Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 156 - 153: Allied Forces at Black Water Temple, Wang Yuan Gathers the Dragon King!

Chapter 156: Chapter 153: Allied Forces at Black Water Temple, Wang Yuan Gathers the Dragon King!

The catastrophe occurred on the first day of August.

By the time the small boat, pushed by a group of water ghosts, drifted down the river to Yunhe County on the night of August fourth, several days had already passed.

Outside, the wind and rain raged fiercely, yet beneath the brightly-lit boat canopy, there was a haven of peace.

On the small table lay a roast crispy carps from the Turbid River, a dish of exquisitely sliced "Deceit Heart," a pot of wine, and two celadon cups.

Wang Yuan, sitting at the table, was engrossed in the "Soul Leaving Mountain Spirit Skill" he had obtained from the Mud Buddha, occasionally consuming a slice of the highly nourishing "Deceit Heart."

Inside his body,

Lady Peach Fairy presided over the Five Senses Altar City, absorbing earth and heavenly spirit qi, promoting the growth of the "Jade City Golden Que Divine Seal."

Nie Hongying, stationed at his lungs and using the third realm Dao General’s "Spirit Communication Transformation," ensured that Wang Yuan’s military skill cultivation was continuously soaring.

With the assistance of Wood Official and Golden Official, Wang Yuan was essentially cultivating at all times.

After receiving the "Deceit Heart" crowd-funded by the Mud Buddha, it might not be long before both his Daoist skills and military skills faced another considerable enhancement.

As for Little Huang Wu, growing increasingly accustomed to eating, drinking, and being cared for due to Wang Yuan’s breaking pattern effect,

after sharing two drinks with Wang Yuan, she became slightly tipsy and simply curled up in his broad, warm embrace and fell into a sweet sleep.

The small boat leisurely passed by the boundary marker inscribed with "Yunhe County."

Suddenly,

Little Huang Wu’s petite body jolted sharply, her eyes snapping open to reveal a somewhat vacant gaze as if she were staring blankly into space ahead.

Then, her moist lips parted as if unconsciously muttering,

"The Turbid River’s embankment has collapsed!"

"What?"

Noticing something peculiar about Huang Wu’s demeanor and not fully understanding her initially, Wang Yuan was about to inquire further,

when a thunderous boom resounded from afar.

Following closely,

Cling! Cling! Cling!...

The jarring sound of an alarm bell echoed through the storm, reaching miles away.

Not only did Wang Yuan hear it, but countless people in the nearby villages, who had been asleep, were now startled awake.

Men of the households, young and old alike, quickly grabbed their shovels, donned their raincoats, and dashed out the doors.

"To the dyke!"

"Protect the embankment!"

This was because the entire Yu State had been facing severe floods during this period and, coincidentally, it was also a critical time for harvesting crops.

Many farmers had voluntarily organized to patrol the mighty Turbid River’s embankment just to be on the alert to deal with any danger at the first sign.

Thus, when the Turbid River’s embankment breached, within less than the time needed to drink a cup of tea, the first group of farmers was already wading through the mudwater onto the dyke.

And they began dumping large stones they carried into the breach.

"The water flow is just too strong, these stones alone can’t block it!

Where have all the prepared ’river engineering stones’ and bamboo cages gone? Why are all the river patrol constables missing as well?"

"The breach is still small now, go upstream and cut down a few trees to see if they can hold back the water!"

"..."

Unfortunately, this was not a natural breach.

A group of subversive elements, also individuals who had outsmarted many to pass the imperial examinations, and could be considered the brightest of this dynasty, were schematically orchestrating everything from behind the scenes.

How could they possibly allow them to simply block the breach?

Watching the tumultuous floodwaters, the breach that only grew larger, and their own fields near the breach gradually getting inundated,

tears of desperation involuntarily trickled down their cheeks.

"God! Oh God!"

"Heaven is blind!"

In the past, the reluctance of the common people to clear new land was mainly due to the disproportionate effort and yield.

Just to clear the trees, bushes, rubble, and more by manpower alone from barren land would typically require one to two years.

And by the time this barren land was transformed into a fertile field, three or four years would have elapsed.

Furthermore, the period of tax exemption granted by the Court for land clearing was only five years.

By the time the people fertilized the area into arable land using ash and animal manure, tax demands from the Court would also promptly follow, which overall was simply not rewarding.

And just like making an investment, during these years, a farmer’s family had to face the possibility of crop failures and making ends meet with less.

Years of hard work could potentially be washed away at any moment.

Nevertheless, Emperor Jianming, Zhou Wenrui, in an effort to rescue the sinking ship of Great Yan, still devised many measures.

A few years ago, he especially issued an imperial decree stating that if a farmer successfully developed wasteland, the tax exemption period would be extended to ten years, and the government would supply the seeds for the first three years!

Upon calculating, the people found this to be beneficial, therefore many exerted their utmost effort, all for the sake of owning their own piece of land.

One could say that the blood, sweat, and tears of a family over the past several years had all been invested in this small plot of land.

The embankment of the Turbid River has breached? This truly spelled doom for the entire family!

