Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Huai Nian only knew the general situation regarding the Luo River.

He has three sources.

The largest and longest branch comes from the melting snow and ice of the northern mountains.

Countless tiny streams emerge from the snow-capped mountains, converging at the foot of the mountains to form a river called the Dragon River, which flows into the Chunhua Marsh outside Chunhua City.

The name Longhe (Dragon River) continued until it met the Majian River and Lancao River, at which point the Luo River was officially born, flowing through Zhongshan Mountain and rushing into the sea.

That's all it knows.

As for where Chunhuaze is?

do not know.

The giant serpent could neither speak nor see; it could only flick its tongue, searching for the location with the densest and coldest water element in the boundless, deep blue abyss.

Sometimes, if you take the wrong path, the river becomes narrower and narrower, almost unable to conceal its enormous form. A wave, as large as a wall, surges up, its ripples crashing against the shore.

A farmer's wife who was washing clothes by the river was caught off guard and her trouser leg got soaked.

She was about to start swearing.

But the waves that had just receded did not flow downstream; instead, they seemed to be pulled back by something, dissipating before surging back again.

In the dim light, she glimpsed what appeared to be a shadow underwater, its form enormous and its lines winding and continuous...

"The Dragon King has appeared!"

"The Dragon King has appeared!"

"What Dragon King! Where did this Dragon King come from!"

People on the shore heard the peasant woman's cries and rushed over, only to see her kneeling in prayer, forming swirling waves with the current.

"The Dragon King is on fire!" some knowledgeable people immediately shouted.

This shout was like setting off a firecracker, instantly waking the crowd. People put their hands together and offered their most sincere prayers for the future.

The news spread like wildfire, from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

The enormous crimson shadow meandered slowly against the current, seemingly without end.

Day after day, the sun rises and sets.

The eight characters "A dragon runs through the water in Yongning Continent" were written on a piece of paper, fluttering all the way to land on the desk in front of the city lord of Chunhua City.

"My lord, this dragon is no ordinary creature."

"Ordinary dragons travel by water, always heading downstream and eastward to reach the sea. But this dragon, after my subordinates drew up its movements based on information from various places—"

As he spoke, his subordinate took out a landscape painting of Yongning and spread it out in front of the city lord, Li Zhengyuan.

"You see, the red dot I marked is where that dragon appears. A month ago it was near Xia'an City, but now it's going upstream, crossing the Majian River directly, and is about to reach the Lancao River."

"It seems that this dragon's target is Chunhua Marsh outside our city."

"Aren't the Dragon Clan fighting for water transport in Yunxi Continent? Why did they suddenly decide to come to Chunhua Marsh?" Li Zhengyuan murmured to himself as he looked at the red dots circled along the Luo River on the landscape map.

The Zhou Dynasty was indeed in decline and had indeed abandoned Yongning Continent. But this did not mean that there were no humane forces left in Yongning Continent.

The great war has not yet begun, and the elite forces of Yongning main city and the Four Immortal Sects are still intact.

Moreover, how did the dragon species cross Zhongshan Mountain to reach Yongning?

Is that serpent god really going to die, and now he wants to take advantage of the opportunity to transform into a dragon... to break through the mirror and prolong his life?

"Has my younger brother, Li Zhengming, the city lord of Xia'an City, replied?" Li Zhengyuan asked.

"The lord has not yet responded to the dragon that is moving through the water, but..." The subordinate hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

"Just say what you have to say."

"But that sir, in Xia'an City... they have resumed the worship of the snake god."

"Tsk." Li Zhengyuan waved his hand impatiently upon hearing this. "I already knew about this! Whatever god they worship, it's none of our business!"

"How's the construction of the weir and dam going?"

"Everything is going smoothly. At the current pace, we will be able to enclose Chunhuaze and start storing water within three years."

After speaking, the subordinate glanced at the city lord's expression and asked, "Sir, is it true that a drought is imminent?"

"Just take it as real." Li Zhengyuan sighed as he looked at the landscape painting in front of him.

People come and go, and the area circled in red on that landscape painting is becoming increasingly crowded.

After crossing the Majian River, the dragon's goal became increasingly clear: it was aimed directly at Chunhua.

Reports of people witnessing dragons swimming in the water are becoming increasingly rare, to the point of almost nonexistent.

July marks the beginning of summer.

It was noon, but there was no sun.

Thick, dark clouds pressed down on the dam, which was still under construction, as black as an abyss, as if rain could fall at any moment.

There wasn't a breath of wind in the world, and the surface of the Dragon River was unusually calm.

The river workers were so suffocated that sweat poured down their bodies like waterfalls, and their lips were cracked. It looked like something bad was about to happen, so the supervisor quickly called a halt to the work to prevent any deaths or disruptions to the construction schedule.

