Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 33 Jiangyin Demon Mansion
Fifty li outside Jiangyin City.

The Wuling Mountains, like a lurking behemoth, lie dormant in the eastern suburbs.

The foot of the mountain was shrouded in a white mist, with the gnarled branches of ancient cypress trees piercing through the thick fog, and a bone-chilling cold rising from the muddy swamps piled with decaying leaves.

Even experienced hunters from Jiangyin County dared not venture deep into this area.

Beneath the precipitous cliff, rarely visited by humans, lies a deep, mysterious pool.

A thin mist of ice crystals, which has never dissipated for millennia, floats on the surface of the water. The dark pool is unfathomably deep, and more than ten silver scales swim underwater, their scales refracting a ghostly blue light.

At the bottom of the pool, where the undercurrents surge.

A sunken ship with its keel intertwined, its tattered sails a stark white, and bronze war drums hanging from its eaves.

This is the wreckage of a ship that sank in the previous dynasty, and now it has become an underwater cave dwelling of a fish demon.

Outside the cave, an array of algae was arranged, with countless small fish and shrimp swimming in and out.

"Gululu~!"

Two fish demons, each about ten feet long, were hiding there, sitting cross-legged in the cabin's cultivation room, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, their breath creating fine bubbles.

They had all just grown into half-human shapes. Although they had grown hands and feet, they still had fish heads and tails, and their bodies were covered in fish scales.

A fish demon with long whiskers and newly grown five fingers was proudly twirling the whiskers by its gills. Its scales opened and closed with its breath, and a translucent webbed membrane was stuck to its tailbone, making it look like a catfish spirit.

The fish demon had black skin, with scales standing on end on its neck, rough hands, and its dark red tail could shake off centuries-old snail shells as it slapped its tail. It seemed to be a black fish spirit.

"塡——"

As soon as the Confucian Temple resounded, a surge of righteous energy swept through the water, and the broken drum at the bow of the boat suddenly emitted a piercing sound.

The earthquake caused the sunken ship and the demon's abode to tremble violently.

The sound of the bell made their scalps tingle and their ears ring; they looked at each other in fear.

"Why is the bell at the Confucian Temple ringing?"

The long-bearded fish demon sat cross-legged and asked in fear.

"If you don't know, how would I know?!"

The black-skinned fish demon glared at it angrily.

"wrong!
I suddenly realized that today is the day of the Jiangyin County Examination, which may be related to this matter.

Before the long-whiskered fish demon could finish speaking,

The second blast of the Confucian temple bell rang out again, causing scorched black blood to spill from its ears.

"You bastard!

This damned Zhong Bo is a nemesis of us aquatic demons!

"Oh no, the third shot is coming!"

The black-skinned fish demon roared, waking his companion. The two demon cores simultaneously spewed out dark demonic energy, bursting forth with blood-red light and forming a blood aura to fully protect against the shockwave.

"塡——"

When the sound of the Confucian Temple echoed three times to the bottom of the water, the keel of the sunken ship emitted a tooth-grinding creak, and almost half of it collapsed from the shock.

The two demons spat out black blood again.

The long-bearded fish demon suddenly recalled the scene of listening to the sermon at Niuzhu Palace back then—in the Niuzhu Palace demon mansion, which was located at the confluence of the great river and the dragon vein, the moonlight shone through the draped silk curtains of Lady Qingyao, setting up a demonic ritual and telling the secrets of the human race.

"I understand!
Several years ago, I went to Niuzhu Palace to hear Lady Qingyao teach me the way of demon cultivation.

She once mentioned, "Three resounding sounds from the Confucian Temple, and literature flows from the county. The sage judges even the youngest students, his eyes holding the wisdom of spring and autumn. The aquatic creatures must not provoke him."

The Jiangyin County Examination may have produced a prodigy who could judge the future!
This top-ranking scholar is far more formidable than any ordinary top-ranking scholar! If he grows up and becomes a successful candidate in the provincial or imperial examinations, he will be a calamity for the Jiangyin demon race.”

The long-whiskered fish demon groaned and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Finally remembering something, its expression changed drastically in horror.

However, these two fish demons had only just begun to cultivate a semblance of human form, and their appearance had not even fully changed yet.

Among the demons in Jiangyin County, they were at the lowest level of "demon people"—equivalent to a student in the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Their strength and status among the demon race are quite low.

Within the strict hierarchy of the Jiangyin water system's demon race,
Only those who can solidify into a complete human form are "demon soldiers," "demon generals" who govern the water palace, not to mention Lady Qingyao, the "demon commander" who rules the entire Jiangyin River system.

"This matter must be made known to Lady Qingyao of Niuzhu Palace! We must eliminate this great calamity while this Holy Judgment Scholar is still young!"

The black-skinned fish demon's fangs nearly crushed the bloody reverse scale.