At this very moment,

"Even God shall not take away my family’s field!"

With a splash,

a dark-skinned man, with a rope tied around his waist and hugging a large stone, leaped down.

Then came the second person, the third person...

They used ropes and rocks to steady themselves, forming a human wall in front of the breach to slightly slow the momentum of the water.

Others hurriedly filled the breach with loads of stones.

Though the breach was only a dozen or so zhang now, if it wasn’t blocked tonight, by noon tomorrow, it could expand tenfold given the current volume of water!

By then, unless they waited for the flood disaster to pass on its own, relying solely on mortals would be futile.

Even if Dengzhou Prefecture sent experts skilled in military tactics to help block the breach, a large-scale crop failure this year was certain.

Without food, a family simply couldn’t survive the year.

If death was inevitable, why fear fighting desperately?

But compared to the raging river, the strength of mere mortals was far too weak.

As each wave rolled in, these mortals, who dared to claim land from ’God,’ were repeatedly washed into the river, struggling time and again to surface.

It was unbearable to watch, fearing that with the next wave, they would never rise again.

Wang Yuan, through "Ghost Ear Listening," saw everything clearly.

Not stopping to ponder why Huang Wu had been able to predict the breach of the Turbid River in advance, he immediately commanded the water ghosts to move toward the breach.

But at that moment, he suddenly noticed.

In the murky river water, two long, enormous shadows were slithering towards the breach, moving so fast that they even drew two white lines on the surface of the water.

They appeared to be two snakes as thick as water buckets!

Simultaneously, five or six youths in black Taoist robes were following the two giant snakes, stepping on the rising water vapor of the Turbid River and flying towards it.

Wang Yuan’s first instinct was that these people were up to no good!

Since his involvement in the cultivation world, hardly a few magicians could be counted as good people, and not even one among the spirit monsters was benevolent.

Even the so-called "Earth Gods" demanded a blood meal in exchange for protecting the common folk.

However, the reaction of the common people and the subsequent actions of this group of spirit monsters and magicians greatly surprised Wang Yuan.

"The Taoist priests from ’Black Water Temple’ are here! We are saved!"

"Taoist priests, save us!"

"..."

Seeing their arrival, the people on the dike cheered, clearly familiar with them.

However, the young leader among the group of magicians, looking at the turbulent breach, his face showed difficulty as he whispered,

"Little Uncles, the Magistrate already issued official papers ordering us to close off the mountain for three days.

It’s one thing for us to leave the mountain privately, but if we really take action and spoil the great men’s plans, I fear that after today, the ’Black Water Temple’ might face severe repercussions!"

Upon hearing this,

Two fierce serpent heads, each bigger than a millstone, burst out of the turbulent waves.

They looked identical, except one’s scales were like ink jade crystals, and the other’s like brilliant rubies, adding a strange beauty to their ferocity.

Both snakes spoke in child-like, tender voices, simultaneously saying,

"Jin Shengshui, you truly are a coward, why bother about those corrupt officials who are even more vicious than demons?

Whatever happens, Mother will take care of it; right now, saving people is what matters most!"

No sooner had they spoken than they guided the muddy flow towards the breach.

"Sigh!"

Since both Little Uncles had spoken, the other magicians naturally dared not say more; they braced themselves and followed.

Those from "Black Water Temple" who had mastered the "Python Dragon Military Skill" could, after reaching high levels of Daoist Soldier, perform the divine skill "Riding Mist."

Once a disciple achieved Great Success in Daoist Soldier, they could temporarily soar above rivers and lakes by riding on water vapor.

Especially above the Turbid River during this rainy weather, the group moved extremely quickly.

Immediately afterward.

Splash, splash...

The group plunged into the water like dumplings, building a defense much stronger than the common people’s, centered around the two giant snakes, one black, one red.

With mantras in hand, they activated their long-practiced "Black Water Mysterious Light Technique" to try to control the floodwaters.

But with their military skill cultivation at most reaching Daoist Soldier and their Daoist skill cultivation at most at the early stage of Red Seal "Dharma Seal," resisting the force of a whole river made them all feel like vomiting blood.

Especially as the torrential rain along the line kept pouring vast amounts of water into the Turbid River, continuously raising the water level.

They could only clench their teeth and desperately keep going.

Realizing this odd group was actually an ally, Wang Yuan no longer hesitated.

Snap!

He stood up, formed a mantra with his hands, and stomped at the bow of the boat, shouting lowly,

"Gathering Spirit, Dragon King obey!"

The next moment.

Starting from Baixi Village in Yunhe County, a painful roar emitted from a total of eight Dragon King Temples upstream.

A group of spirit monsters transformed from fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs suddenly grasped their own throats.

Amid a sharp pain, a seal resembling a branding iron with "Life Trading Coin" appeared on their tongues.

Their faces showed a moment of astonishment and fear, then instantly turned completely subservient.

After prostrating in the direction of Yunhe County, they all spat out a "Earth God Talisman" belonging to their respective river sections.

Then they called out towards the sky,

"Imperial Decree! Disperse the clouds and stop the rain!"