Li Changzhou, dressed in patched clothes, was frightened and knelt on the ground with a thud.
But some small monsters of the Water Clan, with little intelligence, didn't notice her and didn't recognize the Great King of Numinous Power himself. Seeing Li Changzhou sitting on the throne and giving orders, they raised their tridents to stab.
"Who is this brat who dares to sit in the Great King of Numinous Power's—"
A streak of blue light flashed before the monsters' eyes, and the little monster's shriek suddenly disappeared.
Trembling, Li Changzhou stole a glance, only to see a pile of charred remains, resembling scorched grass after a wildfire, which still faintly maintained the monster's shape before death.
The charred powder collapsed with a rustle, and Li Changzhou quickly averted her gaze.
"Spare my life, Great King!"
"We have no ties with that beast Numinous Power! Eight or nine years ago, he came from upstream, took over this cave, and made us serve as slaves. We small monsters really had no control over ourselves!"
With Li Changzhou leading, everyone kneeled down, wailing as if they had lost their parents.
On the ground, the carps under a mana-imposed bamboo qi restriction glared at Li Changzhou, wishing they could devour her!
Li Changzhou, sitting on the throne, seemed to disregard their pleas and muttered to herself, "Roasting them now would be a waste. Once I capture Tang Seng, I'll use fish to brew the soup and use human flesh for the hotpot."
He looked at Li Changzhou, "No roasting. Keep them well. If they are missing even one scale, lack vitality, or spoil the appearance, I'll take your lives."
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Li Changzhou hastily replied.
Tang Seng?
The Great King of Numinous Power was about to break the enchantments and duel Li Changzhou for three hundred rounds, but upon hearing his words, suddenly stopped.
If this lad captured Tang Seng, I could use 'Substitute Technique,' replace with an ordinary carp for the soup, deceive him, and then sneak beneath the soup. This lad, cooking Tang Seng's flesh in the pot, wouldn't it be like a fly landing right on a toad's head—easy prey?
Once I have eaten Tang Seng's flesh and gained immortality, then I'll settle accounts with him!
Determined, the Great King of Numinous Power let Li Changzhou lift him up and imprison him.
To avoid any slip-ups, he also conserved the bamboo qi inside him.
"Great King," Li Changzhou returned, hunching her body as she reported, "that Numinous boy has been kept in the pond by me. I've fed him fish food and commanded the Water Demon to watch him. He's guaranteed to go nowhere, and I've fattened him up, saving him for you to prepare the meat."
"Hmm," Li Changzhou responded nonchalantly.
Before Tang Seng's flesh goes into the pot, this carp is safely secured.
Next, I need to consider how to capture Tang Seng.
Li Changzhou tried to peek upwards but hadn't yet seen Li Changzhou's face—
Li Changzhou reached out and pulled Li Changzhou towards him, placing his hand over her head.
The other small monsters were so frightened that they trembled all over, scrambling chaotically like shrimps lined up for the pot.
Li Changzhou's body convulsed, her eyes rolling back as memories of hundreds of years churned like a stew. Li Changzhou picked through them, scrutinizing only the useful and interesting ones.
This spotted fish had a rich history; it had mixed in the East Sea, even met the old Dragon King, and gained some insights.
Throwing Li Changzhou aside, Li Changzhou fell into deep thought.
"You could also learn from Numinous's methods," Guanyin suggested, "freeze the Tongtian River, and when Tang Seng arrives, break the ice, making him fall into the water. Just give Sun Monkey a bit of hope, preventing him from immediately seeking help, and two days would pass."
"It's not that simple, playing the value game isn't charity work."
Guanyin thought for a moment: "Giving Sun Monkey hope, and not letting him ask for help is tricky, must be handled with care—"
"It's not that," Li Changzhou interrupted her, "I simply can't freeze the Tongtian River."
"..."
"Eight hundred miles, you know," Li Changzhou said innocently, "you ask me to freeze a spot, or freeze briefly, I could manage. But freezing it for four or five days, thick enough for horses to run on, isn't that asking too much?"
"...Qing Lan once froze five cities, and those cities have not thawed to this day."
"Isn't my girlfriend amazing!"
Guanyin sighed: "Then let people take a boat, and you can capsize it."
Despite the vast width of the Tongtian River, there were still mortals ferrying across it. They were all traders.
Goods from the Kingdom of Biqiu, transported to the other bank of the West Liang Female Kingdom, could sell for a hundred times their value; goods from the West Liang Female Kingdom, transported to Biqiu Kingdom, also saw their prices increase a hundredfold. With such high profits, even if the Tongtian River was dangerous, there were still people willing to trade.
The journey to fetch the scriptures was equally fraught with dangers. Wasn't Tang Seng walking it anymore?
The desire of ordinary people for money was no less than Tang Seng's devotion to the True Scriptures and his loyalty to Emperor Tang.
"Just taking a boat wouldn't showcase my abilities; I have a plan to kill two birds with one stone," Li Changzhou said with a smile.
Seeing his expression, Guanyin knew that he had already figured out a plan when she suggested 'freezing the Tongtian River,' and everything else like 'isn't my girlfriend amazing' was just joking around.
Thoughts exchanged as fast as lightning, Li Changzhou came back to his senses, Li Changzhou still convulsing on the ground.
Li Changzhou didn't kill her; though the Soul Search wasn't meticulously performed, it wasn't enough to take a monster's life.
"If you're not dead, get up."
Li Changzhou abruptly stood up, immediately kneeling down, her body still shaking.
"Come with me. The rest of you, clean up the cave. When I return later, if I still smell the fishy or fairy scent..." he didn't finish speaking as Li Changzhou already headed towards the water surface.
Though he didn't use Teleportation, his speed was still extremely fast; Li Changzhou hurriedly transformed into her true form—a two-meter-long spotted garfish—and followed him.
After two to three hundred miles, they arrived above the Tongtian River.
Looking upstream, the river stretched endlessly as if coming from the heavens; looking downstream, dozens of mountains stood like isolated islands in the vast river.
The world seemed boundless, the sound of water thunderous.
"Go to Chen Family Village and say that a Saint Monk from Great Tang will be passing by in a few days. This year's boys and girls are exempted. Have them treat him well, don't starve them. The Great King of Numinous Power also gave way to the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, temporarily leaving the Tongtian River."