Journey to the West: From Fish-Chasing Boy to the Boundless Heavenly Venerable of the Golden Palace

As evening fell, an old turtle with a white head and a circumference of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) emerged from the water palace, followed by three commanders on either side and twelve commanders leading six hundred brave soldiers behind it.

The formation was neat and orderly, and the mighty procession headed straight for the northwest.

From a distance, the oppressive, eerie aura was terrifying.

After the old turtle led his men on the expedition, only three or four hundred servants remained in the Water Palace. Although they were all uneasy, they were all relatively well-behaved under the supervision of the chief steward and did not cause any trouble.

The night passed, and all was calm.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the following day that commotion broke out in the Water Palace.

First, four fish spirits with broken fins and tails were brought in. Then, more and more wounded and disabled soldiers were brought in, sometimes three or four, sometimes seven or eight, or even more than a dozen.

Clearly, a battle has already broken out. Judging from the wounded and maimed fish-spirits, the fighting must have been extremely fierce.

That evening, the chief steward instructed his subordinates to restrain their men, and then led his entourage in a hurry to leave the Water Mansion and head to the battlefield.

Then we saw the Grand Steward and his men bringing back the wounded soldiers one trip after another. The war was urgent, and there were no extra people to send the wounded back, so the Grand Steward and his men had to go and pick them up.

After a night of this commotion, on the third day, the Grand Steward returned again, but this time not to escort the wounded, but to mobilize troops.

Those injuries weren't too serious, so as long as they could still move, they were given simple medicine and bandages and then sent back to the battlefield.

Then, as noon approached, the chief steward and the others still hadn't returned.

I reckon the Grand Steward and his men have also joined the battle.

"Tsk tsk, how pathetic."

The kitchen became quiet, and Granny Hualian clicked her tongue in amazement as she smelled the blood in the river.

"It's terrible, this battle is extremely brutal."

"The casualties are likely to be high. We've been fighting for a day and a night already, and I don't know how long it will last."

Li Yue, standing to the side, also had a serious expression.

"Who knows? Who cares?"

The silver carp snorted softly, her face showing smugness once again.

"Anyway, we're just menial laborers, so it doesn't matter how badly they fight, it's none of our business."

"Hopefully..."

"The Grand Steward is back! The Grand Steward has ordered all aquarium training grounds to assemble!"

As they were talking, a close attendant of the chief steward rushed over, shouted a command, and then went off to relay orders to other places.

Assemble at the drill ground?

Granny Hualian paused, wondering what she wanted everyone to do at the drill ground.

"Didn't you hear? The Grand Steward is ordering us to assemble."

However, he was too lazy to think about it, so he immediately scolded the group of monsters in the kitchen and headed to the training ground.

Li Yue followed them, and couldn't help but frown secretly.

A moment later, at the palace drill ground, a woman with a beautiful face and graceful figure, carrying a white canopy on her back, stood there in a blood-stained white veil. She was none other than Princess Yuyao, the Grand Steward of the Water Turtle.

"It has been at least four hundred years of cultivation."

To be honest, this was the first time Li Yue had met this Grand Steward of the Water Palace. He nodded to himself, thinking that she hadn't gotten the position entirely because of her status as a princess; she was indeed capable.

While they were pondering, the seven stewards and their servants arrived one after another and took their places. There were more than three hundred fish spirits and water monsters of various kinds in total.

"All those whose cultivation has exceeded two hundred years, come here."

Princess Yuyao surveyed the area and then pointed.

The spirits looked at each other, wondering what this meant, but they didn't think much of it and followed the instructions to split into two groups.

Although they are all toothless herbivorous fish or mollusks, quite a few of them have been practicing Taoism for over two hundred years.

Including the seven stewards in the transformation stage, there are more than a hundred.

"Come with me!"

Princess Yuyao glanced around again and saw that the rest were indeed little spirits with a cultivation level of over a hundred years. With a soft shout, she walked straight out of the Water Palace.

Where are we going?

The group of spirits, including the seven stewards, were all filled with doubt, but they dared not disobey and obediently followed.

