Journey to the West: Starting with the True Lord of the Pure Land

Above the East China Sea.

The Weak Water surged to the heavens, its vast expanse of dark, turbid currents rolling up like an inky curtain of ink, extinguishing all inspiration wherever it passed.

Amidst the surging waves, a naval force from the Milky Way could be vaguely seen forming a defensive formation.

The flashes of light flickered under the erosion of the weak water and gradually became difficult to maintain.

The leader was Zhu Lie, the marshal of the Tianhe Navy, who stood at the front of the formation, wearing heavy golden armor, with a round belly, and holding a nine-toothed rake.

With each swing of the rake, a thousand acres of the Milky Way's true water were stirred up, barely resisting the erosion of the weak water.

His forehead was drenched in sweat, his broad face was flushed red, he was panting heavily, and he was inwardly groaning:

"Goodness!"

This damned Weak Water is incredibly troublesome; it doesn't seem to have this kind of power when it's in the heavens.

If this drags on, I fear all ten thousand or so of the Tianhe Navy I brought with me will be wiped out here!

"Marshal, it's no use. The Gui-character battalion on the flank has been completely wiped out!"

A general covered in blood scrambled to Zhu Lie's feet, his voice trembling with sobs.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lie felt dizzy and gritted his teeth as he looked around. He saw that his sailors were pale and their formation was already showing signs of collapse.

With a determined heart, he thought to himself:

"No! We must immediately seek help from that newly promoted damned Huangtian Jingfa Zhenjun!"

I've heard he possesses extraordinary abilities; perhaps he can stop this calamity from reaching the Weak Water!

With his mind made up, Zhu Lie forcefully parted a surging, turbid wave and roared at his deputy:

"You keep an eye on things here for now, I'll be right back."

If we can't hold out... then we'll fight and retreat! Preserving our lives is the most important thing!

Having said that, without waiting for the deputy general's response, he rode a cloud of light away from the battle formation and hurriedly fled in the direction of the True Lord's aura.

His figure The light was not slow; it swept across hundreds of miles of chaotic sea in just a few undulations.

Just as he was pondering how to plead with the True Lord for help, he suddenly sensed something unusual about the aura ahead.

An intense, almost overwhelming stench of blood, mixed with specks of glittering stardust, wafted towards us.

Zhu Lie felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly pressed down on his escape light, focusing his gaze intently on the scene.

Upon seeing this, he was so terrified that he nearly fell from the clouds.

On the sea ahead, a figure in black robes stood with his hands behind his back, while his generals cleaned up the mess.

It was the very person he sought help from, the Radiant Heavenly Pacifying Law True Lord.

However, the sea beneath Chen Jiao's feet, which had just calmed down, chilled the seasoned Marshal Tianhe to the bone!

The first thing that catches the eye is a hideous head with disheveled hair.

He was being held in the hand of a Thunder General, the starlight emanating from his severed neck dissipating like smoke.

His eyes, still wide open, held the terror of his impending death.

Zhu Lie recognized the face; it was clearly Taiyi Yuebo Xingjun!

My gaze shifted slightly.

A corpse with its chest completely collapsed and clear fist marks remaining floated in the blood, its eyes wide open in death.

It was none other than Rahu, the Star Lord.

Further away, the two star lords, Ketu and Ziqi, were in the most pitiful state.

Both heads had vanished without a trace.

Only two broken, headless bodies remained, stiffly suspended in the air. No more starlight flowed from their wounds; only a deathly, charred landscape remained.

Only the tattered robes of the Star Lords can prove their identities in life.

Clearly, his head was smashed by someone with lightning speed, and he was annihilated without any struggle!

The four great star lords all perished here.

And the death was so swift and clean, so shocking!

Zhu Lie gasped. His body trembled violently uncontrollably, and he almost lost his grip on the nine-toothed rake.

"Gurgle..."

He swallowed hard and instinctively shrank his neck.

He wished he could strip off his conspicuous golden armor! Only one thought remained in his mind:

"This guy is far too bloodthirsty."

"Please, whatever you do, don't let any mishap lead you to take care of me, Old Zhu, who's here to call for reinforcements!"

Zhu Lie was terrified when he suddenly felt a gaze pierce him.

He looked up abruptly and met Chen Jiao's deep, unfathomable eyes.

That one glance made him lose two of his souls. His body trembled violently, and he nearly dropped the nine-foot rake.

Zhu Lie forced down the turmoil in his heart and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

He dared not delay, so he hurriedly rode a cloud of light and rushed over.

As they drew closer, Zhu Lie felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him, almost causing him to lose his footing on the cloud.

He quickly straightened his slightly crooked helmet, cleared his throat, and put on a smile that was almost fawning.

He cupped his hands in greeting from a distance and shouted, his voice trembling slightly with nervousness:

"This humble general, Zhu Lie, Marshal of the Heavenly River Navy, pays respects to the Divine Lord Huangtian! May the Divine Lord be well!"

He rode the cloud to within a few feet of the True Lord, then dared not approach any closer, hovering in mid-air and bowing deeply.

After getting up, he stole a glance at the True Lord's expression and saw that his face was calm and expressionless.

Feeling even more uneasy, he hurriedly continued:

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to lead the Heavenly River Navy to deploy defenses in the East China Sea to block the spread of the Weak Water."

But... but that Weak Water is truly ferocious and extraordinary. Now the defense line is in grave danger, and the soldiers under my command have suffered heavy casualties. The core of the formation is about to collapse!

