The fun of turning into a fish demon and causing mischief was ultimately limited, so Annie didn't play for very long.
Before dawn, once she'd had her fill, a thought from her set the contingencies Zhu Bajie, Kang Jinlong, and the others had prepared in the Futu Realm and Futu Pagoda into motion.
As Lesser Western Heaven shook again and again, countless breaches opened in the protective formations around the cells inside the Futu Pagoda. Then, just as expected, the countless "prisoners" Huang Mei had locked up in the Futu Realm and Futu Pagoda broke out and surged forth, plunging all of Lesser Western Heaven into chaos.
At the same time, the Turtle General rampaged along the Sea of Bitterness. He whipped up waves and unleashed a tsunami, then rushed ashore and caused earthquakes. Huang Mei's holdings along the Sea of Bitterness—especially his many installations and temples there—suffered a devastating blow.
Seeing the chaos outside and realizing that the Lesser Western Heaven he'd painstakingly built might be destroyed, Huang Mei had no choice but to grit his teeth and send out more than half of his yaksha and rakshasa chieftains and lesser demons to "restore order." The defenses of Paradise Valley and Lesser Thunderclap Temple were instantly weakened considerably.
Even so, he wasn't too worried.
After all, he'd been running Lesser Western Heaven for many years. He had countless demon kings and lesser demons under his command, and his foundations were solid. He'd never believed that the little girl and that monkey had the ability—or the nerve—to break in.
Besides, the two of them were insignificant. Even if they did break in, he wouldn't take them seriously.
Even with the inexplicably awakened Kang Jinlong and the rescued Zhu Bajie added to their ranks, there was no way they could fight