Chen Xu was quite unlucky; originally it was an opportunity for fortune, but it turned into a calamity instead.
The most critical thing is that he is currently in a molting state, having transformed into a Ba Snake, he is unable to revert to human form to explain his identity.
Zhang Chen looked at the experts encircling Chen Xu in the distance, all of whom were powerful warriors with cultivated Martial Dao Qi Blood. If it were in the past, he might have feared them somewhat, but now Zhang Chen has mastered Earth Control Technique…
"Chen Xu, can you make it?" Zhang Chen shouted from afar, holding an oil-paper umbrella.
Upon hearing Zhang Chen's shout, Chen Xu immediately felt as if he'd found a savior, springing up and rushing towards Zhang Chen: "Master, save me!"
Chen Xu darted behind Zhang Chen, trembling from head to toe as he hid.
"Kid, we discovered that Ba Snake hatchling first. Don't confuse the order of first-come, first-serve; I advise you to hand over the Ba Snake to avoid any blind sword or blade."
At this moment, some martial artists arrived rapidly, looking at Zhang Chen clad in coarse linen attire, yet without a drop of water on him. A trace of fear surfaced in their eyes.
Facing the intensely watchful martial artists, Zhang Chen thought for a moment, and suddenly the ground under everyone's feet cracked open, briefly trapping them, then closed instantly, burying them all under the yellow earth.
Then the yellow earth rapidly transformed into rock, tightly enclosing the group of martial artists.
"Spare us, Master!"
The martial artists tightly confined in the earth were frightened, their heads exposed, looking at Zhang Chen in trepidation, realizing they'd run into an unmovable obstacle.
Zhang Chen inspected them, his gaze lingered thoughtfully on their head ornaments: "Are you people from the White Lotus Sect?"
"We are indeed members of the White Lotus Sect; please, Master, for the sake of our Sect Leader, spare us." One of them, quite quick-witted, quickly used his faith as a shield to avert disaster.
"Do you know Chen Ming of the Flood Banner?" Zhang Chen inquired.
"Of course we know." The White Lotus Sect members nodded like pecking chicks: "So Master knows our Chen Xiangzhu; we're all family. It's really like the flood washing away the Dragon King Temple—family not recognizing family. It's a pity that our Chen Xiangzhu met with misfortune, killed by some villain!"
The group leader's voice was filled with indignation, his tone laden with emotion, hoping to earn Zhang Chen's sympathy.
"I am the very villain; Chen Ming died by my hands." Zhang Chen smiled widely at the heads on the ground.
Instantly, the group leader turned pale, horrified, realizing he'd unwittingly harmed himself.
"Actually, we're from the Flame Banner, not familiar with the Flood Banner or Chen Xiangzhu," the group leader quickly adjusted his tone.
He was a strong warrior with cultivated Qi Blood, considered an expert anywhere, certainly not wanting to die dejectedly here.
Unfortunately, Zhang Chen gave them no chance for nonsense, his thoughts moved the earth to swallow all the White Lotus Sect experts wholly. These people, having refined their Qi Blood, were elite members of the White Lotus Sect; Zhang Chen could not let them go.
Turning to the Ba Snake behind him, he said, "I mean, Chen Xu, are you alright? Letting those people get you into this situation?"
Chen Xu was speechless in distress, his eyes showing a hint of grievance.
"Alright, your transformation is nearly complete. I might as well accompany you for a few days, to avoid those people disturbing you. If you were to be inexplicably killed, it would truly be an unjust death," Zhang Chen said.
Chen Xu, feeling wronged, flicked his tongue out, then led Zhang Chen to a hidden cave, his tail slapping the ground to express his discontent.
He had indeed chosen a sufficiently hidden place for transformation, yet couldn't escape his bad luck. The Dragon Pearl Fragment came to him—a great event, but it also brought enemies.
Chen Xu settled into sleep, beginning his molting, while Zhang Chen sat at the cave entrance, watching the torrents in the mountains, his eyes showing compassion: "The True Dragon of Northern Land has fallen, endless rain floods the land. Who knows when it will cease? This year, the northern people might face floods, and even for coming decades, these floods might persist."
However, facing such natural disasters, Zhang Chen was powerless; this is Heaven and Earth's karmic reckoning and retaliation against Prince Pingbian's Mansion.
At the Celestial Pool
Prince Pingbian stood amidst the heavy rain, with guards holding a ceremonial canopy beside him. Looking at the misty kingdom, his eyes were filled with confusion.
At this moment, Mr. Wuliu's Yin Spirit came from afar, returning to his own body. Then, Mr. Wuliu opened his eyes and said to Prince Pingbian, "Prince, Xie Lingyun has killed the 100,000-strong demon race army. Now, a 50,000-strong army from the Inspection and Supervision Department is heading to the White Bone Great Wall. It seems Xie Lingyun has sensed something about the White Bone Great Wall..."
"Hehe, so what if she has sensed it? The great trend has formed; how can she possibly change it?" Prince Pingbian smiled coldly, "Xie Lingyun is courting death."
