Chapter 2288: Thirsty Livelihood

"An Eater?" Dong Rui had an excellent memory. "A demon nest is a lair built by an Eater using a host body. It devoured an entire tribe that worshipped the Moon God!"

He let out a long "Oh" at this. "That's right. The Ferry Ghosts are the perfect example of the fusion of human blood and divine blood—or rather, demon blood. The ordinary Ferry Ghost remains I obtained from Thousand Eyes Cave also showed this same fusion of flesh and blood."

"As you said, it's the work of creation." The Ferry Ghost Mother impregnates human mothers and gives birth to the Ferry Ghosts in the human world. These small monsters possess both human and demonic blood. This is the power of creation; though not necessarily a masterpiece, it far surpasses the skill of any demon puppeteer.

Even with all his arrogance, Dong Rui wouldn't dare compare himself to the forces of creation.

He hissed softly, "Are you saying that the large mountain Qixia Sect used to block the waters of Ice River has a Ferry Ghost underneath it?"

The Ferry Ghost Mother can give birth to nine offspring in one litter, and each has a different form; it doesn't necessarily have to be humanoid.

What if it's a giant egg-shaped entity?

Liu Qingdao immediately said, "Ferry Ghosts are half-human, half-demon. They shouldn't possess such immense power to resist us."

He Lingchuan nodded, "The reason the Ferry Ghost Mother can use human mothers to give birth is precisely because offspring born this way are not very powerful and won't be blocked by the two-realm barrier."

The two-realm barrier embedded in Tianluo Star is no joke. Even Saint Venerable Lingxu couldn't break through it to return to the human world.

However, as the saying goes, 'the net of heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through,' yet the weaker ones sometimes find a way to slip through the gaps.

"Therefore, an ordinary Ferry Ghost would be almost incapable of resisting my Yuan power from Cangyan or my Golden Armored Divine Generals," He Lingchuan analyzed. "Besides, Qixia Sect has been in seclusion for over a hundred years. They can barely support their own disciples, so how could they possibly raise a living Ferry Ghost?"

Liu Qingdao asked, "Then, what's your opinion?"

He Lingchuan picked up a piece of earth. It was rich in colloid, feeling like a lump of modeling clay in his hand.

Dong Rui, however, caught the key point in his words: "'Ordinary' Ferry Ghosts wouldn't work. Are you saying this is an Eater?"

He Lingchuan didn't answer immediately. He pondered for a while before asking Liu Qingdao:

"It seems there were records of Eaters appearing from ancient to medieval times. Can you find them?"

Illusion Sect was a major sect that had survived since ancient times, and Liu Qingdao himself was a direct participant in the War between Immortals and Demons, making him practically a living dictionary of all ages. However, such obscure knowledge still stumped him for a moment.

"Records of Eaters appearing? Ah... I'll have to send a message back to Ju City and have someone look for them."

When Illusion Sect left the Upside-Down Sea with He Lingchuan, the disciples moved all the sect's cultivation methods, secret texts, and historical records back to the Shanjing Plain. After the Scarlet Heaven Golden Palace was built, a dedicated scripture repository was established to house the classics of various sects, naturally including a section for Illusion Sect's ancient texts, guarded by their disciples.

The standoff between Qixia Sect and Wei'an City stretched on for thirty hours, an agonizing wait for both sides.

For nearly two days, time passed agonizingly slowly for both parties.

News of the water cutoff had spread throughout Wei'an City. The city's production and daily life were severely impacted, and residents experienced extreme inconvenience.

The Luo River originally flowed year-round without ever drying up, making Wei'an City highly dependent on it. Furthermore, the city had expanded too quickly, with few wells dug in the newly developed areas. Many security and transportation divine powers even relied on the river water to function.

He Lingchuan, entering the city incognito, heard that "Luo River's water cut off" was the most frequently discussed topic in every street and alley.

The authorities had also openly stated that an immortal sect was causing trouble by building a mountain to block the water.

As a result, Qixia Sect, the perpetrator, had its ancestors cursed for eighteen generations by the residents. The curses hurled at them were as venomous as their act of cutting off the Luo River's water.

The first two questions people asked upon waking each morning were either, "Has the Luo River's water returned today?" or "Has Qixia Sect been defeated today?"

Today, dark clouds hung heavy over Wei'an City.

He Lingchuan found a noodle shop popular with locals, sat down, and ordered a bowl of fishball vermicelli. He overheard the owner telling a few regular customers, "We won't be open tomorrow."

The rice vermicelli at this shop was barely thicker than a strand of hair, cooking instantly when dropped into boiling water. It was then served with a bowl of rich broth, a few pieces of minced meat, some pork and beef offal, and finally, a single fishball.

While the tender meat and fresh broth were excellent, the shop's specialty was its fishballs, each as large as a child's fist. Originally made from grass carp, in recent years, the number of white round fish in the Luo River had surged. Their flesh was thick, fat, white, and delicious, so the shop switched to using them as ingredients. The resulting fishballs would burst with flavor when bitten into!

This fragrant burst was from scallion oil rendered from pork fat, and one wrong bite could easily splash onto another diner's face.

The diners, reluctant to hear about the closure, cried out in protest. The owner, exasperated, replied, "We don't have enough ingredients today. With no water and no fish, what am I supposed to sell tomorrow, air?"

The fishballs were made fresh daily. The Luo River's water cutoff directly impacted his livelihood.

In fact, it wasn't just him; businesses of all sizes throughout Wei'an City were affected.

Everyone was indignant, discussing animatedly, "Qixia Sect is truly blind. They didn't even bother to investigate before causing trouble. What kind of place is Wei'an City, what kind of country is Cangyan, that they think they can run rampant here?"

"They're called Qixia Sect, and I heard they're a major sect from ancient times."

"Who cares what sect they are!" someone scoffed. "For all these years, they've been hiding away, watching Shanjing be tormented by sky demons. Now that the world's spiritual energy is recovering, they suddenly decide to come out and compete with the people for resources. We can't let them get away with this. The Dragon God will surely teach them a harsh lesson!"

A newly arrived merchant on the side timidly asked, "Th-They can win, right?"

The other diners chuckled. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"You're not a Shanjing local, are you?"

"Do you know how many demon sects and immortal sects have tried to lord it over us these past years?"

"Exactly! Take Yaozhou to the east, for example. Five months ago, a great demon appeared. As soon as it emerged, it rushed into the city to devour people, thinking it was the Shanjing Plain where it could eat and drink as it pleased. But within six or seven days, its head was cut off by the Bingyuan Division and hung on Tianshui City's wall."

Another person enthusiastically asked, "So, how long do you think it'll take us to put Qixia Sect down?"

Everyone knew, of course, that the ones taking action would be either the powerful figures of the Bingyuan Division or the Dragon God Army, not themselves. But that didn't stop them from identifying as "us."

It was a point of pride, after all.

Another diner replied, "I guess, another five to seven days?"

"Ah—" the crowd groaned, "That long?"

The owner chimed in, "Has the fighting started outside the city?"

A water merchant who had just returned from outside the city replied directly, "Not yet, it seems. But many large individuals summoned by the authorities have been digging at that strange mountain. However, for every bit they dig, the mountain grows back by the same amount. There's not even a tiny gap, and who knows how long it will take to dig through it."