I'm Dreaming of a Journey to the West

After embracing Sha Seng's power, Li Chen leaped into the water without hesitation. He quickly swam underwater, but the sight before him horrified him: instead of the dreamlike beauty beneath, he found the skeletons of young boys and girls. These bones bore the marks of being devoured by something, suggesting the King of Inspiration had brutally devoured them. A foul, fishy odor filled the air, making him nauseous.

Li Chen couldn't help but lament. Despite Guanyin Bodhisattva's constant admonitions and gentle persuasion, hoping to guide the King of Inspiration onto the right path, he hadn't changed at all, remaining as vicious as ever. Li Chen clearly remembered encountering the King of Inspiration in the original novel when Tang Sanzang and his disciples passed through the Tongtian River on their pilgrimage to the West. Back then, he forced the villagers of Chenjiazhuang to pay him an annual tribute of a boy and a girl in exchange for supposedly favorable weather.

Just as Li Chen was lost in thought, a sharp, woman's voice suddenly rang out from behind him: "Go to hell!" This voice didn't belong to the King of Inspiration, but rather to a banshee. Li Chen quickly turned to see a massive ball of water hurtling toward him at an alarming speed. Before he could react, he felt as if his body had been frozen in place, unable to move at all!

This attack didn't come from the King of Inspiration, but from a monstrous, hideous female demon dressed in gorgeous attire! Behind her was a hideous fishtail! In her hand, she clutched an incredibly sharp trident!

"It's her! The spotted mandarin fish lady!"

Li Chen was stunned. It was actually her, the Inspiration King's brain trust! Her prototype was the spotted mandarin fish. Initially active in the East China Sea, she later traveled to the Tongtian River, transforming herself into a marine general under the Inspiration King. Later, she contributed to the capture of Tang Sanzang, earning her a sworn brotherhood with the Inspiration King. The spotted mandarin fish lady was originally a demon transformed from a spotted mandarin fish, but ultimately met a tragic end in the Tongtian River.

Who could have predicted that, under the powerful spell of the Water Witch, she would miraculously be resurrected? This completely exceeded Li Chen's expectations! He originally thought that the only major boss guarding this place was the Inspiration King, but now there's also a spotted mandarin fish lady!

"Hahahahahaha! Sister Yu, it's all thanks to your good plan! I didn't expect that it would be so easy for us to catch this big trouble!" The King of Inspiration laughed wildly. At this moment, his face was full of pride and arrogance after his conspiracy succeeded.

"All this is thanks to your great magical powers, my king. In addition, this person is brave but not wise, which allowed us to succeed so smoothly!" The spotted mandarin fish lady smiled flatteringly and tried to please the King of Inspiration.

Li Chen stared intently at the two arrogant demons in front of him, his anger growing more intense. However, he did not let his anger cloud his mind. Instead, he quickly calmed down and began to secretly accumulate strength, preparing to break free.

Suddenly, Li Chen exerted his strength, and a layer of dazzling light appeared around him. In the blink of an eye, the seemingly indestructible water prison was easily broken by him!

"How is this possible? My water prison has been baptized by the power of the Water Witch. It is absolutely impossible to be broken!" The spotted catfish lady widened her eyes, staring at the broken water prison in astonishment, and muttered to herself in disbelief.

"The power of the Ancestral Witch? Hahaha, that's ridiculous! I can tell you that during my journey, I not only defeated the Metal and Wood Ancestral Witches, but also absorbed a considerable amount of their power. How could the power of the Water Ancestral Witch possibly overwhelm me?" Li Chen laughed triumphantly. At the same time, two balls of light suddenly appeared in his hands—one gleaming with dazzling golden light, the other emitting a mysterious green glow. Li Chen toyed with the two balls of light in his hands like toys, then held them tightly.

"It's you, you damned alien bastard! The Lord Water Witch has long predicted that you will become a stumbling block to our plan! No matter who you are, this place will be your burial place today!" The eyes of the King of Inspiration burned with murderous intent. He raised the pair of nine-petaled copper hammers without hesitation and pounced on Li Chen like a mad beast!

"Haha, you self-righteous guys! Open your eyes and take a good look. You only have one magic wand to subdue demons, but we have three powerful weapons! If you dare to attack one of us, the other one will smash you to pieces! You have no chance of winning against us!" The spotted mandarin fish lady laughed at Li Chen complacently, as if the balance of victory had already tilted towards their side and they were sure of victory!

"Two against one, this is not fair, Fairy Hibiscus!" The King of Inspiration looked at Li Chen and Fairy Hibiscus who suddenly appeared, and groaned in his heart, but still pretended to be calm on his face.

At that moment, a clear, melodious voice, like a silver bell, echoed: "Master, I'm here!" Then, a beautiful woman with a graceful figure and hair covered in pearls and jade, like a fairy descending from the earth, floated lightly behind Li Chen. Her beauty was like a blooming flower, so gorgeous that it was enchanting. Even the King of Inspiration was captivated by her and was stunned.

Li Chen turned and looked at Fairy Hibiscus, a flicker of admiration in his eyes. He took a deep breath and calmly commanded, "Fairy Hibiscus, go deal with that spotted mandarin fish over there! I'll meet this Inspiration King!"

Fairy Hibiscus nodded slightly, indicating understanding. She moved lightly with lotus steps toward the spotted mandarin fish lady, exuding a delicate fragrance. Meanwhile, Li Chen faced the King of Inspiration. Their eyes met, and for a moment, the atmosphere reached a peak of tension.

At Li Chen's command, the battle officially began. Fairy Hibiscus flashed, ghostlike, and rushed towards the spotted mandarin fish lady, her delicate hands gleaming with dazzling light. Meanwhile, Li Chen engaged in a fierce exchange with the King of Inspiration, each side trading blows, neither yielding.

"Look at the hammer!" The Inspiration King roared, swinging his arms and hammers, spinning them at high speed like windmills, and pounced on Li Chen with fierce momentum. As his rotation speed continued to increase, the surrounding water began to stir violently, gradually forming a huge water vortex.

"Wooden Demon Dance!"

Li Chen shouted fearlessly, took a deep breath, and focused his strength on his right hand. Suddenly, another demon-subduing staff, gleaming with emerald green light, appeared in his hand. Li Chen swung his arm forward and flung the incredibly sharp staff with all his might. Like a boomerang, the staff flew through the air with incredible force, crashing fiercely into the massive vortex.

All that could be heard was the continuous screams of the Inspiration King within the vortex. The demon-subduing staff cut into the Inspiration King's body like a sharp blade!

Meanwhile, on another corner of the battlefield, Fairy Hibiscus engaged in a fierce battle with the Inspiration King's adopted sister, the Speckled Mandarin Fish Lady. Raising her trident, she slashed at Fairy Hibiscus with all her might. Fairy Hibiscus reacted quickly, conjuring a long thorn whip with her left hand and deftly entwining it with the trident, preventing her from continuing her attack.

Immediately afterwards, the Hibiscus Fairy waved her right hand, and another thorn whip appeared out of thin air, and with the force of thunder, it struck the spotted mandarin fish lady's head hard. With a crisp "snap", the spotted mandarin fish lady's head was instantly torn open, blood dripping, and she screamed in pain.

The King of Inspiration and the Spotted Mandarin Fish Lady never dreamed that they would trick Li Chen into the water, but they were actually no match for Li Chen in the water battle that they were so proud of.