From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 461: All Old Acquaintances

The Invisible Water Demon dispatched the Yin River Child.

Yinhe Tong does not belong to the demon race, has not been deified, and has absolutely no connection with cultivators.

This is a type of alien race, more closely related to merfolk and winged people.

Legend has it that they live among the dark veins of rivers, guarding the "hidden waters" formed from the souls of the drowned. Over time, they have become assimilated with the dark currents, their bodies half-fused into the energy of the underground rivers, possessing the extraordinary ability to "dive into the earth's veins and never cease flowing with the dark currents."

The Yinhe Tong before us is somewhere between a human and a frog, with webbed, sharp, and slender hands.

With a light touch of his fingers, dark water surged forth wherever his fingers touched, seeping into the soil.

As his gestures changed, the dark water gradually intertwined into an invisible underground vein.

There was no sound on the ground, nor was there any stirring of mud or sand; only a damp, cold aura rose from the ground.

This aura, like a snake, constantly slithered underground, its chilling power silently corroding the soil, while the surrounding water flowed inwards.

Although there seemed to be no change on the surface, one could hear the gurgling of water, as if an underground river had "grown" out of thin air.

Further away, other groups of people were also displaying their unique abilities.

The methods of the Crimson Scaled Dragon and his group were the most explosive. The "Lava Fire Spirit" he summoned used earth refining as a process to turn the earth into lava, reshape it into the shape of a river, and then cool it down to solidify it.

The river channel constructed in this way is straight and very sturdy. No matter what pits or cracks there are, I can directly form a stone river and let the water flow through.

Of course, this method consumes a great deal of magical power. The lava fire spirit had only opened up less than a hundred feet before it had swallowed several pills in succession.

On Qing'ao Hou's side, the "Four Crab Spirit Generals" made their move.

The four Crab Spirits have different shapes, but their aura is as one. Each of them is covered in hard armor, and their claws are like giant blades. When they move, the mud waves surge and the light patterns flash.

The four crabs, positioned in the southeast, northwest, and southwest, resembled four walking mountains. The green claw probed the veins, the yellow crab broke through the soil, the red crab shattered the rocks, and the black crab stirred up the tide. When they acted together, their four forces combined into one, and the speed at which they dug the river channel was by no means slow.

Meanwhile, the "Earth-Shaking Frog Demon" was dispatched from the Drum-Bellied Toad God's camp.

The earth-shaking frog demon was shaped like a hill, with a bluish-gray skin and a swollen belly like a drum.

It opened the river with its supernatural power, "Zhenyuan Guxi" (震渊鼓息). With a thud, the earth resounded, the mud and sand cracked, and the water flowed smoothly.

The continuous rumbling was like thunder, and the riverbed was shaken out of place. Although it looked rough, it was extremely stable.

The River God of Liyang summoned a spirit beast, the Xuanyuan, whose body was as large as a mountain, with a rugged back and patterns like the crisscrossing veins of the earth.

It moved slowly forward, and wherever it passed, rocks cracked and mud and sand swerved to avoid it. A rumbling sound filled the air.

In the blink of an eye, a wide riverbed appeared beneath it.

The surrounding water mist automatically condensed into a stream, flowing back into the river.

As it travels, a river slowly takes shape.

But the truly impressive force came from the Silver Mermaid's side, where a young man in black stood in the wind, his robes billowing wildly.

Behind him, countless silvery-white lines intertwined, stretching up and down, twinkling like stars, revealing a huge phantom chessboard.

Countless blazing, burning stars appeared and fell continuously, manifesting the image of the Dao of Starfire.

"Boom."

Streaks of warp and weft threads were projected onto the ground, and then each chess piece that fell triggered the spiritual energy of a local ley line, causing starlight to fall to the ground, transforming into flowing fire that burned through the mud.

The light between the chess pieces began to connect with each other, some extending, some turning, and some disappearing into the depths of the earth.

Suddenly, the young man in black robes flicked his sleeves. The phantom of the chessboard abruptly dispersed, and all the chess pieces exploded at once, transforming into hundreds of rays of light that pierced through the earth.

"boom!"

A muffled thud was heard, dust and sand surged, and water vapor rose.

The once flat lakebed collapsed on its own, creating a riverbed, as the starlight intertwined with its path.

The river meanders like a chessboard, as if the heavens and earth themselves had carved out the riverbed along that "natural chessboard," each section perfectly formed, no different from a naturally formed riverbed.

"It's actually the Starfire Chess Player... I didn't expect the celestial cultivator who came this time to be Lin Yunxiao."

You Ming was also drawn to the commotion in the distance and immediately noticed the young man in black robes floating in the sky.

When they were trying to capture the shadow of the Great Dao, You Ming snatched the "Myriad Realms Mirage," while Lin Yunxiao gained the recognition of the "Spark Chess Player."

"Now that Lin Yunxiao is here, I suppose Qi Tianjie is here too."

You Ming and Lin Yunxiao didn't have much of a grudge. Although You Ming used the Mirage World to create countless flying swords and swept across the entire field, there was no major conflict between them.

However, Lin Yunxiao's good friend Qi Tianjie, because Qi Tianjie had followed the path of illusion and needed the illusory image of the Great Dao of [Myriad Realms Mirage], ultimately lost to You Ming and failed in his attempt.

This not only damaged Qi Tianjie's confidence, but also effectively blocked his path of cultivation.

During this competition, You Ming unexpectedly encountered several old acquaintances (enemies), which made him feel somewhat wistful.

"Boom."

Just as all the teams were digging the riverbed with great enthusiasm, a muffled sound suddenly came from not far away, as if something had been cracked.

"Lulu lulu, oh no! The riverbed has collapsed!"

Not far away, a large section of the riverbed that the white nut had dug had collapsed, burying many jade snail soldiers directly under the mud and sand.

The group of children responsible for shaking the mud and sand turned pale with fright and cried out in alarm, thinking they had caused a great disaster.

White Nut frowned slightly. The giant snail beneath her kept making sounds, and the low-frequency sound waves penetrated into the soil.

It turns out there was a hidden cave beneath the riverbed. Because the mud and sand above were soft, they all seeped downwards and eventually caused this section of the riverbed to collapse.

"What's the panic! Everyone, get back!"

She immediately let out a cold shout, and a surging conch shell roared out, echoing and reverberating underground like countless swirling eddies.

The collapsed sand and gravel seemed to be blown by an invisible wind, shooting out in all directions with a whooshing sound.

Some of the buried Jade Snail Soldiers were rushed out with howls, scattering and rolling around in a very disheveled state.

Although this section of the river is essentially ruined, at least there weren't too many casualties.

White Nut looked up at the hourglass. With more than half the time already gone, now was not the time to assign blame.

He suppressed his inner fire, placed his palms on the core of the snail, and activated the "Returning to the Shell Heavenly Sound." The sound permeated in all directions, searching for a new suitable place to dig a river channel, preparing to change the river's course.

Amidst this intense activity, the last grain of sand fell from the hourglass suspended in the sky.

"Dang Dang Dang."

As a series of bells rang, the first round of the competition came to an end.

(End of this chapter)