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

The next day.

The council chamber of the government office.

Hu Changhe is reporting on last night's harvest.

In addition to the two Grade B energy stones dropped by the Tier 2 Saliva-Faced Spider, the group of Tier 1 Sand Demons that were killed also dropped 45 Grade C energy stones and 530 Grade D energy stones.

When talking about these gains, Hu Changhe's eyes lit up. He had been the director of the Taipingzhuang Demon Suppression Division since he was 27 years old, and now at 35, this was the first time in eight years that he had collected so many energy stones.

"Master, besides these energy stones, the corpses of those sand demons have been collected and used to refine lamp oil. The legs of that second-tier Saliva-Faced Ghost Spider are extremely hard and can be made into weapons. I have already had someone remove those eight legs and send them to the weapon-refining shop."

Chen Chuan nodded slightly. Hu Changhe was more experienced in cleaning up the battlefield, so it was best to let him handle it.

Chen Chuan's gaze swept across the council chamber before he asked, "What are your thoughts on the sand demon attack on the city?"

After defeating the demon horde last night, Chen Chuan had been wondering why there was such a large-scale sand demon attack on the city. He learned from Hu Changhe and others that there had never been such a large-scale sand demon attack on the city before.

"Master, I think it's all because of the heavenly blessings. Four blessings in one day. People in other towns and villages will definitely be envious, including the Sand Demon."

"Furthermore, under the protection of the manor lord, the water quality of my Taiping Manor is already top-notch. Perhaps those sand demons were also attracted by this top-notch water."

Hu Changhai stepped forward and spoke.

"Yes, top-quality water is extremely scarce. Not only do the sand demons covet it, but if the news reaches Shanghe City, the officials in the prefectural government might also want a share."

Zhang Xu then added.

"Master, this superior water source is a great thing for us people of Taiping Village. However, even a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. In the past, superior water sources were located in large cities and were heavily guarded. Now that this superior water source has appeared in Taiping Village, it will not be easy to protect it."

Zhu Xu spoke with a worried expression.

Last night, Chen Chuan had thought that it might be caused by the superior water source. After all, water resources were scarce in this era, and superior water sources were even more precious. Now that he saw that Hu Changhai and the others were also analyzing it in the same way, it was probably really the reason.

"Taipingzhuang finally has water, and it's a top-quality water source. We can't just give up such a good water source!"

Hu Changhe sneered, "Whoever wants to seize our Taipingzhuang's water source, demon or human, will have to step over my dead body first!"

Last night's battle gave Chen Chuan a deeper understanding of Hu Changhe. He knew that Hu Changhe wasn't just talking nonsense; he was truly willing to live and die with Taipingzhuang.

"Old Hu is right, no one can take away our Taipingzhuang's water source."

"However, the defenses of Taipingzhuang are currently too weak. The city walls need to be raised and reinforced. Are there any construction engineers in the village?"

Chen Chuan asked.

This era has many special professions. In addition to life source masters like him, there are builders, alchemists, healers, and so on.

The awakening condition for a builder is "pure earth element cultivator". Perhaps due to the environment, everything else was lacking in the Great Desert Era, but earth was not lacking. Therefore, there were relatively more earth element cultivators, and the number of builders was not as rare as that of life source masters.

"no."

Hu Changhe shook his head with a wry smile: "Master, our Taiping Manor doesn't have any special professions."

This answer was exactly what Chen Chuan expected. He had only asked casually, but if Taipingzhuang had a construction engineer, the city walls wouldn't be in such a dilapidated state.

"Old Hu, call a few captains from the Demon Suppression Team and come with me to the city wall to set up an array."

"Changhai, you come too. We need to set up an array in the water room. Everyone else, go and get busy."

Chen Chuan gave an order, then led the Hu brothers out of the government office, with Geng Hu, their bodyguard, quickly following behind.

"Uncle Tiger, you don't need to follow me anymore. Focus on your cultivation."

