"Master Yanhui, what do you think…?"

As the Dao Expert presiding over this place, everyone subconsciously turned their gaze towards this kind and compassionate old monk, hoping he could offer some advice.

"What General Song says makes sense," Master Yanhui began. "However, once the great tide collapses, thirty percent of the land will turn into a marshland. Thus, in this old monk's humble opinion, stopping the great tide is still the top priority."

After glancing at Song Tingye, who stood with his sword, Master Yanhui's calm and peaceful eyes twitched slightly, not fully agreeing with his proposal.

"But Master, without the help of a Dao Expert, how can we stop this great tide?" someone asked.

"The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it," Master Yanhui replied enigmatically. "What comes from a source must be dealt with at that source."

Hearing Master Yanhui's cryptic words, many people frowned, grumbling inwardly.

The Buddha Sect is always like this, one thought. They never explain things clearly, always speaking half-truths and hiding the rest, leaving a tail for you to guess. But what kind of time is this? This concerns the lives of hundreds of millions! Guess, guess, guess! Guess your &%…

Despite cursing internally, none of them dared to show the slightest dissatisfaction or doubt on their faces. No matter how kind and compassionate a Dao Expert was, he was still a Dao Expert. If annoyed, he could turn them to ashes with a flick of his finger, and no one would dare utter a word of complaint on their behalf.

"Master means that the reason the Flood Dragon King can raise the great tide in the Nu River without moving a finger is because he has acquired the position of Dianchuan Water Monarch," a short-statured monk with snow-white skin and a child-like face said slowly, standing up amidst the confusion. "If we can strip him of his Water Monarch position, he will lose this advantage. Then, if he still wants to raise the great tide, he will have to do it himself. In that case, Master Yanhui can take action against him. Am I right, Master?"

This person was the chief of the younger generation at the Tianlong Bodhisattva Temple in Dianchuan Province. Though he appeared child-like, he was actually over two hundred years old and at the Pinnacle of the Bloodstained Realm. The "Scripture of the Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva" he cultivated was immensely powerful, capable of invoking the blessing of the Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva, granting him the colossal strength of dragons and elephants, making him forceful and vigorous. Moving mountains and uprooting peaks was as easy as lifting his hand for him.

Upon hearing these words, everyone's gaze shifted to Master Yanhui nearby.

"Junior Brother Xianming has taken a good disciple," Master Yanhui said, nodding towards the young monk and chanting a Buddha's name, seemingly affirming his interpretation.

Although the young monk had pinpointed the meaning behind Master Yanhui's words, the crowd did not feel any sense of relief, as if their problem had been solved. Stripping the Flood Dragon King of his Water Monarch position sounded like a solution, but who was to do it? And who could strip a Dao Expert of his Water Monarch title right under his nose? What seemed like a solution was essentially a false premise. The difficulty of achieving it was no less than directly stopping the great tide of the Nu River from sweeping through.

For a moment, everyone fell silent again.

「...」

From the looks of it, if the great tide of the Nu River is truly unleashed, this entire region, spanning thousands of li, will likely turn into a marshland within days, Qi Xiu thought.

He stood on the summit of a majestic mountain shaped like an ape reaching for a peach, his sleeves gathered as he surveyed the Nu River below. It meandered through the mountains and plains like a massive yellow dragon. After merging with the Yongling River, the Nu River's waters had expanded more than threefold. The great river's surface sparkled, its waves surged, and the rushing water emitted a deep, heavy sound, like the very breath of the earth. The Nu River was immense. Once the great tide was unleashed, it would become an incredibly terrifying flood, capable of destroying cities and shattering mountains, utterly unstoppable.

"Hmm?"

Narrowing his eyes, Qi Xiu activated his Observing Qi Skill. He originally intended to find the area in the Nu River with the densest concentration of water Qi. This way, when the great tide broke, he could set up a Rune Array to delay it for some time. Though he couldn't dissolve or halt the entire great tide of the Nu River, saving even one life would be worthwhile.

However, as he observed the water Qi flow within the Nu River through his special black-and-white vision, he saw tens of thousands, countless specks of azure light appearing within the great river. The entire river seemed like a dazzling, multicolored river of stars, possessing a distinctly strange and beautiful aesthetic.

What is this…? Qi Xiu felt a sense of unease at this strange and inexplicable sight. An abnormality always signifies something amiss! If that's the case, then let me see for myself.

Chanting the incantation for the Observing Qi Skill, the Ancestral Aperture between Qi Xiu's eyebrows glowed brilliantly as his Divine Soul Force surged forth. He formed a Daoist Incantation with two fingers and gently swept them past his eyes. His pupils, originally only tinged with purple, were instantly flooded with violet light, engulfing his entire eye sockets. A radiance that seemed capable of penetrating all the secrets of the world shot out from Qi Xiu's eyes, illuminating everything before him.

