Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 258 - Black Dragon Fish (1)

After the decision to go to Yue Mountain was made, the entire Heishi City became busy.

Although this trip seemed simple in words, in reality, it required surviving in the cracks between the Demon Extermination Army and Gui Yansheng, which was not an easy task. Those who would accompany Zanxing had to be loyal talents who excelled in all aspects of virtue, wisdom, physical strength, and beauty. Most of the former subordinates that the previous Demon King Gui Diaotang relied on were annihilated by the sects during the war between humans and demons. The remaining capable ones died at the hands of the rampaging Gui Yansheng two years ago. As a result, those left were a bunch of misfits… no, they were weak remnants. In such a large Heishi City, selecting a hundred elite soldiers was even more challenging than the Taiyan Sect’s examination.

Xiao Shuang tirelessly verified the list of demons traveling with Zanxing again and again: “Your Highness, these candidates have all been screened by Her Majesty the Demon Queen. For this accompanying demon army, cultivation and intelligence are secondary, the most important quality is loyalty. It’s Your Highness’ first time leading a group out of the Demon Realm. If anyone were to shoot arrows from behind…” He didn’t finish the sentence.

Although most people in the Demon Realm belonged to Bu Jiang’s faction, there were a few extremists willing to support Gui Yansheng in dominating the Three Realms and securing the position of the supreme ruler of the Demon Realm. If one of these extremists mixed in, it would be disastrous if they stabbed Zanxing in the back at a critical moment.

Zanxing was packing things into a Qiankun Bag, responding with “Hmm, hmm, ah, ah” while doing so.

Disease Demon approached, and before Zanxing could speak, the young man in green teared up, crying pitifully: “Your Highness, please take care of your health. I’ve heard that Yue Mountain is a sinister place… If it weren’t for my poor health, I would definitely accompany Your Highness.” He trembled as he took out a talisman from his chest: “This is a talisman my mother gave me, I give it to Your Highness for your protection.”

Zanxing accepted the small white brocade pouch with ‘Safety’ embroidered in red silk thread and smiled: “Thank you.” She thought to herself, no thanks. If Disease Demon really came along, she would have to clean up the blood he coughed up all the way, and they wouldn’t reach Yue Mountain even in ten years.

“Your Highness,” Shu Nu handed over a long thread of concentric knots, “I cut a lock of my hair to weave this love knot.” She smiled shyly: “This is a token of my affection, please accept it, Your Highness.”

Zanxing: “…” She felt a sense of guilt.

The Qiankun Bag was not fully packed yet, and a red basket lay to the side. The fire essence in the Fire Basket had burned out in the Abyss of Extreme Ice, leaving it empty. Zanxing was still considering whether to leave the basket in the Chaos Hall when Lantern Ghost picked it up and placed three ghost lamps inside. His voice was sweet and sticky as he said: “Your Highness, without me lighting the way for you on this trip, the night journey might be a bit dark. My ghost lamps do not go out at night. With them, you won’t be afraid of the dark.”

It seemed like lighting such a ghostly flame in the middle of the night would be even scarier, but Zanxing still put the Fire Basket filled with ghost lamps into the Qiankun Bag: “Thank you, I really need this.”

The Wine Demon brought a jar of fine wine, the Water Lord placed a water-repelling pearl in Zanxing’s hand, and General Lan, in a curious gesture, gifted Zanxing a noose. Although the implication was less than ideal, Zanxing still accepted it and put everything into the Qiankun Bag.

The group, repeatedly reminding her to be cautious, escorted Zanxing to the gate of Heishi City. Zanxing almost felt a strange sense of an emperor setting out on an expedition, with the entire court and harem sending her off.

Bu Jiang said, “Let’s go,” leading Zanxing onto the riverbank embankment.

In the mountainous area at the gate of Heishi City, a wide river as vast as the sea surrounded the entire city. The current was swift as arrows, and the river water was as dark as the night. Huge waves crashed from afar, slamming against the riverbank at the city gate. The splashing water landed on the black stones, spreading a sense of decay and corruption.

It was unsurprising that anyone who passed through here would instantly be eroded to a skeleton by the river water.

Bu Jiang opened his palm, revealing a black jar. When she opened the lid, a rich spiritual energy immediately emanated from it.

“Grab a handful of what’s inside and throw it into the river,” Bu Jiang instructed Zanxing.

Following the instruction, Zanxing grabbed a large handful of black pellets from the jar. These pellets looked similar to the elixirs from the sect, except they were imbued with demonic power instead of spiritual energy.

“What is this…” Zanxing asked while scattering the pellets into the Mingming River.

“Just feed,” Bu Jiang replied.

Feed?

Before Zanxing could ask more, the rushing river began to change. A massive vortex suddenly appeared in the black river, causing the water to surge as high as city walls. The vortex grew larger and deeper, as if a giant beast were about to emerge from it. Mimi seemed to sense something, pacing uneasily around Zanxing, crouching and staring at the river below.

Crash—

From the dark river bottom, a massive black shadow suddenly broke through the surface. It leaped into the air and quickly plunged back into the water, causing waves to surge like a storm, instantly drenching everyone on the bank. Zanxing could only vaguely see a fish tail as vast as a giant palace and a pair of eyes as large as signboards.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t speak for a moment.

