Chapter 2284: Waiting for Unarriving Water, Unfinishable Mountains

"This immortal sect chose a contest of skill rather than a battle, which shows they have ulterior motives." He Lingchuan's eyes flickered slightly. "A few days ago, Granny Zhu caught a Sky Centipede stealing Profound Crystals at the mining town in Tongyue Mountain. It was sent by the Qixia Sect, and it identified the Qixia Sect's stronghold as Guye Mountain."

"I also heard Granny Zhu mention that the Sky Centipede will be brought along this time to identify the sect's location." Liu Qingdao nodded. "For this operation, the Qixia Sect had stockpiled a significant amount of Profound Crystals beforehand. Their actions are indeed more strategic than other immortal sects."

He Lingchuan instructed, "Send a few more monsters skilled in water and earth escape techniques to find out exactly what magical artifact the Qixia Sect is using to block the river flow!"

The water level in the Wei'an City section of the Luo River had almost reached its lowest point.

A city of a million people suddenly losing its water supply was no laughing matter; order within the city instantly collapsed.

Residents, merchants, and livestock all needed water.

Production, transportation, and commercial activities were also impossible without it.

Wei'an City had not encountered such a dire situation since the Dragon God War several years ago.

Even organizing water collection teams to transport water from the Lu River forty or fifty li away would be a drop in the bucket for Wei'an City, nowhere near enough to quench the immediate thirst.

This was a serious matter, and Cang Yan intended to have a thorough discussion with the instigators.

When Liu Qingdao arrived north of Wei'an City, he saw that the Luo River had revealed its riverbed stone. This large, dark greenish-black stone resembled a giant turtle, complete with a tail and legs, and topped with a tuft of dark red.

This riverbed stone was also known as the "Drought Stone"; whenever it appeared, it signaled the onset of drought.

However, this time it was a man-made disaster, not a natural one.

The riverbanks were crowded with anxious citizens. Liu Qingdao also saw a long convoy of vehicles at the north gate, preparing to fetch water from the Lu River, dozens of li away. The authorities were also using various storage spaces to transport water, but for a city with a population exceeding a million, it was far from enough.

Furthermore, shipping and trade on the Luo River were crucial. Daily, large quantities of goods were supposed to travel between Bingjiang and Luo River, then be sent across the country. Now, everything was blocked in Bingjiang, unable to move downstream, disrupting countless commercial transactions.

After assessing the situation in Wei'an City, Liu Qingdao immediately headed to the incident site:

Bingjiang.

It was almost the high-water season, and the narrowest point of Bingjiang was already over eighty zhang wide. Normally, its waters flowed copiously, with some entering the Lu River and some flowing into the Luo River.

Liu Qingdao also wanted to see what method the Qixia Sect was using to block the upper reaches of the Luo River!

Given the abundant and powerful primal energy of the Cang Yan Kingdom, Liu Qingdao found it hard to imagine that the Qixia Sect's magical artifact could withstand a coordinated attack from an army.

However, when he reached the confluence of Bingjiang and Luo River, he was genuinely surprised:

The riverbed, which should have been a flowing waterway, had now "grown" a mountain!

This mountain was not tall, only thirty-five zhang, but it was more than enough to block the river. It was over fifty zhang wide, and its length perfectly aligned with the two existing mountains on the riverbanks, forming a seamless, massive mountain barrier.

The river had no way through here and was forced to make a large, swirling detour, flowing towards the Lu River instead.

"What a formidable method."

Wei'an City was not idly standing by; it had dispatched two Golden-Armored Divine Generals to desperately dig through the mountain, hoping to unearth the river channel.

The Golden-Armored Divine Generals, which He Lingchuan previously couldn't afford to build, could now be easily produced two at a time even by a single city. Furthermore, these powerful instruments of war were not deployed on the battlefield but were instead acting as laborers here.

These two giants were over five zhang tall. One had fists like boulders, repeatedly pounding the mountain, creating an effect comparable to an explosion, loosening the earth. The other had hands as large as shovels, and it tirelessly dug into the mountain.

The two Golden-Armored Divine Generals worked together seamlessly, demonstrating extremely high efficiency. Clearly, their operators were also highly skilled.

To excavate an entire mountain, human laborers were far too inefficient compared to the Golden-Armored Divine Generals.

Commander Zhou of Wei'an City was already at the scene, and Liu Qingdao asked him, "How long have they been digging?"

"Over a day now, without a moment's rest," replied Commander Zhou, clearly distraught. "But the mountain grows back too fast. Whatever the Golden-Armored Divine Generals dig away, it replenishes."

Liu Qingdao observed for over two ke and realized that no matter how hard the two Golden-Armored Divine Generals worked, the mountain simply would not yield.

As they dug, the mountain continued to grow.

"Where is the Qixia Sect?" Liu Qingdao asked Commander Zhou. "Didn't I tell you to take the Sky Centipede to find their stronghold?"

This mountain was proving difficult to dig, so they needed to find a solution at its source.

Sometimes, if you can't solve the problem, you can solve the people or sect creating the problem.

"The Sky Centipede led us to Guye Mountain, but we couldn't find the entrance," Commander Zhou shook his head. "We punished it, but it swore up and down, pointing to a pit at the mountain's base and insisting that was it."

Elder Dao of the Rongshan Sect arrived just in time to hear this and immediately said, "It might be closed."

"The entrances to immortal grotto-heavens are highly concealed, and there's usually more than one. This is to defend against invading sky demons and external enemies," Liu Qingdao explained. "For many years, sky demons have searched the world for immortal dwellings. To ensure their safety, immortals hide the location of their entrances, and sometimes even those within the sect don't know all of them."

One of the functions of primal energy is to see through illusions. However, some grotto-heavens are self-contained mini-worlds, and without finding the entrance, no one can enter.

"No wonder." No wonder the Qixia Sect was so nonchalant; they were clearly confident in their security and were simply outlasting Wei'an City to see who would give in first.

"First, we need to understand what the base of this mountain is made of," Liu Qingdao mused, then turned and instructed, "Send Wu Chuanjia and the Vortex Worm to drill into the mountain's base and investigate. Be careful."

Wu Chuanjia was a giant rhinoceros beetle, moving like an oversized mining cart. It had a prominent horn on its forehead, effortlessly drilling through mountains and holes. The Vortex Worm, on the other hand, was a giant worm demon that lived in deserts and forests, naturally skilled at burrowing.

Both of these monsters specialized in earth escape and burrowing, and they had been specially recruited by the Bingyuan Division.

After that, Liu Qingdao said, "Let's go, let's talk to the Qixia Sect."

The Qixia Sect must have had an agenda, cutting off Wei'an City's water supply right from the start.

Liu Qingdao returned to the Luo River once more and leaped onto the riverbed stone, where someone was already waiting for him.

It was a person in a blue robe.

Liu Qingdao did not extend his hand, for he perceived that the figure before him was merely an illusion, not a human being at all.

The Qixia Sect members were still hidden within their own barrier, having merely used a divine magical artifact to project an illusion here for negotiations with Cang Yan.

If a real person had come, they would likely have been surrounded instantly.

"Your name?"

Liu Qingdao smiled. "I am Liu Qingdao of the Illusion Sect. Sect Master Yuan should still recognize me."

The name "Illusion Sect" carried considerable weight. After a few breaths, the blue-robed figure vanished from the riverbed stone, replaced by a scholar in gray robes with a white beard.

"Elder Liu."

"Sect Master Yuan."

Both exchanged respectful salutations.