When Zhu Ziyang and his group reappeared in the outer sea of the Douluo Continent, it was exactly one year after they had left the Douluo Continent.
During this year, they spent nearly ten months drifting at sea, about a month on the Martial Soul Continent, and about a month on various islands they encountered along the way. All in all, it was exactly one year.
Zhu Ziyang, Qian Lingyi, and Jiang Nannan successively celebrated their nineteenth birthdays at sea, while Zhang Lexuan also celebrated her twenty-ninth birthday, about to enter the most charming period of her life.
The Moon God Shuttle sailed from the outer sea of the Douluo Continent into the waters where the Yue Nan Islands were located, but it did not immediately head towards the Yue Nan Islands; instead, it paused on the surface of the sea.
"Sister Lexuan, Nannan, let's go directly to complete your seventh trial," Zhu Ziyang said. "After we finish, we can return to the Yue Nan Islands, which will save you another trip."
"Okay, okay!" Jiang Nannan replied with a smile.
"Then I'll lead the way!" Zhang Lexuan also smiled and walked into the cockpit, controlling the Moon God Shuttle to head towards the area where the Yue Nan Islands waters met the western outer sea of the Douluo Continent.
The habitat of the Silver Moon Spirit Fish clan was located at the junction of the Douluo Continent's inner and outer seas. Guided by Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan, the Moon God Shuttle quickly entered the territory of the Silver Moon Spirit Fish and was surrounded by a group of Silver Moon Spirit Fish.
Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan immediately flew out of the Moon God Shuttle and displayed the Silver Moon Goddess's Trial Light to these Silver Moon Spirit Fish. Seeing this, the Spirit Fish immediately abandoned their encirclement of the Moon God Shuttle and swam away in all directions, leaving only one Silver Moon Spirit Fish with a cultivation exceeding ninety thousand years.
This Silver Moon Spirit Fish leaped out of the water, flipped once in the air, and then fell back into the water. This action greatly puzzled Zhu Ziyang and Qian Lingyi, but Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan immediately understood. The two returned to the Moon God Shuttle and said to Zhu Ziyang and Qian Lingyi: "Brother, this Spirit Fish wants us to follow it; it will take us to see the Spirit Fish King."
"So that's it!" Zhu Ziyang suddenly understood and then said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The four rode the Moon God Shuttle, following the ninety-thousand-year-old Silver Moon Spirit Fish, into the depths of the Spirit Fish clan, where they met a Spirit Fish that was larger and more magnificent than all the other Silver Moon Spirit Fish. Its cultivation was close to or exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand years, and its scales had all turned crescent-shaped, constantly flashing with silver brilliance.
Undoubtedly, this was the king of the Silver Moon Spirit Fish clan, the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King.
"Are you envoys of the Silver Moon?" The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King spoke, her voice filled with deep fatigue and hope. "Are you here to help us resist the Demon Whale clan?"
"She and I are indeed envoys of the Silver Moon, and these two are our companions," Jiang Nannan stepped forward and replied. "Spirit Fish King, I'm sure you've learned about the content of my trial from the moon."
"Ah! You are the successor of the Silver Moon! Silver Moon Spirit Fish, Shuiyue, greets the Goddess!" The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King's eyes showed surprise and excitement when she saw Jiang Nannan, and she immediately said, "I know the content of your trial, but at the moment, I cannot cooperate with your trial because my clan is suffering from the encroachment of the Demon Whale clan. If you can help my clan overcome this difficulty, then no trial is needed; I will directly submit to you!"
"Yes, that is precisely the purpose of our trip!" Jiang Nannan immediately agreed upon hearing the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King's words.
"That's wonderful! I will now explain the difficulties my clan is facing to you and your companions!" The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King's voice was filled with excitement and thrill. In her opinion, with the help of a god, those Demon Whales that were encroaching on her clan's territory and devouring her kin would undoubtedly be annihilated!
The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King introduced the problems they faced to Zhu Ziyang and the other three.
It turned out that several hundred years ago, the Silver Moon Spirit Fish clan encountered this problem: a group of Demon Whales, whose origin was unknown, targeted them. The number of these Demon Whales was not large, and compared to the Silver Moon Spirit Fish clan, they had no advantage whatsoever.
