Deities: Rulers of Nature

After Qinglu activated her Eye of Truth and surveyed Mirror Lake one last time, confirming that there were no more bronze-tier wild beasts left, she returned to the tribe and announced that the next phase of the cleanup could begin.

The Yellow River, winding for thousands of miles, meanders along the plains and finally flows into the South China Sea.

The environment in the long river is far more complex than that of Mirror Lake. The upstream section of the river is extremely winding, the river flows fast, and the water flow impacts the riverbed, creating many undercurrents.

In the middle reaches, the terrain becomes flatter. After being joined by numerous small rivers, the river becomes wider and the current is gentle. The abundant aquatic plants and calm water make this place a paradise for various fish to live and reproduce. The dense schools of fish also attract countless water birds and wild animals from the shore to hunt here, forming a scene full of killing yet extremely prosperous.

The final downstream area is a completely gentle slope, where the rushing river has carved out lakes of varying sizes. Ji Xuan placed the small lake in the Cherry Blossom Divine Realm here. These lakes vary in depth and are completely different from the ecology of the main channel of the long river.

The goal of clearing the long river is obviously not something that can be accomplished in the short term. Therefore, for the next period of time, Qinglu and Chihong will lead teams to take turns clearing the long river. After all, they can't push all the affairs of the tribe onto Qingdao. Someone has to stay behind to handle them.

The two of them would only act together when they encountered a particularly troublesome wild beast.

Over the next two months, the temple guards, led by Green and Crimson, went through numerous battles. During this time, the two of them took action less frequently, spending more time on the sidelines. This also served as a test for the temple guards.

The clearing of the upstream section of the river was surprisingly easy. Bronze-tier wild beasts were rarely seen here. The main danger faced by the temple guards came from the occasional surging undercurrents.

The middle and lower reaches were the hardest-hit areas where battles frequently broke out, and the temple guards paid a heavy price here.

For example, the two snake-necked turtles I encountered at the beginning.

This wild beast is very deceptive. It usually moves slowly, or even stays still in one place, with its head tightly retracted into its shell.

But when it actually launches an attack, the snake-necked turtle's thick, long neck will instantly propel the turtle's head out, and its serrated, horny beak will bite down hard on its prey. The terrifying bite force is enough to break the snake-man's tailbone.

Finally, the temple guards exerted tremendous effort and risked injury to kill him.

However, the rewards were also substantial. The snake-necked turtle's shell was extremely sturdy, and after being transported back to the tribe, it was processed and made into a shield with excellent defensive capabilities, far surpassing the previous wooden and stone shields, making the temple guards more survivable.

There are also rock crabs in the mud, whose shells are very thick and whose giant pincers are terrifying. If the temple guards had not been equipped with sturdy tortoise shell shields to withstand the attacks of the crab pincers, there would probably have been many casualties.

In addition, the strangulation of the darkwater anaconda, the cutting of the barracuda, the deadly venom of the ghost-faced spider... every advance in the long river is accompanied by bloodshed and casualties.

But it was precisely through this brutal battle that the surviving temple guards not only became stronger in individual combat, but also cooperated more seamlessly with each other, sometimes understanding each other's meaning with just a glance.

By this day, the team had advanced to the lower reaches of the river, where the current slowed down, lakes were connected, and the terrain was complex.

"Stop." Qinglu stopped and waved. "Jinyan, go scout ahead and be careful."

His cyan pupils contracted slightly. According to the feedback from the Eye of Truth, a large black iron-colored ball of light was approaching them in the distance, and there were also a few streaks of bronze light scattered in the center of the black iron color.

Without Qinglu saying a word, the rest of the temple guards automatically dispersed, finding several suitable positions for battle without any command, and instantly set up their battle formation.

Jin Yan returned shortly afterward.

"Chief, it's a group of toads we've never seen before." Jin Yan's voice carried through the lake, tinged with a hint of gravity. "There are a huge number of them, densely packed, definitely more than a thousand, and they're coming this way against the current."

In Jin Yan's description, it was a group of giant toads, each over three meters long and resembling a water buffalo.

They are covered with rough, thick, yellowish-green skin, and their bodies are covered with fist-sized bumps, some of which have white tips. They have strong limbs and wide, thick webbed feet.

As they swing their limbs, they move quickly through the river.

On the periphery of the toad swarm, there are twenty large toads over eight meters long, resembling small, mobile houses. In the center of the swarm, there are three giant toads over fifteen meters long.

"Thousands of mortal-grade, twenty black iron, and three bronze..." Qinglu secretly weighed the situation, his heart sinking slightly. This was not an easy task.

Qinglu certainly couldn't let the toad swarm continue upstream. Who knew where their final destination would be? These toads were amphibious, and if they reached Mirror Lake and then came ashore, they could be considered a threat to the Xishan tribe.

"It's the Venomous Giant Toad." A deep voice came from behind.

A crimson serpent, its tail swaying, rapidly approached with a pair of temple guards.

Today was the day when Crimson and Green took turns. He finished dealing with the tribe's affairs early and then led the team over. He originally wanted Green and the others to go back and rest early, but he didn't expect to run into this scene.

"Young clan leader, do you know anything about these toads?" Jin Yan asked, quite surprised.

"Know."

It was no accident that Crimson knew about the Venomous Giant Toad. He usually studied various toxins, not only searching for them himself, but also asking about poisons he didn't know when he prayed to Ji Xuan.

As one of only two saints, Ji Xuan would naturally pay attention to both cyan and crimson, and he wouldn't hesitate to ask about crimson.

This was a simple matter for Ji Xuan. With a sweep of his all-knowing eye, he knew all the information in the divine realm. The information about the giant poisonous toad was something Ji Xuan had given him not long ago.

【Giant Venomous Toad】

[Rank: Bronze]

[Skills: Venomous Tongue, Giant Mouth Whirlpool, Bone-Corroding White Poison]

[Information: A giant toad living in the South China Sea...]

The Venomous Giant Toad usually lives in the South China Sea. Although its strongest members can reach the Bronze rank, it can only barely occupy a small territory in the South China Sea.

During the breeding season, the giant toad swims upstream along the river to Mirror Lake to lay its eggs.

Newly hatched tadpoles are very fragile and grow in Mirror Lake until they begin metamorphosis. Then, these tadpoles will drift downstream along the river until they have completely metamorphosed, lost their tails, and grown limbs, just as they enter the South China Sea.

What Qinglu and the others didn't know was that the Devouring Fish they had dealt with earlier had initially consumed a piece of flesh and blood essence from a Bronze-rank Venomous Giant Toad.

Later, whenever the giant toads came to Mirror Lake to lay their eggs, the swallowing fish would hide in the deep mud to avoid them. After the giant toads left, it would then devour the toad eggs and tadpoles.

Therefore, the skill of swallowing fish is somewhat similar to that of the Venomous Giant Toad.