Chapter 1006: Changes Arise

Not long after Ji Yuan reached the mountaintop, the Xiezhi scroll flew out from his sleeve, transforming into its human form and standing beside Ji Yuan. Meanwhile, the surrounding mist gathered and slowly solidified into a physical body, silently taking on Qin Zizhou's appearance. Huang Xingye, still recovering his vital energy, did not emerge.

"Have you sensed anything?" Ji Yuan asked, his gaze fixed on Xiezhi, who squinted at the additional sun in the sky, then looked down at his own hands.

"My spiritual essence is much more active..." Xiezhi seemed to have removed some concealment spell, as black smoke began to emanate from his body, clearly revealing his exchange of vital energy with the outside world to Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou. Compared to before, the demonic energy swirling around Xiezhi's body was now much more turbulent.

Qin Zizhou frowned, looking at the sun in the south. "This sun likely bodes ill." He rubbed his hands, his spiritual eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at the sun, and murmured with a hint of resignation. "This is the evil star... It seems this Golden Crow is indeed an adversary."

Xiezhi let out a cold laugh. "Hmph, what's coming will come."

Qin Zizhou's expression grew more solemn, his gaze fixed on the distant second sun. "This is earlier than I expected. The great sun sears the heart, yet it also stirs up more vital energy from heaven and earth. The already unstable destinies of the world are now restless. Before long, peace will likely be hard to find in the realm!"

Ji Yuan had regained his composure. "Lord Qin, there's no need to worry. As Xiezhi said, what's coming will come. The power of this evil sun is certainly not inexhaustible; otherwise, wouldn't it have scorched everything centuries ago? The world is vast. Should chaos truly erupt, all parties will have their own ways to respond. The best approach is to adapt to any situation without changing one's fundamental stance."

Months later, on a sandy seabed in the East Sea, General Ju Jing, who had been sound asleep, suddenly began to toss and turn.

"Hiss... Ugh... Why do I feel so uncomfortable!"

As a diligent cultivating whale who had received numerous benefits under the Ying family, General Ju Jing now possessed an astonishing physique. Even an ordinary Flood Dragon would appear like a small snake before him. Feeling restless due to his discomfort, General Ju Jing thrashed from side to side, stirring up the seabed and muddling the seawater. All the surrounding fish, shrimp, and shellfish scattered in fright.

"Ugh!" Opening his eyes, General Ju Jing began to swim away from the sandy bed. He felt incredibly agitated and also a little hungry.

Mooooan. After letting out a cry, General Ju Jing swam forward, opening his enormous mouth and drawing in the boundless seawater around him. Large and small fish, shrimp, and crabs alike were all swept away by the terrifying current and pulled into his mouth.

Gulp. He took a huge mouthful; the amount was perhaps more than an ordinary fishing boat could catch in a year. The seawater and mud had already been filtered out, but usually, after such a meal, General Ju Jing wouldn't feel hungry for years. Yet today, he still felt a bit peckish.

'Strange, it doesn't seem to fill me up? This isn't normal. Am I showing signs of qi deviation?' General Ju Jing was no unworldly wild demon. He considered himself someone who had met many important figures and knew many profound terms. The thought of qi deviation made him shiver instantly.

'No, I must ask the Lord's mother, or even better, the Empress herself!'

General Ju Jing acted immediately on his thought. He propelled himself through the water with his massive body. Whether he had been in seclusion or simply sleeping, he hadn't moved for several years. Now, he pushed aside waves as he advanced, then slowly surfaced. The sunlight was perfect, warming his massive whale back, which General Ju Jing found immensely comfortable. He couldn't help but surface more of his body, even rolling onto his back, belly-up, floating idly and occasionally turning over.

Suddenly, the seawater churned violently around General Ju Jing. He abruptly breached, standing upright on the surface, his tail touching the water, like a mountain rising from an oceanic vortex.

"Two... two suns?"

General Ju Jing then plunged "boom!" into the sea, creating waves dozens of feet high. He thrashed violently underwater, and after seemingly "washing his eyes," he surfaced again to look at the sky. It was afternoon. One sun was in its normal position, setting in the west, while the other was located far to the south, surrounded by a halo, making it appear somewhat blurrier.