"This humble general is truly at a loss and has no other choice but to risk my life to implore the True Lord to lend a hand."

After speaking, he bowed again, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, making it difficult to tell whether they were from sweating profusely or from cold sweat.

His heart pounded with anxiety as he recalled how, a hundred years ago, when the True Lord was still the Yilie Heavenly Lord, he had returned a wisp of the stolen Weak Water Source to the Milky Way.

I had met him once before, and at the time I felt that this Heavenly Lord was reserved and not easy to get along with.

Now, when they meet again, his supernatural powers are even more unfathomable; he has become the Radiant Heavenly Pacifying Law True Lord, who can challenge a Star Lord with a halberd and kill a Great Yao with a fist...

He had no idea what the outcome of his plea for help would be.

Zhu Lie only hoped that the True Lord would lend a helping hand out of consideration for their shared service to the Heavenly Court and their past minor friendship.

After all, the Thunder Pivot Palace and Exorcism Bureau led by the True Lord this time are only responsible for capturing immortals and gods and killing demons.

He glanced at it furtively.

Upon seeing the unseeing head of the Moon Goddess in Lei Jiang's hand, Lei's jaw clenched, and he inwardly groaned in despair.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiao looked at the Tianhe Marshal, whose robe was soaked with sweat, before turning his gaze back to the dark, boundless Weak Water.

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he lightly tapped the cold shaft of the Thunder Halberd with his fingertips.

This water is extremely yin and turbid, an anomaly of heaven and earth, even if he possesses supernatural powers.

However, without the right method, it can be quite troublesome.

While he was pondering...

"True Lord! Marshal Zhu! Hold your hand!"

A clear and melodious call suddenly came from beyond the nine heavens!

The sound pierced through layers of clouds and mist, carrying a peaceful and pure ethereal aura that suppressed the sound of the sea breeze and the roar of the water.

Everyone looked up and saw the auspicious clouds part.

Two streaks of light, one golden and one blue, broke through the clouds and arrived together, suddenly landing nearby.

A figure stands before you, holding a palm-leaf fan, his chest and belly exposed, barefoot on the clouds, with a gentle smile.

He was none other than the carefree, wandering barefoot immortal.

Beside him followed a majestic old dragon wearing a pearl crown and a nine-dragon robe, with water element flowing around him.

It was none other than Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea.

His expression was solemn, and the dragon beard under his crown was slightly disheveled, indicating that he had hurriedly ascended to heaven and returned.

The Barefoot Immortal glanced at the scene, his gaze lingering briefly on the four corpses of the Star Lords, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He quickly regained his composure, gently waved his palm-leaf fan, nodded slightly to Chen Jiao, and smiled:

"The True Lord's supernatural powers are truly admirable."

Before the Barefoot Immortal could finish speaking...

Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhu Lie, as if a drowning man had grasped at a straw, hurriedly stepped forward, disregarding all formalities, and asked urgently:

"Great Immortal! Old Dragon King! Why have you two come together?"

But has the Heavenly Court devised a good plan to quell this calamity at the Weak Water?

The Barefoot Immortal looked at Zhu Lie, gently waved his palm-leaf fan, and said slowly:

"Marshal, don't be anxious! Don't be anxious!"

The old Taoist priest and the Dragon King were acting on the orders of the Water Official Emperor to assist the True Lord in resolving this calamity.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lie was overjoyed and rubbed his hands together repeatedly, saying:

"So it was all planned by the Water Official Emperor all along!"

With the assistance of the Great Immortal and the Dragon King, and with the True Lord overseeing the overall situation, this calamity will surely be resolved!

Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, stepped forward, his voice heavy with sorrow and urgency:

"It was Xiaolong's negligence in supervising Donghai that led to this disaster; he deserves to die!"

However, the Weak Water is raging, and countless aquatic creatures are wailing in agony. We must urgently appeal to the True Lord, the Great Immortal, and the Marshal for their swift assistance!

Chen Jiao's eyes flickered slightly when he saw the two arrive.

He nodded in return and said calmly:

"Great Immortal and Dragon King, your arrival is perfectly timed. I too am unsure of the method; may I ask what the Great Emperor's method for controlling the floods is?"

The Barefoot Immortal, holding a palm-leaf fan, pointed towards the Weak Water and laughed:

"This water cannot be controlled by any force, but the interaction of heaven and earth follows its own laws."

The immortal stretched out his other free hand and gently reached into the seemingly empty sleeve, taking out an object.

The object was about three feet long and had a warm, dark black color.

It resembles jade but is not jade, resembles wood but is not wood, and has naturally formed layers of fine scale patterns on its surface.

It is covered with dense, fine ancient runes, which occasionally shimmer with a water-like light.

The ruler appears simple and unadorned, yet it exudes an ancient aura as if it could measure all the waters under heaven and calm the waves of the four seas.

The Barefoot Immortal held it in his palm and laughed:

"This is a wave-stabilizing ruler personally bestowed by the Water Official Emperor!"

"This is a rare treasure forged from the reverse scale of a great dragon, with the help of a sage, when the Great Emperor quelled the threat of the Weak Water!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lie and the surrounding generals all brightened up.

Chen Jiao's gaze also sharpened as he sensed a strange yet familiar aura emanating from the wave-fixing ruler.

However, the barefoot immortal's smile faded slightly, and he turned to look at Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, beside him, and said:

"However, without the help of the Great Sage Xuanjiao, this ruler alone may not be enough to completely stop this great tide of the Weak Water."

"We still need to borrow something from the Dragon King's Crystal Palace..."