Journey to the West: Break the entire Western Heaven!
Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Opening the River [Please Favorite]

On Tang Sanzang's side, he had been walking with Mu Zha for half a month when the loud rumbling of water foretold the emergence of a great river within their sight.

The river water was extremely murky, rolling in from the horizon and flowing towards the end of the sky.

Tang Sanzang stood on his tiptoes, trying to see the opposite bank, but could not discern its width—the end was simply out of sight!

At this point, Sun Wukong shouted, "Master, there's a stone tablet here!"

Tang Sanzang walked over for a closer look and saw three engraved characters on it: "Flowing Sands River!"

Below the stone tablet, there were four lines of smaller text:

Eight Hundred Realms of Flowing Sands,

Three thousand leagues deep.

Goose feathers can't float,

Reed flowers are surely submerged.

The meaning was clear: the Flowing Sands River was eight hundred leagues wide and at least three thousand leagues deep, as the ancients liked to use "three" to represent a large number rather than an exact figure. Thus, "three thousand" was understood to be even deeper!

Just like the weak water, anything as light as a goose feather would sink to the bottom, making this a classic no-go zone!

However, for Tang Sanzang this was trivial, and he leaped across easily.

Tang Sanzang turned and said, "Mu Zha, aren't you coming to see?"

Mu Zha shook his head and replied, "I'd rather not. Master, that Wujing I told you about lives in this Flowing Sands River."

No sooner had he spoken than a surge rippled through the river, revealing a head covered in long hair.

Unseen by others but clear to Mu Zha, an idea struck him, and he shouted, "Wujing, come out! The pilgrim you are to escort has arrived, come and pay your respects to your master!"

Tang Sanzang's eyes lit up as he sharply turned, seeing the river water boiling, bubbling as a long-haired figure slowly rose…

Tang Sanzang's lips slightly curled up: "Long hair… no mistake then! Must be a clean girl!"

Seizing the moment Tang Sanzang was distracted, Mu Zha leapt up and sprinted away!

Almost simultaneously, the individual in the water rose to the surface. This person was four meters tall, with fiery red, voluminous hair, which contrasted starkly with a dark, handsome beard!

Their blue face ghostly, draped in a coat of goose feathers, their waist cinched with white tresses, their neck adorned with nine skulls!

No matter how one looked at this, it fit the description of ugly!

Just one glance and all the beautiful images in Tang Sanzang's heart shattered in an instant. He suddenly turned around, only to see Mu Zha's figure disappearing in the distance!

Tang Sanzang clenched his fist and swung at Mu Zha's disappearing silhouette: "This is the girl you mentioned?!"

Boom!

A punch was thrown, the heavens and the earth changed color, and Fist Power cut through the air chasing after Mu Zha!

Mu Zha thought he had escaped, but turning his head, he saw a terrifying fist pursuing him.

Then, the punch hit him and propelled him speeding towards the south…

When he got up, he found himself at Mount Putuo in the South Sea!

Mu Zha knew that Tang Sanzang had spared his life, not using his full strength. However, the punch left his body aching, barely able to move for half a day…

"What kind of freak is this? Too powerful!" Mu Zha lamented internally, muttering silently, "Rolling shutter, I'm sorry, I hope you can discern right… otherwise, I'll only be able to offer incense for you next year."

At that moment, Sha Wujing stood atop the turbulent river water, looking quite formidable.

But seeing the bald man turn and throw a punch that opened wide vistas was quite the scene.

He suddenly felt smaller, his mind racing as he analyzed the situation before him.

Mu Zha serves under the Bodhisattva Guanyin, and is trustworthy!

But after Mu Zha called me out, he ran away and almost got hammered to death, so something definitely must be wrong.

If Mu Zha was coerced, then the scripture seeker in front of us is most likely a fake!

The real scripture seeker wouldn't be this fierce.

If this conjecture holds, then I must have been tricked!

After finishing his instant conjecture, Sha Wujing suddenly realized that he might be in a dangerous place.

At that moment, that terrifying monk slowly turned around, and a 1.3 meter tall monkey and a 3.5 meter tall pig had also gathered around.

He had a bad premonition and, without a second word, dove into the water, disappearing instantly.

"Master, you scared him off," Sun Wukong complained.

Tang Sanzang dismissively replied, "Scared off? He ruined my grand dream and then played a trick with Mu Zha, but he thinks he can run? Can he really get away?"

Zhu Ganglie said, "Master, just the width of this Flowing Sands River is eight hundred li, and who knows how much longer it is, diving into it hoping to replace him again is like searching for a needle in the ocean. It's tough…"

Sun Wukong said, "Idiot, aren't you the great general of the celestial navy? Go underwater and catch him, if you hurry now, you can still catch up."

Zhu Ganglie shook his head, "I'm not going… One on one, I'm not afraid, but what if he summons his whole family? Then I'll be at a disadvantage. If no one else captures him, I'd end up throwing myself in. Monkey, you're formidable, you go."

Sun Wukong shook his head, "While I'm good at transformations, water combat is not my forte. If I force myself into the water, I have to perform the water avoidance art with one hand, fighting single-handedly… I can't exert even half of my full strength."

Then both looked at the White Dragon Horse, who immediately cried out, "Don't look at me, I'm just a mount!"

The two were speechless...

Then they both looked at Tang Sanzang with troubled expressions, "Master..."

Tang Sanzang raised his hand to stop them, "Forget it, let your master handle it."

"Master, are you skilled in water combat?" Sun Wukong asked, surprised.

Tang Sanzang shook his head, "I can't even swim."

Both Sun Wukong and Zhu Ganglie were stunned. If he can't swim, how was he going to catch someone in the river?

Tang Sanzang gave them a glance, "Who said catching someone necessarily requires going into the river?"

Crack!

Tang Sanzang clenched his fist.

Hiss!

Tang Sanzang stepped back, moving into a lunge forward and twisting his body, his fist drawn back.

In the river, Sha Wujing hadn't escaped; his situation was quite peculiar. He suffered from the agony of thousands of arrows piercing his heart every day, and only by journeying to the Western Heaven could he replace relief.

Therefore, he didn't dare wander too far...

However, he was confident in his swimming ability and, considering the magical advantage of the Flowing Sands River, he felt relatively safe in the water. Even if danger arose, he could always escape at the critical moment...

Seeing Tang Sanzang's posture of bending over and clenching his fist, he furrowed his brows, "What does this baldy want to do?"

Watching the familiar maneuvers, Sun Wukong seemed to realize something, "Master, are you going to..."

"Open the river!"

Tang Sanzang roared as he threw a punch!

A punch of Fist Power blasted out, and a furious force surged into the Flowing Sands River!

Seeing this, Sha Wujing in the river exclaimed, "Damn!"