Due to the lightning's swift speed, the great demon king was completely caught off guard, his vision blurred as his eyes were pierced. Seizing this moment, Gao Liang activated his risk control technique. Nine beams of pale blue light shot out—wind blades—raining down upon the demon king's entire body. The demon king could not dodge in time; six of the nine wind blades struck him directly. He cried out in agony as Gao Liang's lightning, amplified by the risk control, surged into his body, causing him to wail in intense pain. The divine sphere that the demon king had previously held shrank significantly after his injury. Despite his repeated efforts to say "change! change! change!" the sphere refused to grow larger. Fuming, the demon king turned to Gao Liang and declared, "Today, you've shown yourself to be quite formidable! But this isn't the end—let's see what happens!" Gao Liang replied, "Excellent! Let's see what unfolds! I truly feared you!" With that, the demon king, holding the now-shrunk sphere, vanished. Peace returned to the heavenly palace. "Gao Liang! Divine Warrior King! Guardian Chief God! Supreme Chief God!" "The God of Light!" The Celestial Emperor rose from his desk, expressing his admiration toward Gao Liang, and then addressed the ministers and officials of the Heavenly Palace: "I have a great reward for Gao Liang! For his outstanding service in protecting the Emperor's person, I hereby bestow upon him the title of Lord of the Magician-Deity. I grant him one life-giving fruit tree. Additionally, I bestow upon him a golden plaque, allowing him free access to every corner of the Heavenly Palace—everywhere in the Palace, he may move freely!" The official in charge of receiving honors immediately presented Gao Liang with a resplendent golden plaque, which he took and raised in honor. At once, the ministers and officials bowed deeply: "Lord of the Magician-Deity! Please accept our obeisance!" Such an honor—being formally bowed to by the ministers and officials as if the Emperor himself—was something Gao Liang had never imagined. Furthermore, Gao Liang was publicly granted a ginseng fruit tree on the spot. The officials, marveling at the magnificent life-giving tree, praised it in awe, their mouths filled with admiration and their eyes glistening with delight. G Upon arriving at Xingle Palace, he was surprised to see an unexpected scene: a resplendent lady seated within her palace, with the Great Power Jinnan God standing at her sides, and various divine generals and soldiers attending on either side. Who could it be? Who dares to claim this palace as their own? And why are even my younger brother, the Great Power Jinnan God, and several divine generals and soldiers serving her? High Liang immediately approached the resplendent lady and asked, "Who are you?" At sight of High Liang, the lady smiled warmly and said, "I've been waiting for you for three hours! I need you to help me with something." At that moment, the Great Power Jinnan God and the other brothers shouted, "Brother! She is the daughter of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea! Her name is Xiao Long Nü!" "Ah! Now I understand! I didn't recognize her!" High Liang smiled and addressed Xiao Long Nü, "Princess, what is it you need?" Xiao Long Nü smiled gently and said, "To be honest, the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace has recently been in great trouble." Longnü described in full detail the situation at the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. Gaoliang nodded in approval and said, "Excellent! We'll go right away!" Then, Gaoliang mounted the Fire Qilin, while Longnü stepped onto her colorful, auspicious cloud and took off toward the distant horizon. "Great Jindan God! Take good care of the Life Tree—fertilize it and water it well! Make sure to nurture it properly and help it grow strong!" Hearing Gaoliang's instructions, the Great Jindan God promptly agreed and pledged his commitment. Soon after, Gaoliang and Longnü flew eastward. Over the Eastern Sea, the horizon stretched endlessly, merging seamlessly with the sky. Gaoliang flew above the sea surface, while Longnü's cloud glided over the waves. At that moment, the sea was turbulent, with powerful waves and spiraling eddies rising dramatically. A massive column of water surged upward from the sea, forming a dark water column reaching a height of 100 meters. "It's him! It's him!" Longnü pointed at the towering black water column. The luminous spirit eye, spotting an extremely long object beneath the black water column, immediately flew down to investigate. Wow! There lay a great black dragon. Upon seeing High Bright approach, the black dragon immediately swung its long tail, sending it sweeping toward him. High Bright swiftly dodged. The fire qilin kept maneuvering, and as the waves splashed into the air, they struck a sea gull, which