He changed Tiwat

Regret immediately filled Ke Qing's heart.

Fortunately, Jing Cheng immediately told Ke Qing about Han Fulai's statement that "this government will not divert floodwaters" and informed her that all risks had been eliminated and the flood control efforts were on the verge of victory, which brought some joy back to Ke Qing's face.

"Well done! I knew I hadn't misjudged him!" Ke Qing's eyes shone brightly, and she wished she could hug Han Fu right then and there. Even if she were to fall, he could still handle everything perfectly. He truly deserved to be the person she had chosen.

"Have him come to see me, no, I'll go myself... Where is he now?"

Hearing that Ke Qing was so eager to see someone that she didn't even want to wait for an announcement, Jing Cheng had an ambiguous expression on his face, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

Ke Qing looked at Jing Cheng's strange expression and remembered what she had said when Han Fulai asked Jing Cheng for help: "This is my dream, I won't allow him to appear"—could Jing Cheng have heard everything? How embarrassing!

She instantly felt her cheeks burning again, and tried to adjust her expression, adding with a somewhat fierce but weak tone, "I...I want to talk to him about work!"

Nobody said you were talking to him about anything else, right? Jing Cheng suppressed a laugh and pointed towards the levee: "I heard that Mr. Han and Miss Shen He just built a new levee for Guiliyuan. It's being called a miracle in the army. Why don't you go and take a look over there?"

Upon arriving at the embankment, Ke Qing immediately saw the long, silvery-gray ice embankment. Even though Ke Qing had personally witnessed the power of Shen He's stomp on the frozen tsunami, she couldn't help but marvel at how this embankment truly deserved to be called a "miracle."

Shen He remained standing on the ice wall embankment, still in her spellcasting posture, quite conspicuous, while the white-haired beauty standing beside her was Ning Guang. This combination was rather unusual.

Actually, Keqing felt a little awkward seeing Shen He now... but she was even more afraid that Ningguang would say something irrelevant to Shen He.

Ke Qing arrived at the two's location. Upon seeing them, she didn't even greet Ning Guang. Instead, she bowed to Shen He to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Miss Shen He, for your help. On behalf of the people of Guiliyuan and Mingyun Town, I thank you for your assistance. Please also convey my regards to my master."

She was trying to seize the initiative by implying that the flood relief efforts had nothing to do with Ningguang, thus excluding her from the discussion. Furthermore, she subtly touched upon her relationship with True Lord Liuyun; after all, he had delivered gifts to Mount Aozang, and their relationship was closer than hers with Ningguang.

Although Ke Qing's words had a hidden meaning, it was clearly a flirtatious attempt to deceive the blind. Shen He's mind was not on her at all; in fact, even if Shen He had listened carefully to her words, he probably wouldn't have been able to discern any hidden meaning.

Shen He merely glanced at her indifferently and replied, "It's my duty, Miss Ke Qing, you're too kind."

One sentence made Ke Qing swallow her words again. Did she think she was an insider if she didn't treat her like one? Sure enough, she was angry with me; her tone was so distant… Ke Qing had no choice but to change the subject: “Um… where is Mr. Han?”

Ningguang simply stared at the river, her face expressionless.

Shen He also looked at the clear blue river in front of him.

"My husband is underwater."

"Huh? Underwater?" Ke Qing's expression froze. What was going on?

Shen He nodded. "Yes, he said there was a problem underwater and he needs to go check it out. If you want to see him..."

What she didn't say was, of course, "If I want to see him, I'll jump."

Ningguang glanced at Keqing, her eyes holding a strange, defiant look that roughly translates to, "Do you dare jump?"

Ke Qing gritted her teeth quietly. She felt that these two people had inexplicably sided with her and were ganging up on her... Just like in the novels, you white-haired guys are all black in disguise!

Just as the atmosphere among the three women became subtly tense, a person emerged from the water—it was Han Fulai.

Chapter 393 What's Wrong with Going Through Life and Death with You? [5k]

Han Fulai surfaced and was taken aback when he saw Ningguang and Keqing. It was normal for Keqing to wake up and look for him, but why was Ningguang there too? Could she be worried about him?

They were clearly enemies.

After getting ashore, Han Fulai casually wiped his face and head, and without much pleasantry with Ningguang and Keqing, he began to report to the two Seven Stars what he had seen underwater: "It was a 'Shapeshifter'. I saw 'Shapeshifters' chiseling at the ice wall underwater. It is very likely that some of the holes in the dike were caused by them."

"And what seems to be in command of them is... the Pure Water Spirit."

