Thus, Lin Fang became a lonely traveler, walking alone on the road, subtly feeling the changes in the energy of Heaven and Earth.

Looking up, he saw villagers with eager faces. Before he could grasp the situation, the old village chief grabbed his hand and said, "I, Xu Qingchao, on behalf of the Shangtan Village villagers, thank the Taoist priest for his assistance."

The aged hands tightly grasped Lin Fang’s arm, eyes filled with expectation and hope.

Lin Fang had wanted to say they had mistaken him for someone else, but seeing those hopeful eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to speak the words. It turned out that even after so long, the thoughts of performing righteous acts from his childhood were still in his heart.

There was a time when, whenever he read about the so-called heroes in stories, he would yearn to be like them, imagining himself wandering the world with a sword and performing righteous deeds.

But as he grew older, he felt more and more that it was just a beautiful dream.

Since crossing over to the Journey to the West world, the harsh environment and the powerful Immortals, Gods, and Demons had taught him to hide himself, to keep a low profile as much as possible.

Now faced with something he could handle, Lin Fang no longer wanted to hide. He, too, wanted to perform a heroic deed.

"Tell me about the situation," Lin Fang asked with a smile.

A hint of confusion flickered across the old village chief’s face. He had thought the children would have explained everything clearly, but why did this Taoist priest seem to know nothing? Nonetheless, he patiently detailed the situation in Shangtan Village.

In his heart, he complained: "Da Zhuang, how could you handle things this way? You didn’t clarify such an important matter and let the Taoist priest come alone; are those naughty boys off playing somewhere again?"

After quietly listening to his story, Lin Fang simply said, "We still need to see for ourselves."

"Who will row the boat, let the Taoist priest see the monster," the old village chief asserted.

The villagers fell silent, none willing to step forward. If this Taoist’s skills were inadequate, going there would be no different from sending oneself to death.

Seeing this, the old village chief stomped his foot in anger and shouted, "My Shangtan Village is at a critical point of life and death. If we continue this way, everyone in the village will starve, yet you all are only worried about your safety. Forget it then, although I’m old, I can still row a boat."

After speaking, the old village chief was about to roll up his sleeves and look for a boat when Lin Fang extended his arm to stop him.

"Don’t worry, village chief, I have a way," he assured.

Lin Fang walked to the lakeside, plucked a reed casually, turned around, and said with a smile, "This will be enough."

Lin Fang threw the reed into the river and with a light leap, stepped onto it, moving towards the center of the lake on the reed. This left the villagers onshore dumbfounded, with some even rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

As he reached the middle of the lake, a thick resentment surged from the bottom, bringing with it a hatred towards all living beings, causing Lin Fang to frown.

The monster in the lake seemed no ordinary creature; from this thick resentment, he even felt a power of faith.

Stirred by Lin Fang’s presence, a huge black shadow slowly emerged from the bottom of the lake. Upon closer inspection, Lin Fang realized it was an incredibly large goldfish.

However, this goldfish was fully rotten, with purple flames burning in its eye sockets, and a thick resentment continuously emanating from its body.

A foul fishy stench hit him, overwhelmingly vile. Lin Fang covered his nose and took a closer look, realizing more and more that this goldfish was no ordinary monster.

The goldfish, filled with hatred for living beings, swished its massive tail, creating giant waves that surged towards Lin Fang.

Lin Fang didn’t dodge or evade, instead, he went with the flow, his body moving with the water, seemingly unaffected by the immense waves.

A foul smell emanated from the mouth of the goldfish, carrying the scent of death. Lin Fang opened his mouth and spat out, his Heart Fire blazing fiercely, burning away the filth of the world.

The smell met the Heart Fire and encountered its nemesis, instantly incinerated to nothing. Lin Fang swiftly moved next to the goldfish, grabbed its tail, and threw it with force.

The huge goldfish was suddenly out of the water, flying mid-air. Only then did Lin Fang notice a massive wound on its abdomen, which likely caused its fatal injury.

"Why is there a hint of the Buddhist Sect’s scent?" Lin Fang, looking at the wound, sensed a faint Buddhist aura.

At this time, the goldfish, apparently enraged by Lin Fang’s actions, landed back in the water and frantically thrashed its body. Qing Lake instantly became turbulent, wave after wave hitting relentlessly as if they were endless, all directed at Lin Fang.

The villagers on the shore knelt down, terrified by the sight. Such a terrifying scene, unseen in their lifetimes, made the tranquil Qing Lake seem utterly furious. It was as if all the lake water had come to life, attacking Lin Fang.

"This isn’t something an ordinary monster can achieve," Lin Fang murmured to himself.

Transforming into a giant, he stood in the lake and caught the goldfish in his hand. The surrounding waves assaulted him, but a Glass Tower flew into the sky, emitting a brilliant light, calming the raging waters.

The Heart Fire Technique activated, and red flames began to burn in his hand, instantly enveloping the goldfish.

The goldfish in Lin Fang’s hands struggled desperately, constantly moving its body, but still unable to break free.

The flames, meeting the resentment, seemed to find fuel, burning even more intensely. In no time, the huge goldfish was reduced to ashes, turning into specks of golden light that fell into the lake.

"This is the Power of Incense!"

Lin Fang recognized these light particles as the accumulated Incense Power of a divine spirit, known in the Buddhist Sect as the Power of Faith.

Countless lake creatures frantically surged to the surface, competing to absorb this diffusing Power of Incense. For these naive Aquatic Races, this was a tremendous opportunity. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

In that moment, countless Aquatic Races awakened their initial Spiritual Wisdom, a gift from the divine spirits.

Meanwhile, a damaged Golden Seal slowly descended from the sky, landing in Lin Fang’s hand.

As soon as he received the Golden Seal, Lin Fang’s mind was filled with images.

"Qing Lake Water God, do not delude yourself," a fierce-looking monk said angrily.

"You want the Wuji Kingdom to suffer a great drought, but I won’t agree to it."

"Hmph! Refuse the toast and you’ll have to drink the forfeit."

The monk then took out his Zen Staff and attacked his own position, as a voice echoed in the air, "You dare slay a god, do you wish to incite a war between the Buddhist Sect and the Heavenly Court?"

"No one will know how you died."

The images abruptly ended there, but Lin Fang had come to understand the sequence of events.

The Buddhist Sect wanted to induce a drought in the Wuji Kingdom, but the Qing Lake Water God was unwilling to comply. Consequently, after this battle, the Qing Lake Water God perished.