Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 98 Battle Against Red Boy (Part Two)
Now, Ao Tu used his supernatural power of "One Breath Transforms into Three Pure Ones" to send three streams of energy flying from his head, which transformed into three people, each with a different cause and origin.

One of them was a monk, sitting on a golden lotus, wearing a kasaya, chanting scriptures, with a compassionate expression, and said, "This humble monk is the Buddha of Mount Ling."

One of them was a Taoist priest, wearing a golden crown and a dragon and tiger robe, with a humble expression. He said, "This humble Taoist priest is Fuzhu Zhenshi Tianzun."

The last one, clad in a blood-red robe, sat on a black lotus, holding a gourd that dispersed souls, and with an arrogant demeanor, laughed loudly: "I am the Supreme Saint of the Blood Sea, the Great Lord of the Blood Sea, the Great King of the Blood Sea!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Thank you for your help, fellow Daoists. The demon dragon Ao Tu died from a sword wound. Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon, from now on you two will follow the Blood Sea King."

Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon knelt on one knee and said, "Yes!"

Below, Red Boy, wielding the Fire-Tipped Spear, single-handedly battles 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals.

With a single spear thrust, Red Boy knocked down the Fire God, who was as swift as fire; with a single kick, he sent the Wind God flying; and when the Plague God unleashed his plague mist, Red Boy remained fearless and leaped forward to defeat him.

The Heavenly Star Xing Hongxian and the Earthly Fiend Star Shen Hongxian attacked Red Boy with fierce anger, but were easily defeated by Red Boy's spear skills.

Lingli Kong swung his staff, but Red Boy swept it away with his spear, breaking the willow stick in two.

The ghost, dressed as Li Tianwang, fled in terror.

Red Boy said, "No way, no way, why did the commander escape?"

The exquisite ghost said, "Your Majesty, you don't know, back then, in that great battle, 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals fought with my Lingshan King until the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light. That's how Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, escaped. I was just acting it out."

Red Boy said, "Not enough, not enough. Next time, I'll call all those mountain gods and local deities together too."

The meticulous ghost said, "Your Majesty, those mountain gods and local deities are all useless cowards. I'm afraid they won't dare to come over."

Red Boy said, "How dare you!"

The clever insect hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I heard that Tang Sanzang and his disciples have left Wuji Kingdom and are about to arrive here!"

The cunning ghost said, "That's right, why doesn't Your Majesty capture Tang Sanzang and then have a real fight with those heavenly gods?"

Red Boy looked at the two of them, his eyes darting around, and said, "I think you want to use me to avenge your king!"

The clever and cunning insect immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. My eldest and second kings are missing, and we truly wish to ask Your Majesty to avenge them."

The cunning ghost said, "Furthermore, if Your Majesty captures Tang Sanzang and becomes an enemy of the Heavenly Court, my great king, upon hearing of this, will surely come to help Your Majesty fight against the enemy!"

The clever insect said, "That's right. Before, when my great king had to go out on business, those heavenly soldiers and generals took the opportunity to attack and occupy Lotus Cave, leaving our entire cave homeless. My great king must hate them to the bone!"

Red Boy nodded and asked, "Is your great king the legendary King of Mount Ling?"

Jingxi Guidao said, "That's right, Your Majesty, it's the Lingshan King you've always wanted to meet."

The clever insect said, "If you spread the word that you want to capture Tang Sanzang, he will definitely come when he hears it."

Red Boy laughed and said, "Alright, then I will follow in the footsteps of my predecessors and rebel against the Heavenly Court. Let's see what those heavenly soldiers and generals are capable of, daring to sit in the Nine Heavens and stand above us!"

The clever and nimble insect exclaimed with delight, "Your Majesty has such great spirit! You are truly a young hero!"

Red Boy laughed heartily.

Yunliwu stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, the late King just instructed you not to cause trouble."

Wuliyun also said, "Your Majesty, the old king entrusted you with guarding Haoshan Mountain here, so it would be best not to cause any unnecessary trouble."

Upon hearing this, Red Boy angrily said:

"How dare you two try to tell me what to do!"

Upon hearing this, Yunliwu and Wuliyun immediately knelt on the ground and said repeatedly:
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I misspoke and offended you. Please forgive me."

Red Boy snorted coldly and said:
"I'll spare you this time, considering how many years you've followed me. Get up."

The clouds were thick with mist, and I hastily offered my thanks.

Red Boy looked towards the mountains to the west and said with displeasure:
"The old king is getting old, he dares not do this or that. On his birthday two years ago, he was bullied by a few wild demons from Lion Camel Ridge. If it weren't for my mother stopping him, I would have burned those three beasts to death with a single Samadhi True Fire!"

Upon hearing this, Yunliwuwuliyun dared not speak.

The clever and cunning insect loudly complimented:
"Your Majesty is right! What a load of bull! If Your Majesty were to use your divine powers, you would surely burn that Lion Camel Ridge to the ground!"

"Yes, cook and eat those three damn kings!"

Red Boy was overjoyed upon hearing this and said:

"Well said! Once we capture Tang Sanzang and defeat the Heavenly Generals, making a name for ourselves, we'll call ourselves the Great King of Heaven! Then we'll invite the old king to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh and see what he has to say then!"

"Hahaha, this little kid is really boastful!"

A burst of laughter followed.

Red Boy roared, "Who is it!"

Ao Tu, dressed in a blood-red robe, strode out, flanked by Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon.

The clever ghost and the nimble insect recognized Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon, and exclaimed with delight:

"Is it the Great King?"

Ao Tu lifted his blood-stained robe and laughed:

"Your Great King is dead. I am the Blood Sea King!"