Han Fulai's descent into the water was indeed somewhat dangerous, because he had previously helped Xiao erect the Jade Shield and later helped Shen He build the Ice Wall. His strength was now almost exhausted, and he couldn't even activate the Jade Shield.

However, the lack of a shield for lighting was not a problem. Han Fulai went into the water and took out the cat-shaped mining lamp that Ke Qing had given him.

Made by Keqing, the quality is top-notch. This mining lamp is windproof and waterproof, and provides long-lasting illumination, making it a true must-have for home and travel.

Using his headlamp, Han Fulai first located the section of ice wall underwater that showed signs of melting.

Shen He's ice wall is different from ordinary dams. It does not need a foundation. It is maintained by Shen He's ice magic. The self-structural strength of the ice wall is maintained by the "steel bars" built by Han Fu using rock bones. Basically, the higher the energy they output, the higher the ice wall can be built.

Therefore, the ice wall is directly connected to the riverbed, fitting together perfectly to block the surging blue water from the outside.

Outside this seemingly impenetrable ice wall, Han Fulai saw several enormous "animals"—aquatic "morphing beasts" shaped like frogs and crabs.

The frog puffed out its cheeks and sprayed water cannons at the ice wall in front of it. Its water cannons were like some kind of acidic substance, causing deep dents in the ice wall when they hit it. The crab was even more direct, swinging its two huge claws and slamming them against the ice wall again and again. Each slam was like the impact of a battering ram, leaving claw marks on the ice wall.

This wasn't the first time Han Fulai had seen such "shapeshifting beasts." He had encountered them before when he accompanied Zhong Li to the Lonely Cloud Pavilion. Back then, the variety of shapeshifting beasts was much richer, including not only frogs and crabs, but also wild boars, squirrels, cranes, and even slugs… He even received a black-tasseled spear as a gift from the Emperor for it…

As water elemental creatures, these shapeshifters can indeed move freely in the water, hiding in the water like leaves in a forest, making them perfect for causing trouble in secret.

If this ice wall weren't currently under Shen He's control, and if Shen He weren't aware of any attacks on the ice wall, they probably wouldn't have discovered the destructive actions of these shapeshifting beasts until now.

However, Zhongli also said that the reason why those shapeshifting beasts appeared in Guyun Pavilion was because a large number of demon gods were suppressed under Guyun Pavilion. The resentment and remnants of the demon gods gathered in Guyun Pavilion, which easily attracted demons. Moreover, they also found the relics of the demon gods washed ashore by the sea on the beach of Guyun Pavilion. Those shapeshifting beasts appeared in order to compete for the demon god aura above.

What kind of demonic artifacts or remnants could there be in Guili Plain?

Han Fulai knew of one demon god, the "Dust Demon God" Gui Zhong, who died in Guili Plain... Of course, there might be other demon god remnants left in Guili Plain that he didn't know about, but Gui Zhong and other demon gods had been dead for thousands of years. Demons didn't start gathering now, so why did they have to come at this critical moment?

And even if the gathering of shapeshifters was caused by some remnant of a demon god, it doesn't explain their attack on the dam and ice wall.

Shapeshifters are elemental creatures with little intelligence. Their targeted destruction of the dam is not a monster's instinctive action. Han Fulai is 100% certain that someone is controlling the Shapeshifters!

In addition, these shapeshifting beasts were different from those he had seen in Lonely Cloud Pavilion—they were not formed from simple water elements, or rather, not from pure water.

Whether it's the water cannon spewed by the frog or the claws of the crab, they both contain salt. As the possessor of the Salt God's power, Han Fulai has already sensed this.

That wasn't just simple salt water or seawater; it was something far more terrifying—hydrochloric acid.

Good heavens, I, the descendant of the Salt God, haven't even learned how to rub hydrochloric acid by hand yet, and you shapeshifters have already evolved hydrochloric acid, and you're using it to corrode dams?

Han Fulai felt a pang of sadness.

Of course, despite the sour taste, he could only hold his breath and move underwater for a few minutes. Right now, the most important thing was to get rid of these destructive shapeshifters.

Although his own power is currently depleted, Shen He's Ice Feathers can still be effective.

There are seven ice feather talismans surrounding him, each containing the power of Shen He's "Summoning Generals with Spiritual Might" spell. Han Fulai only needs to use the incantation given to him by Shen He to unleash the power of the ice feathers.

Han Fulai pointed at the phantom beasts and waved his hand, his lips moving silently as he chanted: "The divine power is not false, commanding all crafts. The goddess commands, hurry to the talisman. By invoking the divine power, I summon the generals and command them with incantation!"