"The 50,000-strong army of Xie Lingyun is about to pass by Wangjia Slope. As long as we release the flood at this moment, all of them will be buried in the flood," said Prince Pingbian.
He is the ruler of the Northern Land, fully grasping the situation of the Northern Land. Since he wanted to act against the court, he naturally made thorough preparations.
"Originally, we planned to use the 100,000-strong demon race army as bait, preparing to deliver the news to the Inspection and Supervision Department at the last moment to attract their army, then drown it all in water to finish everything. But who knew Xie Lingyun somehow got the news and delivered herself to us?" Prince Pingbian spoke with pride in his voice.
He's no fool; why would he mobilize his own army to fight directly with the Inspection and Supervision Department's army? Not only would he suffer losses, but once he clashed with the Inspection and Supervision Department, it would be a blatant rebellion, forcing the court to act against him.
Moreover, among the 50,000-strong army of the Inspection and Supervision Department, at least 5,000 are experts skilled in Qi Blood. How many lives would it take to counter them?
500,000? Or 1 million? 2 million?
He couldn't afford such losses!
That 100,000-strong demon race army was originally bait for the Inspection and Supervision Department.
"Move the mountain! Release the flood!" Prince Pingbian commanded.
Mr. Wuliu's eyes gleamed with a hint of fervor as he looked at the eight divine beings, long prepared to act. The mysterious Qi Mechanism circulated around their bodies, and they were all seventh-tier divine beings: "The Prince commands, move the mountain and release the flood!"
With that order, the eight Mountain-moving Warriors hesitated not at all, approaching a large mountain. Then, the eight divine spirits grew larger, transforming to the size of hundreds of feet. Together, they embraced a mountain, and a thunderous sound rang out as the towering mountain was uprooted, releasing the floodwaters of the Celestial Pool with fierce momentum.
"The flood release from the Celestial Pool will turn the entire Northern Land into a marshland. The surviving populace will become rabble unable to sustain their lives, but with slight manipulation, this rabble can become our army, aiding us in attacking various vassal states and becoming our support!" Prince Pingbian's eyes gleamed with fervor as he watched the cascading waters rush forth like the collapse of a heavenly river.
If the billions of people in the Northern Land could all turn into rabble, perhaps he could reverse the heavens and the earth.
"Inform the demon race ancestors to surround and kill Xie Xuan. Be sure to kill Xie Xuan in the Northern Land; don't let him escape," Prince Pingbian instructed Mr. Wuliu.
Why did Prince Pingbian choose to ally with the demon race experts?
It was to deal with Xie Xuan!
Even though divine spirits have appeared today, the cultivators of the Yang God Dao remain unmatched, their combat power surpassing that of divine spirits, without any flaws.
Mr. Wuliu nodded at this: "I will go contact the demon race experts now."
Mr. Wuliu departed with his orders, leaving Prince Pingbian to watch the vast flow of river waters below, his gaze filled with madness: "There's no turning back now; we can only proceed to the end!"
Over there, Zhang Chen was protecting Chen Xu, when suddenly he felt the ground shake violently and heard the roaring of water like thunder. Even at a distance of ten miles, the sound of water crashing against the cliffs hit his ears clearly.
"What's happening? Why has the water vapor between heaven and earth suddenly increased so rapidly?" Sensing the rapidly gathering water vapor, Zhang Chen hurried out of the stone cave, standing in the rain to observe. The next moment, his expression changed drastically. In his eyes, in the distance, a white python-like torrent was crashing its way through mountains and valleys, its spiraling and aggressive momentum breaking waves in its wake within the mountains.
"Such a flood? Where did such a flood come from?" Zhang Chen looked at that silvery "python," realizing it was indeed a relentless flood.
Zhang Chen quickly transformed into a Vampire Bat and flew out, perching on a mountain to survey the situation. It wasn't that he refused to use his Escape Technique; rather, the Escape Technique was too slow.
Standing atop the mountain, Zhang Chen manifested his human form, and from afar, he could see Prince Pingbian standing at the broken dam and the eight divine beings moving the mountain. The floodwaters of the Celestial Pool were being released without restraint.
"Has Prince Pingbian gone insane? Once the waters of the Celestial Pool are released, the entire Northern Land will turn into a marshland! How dare he? How dare he!" Zhang Chen's eyes blazed with fury. "That is his territory, his people! Does he intend to drown everyone in the Northern Land?"
Watching the overwhelming floodwaters carrying debris and sediments, sweeping any unlucky martial artists into its depths without even raising a splash, immediately submerging them into the mud and sand.
In the face of such a flood, besides experts at the Yang God level or those possessing the Flying Escape Technique, even eighth-tier Yin Spirits were just insignificant ants.
Those Martial Dao experts who refined Qi Blood were swept into the flood without even a ripple, directly submerged.
The flood was not merely water; it contained the Water Vein Qi. Much like Dragon Vein Qi, Water Vein Qi possesses the power to suppress all techniques. Moreover, the flow carried debris which posed the real danger; any life caught within would be knocked unconscious in an instant.