The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

The giant red fish charged straight at the two of them.

When they were several dozen feet apart, the giant fish opened its blood-red maw, and two rows of sharp teeth, stained with blood and human bones, burst forth.

They were about to tear the two of them to pieces and then swallow them into the abyss.

Wen Ying exclaimed in surprise, but still spread her arms to block Lu Xiaosan, her gaze firm.

A powerful gust of wind followed. Everything was covered in red, and with a loud "bang," the giant fish bit down hard on the golden shield in its mouth.

The first bite did not budge the golden shield.

Upon seeing this, the giant fish's eyes widened in disgust. It opened its mouth as wide as possible, releasing a pungent, fishy stench, and then began to crunch and chew on the golden shield several times.

The two people inside the golden shield were clearly no bigger than one of its teeth, yet no matter how it chewed, the golden shield remained completely still.

"Bang!" Suddenly a loud noise was heard, followed by a burst of red mist. It turned out that the giant fish's teeth had been snapped off by the golden shield, and blood gushed out instantly.

Even so, the fish showed no sign of stopping, snapping and snapping as it continued to bite.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Teeth broke off one by one.

The blood mist around it thickened, but the intense pain only made it more resilient.

Slowly, the giant fish closed its mouth, and the two felt that their surroundings had turned pitch black. Then they felt dizzy and the giant fish seemed to be holding them and began to bump around wildly.

Wen Ying swayed back and forth inside the golden cage and couldn't help but cry out, "We're not bad people, why are you fighting so hard?"

The giant fish ignored them completely, continuing to chew greedily, even slamming itself into the ground until it was covered in blood, yet it still couldn't harm the two of them in the slightest.

Wen Ying put her hands on her hips and said with a wry smile, "Why are you hurting yourself? With these Buddhist beads, you can't possibly harm us."

Upon hearing this, the giant fish's gaping mouth remained open in mid-air and did not close again.

Its cold, rigid fish eyes trembled slightly, and then a deep voice came from its mouth: "Buddhist beads?"

The sound was extremely penetrating, causing Wen Ying to instinctively cover her ears, and she felt the entire lakebed tremble.

Then I felt a huge suction force coming from its mouth.

With a "boom," the man and the golden shroud were both spat out of the giant fish's mouth.

The two regained their composure and saw that blood was still everywhere in front of them. But through the red mist, they could vaguely see that the giant fish was half-opening its bloody mouth full of broken teeth, and its pair of round eyes were staring intently at them.

Only when the blood mist dissipated and the surroundings returned to their original blue and gold hues did the two of them finally have a proper look at the fish.

The giant fish stared at the two of them for a while, then its dead-looking eyes suddenly trembled, and a deep voice like an ancient bell came out: "This...this Buddhist bead is Wuchen!" Its tone was full of astonishment.

Upon seeing that the person holding the pearl was a monk, the giant fish twisted its enormous, smooth body and cautiously asked in its aged voice, "Holding the dust-free pearl, then you must be...?"

"No...yes, it's...me." Lu Xiaosan's voice trembled, more cautious and frightened than the giant fish.

The giant fish twitched its mouth a few times, let out a few more shrill growls, and streams of blood flowed from its mouth.

The giant fish trembled, then suddenly lowered its head and became extremely respectful: "So it is the Rakshasa Ghost Monk! Alas... it was this old servant's rudeness. If I have offended you... ha, this old servant is truly senile. With my meager abilities, how could I possibly harm the dignified Lord of Ten Thousand Demons? I am truly ashamed of myself."

Wen Ying couldn't help but say, "You must have mistaken me for someone else. Rakshasa is a man-eating demon, how could it be Brother Lu?"

Although the old fish had an unyielding, deathly expression, its gaze was unwavering at this moment, and it spoke earnestly:

"Judging from the smell on him and his age, it must be him!"

Wen Ying put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "Brother Lu may smell bad, but he's not some kind of man-eating demon, is he?"

Old Yu's two white beards swayed slightly. He paused and then said, "Little girl, you don't know this. Several years ago, a hundred demon kings gathered in Guanzhong and captured about a hundred strong men and young women to hold a grand human slaughter feast!"

"Unexpectedly, before the banquet even began, a terrible stench wafted from afar. Most of the demon kings who smelled it suffered splitting headaches and their bodies were so swollen and painful that they could not move."

"The demon kings with slightly stronger willpower were caught off guard by several golden waves flying from afar before they could even make a move. In the end, some died and some escaped."

Lu Xiaosan nodded in satisfaction after listening, "That's absolutely right."