instantly turned to pus and blood, dying on the spot. High Bright grew furious and, from his position atop the fire qilin, shouted at the black dragon beneath the sea: "Show yourself! Come up and fight me to the death! Don't just create chaos here!" "Black Dragon! You destroyed my palace and imprisoned my father! This won't end until I defeat you! I'll fight you to the very end!" Xiao Longnü was deeply moved, leaping forward and hurling a golden collar she held tightly at the black water column. "Crack!" The golden collar severed the black water column in two, yet the black water swiftly recombined. The black water column transformed into the shape of a black dragon, its dragon head assuming a fierce countenance and laughing heartily: "Little Dragon Maiden! Little Dragon Maiden! I never thought you'd have summoned Gao Liang over here! But don't worry—I'm no stranger to the East Sea! I am the sovereign there!" "You! You!—!" Little Dragon Maiden was furious, her teeth clenched tightly, her delicate body trembling like a blooming branch. "What's wrong with me?" asked the black dragon, laughing scornfully. "If you're wise, follow me—I'll ensure you enjoy fine food, fine living, and great prosperity. But you simply won't cooperate!" "Never! I won't follow a black monster like you! Quickly! Release my father king!" Little Dragon Maiden immediately commanded, yet the black dragon only laughed loudly, saying, "I'll release your father king—what then? Unless you follow me!" "Ha!" spat Little Dragon Maiden. At this moment, Gao Liang addressed the black dragon: "Black Dragon, don't make me endure this. The Eastern Sea Dragon King has always treated you well. Yet now you've rebelled against him!" "You're being ungrateful!" Black Dragon snapped, looking down his nose at Gao Liang with disdain. "Don't bring up the past! That Dragon King has never truly cared for me nor held me in high regard! I'm a black dragon, yet no one pays attention to me! The other dragons—White, Green, Red, and so on—have all been favored. I, Black Dragon, have become the one overlooked and abandoned by the Eastern Sea Palace. Because of that, I must grow stronger! I will make everyone who has looked down on me kneel before me! Hahahaha!" "You're mad! You're mad!" Gao Liang said, his mouth curling downward in anger as he stared at Black Dragon. "Black Dragon! I give you three seconds to move out of my way. Otherwise, I'll kill you without mercy!" His words carried authority and an unmistakable sense of threat. Black Dragon was shaken, yet he stood firm, relying on his various sea-based spells and techniques, and confidently declared to Gao Liang, "You'll only prevail over me on land. In the sea, you'll never stand a chance!" "Highlight chuckled confidently, 'Really? I'm not afraid!' He then turned to the Fire Qilin and said, 'Quick! Step back! I'm going to the sea!' The Fire Qilin obediently moved aside. Xiao Longnu said, 'No, you can't go straight down. The sea water in the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace has been polluted by the Black Dragon. You must hold this in your mouth!' She immediately fed Highlight a dragon pearl into his mouth, which he felt refreshing. Highlight immediately began to descend, with Xiao Longnu right behind him. At that moment, the Black Dragon transformed into a fierce crocodile and charged directly at Highlight. Highlight moved swiftly and nimbly, leaning his body slightly and tilting his head, just avoiding the attack. But Xiao Longnu was a little slower, 'Ah!' Her sleeve was torn by the crocodile, and she cried out in surprise. Gao Liang was furious and immediately shouted, "The Ever-Bright Box!" Yet, terribly, the Ever-Bright Box proved utterly ineffective in the sea—showing no response at all. Just as Gao Liang was growing increasingly anxious, the crocodile once again shook its head and thrashed its tail, launching a strong assault against Gao Liang. Gao Liang, unarmed, could only fend off the crocodile's head with his fists. But the crocodile's wide, gaping mouth was formidable, and in a single bite, it caught Gao Liang's elbow. "Ah!" Gao Liang suddenly felt intense pain. It turned out that his elbow had been bitten by the crocodile's sharp teeth. At this crucial moment, Xiao Longnu played a decisive role. She quickly poured out a bottle of dragon pearl medicine from her body and applied it to Gao Liang's wounded elbow, where the bleeding soon stopped. "Quick! We must escape! Quick!" With that, Xiao Longnu pulled Gao Liang toward the deeper parts of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. The crocodile continued to pursue them fiercely from behind. "Gao Liang! Xiao Longnu! Where Yet, Xiao Longnü managed to escape swiftly with Gao Liang. Xiao Longnü was exceptionally agile; she passed through a narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person, while carrying Gao Liang.