Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

three days later.

A grand banquet was held on a painted boat on the lakeside in the city, and all the people from the City Lord's Mansion and the Four Dharma Gates were invited.

"Lord City Lord, with so many of us gathered together, aren't we afraid..." The subordinate poured a full wine cup for the beaming city lord, his tone filled with concern.

"Don't worry—Tu Die is powerful, but she's only one person, and she has so many pleasure boat girls to feed."

The city lord, who had only been in office for five years, waved his hand.

"Now I have complete control of the city's defense formation, and I also have her four main family cultivators by my side. Even if a fight breaks out, I can still run away."

"It's just a matter of more people dying and wearing her down, it's no big deal, no need to worry."

"You're brilliant!" The subordinate nodded repeatedly and poured wine even more frequently.

"Hey, hey, don't pour it out, don't pour it out. Save some room for the rouge on the lips of the pleasure boat girl."

The city lord, with his belly protruding, put on his city lord token, wobbled as he mounted his horse and headed towards the lake in the city.

As they walked onto the main road, the city lord's party and the Four Dharma Gates' party converged.

"The matter of the Mist Demon has been investigated and confirmed; it was indeed Tu Die who did it," the cultivator reported in a low voice as he approached the city lord.

"Does that mean the Longevity Pill can't be produced?" The city lord frowned.

"The mist demon on the dam is still there," the monk said in a low voice.

"That's alright then, just recruit more people to fill the dam." The city lord looked up at the setting sun and the brightly lit lakeside in the city.

"Didn't Tu Die host a banquet to apologize? Wouldn't it be the same if she used her looks?"

The group marched through the streets and alleys with great fanfare, singing and dancing even before they arrived at their destination, and fantasizing about the future.

Unbeknownst to them, a red snake brushed past them.

This world is a giant makeshift operation.

Huai Nian recalled a phrase she often heard when she was still human in her previous life.

The city lord and his entourage spoke without any attempt to conceal their voices as they passed by, and the words went straight into its ears.

If these people were its subordinates, they would probably have been dealt with and driven away by the white fox and the mountain lord that very day, or even executed.

But it's good that there are these useless people around; the matter between the two cities in autumn and winter should soon come to an end.

The remaining task is to guard against the humans in the main city.

In comparison, the Li family city lords of the two cities in spring and summer... did not do a bad job?

At least they are genuinely concerned about the people in the city.

The red serpent slithered closer to the city lord's mansion.

According to Tu Die, this group of people were afraid of death, and in order to protect themselves, they even changed the layout of the city's protective formation.

Using the city lord's mansion as a base, the effect radiates throughout the city, decreasing with distance. If this area is breached, the city's protective array will be directly paralyzed.

This city lord had only been in office for five years when he expanded the city lord's mansion into a behemoth covering ten miles.

"In the twilight of a dynasty, monsters roam the land." The red serpent flicked its tongue, waiting for the fire to ignite.

The setting sun slowly sank behind the mountains, and the bright moon rose into the sky.

Thousands of lights lit up one after another along the lake in the city, their vibrant colors even pushing back the silvery moonlight.

The wind blew by.

A pure white thing, like a willow catkin, floated before the red snake.

"Fire filament?"

Just as they were wondering what was going on, flames shot into the sky from the east, illuminating the entire city.

From a distance, it looks like a divine bird spreading its wings, about to fly into the sky and cry out to the heavens.

"It's my turn."

The red serpent's eyes flashed with a strange golden and silver light, and it took a deep breath, causing its size to increase dramatically.

In the blink of an eye, a colossal creature over ten zhang long appeared in front of the city lord's mansion.

Compared to water, fire, and thunder, it prefers to crush things with its body.

Before the people left behind in the city lord's mansion could make a move, they were frozen in place by a pair of sun and moon beams.

Even when the city's protective array activated, it completely blocked the enormous red serpent's seemingly sky-covering attack.