Wen Ying continued, "Isn't subduing demons and eliminating evil a good thing? Why call him a Rakshasa?"

"If it were just about subduing demons and monsters, it wouldn't be called a Rakshasa, and other demons wouldn't be so respectful to it."

"It's all because after this young man rescued those hundreds of people from the demon king, he not only didn't release them, but instead devoured them with gusto..."

Wen Ying covered her mouth in shock, exclaiming in disbelief, "What! How could this be..."

Lu Xiaosan's face was cold and indifferent, and he neither agreed nor disagreed with Lao Yu's words.

Old Fish continued, "In this way, the young man's noble act of saving people for fame and fortune has turned into a conquest of the strong and the weak in the demon realm."

"With this change in nature, all demons were subdued, and the Rakshasa Ghost Monk who wielded the Dustless Sword was naturally revered as the Lord of all demons!"

Wen Ying couldn't help but look at Lu Xiaosan beside her. She saw that his eyes were closed and his whole body was trembling. He didn't look as imposing as the old fish had described.

She was also curious as to why Lu Xiaosan had her eyes closed.

Unbeknownst to her, Lu Xiaosan's deepest fear had suddenly been magnified many times over. All he could do was close his eyes tightly to avoid looking; only in this way could he remain calm.

"No, Brother Lu, you didn't eat those people, right?" Wen Ying asked, her eyes wide.

"I...I ate, but...there's a reason. I'll tell you later," Lu Xiaosan said with his eyes closed.

After saying that, he turned to the giant fish, closed his eyes, and coldly asked, "Is the Flowing...Flowing Lotus Grass here now?"

Facing Lu Xiaosan, who was no bigger than an ant, the giant fish said in an extremely humble tone, "The Flowing Lotus Grass is right here, but if this old servant were to fetch it for you now, it might cause trouble..."

"No need!" Lu Xiaosan quickly interrupted, "No need, we'll go find it ourselves."

Even with his eyes closed, the thought of the giant fish right in front of him made every second an immense torment for both his mind and body.

Even his calm and composed demeanor at this moment was a facade. Only he knew how much cold sweat had seeped into his palms and onto his clothes.

The giant fish moved its mouth slightly, clearly taken aback. "I see. Since you insist on going on your own, then this old servant will not say anything more."

Lu Xiaosan nodded. "Okay, you can go now."

"In that case, this old servant will take his leave."

Lu Xiaosan squinted and peeked, seeing the giant fish twist halfway and then suddenly turn around. He quickly closed his eyes, clenching his fists so hard they cracked.

The giant fish added, "By the way, while you are searching for the Flowing Lotus Grass, you may encounter a ceremony that is currently taking place."

The two asked simultaneously, "A ceremony?"

"That's right, it's Lord Ta Ye... um, no, now it should be called Lord Dragon King."

The Jackie Chan ceremony it's holding should be tonight.

Wen Ying hurriedly asked, "The Jackie Chan ceremony? What's that? Will it affect our trip to get the Flowing Lotus Grass?"

The giant fish slowly raised its head, and the surrounding lake water gradually parted. It sighed softly, "Tonight's dragon-becoming ceremony will see Ta Ye become that person's fifth guardian dragon. His lifelong wish will be fulfilled tonight."

Lu Xiaosan's face was pale, and he stood there swaying uncontrollably. Finally, he couldn't help but shout impatiently, "Alright, alright, I know, hurry up... hurry up and go!"

The giant fish slowly lowered its head, saying with remorse, "It's all this old servant's fault. I didn't realize that you, my lord, had already grown tired of me. But even so, I'd like to give you one last reminder: after you obtain the Flowing Lotus Grass, please return quickly. If you accidentally interfere with the Dragon Transformation Ceremony, then I will be unable to help you. Therefore, please be careful on your journey… if…"

Lu Xiaosan was filled with hatred and clenched his teeth. The dust-free Buddhist beads in his hand shone even brighter as he roared, "Say that again! I'll kill you right now!"

After saying this, he was so frightened that his legs trembled.

The giant fish was stunned for a while before finally saying, "Then... I can only wish you good luck, sir..." As soon as it finished speaking, the surrounding water surged, and the giant fish was so frightened that it swam away into the distance and disappeared from sight.

"Ugh—Phew!" Lu Xiaosan finally let out a sigh of relief, his face pale and his body weak as he collapsed onto Wen Ying.

"It...it's finally gone!" Lu Xiaosan gasped for breath, finally able to relax.

Wen Ying hugged him tightly, her brows furrowed, and asked sharply, "Brother Lu, why did you eat people!"