It's certainly difficult to chant spells underwater, as river water pours into your mouth as soon as you open your mouth, which is quite uncomfortable. However, spells are also "words of power," essentially carrying power through linguistic symbols, and don't necessarily have to be spoken aloud. For example, as Han Fulai's proficiency increased, the incantation for opening the Jade Pendant Shield became shorter and shorter, and Shen He often didn't need to recite the complete incantation when casting spells.

In fact, Han Fulai suspected that if Shen He let him practice casting talismans a few more times, maybe when he cried out "Wife, save me!" or something similar, the power of the talismans could be activated.

A talisman shattered, and a silver-white ice puppet appeared out of thin air. Apart from its blurry face, the ice puppet's body was exactly the same as Shen He's, and it even held a silver spear in its hand, vaguely resembling the Disaster-Suppressing Spear. Han Fulai felt a sense of familiarity with it—especially since the spear technique it used was Shen He's signature spear technique, "Flowing Sky Spear Technique," making it seem as if Shen He himself had descended upon the world.

With a single shot, the Ice Puppet froze a shapeshifter, taking them down with effortless ease, practically one-shotting them all. Moments later, all the shapeshifters within his sight had turned to ice, shattering and melting away—so what if he could spray hydrochloric acid? Hydrochloric acid can freeze too!

Ice is so effective against Water!

He dared to go into the water alone not without support; he's not all alone anymore, Shen He will protect him.

After eliminating the shapeshifting beasts in front of him, Han Fulai did not let his guard down.

These few shapeshifters might not be all the enemy has released; there are probably many more lurking in the water. It won't be possible to completely eliminate these aquatic creatures in a short time. However, even if more shapeshifters come, with Shen He's ice puppets protecting him, Han Fulai isn't afraid at all.

His real concern was for the people who created these shapeshifters—or rather, the creatures that created them.

A common trope in martial arts novels is "you beat the kid, the dad comes after you," meaning if you hit someone's son, the father will come after you to settle the score...

Now that he has killed the shapeshifter and hindered the other side's actions, the other side will likely send their main force to deal with him.

Shapeshifters don't have the power to control the weather, and that strange downpour a while ago was definitely not their doing.

Upon seeing the shapeshifters, Han Fulai was reminded of a type of aquatic creature that could alter celestial phenomena to create torrential rain and also create shapeshifters—the Pure Water Sprite.

Water sprites have the ability to move with water veins, so it's not impossible for them to lurk in the Azure River. Moreover, as a transmigrator, he happened to know that a water sprite lived in the water veins of Qingce Mountain.

A blue figure slowly emerged from the murky river water, but it was not the monster form of the pure water spirit in Han Fulai's memory; it was a woman, a very beautiful woman.

Blue hair, blue eyebrows, blue eyes, a blue dress—it's like the embodiment of the saying, "Women are made of water."

She swam in the water like a mermaid, slowly approaching Han Fulai.

As she drew nearer, an endless sorrow suddenly invaded Han Fulai's heart. This sorrow was even more intense than the murderous intent he felt when helping Xiao share his "karma," and it almost completely overwhelmed his consciousness.

He felt a mournful voice softly singing in his ear:

"Throughout the ages, how many wronged souls have lamented?"

"Gazing into the distance, the human world is boundless, rife with sorrow and lamentation..."

It's as if all the sorrow in the world is contained in these few words, and the bitterness is so intense that it almost brings tears to one's eyes.

The blue-haired woman looked at him with a mournful expression and said, "Is it not even allowed for me to seek a clean pool of water? Must you all drive me to my death?"

Enveloped by the woman's intense resentment, those with weaker wills might have already knelt down and wept bitterly, confessing their sins to her.

Han Fulai was a man of strong will, and after undergoing the purification of his marrow by immortal power and the remnants of demons, his overall quality was far superior to that of ordinary people. Yet, he still couldn't withstand the sorrow and grief surging up from the bottom of his heart, and almost succumbed to this sorrow—fortunately, he was protected by Shen He's talisman.

With a "snap," a silver-white talisman shattered on Han Fulai's forehead, and an icy aura instantly poured in from his heavenly gate, clearing his mind and restoring his rationality.

While silently thanking Ah He in his heart, Han Fu didn't have time to think much and immediately manipulated the ice puppet he had just released to pounce on the blue-haired woman.

Even though she was in human form, her words just now had already told Han Fulai that she was a pure water spirit.

When did the Water Sprite develop a human form, and even learn to bewitch people? Or is this a hidden setting in the game that hasn't been released yet? And why did she come to destroy the Guiliyuan Dam?

There were many questions, and Han Fulai didn't have time to sort them out, but he knew one thing—he had definitely suffered a mental attack just now, and this pure water spirit was undoubtedly an enemy!

