The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

"Hold on tight!" Lu Xiaosan shouted against the gust of wind blowing from the sky.

"Mmm," Wen Ying nodded vigorously.

He raised the prayer beads high, aiming them at the center of the dragon's forehead.

The prayer beads gradually formed a golden surface in the air. He lightly touched the golden surface with his five fingers, and five golden points of light gradually gathered at his fingertips.

As the energy of the Buddhist beads shifts, the light spots become brighter, but the golden light of the protective shield gradually fades.

Without the protective shield, the two instantly lost their breath. At the same time, they felt waves of impact from the lake water, and he pinned all his hopes for survival on this one strike.

However, these five golden waves, compared to the purple spheres gathered in the dragon's mouth and eyes, were thousands of times smaller. To say that they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot would be an understatement; it would be more like an ant's leg crushing an elephant.

More importantly, regardless of whether he can withstand this attack, the combined powerful impact of these two opposing waves will scatter, and not only them, but also all living beings in Jiangcheng will likely suffer.

Furthermore, Lu Xiaosan's face was flushed red, and his breathing became increasingly difficult. Although his expression remained as confident as ever, the hand carrying the golden light kept shaking.

Looking again at the giant dragon in the sky, the enormous purple sphere it had gathered had become increasingly stable and bright, showing a strong readiness to unleash its power.

I'm afraid that if you're not careful and blink, everything in front of you will be blasted into dust.

"I believe Brother Lu can do it! Even if he can't, I will always be there for him. I'm willing to support him no matter what he does!" Wen Ying looked at Lu Xiaosan with burning eyes and said firmly in her heart.

Wen Ying suddenly had a lot to say, and if she didn't say it now, she was afraid she would never have the chance to say it again.

Unfortunately, without the golden shield protecting them, even breathing underwater was a luxury, let alone saying goodbye.

Therefore, she could only silently hide behind Lu Xiaosan. Since she had chosen to save his life, she had to carry out the principles of a doctor to the end.

Compared to Wen Ying, Lu Xiaosan focused all his attention on the battle in front of him.

Like the dragon, he wore the same ferocious appearance, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light as if he wanted to tear the other to pieces, thus managing to feign an aura that was no less imposing than the dragon's.

It was precisely because they sensed each other's intense killing intent that they were forced to unleash their most powerful attacks, regardless of the opponent's strength—this was a sign of respect. This was also the kind of battle that truly ignited Lu Xiaosan's passion.

But such battles are never as successful as hoped, just when everyone is fully engaged...

"Don't get angry, Father Ta! Father Ye!"

A clear sound suddenly rang out, instantly resounding throughout the entire lakebed and reaching the giant dragon in the sky.

Ta Ye was its name before it transformed into a dragon.

Following the sound, a general carrying a massive white thousand-leaf armor on his shoulder and wearing a black cloak floated in the air.

He wielded a massive, blood-stained red axe, and his tall, imposing figure was meant to inspire awe. However, the fish head he wore only added to the comical effect.

General Fish Head was calling out "Father" to the giant dragon in the sky, his voice very respectful.

"Is this dragon its father?"

"Such a petty scoundrel, why trouble Father to take action? Leave it to your son!" General Fish Head shouted again.

Before the dragon could react, the Fish Head General suddenly switched his hands to hold the axe and slightly turned his body to the side.

He suddenly roared, and a flash of red light appeared. In the blink of an eye, he swung out a huge red horizontal circle.

The violent impact struck immediately, shattering the falling boulders into dust.

Lu Xiaosan was concentrating all his strength in the air, but he was unable to block this sudden attack. He could only watch helplessly as the force of the giant wave crashed down on him, his heart filled with resentment.

"boom!!!"

Lu Xiaosan felt as if his body had fallen apart, and he flew away for an unknown distance, gradually losing sight of Wen Ying in his arms...

Unable to touch Wen Ying, he became increasingly anxious. But at this point, even breathing was a luxury, and finally, his vision went black and he fainted.

"Brother Lu! Brother Lu!" In a daze, he heard Wen Ying's voice again.

"I'm here, where are you, Little Golden Retriever?" Lu Xiaosan hurriedly replied.

He followed the sound and saw Wen Ying standing in the distance, looking at him with a smile in her eyes.

As I passed through the hazy distance, I saw Wen Ying waving at me with a smile.

Lu Xiaosan ran towards her.

The further they ran, the further apart they became, and Wen Ying's smiling face grew increasingly blurry. Soon, only her silvery laughter lingered in their ears: "Brother Lu, Brother Lu, hee hee."

Lu Xiaosan stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move, but Wen Ying continued to blur. In the end, he was helpless and could only watch as the last piece of her clothing disappeared into the white mist.