This isn't good, not good at all. I need to get to the Dragon Palace quickly!

Although the sunlight felt pleasantly tingly and warm, General Ju Jing instinctively sensed something was amiss. He hastily propelled himself through the water, following a familiar ocean current towards the Tongtian River, while also calculating the time. Calculating the time, it should be nearing the end of this year's Wilderness Tides. The Dragon Lord and Empress Ying were likely about to return or were already on their way. Every year, they would stay in the Tongtian River for a few months, awaiting the second great tide of the following year. Most other dragons did the same.

This wasn't because dragons were homebodies who disliked trouble. Rather, each Wilderness Tide signified a significant gathering of vital energy from all the waters of the world. Various dragon clans and other aquatic beings needed to "herd the tide" of water vitality from different locations into the East Sea, where they would merge with the great ocean currents and jointly cast spells to lead the great tide. The aquatic beings from farther away suffered more, with some barely getting a few days of rest, spending the entire year traveling.

General Ju Jing's current body was too enormous. Even in the Tongtian River, some sections were not deep or wide enough. If he swam through, he could easily expose himself and frighten the riverside inhabitants. That's why he usually avoided the Dragon Palace. This time, however, he felt he had to go, at most using an illusion spell in certain areas.

Back then, General Ju Jing could carry Ji Yuan and the Dragon Girl on long journeys, his speed through water being extraordinary. After two days of swimming, he could already see the coastline, and his pace naturally slowed down as he approached. The mouth of the Tongtian River was easy to find; General Ju Jing could locate it with his eyes closed. So, he headed directly there. The fishing villages by the sea were also familiar to him. From underwater, he saw fishing boats returning to port in the distance.

"Ah—" "What was that?"

"Bang... rumble..."

Chaos erupted in the distance. General Ju Jing, who was about to enter the Tongtian River, instinctively turned towards the commotion. He suddenly realized that the fishing boat he had just seen had been overturned. Numerous pieces of broken wood churned in the waves, blood stained the water, and several enormous, strange fish were ramming the boat.

What were those things? Where did they come from? General Ju Jing was first startled, then erupted in fury. "How dare these audacious demons harm people at the mouth of the Tongtian River—" His roar echoed into the distance. A surge of water rose on the sea surface, continuously pushing towards the overturned fishing boat, as his dark whale back slowly emerged...

"Thump..." "Thump..." "Thump..." General Ju Jing, controlling the water at high speed, directly crashed into the strange fish, knocking a total of four large ones out of the water.

"Roar—" "Uwaaah—" As these strange fish were knocked out of the water, some let out bizarre wails, which greatly annoyed General Ju Jing. He promptly opened his mouth towards the airborne fish and swallowed them whole.

On the surface, some fishermen were still struggling, some clinging to planks, others swimming desperately. But their eyes were fixed on the enormous General Ju Jing, filled with terror.

"I am General Ju Jing, under the Dragon Palace, not a harmful demon! You need not fear. I have subdued the troublemaking fiends. Farewell!"

With that, General Ju Jing submerged again, creating a massive wave. This wave crashed over the terrified, struggling fishermen, sweeping them away before they could react. They thought their lives were forfeit, but instead, they found themselves washed ashore by the wave.

General Ju Jing was extremely surprised that demons dared to harm people here. As he swam past the mouth of the Tongtian River, he noticed a scholar from the village rushing out, clutching a book. A gentle breeze accompanied him, and even from a distance, General Ju Jing had a clear impression of him.

'A literary Confucian scholar.'

The scholar reached the seaside and, together with the villagers on shore, helped the distressed crewmen. Then he looked towards the mouth of the Tongtian River and bowed in greeting. This made General Ju Jing feel instantly pleased, and his previous agitation lessened.

'Heh, as expected of me, General Ju Jing! I'm truly revered by everyone now!'