After leaving the water palace, they swam straight to the northwest.

"Commander-in-Chief, where are we going?"

After swimming for over a hundred miles, one of the fish spirits finally couldn't help but ask a question.

"Slay the Viper Abyss."

Princess Yuyao looked straight ahead and said coldly.

Slay the Viper Abyss!

Upon hearing these three words, all the spirits and monsters paled in shock.

Zhanhui Abyss is a deep abyss at the bottom of a river. Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, a black dragon wreaked havoc, and an immortal descended to earth and slew it with a single stroke. At the same time as slaying the black dragon, this ravine was left at the bottom of the river.

The Zhanhui Abyss is hundreds of feet deep and three thousand feet long, marking the boundary between the territory of the water turtles and the upstream shrimp.

These things are not important. What is important is that, according to the wounded spirits that were brought back, the battle took place in Zhanhui Abyss.

Doesn't this mean that Princess Yuyao is going to lead them to the battlefield?

For a moment, the group was in a state of turmoil.

Although they had two hundred years of cultivation, they were just ordinary servants, which was due to their innate racial limitations, making them unskilled in fighting.

Going to the battlefield at this time would be tantamount to suicide.

"Anyone who dares to escape will be executed without mercy!"

Just then, Princess Yuyao's clear, cold voice rang out.

The fish spirits that were trying to escape trembled instantly and dared not move again.

Going to the battlefield doesn't necessarily mean death, but if you try to escape now, you'll surely be killed by Princess Yuyao.

"Anyone who dares to speak recklessly again will be executed without mercy!"

Immediately afterwards, Princess Yuyao gave another soft shout.

The previously chaotic and disorderly group instantly fell silent, with only the sounds of the spirits paddling in the water remaining.

Although Princess Yuyao was the Grand Steward in charge of the Water Palace's logistics and miscellaneous affairs, everyone knew that Princess Yuyao was actually a woman who was no less capable than any man. Not only was she highly skilled in martial arts, but she was also more competitive than her two brothers who served as Grand Commanders.

At this moment, Princess Yuyao spoke, and who dared to disobey?

"really."

Following in the group, Li Yue shook his head secretly.

His guess was right; they were going to be taken to the war.

The battle had been going on for a day and a night. Even the wounded soldiers had been recalled, and now these weak laborers were being conscripted, which showed how urgent the battle was.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, compared to the three great demon kings, the Water Turtle, though an established force, is much weaker in terms of military strength.

The entire Water Turtle Manor had only six hundred brave soldiers and three or four hundred miscellaneous servants. Of the eight thousand aquatic creatures in the Tongtian River, no more than a thousand made up the territory.

The other seven thousand were divided among the three great demon kings, with each family having two thousand members.

In other words, the Water Turtle's forces were half the size of theirs.

This is also due to the old turtle's personality; it has always been uncompetitive and timid, and it has always been able to shrink back when faced with problems, which is why it has been overshadowed by a few younger people.

The problem is, it would have been fine to remain a coward, but this time they insisted on standing out.

According to the wounded soldiers who had been discharged, this great battle was not a fight against one side, but a simultaneous confrontation with the forces of three demon kings!

Of course, it wasn't a case of the Water Turtle fighting against three opponents alone, but rather a massive melee involving the four major forces of the Tongtian River.

As for the cause of the war, the ordinary spirits were not clear, but Li Yue guessed that it was likely still related to the Golden Lotus Seed.

If it weren't for the Golden Lotus Seed, it would have been impossible for the Old Turtle and the three Demon Kings to come out together.

"Could it be...?"

Thinking of this, Li Yue's heart stirred.

Could it be that the whereabouts of the remaining three golden lotus seeds, or one or two of them, are currently being investigated by Zhan Huiyuan?

Whoosh!

Ding ding ding~!

As I pondered this, as darkness fell, I suddenly heard the sound of rushing water in the distance, along with the piercing clash of weapons.

Looking up, one could see blood mixed with mud and sand along the edge of a dark abyss, the river water completely churned. In the murky water, thousands of fish spirits and water monsters were fighting each other.

We've arrived at Zhanhuiyuan.