In the global desert, I have a spring of spiritual water.

Such a large-scale battle naturally alarmed the people of the village. Upon hearing that the sand demon had been defeated, the people, who had been trembling with fear, were overjoyed.

They saw hope for survival during the day, but little did they expect to be fed to the sand demons at night.

Many men spontaneously came to the city wall, waiting to be ordered by Chen Chuan to help with the cleanup. Clearly, this was not the first time they had done something like this.

Taipingzhuang is located in a remote area, surrounded by endless desert. It is 280 li away from the nearest human settlement, Daxingzhuang. Therefore, sand monsters are extremely active. Although this is the first time that sand monsters have attacked the city on such a large scale, they have encountered small groups of monsters many times. The people in the village are very united in fighting against the sand monsters. After all, only by working together can they survive in this harsh environment.

Among the crowd of people who came to help, an elderly man with a white beard stood out. He was wearing a faded dark blue long gown with slightly worn edges and patches, but it was starched and made neat and tidy, without the slightest sign of sloppiness.

The old man held a pen in his left hand and a yellowed copy of "The Chronicle of Taiping Village" in his right. He walked briskly up the city wall, opened the "Chronicle of Taiping Village" under the lighthouse, and wrote on a blank page: "In the year 1024 of the Desert Calendar, a sand demon attacked the city. The village lord, Chen Chuan, led the demon-suppressing team to fight against the demon."

As he wrote this, he glanced out of the city and continued writing: 124 Tier 1 Saliva-Faced Spiders were killed, one Tier 2 Saliva-Faced Spider was killed, the Sand Demons retreated, and the people rejoiced.

Chen Chuan was more than ten meters away from the old man and had no idea what he was writing. Just as he was about to ask, Geng Hu ran up to him excitedly and said, "Young Master, there are actually two Grade B energy stones inside that second-tier Saliva-Faced Ghost Spider!"

As he spoke, he opened his palm and handed two red energy stones, each the size of a goose egg, to Chen Chuan.

Sand monsters most likely contain energy stones, but the level and quantity are uncertain. Usually, the energy stones in the bodies of first-tier sand monsters are grade D or grade C, while grade B energy stones may appear in the bodies of second-tier sand monsters.

One Grade B energy stone can be exchanged for one hundred Grade C energy stones and ten thousand Grade D energy stones.

Two Grade B energy stones are equivalent to 20,000 Grade D energy stones, which is quite a fortune!

Chen Chuan took the two Grade B energy stones and put them directly into his spiritual spring space.

Setting up formations and inscribing talismans both consume energy stones. In the battle just now, he consumed more than twenty grade C energy stones, but now he has gained two grade B energy stones, so he has made a profit.

Of course, the gains from this battle did not stop there. There were also 124 corpses of Saliva-Faced Spiders below the city, and if nothing unexpected happened, some Grade C and Grade D energy stones could also be obtained.

Just as the two were talking, Hu Changhe also came over. He said with a solemn expression, "Reporting to the Manor Lord, in this battle, the Demon Suppression Team had a total of 41 dead and 52 wounded."

Upon hearing this number, Chen Chuan, who had been in a good mood, immediately frowned: "How come so many people died?"

Chen Chuan was also on the city wall when the city was being defended. The demon-suppressing team had a commanding position and plenty of flint, arrows, and other weapons. Although they couldn't completely avoid casualties, they didn't see so many people die.

"Our casualties here are relatively small, but the demon-suppressing teams in the other three directions have suffered heavy casualties."

Hu Changhe shook his head and sighed.

"Let's do a good job of providing compensation."

Chen Chuan didn't ask any more questions. The reason was simple: the experts in Taiping Village were all on the east side. Although the number of sand demons in the other three directions was not large, the members of the demon-suppressing teams were relatively low in cultivation. Without experts like Geng Hu and Hu Changhe to guard them, the casualty rate would naturally be higher.

There are still too few capable people, and the defenses of Taipingzhuang are too weak!

Upon learning of the battle losses, Chen Chuan felt a strong sense of crisis. This time, it was only a second-tier sand demon that almost breached the city. If three or five second-tier sand demons came, Taipingzhuang would definitely not be able to withstand it, and all the people would become food for these demons.

"By the way, Lao Hu, there was an old man earlier holding a pen in one hand and a book in the other. Who was he?"

Chen Chuan wanted to call the white-bearded old man over for questioning, but when he turned around, the man was gone and he didn't know where he had gone.

"Master, you said that man is Master Mo Da. He is the school official in the manor, responsible for recording the 'Taiping Manor Chronicle'. He is also a storyteller, and he usually tells stories at the Taiping Tavern."

Hu Changhe introduced the old man's identity.

"Mr. Mo?"

"No name?"

Chen Chuan pressed for an answer.

"name?"

Hu Changhe scratched his head, pretending to think, then shook his head: "Everyone calls him Master Mo, but nobody really knows his real name."

"Young master, that old man is a first-tier, fifth-star cultivator. There's nothing special about him."

At this moment, Geng Hu took over the conversation. He had also noticed Mr. Mo earlier; the man was quite conspicuous, holding a pen in one hand and a book in the other.

"I just thought that old man was quite special."

Hearing Geng Hu say this, Chen Chuan didn't ask any further questions.

At this moment, Kong Deshui ran over: "Young master, there are still three Saliva-Faced Ghost Spiders trapped inside the Golden Bell, and the Golden Bell is blocking the city gate, preventing the civilians who are helping to clean up the battlefield from getting out."

"I forgot about that."

Chen Chuan immediately descended the city wall and arrived at the city gate.

The Golden Bell Formation sealed the city gates completely. The common people and the demon-suppressing team members, unaware of its workings, could only see the pale yellow outline of the golden bells. A group of people were watching the three-headed, drooling spider demon inside through the formation's walls.

The Golden Bell Formation has the ability to deplete the life force of the Sand Demons. At this moment, the three-headed, drooling spider trapped inside the formation is lying on the ground, barely alive, and the distorted human face on its abdomen has lost all expression.

"Master!"

"Lord Manor!"

Seeing Chen Chuan approach, the onlookers greeted him with clasped hands and spontaneously made way for him.

Chen Chuan nodded to the group, then walked to the Golden Bell Formation and looked at the three-headed, drooling spider inside. With a thought, the pale yellow Golden Bell light shield disappeared instantly.

Without the suppression of the formation, the three-headed saliva-faced ghost spiders, which were originally on the verge of death, seemed to have regained their life and stood up. However, before they could make any move, Geng Hu and Hu Changhe's long swords had already slashed down. A moment later, the three-headed saliva-faced ghost spiders fell to the ground again, with disgusting viscous liquid flowing out of their abdominal cavity.

"Uncle Tiger, Old Hu, I'll teach you a mantra for activating the formation. In a little while, you'll lead your men out of the city to clean up the battlefield. If anything unexpected happens, immediately return to the city and activate the formation."

Having just completed the practical exercise, Chen Chuan had mastered the use of the Golden Bell Formation. He could activate or deactivate the formation simply by thinking about it.

Once the formation is set up, it can be repeatedly activated unless damaged by external forces. Each activation requires a Grade C energy stone and the incantation set up by Chen Chuan.

After figuring out how to use the formation, Chen Chuan already had a plan to protect the village. Starting tomorrow, he planned to set up multiple Golden Bell Formations on the city wall and then tell the incantation to Hu Changhe and others who were in charge of guarding the city. Once the sand demons attacked the city again, the formations could be activated to resist.

This level of Golden Bell Formation is enough to resist most first-tier sand demons, thus greatly reducing the casualties of the demon-suppressing team.