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

Taiping Tavern.

There were only two tables of customers left in the shop, all of whom were merchants from the border region who were staying overnight in Taipingzhuang.

A border merchant with a thick beard saw that it was raining outside and immediately burst into laughter: "A blessing from heaven! It seems our journey will be successful."

"I never expected such good fortune to descend upon this godforsaken place. This trip is truly blessed; it's hard not to make a fortune!"

"I wonder how long the water level will drop. It would be wonderful if it could fill my bucket."

"Even if we don't fill a whole bucket, filling even a jar would be good..."

The merchants were all in high spirits, chatting and laughing.

Mr. Mo sat by the window, watching the rain and sipping his astringent red leaf tea. He muttered to himself, "This kid is quite good at using water manipulation techniques, but is he even letting the people sleep at night by bringing down blessings like this?"

Once blessings descend from heaven, the people will surely rush into the courtyard with all sorts of containers, making it impossible for them to sleep.

Just then, thunder rumbled in the night sky again.

Mr. Mo, who was still complaining in his heart, suddenly changed his expression. He put down the teacup in his hand, and a wisp of consciousness floated into the night sky. Then he witnessed the completion of the Overturned Water Demon Extermination Formation.

This kid...

I just wanted him to learn about formations, and he actually managed to set up the Overturned Water Demon Extermination Formation?

Mr. Mo was dumbfounded. This Overturned Water Demon Extermination Formation was no simple formation. Not to mention a low-level Life Source Master who had just awakened, even an experienced mid-level Life Source Master might not be able to set it up successfully.

Moreover, Chen Chuan transplanted the array's core using the Water Transfer Technique; his talent is simply terrifying.

I misjudged it!

Could he be a genius?

Withdrawing that wisp of consciousness, Mr. Mo fell into deep thought.

At this moment, the tavern's manager, Zhu, sat down opposite him and whispered, "That kid actually set up a Water-Overturning Demon-Slaying Formation. Maybe Taiping Village can withstand this migrating demon horde!"

"That depends on whether the Demon King comes or not. If the Demon King comes, his mediocre formation won't even withstand a single claw from him."

Mr. Mo touched the teacup and said.

"There can't be a demon king, can there? There are no high-quality water sources within the jurisdiction of Shanghe County," said Manager Zhu.

"That's hard to say. It depends on the situation at the demon's lair's water source. If it's completely dried up and there's nowhere else to migrate to, Shanghe City would be a good option. Let's keep a close eye on the demon's lair's movements!"

After saying that, Mr. Mo turned to look out the window. The rain was still falling, and children were running happily in the street.

Daxingzhuang.

Government office.

The sentry in charge of gathering intelligence rushed into the council hall and presented a letter: "Reporting to the lord, a carrier pigeon from the direction of Taiping Manor has just brought back a secret letter."

Sitting in the main seat was a burly middle-aged man with a face full of fleshy muscles, murky and gloomy triangular eyes, a broad nose, thick lips, and a dark complexion.

This man was the owner of Daxing Manor, named Ma Baoquan.

He took the secret letter brought back by the carrier pigeon, opened it to read, and then frowned: "They actually survived and even killed a second-tier sand demon. When did Taiping Village become so powerful?"

As he spoke, he handed the secret letter to Guo Longyuan, the director of the Demon Suppression Division, who was sitting to his left.

The latter took the letter and read it through, then frowned: "If what's in the letter is true, then the纨绔子弟 (spoiled brat) sent by the Chen family is a Fate Source Master. That's unlikely, isn't it?"

"Of course not. If the Chen family produces a Life Source Master, they will definitely stay in Shanghe City and inherit the position of Prefect in the future."

Ma Baoquan shook his head and continued, "However, Taipingzhuang was quite lucky this time; they withstood an attack by more than a thousand sand demons."

"But the message I received was that this sand demon attack on the city was not accidental, but rather the result of the depletion of the water source for the demon's lair. A large number of sand demons will be migrating soon. Taipingzhuang can withstand it once, but it will be difficult to withstand it a second time."

