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

Chen Chuan chatted with Mr. Mo for a while longer, but after not getting any more valuable information, he took his leave.

No sooner had Chen Chuan left than a middle-aged man sat down in his spot. He was the tavern owner, and he said in a low voice, "The Red Feather Gang is short of water. It seems something big has happened in the desert."

Mr. Mo said solemnly, "If it's that I'm worried about, then last night's sand demon attack on the city was just an appetizer."

Should we retreat now?

"Not yet, let's wait and see. That kid surnamed Chen is a Life Source Master, I'd like to see how much he can resist."

Master Mo stroked his beard and said, "His formation technique was really clumsy. Let's give him a copy of 'A Beginner's Guide to Formations'!"

"Yes."

The shopkeeper responded and got up to leave.

Deep in the desert.

Dozens of stone houses were abruptly built in a valley surrounded by earthen hills on three sides. Five-meter-high city walls enclosed these stone houses in the middle, while defensive arrays and illusion arrays were set up outside the city walls.

The defensive array can resist attacks and sandstorms, while the illusion array serves as a diversion. Ordinary people who come here will only see an endless desert and will not be able to detect that there are so many stone houses.

This is the location of the Crimson Flame Hall of the Red Feather Gang.

The Red Feather Gang's influence is not limited to Shanghe County. Only the Crimson Flame Hall operates in Shanghe County, and the Red Feather Gang has eighteen such halls.

The Crimson Flame Hall is currently facing a water shortage crisis. The water source where the hall is located has dried up, and the water reserves are only enough for them to consume for half a month.

Inside the council hall, Crimson Flame Hall Master Red Spider sat in the main seat with a serious expression.

She wore a crisp, fitted red robe with no cumbersome skirt. The fabric was tight and clung to her body, outlining her tall and slender figure. A wide, gilded jade belt cinched her waist, and a short blade hung from it. Dark gold spider patterns were embroidered on the cuffs and hem of her robe, as if flames were flowing around them.

"Master, another wave of sand demons just passed by Nanqiu. I estimate there are five or six hundred of them. If nothing unexpected happens, their destination should still be Taiping Village."

A large, dark-skinned man stood up to report.

"May they arrive tonight?"

Red Spider frowned slightly. Including this wave, three waves of sand demons had passed by them, with a total number of over a thousand.

If we add those that didn't pass through their territory, we don't know how many sand demons went to Taiping Village. It was already beyond Hongzhu'er and the others' expectations that Taiping Village was able to hold out last night.

But it's easy to imagine that last night's battle must have been extremely fierce. The demon-suppressing team of Taipingzhuang may have lost more than half of its members. Therefore, if Taipingzhuang encounters another large-scale sand demon attack tonight, it may not be able to withstand it.

Hong Zhu'er and the others didn't care whether Taipingzhuang could hold out, but now the situation has changed. Their base has run out of water, and the relocation will be a long process, so they need to stockpile more water.

They had just robbed the people of Taipingzhuang, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should be able to exchange it for 1000 jars of water. In the past, they wouldn't have cared about 1000 jars of water, but now it's different. The water source in their camp has dried up, and 1000 more jars of water could be a lifesaver in a critical moment.

But if Taipingzhuang can't withstand tonight's attack, it will become a gathering place for the sand demons, a small demon nest, and then the Chiyan Hall will no longer be able to use Taipingzhuang's water!

Therefore, the two sides are now in a somewhat interdependent relationship, like "if one of them is gone, the other will be in danger."

"The sand demons are moving very fast; they'll most likely reach Taipingzhuang tonight," the big black guy replied.

"In that case, our 1000 jars of water will be wasted."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have tied up those people from Taipingzhuang. It was all for nothing."

"Master, I think we should just tie up Ma Baoquan from Daxing Village. That guy is the head of the village, yet he doesn't care about the lives of the people. It wouldn't be too much to kill him. If we're going to use him to exchange for water, we can ask for an exorbitant amount."

"Ma Baoquan is extremely cautious. There are also second-level experts in Daxing Village. They are not so easy to tie up."

The people on either side began to discuss among themselves.

Red Spider stroked her chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The water source of the demon nest is about to dry up. There will be a continuous stream of sand demons surging into Shanghe County and Lin'an County. We definitely can't stay here anymore. Let's prepare to migrate according to the original plan."

"If Taipingzhuang can hold out until tonight, that would be best. If not, release their people; they're just a burden."

After speaking, Hong Zhu'er flicked her sleeves and stood up to walk towards the inner hall. Her long hair was tied into a neat high ponytail, secured with only a red rope. As she walked, the ends of her hair swayed, exuding a heroic aura.

Taipingzhuang.

Government office.

Chen Chuan sat cross-legged in the training room. For him, the most urgent thing right now was to improve his cultivation level, as the first rank, fifth star was simply too weak.

Fortunately, the spiritual liquid was extremely effective in improving cultivation. Starting yesterday, Chen Chuan drank the spiritual liquid like water. Whenever he felt that the energy in his body had been almost absorbed, he would take a sip.

call!

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Chuan let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and his eyes were noticeably brighter than before.

They've advanced.

Tier 1, Six Stars!

Because of his weak foundation and low cultivation level, Chen Chuan's improvement speed was quite fast. He improved by one star after drinking spiritual liquid for two days.

However, according to the information I remember, advancing from six stars to seven stars in the first tier is a hurdle, which is considered a sprint from a mid-level first-tier cultivator to a high-level first-tier cultivator.

Of course, "intermediate" and "advanced" are just terms people use in private, because people have found that every three-star advancement brings a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Taking a first-level cultivator as an example, advancing from three stars to four stars, from six stars to seven stars, and from nine stars to the second level are the most difficult hurdles to overcome. Therefore, most people's cultivation levels are often stuck at three stars, six stars, or nine stars in the first level.

Cultivators below four stars in the first tier are called beginners in the first tier, four, five, and six stars are considered intermediate in the first tier, and seven, eight, and nine stars are advanced in the first tier.

Chen Chuan has now advanced to the first tier, six stars, and is about to face the hurdle of advancing from six stars to seven stars.

Stepping out of the training room, Chen Chuan felt lighter than ever before, as if all the meridians in his body were unblocked. This must be the change brought about by the improvement of his cultivation.

"Master, you've finally come out!"

Hu Changhe was waiting outside the training room. As soon as Chen Chuan came out, he immediately went to greet him.

"What happened now?"

Chen Chuan frowned. Hu Changhe and the others waiting at the entrance of the training room must have something important to say.

"Master, this time it's good news. I've come across a book by chance. Please take a look."

As he spoke, Hu Changhe took a book out of his pocket and handed it to Chen Chuan.

"The Beginner's Guide to Formations?"

Chen Chuan glanced at the text on the book cover and his eyes lit up immediately: "Where did you get this book?"

"I bought it from a border merchant who was selling it in the market. The people from the demon-suppressing team saw it and notified me. The manor lord knows how to set up formations, and I thought it might come in handy, so I bought it."

Hu Changhe briefly recounted how he obtained the book.

Chen Chuan, however, felt something was amiss. Logically, such a book should be quite valuable. How did a border merchant manage to obtain it?

Chen Chuan quickly asked, "Where's Shang over there? Is he still in the village?"

"I don't know, but I suppose it's still there."

Hu Changhe wasn't sure either, because border merchants often stopped at Taipingzhuang to rest before continuing their journey, and he didn't know if those merchants had left or not.

Chen Chuan immediately ordered, "Take men and search for them right away. If they're still in the village, bring them here."