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

"Didn't I tell you to knock before coming in?"

Li Yue glanced at the mandarin fish spirit that had just entered and sighed helplessly.

It makes sense. After being promoted to Grand Commander, the old turtle assigned him a place to live, so he wouldn't have to live in the dirt anymore, which was originally a good thing. But he just happened to choose an attic, and he wasn't a young lady waiting to be married.

This old turtle rebuilt the water palace, imitating the grand houses on the shore, creating this Water Turtle Residence, but it was all just a pretense of refinement, completely ignorant of its true meaning.

"What do you want with me?"

Stopping thinking about these things, Li Yue asked in a deep voice.

Relying on his relationship with Li Yue, and also because of the bravery of the spotted mandarin fish, he is now a leader with at least twenty lesser demons under his command. He is usually quite busy with official duties and only comes here when there is nothing else to do.

"My sister just led a fight with the Whale Devouring Commander's men and reported to the Lord of the Prefecture. The Lord of the Prefecture ordered me to summon you, presumably to discuss the war with you."

"Okay, I'll change my clothes and then go."

"Then I'll head back now."

The mandarin fish smiled and turned to leave.

Li Yue got up, changed into a straight-cut robe, and then went out to see the old turtle.

After the death of the Black Eel King, the Yellow Eel Spirit took his place and proclaimed himself the Crimson Blood King.

He originally had a golden lotus seed in his body, and after refining the one from the Black Snake King, his divine power increased dramatically. Even the old turtle, with its thousand years of cultivation, almost suffered a loss at his hands.

Compared to the Black Snake King of the past, the Crimson Blood King is not only ruthless but also more vicious and bloodthirsty, constantly provoking wars. For the past two years, the Tongtian River has been filled with bloodshed.

Of the original eight thousand aquatic creatures, more than half have now perished, but as the saying goes, when a whale falls, all things are reborn, and those who survive benefit from it.

By devouring the flesh and blood of their own kind, their cultivation level rapidly increases. Like the spotted mandarin fish, many spirits have already broken through the transformation stage.

With the Crimson Blood King's power growing, under pressure, Shrimp King and Whale Devouring Commander formed an alliance a year ago, creating a three-way balance of power with Turtle King's Domain and Wave Reef.

Although the three parties were roughly evenly matched, they continued to fight and kill each other.

While he was pondering, Li Yue had already arrived at the hall where the old turtle lived.

Besides the old turtle lying in the center, there was also the great commander of the mandarin fish, who was still in his armor, as well as the little turtle commander and Princess Yuyao.

The "high-ranking" members of the Water Turtle Mansion have all arrived.

"Greetings, Lord of the Manor."

After exchanging greetings, Li Yue stood next to the mandarin fish spirit.

"Everyone's here, let's begin our discussion."

The old turtle glanced at the four oddballs before slowly speaking.

"The fighting in the Tongtian River is ongoing, and the Water Palace has suffered heavy losses in recent days. If this continues, I'm afraid our descendants will be wiped out. You are all the leaders of the Water Palace, do you have any brilliant ideas?"

"What's there to say? Just fight them! Are you afraid of them?!"

The mandarin fish, also known as the water tiger, is the most ferocious among freshwater fish, and it remains so even after it has become a spirit. Shaking its scales, it showed no fear whatsoever, instead appearing eager to try.

The old turtle rolled its eyes and ignored the brute.

"Father, as the saying goes, befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones."

Princess Yuyao pondered for a moment before speaking.

"The Crimson Blood King is ruthless and cruel; he will be our greatest enemy sooner or later. Why not, before he becomes uncontrollable, join forces with Shrimp Lord and the Whale-Swallowing Grand Commander, pooling our strength to eliminate him in one fell swoop!"

"Easy for you to say? How could we possibly trust Shrimp King and Whale Swallower? What if they stab us in the back? Third Sister, you're really being a woman's foolish."