"Director Guo, we in Daxingzhuang also need to prepare to fight off the sand monster!"

"I have been reinforcing the defenses for the past two days."

Guo Longyuan nodded and then suggested, "Master, should we send some reinforcements to Taiping Village? We're all in this together. After all, they are the gateway on the westward route. If Taiping Village is captured by the Sand Demons, we'll be next."

"To reinforce Taipingzhuang?"

Ma Baoquan curled his lip in disdain: "What do I care if Taipingzhuang lives or dies! Besides, that Chen family brat is a discarded pawn. If I help him, do you think that young master Chen from Shanghe City would agree?"

"I just wanted to keep the battlefield in Taipingzhuang so that we could minimize our losses and preserve our strength," Guo Longyuan explained.

"Speaking of preserving our strength, I think we could take some men to Taiping Village tomorrow. Their water source has been restored, right? Let's go get some water. Otherwise, once the sand demons breach the city, that water will become theirs. It's better to give it to us!"

Ma Baoquan squinted his triangular eyes and said.

"They won't give it to me, will they?" Guo Longyuan frowned.

"You're a second-tier cultivator, do you think they'd refuse?" Ma Baoquan sneered.

Upon hearing this, a sinister smile crept onto Guo Longyuan's lips: "Then I'll have people prepare now, and we'll leave tomorrow morning!"

Previously, Taipingzhuang and Daxingzhuang both belonged to Shanghe County and were considered "one family," so they naturally couldn't rob each other of resources. But now the situation is different. Taipingzhuang has been abandoned by Shanghe County, so the county won't interfere if they try to rob resources.

In the era of the Great Desert, strength reigned supreme, and might made right.

Taipingzhuang.

midnight.

Chen Chuan was fast asleep when the deafening sound of drums rang out once again inside the government office.

Accompanied by the rapid drumbeats, the shouts of the yamen runners echoed throughout the entire village.

"Alarm! Alarm!"

"Sand monsters are attacking the city!"

"Sand monsters are attacking the city!"

Having learned from yesterday's experience, Chen Chuan was much more at ease today.

"Young master, be careful!"

Before leaving, Qianmei gave him a worried look and gave him some instructions.

"Don't worry, it's okay."

Chen Chuan chuckled and pinched the little maid's chubby cheeks.

Compared to the hasty response last night, Chen Chuan was well prepared today. Not to mention the Golden Bell Formation on the city gate and walls, the Overturned Water Demon-Slaying Formation at the East Gate would definitely give the Sand Demons a hard time.

Mounting his Crimson Flame Horse, Chen Chuan swiftly arrived at the East Gate and ascended the city wall via the horse path.

At this moment, Hu Changhe was peering into the distance from the top of the battlements. When he saw Chen Chuan, he seemed to have found his pillar of support. With a mournful face, he said, "Master, there are more than twice as many sand demons as yesterday. There are three second-tier sand demons alone. I don't know if we can still hold out."

Hu Changhe was on night duty on the city wall tonight, so he learned of the approaching demon horde to Taiping Village immediately. Because he had killed a second-tier sand demon last night, his confidence was greatly boosted, and he was thinking of fighting another big battle tonight. However, when he saw the lineup of sand demons attacking the city tonight, he was completely dumbfounded.

Last night there was a Tier 2 Saliva-Faced Ghost Spider, but today the Sand Demon team actually has two Tier 2 Saliva-Faced Ghost Spiders, in addition to a Sand Demon that we didn't see last night.

The monsters resembled humans in appearance, but were enormous, ranging in size from over two meters to four or five meters. These monsters had only half a face, no chin, and a deep slit split open at the throat from which a huge, long tongue protruded and dragged on the ground, covered in disgusting slime.

This sand demon is called the "Throat-Splitting Tongue Demon." It has a hard body and is extremely aggressive.

Chen Chuan glanced at the vast horde of demons, but did not answer Hu Changhe's question. Instead, he directly used 10,000 Ding-level energy stones to activate the Overturning Water Demon Extermination Array.

In an instant, a beam of white light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire Taipingzhuang village.