However, although this group of Demon Whales numbered less than twenty, each of them had a cultivation exceeding ten thousand years. Furthermore, whales are inherently the dragon race among sea Spirit Beasts, so the Silver Moon Spirit Fish clan was no match for this group of Demon Whales. They had no choice but to continuously shrink their territory, losing all their outer sea territories, and now even their inner sea territories were becoming precarious.
"Those hateful Demon Whales treat my kin as food, constantly invading our territory and devouring my people. Who knows how many young ones became the souls of those damned Demon Whales before they could even enjoy the beauty of life!" The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King said through gritted teeth.
"With so many of your clan members, can't you defeat a few Demon Whales?" Zhu Ziyang asked, frowning.
"Although our Silver Moon Spirit Fish are numerous, our combat strength is very weak. Even a ten-thousand-year-cultivation Spirit Fish can only compare to a one-thousand-year Demon Whale in combat ability, so..." The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King's tone was full of helplessness as she spoke.
She didn't finish, but Zhu Ziyang and the other three all understood her meaning. Asking ordinary Silver Moon Spirit Fish to contend with powerful Demon Whales was indeed a bit unreasonable.
"What specific species are those Demon Whales?" Zhang Lexuan inquired. "Are they Evil Orcas?"
There weren't many Demon Whales in the Douluo Continent's waters. The only two well-known types were the Deep Sea Demon Whale and the Evil Orca. Among them, Deep Sea Demon Whales were rare and solitary Spirit Beasts, while Evil Orcas were gregarious Spirit Beasts. That's why Zhang Lexuan guessed that the Demon Whales harassing the Silver Moon Spirit Fish clan were Evil Orcas.
"There are a few Evil Orcas, a few Demon Horned Toothed Whales, a few Deep Blue Gray Demon Whales, and also..." The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King enumerated them.
"Stop, stop!" Zhu Ziyang interrupted her, his expression grave, and said, "Do you mean that the Demon Whale group harassing you is composed of multiple species of Demon Whales? Are you sure they are working together?"
"I'm sure!" The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King's tone was very firm as she said, "Although I'm also very surprised why these different species of Demon Whales would unite, they are indeed working together!"
"It seems there's a big guy among these Demon Whale species; otherwise, it would be impossible to simultaneously command so many different types of Demon Whales!" Zhu Ziyang's face showed solemnity as he said, "It seems we need to plan this carefully."
"Mm! Ziyang is right!" Zhang Lexuan agreed.
"Then, Shuiyue, let's discuss a countermeasure, and then we'll tell you how to solve this problem!" Jiang Nannan said to the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King.
"Please!" The Silver Moon Spirit Fish King naturally had no objections; she respectfully said.
The four returned to the Moon God Shuttle and began to discuss countermeasures, combining the information provided by the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King. Zhu Ziyang said, "Any ideas? Let's hear them!"
"I," Jiang Nannan raised her hand to speak, saying, "I want to know if we are confident in dealing with those Demon Whales? They sound very troublesome!"
"Hehe! As long as there isn't a million-year Spirit Beast like the Deep Sea Demon Whale King among that group of Demon Whales, then your brother here can handle it!" Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, then gently pinched Jiang Nannan's cheek as punishment for her lack of trust.
"I want to know, if we resolve the issue with that group of Demon Whales, will my trial be considered complete?" Zhang Lexuan said, a hint of thought in her voice.
"Hmm! That is a good question; we can try it then," Zhu Ziyang said. "If we kill or drive away all those Demon Whales, and Sister Lexuan's trial isn't considered complete, then we'll just have to spend more time at sea."
"So, are we going to take the initiative, or are we going to wait for the enemy to come to us?" Qian Lingyi said.
"Of course, we're taking the initiative!" Zhu Ziyang revealed a calm and confident smile and said, "I prefer to be proactive, not passive!"
The plan was thus set. Zhu Ziyang and the other three prepared to actively seek out the Demon Whale group and then let those Demon Whales know how terrifying the price of freeloading was!
After telling the plan to the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King, the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King was naturally very happy and unhesitatingly led the four to the waters where the Demon Whale group had appeared, and from there, tracked the Demon Whale group's territory.