Oh no, her fear of giant creatures had been triggered.

“This is the Black Dragon Fish,” Bu Jiang explained as she put away the jar. “When I brought you back to Heishi City earlier, we didn’t use the dragon fish for convenience. But now, with more people, it’s faster to travel on the dragon fish.” She looked at the accompanying demons, “Get on.”

The Black Dragon Fish swam to the edge of the Mingming River embankment. Knowing its own hideous appearance, it quietly submerged its head underwater, leaving only its mountain-like back exposed. The fish’s back was wide and ridged like a rising mountain range, and the demons climbed up one by one, finding places to settle. Xiao Shuang walked beside Zanxing, “Your Highness, please.”

Zanxing glanced at Bu Jiang, who gave her a slight nod. Without saying more, Zanxing climbed onto the fish, holding Mimi.

Xiao Shuang followed her up.

The black waves lapped against the fish’s body as it slowly moved its dorsal fin, like a massive black ship sailing towards the sky, carrying everyone to the distance.

Bu Jiang’s figure gradually became a small, indistinct red dot, disappearing along with Heishi City from everyone’s sight.

The Mingming River—or rather, it looked more like a vast black ocean—stretched endlessly, with even the sky above stained a hazy gray by the black waters. It appeared dark and cold, like an old, dim dream.

Only the giant black fish beneath them moved with life in this vast ocean.

Zanxing leaned against the fish’s back, sitting on its spine. Mimi, very curious about the dragon fish, repeatedly tried to scratch its back with its claws, but Zanxing stopped her. If anything went wrong and the fish capsized, they wouldn’t make it out of the Demon Realm to Yue Mountain, they’d all be doomed here, which would be a real joke.

Zanxing asked Xiao Shuang beside her, “Is this dragon fish always so docile? Just a bit of feed as a toll to cross the river. It’s so huge, what if it attacks Heishi City? And what if it flips us over halfway through?”

Xiao Shuang was staring at the rushing river in a daze but laughed when he heard Zanxing’s words, “Your Highness need not worry; the dragon fish is gentle by nature and never harms anyone.”

“I understand that, but it’s so huge…”

“Legend has it that there is a Dragon Gate on an ancient immortal mountain, and carp that leap over the Dragon Gate can transform into dragons.” Xiao Shuang thought for a moment and continued, “Long ago, at the dawn of the demon race, this Black Dragon Fish resided in the Mingming River. Several early Demon Lords attempted to tame the Black Dragon Fish as a spirit beast but failed. Later, one Demon Lord accidentally attracted the fish by throwing magic pills into the river. Since then, the Black Dragon Fish has become the guardian general of Heishi City. During the great war between humans and demons, it was the dragon fish that transported batches of demons out of Heishi City to fight.”

Zanxing was surprised, “So this Black Dragon Fish must have a very long lifespan?”

“Probably,” Xiao Shuang smiled. “It’s gentle and never harms anyone. Although its appearance is a bit ugly, it has never flipped anyone over midway.”

Zanxing thought, a carp that could leap over the Dragon Gate was truly a lucky carp with great fortune. Unfortunately, it looked a bit scary. The dragon fish probably knew it was not very good-looking, so it rarely surfaced, silently and solitarily swimming around, which seemed a bit pitiful.

When she returned to Heishi City, she must prepare more magic pills to feed it, Zanxing thought.

The Mingming Ocean seemed endless, as if everything had been submerged. On the vast waters, only the giant black fish moved slowly, like a small mountain. At first, the accompanying demons chatted and joked, but gradually, they fell silent. Eventually, no one spoke anymore, only the black torrents surged endlessly, rushing from the horizon.

The Black Dragon Fish swam for ten days straight.

After ten days, a long shore appeared in the vast ocean, breaking the monotonous, gloomy landscape.

A demon, rejuvenated, pointed to the distance and exclaimed, “We’ve arrived! We’ve reached Duzhou!”

The demons sitting on the fish’s back suddenly became excited.

Before the great war between humans and demons, demons often rode the dragon fish to Duzhou for training. After the war, with the demon king’s fall and the demon realm’s dwindling spiritual energy, the cultivation world rose to prominence. The remaining demons in Duzhou were almost completely eradicated, with the survivors retreating to Heishi City, relying on the Mingming River’s protection to avoid being found by the cultivation world.

It had been over twenty years since the demons set foot in Duzhou.

Demons naturally love excitement, and the human world, with its vast splendor, was far more captivating than Heishi City. Now, returning to their old territory, some sentimental demons had already started to wipe away tears.

As the dragon fish swam to the shore, Zanxing told everyone, “Disembark.”

The demons got off the fish one by one, with Zanxing being the last. Once everyone was ashore, Zanxing turned back, patted the exposed fin of the Black Dragon Fish, and said sincerely, “Thank you.”

The dragon fish buried its head deeper, slightly wiggled its massive tail, then turned and disappeared into the black ocean.

Xiao Shuang pulled out a map from his chest, looked at the blue sky completely different from that of Heishi City, and said, “Let’s move out.”