If you want to question the enemy, of course you have to knock them down first and then interrogate them slowly.

As the ice golem charged forward, the sorrow on the Pure Water Sprite's face suddenly transformed into overwhelming rage, making her beautiful face appear extremely fierce and distorted.

She screamed, "You're an assassin too! You all want me dead!"

Why are you yelling so loudly? You're the one who came here and caused trouble without permission, okay? How can you be the one to accuse me first? I haven't even mentioned that you're digging a hole and inviting disaster!

If they weren't underwater, Han Fulai would definitely have spoken up in rebuttal.

But the water sprite wasn't just roaring; her shriek created ripples in the water, causing the undercurrents at the bottom of the river to form whirlpools that swept towards the oncoming ice golem.

In the blink of an eye, the ice golem was sucked into the vortex and was about to be pulverized.

But Han Fulai has more than one ice puppet at his disposal.

He clasped his hands together, silently chanting an incantation, and two more talismans around him shattered. Two ice golems shot out simultaneously, leaping over the vortex, their spears aimed directly at the pure water spirit.

The Water Sprite waved her hand and released several shapeshifting beasts, seemingly intending for them to entangle the Ice Golem, but she clearly underestimated the Ice Golem's strength.

Two ice golems moved through the illusionary beast formation like ghosts, their movements far more agile than the beasts themselves—the Sky-Piercing Spear Technique's "Stepping the Sky and Seizing the Battle" was no mere empty boast. The illusionary beasts offered no resistance whatsoever, easily leaving the two ice golems far behind.

Then, the ice spears in the hands of the two ice golems pierced through the body of the pure water spirit at the same time.

The area wounded by the ice gun visibly began to freeze.

The pure water sprite let out a painful scream, and its body was suddenly covered with a layer of scarlet blood.

"Sink!"

Suddenly, a ring of water ripples appeared beneath the feet of the Water Sprite, erupting like a fountain and enveloping the two ice golems and herself.

This is one of the ultimate moves unleashed by the berserk Water Sprite, "Drowning Ring".

The two ice golems vanished before they could react.

The water sprite was clearly also seriously injured. She glared at Han Fulai with hatred, as if to remember her enemy's face, then turned and swam towards Qingce Mountain. Moments later, her figure had disappeared.

Han Fulai dared not linger at the bottom of the water and immediately surfaced.

After Han Fulai recounted his underwater experiences to the others, Shen He and Ke Qing remained silent, unable to understand what had happened.

But Ningguang seemed to understand very well.

"The one you encountered is a pure water spirit from Fontaine, named Lotia."

"She is the Water Goddess of Qingce, and also a follower of the previous Water God. She was once the chief spy of Fengdan—the most famous and most powerful of the pure water spirit spies."

"A spy?" Keqing's eyes widened. It was one thing for the Fools to be involved in espionage, but why was Fontaine doing it too? Or was the Water God personally setting up the spy network?

Ningguang replied calmly, "The pure water spirits were once distributed throughout the mountains, rivers, ponds, and streams of the entire continent, and the vast majority of them were spies of Fontaine."

"The water goddess of the past didn't actually have any ambitions. She just wanted to connect the continent like a water system, linking everyone together. But with her disappearance in the war five hundred years ago, many pure water spirits severed their connection with Fontaine."

"Lotia does not acknowledge the new Water God and only wants to live on with the dreams she once had. With longing for the previous Water God, she defected from Fontaine. It is said that Lotia only wanted a quiet place, and the Emperor and the immortals allowed her to live peacefully in the waters of Qingce, sealing her away in a secret place in Qingce Mountain."

Shen He sighed with some emotion: "No wonder I always hear people in the city say that 'Lord Ningguang knows everything'."

Han Fulai stared intently at Ningguang, his eyes gleaming: "May I ask, Lady Ningguang, do you know who broke the seal on the Pure Water Spirit? And why did the Pure Water Spirit come to destroy the Guiliyuan Dam?"

Ningguang chuckled: "You really think I know everything?"

Han Fulai remained silent, quietly watching Ningguang, who in turn looked back at him.

After a long silence, Han Fulai spoke up: "Since there are no other clues, let's do what we can do right now. Our primary objective is to defend the Guiliyuan Dam. For some reason, the Pure Water Spirit wants to destroy the Guiliyuan Dam, and the flood peak has not yet passed. Although I injured her just now, she seems to harbor great hatred towards us and will probably come back soon."

“Ahe can hold out for about two more hours. During this time, we need to deal with the threat of the Pure Water Spirit. I suggest we head to Qingce Mountain to reseal the Pure Water Spirit.”

"You know the method of sealing?" Ningguang asked curiously.