao Tu asked, "Why do you want to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh?"

Red Boy said, "Because I heard that eating Tang Sanzang's flesh can grant immortality, saving me from years of arduous cultivation!"

Ao Tu said, "There is a ginseng fruit tree in Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain. The ginseng fruit on it is a celestial treasure of heaven and earth. Why don't you pick a few dozen and eat them? Wouldn't that be better than Tang Sanzang's flesh?"

Red Boy's face stiffened, and he said, "Your Majesty, I am not ignorant. My father told me about the name of Zhenyuan Daxian. He is the ancestor of earth immortals and is known as the ruler of the world. How dare I pick his fruit?"

Ao Tu said:
"You dare not pick his fruit, but I dare to pick the twelfth-grade black lotus? That Netherworld Blood Sea is the dojo of an ancient god, guarded by Asuras everywhere, and two blood-red longswords guard its depths day and night. Let alone being touched by those swords, even being touched by their light would instantly turn one into blood and die. Who would dare to provoke it?"

Red Boy asked, "Then what about your black lotus, Your Majesty?"

Ao Tu said, "It's just that I'm lucky. A few days ago, for some reason, four of the Asuras guarding the sea were missing, and one of the blood-red longswords at the bottom of the Blood Sea was also missing."

I seized the opportunity to sneak in and plucked a third-grade black lotus. I dared not pick any more and quickly fled. You must never mention this to anyone, or someone will surely come after me.

Upon hearing this, Red Boy repeatedly promised not to mention it to anyone.

Meanwhile, Ao Tu's true form went to the Blackwater River.

This Blackwater River is a small river, only a few dozen miles wide, and it is the place where Ao Tu's ninth brother, Little Crocodile Dragon, resides.

At the bottom of the Blackwater River, there is a Blackwater River God's Palace, the residence of the Blackwater River God.

Ao Tu arrived at the mansion and knocked on the door.

Upon seeing this, the shrimp guards hurried inside to report.

Inside, the little alligator dragon was drinking alone.

A shrimp soldier entered and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Fifth Master has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Little Crocodile was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Fifth Brother is here! Come with me to greet him!"

Just then, someone said, "Wait!"

A woman emerged from the side room, dressed in a brocade dress, quite beautiful, and said to the little alligator dragon:
“Your Majesty, your fifth brother has been sending monsters into the Water Palace all these years, turning the perfectly good divine palace into a mess. You must not allow him to enter.”

Upon hearing this, Little Crocodile angrily picked up his wine glass: "What did you say? How dare you talk about my Fifth Brother like that!"

The woman retorted defiantly, "What do you want? You drove away my father, seized the Water Mansion, and now you want to drive me away too? Just tell me, and I'll leave!"

Little Tuolong gripped the wine glass tightly, his arm trembling, but he finally placed it on the table with no other choice, saying, "No matter what, I must welcome my fifth brother in!"

The woman said, "If you let him in, I'll leave!"

The little alligator paced back and forth, exclaiming, "Beauty, you... sigh!"

Just then, a figure strode in from outside.

Ao Tu smiled and said:

"Ninth Brother, why have you been so late in coming to greet me? Please forgive my rudeness for coming uninvited."

The woman looked up at the sound and was shocked to see Ao Tu's appearance.

The little alligator dragon's fifth brother looked nothing like the little alligator dragon. He had a divine appearance, a tall and straight figure, perfect features, a pair of bright golden eyes, and dragon horns. He had a majestic and dignified air about him, which made her swallow hard.

She had never met Ao Tu. If she had known that the little crocodile's brother looked like this, why would she have stopped him?

Ao Tu had actually been to the Blackwater River once before.

However, the little alligator dragon had just arrived at the Blackwater River and imprisoned her in the Water Palace, so she never met Ao Tu.

Later, she feigned friendship with the little alligator dragon and gave him a few pleasantries. Only then did the little alligator dragon release her and allow her to move around the mansion. It just so happened that she had seen Ao Tu's subordinate, a ferocious tiger demon, which is why she had a very bad impression of Ao Tu.

Only when he saw the person in question did he realize that Ao Tu was actually like this!
When the little dragon saw Ao Tu enter, it quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Brother, I heard you were coming, but I didn't have time to go and greet you."

Ao Tu helped the little alligator dragon up and said with a smile, "We're brothers, no need for formalities. And who is this?"

The little alligator dragon was a little embarrassed: "She, she is..."

The woman stepped forward and bowed to Ao Tu, saying, "This humble woman greets Fifth Master. My name is Ming Niang, and I am the daughter of the River God of the Blackwater River."

The little alligator dragon exclaimed in surprise, "Beauty, didn't you just say..."

Mingniang quickly interrupted, "Your Majesty, I will go downstairs first to prepare wine and dishes for you and Fifth Master."

Mingniang hurriedly went downstairs.