But fear still lingered in their hearts.

The earth trembled, cracks spread like thunder, and houses collapsed.

Those who couldn't escape were swallowed by the dust, some crushed, some killed.

The entire city lord's mansion was filled with wails and pleas for mercy.

The city's protective formation, which had been able to hold off the Red Serpent, was not destroyed by external forces; instead, it was opened by those inside who wanted to escape.

"If I had known the people in this city were so despicable... oh well, never mind, I shouldn't have known sooner."

The large snake flicked its tongue.

It originally intended to destroy the city's protective formation, but now the formation has been activated on its own.

Are you going to destroy it or not?

It depends on whether Tu Die will turn against you.

If she could be like the white fox... that's wishful thinking.

"No matter what, keeping this formation will eventually be a disaster." The giant snake's eyes narrowed, and it raised its tail, smashing straight into the city lord's hall.

All the bricks, tiles, and broken stones were ground into powder.

In an instant, the aura that enveloped the entire city shattered, turning into shimmering specks of light that fell like a torrential rain.

The hundred-foot-long flame in the distance was no longer restrained and soared straight into the air, looking more and more like a divine bird.

The giant snake turned its head, and its gaze met that of the divine bird.

Flames surged across its body like flowing water, and after a moment of eye contact... this divine bird actually nodded towards it.

"Humans can also possess mythical destiny?" The serpent's eyes flickered as it murmured to itself.

In fact, my birth and the birth of the Golden Crow were only thirty years apart.

For ordinary people, this represents a full generation's gap.

But for cultivators, demon beasts, and even dynasties, the Golden Crow can be said to have been born at the same time as them.

"Too far, let's focus on the present." The giant snake shook its head, rolled past the city lord's mansion, and headed out of the city.

Qiushi City is not far from Majian River.

Swimming to the riverbank, I saw three dikes, like walls, each higher than the last, blocking the Majian River.

After being stripped away layer by layer, the amount of water left downstream is less than one-tenth of the original amount.

The giant snake's mind stirred slightly, and it began to destroy the river dams one by one, from top to bottom, according to their height.

Each dam was destroyed three days apart.

This ensures that the downstream areas will not suffer much flooding.

During this time, the giant snake caught sight of a mist demon trying to escape. Its eyes narrowed, and from a distance of a thousand meters, it burned the demon to death.

After destroying the two river dams, Tu Die came to visit.

She looked noticeably haggard, her long black hair simply gathered up and falling onto her hips.

They were all yawning as they walked over.

"News has come from Winter City that they have agreed to dismantle the dikes and are willing to hand over the token for the city's defensive array to me."

"Would you like to have it checked?"

"No need."

"I'm leaving these two cities to you. I'm going back now." The giant serpent turned its head and looked into her crimson eyes.

She stared at it so intently that she couldn't even yawn anymore. She quickly looked down to check if she had inadvertently gotten ink stains from her paperwork on her clothes.

The moment she lowered her head, the giant snake averted its gaze.

Aside from the fact that her eyes could see the spiritual light of a divine bird, the rest of her body smelled nothing but human... or you could say, pungent.

"If anything happens, send someone to Zhongshan to find me. If you do not do evil, you can call my name if you encounter trouble."

"The candle of Zhongshan burns red."

As it spoke, the giant snake bit off a scale from its own body and placed it beside Tu Die. Just one scale was worth half of her body.

"Oh..." Tu Die bent down and tried to lift it with her physical strength.

Despite her gritting her teeth and straining, she couldn't budge the snake scales an inch, despite their weight of several hundred kilograms.

Unable to contain his anger, he had no choice but to resort to his magical powers.

However, the magic power crumbled upon it, making it impossible to lift it up.

"I refuse to believe it!" Tu Die rolled up her sleeves, squatted down as if doing a great labor, and with her magic power enhanced, she finally lifted it up with a series of huffs and puffs.