The little turtle spoke, giving Princess Yuyao a cold snort before turning to the old turtle.

"In my opinion, we should focus on defense right now. We should keep our doors tightly shut and hold our ground. Let them fight to the death first, and then we can reap the benefits!"

"Second Brother, isn't that too naive? And what about the Crimson Blood King and the others...?"

"Hmm, that's a safe approach."

The old turtle nodded, interrupting Princess Yuyao, clearly preferring what the little turtle said.

Princess Yuyao was naturally dissatisfied and was about to speak again, but the old turtle turned its head towards Li Yue.

"Commander Carp, what are your thoughts?"

"Reporting to the Prefect, I believe that both Commander Xiao Yuan and Princess Yuyao have valid points..."

Boom! Boom!

Just as Li Yue was about to give a vague reply, a series of loud rumbling sounds suddenly came, accompanied by a violent shaking of the entire water palace.

"What happened?!"

Everyone's expression changed, and they all looked flustered.

Li Yue struggled to steady himself, puzzled as to why this place was so turbulent, since it wasn't the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, nor were there any mischievous children taking a bath or monkeys borrowing treasures.

Could it be an earthquake?

"The commotion seems to be coming from the south!"

"Let's go take a look!"

With a shout, the old turtle parted the waterway and immediately swam upwards.

Li Yue and the others followed closely behind, surfacing as well.

The wind was strong and the waves were high, and the surging waves were indeed coming from the south, that is, downstream.

Something must have happened downstream. The group exchanged glances and then swam downstream.

"What is that?!"

"What huge waves!"

"There's a shadow inside!"

After swimming for a short while, we could see the tsunami waves crashing downstream, with a huge tide rolling in against the current.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a humanoid monster with two horns and golden scales, standing at the crest of the tide, wielding a halberd. In addition, within the tide, shadowy figures resembled many heavily armored shrimp soldiers and crab generals.

"Like a spirit from the sea."

"The sea? The Western Sea!"

The crowd's faces darkened again; the lower reaches of the Tongtian River led directly to the Western Sea.

"Imperial decree has arrived! The Tongtian Aquatic Clan, receive the decree!"

Just as I was feeling uneasy, a loud shout suddenly came from above.

Colorful clouds gathered and rays of light shone everywhere. A golden-clad warrior stood on the cloud, holding the Jade Emperor's edict. Before the monsters could react, he loudly proclaimed it.

"There is a small yellow dragon in the Jing River, loyal to the law and renowned for its virtue. It is hereby specially appointed as the River God of the Tongtian River, to bring peace and protect the people, and to guard this region..."

This is!

Upon hearing the decree proclaimed by the celestial being, all the thousands of aquatic creatures in the Tongtian River, whether they were the old turtles or ordinary small fish and shrimp, were dumbfounded.

Centuries later, the Heavenly Court has once again appointed a River God.

"Your humble servant, Xiao Huanglong, obeys the imperial decree! I am grateful for Heaven's mandate and Your Majesty's grace!"

With a high-pitched dragon roar, a yellow dragon soared into the sky and caught the imperial edict that had descended from heaven.

Seeing this, the monsters suddenly came to their senses, their faces filled with horror.

The Tongtian River is about to undergo a major change.

"Return to the Water Palace immediately!"

The old turtle frowned, suddenly shouted, and then dived into the water.

Li Yue and the others didn't dare linger on the surface and immediately followed suit, diving down into the water.

Jinghe River basin, Xiaohuanglong...

As he hurried back, Li Yue pondered to himself, "Could it be the Little Yellow Dragon, the son of the Jing River Dragon King?"

That's not right. The original text clearly states that "the first little yellow dragon resided in the Huai River." The little yellow dragon should be the Huai River God, one of the four river gods. How did it become the Tongtian River God?

"Close the gate immediately! No one is to leave without my order!"

Back at the Water Palace, the old turtle gave an order, and the gates slammed shut.