They emerged from the sunken ship's demonic abode, leaped into the icy pool, flicked their tails, and swiftly swam along the Yin Ruins' waterways towards the Jiangyin Sluice Gate—the sluice gate leading into the Yangtze River, connecting the three rivers to the four seas. "Beyond the sluice gate lies Lady Qingyao's territory."

Two hours later,

The two fish demons swam to a section of the Yangtze River, a place full of reefs and with swift currents—named Niuzhuji!

Boats often capsize here, causing boatmen to turn pale at the sight of them.

The famous Niuzhu Palace, belonging to the Jiangyin Water Demon Clan, is located here.

Numerous demons from within a thousand miles come and go in this Niuzhu Palace, listening to the sermons of their senior demons or trading for what they need.

Nine pillars stand amidst the turbulent currents of Niuzhuji.

Just as the two fish demons approached the entrance to the whirlpool, four masked demon soldiers suddenly stepped out from the water curtain.

These elite aquatic demon soldiers, who had cultivated to complete human form, were clad in scale armor, and their twelve-foot-long blood coral halberds were already pressed against the throats of the two demons.

"Anyone entering Niuzhu Palace must pay a boat tax!"

The leader of the demon soldiers shouted.

"This humble demon requests an audience with Madam Qingyao!"

The black fish spirit hurriedly spat out a luminous pearl hidden in its intestines, which it had saved up for a year as an offering.

The two fish demons, blindfolded, were led by demon soldiers to the depths of Niuzhu Palace.

After swimming for an unknown amount of time, their blindfolds were removed, and they were surprised to find themselves in a hidden cave, kneeling before the steps of a palace made up of the keels of hundreds of sunken ships.

Twelve demon generals wearing bronze Nuo masks stood on both sides, each holding a jade box containing delicacies.

The air in the Water Palace was filled with the scent of ambergris.

Lady Qingyao was leaning back on the tridacna shell throne, surrounded by draped silk curtains that shimmered with moonlight.

What business do you have with me?

Inside the gauze curtains, her black hair was adorned with coral hairpins, making her look like a beautiful young woman of sixteen. With a light touch of her bare feet, a bewitching aura rippled through the air.

"Madam Qingyao, this humble demon has discovered that a Saintly Judgment Scholar has been born in Jiangyin County, which may become a great threat to my Jiangyin Water Demon Clan! Please make a judgment, Madam!"

The long-whiskered fish demon trembled and bowed its head to report.

"Oh~!"

Madam Qingyao's eyebrows twitched slightly as she toyed with a blood-stained inkstone. Her lips parted slightly as she said, "A disciple of the Holy Trial? That's quite rare. I've never seen one before!"

"Alright! I understand. You all return to Jiangyin and continue to keep an eye on things. Report back if there's any movement!"

The lady waved her hand lazily and, with a few words, ordered the demon soldiers to send them back.

What a fuss! A mere student has frightened them like this!
Even if he is a Saintly Judgment Novice, he is still a novice. At most, he can kill a few demon civilians and demon soldiers. How much of a ripple can he make?
To her, the message they conveyed was nothing more than the lamentations of two lowly demons and ants—if the young scholar truly intended to slay demons, he would surely use such low-level fish demons as a testing ground first.

It hasn't reached the point of threatening her yet.

As for how many years later this person was promoted to the level of Juren and Jinshi, and how he dominated the world, he had long since left Jiangyin Prefecture and gone to the prefectures and capitals of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Even if the sky falls, the Great Demon King will hold it up. What does it have to do with Madam Qingyao of the Jiangyin Water Mansion?
Jiangyin County was a prosperous and important place for the human race. You could easily meet a scholar, a jinshi, or even a Hanlin scholar who had returned to their hometown from the imperial court to live in seclusion on the street. It was hardly a place for the demon race to run rampant.

She dared not provoke the human race.

These naive little demons certainly don't know that the reason they can live in Jiangyin County is to serve as whetstones for newly promoted students to test their skills!
The reason why her Niuzhu Palace has survived to this day at the bottom of the Yangtze River is that she has kept to herself and never approached Jiangyin County.

"Yes!"

The two fish demons looked at each other, speechless with grief.

Niuzhu Palace is located in the middle of the Yangtze River, hundreds of miles away from Jiangyin County, on the very edge of the county. The sound of the Confucian temple bell is very faint, so it naturally does not pose a threat.

Every year, the students of Jiangyin are tasked with slaying demons as part of their academic evaluation.

However, the two demons lived in the Thousand-Foot Cold Pool at the foot of Wuling Mountain, fifty miles east of Jiangyin City. They were constantly being targeted by human students who might come looking for them, so they were naturally filled with fear.

The two fish demons were blindfolded and escorted out of Niuzhu Palace. After swimming for two hours, they returned to the Thousand-Foot Cold Pool and looked at the sunken ship demon palace, which was almost half collapsed.

They trembled and stared at each other in despair.

Today, I suddenly realized that I, a little demon who has just taken shape, am clearly a pawn of Lady Qingyao, cannon fodder sent to Niuzhu Palace in advance.
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(End of this chapter)