"I'll strive to raise my cultivation level to the second tier!"

Chen Chuan called out to Geng Hu, saying that he felt he was short-handed and lacked combat strength after last night's battle, and the village urgently needed a second-level cultivator to keep things in order.

"Second-order?"

Geng Hu looked troubled: "Young Master, if I could advance to the second tier, I would have done so already. You have no idea how difficult it is to advance to the second tier!"

Hu Changhe glanced at Geng Hu. As a first-tier, eight-star cultivator, he knew how difficult cultivation was. It was hard to say whether he could even advance to the ninth star, let alone become a second-tier cultivator.

Once they advance to the second tier, their strength will increase dramatically, completely transcending the realm of ordinary people, and their lifespan will also increase.

"Take this, there will be more when you run out."

Chen Chuan tossed a jade bottle to Geng Hu. The first-level spiritual spring could produce one liter of spiritual liquid every day, but with Chen Chuan's current cultivation level, he couldn't absorb that much. It was better to give some to Geng Hu so that he could break through to the second level.

Once he successfully advances to the second tier, the combat power of Taipingzhuang will increase significantly.

"This is?"

Geng Hu looked at Chen Chuan with a suspicious expression.

"You'll know once you try it."

Geng Hu immediately opened the bottle and took a swig. His leopard-like eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, young master!"

"I'm going to cultivate!"

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the government office.

Hu Changhe was very curious about what was in the jade bottle, but he didn't dare to ask unless Chen Chuan told him.

"Old Hu, you're a Tier 1, Eight-Star?"

Chen Chuan asked as he walked.

"Yes, I have been promoted to eight stars for two years."

Hu Changhe answered truthfully.

"From now on, I'll put aside unimportant work and focus on my cultivation."

Chen Chuan then took out another jade bottle and handed it to Hu Changhe, but this jade bottle was much smaller than the one he gave to Geng Hu.

Chen Chuan gave Geng Hu a full liter of spiritual liquid, while Hu Changhe's bottle contained about 250 milliliters.

This spiritual liquid may be extremely precious to outsiders, but it is inexhaustible for Chen Chuan, since it is produced every day, and the output will be even greater after the spiritual spring is upgraded.

Especially now is a time when we need manpower, so there's no need to be stingy with this little bit of spiritual liquid. Improving the team's strength is the most important thing.

Chen Chuan himself is also working hard to cultivate, but his foundation is too weak, and it will take time for him to catch up.

"Thank you for the generous gift, Master!"

"Your subordinate will certainly live up to the master's high expectations!"

Hu Changhe knelt on one knee and carefully took the jade bottle.

Although he didn't know what was in the jade bottle, he could deduce from Geng Hu's expression that it must be a priceless treasure, otherwise a first-level nine-star cultivator wouldn't be so excited.

Chen Chuan first led his men to the water room and set up three layers of golden bell formations above each well. In this way, it would be almost impossible to break the formation without the strength of the second tier.

After resting for a while, he set up several Golden Bell Arrays at the west, south, and north city gates and on the city walls. Once activated, these Golden Bell Arrays not only had the function of resisting the sand demons, but also protected the demon-suppressing team members.

However, Chen Chuan is not yet able to cover the city wall with formations. Firstly, the city wall is too long. Secondly, setting up and activating formations requires energy stones, and Chen Chuan does not have enough energy stones in reserve at the moment. Also, with Chen Chuan's current cultivation level, he needs to rest for a while after setting up a dozen or so Golden Bell Formations. To surround Taiping Village with Golden Bell Formations would be an extremely large project.

After setting up another Golden Bell Formation, Chen Chuan drank some spiritual liquid and leaned against the crenellation to recover his strength. At this moment, a member of the Demon Suppression Team, covered in sweat, ran up the city wall. He seemed not to recognize Chen Chuan and knelt directly at Hu Changhe's feet, crying with a mournful face, "Director Hu, something terrible has happened! Our brothers have been robbed by river bandits!"