Ao Tu stepped forward and sat down with the little alligator dragon, asking with a smile, "Your woman?"

The little alligator dragon said shyly, "Not yet."

Ao Tu asked, "What happened?"

The little alligator dragon explained somewhat awkwardly:
“Years ago, my uncle asked me to come here to cultivate my mind and character. But I couldn’t control my temper. I saw a water palace in the river and wanted to occupy it to train my sailors, hoping to one day avenge my father.”

I banished the original river god of the Blackwater River. Mingniang is that river god's daughter, and I... I have some affection for her, so I kept her in my residence, intending to ask her to be my wife.

Ao Tu asked, "Did she agree?"

The little alligator dragon said, "She didn't agree at first. But over the years she's been very nice to me, and she's even smiled at me before!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu shook his head helplessly.

He could tell at a glance that the woman had no interest in his ninth brother.

In terms of bloodline and lineage, although his ninth brother, Little Crocodile Dragon, is not highly skilled, he still possesses legitimate dragon blood and is the nephew of the Four Seas Dragon Kings. He is more than qualified to be paired with the daughter of a river god.

However, Ao Tu could tell that the woman from the underworld was quite ambitious and looked down on his ninth brother. Everyone has their own aspirations, and that's understandable.

As the saying goes, forced love is never sweet. Ao Tu wanted to persuade the little crocodile dragon to release the other party, but as the elder brother, he couldn't directly interfere in such matters.

After all, matters of the heart are difficult even for the Jade Emperor to interfere with by force; if handled improperly, they can backfire.

We need to come up with a suitable way to make the little alligator dragon realize the situation and let it go on its own.

Ao Tu pondered.

His purpose in coming to the Blackwater River was to arrange for the little alligator dragon to leave the area.

With his interference, the journey westward has become extremely dangerous.

With the little alligator dragon's cultivation level, he could only fight Sha Wujing to a standstill in the water.

If Ao Tu were to obstruct Tang Sanzang and his disciples here, set up some kind of formation, or engage in battle with some gods and Buddhas, the aftershocks might kill the little alligator dragon.

Therefore, Ao Tu wanted to arrange for the little alligator dragon to leave.

As for the Blackwater River itself, Ao Tu didn't care who was scheming or what powerful figures were playing their games. He already had enough on his hands, so one or two more wouldn't make a difference. Whatever the cause and effect, he would bear it all himself. He only wanted to extricate his brothers from the situation and save their lives.

At this moment, Mingniang came out and said, "The wine and dishes are ready!"

The clam maiden brought out rows of delicacies:

There are eight delicacies in total: silver fish sashimi, jade branch soup, lotus root shreds stew, roasted cloud wings, divine treasure stew, Buddha's hand pastry, shark pearl balls, and braised pork knuckle.

Mingniang said, "Fifth Master, the river is short of ingredients, and it is difficult to gather them all at once. Please don't be offended."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "It's already very good. If Miss Mingniang doesn't mind, please sit down with us."

Mingniang said happily, "I don't mind!" and took small steps forward.

The little alligator dragon quickly gave up the seat next to him.

Mingniang pretended not to see, looked around with feigned modesty, and then plopped down next to Ao Tu.

Ao Tu ignored him and continued eating. After taking a few bites of the shark pearl pill, he said:

"Good! Good! Ninth Brother, you eat!"

The little alligator dragon seemed a bit lost in thought when he saw Mingniang sitting next to Ao Tu. Only when Ao Tu called him did he react and say, "Please, brother."

Ao Tu raised his cup, and Ming Niang busied herself pouring wine beside him.

Ao Tu and the little alligator dragon drank a cup, and Ming Niang quickly poured more.

Ao Tu stopped drinking and went to eat vegetables.

Mingniang chimed in, "Fifth Master, the shark pearl balls you love are made from shark tendons. During the cooking process..."

Ao Tu said, "Ninth Brother, I've come to discuss something with you."

The little alligator dragon was listening to Mingniang's explanation when Ao Tu interrupted her. He paused for a moment before replying, "Fifth Brother, what do you want to discuss with me?"

Ao Tu said, "I want you to go to heaven and do some work there."

Upon hearing this, Mingniang's attention was instantly drawn to it.

The little alligator dragon flatly refused, "No way! What's the point of going to heaven? Heaven isn't as comfortable as here!"

Ao Tu said, "I have some connections in heaven and I plan to arrange for you to go to the Tushita Palace, the Dipper, the Jade Pool, or something like that. Don't you have any preferences? Or you could go to Zhenyuan Daxian's Wuzhuang Temple."

As Mingniang listened to Ao Tu mention these places, her beautiful eyes shone with admiration, and she wished she could immediately take their place and agree.

The little alligator dragon said, "No, no, what kind of awful places are these? I'm perfectly fine here in the river, why should I go to these places and be bossed around?"

(End of this chapter)