The Adventures of Wu Kong vol.5 oleh Cun Ren

Chosen by a goddess and an emperor, and hunted by almost everyone else, Sun Wu Kong, San Zang, and their new companion, Zhu Bajie, have overcome numerous obstacles on their journey to the West, from monster kings to mountain bandits to sea dragons. Now, the three companions face three very different trials that will test their fidelity, their compassion, and their individual impulses. Failure will doom the journey; success will make them stronger, and give them one final, invaluable companion. The travelers continue west until they come upon an impossibly wide and impassible river whose water will not allow even a flower to float. There they are met by Sha Wu Jing, a sea monster who protects the river and eats any who dares to cross. Wu Kong determines that they must defeat the monster if they are to cross the river successfully. He and Bajie engage the creature three times; three times they fail. At the peak of frustration, Wu Kong decides to ask the Goddess of Mercy for help. She tells Wu Kong that the sea creature has been waiting for them, and will join them on their journey; it turns out that Sha Wu Jing, like Wu Kong and Bajie, once held an official position in the heavens but was expelled for angering the Jade Emperor.