When they had a spare moment, the river workers gathered in twos and threes and chatted idly.

"Have you heard? There's a dragon roaming the waters in Yongning, and it's heading straight for us."

"Where did you get this information?"

"The news has spread all over Lancao River; they've even built a temple for that dragon in my hometown!"

"Who cares if it's water-powered or not, I'm dying of heat right now!"

A man was about to take off his shirt, intending to go into the water to cool off, but as soon as he got up, he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" A group of people followed.

The next instant, something hit everyone's face at the same time, something extremely cold, as if the heat of the world had been drained away in that instant.

They touched their faces and subconsciously looked up.

A flash of white lightning appeared deep in the dark clouds, like a celestial river bursting its banks, and a torrential downpour crashed down.

"It's raining—!"

The man's screams hadn't traveled far before they were drowned out by the patter of the chaotic raindrops.

The river workers had intended to wash themselves in the heavy rain, but instead they saw a huge wave rise on the Long River, large enough to submerge houses.

The waves were nearly two zhang high, and the unfinished river dam foundation stood firm against them, refusing to yield an inch.

"Splash—" The sound of rushing water rose as the enormous creature raised its head from the surging waves.

The river workers stared wide-eyed as the large snake, covered in red scales, with six horns on its head and a face as ferocious as a demon, slowly approached the embankment.

I wanted to escape, but my legs had already gone weak.

"Dragon King!" Under the heavy rain, the overseers saw the giant snake's golden and silver eyes, which resembled the sun and moon, and immediately knelt down, crying out, "Dragon King, we are here to build the dam under the orders of the city lord!"

"We have no intention of disobeying! Nor have we ever oppressed any people!" Their shouts were shattered by the raindrops as soon as they reached their lips.

The giant snake slowly approached the dam, its heterochromatic eyes radiating divine light, illuminating the terror on people's faces in every detail.

But it can't see it.

Huai Nian could only sense that his path was blocked by a dark "wall".

Moreover, there are many human-shaped red dots on this wall.

They curled up, and the giant snake could clearly "see" the pounding heart inside their chest.

Listening closer, it sounded as if someone was shouting, "Repairing the river dam is the city lord's order..."

"Riverbank..." the giant serpent murmured to itself, raising its head to gaze at the place where the water elements converged.

The construction of river dams in Chunhua City may be a good thing for humanity, but their original intention in building the dams was to prevent drought and control floods.

If they close the sluice gates and store water during the drought... then the Luo River will lose its source, and its flow will be reduced by at least half.

"This is a bit tricky," the giant snake murmured.

It doesn't want to kill, nor does it want to use the water's force to destroy the river dams built by humans, as that would only cause trouble.

But what about the future drought...?

"Behold the spirit of Zhongshan, my name is Zhao Ying, a native of Zhongzhou." A clear, spirited voice suddenly rang out in the rain.

The sound pierced through the rain and landed nimbly in the snake's mind.

"All the cultivators in Chunhua City are now on high alert at the Great Swamp Dam—"

Huai Nian looked over upon hearing the sound and saw a red human figure standing upright on the riverbank.

However, she had two large yellow mounds on her chest, which made it impossible for the snake to see inside.

The giant snake turned around and slowly approached the person who had spoken.

As the mountain god approached, Zhao Ying gripped her spear tighter.

Even a powerful cultivator like her, who had achieved the Core Formation through martial arts, possessed extremely keen senses of qi, yet she still couldn't see through the giant snake before her.

In his mind's eye, the mountain god before him seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist.

She wanted to part the clouds and mist to see its true spirit, but suddenly the might of heaven pressed down, and a gaze seemed to overturn the mountains, forcing her to retreat.

Moreover, the heavy rain before them seemed to have a subtle connection with the red serpent's aura.

Even though the god of Zhongshan has left the Zhongshan region, he can still cause such widespread celestial anomalies...

Their strength was beyond Zhao Ying's expectations.

Once war breaks out, Chunhua City will be devastated.

"If you can wait a little longer, Chunhua City will open the river channel as quickly as possible for you to transform into a dragon!" Zhao Ying stood tall in the rain like a green bamboo, hoping to avert a war between humans and demons.

Upon hearing this, the giant snake flicked its tongue repeatedly.

The snake's instincts told it that it could not defeat the person before it.

The man and the snake remained locked in a stalemate for a long time in the rain.

A ferocious long tail broke through the water and landed on the riverbank.

Zhao Ying instinctively kicked the spear straight, her whole body tensing up like a female leopard.

But then they saw that long tail had written the word "Agreement" crookedly on the riverbank.

"An agreement?" Zhao Ying frowned, looking at the giant snake in surprise.

P.S.: Chapter 40 has been adjusted, and the blessing the protagonist receives when descending the mountain has been modified.