Observing Qi Skill: Fifth Realm!

Besides observing the three types of qi—heaven, earth, and man—this advanced form could also consume Divine Soul Force to elevate the Observing Qi Skill to a new level, allowing him to directly perceive the fundamental origin behind things. However, this state of the Observing Qi Skill consumed a massive amount of Divine Soul Force, so Qi Xiu rarely used it unless absolutely necessary.

With his intensely purple eyes, Qi Xiu gazed at an azure speck of light, and suddenly, his vision blurred. In the next instant, a pair of hollow, cold eyes, swirling with ancient, mottled patterns, abruptly appeared in his sight.

This is…

Enduring the headache caused by the continuous drain on his Divine Soul Force, Qi Xiu manipulated the vision from his Observing Qi Skill, zooming in, trying to clearly see the owner of these eyes. As his perspective pulled back, a colossal and majestic turtle, as vast as a mountain peak, emerged before him.

"The giant turtle from the Nu River Dragon Palace?!" Qi Xiu exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock as he suddenly clenched his fists.

Years ago, Tai Yin had been taken by this very turtle to the Crystal Palace, located beneath the source of the Nu River. Although Qi Xiu hadn't been present at the time, he later learned all the details through Tai Yin's memories. He recognized this giant turtle at a glance as the one from the Nu River Dragon Palace because a piece of its carapace had originally been missing. Only after Tai Yin had restored this missing piece to the turtle did it awaken from its near-dormant state. Consequently, the color of that particular piece of carapace was different from the rest.

The anomaly in the Nu River is actually related to this giant turtle, Qi Xiu thought, his brows furrowing as a sense of gravity washed over him.

According to Tai Yin's memories, this giant turtle was very likely an existence from the same era as the True Dragons—completely unfathomable, and at least a being of the Primordial Spirit Realm. This was because only those in the Primordial Spirit Realm could achieve true immortality. Even Dao Experts only had a lifespan of three thousand years. Although species like giant turtles were naturally long-lived, it was impossible for one to survive for over a hundred thousand years.

Could it be that the one intending to unleash the great tide of the Nu River isn't the Flood Dragon King, but this giant turtle? As this possibility surfaced in his mind, Qi Xiu felt a chill run down his spine. If beings of the Primordial Spirit Realm were to intervene in this great war, it would truly signify the beginning of a world-ending cataclysm! After all, the number of Primordial Spirit masters in the entire Dianchuan Province could be counted on two hands. If existences of that level made a move, the only outcome would be the direct annihilation of Dianchuan Province.

No, that's not right. Why would an existence at the Primordial Spirit Realm resort to such flashy, meaningless tactics? Qi Xiu thought, his expression calm. With a flicker of his will, he instantly appeared on the banks of the Nu River.

Amidst the torrential, turbid, dark-yellow water, a faint azure speck of light drifted past him.

A Water Demon?

The speck of light was on a Water Demon—disheveled and covered in scales, its skin a dark bluish-green, its figure hunched and emaciated. Qi Xiu was about to seize it with a mere thought.

But the instant he made his move, a staggering, immense force suddenly counterattacked. It was majestic and unyielding, its profound and heavy intent making Qi Xiu feel as if he had collided with the entire Nu River.

BANG!

Qi Xiu stumbled back seven consecutive steps. Within his Spinal Heavenly Palace, his Immortal Blood Body was instantly riddled with cracks, on the verge of outright collapse. Fortunately, he possessed the Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body, making his physical form incredibly resilient. Otherwise, that single shockwave would have been enough to severely injure him, causing his body to disintegrate.

"A mere Water Demon! Let's see what tricks you have to protect yourself!"

Truly angered, Qi Xiu's eyes narrowed. He formed a Daoist Incantation with one hand, and his wide robes billowed with a sudden tremor.

"Hunyuan Palace! Suppress!"

Space suddenly trembled as a power that seemed to forcibly insert itself into this world descended. Endless, iridescent light, like a vast fog pouring from the heavens, surged and swirled, forming a domain. It forcibly seized everything within a ten-foot radius around Qi Xiu, pulling it all into the Hunyuan Palace. The river water froze; all was silent.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Qi Xiu looked down at the stunned and bewildered Water Demon. With a casual wave of his hand, a surge of immense power instantly pulverized the Water Demon into a bloody mist.

CLANG—

As the Water Demon perished, a lustrous, translucent, and smooth azure token, like polished colored glass, fell at Qi Xiu's feet.

Bending down to pick up this command token, Qi Xiu's gaze trembled violently, purple light surging in his eyes as he uttered in disbelief, "That giant turtle is actually… the Dianchuan Water Monarch?!"

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