In his excellent mood, General Ju Jing's speed increased even further. Half an hour later, as he swam up the Tongtian River towards the interior of Da Zhen, General Ju Jing suddenly caught a whiff of hot rust. The light filtering down from the surface above also dimmed. Looking up, he saw patches of shadows sweeping across the deep surface of the Tongtian River.

These were ships, very large ships!

'This is...'

On the surface of the Tongtian River, a fleet of large war junks sailed with the current. Their hulls were extremely robust, and their sails faintly shimmered with talismanic glow. Each ship carried numerous soldiers, all holding weapons with solemn expressions. Besides the soldiers on deck, many more were resting inside the cabins, their weapons neatly arranged in designated secured spots. Several flags were hoisted on the ships. The most prominent were two: one bearing the words "Da Zhen Navy," and the other displaying the character "Li."

This naval force consisted of a hundred large war junks and several hundred medium-sized ones. Each vessel was the painstaking work of Da Zhen's military engineers and the increasingly renowned mechanist scholars of the Mohist school; they were incomparably superior to the ordinary ships of years past. This single fleet alone represented almost half of Da Zhen's elite navy, truly the elite of the elite.

At the center of the formation, on the flagship, a tall, fully armored naval officer sat on the platform of the highest turret. Behind him, on a weapon rack, rested a heavy guandao and an iron-core bow with pointed, tasseled ends. Several solemn personal guards stood holding weapons or with bows and arrows slung over their backs. Nearby flags fluttered in the wind. The only one whose demeanor slightly contrasted with the serious atmosphere was an immortal master sitting casually, sipping tea.

"Reporting, General! The compass shows a slight anomaly; something unusual must be passing underwater!" a soldier from one end of the deck rushed to the base of the turret, reporting loudly.

General Li looked at the immortal master who had spoken. The latter pondered for a moment and said, "The great tide is about to end. I suppose it's the aquatic creatures returning to the river."

"Immortal Master, with all due respect, if it were creatures returning after the tide, how could the disturbance be so small?"

The immortal master chuckled. "General Li, it is not convenient for us to interfere with matters in the water. Even if something truly went wrong, the Dragon Clan would not ignore it. This is, after all, the Tongtian River."

As if tacitly agreeing, the officer said no more, turning his head to look at the riverbank in the distance. He saw the people of Da Zhen also gazing at the fleet. He slowly closed his eyes to rest.

"Our current expedition represents the prestige of Da Zhen. Even when facing demons and monsters, we must fight to the death on the battlefield. I hope for your continued assistance, Immortal Master!"

"General Li, you overstate it. We will naturally do our best!"

"Hm!" General Li grunted in acknowledgment and said no more.

The war junks sailed remarkably fast and were very agile. Hundreds of large ships moved swiftly yet orderly through the Tongtian River. This magnificent spectacle naturally drew the attention of the riverside populace, and many would rush to the riverbanks to watch the fleet pass by.

In a riverside settlement, many people were currently running around, spreading the news. "Hey, stop hoeing! Come with me to the riverbank?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Oh, there are so many war junks, huge war junks! It's our Da Zhen Navy! It's truly a thousand sails passing by, hurry and see!"

"Huh? Oh, oh, oh, let's go, let's go!"

The farmers by the fields dropped their hoes one after another and hastily ran together towards the riverbank. By the time they arrived, the riverbank was already crowded with people.

"This... this is our Da Zhen Navy!"

"How magnificent!" "Look at those soldiers, they're like iron!"

"These ships are so fast! Nobody's rowing them, why are they so quick?" Some people tried to run alongside the ships but realized they couldn't keep up. Fishermen's boats and wooden skiffs along the bank were even pulled straight to the shore by the powerful currents generated by the large vessels.

"Where are they going?" Someone in the crowd asked. A middle-aged Confucian scholar holding a scroll frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and replied, "I heard the day before yesterday that a large number of demons and monsters have caused chaos in Qiliang. Although immortals have intervened, the situation seems very troublesome, with some matters even tying the immortals' hands. Qiliang then sought aid from our Da Zhen. This naval fleet is likely heading north by sea!"