Lu Xiaosan was so anxious that tears were almost welling up in her eyes!

"Little Golden Retriever! Little Golden Retriever!" He started running wildly again and shouting loudly.

He didn't understand how important Wen Ying was to him.

But at this moment he understood that Wen Ying was essential to his life, and that was the most important thing to him.

"Brother Lu? Brother Lu?" Wen Ying's voice suddenly rang out again.

Lu Xiao was overjoyed and ran off, but it seemed as if he had accidentally fallen into an abyss, and his body suddenly felt itself falling rapidly.

"Whoa!" Lu Xiaosan suddenly opened his eyes.

The first thing you see is Wen Ying's pretty face with her blue eyes full of concern.

When she saw herself awake, her sunny smile returned.

"That's great, Brother Lu, you're finally awake!" Wen Ying said happily.

Lu Xiaosan stared blankly at her face. "So it was... a dream..." He smiled foolishly again. "Thank goodness, thank goodness it was just a dream..."

"How are you? Are you hurt?"

Seeing Wen Ying blinking her big eyes and looking at him with concern, coupled with the scene from his dream just now, he felt a surge of emotion.

Lu Xiaosan's heart stirred, and he stood up and pulled her into his arms.

Then I remembered how I had deliberately ignored her until I was about to lose her and then I regretted it...

Thinking of this, his affection for her intensified. He breathed heavily, holding her tighter and tighter. He had never felt so safe as he did now.

If he could, he wished he could hold her like this every moment, feeling her warmth, feeling everything about her... good or bad, just for the peace of mind of never being apart again...

Wen Ying was slightly taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm, but quickly embraced him with relief.

"Alright, alright, tell me quickly, what did you dream about? I promise I won't laugh at you." Wen Ying patted his shoulder and laughed.

Caught off guard by this sudden question, his old face flushed red with embarrassment.

It's absolutely unacceptable for a proud man like him to blush and express his love to a young girl.

He easily released his hand, and the two looked at each other.

At this moment, Lu Xiaosan's eyes darted around, and his face was flushed. All the warm and affectionate words he wanted to say were replaced by his forced serious and comical expression.

As a girl, Wen Ying naturally guessed what was going on when she saw him like this.

Then a blush gradually appeared on her face, and she covered her mouth and smiled shyly, just standing there awkwardly with him, waiting for him to speak.

Lu Xiaosan, however, remained blushing and stammered...

For a long, long time, neither of them could utter a single word of affection.

But that blushing smile is the most genuine love confession in the world, thousands, even tens of thousands of times more noble than sweet words.

After a long stalemate, Lu Xiaosan began to try to change the subject.

Almost simultaneously, he was drawn to Wen Ying's swaying, tender red face.

He stared in surprise, then noticed a water bubble covering her head. He instinctively touched his own face and found it covered in the same bubble.

These bubbles are the main reason they can breathe and talk underwater.

Lu Xiaosan looked around again and saw that it was pitch black, like being in a closed prison.

He couldn't help but ask, "Little Golden Retriever, where is this? What are those fish monsters planning?"

Wen Ying shook her head. "I don't understand. I was like this when I woke up, and I have no idea what happened in between..."

Lu Xiaosan helped her to her feet, and she looked around and discovered that it was indeed an underwater prison.

The boundless darkness deep within the prison sent chills down his spine.

He always felt that something was watching him and monitoring him from those dark corners.

He wanted to go and investigate, but as soon as he took a step, a sharp pain shot through his body. He ignored it and insisted on finding out what was going on.

Unexpectedly, the pain in his body became more and more severe, and he felt dizzy and about to collapse.

Wen Ying rushed over and caught him. Seeing him convulsing in her arms, she exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, Brother Lu's convulsions have flared up again."

Wen Ying carefully placed him on the ground, then quickly touched her own body; the place where she had stored the pills was now empty.

"Oh no, did we run out? Or were they lost in the battle...?"

"Ah, um ah."

Lu Xiaosan's wailing rang out, and only then did it become clear that the water balloon covering his head had burst due to the violent shaking and impact.

He was convulsing and his cheeks were turning purple from being unable to breathe; he was in critical condition.

Wen Ying was both surprised and anxious, and shouted, "Brother Lu, here's my water balloon."

She started fiddling with the water balloon on her head.

Lu Xiaosan clutched his chest in pain, but stubbornly shook his head in refusal, determined not to allow her to do anything foolish for him.

Her mind was made up; she was willing to give her own life for his safety.

Unfortunately, she didn't know how to use the water balloon, and in her anxiety, she heard a "bang" and her water balloon broke.