Red Boy exclaimed in shock, "What did you say? Senior Lingshan is dead!"

The clever ghost and the nimble insect said, "Impossible! Even our Great King's 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals couldn't defeat him, how could he be dead?"

Ao Tu said, "A few days ago, I saw him flee from the sky in a panic, and he was seriously injured. Not long after, his injuries became incurable, and he vanished into thin air. These two were his subordinates. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."

Ao Tu pointed at Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon. The two wept and said, "That's right, our king was indeed seriously injured and perished."

Upon hearing this, the clever and cunning insect collapsed to the ground and cried:

"Your Majesty, how could you die?!"

"You even said you'd stew Tang Monk's flesh for us!"

Red Boy said, "Don't cry. Senior Lingshan has unfortunately passed away, so let me inherit his legacy. From now on, I will be the King of Lingshan! Hahahaha!"

Ao Tu couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this.

Red Boy angrily retorted, "What are you laughing at!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I laugh at you, you little brat, for overestimating yourself! Even I can't compare to the King of Ling Mountain. With your pathetic skills, how dare you claim his name?"

Red Boy roared, "You cowardly rat who hides his head and tail, how dare you underestimate this great king? Do you dare to fight me?"

Ao Tu said, "What's there to be afraid of? Attack me all you want. If I take a step back, I'll consider it a loss."

Red Boy was furious. He gripped his Fire-Tipped Spear and thrust it at Ao Tu.

Ao Tu remained still, reaching out to grab the spear tip, while Red Boy exerted all his strength, but couldn't budge it.

Red Boy thought to himself in surprise: This Blood Sea King, I thought he was an unknown nobody, but I didn't expect his strength to be as great as an old ox.

Red Boy retreated three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and punched his nose twice, causing black smoke to billow out and flames to burst from his mouth.

It is the supernatural power of Samadhi Fire.

Thick smoke billowed out, flames filled the sky, scorching the heavens and the earth, and the charcoal dust glowed red.

Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon both hurriedly hid.

Ao Tu stood there, a black lotus appearing on his body, remaining unmoved as the Samadhi True Fire burned him.

Red Boy burned for half an hour, turning the stones to ash and melting the mountain stream, but he couldn't burn Ao Tu at all.

Red Boy was greatly alarmed, thinking to himself: Old Niu always nagged him to stop causing trouble, but he only thought it was nagging. Today he realized that there are always people more capable than him and heavens beyond heavens.

Red Boy turned around and hurriedly tried to retreat back to his cave.

Seeing this, Ao Tu threw the black lotus, which landed on Red Boy's head. Red Boy's primordial spirit and magical power were immediately sealed, and he could not move.

The lesser demons jumped out to rescue their king.

Rushing over with the speed of fire and the speed of wind, Tiger Vanguard jumped down from the mountain and slapped Rushing Over away.

As swift as the wind, Tiger Vanguard used a move from the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts taught to him by Ao Tu—the Copper Head and Iron Arms—to withstand Tiger Vanguard's attack. The recoil caused Tiger Vanguard's body to become numb and sore, and he was swept away by Tiger Vanguard's tail.

A cloud of mist, a cloud of fog, was released, and the White Bone Demon opened her arms and spewed out a cloud of black mist to fight the enemy.

Excitedly, he rushed over, only to be knocked back by Tiger Vanguard with a few punches and kicks.

Seeing how fierce the two monsters beside the Blood Sea King were, the other lesser demons dared not step forward.

While the others were fighting, the clever ghost and the nimble insect crouched on the ground and quietly approached Red Boy. They reached out to pick the black lotus on Red Boy's head, but they passed right through it.

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Don't waste your energy, Red Boy, are you convinced now?"

Red Boy remained silent.

Ao Tu took the black lotus back.

Red Boy was able to move again. Seeing that Ao Tu was not protected by the Black Lotus, he opened his mouth to use the Samadhi True Fire to burn Ao Tu again.

Seeing this, Ao Tu raised his hand, and the black lotus landed on Red Boy's head again.

Ao Tu said, "This thief has no sense of morality. Tiger Vanguard, grab him by the four hooves, hang him up, and give him fifty lashes first!"

Tiger Vanguard took a rope, hung Red Boy up, and used a piece of burnt tree trunk to beat him.

Tiger Vanguard asked, "Your Majesty, where should we attack?"

Ao Tu said, "Spanking!"

Tiger Vanguard replied, "Yes!"

He swung the tree trunk and struck it solidly fifty times.

Ao Tu then removed the black lotus.

Red Boy, with tears in his eyes, said:

"King of Blood Sea, you have wronged me so much. If my father and mother find out, they will surely come to seek revenge."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Red Boy, you were the one who acted unethically and attacked me first. What's wrong with me punishing you a little? You want to avenge your parents like this? You are shameless and not the behavior of a true man."

Upon hearing this, Red Boy felt that Ao Tu was right and said:

"Fine, I admit my skills are inferior. I'll let you do as you please. Just don't take my life. My father, the Bull Demon King, only has me as his son. He'll have to rely on me to support him in his old age. If I die, he'll be burying his son, which would be the greatest act of filial impiety!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu laughed and said, "You little rascal, you do have some filial piety. Don't worry, I'm not here to take your life, I'm here to save your life."

Red Boy said, "I am only three hundred years old this year, and I am free from illness and disaster. Why would you save my life?"

Ao Tu said, "I just heard you boasting down there that you wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh and become the king of Heaven. You really don't know that there are people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens."

"Even the lowest-ranking deities in the Heavenly Court possess magical power comparable to mine. Your cultivation level is only slightly stronger than those heavenly soldiers. How dare you make such boastful claims?"

(End of this chapter)