NOVEL NEXT Chapter 185: Two Killing Weapons
Walking forward a few dozen steps, the air grew thicker with moisture, as if approaching the seaside.
Of course, the Northern Land was not by the sea, but the amount of water gathered here was far greater than any lake should contain.
"After our continuous diversion for some time, the underground rivers of the extreme north have all been redirected here. Coupled with our unceasing efforts to gather the water vapour in the Northern Land's air by using the 'Circulating Water Energy' technique you taught us, Daoist, the Northern Grassland has been suffering from severe drought for days, and even the pastures are beginning to wither," Gu Chen explained as he walked.
The most scarce element in the Northern Land was water. The grassland people were nomadic; they all survived on herding. Without their pastures, they would be driven to desperation.
Naturally, the upper echelons had nothing to fear, and neither did the highly skilled Martial Artists. But as for the ordinary grassland people below, they could hardly withstand this man-made disaster.
The effects were not yet apparent, but in a month or so, it wouldn't be Jashu leading his troops to actively invade Northern Zhou, but rather he would have no choice but to do so. If they didn't seize water sources, at least half of the tribes on the grassland would perish.
"How goes the Array, and that other matter?" Qing Yu inquired.
"That, you should see for yourself to truly appreciate the results," Gu Chen said with a light laugh.
"I see," Qing Yu nodded in agreement.
After a few more steps, a vast pool of water came into view.
It covered an area of over fifteen thousand square meters and was two meters deep, shaped in a rectangle. In this pool, countless lifelike formations composed of people were arrayed.
The reason for describing them as lifelike was that living people couldn't possibly stand quietly underwater without breathing. And the reason for not saying dead people was because these individuals had been submerged for several months, yet their bodies showed no signs of swelling.
They retained their appearances from when they were alive, indistinguishable from their living selves, but there was no sign of life in them, they all looked like Water Ghosts.
"Mr. Liu, familiar faces indeed!" Qing Yu remarked with a light laugh.
This Mr. Liu Maoxing had previously conspired with Yi Qianshan, plotting rebellion. After Qing Yu used the Heavenly Giant Statue to kill all the rebellious Martial Artists, Mr. Liu had been dispatched to Feiyun Pass.
Back then, the technology was not refined, and unexpectedly, Liu Maoxing survived the trials and became a qualified product.
"Daoist, the Water Soul Formation is ready, and these fifty thousand Water Corpses are one of our achievements, just waiting for you to officially activate them," Gu Chen said, regarding the countless Water Corpses as if they were nothing, his expression as impassive as an ancient well.
In the Canghai World, the Water Department among the West City Eight Divisions, inheriting the 'Circulation of the Six Voids Technique,' had developed a Forbidden Technique that defied the Human Dao called the 'Water Soul Formation.'
Using humans as the material, they refined Water Corpses similar to the zombies of legend. All the blood in the bodies of these Water Corpses remained liquid, and they could also infect others through the liquid, making them akin to a Martial Arts version of a biohazard.
Qing Yu had gathered Gu Chen and others at Feiyun Pass to conduct lengthy research, one of the objectives of which was this 'Water Soul Formation.' This Array could be described as a weapon of war, an instrument of death upon contact for ordinary soldiers and Martial Artists.
Qing Yu had witnessed the might of the Demon Envoys of the Shiyin Hall of the Heavenly Demon Palace, controlling countless Walking Corpse Zombies, where a single person could form an army. Although these zombies were trivial to a master, they were a tremendous weapon of slaughter in war.
This 'Water Soul Formation' was one of the preparations made for the Corpse Refining Technique of Shiyin Hall.
'Actual combat strength still needs to be tested, and I'm not recreating the 'Water Soul Formation' just for this one reason...' Qing Yu closed his eyes slightly, listening to the prompt by his ear.
"You have lost all humanity. For researching the 'Water Soul Formation' and afflicting countless lives, the system gives you a thumbs up, rewarding you with twenty-five thousand Villain Points," the system announced with its toxic reward message.
'Two Water Corpses for one Villain Point? Not too bad,' Qing Yu thought to himself.
Evidently these Water Corpses had come from either executed criminals or ordinary grassland people. Refining them was in essence no different from the past atrocities of brainwashing the grassland people into murderous soldiers.
Yet these ruthless acts, and the present manifestation of the 'Water Soul Formation,' had brought Qing Yu an enormous number of Villain Points, more than the previous plot to usurp the throne.
After all, in a sense, that coup was a peaceful transition that didn't involve resorting to armed struggle. Whereas now, just the preliminary experiments had cost countless lives, not to mention these fifty thousand Water Corpses.
Of course, relying on the 'Water Soul Formation' alone wasn't sufficient to repel the enemy.
As mentioned before, while the Water Corpses were a lethal threat to ordinary soldiers and Martial Artists, they were feeble and easily defeated by a master.
Defeating Jashu's army of a hundred and fifty thousand with the 'Water Soul Formation' alone wouldn't be enough.
The huge amount of water collected was not something that could be used up by a single 'Water Soul Formation.'
"Hidden Dragon, is it ready as well?" Qing Yu asked.
"All preparations are complete," Gu Chen's usually calm face now flushed with unmistakable excitement, his eyes full of fervor, "Daoist, your scholarship transcends that of mortals. The Heavenly Giant Statue in the Divine Capital Imperial Palace can display boundless power with the aid of the Dragon Vein, but much of that is thanks to the Dragon Vein itself.
I never imagined you'd have such a brilliant and wondrous idea, truly..." Gu Chen's face turned even redder, struggling to find the words, "Incredible, incredible..."
For him, the 'Water Soul Formation' was just a minor outcome of combining Corpse Refining Technique and Circulating Water Energy. Indeed, the Taoist world had never lacked Taoists skilled in corpse refining.
Completing the 'Water Soul Formation' did not give Gu Chen a sense of achievement. On the contrary, it was the prowess of the Hidden Dragon, comparable to a Divine Communication strike, that truly deserved to be marveled at.
Merely with ordinary water, such magnificent power was achieved, a testament to the pinnacle of human wit and a supreme ode to human intelligence.
In any case, upon seeing the Hidden Dragon, Gu Chen had become an absolute fan of Qing Yu.
After a short while, Gu Chen regained his composure and said, "Hidden Dragon requires both cold and warm currents, and the Daoists who cultivated Circulating Fire Power are already prepared. However, balancing the two streams of water is beyond our capabilities, and we require you, Daoist, to personally make the adjustments."
If this were to take place in the ocean, the Hidden Dragon would not need so much effort. Anyone could unleash the power to destroy the very heavens by simply tapping into the convergence of cold and warm ocean currents.
However, inland, it was not possible. Not only was there not enough water, requiring numerous people to cultivate the 'Circulating Water Energy' to divert underground rivers and gather moisture, but the cold and warm currents also had to be artificially created.
Fortunately, in this world, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was abundant and magical Arrays aided the process. Otherwise, creating a Hidden Dragon inland would be a mere fantasy.
Being able to finish the Hidden Dragon in less than a year was a convenience of high-level world benefits. If it were up in the Canghai World, it might not even be completed in ten years.
"Very well, let's make some adjustments and initiate the Hidden Dragon," said Qing Yu.